Weekend at the beach

The girls and I got to the beach yesterday for a few days. It is my early Christmas present and has been so much fun. The weather has been beautiful, a little chilly at night but so pretty. The beach is kind of quiet, not many people here this weekend. We started our weekend, eating at the Throwed Rolls Restaurant. It is always very good but you walk away so full!! We got a take out box for our throwd rolls to have for breakfast this morning. Today we went to Fairhope, or should I say, outside of Fairhope to a new shopping area at the Spanish Fort area. It was very nice, even found a Sam`s to go to where we got some Chrismas shopping done. We ate lunch at the drugstore in Foley, which we love, and after we were finished for the afternoon, we had a surprise for us. We found one of our favorite places to eat, Sweetie Pies, had moved and was open for supper now. So we finished the day off there with soup and grilled cheese, split a piece of peanut butter pie and was off for the condo. It has been a full day but such fun to be with the girls.

One last visit

Well, this is the week. My last dr. appointment, hopefully. Jane is going with me on Friday to have the stitches repaired. I will be so glad when this is over!
We had lunch with Jane and Tom today at Mings. Papa and I always share and it is plenty to eat. It was nice to get out since it looks like rain the rest of the week. Tomorrow night we are having Phil and Virginia Creamer for dinner, if Phil is feeling alright. I hope he is so they will get to come. We always enjoy visiting with them. Their son and wife will be coming too since they have to drive them.
We are doing pretty good. Papa is always glad to see visitors or the yard man when he comes. He really enjoys the chair in the front foyer and loves to sit there, just looking outside. Of course, when it rains, that is a good thing for him. He gets to watch the clouds moving in and leading up to the rain. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers during this time.................... more later, Love, Gaga

Most of the stitches are gone......

This morning Gail took me to the dr. for my follow up and to have the stitches removed. Well let me tell you that it was not enjoyable!! First we had to wait again, and again.... then it was my turn. They deadened my EYEBALL with drops, then the nurse started taking the stitches out. It wasn`t going so good with her so she went to get the dr to help out. He worked for a while and got a few out then decided to give me a little break. He came back in about 30 minutes and tried to finish up. After getting down to the last two, he decided to let them stay in another week so it could finish healing. Thank goodness for small blessings!! Two less stitches to come out today equals two less painfull moments for me!! Trying not to complain but actually, this was worse than the surgery. It was raining so hard after we got out, we just came on home where I was able to rest some before Tom got back home. Hope everyone has a good week, I will be back out on the roads now that I can drive again!! Love, Gaga

2 more days until Friday!

My bruise is looking so much better now, just a little yellow and blue around the outside. I am looking forward to Friday when I go to the Dr. for a recheck and have the staples removed. That will be a good day cause I will be able to drive again! It has been a long but restful week staying in. You forget how dependant you become having your car until you don`t have it. Thankfully, it is this week instead of last week at this time. I am very thankful that this is over and we can move on. Have a good week and I will post more later after the dr. visit.

Saturday game day!

It has been football day at our house today. Tom was ready for Georgia so he could watch them. Tonight, I switch between Alabama and Auburn! We have had a good day...
The good part about this little recovery period that we are going through is the fact that we have had some good company to come check up on us. Jennifer and Faith came over to visit and Jennifer went to the store for me today to get a few groceries. Kevin and Megan have been several times with Addy. She is so sweet to sit with me while I show her a book. We will be celebrating her 1st birthday in a few weeks. Tommy and Rebecca brought Heston over to visit this afternoon. We even got some cookies from Savages to enjoy from them. Heston played until he got kind of tired, so they left to put him to bed. It is fun to pull out the wood barn, that we had for the grandchildren, for him to play with . He loves all the animals that are in it. I will have to be a baby proof house again, but what fun!! My girls from Sunday School have brought food that we are still enjoying. Caroline brought us some delicious muffins that we are still eating. Thanks to all for your concern and for thinking of us.

After surgery report

Well, things look much better today than they did yesterday at this time! We got to the hospital at 6:20a.m., thinking we would be one of the first procedures for the day. Little did we know the true story..... We were one of about 30 people signing in at this early hour. After 45 minutes, we moved to our next place to register some more information then up stair to the pre-procedure waiting room. We were in there for enough time to get my lovely gown and robe, take vitals then on to the bed room, where I would be for the next 3 hours, lying down with the iv hooked up, waiting to be taken to surgery. The girls were in there with me to keep me company. They finally asked for a few morsels of crushed ice for me cause my lips were dry and I was getting a headache. It tasted pretty good. At 11:40, they took me back. The first culture was a little bit of cancer on the border so they took a bit more of my skin to culture. It came back fine and it was the reconstruction time. Looking at me now, I don`t look so good, but after the girls saw the before picture, they assured me what a great job the Dr. had done. He is a true artist!! I am so thankful for the good outcome. Now, to get rid of my black and blue eye, that is my quest!! I am without my car for the next week since I can`t drive using only one eye. Guess we will be doing a lot of resting and tv watching at our house! Thanks for all the concern from everyone. Thankfully, the worst is over for now..... Love, Gaga

Monday report

We got up early this morning to get ready so when I talked to the Dr., we could find out what time to go in for Papa`s check up. When I did get the nurse, she said that it wasn`t necessary to bring him in since he was doing pretty good. No physical signs that the fall had hurt anything so that was good news. Now, he can check him out when we go Friday to get the staples out. Papa kept pulling the bandages off and the turbin holding it on so I just took it off this morning. It has healed pretty good and doesn`t look too bad without the gause so that makes it easier for both of us! Bill spent the night on Saturday to help out if needed but we did fine, I enjoyed his company though. Tom and Jane stayed with Tom so I could go to Bill`s house for Reed`s birthday lunch. It was nice to see him enjoy his made to order lunch and to see him on his birthday. Kevin and Megan came to visit and brought Addy. I enjoyed seeing them and getting to spend some time with Addy. I got to give her a bottle, so sweet! This morning, we went out to the drug store then Walmart, where I pushed Tom in a wheelchair. It was much easier and faster. Jane and heston came over for a quick visit after lunch. He was full of energy and enjoyed playing with Papa`s hat and the flashlight. Tomorrow, I should hear from my Dr. about the time for my procedure on Wednesday. The girls have told me to just take one day at a time and not worry about things we can`t do anything about. So that is what we are doing! We will worry about Wednesday, tomorrow! Hope all of you are doing well. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers that have been lifted up for us. Keep them coming.........

Saturday morning at the emergency room

Just an update for Gaga here so we all can keep her and Papa in our prayers this week, it will be a long one for them both. Early this morning, Papa fell and hit his head, gashing it pretty good. Bill came right over and helped get him up to a chair. They decided he needed to go to the emergency room to be checked out. Well, he had cat scan and 4-5 staples put in the back of his head. The cat scan showed he had two small pockets of bleeding on his brain. It was decided that it would be best for him to go on home and let Gaga keep a close eye on him for the next few days. Tom and I met them at the hospital and got them settled back home after lunch. Bill came to check on them and will come back tonight to spend the night in case Mom needs him. Anne and Zack will take supper and help out then for a bit. It is going to take everyone to get through this next week! Monday morning back to the dr. for Papa. Wednesday, outpatient surgery for Gaga on her eye to get rid of that carsinoma and back for recheck on Thursday. Friday, Papa goes back to get the staples out. Pray for them this week!!

Reed and me at the rehearsal dinner

New York Wedding

Seems hard to think that this time last week, we were all in New York getting ready for Katie and Chris` wedding. Now, we are all home and resting up from our weekend in New York City. The weather was just beautiful. We enjoyed meeting Susan and Paul, Chris` parents, and the grandparents. They had many friends who came over for the wedding and they were all so nice. The wedding was at 6:30 Sunday night on the top of a building where we could see the Empire State Building in the background. It made for some really nice photos. Katie and Chris did great, the reception was nice and everyone had a great time. There were about 4 babies who made it pretty late into the night while the celebration was going on! There were many, many pictures taken and I will share some more later when I get them. Now, we are thankful for safe trips home and we hope Katie and Chris have a great time on their cruise honeymoon!!

Busy Thursday

It was a busy day today. I went to have lunch with Bill then got a call from Jane. They had just called her to say Gail had taken a fall and hit her head on the pavement. The girls went to get her to the dr. then on to have a cat scan done. She came on to my house to spend the night so I could keep an eye on her. We are waiting to hear the results from the cat scan tomorrow morning. She will probably be really soar when she gets up. I left her at my house and went down to have dinner with Jane, Tom and Lara. They had company, Christy, Dan and their two little girls. Jane Pat`s daughter and family. We had a nice time visiting with them and the girls were so cute. They were real troopers after being in the car for the whole day. After dinner, we came back to check on Gail. Hope she is doing better soon!

Birthday surprise!!

What a birthday I had this week! It was Tuesday, I was all dressed to go with Bill, Jane and Anne to eat lunch and then it happened...... the elaborate scheme that had been going on for weeks, began to take place. Bill picked me up, forgot to do something at his house that he had to stop by to do, asked me to step inside to get out of the heat, then opened the front door for me and I saw........... family and friends waiting for me, singing "Happy Birthday"! When the big 8 0 comes around, I can`t think of a better way to spend it than with all the special people on your life. I saw friends that I had not seen in a while. Shirley came from Texas, through Atlanta with Cindy. Linda came from North Carolina. It was a great day that I am still re-living each day. Bill and Jennifer`s house looked beautiful. The flowers were beautiful and the food, delicious! What a special day.
The girls got their picture with Jewell Falkner, who was their kindergarten teacher a few years back! Special memories for sure!!

More lunches out

Seems like we spend a good amount of time eating out these days. It is always fun to meet the kids or grandkids for lunch when they call us. Zack and Tom had taken Papa to lunch so I met Jane and Heston for a quick lunch at Zoe`s. Heston enjoys going as long as he can get a grilled cheese sandwich or cheese quesadilla! That was yesterday, today, we met Jane and Lara after her therapy for lunch at Zaxby`s. We are all enjoying having Lara around this summer. Her therapy is going along well, her stitches are out and she is driving again so her life is good!!
We went to Rebecca`s Uncle Scott`s funeral this morning. It was very sad but lots of good memories that they shared at the service. He had a heart attack and fell down the stairs at his house. He was only 49. I had just seen him and talked to him at Heston`s birthday party a few weeks ago. He was sweet to talk to Papa on the couch for a while then he found me to compliment me on my cucumber sandwiches that I took.
He sure will be missed by his family.
Our sweet yard guy, Mark, lost his 27 year old brother this week. It has been a hard week for both of these families. It makes us all aware of how blessed we are to have our loved ones with us!
Jane had Heston for two days this week, plenty of time for new pictures to share.
Hope everyone has a great week!

Fun Friday!!

We had a packed full day today with the children. We picked up Lindsey at 7:15 to go meet Jane at Panera`s down 280. We got bagels to go and coffe for Tom and me. We drove to Sterett, about 20 minutes down the road, to go blueberry picking with Jane and Lindsey. They go every year and we were invited to go this year so I said yes, we would like to go. It was the day before the farm officially opens for the season but the man said we could stay and enjoy picking the first blueberries of the season. The bushes were loaded. We got about three buckets between us. Lindsey and I both got bitten by ants! After we finished, we came back and got Lara to therapy for her knee, then after she was finished we went to CiCi`s for pizza. We got to rest a bit this afternoon then we met up with Anne and Zack for dinner. They were keeping Adelyn for the night so we got to visit with her some during dinner. It was a great day for us. Baseball tomorrow if the rain doesn`t get us!

Lunch with the cousins

Yesterday I had the most wonderful lunch at Bright Star in Bessemer with Marygene and Bennie. Marygene, Bennie`s first husband, Albert, and my Bill were all first cousins. Over the years, we had many family reunions with the cousins and their families. We watched as the children grew, married and had children of their own. Well, now, Bennie and I are actually great grandmothers! Where did the time go?!! It was so nice to get to visit with them over lunch. Hope it won`t be that long before we do it again.
This weekend, Bill and Reed`s traveling baseball team, the Vandals, are having a tournament in Alabaster. I am excited to be able to be at one of their games since it will be so close to us. It is hard to get to those away games! After supper on Saturday, I have a treat, for sure. Lara is going to come spend the night with us so I can go to my Sunday School and church on Sunday morning. She has been going to Sunday night church for the summer and wanted to come stay with Papa so I could get out. I haven`t been with my Sunday School ladies for a long time and I am looking forward to seeing everyone. Thanks, Lara and good luck Vandals!!

Memorial Day

We had a great day today. The children came over to our house, everyone but Bill and his family who were coming home from the beach, Katie and Brent. Heston and Adelyn had fun getting to be know each other. The weather was just beautiful so we got to enjoy the backyard after lunch. They didn`t like sitting in the grass! Hope everyone had a good Memorial Day.

Mother's Day 2009

We celebrated Mother's Day this year at a picnic that Kevin and Megan gave at Heardmont Park. Anne and Zack were there and also Megan's parents. We had lots of good barbeque with all the fixings. We were under a pavilion, thank goodness. After about an hour it poured down rain but we just sat and visited with everyone until it stopped. Both the Mother's and I got new pictures of Addy that are all so good. It was a great way to spend Mother's Day and Tom and I enjoyed it so much.

Bill and Reed

I have to share a picture of Bill and Reed that I got from them. They are both dressed up for a night out at the Club. Reed sure is growing up in a hurry. He looks so much like Billy did at his age. He has finished with his baseball season but is fixing to start on a traveling team with Billy as the coach. Tom and I go to as many of the games as we can but these will be out of town tournaments. We will just have to hear about them when they get home! Good luck Vandals!!

Lunch with Addy

I had lunch today with Anne, Megan and Addy and some of Anne's work girls. I think Addy knows me now. She sat with me in Anne's office and stared at me a lot. She was very well behaved at the restaurant and fell asleep in her car seat on the way back to the office. This is a picture of her playing with the little ball I knitted for her. Kevin says she loves to play with it!

Lunch at Mings

It was a beautiful day here in Birmingham. Feels like summer has officially arrived. Our backyard is in full bloom and we have enjoyed being able to sit on the back porch to look at all the flowers in bloom. We had some knock out roses put in last year and they are just beautiful. Tom and grandson, Tom, are out of town in Colorado for a few days so we met up with Jane for lunch at Mings after church. Marygene and George met us there too. We had a nice time visiting. Hope everyone has a great week.

Easter Day with the family

It was a beautiful day here in Birmingham, perfect for Easter. Papa and I went to church with Jane,Tom and Lara then to their house for lunch. Anne and Zack came over after they got out of church. Then Tommy, Rebecca and Heston came after they finished their early church service and stopped by the Botanical Gardens for a quick picture shoot. They said it was beautiful there with all the flowers in bloom. We all ate too much for lunch but it was a fun day and good to all be together. Heston had fun playing with his basket and the yellow hay in it. He went outside to swing some and loved that. Hope everyone had a great Easter.

Baseball is here and going strong

Papa and I have enjoyed going to Wald Park to watch Reed play this spring. Bill is the coach so we enjoy seeing them both out on the field. Lindsey is busy with her ballet but she comes when she can so we get to visit with her too.
It is cold here today. We had to get out coats back out for a few days. Hope it will be a pretty day for Easter this Sunday.
We had lunch at the mall today with Heston and Jane and Tommy and Brent. Heston got to go take a look at the Easter bunny who happened to be there too. He seemed to have liked him from a distance, even waved good bye to him when we left.
Hope everyone has a good week and a great Easter weekend.