HI! It's Sandi Claus time!!!

Hello all! This week flew by! One highlight was that, on Thursday, Glenda, Whitney, Austin and I went to see Mom and Dad! Glenda picked up brisket, ribs, chicken and all the fixin's from Opie's barbecue on her way, so we feasted! Dad had just gotten up, so he had barbecue for brunch!

We found them in great spirits! Mom and Dad were so happy to have a house-full of energy! Dad is so contented just having us in the house! He spends a good bit of our visits napping in his chair, but he enjoys listening to our conversations with Mom and he gets a kick out of the antics of the great-grandkids when they come! It was a windy day, so Dad didn't go outside, but I entertained Austin by taking him on a long golf cart ride! What is it about kids and golf carts?!!! We always spend a little time checking Mom and Dad's emails, even though she had already read some of them earlier in the week! Mom is so proud of herself that she can do that now! A computer is still pretty intimidating to her, but she 's a trooper! There's not much Mom can't do if she sets her mind to it!!! Sometimes that's a problem!!! We have to gently and lovingly remind her from time to time that she's not a spring chicken any more! She laughs and totally ignores us! If any of us are stubborn, we certainly came by it honestly!!!!!

Even in his silence, Dad is still such an icon to all of us. "Everyone has their own special gift. In some, silence. The world has need of small perfection as well as great achievements." Certainly we miss his speaking, but his presence is respected and revered. When we all gather, the excitement level goes to max when Mom and Dad arrive...all the kids and grandkids hardly let them in the door before they are overwhelmed with kisses and hugs! Someone said, "Grandchildren are God's way of compensating us for growing old." Well, you'll never see Mom and Dad's faces brighter than when they are getting lovin' from their grandkids or great-grandkids! However, someone also said, " An hour with your grandchildren can make you feel young again. Anything longer than that, and you start to age quickly." I thought that was pretty funny and so TRUE!!!

Mom had her Christmas tree up! She has a beautiful artificial tree that she has moved to one of the buildings between seasons. She keeps the lights and garland on it and wraps it in plastic until the next year! Then, all she has to do is have someone move it to the house, hang the ornaments and plug it in! To me, a Christmas tree is a great spirit booster! The lights and the decorations just do something to warm up a room! Our family loves Christmas! We will all gather at Glenda's house outside Oak Hill on Christmas Day. There's always a lot of commotion, but it wouldn't be the same without it! ~ O come let us sing unto the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto Him ~ We'll have a big lunch and then spend most of the afternoon watching the kids open gifts and play with them! After all, Christmas is about Christ and children!

Christmas is my very favorite time of year! I love focusing on the birth of Christ as well as the Christmas parties and the hustle and bustle at the malls and stores. The season seems to give everyone an excuse to speak to a stranger, smile at the kids in their Christmas outfits waiting in line to see Santa and share God's love with everyone! I feel so privileged because I have a Christmassy name and I take full advantage of it! The day after Thanksgiving I become Sandi Claus!!! Sandi Crinkelmeyer already sounds pretty Christmassy to me, but it's so fun to be Sandi Claus!!! My favorite thing in the whole world is buying people gifts, or as I call them, "prises". Not prizes - 'prises! That all started with my oldest niece, Jennifer. When Jennifer was a toddler I didn't work on Fridays and I spent almost every Friday with her and Jean. Each time I came I brought Jennifer a surprise! However, she couldn't say that word, she said 'prise! She'd say, "Aunt Sandi, did you bring me a 'prise?!" To this day, Aunt Sandi loves to bring all the nieces and nephews and the great nieces and nephews 'prises!!! It's what makes me happy!!! Daddy used to tell Ollie that he felt sorry for him because I was going to give all our money away!!! Well, I can think of worse things to be known for!!!

"Christmas gift suggestions...

to your enemy, forgiveness,

To an opponent, tolerance,

To a friend, your heart,

To a customer, service,

To all , charity,

To every child, a good example.

To yourself, respect."

I'd like to add...To God, praise.

I pray that each of you has a very merry Christmas and a safe and blessed New Years! "Come freely, go safely, and leave something of the happiness you bring."

Twice is nice!!!

Ollie and I went to Mom and Dad's today to visit and get our dining room furniture that we were storing in one of their buildings. Since Robert and Austin have recently gotten their own place, I can move my office back upstairs and use the formal dining room actually as a dining room! I loved being downstairs with Ollie while he worked at his desk and I at mine, but I sure didn't like everyone seeing my messy desk! Life is about transition, right?!!! Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Nothing is secure but life, transition, the energizing spirit." Hmmm...after loading and unloading the truck, I sure don't feel very energized!!!!

The four of us went to the new Chinese/Sushi restaurant, Koy, just north of the bridge in Marble Falls for lunch. Yes, they have a full Chinese menu as well as Japanese sushi! It was really good and, for the four of us, our tab only came to $34.00 and that was soup, appetizer and an entrée for each of us !!! We all enjoyed our menu choices and I found out that they both like hot and sour soup and egg rolls! Now I can pick those things up for them and Mom can serve them for a quick lunch or a light dinner. She loves us to come bearing gifts of food!!!

Mom and Dad hadn't seen the picture of me hugging Dad at Thanksgiving. I loved that picture so much and had a 4 x 6 print made and took it to Dad! His reaction made me feel like a million bucks! I love my Mom and Dad immeasurably!!!

So, Mom and Dad were excited to have another visit this week! How I'd love to always see them at least every-other day! This evening I called to let Mom know we made it home safe and sound with our load and teased her saying they'd get tired of us if we continued to come so often and she exclaimed, "No, we love having you here!" And I know she means it...I know they do love having their kids and family members there, as well as friends and relatives! Mom and Dad...they are blessings from God in our lives!!! Thank you God! Amen!

Good Day!

Good morning! It's a glorious morning in Austin, despite the cold wind! The sun is blazing through the windows, reflecting on the golden and red leaves in the trees and showing off God's creation!

Jean and I had a great visit with Mom and Dad yesterday! Mom said that oooo friend chicken for lunch sure sounded good, so we stopped at a place in Marble Falls and picked up a feast of chicken, fried okra, coleslaw and rolls! Not the healthiest foods, but, my theory is that at their age they can eat anything they wish for!!!

Marge, the speech therapist, arrived a little early, so she and Dad started working together about 12:30. Sadly, this was the last time she will be able to come in a professional capacity. It is so obvious that she cares so strongly for Daddy and it showed in the respectful but humorous manner she worked with him. Mom, Jean and I provided the audience while Marge and Dad worked on his communicating machine. I am going to find something better to call it...I'll work on that! After about an hour Dad was obviously tired and pushed away from the table! We presented Marge with a thank you card that Mom and Dad signed as well as a Christmas ornament that said, "Angels come into our lives..." Sorry, I can't remember exactly what it said, but you get the gist of it! Dad was visibly sorry to hear that it was their last therapy session. She made tremendous strides in Dad's willingness to communicate with us. His improvement since she began working with him in May is outstanding. God bless her!

After Marge left Dad headed to his chair for a nap! However, Mom had other ideas!!! She insisted that he stay awake and visit with Jean and me! He had slept until 11:00 that morning, so she didn't think he needed a nap! We all went to the computer and got them caught up on their emails. They got a good chuckle at the picture of our twin granddaughters and their Mommy Neely and Daddy Carl in their Halloween costumes of the 3 Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf!!! They were also amazed at the email Betty Means sent them of the two women who make statues of horses out of driftwood! They're amazingly life-like!

The four of us then congregated in the living room and Dad finally got to relax in his chair! He did stay awake and listened to the conversation between Mom, Jean and me. She and I headed home about 3:30. We always feel so good about spending time with Mom and Dad. The days get long, especially for Dad, when there's nothing but quiet in the house. While many of us long for quiet days with not much to do, it can get old very quickly!

It's so hard to believe that today is December 1st and the Holiday Season is upon us! It's my favorite time of the year! In fact, on the day after Thanksgiving each year I become Sandi Claus!!! <:-) The spirit of happiness seems to fill the air and I see more smiles on people's faces! It seems like people put their prejudices and frustrations aside and relish in the joy of the birth of the Jesus!

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. ~Norman Vincent Peale

God bless us one and all! Amen!

Belated Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving, a little late, from all the Smith family! We are all thankful for you, the faithful followers of the blog, friends and family members who keep Mom and Dad in your thoughts and prayers!

The majority of the Smith clan were at Jean and Jimmie's ranch for Thanksgiving Day.

Personally and selfishly, I was happy that it was cold and windy so everyone wanted to stay in the house most of the day, rather than be spread out all over inside and out! Mom and Dad arrived full of smiles and happiness to share with all of us! We gathered in the kitchen shortly after their arrival for our prayer and our meal. Isn't especially spiritual for the whole family to pray together?! I just love that!

Jean and her sister-in-law La Rose made the turkey and dressing and it was outstanding! The rest of us provided the side dishes and desserts. If anyone went home hungry it was their own fault!!!

Dad bundled up in the middle of the afternoon and went out to Jimmie's shop to watch all the guys shoot pool and harass each other! He really loves that! He is using his hemi-walker much more lately and it has enabled him to be more active! Some days he's faster walking than others, but the important thing is that he is walking!!! Mom is great about suggesting he use the walker rather than the wheelchair! It sure makes it easier for her!

Jean and I are spending the day with Mom and Dad tomorrow. It will be the last day with Marge, the speech therapist. We are continuing to work with Dad on his communication machine. I asked him Thursday if he was using it at all and he said he wasn't. It's not something that is absolutely necessary for Dad and Mom to communicate, but it would be so beneficial if he would use it when he has visitors or family members there. We'll keep encouraging its use, of course, but it is something that requires practice. It's tough since we can't be there every day or even every-other day to work on it with him. We all do what we can...

I will look forward to blogging after tomorrow! I am thankful for each and every one of you!

"Blessed are You, loving Father, for all Your gifts to us. Blessed are Your for giving us family and friends to be with us in times of joy and sorrow, to help us in days of need, and to rejoice with us in moments of celebration...Father, we praise You for Your Son Jesus, who knew the happiness of family and friends, and in the love of Your Holy Spirit. Blessed are You forever and ever." Amen.

Here I am!

Well folks, all I can say is that time sure flies between postings these days! I know, I know, no excuses! I do apologize! Cousin Donnie thought something was wrong with the blog since the last posting was in October! Well, the blog is working fine, it's the one who's supposed to be doing the blogging that hasn't been doing her job!!!

Happily, we have all been doing a good job of keeping Mom and Dad company! One week Jean will go (and often Jimmie or Jennifer accompanies her), I'll go the next week, Glenda and Mollie usually go every-other Saturday and Danny goes every 2 weeks or so. Dad goes to the deer camp once a month for poker night to have steak dinner with the guys and play cards for a little while! We are all so grateful for our dear friend Leslie who makes sure Dad gets to go!

Recently Mom and Dad took a tour of some of the Painted Churches near Schulenburg. Jean and Jimmie picked them up and met up with six of Mom and Dad's close friends. Mom loved seeing the Churches. I am not sure that Dad enjoyed it as much as she did! Needless to say, they were worn out by the time they got home and took a couple days' rest to recuperate! Mom said it was well worth it! If you haven't toured the Churches, I highly recommend it! One of the sites you can get information about them is www.klru.org/painted churches/

Last Saturday Danny picked Dad up and took him out to the deer lease. They chose a deer stand that Dad could get in and out of easily and hunted together! They didn't shoot anything, but Dad got to sit there and watch the deer and enjoy being with Danny! Dad loved that and, no doubt, so did Danny!

My sweet friend Kim Wagner has gone with me to visit with Mom and Dad on at least two different occasions. She doesn't work on Wednesdays, so that makes a great day for us to catch up with each other on the ride from Austin to Marble Falls and then to visit with Mom and Dad! She and I have been best friends since we were juniors in high school! We all love her dearly AND she brings home-made lunch when she comes! Last time she even made a pecan pie!!! That put a great big ol' smile on Dad's face!!! Mom especially loves it because she doesn't have to cook or worry about what to do for at least lunch and another meal from the left-overs! Someone said, "It is never best friendship until it has gone through and survived some rough times." Well, let me tell you that Kim has seen me through and helped me survive a LOT of rough times!!! Of course, we have LOTS of great happy memories together!!! "A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure." ~ Sirach 6:14 ~ I am so very blessed to have great friends in my life, like Kim!

Coincidentally, the last time Kim and I were there, Donnie and Mary Vollette also came! They visit often, as do several church friends. Donnie and Mary picked up a coconut cream pie, Dad's favorite, from the Bluebonnet Cafe in Marble Falls on the way, so Dad let them come in!!!! Just kidding! We had plenty of sweets that day with the pecan pie and the coconut pie! Dad's mother, Grandma Pauly, made the best coconut pie you ever tasted! However, none of us had any problem eating the one from the Bluebonnet either! Kim's pecan pie was a close second to my Mom's pecan pie...and that's a HUGE compliment!!!

Please know that Mom and Dad truly enjoy your visits and it sure helps to make their week go by more quickly! Mom and Dad are a little slow getting their days started...Dad doesn't get out of bed until close to 10:00, so they eat a very late breakfast, a mid-afternoon lunch and a small night-time dinner. If they know you're coming, they will adjust their schedule accordingly! Luckily, they're flexible! They still love to eat lunch out and do that often!

Jean and I went to Mom and Dad's yesterday and spent a good part of the day. Dad's speech therapist Marge was there for well over her usual hour because we were all playing with Dad's new communicator! Yes, it finally arrived and it is really cool! The main thing is that we just have to get Mom and Dad comfortable with using it! It has all kinds of tabs and options to help Dad be able to be more social with visitors and family. Mom and Dad don't seem to have any trouble communicating with each other. However, when someone else is there, Dad obviously stays out of the conversation other than to laugh or respond with facial changes. This way Dad can push a "key" and actually ask the visitor a question like, "How's your golf game?" It is SO COOL! Marge is only able to continue speech therapy through the end of this month, so she is working diligently to train us in the use of the machine as well as other speech-related therapies.

The rep for the machine was with us as well and we had him program the machine with a page for poker night! Ollie and Danny are going to keep a pad of paper handy and write down things that they know Dad would say during the game (no cursing though!). In addition, we are all keeping a notebook of things that we think should be in the machine. It's supposed to be easy to program, so we will each enter new phrases, words, etc. as we go there to visit.

Mom and Dad were in their usual good spirits and loved having two of their kids there for the day! Time flew by much too quickly and we headed home about 4:30. It's funny because Jean was trying to be back to her house by 4:00 and we didn't even leave Mom and Dad's until after that! She and I agreed that it is so hard to leave once we get there! I count my blessings to have such admirable people as my parents!

Billy Graham said, " The family should be a closely knit group. The home should be a self-contained shelter of security; a kind of school where life's basic lessons are taught; and a kind of church where God is honored; a place where wholesome recreation and simple pleasures are enjoyed." I am so prayerfully grateful that I am one of the blessed ones whose family fits warm and snuggly into that category! TO GOD BE THE GLORY! Amen!

Remember me?!!!

Howdy family and friends! Can you believe how great Dad looks in these pictures?! Dad and our great friend Leslie bought this boat. Leslie modified it with a chair lift similar to the one that helps the handicapped person get upstairs. However, the dock at Horseshoe Bay was level with the entrance to the boat, so the Dad and the wheelchair were easily loaded! This is now designated the family fishing and fun boat!!! Yeehaw!!!

Mom, Dad, Jean, Jimmie, Lisa and Danny accompanied great friends to tour the Painted Churches on Wednesday of this week. Jean said they all had a great time, enjoyed the churches immensely and had a wonderful lunch together. Mom and Dad got home Wednesday evening and are probably spending today in their chairs. Dad, however, does have speech therapy today, but I'll bet the rest of the day is spent resting! Mother said they were both really tired! I hope to get some pictures from Jean to share with y'all!

Last Sunday Mom and Dad went to Mass, which is their current routine. The great news is that Dad used his hemi-walker to go to Mass and lunch afterwards!!! That's a huge accomplishment! It shows me that he is determined to continue making progress, despite maxing out on his physical therapy! Way to go Dad!!!

Ollie and I just returned from 7 days in New York. The highlights of our trip were visiting with friends who toured us through some of the western part of the state and then to Niagara Falls! That was absolutely a memorable spiritual experience for me! We then rented a car on Monday and spent a whole day antique shopping and driving to Cooperstown to visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday! Let me just put it to you this way...I am not sure Ollie's eyes were dry the entire day we were there!!! We were told that an "average" baseball fan could get through the museum in 3-4 hours. Well...it took us about 7!!! Ollie was raised on baseball in St Louis and visiting the Hall of Fame is something he has wanted to do all his life!!! I felt privileged to be there with him!!! We are so blessed to have been able to take this trip!

I'll go spend a day with Mom and Dad next week and have more to report then! God's blessings!

Finally, I'm back!!

Hello friends and family members!!! I am finally back from our big sale at Warrenton! Ollie and I got back Sunday night and were happy, but exhausted! Thank you God for a successful show!

I went to visit Mom and Dad today. I arrived simultaneously with the physical therapist. I was sad to learn that today was Dad's 15th, and last, home physical therapy treatment. Susan, the therapist, said that Medicare requires specific progress and, if he is not making it, then they think that he can do "maintenance" on his own. Truthfully, he is able to do the exercises without her supervision. The problem is that he is pretty stubborn about doing them! Mom said that he does walk around with his hemi-walker, but he usually won't exercise at the handrail or lift the little weights to strengthen his arm when she suggests that. I believe he will do the exercises with us kids when we visit, so we are determined to take turns so that someone is there a couple of times a week, if possible.

Dad's right shoulder has been hurting. Due to the effects of the stroke, the arm has separated from the shoulder in the socket. This is a common issue with stroke victims. Dad wears a special splint when he is up and supports it with a pillow when he is in a chair or in bed. The therapist said that people who have this issue from a stroke either have no feeling at all in the affected limbs or they have pain. Sadly, Dad has pain. It doesn't seem to be constant, and it mostly hurts after it has been exercised. Mom said that she has been trying to get Daddy to let her make an appointment with an orthopedist. I don't think that's a bad idea, especially because I don't think that shoulder has ever been x-rayed. I'll talk to Mom about making that appointment.

Speaking of appointments, Mom told Dad last night that he had a dental appointment scheduled for today at 12:50 to have his teeth cleaned. She said he started blurting out all kinds of negative "words" of disapproval! She laughed and said to him, "You're cursing aren't you?!" Mom deserves so much praise for retaining her sense of humor!!! Maybe it's a good thing that she couldn't understand what he was saying!!! Rev. Billy Graham said, "A keen sense of humor helps us to overlook the unbecoming, understand the unconventional, tolerate the unpleasant, overcome the unexpected and outlast the unbearable." Mother is the epitome of that!

Despite Dad's grumblings, we did go to his dental appointment!!! You'd think that, after 64 years, he'd have learned not to argue with her!!!

After the appointment we went to lunch. Mom was headed towards a restaurant called the River City Grill, but when she got to a stop sign where she needed to turn right, Dad made it very clear that he wanted her to turn left. We had been talking about Janie's Mexican Food restaurant and turning left would take us there! So...we had a nice Mexican food lunch!!! Dad reads the menu and points to what he wants to eat. Today it was Steak Ranchero!

I headed back to Austin once we got back to the house! It was already after 3:00 by that time!The day sure does fly by when we're visiting! One of their favorite daily activities is to sit in their comfy living room chairs and watch "The Virginian" on the western channel on TV. We don't talk during that show and it was about to come on, so it was a good time for me leave!

Oh...good news...the communication machine that was ordered weeks ago came via UPS today! Marge, the speech therapist, is scheduled to be at Mom and Dad's tomorrow, so I am hopeful she can start setting it up immediately! Dad isn't very optimistic about it, but I have high hopes that it will be user-friendly and help him "talk" to Mom and all of us! Prayers please!!!

Ollie and I are taking a little vacation next week, October 14 - 20, and going to New York to visit some dear friends of ours who lived across the street from us for about 9 years and deserted us to live where it's not so hot! They live outside Buffalo in a little Amish village called Orchard Park. We plan to go into Canada from there as well as see what should be the 8th modern wonder of the world, Niagara Falls! After 3 or 4 days with our good friends, we will rent a car and drive to Cooperstown NY. Ollie is a HUGE baseball fan (he grew up in St Louis MO, so guess who's his favorite team?!), so "we" are thrilled that "we" get to spend a WHOLE DAY in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown! We'd better take a bunch of tissues with us because my ol' softie of a husband will definitely shed a few tears that day!! If he had a bucket list, visiting the Baseball Hall of Fame would probably be Numero Uno!!! I'm sure it will be wonderful...I'll be happy just watching him enjoy it!

Thank you all for your patience in waiting for this new blog posting! I am not sure how much I'll post between now and when we depart for NY, but you are all always in my heart and in my prayers! "Love is not written on paper, for paper can be erased. Nor is it etched on stone, for stone can be broken. But it is inscribed on a heart and there it shall remain forever." Amen.