Saturday, June 22, 2019

Cousins Gathering and Update on Lillian! Saturday in Fort Worth.....

Today has been all about family and a friend who is like family!
Last  night I fixed a potato salad and baked a Crack Cake in preparation for our quarterly Cousins Gathering.


Sister Deanie and Charlie hosted the party this afternoon.
Louis Dean and I were the last to arrive but we were only about 20 minutes late!
I'm getting better! See how GOOD Deanie looks!
This was the first entertaining she has done since they moved into this house nearly 5 years ago.
It was a great party!! How could it not be???


Here's Louis Dean, Cousin Joyce and Cousin Anthony.
Mother was Joyce and Anthony's aunt.
See Rayne in the foreground??


Her birthday was the 9th of June and I was late getting her birthday gift to her!

There were 21 people all gathered together to celebrate just being together!


Charlie made the call to prayer and we joined hands in a big circle.


And then we waited......and I took a few photos.....
Who were we waiting for? Nita and Pam were off in another part of the house visiting!


Everyone was glad to see Sabrina!!!
I don't get to see her often so I will treasure this selfie.


Louis Dean and our beloved Pam!
Have I mentioned how everyone loves Pam???


Brother Lonnie and his beloved bride, Michele.


We had such a spread of food! 
Everyone brought something and Deanie and Charlie had two pans full of ribs, sausage, chopped and sliced beef!

I was off my game tonight and did not take nearly enough pictures!


Deanie took this one of Rayne and Rickie.
Rickie is Pam's grandson. These are two amazing kids right here!

We had so much fun!
It was like musical chairs all afternoon.
We swarmed from one room to another as we all tried to spend some time visiting with each other.
I loved hearing the sounds of laughter and conversation coming from several rooms and mingling all together into a beautiful piece of music. 


Charlie has such a sense of humor!
When we all go out to eat together - Charlie is amazed at the amount of salt I use.
The first time I salted chips at a Mexican restaurant - he stared with wide eyes and open mouth.
Seriously, I have used a lot of salt all my life. Literally! My mother used to say, "Linda, you are going to dry up and blow away with all the salt you eat!"  So far I haven't! And just for the record - my sodium level at every physical I have ever had is and has always been normal!!
I have no idea why I crave salt the way I do - but I do!

I expressed concern about this note on their pantry at my last visit here at their home.....


So he added my name to it!!!
I do so love Charlie!!!
What a great sense of humor!


Our entire family loves Charlie!
And I was so excited to see Deanie - who has had some serious health issues over the last - what?? maybe 8-10 years? Tonight I saw proof that my sister is BACK!!
My first  clue?


When I went in to what was formerly Mother's bathroom!
It was decorated!!!!
Summer and I were both impressed and excited!
I may have hooped and hollered and caused other family members to come in and check to see what was going on!


Deanie has such class and worked in Neiman's for several years.
She collects with such creativity.
Hanging a basket and pinning vintage broaches on the flat side and using the front for display?
And such unique things - see the set of lips and the two little frogs?
****Note the two little frogs in their wedding announcement****


Deanie has long collected perfume bottles and party purses.....


See why I say she is BACK???


She is so full of personality and charm and a splash of eclecticism!


It shows in her flare for decorating!


THIS is my favorite!!!
Do you remember???
I do!


I love her home and all the cute things she has and they all have a story behind them!


It was a great time of fun, food and fellowship as we celebrated FAMILY!

We left there and stopped at Walmart to do a bit of shopping for Lillian for the coming week.
I picked up  milk, cereal, and such before we went over to Trail Lake Nursing Home to visit with her.

I admit to being upset about the audio recording of every word we say in the room going to the guardian of the sweet roommate, Ruth. I get the video recording of Ruth's side of the room. No problem with that. But audio of every word in that room is unacceptable.
Long story short - Lillian was moved immediately to a private room reserved for 'emergencies.'
It just so happened to be the room Mother was in when she died. It was a refuge for Lillian tonight.
She will only be there for a week or so before she is moved to a new room.


Sister Nita came over to help us get her moved and settled in.
Nita visits Lillian every Sunday bringing her a chocolate malt from Braum's.
She looks forward to this every week!!

Bottom line - Lillian will have a week of peace and quiet where she can watch movies and news and sleep with the light off during the night.

We came home before dark because we did not want to do a repeat of what happened Monday night!!
I was pretty riled up this evening and did not do anything to be ashamed of.
You can get upset without being mean and I did my best to do that.
Relationships are important and the staff knew my heart.....and supported me in my support of Lillian.

And tomorrow Louis Dean and I are going to Galveston to celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary!
I will check in from the island!!!

16 comments:

  1. hope you are out watching the sunrise at the beach while I read your post. it has been 2 years since our cousin reunion. we need to have another one but none of us has a place big enough. Jamie moved out of the house we met in. I love the red dress on the wall and the photo under it of the stiletto black shoe is my favorite of her décor... she does have a knack for decorating. love you and Summer in the bathroom shot... great post, wonderful family

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  2. What a great family gathering you all had. So nice to see everyone and all the happy faces. Your Lilian is so blessed to have friends like you and your sister. It really makes a difference in nursing home situations. It'll be like a mini vacation for her to have a room of her own for a week. After your busy day, hope you get to rest and relax awhile today. Happy Sunday!

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  3. Happy Anniversary to the two of you! I know you'll have fun! Sweet hugs, Diane

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  4. Happy Anniversary and I am so thankful that Lillian has you as her voice and friend!

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  5. Your family is good about scheduling family gatherings and they always turn out good. Glad you are there for Lillian and that she got moved, you would think the staff would pay more attention to these things. Happy Anniversary!

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  6. Happiest of anniversaries, you two love birds. May nothing but sunshine & beauty surround you on this special occasion & always.

    I'm so glad Lillian has you folks to speak for her. God bless you for intervening on her behalf.

    I think each of us have a unique body in many ways. Basically they're the same but in many ways they're not. I think your body is telling you that it needs the mineral of salt in a bigger proportion than most people... and if it didn't and you added all that salt to your diet anyway, you would be sick from it. Since you're not, then all is well. :-)

    A "cousinly" get-together.... how wonderful is that!!

    Love you, Andrea xoxo

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  7. Your family reunion sounds delightful. Staying in touch and laughing and telling tales is the very best.
    What a spread you ate...made me hungry just looking at it.
    The eclectic decor is wonderful..I love the unique basket and high heel on the wall. It's so clever.
    God sure provided Lillian with her own special guardian angel...I'm so glad she is out of that room with "Big Brother" watching her all the time. Prayers for her next room and room mate...pray it's a good match.

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  8. Oops, I meant to say
    HAPPY ANNIVERSARY you two lovebirds too.
    Sue

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  9. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!
    Your family and friend party looked so wonderful - I am (good) jealous of you!
    The kids sure looked cute too.
    More good finds.
    Gosh she had every word being recorded because of the lady next too her - so glad they moved her and will get her a new room.
    I have been dealing with a toothache this week - my hubs toothache - he finally got a root canal yesterday - $ but worth every penny. Today collapse!

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  10. You have such a beautiful family. And you all know how to have FUN! Deanie's decorations are quirky and fun! And I may copy the way she hangs a basket, that is brilliant! I am so proud of you for the way you handled Lillian's privacy issues! There can be a fine line with things like this, and you walked it so well! Happy anniversary, I look forward to your celebration! Galveston is an island? I had no idea!

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  11. Thank the good Lord that you and Louis Dean are in Lillian's life...I shutter to think what her situation would be without you!!! It also makes think about the large numbers of elderly people who have no guardian angels to watch over them. Bless you for all you do. I know that you both will be well looked after by many,many people if you are ever in Lillian's position!! Mary in Colorado

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  12. Sweet family time, helping protect Lillian’s rights, and a trip with your sweetheart! God is at work and using you!


    Happy Anniversary!

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  13. Looks like a great family gather, Linda, with special memories being made for everyone. Glad to read that Lilian may soon be in a better place. early Congrats on your wedding anniversary and hope that you and Louis Dean have a wonderful celebration, which you both deserve !

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  14. Well done LInda - great news re Lillian. You are good keeping up with cousins - I have over 90 first cousins and haven't been in touch for years. They are spread all over the place - everywhere but my city. Cheers

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  15. What fun! I loved seeing that Deanie is feeling so much better and really enjoyed the decor. Her plant pot head looks like the actor Lance Barber. 🙂

    You and Louis Dean have a marvelous time away and no worries about interrupting your time together to fill us in. We are a spoiled bunch.

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