Happy Birthday Jesus!

Hello all! I pray that your Christmas was as wonderful as ours! Blessings abound!!! We all gathered Sunday at Glenda's house here in Austin, all 22 of us. The only ones missing were Ollie's daughter, Neely, her husband, Carl, and our twin granddaughters, Livi and Madi. They had come the prior weekend and celebrated a little early with us.

Bless Mom's heart; any time she and Dad go anywhere, she helps him get shaved and dressed and then has to get herself ready. They both were dressed to the nines and walked in the door all smiles! Mom and Dad were decked out in their Christmas-sy red sweaters. Not to mention that Dad had on his Stetson hat when they arrived! He hadn't worn that in a long time! He also had on his western dress-pants and one of his prized belt buckles that he'd won when he was team roping! Jennifer's husband, David, and their son, Bradley, are team ropers, so Dad dons that belt pretty proudly ! Mom was glowing with beauty and Dad was his handsome self! They both looked great!!! As soon as I get everyone to email their pictures, I will post some!

As soon as Mom and Dad arrived and got kisses and hugs from everyone, we congregated in the dining room, said our prayer together as a family and ate.

Dear Lord in Heaven, help us all to remember that it is the birth of Your Son Jesus Christ that we are celebrating today.

We Sing praise to You for the loving unity of this family. We hold dear in our hearts our loved ones in Heaven and on Earth who are not with us today.

Bless those who are not able to be with their families, those who are alone and lonely, those who do not have enough to eat or a warm, safe place to call home.

We are so grateful to You for all our many blessings, our homes, our health, and our ability to work and support our families. Thank You for this food that was so lovingly prepared for this celebration.

Bless us oh Lord, and these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty, through Christ, our Lord. Amen

Shortly after eating we gathered in the living room. Several years ago we started the tradition of singing Christmas carols together before giving out gifts. Austin told everyone the reason we celebrate Christmas is because it's Jesus' birthday. We asked him why we got gifts instead of Jesus and he replied without hesitation, "Because it's Christmas!" Okay, that was a pretty good answer for a 5 year old! I'm just proud that he knows the reason for the season!! I need to video him telling the story! It's precious!

Handing out gifts takes us a while. Jean, Glenda, Danny and I take turns handing out the presents for each of the great-nieces and nephews. We hand them out one by one and watch each child open their present. That way the child knows whom it's from and we all get to see their joy in opening it! Like I said, the who process takes us a while, but we feel like it's worth it!

Other than during the prayer and opening of gifts, Christmas Day is very casual and without agenda. We visit a lot, laugh a lot, play a lot and eat a lot! How could we be any more blessed than that?!

I decided that Christmas is a lot like a wedding...you plan for it for months and it's over in a matter of minutes. However, the more I thought about that, the more I disagreed with it. In my heart I believe that most of us keep the meaning of Christmas in our hearts all year long! It is our challenge to spread joy and cheer to others all year! Most importantly, we should be spreading God's word throughout the year!

I still find it hard to believe we are saying good-bye to 2011! I've been told all my life that, the older you get, the faster time flies! I am finding that to be so true!!! From our family to yours, may your New Year's celebration be happy and safe! I pray for peace, health and happiness for all of you!

"I am leaving you with a gift--peace of mind and heart! And the peace I give isn't fragile like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid."

John 14:27

All is well!

Hello all! I was at Mom and Dad's last Wednesday and this past Tuesday. Dad is back to "normal" since his stint in the hospital and Mom is back to her routine! Dead is back on his coumadin and aspirin, which gives us some comfort. We all held our breaths when he had to get off his blood thinners when he was in the hospital. Praise God that he didn't have any negative results from his short break off those meds.

Last week on Wednesday, Mom and Dad were both tired because Dad had been up off and on during the night. This week, they were much more rested and were in great spirits! I had made a green chile verde chicken tortilla casserole that Dad and Mom both really enjoyed! I strive to find new and different things to cook for them that I think they will like. Dad's tastes have changed a lot since his stroke, and he doesn't mind showing it when there's something he doesn't like! It makes me feel so good when he oo's and ah's over something I fix for them!

Danny's daughter Nicole had posted a picture of her daughter Mia's dance class on facebook, so I showed that to Mom and Dad. They really got a kick out of it...Mia's a little character and full of personality!! We then sat at Dad's computer and watched a slide show of all the pictures he has saved. Often he pointed to particular people and made sounds. His biggest reaction was when the picture came up of him and Uncle Roy headed out in the fishing boat. That was the last time they got to go out and have one on one time together. It is a precious memory to Dad.

Jean went out there today and rode along with them to Dad's blood test (the doctors monitor his blood thinners monthly), lunch at the Chinese restaurant, Wal-Mart, etc. It wasn't the best weather to be out in, but it was still good for them to get out of the house! I'll bet Jean drove!!! Mom is still a good driver, but she and Jean have a friendly power struggle when it comes to who does the driving!

All of our family is preparing for our get-together at Glenda's house on Christmas Day! We love being together and having heavenly chaos! I don't know if I will get to post before then, so I pray that you and all your loved ones have a very safe, healthy and merry Christmas!

Luke 2:13-14
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those whom He is pleased."

Hallelujah!!

It truly was a Happy Thanksgiving!

Our family had so much to be thankful on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 2011 (as we do every single day, of course!).

I explained to the doctor on Wednesday that, if at all possible, it was vitally important to have Mom and Dad present when our family gathers. There is no measure of the love and respect we all share, and it starts with the two of them! When I told him that, it was obvious that he understood and respected our wishes. He followed through with his commitment to see Dad at the beginning of his rounds Thursday morning and discharged him in time to have lunch with our family! That, in itself, was amazing! We've been so impressed with this hospital and its staff! The paperwork for the discharge was completed, Mom was packed and a wheelchair was already in the room when Danny and Lisa got there around 10:30. Mom and Dad followed Danny and Lisa and arrived at Jean and Jimmie's house about 11:45! Everyone was overjoyed in greeting them!

Mom and Dad were all smiles and their spirits were high! Dad still looked a little pale, but he did lose a lot of blood during this ordeal. It will take his body a little while to recuperate. We snacked until about 1:30,awaiting Whitney and Austin arrival. Austin had been with his Daddy for a few days until then. We gathered in the kitchen, said our family prayer and dug in to delicious turkey and dressing, so loving prepared by Jean and LaRose, and all the other wonderful foods that the rest of us added to the feast.

We were so fortunate to have a gorgeous day and most of us spent a good portion of it sitting out on the porch and visiting. Once Dad had a full stomach, he took a great nap and then joined us on the porch also!

It was a very laid-back day, full of love and thankfulness and togetherness! Mom and Dad headed home about 4:30. Dad was looking forward to getting in his recliner! Mom told me later that he let out a great big "Ah" when he sat in it! He slept until about 11:00 Friday morning too! There's nothing quite like being in your own bed!

We're all letting them have a nice, quiet weekend, but are checking on them often. Mom had plenty of food in the freezer that only had to be thawed and heated, so she won't have to do any major cooking and they won't have to go out unless that's what they choose to do. I'll bet they won't want to leave the house for a few days! Can't say that I blame them!!

It is with grateful heart that I know you will continue to keep Mom and Dad in your prayers. Know that you are also in mine!

Oh Lord, You are the only source of health and healing, the spirit of calm and the central peace of this universe. Grant to Mildred and Harvey Smith health and strength and peace, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

In sickness and in health...unconditional love!

Bad news; Good news

It seems there is never a dull moment with the Smith family lately. As I told you in my last posting, Danny went to stay with Mom and Dad Sunday and I headed home. Just before I left, Mom called Danny and me into their bathroom and showed us that Dad had passed a good bit of blood. She was obviously concerned, but we all decided not to panic but keep a close eye on him. Around 1:10 a.m. Dad woke Mom up and had another "episode" with blood in the toilet (hope this is not too much information!). Mom tried to get Dad to let her call 911 then, but he vehemently refused. The bad news...Monday morning Dad woke with blood in the bed and then conceded to allow Mom to call an ambulance. It was such a blessing that Danny was there to comfort Mom and be an extra set of hands in getting Dad cleaned up and giving Mom time to get dressed. Danny and Mom followed the ambulance to Burnet's Seton Hospital. As soon as I heard that they were taking him to the hospital, I got dressed and drove to Burnet. Dad was in one of the ER rooms when I arrived. The Burnet Hospital does not have a gastroenterologist on staff, so they had to transfer Dad to Seton Williamson in Round Rock. They could not take him to an Austin Seton because they have to transfer to the nearest facility in the Seton family. Danny followed the ambulance to Round Rock and got Dad admitted and Mom and I went back to Marble Falls in my car.

Mom was scheduled at 2:00 for her follow-up appointment with her eye surgeon in Marble Falls. Gratefully, her eye was healing remarkably well and the doctor told her to go back to her normal activities and just finish out the 3 different drops she was using in her eye. Mom was giddy that she didn't have to be worry about stooping and bending any more! She'll need a new prescription for her glasses in about a month, but that's about it! She was so relieved to have that behind her! As soon as we left the eye doctor's office, we went back to their house, packed a suitcase for her, and she followed me in her car to the Round Rock Seton Hospital. I didn't think she would need her car, but I knew there was no point in arguing with her about it!!

We arrived at RR Seton about 5:00. Dad was settled in a room and was already hooked up to IV fluids. That night we were visited by an Internal Medicine specialist. He had already discontinued Dad's Coumadin and Aspirin (both are blood thinners) and ordered Dad to receive plasma so that the effects of the Coumadin would move out of his bloodstream quicker. In doing so, hopefully slowing down and, better yet, stopping the bleeding. At this point, Dad had not eaten since Sunday evening about 6:00. The doctor felt badly, but told Dad that he still could not have anything to eat or drink, but that he could have ice chips. That did not appease my Daddy one bit, but he didn't complain too loudly. But, oh those looks he gave us and the doctor!

Danny headed home about 4:00. Glenda came to see Dad and Mom as soon as she finished work. We are now familiar with the gathering of the troops! I would like to interject that I am self-employed, while Jean works part-time and Glenda and Danny work full-time. So, I am more available to help with Mom and Dad than the rest. Since we has all been at the hospital, Jean decided to wait until Tuesday to visit. She was also in the midst of getting ready for our whole family to converge at her house for Thanksgiving Day! Around 8:00, I decided to head for home. I had no doubt that Mom would want to spend the night at the hospital. There was no sense in trying to talk her out of it, and I really didn't even try. She would not sleep well anywhere else and she is happiest being with him. Dad did make a futile attempt to get her to go home with me, but she wouldn't consider it.

They had an okay night, sleeping a couple of hours at a time as the nurses checked Dad's vital signs and started the plasma. He received two rounds of plasma during the night. By Tuesday morning the bleeding had stopped, praise God. I arrived early so that I could hear what the doctor had to say when he made his morning rounds. Mom has just gotten up and I witnessed the intimacy of her loving care of Dad. Before she did anything for herself, she got a warm wash cloth and ever so gently and lovingly washed and then dried Dad's face, hands and feet. It wasn't a chore to Mom...it was as if it was a privilege. I believe, to her, it was. I cannot describe how priceless it was to see this. The doctor came in mid-morning and was pleased that the bleeding had stopped and said that the gastroenterologist was going to do a colonoscopy on Wednesday to see if they could determine the origin of the bleeding. He did at least allow Dad to have clear liquids until it was time to do the colonoscopy prep.
Around noon, Mom and I left to get some lunch and, when we got back, Jean and Danny were both there! By mid-afternoon, we all left so that Mom and Dad would both nap. Also, we didn't need to be there while Dad did his prep.

The prep kept Mom, Dad and the nurses busy until about midnight. Needless to say, they didn't have a good nice's rest Tuesday night either. On Wednesday, since no one could tell us what time they would do the test, I arrived at the hospital at 7:45 because I was hoping ask the doctor some questions prior to the test. I also wanted to be sure someone was with Mom while Dad had the colonoscopy and then hear what the doctor had to say afterwards. It's a good thing I got there early because they came to get Dad right at 8:00! Mom hadn't been up but a few minutes when the nurse alerted her that they were on their way up to get Daddy! Bless her heart, she dressed in record time!

The staff in the GI department did a great job of explaining the procedure to us. First they did an endoscopy (placed a probe down Dad's throat and looked at his stomach to check for bleeding ulcers). Then, they did the colonoscopy. The test took about 40 minutes. The doctor found no lesions in Dad's stomach, but did find one polyp in his colon that he believed was the origin of the bleeding. He said that, every time a stool passed by the polyp (sorry, again, too much information?!), that it would get irritated and bleed. It happened for a long enough period of time that it finally bled a lot. He biopsied the polyp and clipped it off. That darn polyp won't cause any more trouble...that's the good news!!! It will take 3-5 days to get back the results of the biopsy. Once he got back to his hospital room, Dad received one last unit of plasma and the doctor signed orders allowing him to have a soft diet. As soon as Dad was totally awake from the sedation, we ordered just about one of each item on the soft foods menu! The doctors also gave Dad the good news that, as long as his blood count stays good, he would be discharged tomorrow! That means that our family will be blessed to have both him and Mom at our Thanksgiving Day family prayer and meal! I made a plea to the doctor to come in early tomorrow and get the discharge papers done so that Mom and Dad would be ready to leave the hospital by 10:30. He said Dad would be the first patient he checked when he started rounds in the morning! HOORAY!!!

Mom and I had a late lunch and I decided to leave the hospital around 4:00 so they could have a nice, quiet evening. I'm betting that they go to bed pretty early tonight! Since Mom is not familiar with the area around Seton Williamson, Danny and Lisa are going to go by there in the morning so that Mom and Dad can follow them to Jean and Jimmies for our family's gathering. I can well imagine that they will eat lunch with all of us, visit a little while and head home to their comfy chairs! Their bed is sure going to feel good to them tomorrow night also! I won't go back out there until one day next week. I think they'll relish having the house to themselves and for their lives to get back to "normal"!

We have already had so many blessings for which to sing praises to God, and now, we have even more! Mom's eye is healing beautifully and Dad is back to status quo!

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah! He has blessed us in the Messiah with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm... (AMEN!!!)
Ephesians 1:3

From our family to yours,
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

There's No Place Like Home!

"I didn't grow up in this house. In fact, my parents have only lived here about 5 years. Then, why is it that, wherever my parents live feels like home?! Sure, I have my own home, and it feels like home, my home, But, when I spend the night at my parents' house, I feel all safe and warm, like home?! I love this. I love being in the house with my Mom and Dad! I am a big Momma's baby, and I'm proud of it!! That part of me will never grow up! I'm okay with that!!"

I posted this on my facebook page last night. I was laying on the couch at Mom and Dad's and was so contented. Our cousin, Ollie Siegeler, responded to my post, "Sandi, it isn't the house , it is mom and dad that make a house HOME. Enjoy it while u can because life is short and after they are gone, u will always miss the security parents give." I agree with her 100%!! I intend to continue spending as much time with them as I can!

Mom is doing great! She is even behaving herself and asking for help with lifting things or reaching for things that would require her to stoop or bend! That's a stretch for her, but she's doing well with it! No doubt, she is ready to have things back to normal and have the house to herself and Dad! They are so wonderful together and love to live their lives according to their own rules! I absolutely do not fault them for that! After all, when you spend 65.5 years together, you do get into your own routine and like to do things your way!!

Jean left Mom and Dad's Saturday and Glenda was there until about 4:30. I had arrived at 3:30 and spent the night. Danny came today, Sunday, about noon, and we all went into Marble falls and had lunch at the Ricer City Grill. It's one of Mom and Dad's favorite restaurants.

Dad didn't have a very restful night, so we went straight home after lunch and he went immediately into nap-mode! In fact, I think everyone but me went into nap-mode! I loaded up and headed home!

Mom goes back to the eye doctor tomorrow in Marble Falls for a follow-up. I am certain that she is healing well and the doctor will tell her to keep doing her drops and taking it easy for a few more days. I will, however, report back to you with the official news!

Thank you, sweet Lord, for my parents, my siblings, our loving family and our extended family and friends! We do need each other in so many ways! Erma Bombeck said, "The family... We were a strange little band of characters trudging through life sharing diseases and toothpaste, coveting one another's desserts, hiding shampoo, borrowing money, locking each other out of our rooms, inflicting pain and kissing to heal it in the same instant, loving, laughing, defending, and trying to figure out the common thread that bound us all together."
It seems so simple to me...no mystery whatsoever...the common thread that binds our family together is our faith in God and our respect and love for each other. Amen!

Mom and I arrived at the doctor's office Thursday right at 11:30 for her first surgery follow-up. The technician had Mom do an eye-chart test and she did very well. The doctor came in and checked Mom's lens and it was intact. So, all is well! Mom and I left the doctor's office and had lunch at one of the places we used to go when I was a kid - The Frisco on Burnet Rd. The food was great and we even splurged and split a piece of their "famous"chocolate icebox pie! We went from there back to Mom and Dad's house. It was so priceless...when we got home, Jerry had wheeled Dad out to the garage before Mom had even gotten out of the car! Dad was grinning so big and was so, so happy to have Mom back home! Once we all got in the house, Dad kept looking at Mom so lovingly! She asked him if he missed her and he shook his head real big! She told me she thought he had been worried about her and, again, he shook his head real big! It was so sweet!

From that moment on, any time Mom tried to get out of her chair, Dad would say, "Ah, ah" at her because he didn't want her to do anything but relax! We were pretty persistent about keeping her in her chair and she did have a nice nap!

Jean came to Mom and Dad's Thursday evening in time to serve us home-made chicken and dumplings for an early supper! They were the perfect comfort food for Mom. and Jean, Dad and I enjoyed them also! That night we watched television and found a program that absolutely had the four of us cracking up laughing! It was so much fun!

Jean and I helped get Dad ready for bed, brushed his teeth and helped to lift his legs to get him in bed. We had cackled laughing the whole time because Mom absolutely could not keep from telling us how to do everything. She started it by getting tickled at herself, and it ended up with all four us laughing so hard our stomachs were hurting! It was such a great night together!

We all had a quiet night. Mom woke up this morning feeling well rested and in no pain or discomfort whatsoever! She said her vision was clear and she could see very well out of her new lens! She was such a good sport and headed from the bed to her chair in the living room! Dad got up earlier than usual, so we all had breakfast together! Jerry came at 10:00 and shaved Dad and helped with a few things around the house. Mom had been wanting to rearrange her living room a little bit, so Jean, Jerry and I told her to take advantage of us while we were all there! We also turned her mattress and put on her new dust ruffle. It felt so good to be able to do those things for her and see her pleasure in the results! Jean and I teamed up and cooked them pork chops, macaroni and cheese, green beans and biscuits and gravy for lunch! Dad's eyes lit up when he came to the table! I haven't seen him eat like that in a while!! Granted, it wasn't the healthiest meal we could have cooked, but we decided this week was about comfort foods!!!

I left about 2:00 and Jean is staying until tomorrow morning when Glenda will arrive and take over. I'll go back and spend Saturday night and then Danny is coming Sunday at noon and will stay with them until Monday morning. We arranged for Jerry to come Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings to shave Dad and do housekeeping chores for Mom. Whitney is scheduled to spend Monday night, Glenda on Tuesday night and Ollie and I on Wednesday night. Ollie will shave Dad Thanksgiving morning and, after breakfast, we'll all head to Jean and Jimmie's house for our traditional blessing of Thanksgiving with our whole family!

Mom's next eye doctor's appointment is Monday at 2:00. I will post afterwards and give you an updated report!

Have a fabulous weekend!

Love, Sandi