Saturday Enjoyments

Mom's occupational therapy is to help her get back into the routine of what she was doing before her accident.  So part of her therapy Saturday morning, I had her sit at the piano for as long as she could stand it.  As soon as I wheeled her to the piano she began to cry.  It was really sweet.

I didn't tell her that she would be having company that night.  The Turner family showed up with pizza and she was so excited to see them walk through the door.
Taylor had made some of her cupcakes and was squirting mom in the mouth with cream cheese icing.

As we sat around the table to eat she was very emotional again, being home and having family and friends around her table.

My honey-lamb.

We had Taylor's mini cupcakes for dessert.  Red Velvet.  They were so yummy.  Thanks, Taylor!

We spent the rest of the evening playing Phase 10 and sharing way too many laughs.  We had a really wonderful time!  So thankful for good friends and good fellowship.

Two More Days, Folks!

That's right!  Two more days and she'll be home. 

Hannah and I went to the hospital for Family Day, which basically means we went over everything she is doing in therapy and over what is to be expected while she's home.

She has met every requirement needed to be released so Thursday is the big day.  Getting some last minute things completed and it's game on!

Thank you for the many prayers that have gone up for her and for all the encouragement too.  She's done really great and, with the help of the LORD, is getting better and better every day.
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Last Saturday Bruce and I went to Mt. Airy, NC to see the town where Andy Griffith grew up and see the town that Mayberry was based on.  We had such a good time just being together and enjoyed the sight seeing.

We stopped for ice cream...

Posed with the Andy and Opie statue...

Went to the Andy Griffith Museum...

Received a kiss from Thelma Lou...

Took a trip into town...

Took a mule drawn tour...

Visited the Earle Hagan Theater...

Bought some Apple Cobbler Cider from the Mayberry Cheese and Cider store...

Had lunch at Walker's Soda Fountain...

Saw some interesting vehicles for their car show...

Visited Opie's Candy Store...

And yes, I did buy some candy...

We went to Floyd's Barber Shop so Bruce could get a much needed haircut, but it was closed...

We also wanted the famous pork chop sandwich from Snappy Lunch that everyone raves about, but Snappy Lunch was closed also...

Found Wally's Service Station...

Goober's tow truck...

Mayberry's police car...

And the Darling's Truck...

Posed with "the cannon" from one of my favorite episodes...

And took a photo op in front of the Mayberry Courthouse, which was also closed.

That ended our tour of the town.  But we finished off the day in Mt. Airy with a visit to the Siamese Twin exhibit of Eng and Chang Bunker.  I found it, both, interesting and mind blowing. 

 Between the two men and their wives, they had twenty-one children, raised by this woman, Grace Gates. 

It is believed that Grace lived to be 121 years old.  Bruce said the Lord must have blessed her good for tending to all those young'uns. To live to the ripe old age of 121, I am inclined to agree.

 

As we drove out of town we stopped by the old home place where Andy Griffith grew up.

You can actually stay there.  Not sure about the price, but I plan on checking into that.  It'd be kind of fun to stay the night there and then visit the places we missed because they were closed.

 

We had a picnic in the car with our candy on the way home. 

Even though several of the places we wanted to visit were closed, we had a really fun time together and plan on visiting again.  Next time, though, we plan on leaving our house much earlier in the morning and getting there earlier in the day.  Unless, of course, we decide to go up and just spend the night.  I think that would be fun too. 

I bought a t-shirt that has Barney on the front riding a motorcycle and it says, "Mayberry Choppers" on the front.  It's cute.

 

This is probably the last post until we get mom moved, unless something happens.  Next time I post, I will most likely be living with her at her house.  I am truly looking forward to getting her home.  I am sure it will be a very emotional day for her Thursday since she hasn't been home since May 22nd. 

Please continue praying for her as she continues to recover. 

:)

 

 

 

 



Birds, Walking, Camp, and Mayberry.

This little fella didn't stay around long.

Back in the spring his mother began building that nest.  It wasn't too long and mom and dad were both working on making a safe, sturdy place.  Next thing we knew there were sounds of baby birds chirping off and on through the day when the mom or dad would come by to feed the babies.  It was so sweet and I loved watching their little family.  Eventually the sound of one little bird was left and it was this guy.  I watched him for a couple of days stand on the edge of the nest, gearing up for his first flight.  He was so sweet!

I'll admit I was kind of sad when he finally ventured out and never came back.
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Mom received a good report at her doctor's visit yesterday.  He told her she could start putting weight on her leg again.  So as soon as her therapy started yesterday afternoon, they had her up walking with the parallel bars.  This is fantastic!  We're one more day closer to her being home and more independent. 
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Harrison leaves for camp next Monday. He goes to Harvest every year and went earlier this summer. He's excited about going to this new camp.  I'm sure he'll have a great time.
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Bruce and I are hoping to get out of town for the day this Saturday.  My birthday was July 1st and I told him I wanted to go to Mount Airy to the town of Mayberry.  So unless something happens, that's our plans.  I'm looking forward to spending the day with my husband and slipping back in time for a few hours. 

A Very Good Visit

Hannah was off today so I took her and Harrison to see mom.  We had a terrific visit and she was happy to see her grandkids.

Met with a couple of her therapists, her doctor, a few of her nurses, and the psych doc.  All of them had beaming reports about mom and how well she is doing.  They plan on her coming home July 25th!!  That will be two months and three days since her accident that she's been able to be in her own home and in her own bed. 

There is still plenty of therapy to be had between and now and then, but she's doing everything in her power and in the power of the LORD to get better and back to having a normal life.  I am so proud of her and how hard she is working! 

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."  Philippians 4:13

She admitted that one of her worries before making it to rehab, was that she wouldn't be able to walk again or even do simple things.  But she's on her way to do everything as she did before.

She has a doctor's appointment tomorrow and is really hoping that he'll tell her she can put weight on her leg again.  If he does, it will really progress her therapy by leaps and bounds over the next week.  She has nine days before she goes home and we have a LOT to do to get her house ready. 

One thing is build a ramp, possibly install some hand rails, and definitely get a hospital bed set up in her guest room.  So we have much to do between now and then!

But it can be done. 

Ready.
Set.
GO!

Of Headaches, Friends, and Silly Husbands

Friday afternoon, Harrison and I dressed up as a cow and got our free chick-fil-A meal.  Oh yes we did!  Then we went to another one and picked up two more meals for Harrison and his buddy, David, for that night.
 
I headed down to Greenville with David's mom to pick up his sister from Bob Jones.  We had such a fun drive down there.  Rain and all.  Taylor didn't know I was bringing the cow costumes for her and her mother to wear to get them a free meal too.  The look on her face was hilarious.  But she did it.  Spots, ears, tails and all.  haha  When we got back to my house we played some UNO and had some good laughs. 

Saturday morning they came back to the house and we headed to see mom at rehab.  We had a terrific visit and mom was enjoying her free time away from rehab during the weekend.  She's had some wonderful visits with good friends and I'm so glad about that.

We had a good weekend but it ended up with a migraine for me.  It started Saturday morning and I thought I might have it licked with a coke and Tylenol, but I didn't catch it in time.  When I got home from visiting mom I took a "special" pill for it and was knocked out for four hours, until Bruce finally woke me up.  I felt ok and we went out for a nice dinner at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants.  But by the time we got home I was ready for more pills and bed. 

A sleepless night meant all day in bed Sunday.  Got up around 12:40 and took a shower and waited for my family to return home from church.  When they did I threw some rice in the rice cooker and was going to make some pot pies but became so dizzy I ended up laying in the floor for a few minutes.  Bruce helped me up and Justin put me back in bed.  And that's where I stayed before moving to the couch.  Still having a little headache now.  Hope it's better by morning.  I'm just glad I have no obligations tomorrow.

The Lord always sends good friends to bring us smiles in times like these.  My friend, Missy, gave me this beautiful sunflower last week and I sat it on my coffee table looking at me.  It's brightened my day and made me smile.

Then tonight when the family came home from church, Hannah handed me a gift bag from Patti and Taylor.  Tucked inside was an apron from Bath and Body Works and it says Fresh Picked Markets on the bib.  I love it.  I am definitely an apron person and this one is just awesome!

Proverbs 17:17a "A friend loveth at all times..."

And last but not least, here is a hilarious picture of my dear husband looking a little like Popeye.  Or maybe Penguin from Batman.  Depending on which one you like the best.  ha! 

That thing in his mouth is one of those sticks they gave us at Shelton's Fireworks when he bought fireworks for 4th of July.  He had been shooting some off with the neighborhood kids and when the rain began he came up on the porch and was acting silly.  And this, folks, is just one of the many reasons why I love him.

First Day of Rehab

The house was empty last night and today so Bruce and I got up early and went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast.  They had a sale on their Yankee candles and, of course, I got one.  It's brand new and it's called Summer Scoop.  Oh my goodness, it smells so good!  If you like candles and you like Yankee candles, you need to check that one out.

After breakfast we went to see mom.  We got there shortly after her first occupational therapy session.  They were evaluating her today and said she did a fantastic job.  We visited with her until about noon and it was good to see her dressed in real clothes and knowing that she's on her way to recovery! 
Justin and I went to see her last night and we had a terrific visit with her.  She enjoyed seeing her grandbaby! 

 

 

This is the gym where she will be doing her rehabilitation.  

 I have several things going on tomorrow so I won't get to see her.  But I know she's going to do great and I know she's going to get the best care around!

She Didn't Move

Mom didn't move today.  She is doing wonderful, but the other facility said they gave her bed away and would have one for her tomorrow.  I guess they were taking too long to release her at the hospital.  The other place likes new patients there by 2:00pm.  So we try again tomorrow.  I have a photo shoot tomorrow at 12:00, so I went ahead and took everything but her suitcase and bathrobe for her move tomorrow and I'll see her tomorrow evening after she's settled. 

Hannah and Harrison are spending the evening out together, Bruce is working, and Justin doesn't live here anymore.  So I'm home alone doing laundry and chilling by myself for a while.  I'll be speaking at a ladies meeting in August and this is a great time to be working on that. 

This is the second meeting He has allowed me to speak at this year and I am very humbled and feel very unworthy.  The first one was at a church we went to when I first moved here as a child.

It was good to see familiar faces and get to know a few new ones.  It was a blessing and it was an encouragement to ME!  So I'm looking forward to this next one, although I must admit, I am pretty nervous about it too.

Something else mom missed this year was Hannah's graduation... 

     ...and her birthday, turning eighteen years old.  Yep, she's an adult now. 

She's gonna kill me when she sees I put her picture on here still in her jammies.  LOL
It's hard to cut those apron strings, but she makes it kind of easy.  Her dad and I are VERY proud of the young lady she has become.  We've trained her to seek God's will for her life and believe she's doing that now.  She is a wonderful daughter and a true Christian young lady and we love her very much.  She's working a job now and plans to go back to her college studies in the fall.

Justin bought a new car.  It was a big step for him but it looks great and he loves his new ride.  He's sort of looking for a small house on some land to purchase.  Which would be good for him, as long as he could find something in his price range.  He may wait until he pays his car off before doing that.  But he's off to a good start.

Did I tell you he's doing correspondence for Bible college?  I can't remember.  But he is, and seems to be doing good at that, on top of working full time at his regular job and part time at the department.

 

He also turned 21 last month. 

 Let me explain the pic.  See, I had this ice cream cake made for him by a young lady in our church who does cakes on the side.  Delicious cakes!  Anyway, I forgot to buy candles!  So when Justin came by for his birthday lunch I had no candles for his cake.  Just minutes before he arrived, his dad ran out to his shop and made a two and a one and spray painted them silver, with two small holes for matches.  LOL  I told Justin he was probably the only person to ever have matches on his cake as candles.  He said, "No.  There's probably some other redneck family out there who has used matches for candles on their cake too." Cracked us up. 

 

Huge deal for me, him turning 21.  But I'm handling it all well, I think.  We've trained all of our children to follow God's leading and I pray that as he moves forward in his life he will always remember that training, and to always allow God to lead in every aspect of His life.  He won't regret a thing if He does.

 

Recently, Bruce and I took a little trip down the road and had a picnic at a place called Glendale Shoals.  It was pretty there. 

 The property was an old mill in the community that really kept the community thriving.  Some of the old structure is still standing.

 There is a beautiful bridge and waterfall too.  People from all around the area come to wade and play in the water.

 The smoke stacks are in perfect condition for their age.  At least they appear to be. 

 We wanted to go up inside one of them or the other towers, but they have been gutted and so you just have to use your imagination. 

 We have no idea what this was, only that it was part of the mill. 

 I actually did an engagement shoot here a while back.  It was a lot of fun and with the last couple to be married this spring/summer.  We had a good time on this shoot. 

 

And that's all for today.  Time to put some clothes in the dryer and work on my lesson for the ladies meeting. 

Still keeping faith that tomorrow will be a moving day for mom!  Thank you all for continued prayers!