Home Again! Celebrations and Life!

Wednesday we left the country by the same road we arrived on.....

it was time to go home.

It's only a 2 hour drive - but longer for us since Louis Dean drives like a little old man and I have to stop at least twice - and I'm glad the country slowly gives way to the city or we would be in a bigger shock than we are. We arrived on the tail end of traffic and home by 6:30 after we stopped at Walgreens for some of our prescriptions. By 8:00 we were in bed. Totally exhausted. Not sure why since we didn't do anything but close up the camper and come home. Well, I know why Louis Dean was worn out! All that happy about accomplishing his goal used up some emotional energy and he had already used up his physical energy. It was well after 10:00 when we got up Thursday morning.

After coffee and our Bible reading, I filled our medicine boxes - 4 weeks of meds for each of us with morning and night meds for both of us.

It requires intense concentration!

I was relieved to get that done in time for me to get my hair cut before we headed over to Dallas to help celebrate the quads' sixth birthday.

My hairdresser makes my hair look so much better than it ever does when I do it!

I felt so much better!!!

Picked Louis Dean up and off we went!

We didn't want to get stuck in 5:00 traffic - I do not like traffic! - so we arrived early in Quadville. The kids all ran out to meet us screaming, and Kailey cried out,  "Granddad! My GRANDdad!!!"

Another one said, "We haven't seen you in so long and now we have!"

I had taken the gifts Kimmy and June had left for me to bring (They checked on our house, mail and watered the back yard for us while we were in the country.)

The kids were so excited and we made video messages to send them before we all settled down and 

  watched America's Got Talent.

It was a really good program. We don't usually watch it and I don't know why we don't.

My cousin noted on Facebook:

Does anyone else find it ironic that there are no American judges on America's Got Talent?

Really?? How did that happen?

Kailey stuck to Granddad like glue. 

That bond they have never seems to change.

Each one of the four took turns sitting next to me and I was so happy to just look at them!

Reminded me of an old saying I remember elderly people saying when I was young......

"I was so hungry to see you with my eyes!"

Then we all loaded up and we followed them to Texas Roadhouse for the Big Birthday Dinner!

Aunt Summer had arrived earlier with balloons - which was perfect because just as we were coming in the door, Kailey said, "We should have got some balloons!"

Aunt Summer was ahead of her!!

It was a perfectly wonderful evening!

We were a party of 11 with both sets of grandparents, 4 birthday kids, parents and Aunt Summer!

She is such a cool aunt! Look at the darling Happy Birthday tiaras she got!

We laughed. We talked. We smiled.

We watched the kid open a few gifts - which means a LOT of presents when you times it by 4!

Everyone had a great time!!

Crazy faces!!

My sweet, wonderful daughters!

Aunt Summer wouldn't have missed this for the world even though you can't tell by the smile on her face that she was in a good amount of pain. She IS getting better, though. At least she is able to suck it up and accomplish a good bit even though it requires her to take to her bed and medicate and rest until she can regroup and go again. She has to ration out how and where she spends her precious energy. The less you have, the more precious it is. It's the same thing with time. We have to spend it like gold.

Louis Dean is wearing Harrison's Happy Birthday hat and the girls thought that was the funniest thing ever!

It was truly a time of celebration and we all enjoyed every single minute of it!

We came home and went straight outside to water.....Louis Dean in the front yard and I in the back.

Then we fell into bed exhausted - again.

Today (Friday) was a Fort Worth day!

I took a box of snacks to refill Mother and Lillian's baskets and Louis Dean brought his guitar to play for them. Plus we stopped for milkshakes on the way.

Mother looked really good!

The first thing I noticed was she had lipstick on!

That's always a good sign.

Louis Dean played a lot of music!

When I left to get something, the nurses and aids were in the hall listening!

Mother enjoyed it even though the batteries had died in her hearing aids.

She finally took them off and was surprised she could actually hear better since she didn't have her ears covered up!

Our Sweet Lillian seemed to enjoy the music, too.

He played love songs and tear jerkers and one funny song called 'The Philadelphia Lawyer.'

This is his favorite all time song.......

A Daisy a Day.

I love that he loves his music so much.

In a world such as we live in - it does my heart good to see how tender Louis Dean's heart is that he tears up over sweet love songs.

Lillian teared up, too.

It was a great visit - even if it was really HOT in their room and we learned that the AC was turned off. It felt better once it was turned on......

We high tailed it out of Fort Worth barely ahead of the traffic and got back to Irving.

I had to make one stop at Aldi's before we arrived at Reaoma's nursing home.

Once again, Louis Dean sang his set of music.

He asked me on the way over if I thought she would like the songs he had picked.

I told him that she would but that she wasn't able to express it.

That wasn't important to him - just that she would like it.

What lady wouldn't like a handsome man playing his guitar and singing to you?

She looks like she's asleep but she wasn't.

At least not until the very end.

When we first arrived, I was hot and sweaty!

There was no one at the reception desk to buzz visitors in and the doors were locked to prevent the patients from walking out and wandering off. It took 5 buzzings on the intercom and over half an hour before someone came from the next building over to put the code in.

One little lady sitting inside was fretting and fussing because she couldn't get the door open to let us in. Anyway, that's why I was so hot - it was 100 degrees today! So when I got on my knees and put my arms around Reaoma - I laughed out loud! There she was in a flannel jacket over a heavy t-shirt! Socks on her feet - I had kicked my shoes off! I poked fun at her being an Eskimo and was rewarded with a loud genuine laugh from her. What a gift that laugh was!

Pam (her daughter) had put a couple of photos on the fridge.

Louis Dean said Reaoma looks so much like his beloved Ellen in this one.

Reaoma loved life and was so much fun to be around. She was interested in so many things. She did so many things. She read voraciously. She never dreamt she would get this brain condition and not be able to communicate. But today she laughed. 

The other photo is of Doug.....Reaoma's husband.

She cared for him day and night for 2 years until he passed away in April 2012.

I will always remember it was the day Amber went to the hospital to stay until the babies were born...52 days.

I confess it is painful for me to see Reaoma suffer.

But it would be more painful to not be there to put my arms around her and let her know I love her.

I have been there when she cried.....but I was there tonight when she laughed.

That was worth it all......