Remembering my dad on his birthday

Today is a day of remembering.  If my dad had not left this life on October 1st, he would be celebrating his 87th birthday today.  I suppose that in Heaven, where time is no longer relevant, such things are not important.  But I just wonder if there isn't some kind of acknowledgment of it.  Like, maybe he and his mother and dad were remembering that happy day 87 years ago.  Who knows?

Here are some pictures I took the past four years.  First of all, his 83rd.  Mary Ellen and I went to my parents' house for supper and then played Dominoes, his absolutely favorite game.  I was never quick enough to compete with him!

On his 84th my parents, Mary Ellen, and Doris's family came to my house.  We had cake and ice cream together, then sang around the piano, his very favorite thing to do.

On his 85th all of the PA adults of our family got together at my parents' house for a meal. I love the picture of him and Elvin in the sun room. It helps me to remember happier times.

 

On his 86th we local ones went to my parents' house for the evening.  I think that every year we privately wondered if it would be his last birthday because of his congestive heart failure.  Praise the Lord that a year ago today we could be together laughing and having a great time, totally sheltered from the knowledge of what we would experience in the coming year. 

I miss him so much.  He was such a source of strength to me.  I know he prayed for me every day.  At his funeral my stepbrother Lester said that he had found my dad's prayer journal.  He said, "I want each of you children and grandchildren to know that you were prayed for every day by name."   He also emailed our entire family every Monday from the time we got him a computer (2001, I think) until  a month-and-a-half before he passed away.  

Needless to say, the one who misses him the most intensely is my precious step mother.  They were so in love with each other and had the most beautiful relationship.  Say a prayer for her when you read this post.  She's an amazing lady, full of life and humor and spunk, but she spends many hours alone in a house full of memories.  She's getting back to quilting again, a craft she thoroughly enjoys.  Here's the one she was working on last year when we were there for Dad's birthday.

Fun all around

We had a great Sunday here in State College.  Although we got a foot of snow on Saturday, the roads were clear enough for us to have church on Sunday.  Once again, Pastor Mackenzie's message was powerful and challenging. We just love him and his wife Sherren.  We are so very blessed to have Pastor Dennis and his wife, my good friend Cindy, at our home church in Lancaster County, and now Pastor Mackenzie and Sherren up here. 

Unfortunately, Dick doesn't get to go to the church up here, because he works every other weekend.  But last evening he had a chance to hang out with some of the folks from the church at the Super Bowl party we went to.  We had a really good time.  I love having the chance to talk with people and learning more about their lives, their jobs, their kids, etc.  

Somebody was looking pretty sleepy by the time I got my camera out!  After a while I walked around with him and sang into his ear until he was sleeping.  

This morning I had my first appointment with my new primary care physician.  So once again I'll be starting the parade of routine tests that are due - blood work, mammogram, colonoscopy, along with the dreaded out-of-pocket costs that will go with it all.  

Here are some fun pictures I've taken with my cell phone the last couple of days.  First of all, a new way to feed the baby - Mommy puts a piece of toast between Daddy's lips....

...and Baby snatches it away, hahahaha!

A favorite toy the last few days has been the box that a birthday toy came in.  He spins it, tries to climb on top of it, bats it around.

Anthony and Lori are very playful parents, much crazier and rowdier than I am, and Austin just LOVES it.  It just warms my heart so much to see how much they love each other.

Our (lesser) part of the blizzard

In light of the two feet of snow that Lancaster County has aleady gotten (with more coming), these pictures are nothing to write home about. We might have a foot so far. I must confess, I'm jealous. I love me a big blizzard, and I can't believe they're getting one that big in Lancaster County without me, hahahahaha!!

On the other hand, if this were a weekend that we would have been traveling to Lancaster County, this snow would have made driving home quite difficult last evening, so thank you, Lord! I can just stay here safe and sound.

But not Dick! He had to be at work by 8 this morning.

I know he could hardly wait to get out there on the roads with the Explorer! He loves the challenge!

Self entertainment

My days don't vary too much, so if you're hoping to find pictures of something other than Austin throughout the week, it probably isn't going to happen!  Not too often, anyway.  Here's today's tour through his adventures.

One big thing we are noticing is how well he entertains himself.  Here he is with a birthday gift, discovering every part of it that moved or opened or made noise.

He has figured out that most of the doors have very handy latches for little boys.  (What were they thinking???!!!)

He often sits quietly in his pack and play for a long time, just putting the lid on and off of this musical cookie jar.

The little red piece to a toy in the foreground of this picture keeps him going for ten minutes or more.  He pushes it across the floor, he crawls after it, pushes it again, goes after it.  Maybe this is pre-golf or hockey!!

He followed it under the table, managing to get under the low crossbar at one end, but unable to figure out how to get out without bumping his head!

And last of all, I stole this picture from Lori's Facebook post.  He has also been discovering the toilet lid!  Fun, fun, fun!

Look at that innocent little face!!  Don't you want to just pick him up and squeeze him?  I'm so lucky!

I made myself go to the gym this evening.  I'm always glad I went afterward, but oh, it's just so hard to make myself go out in the cold, dark evening when I could just sit here at the computer instead, hahahahaha!

More discoveries, need for encouragement

Today Austin discovered:

The cute, little boy in the oven,

the oregano and other spices in one of the little drawers,

and story-time with Daddy in the middle of the day.

Now go back up to the top picture.  See the knobs on those little drawers?  He was opening and closing the drawers, and when he stretched to open the top one, he actually put both of his little feet on that bottom knob, and opened the top drawer.  I was right behind him, of course, but I could hardly believe he did that. He was so quick! 

I made an extra trip to the dentist today.  I thought I was having more pain than I should from my extractions last week.  I had heard of dry socket, and was afraid of that.  But I was assured that I most certainly do not have that, and that everything looks fine, and that this amount of pain is not abnormal with the kind of extractions I had.  So now I feel better already!  I'm really eager to get the stitches out on Friday.  They're driving me crazy.  

Dick had a routine doctor's appointment today with our primary care physician.  Everything checked out great, especially his blood pressure - 120/72!!  Not bad at all for an almost 60-year-old man who takes no medications. We're very, very thankful for the good health he is experiencing.  He'll have another round of chemo treatments in March, the last of the maintenance regime he's been on the past two years.  

It was especially good for him to have a good visit today, because my family has been feeling very, very sad at the news from my sweet niece Lori in Michigan.  Her cancer is back.  She's been through SO MUCH, and it just makes me want to scream.  There are also others in my family who are facing tests for health concerns, and it would be easy for discouragement to camp out in our family.  But we just can't allow that.  God is still strong and He is still loving, as it says in Psalm 62.  That is the truth we must hang onto.

I'm back

(Sorry, every picture on this post was taken with my cell phone.  Many times it's just so much more available, even though it does not take great pictures.)

Dick had a three-day weekend off, so it was nice to have him around the house on Friday to play with Austin, since I also had packing to do for the weekend.  Austin is starting to enjoy books, and for a long time they were on the floor with one book.  Dick would press on a certain page and it would make a noise, Austin would turn the page, Dick would press that one, producing another noise, Austin would page back to the previous one, Dick would press that one.....  You get the picture.  Just back and forth between those two pages!

Of course, the Baby Einstein videos still light up his world!

Friday evening we drove to our Lititz house for the weekend.  We did not go to Reading for Destiny this time, because of the plans we had for Saturday.  Of course, with our extreme temperatures, the house was rrrrrreally cold, but I just kept my coat on all evening, and by bedtime it was warmed up.  

On Saturday I went to Destiny's home in Reading and spent the day helping her to organize her bedroom - her clothes, toys, books, etc.  We had a very productive day together, and I was so very disappointed afterward when I realized I had not taken one picture, not even with my cell phone.  I just couldn't believe it.  I told her she has to keep it nice for the next two weeks so I can take a picture the next time we come!

She and I left there around 5:00 to head to a family gathering held at my sister Doris's church.  It was kind of a belated Christmas gathering for my family members who live in Lancaster County.  We had a fun evening together, and got to hear about and see pictures of my step mother's recent trip to Sarasota, Florida.  She had some really funny stories about her trip down on the "Mennonite bus."   By the way, both Jeremy and Lisa were privileged to spend time with her while she was down there - very special for them all.  

Here are the not-so-great pictures I took that evening with my phone.  I'm posting them for the sake of you family members who could not be there.

Sunday morning I led worship at church and we had a good time catching up with everyone again afterward.  I kind of like the way things are right now.  I really do love leading worship, and being able to still go to our church every other Sunday gives me the chance to fulfill that passion.  But on the weekends in between it is wonderful to go to Anthony and Lori's church and just be a worshiper and receive.   I missed out on that part for  many, many years.  

Sunday afternoon Dick took Destiny and her friend Elizabeth from church to the pool at the Lititz Rec Center.  I told him to get a picture of them swimming, because I always like to send reprints to Destiny from her weekends with us.  He said,  "What would that look like, an old man taking pictures of little girls swimming?"  We decided he shouldn't.  You just can't be too careful these days, with all the perversion everywhere.  

Here she is back at our house afterward, drying out and warming up.

We took her back home in the evening.  This morning we did our early morning trip back home to State College.  We have really been blessed with good driving weather on Dick's weekends off so far this winter.  Thank you, Lord!!

Did I ever have a busy boy today!  First of all I discovered he has a big, old molar in the back of his mouth, and another one poking through on the other side (that would make number 10!)  I guess he has every right to be mad sometimes with all that teething going on!   As he made his rounds in the kitchen, I discovered he was able to open the little drawers that do not have child locks (we thought they open too hard for him, hahahahaha!)

Hmmmm.  Sazon seasoning, anyone?

Now if I could just figure out how to get it back into the drawer.

I wonder what happens when I press on this big button right here?  

Wow, is this cool, or what???  I could climb into this thing!

Look where he put his pacifier - right on top of the microwave!  I am so thankful that as much as I love express buttons on microwaves, this microwave does not have them.  Can you imagine if it did and he discovered what happens when you press on them?

In case you wonder about his bare feet, it is absolutely impossible to keep anything on his feet.  He just pulls everything off.  In fact, today at lunch he was tugging violently at his bib, like it was driving him crazy or something, so I finally took it off.  Next he started tugging at his shirt.  I thought,  "Oh, great, is he going to one of those kids that is always taking his clothes off?"   What a guy, what a guy.  And I'm just crazy over him.

Autin's berry mustache

Lori's been making some yummy smoothies each morning, with frozen fruit, bananas, yogurt, and flaxseed. As you can see, even Austin thinks they're yummy! That's what you call a berry mustache!

I intended to go to the gym this evening, but it has turned very cold and windy, and I just don't have it in me to go outside. My day started early with another dental appointment. This one wasn't nearly so traumatic. But the dentures that are replacing the two extracted teeth on the lower jaw are really driving me crazy today. I can hardly wait take them out and go to bed.

We've got another busy weekend in Lancaster County coming up, so I'm going to hit the sack early tonight.

Doing fine, more work tomorrow

I really didn't have that much pain from my tooth extractions last night or today.  I have been taking Tylenol regularly, as well as the antibiotic.  Late this afternoon I went back to the dentist to have it checked and he said everything looks good.  I got a look at it myself when he took out the dentures for the first time.  Not a pretty sight.  Now tonight I will take them out myself for the first time, just like an old lady.

Now tomorrow I have to go back for one more procedure - a bridge in my upper jaw where I had gotten a tooth pulled about 20 years ago, leaving a gap all these years.  I hope I don't cry this time!  I'm getting all this work done so quickly, because we have some money in a Flexible Savings Acct with our medical insurance, that we will lose if we don't use it by January 31st.

Austin continues to bring all of us tremendous amounts of joy, along with some challenges.  He can crawl so fast now, and when he hits the floor, the first thing that comes to his mind is to go back the hallway in search of an open door.  He especially hopes to find the bathroom door open, and when we get to it and close it before he gets there, he is a very, very unhappy boy!   Whenever I bring him down to my living room to play, it doesn't take long until he heads for the steps, which he can climb so fast now.   But they are wooden and the floor at the bottom is hard wood, so I stay right behind him.  He does seem to be understanding the words  "no" and "stop", and he doesn't like either one of them at all!!  He loves his music, and it's fun to see him recognize songs that come on when I play his CD's.   

Oh where, oh where, has my bravery gone?

I had an appointment with my new dentist today to get two broken teeth pulled (lower right side) and partial dentures put in their place.  I have promised my friend Tonja, who has great dentist-anxiety, that I would not share any details of my dental work, and I won't.  But I will admit what I was like before they started.  I seriously felt like a lamb going to the slaughter.  

There is no question that somewhere along the line, as I have aged, I have lost my sense of being able to handle anything.  I went into childbirth three times with great eagerness, feeling very sure I could do it.  I even got all four of my wisdom teeth pulled ten days before Anthony was born, because I decided that since it would have to be done anyway, I might as well get it over with before the baby was born.  

But in 1999 I needed a hysterectomy, and I found that I didn't have that "spunk" anymore.  As I lay ready to receive the anesthesia, tears just poured down my face because I was so scared.  I remember thinking that I wished I could be the one performing the surgery instead of having it done to me.  I had heard too many stories of botched surgeries, and I just dreaded being asleep while they did who-knows-what to me. 

And now today.  New dentist (as of this month).  The one who, while doing a filling a few weeks ago, dropped something onto the back of my tongue and said,  "Oops,  Don't swallow, please."   So I already was filled with dread as I arrived.  Then the sweet dental assistant comes by my side and says she has papers she has to go over with me that I need to sign.  Oh. My. Word.  The things on those papers (which I will not write here, for Tonja's sake) sent me over the edge.  The tears started to flow, and I was literally holding in the sobs as she went down over that list.  She felt so bad for me and assured me that these things seldom occur, but that they still need to inform that they could.  I knew that, but I just could not help myself.  The tears just came and came and came.  My heart started pounding so hard I thought I might have a heart attack right there on the chair.  

So everything went fine, not nearly as bad as the dread itself.  I have partial dentures in place which I may not remove until I go back to office tomorrow at five.  So far the pain is not bad, and I am on an antibiotic.  

I know where my teeth went, but I have no idea where my bravery went.  I really, really don't like this part of me.   

From Florida to Wisconsin

Today was Lisa's birthday, and as the day went on my mind often went back to that wonderful day 36 years ago when I became a mother. I'll never forget that sweet moment when I first had her all to myself, and I introduced myself to her. Later today we iChatted with Lisa and Sophie. That was so much fun and really made my day.

Jeremy has been keeping me up to date on the weather in Arcadia, Wisconsin where he is beginning his two weeks of training for his new job with Ashley Furniture. The wind chill is to be minus 2 tonight, and it's been snowing lightly ever since he got there yesterday. This is the view from his hotel window - a far cry from Florida!!