Christmas is about Jesus

Ever since I was a little girl, my family would go to Christmas Eve mass.  Both my husband and I were brought up Catholic, so we continued the tradition in our family for many years.  We have recently changed churches and now attend a non-denominational Christian Church (Southpoint Community Christian Church in Trenton, MI) and we are even more dedicated to the CHRIST(mas) being the "reason for the season".  It does aggravate us when others try to change that to their own beliefs outside our Christian beliefs when it really is all about the birth of Jesus.  Where would we be without Jesus?  His Heavenly Father gave his only son to save us all from our sins.  Christmas is NOT about the hussle and bussle of shopping, about the commericalism;  material things are NOT what Christmas is about.   Let's all remember what Christmas is truly about.  It isn't Happy Holidays.  It is Merry CHRISTmas!!!  Happy Birthday Jesus!!!

Christmas when we were children....

I remember every Christmas eve, I would wait till my parents were sleeping, and I mean wait and wait ...I made SURE they were sleeping because I wouldn't go check out the tree until about 2 or 3am!  I would listen to them and when I heard them go to bed, I would wait yet another hour or so before I went downstairs.  Every Christmas my parents would not wrap the gifts, so Santa always left me unwrapped gifts so I knew immediately what I had and I would be just overwhelmed with everything all at once!  My parents never knew about this till I was older (9 when I stopped believing in Santa) and could tell them.  Also, every Christmas season, I would take my $1 allowance I got every week and save it for about 20 or so weeks so I could buy gifts for my parents, grandparents and cousins.  I know by today's standards that doesn't seem like much but I wonder how many children actually save their allowance today for 20 weeks.  One of my favorite Christmases was when I was 13.  That year I got two gifts I just loved.  One was a ballerina doll (I still love dolls today) and the other one was a bike!  The bike was important because it was the first bike, when at age 13, I was able to ride.  The other one I got when I was younger I wasn't able to ride because my mother wouldn't let me ride it in the street in fear I'd get hit or on the sidewalk in fear I'd hit someone.  We use to go to my Aunt Floss' house every year.  My grandmother,;Nanny we called her till we were older and then she was Nan, lived there.  I loved going there every year.  My aunt use to knit things so many times I would get mittens, scarves and sweaters and I cherished them.


Now Wayne's memories about his Christmas... he said he would hear his father and grandfather putting gifts together (wagons sleds bikes), like a bicycle one year that the pedals were put on backwards.  Mom was "the guardian of the door" before/after everything was put together.  This is when he was about 6  and Warren, his baby brother, was in a crib.  At 9, he stopped believing in Santa.  He remembers each of the kids taking one gift to grandparents house to open, where the family had dinner at Gramma's house.  Wayne was one of 5 kids, all boys except for one girl (she was inbetween the boys in age).  He remembers not being able to go down to the basement b/c it had coal there.  LOL  One of his favorite gifts was a cowboy set where he would have a broomstick horse, cowboy hat, and leggings, around 4 or 5.  A neighbor kid broke it and that's when his Dad told him "if the guy is bigger than you, pick up a stick". 


I'm sure more memories will come back but that's it for now!

Merry Christmas Friends and Family

Seems like forever since I posted last.  In the new year 2012, I plan on posting more frequently, hopefully daily.  Wayne and I are going to reminisce our childhood and post it here.  Should be fun!

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year! 

Alzheimers Diagnosis

A few days ago my husband (Wayne) was diagnosed with Alzheimers Disease.  I don't know how far it has progressed yet.  The DR said that they can tell that by asking him questions.  I assume there will be periodical visits to access that. 

It is getting harder.  He puts his clothes on backwards and sometimes tries to put them on upside down.  Shoes on the wrong feet.  He tries to help me and I know that he sincerely is trying but he gets things mixed up.  This morning he was putting dry clothes in the dryer and they are dirty.  Then he wanted to help put the kids' clothes away so I arranged it so he could get to Ian's (8 and our grandson who is living with us) clothes inside his drawers.  He pulls the dresser away and starts cleaning under it and the bed.  For those of you who don't know, he is in a wheelchair and needs assistance when he needs to go to the bathroom.  He is in diapers and every 2-3 hours he has to be catherized, and cleaned and diapers changed as needed.

I need lots of patience and it isn't easy for me.  Not that it is easy for anyone, but I have never been a "patient" person. 

Help me God!!!

So, we go out to the store.  He wanted to  buy some car wash for our new car.  I think he is going to wash it in the driveway.  Headed to Walmart.  Bought some car wash, took back some things, and stopped at Arby's.  he keeps wanting something spicy, so tried Arby's.  It was ok but never is "my cup of tea!".  LOL  Came home and it started to rain so we had to wait a bit in the car before getting out in the rain with the wheelchair and all.

Last Sunday in May 2011

Wayne got me up around 6am ... at least he wasn't up during the night but I would just like to sleep in till about 8am once in a while :(

No plans today except Church at 11:30.  I have communion duty today (clean-up) where we discard the tiny cups and wipe down their holders (for lack of the correct term), then put in new cups and stack them up for next time.  

Weatherman said we might get some rain today so I'm looking forward to sunshine and having that flower bed dry out.  My poor butterfly bush tree is falling down.  It is in a planter for now waiting to be planted in the ground and the planter is floating in water or I should say the tree is floating in water.   I hope to plant my lilac bush today ...It is a Miss Kim Lilac Bush and gets about 5'x5' in size.  That picture is not my bush but one that is an older plant I found online.  It is very fragrant and looking forward to cuttings for next year.  It is a later blooming lilac after the other lilac bushes have spent all their blooms.  

Tomorrow we get to go to my BIL's house for an outside BBQ.  Should be fun.

I might go pick up some topsoil and manure for that flower bed.  It has to be leveled (the raised beds) and filled to the top of the raised beds.

Its Saturday and not a sleep-in day...unfortunately

Good Morning!

It's Saturday morning, the kids aren't here, just Wayne and I and do you think I can sleep in?  Of course not.  Wayne was up and around this morning about 5am and being the light sleeper I am, I heard him.  Also being one that has problems getting to sleep, I knew once awake I would stay awake so here I am!

Yesterday we went for Wayne's MRI on his brain.  We should hear something on our next appointment with the neurologist.  He said that they told him to "think" about the answers to questions they ask while the MRI was taking place, and he said they asked questions like "what did you do last night?", questions about your family, etc.  I'll have to look up what it all means when they are checking brain activity during those questions.

It is cold in the house.  This weather has been horrible but we are blessed here in Metro Detroit, at least where we live in Flat Rock.  Others have been flooded out.  But even with that, we are more fortunate in this area than in the South and West of us.  Praying we continue to be fortunate.

Went to church last night for the 4th chapter in The Story, the condensed version in chapter form of the Bible.  Wayne and I didn't get a chance to read it with our busy week.   BTW, this church is a non-denominational church but is very much like a Baptist church.  We both enjoy the sermons and the pastor has a way with talking to the people of the church, makes you feel welcome, gives you message from God and it is easy to understand.  I also have gotten moved many times by his sermons.  The church expects you to contribute by volunteering and I do bring in a treat once a month (on the list) and also once a month help with the communion distribution (actually do the clean-up afterwards).  I figured that was the least I could do but with the home-care of Wayne, I didn't feel I could do more.

We are invited to Wayne's brother's Memorial Day Cookout on Monday so we plan on going there.  However, since he has to be cath'd every 2-3 hours, I am going to ask Warren if we can use the garage as a privacy area to do that.  I was thinking about it last night and wondered how we would do that outside since he can't get into anyone's home unless there is a ramp and remembered there is a garage there.  It probably has a light also.  Hoping the rain holds out and we have a nice day.

Still haven't gotten my flower bed set up and Shawn is suppose to come over and help me do that. I bought a Miss Kim Lilac Bush yesterday for $25 at a local nursery and am anxious to get that planted also.  It will only grow to about 5'x5' and just right for our small yard area in this mobile home community.  Plus Shawn is also suppose to come over to measure the kitchen so we can figure out what we need to put there for base cabinets and he promised to do the work for me... he needs to replace all the base cabinets and replace the floor board (plywood) due to the leak we had and also the wall behind the base cabinets.  It will be a difficult job and costly for the supplies.  Hoping I can manage the cost of the materials needed.  I told Shawn if he did this he didn't have to pay me back a loan I gave him.  

 

Results of today's VA appointments

It was a terribly long day.  We first went to Detroit and the diabetes dr couldn't look at the MRI of Wayne's brain about the diabetes insipidous.  He said to bring in the spray next Tuesday so he can check the dosage.  This is what keeps the amounts under control.  He still isn't sure it is DI but I explained to him how much Wayne urinates when he doesn't spray. 

Our trip to Ann Arbor was horrible.  We were a bit late for the 12:30pm appt and at 2pm when we were still waiting for him to see the DR, I went over to ask them what was taking so long.  Apparently the person who called me to change the appt from 2pm to 12:30, didn't change it at all!  I was livid!  We didn't see that DR till almost 3pm!  And the weather was horrible too, more on that later. 

The neurosurgeon said that there is nothing more that can be done, surgery won't help, and the only thing he can do is the exercises and get up and walk.  He said he sees no reason why Wayne can't walk ... he will always have the drop foot in his left foot but his right foot isn't bad.  He has to do it himself and in time he will get better at it, but that he has a degenerative problem with his back and that will get worse (if I remember and understood what he said).  He also said that the spinal stenosis had nothing to do with what happened when he had to have emergency surgery and that is a separate problem, that the herniated disc probably happened the night we had to call emergency, which means he has two problems with his spine... the spinal stenosis (which gets worse in time, as you get older) and the cauda equina problem caused by the herniated disc - I got the feeling he was saying they were separate but together it was a bigger problem, more for Wayne to deal with.  So Brandon is going to have to start working with Wayne as soon as we get the membership in the local rec.  The DR said that he really doesn't need to go to rehab if he knows what he has to do and really he has been to enough rehab already to know that.  But if he remembers it, I don't know.  I think Brandon can work on it with him.  I'm thinking we could get a 6mo membership at the rec. and then by the time the 6mos is over, the kids should be with Shawn and then we can get a senior membership (a lot less $) for the year. 

We also have to fill out the paperwork for the "means test" at the VA and submit that Tuesday when we go back.

Now the trip home.  The weather was horrible and I almost got into an accident.  Anyway, I was following the GPS and it took me to right turn to a road that was flooded and I didn't want to go there, so I did a U-turn and started going the other way only to go back but not take that turn. Then I got the bright idea that I could call onstar ... so I did, and I was at that same red blinking light where you had to take turns going and I was on the onstar explaining to someone where I needed to go and the flooded street, etc., AND the car in front of me went and for some reason I thought I could too, so as I started to go, a car was coming towards me blasting on their horn, but it was too late, I was already in the intersection ...so I kept going and ignored the guy and thanked God I didn't get hit... it would have been on Wayne's side.  Anyway, then I finally get to a place where I could stop and talk to onstar and they set me up another route and I was able to get on the freeway toward home.  We didn't get home till about 5:30pm.  We left there around 4pm I think.

Now we are watching American Idol and I'm trying to wind down.  

Tomorrow is another day.