A contrast

Catie, Elliott and I did the mall crawl Thursday night. Catie had Abbey in her stroller and Elliott had Bryce in his. Bryce is blue eyed with very fine blond fuzz. He loves to jump! He'll stand (with support, of course) and try to hop up and down, then cackle! At 5 months, he's a chunky 18 1/2 pounds. He's cutting his first teeth, so he's a slobber monster. Elliott says that he's still not sleeping through the night.
Abbey has a head full of dark hair. Her eyes are green/hazel. She's longer and leaner than her cousin, but she's only three weeks old. She has some funny facial expressions: smiles, pouts, frowns. She rarely cries and sleeps for long stretches at night. Her mom has seen to it that she is always well dressed. Abbey has more shoes than Imelda Marcos! Her cutest is a pair of pink suede Vans. They are so teeny!
As you can tell, I think they're both adorable! I am having a blast watching them grow. I am so proud of their parents, they do such a fantastic job. I think that raising children today is harder than it was when mine were little, but these babies have been blessed with parents who love each other and want the best for their children. Who could ask for more?

Abigail Marie

Baby Abbey was born on Monday, February 22, 2010 at 1845. Wouldn't you know, shift change! Catie's labor was induced early that morning, but progressed very slowly. Eight hours into labor, she got an epidural. Her doctor explained that Abbey had her hand behind her head and was coming elbow first! There was no way she would come out "the normal way"! By then, Catie's epidural had worn off, so she got general anesthesia. Ben had to leave the OR (hospital policy). Abbey was delivered within one minute of Catie's being put out. Fifteen minutes later, Abbey and her nurse were coming down the hall. The OR staff was fabulous. They took Catie's camera and photographed the delivery.
Abbey was beautiful (still is!). She weighed 7lb 2oz and was 21 inches long. She was born with a head full of dark hair. The nursery had several spools of thin ribbon in a variety of colors. The nurse tied a tiny red bow and used KY jelly to "glue" it to Abbey's head. So cute! Abbey has been a good baby from the first. Like Chris, she doesn't cry unless she needs something. She sleeps at long stretches during the night and eats like a champ! She has a closet full of clothes. She even has little shoes to go with her outfits! Catie and Ben adore her and feel incredibly blessed.
Catie did great after the surgery. She was up and walking within 8 hours and cared for Abbey herself (Ben helped, but he has way less experience with babies). They were discharged Wednesday evening and settled in to the home routine. Catie is a wonderful mom. She handles Abbey with confidence and doesn't hesitate to ask if she has a question. She is not one to panic, as a general rule. Like her mother and grandmother, Cate tends to dissolve once a crisis has passed.
Ben and Catie have been blessed with a beautiful, perfect baby girl. We have been blessed with our second grandchild. All is well. Life is good!

Pajama Day?

Last week, while we were in Charlotte, I noticed an interesting fashion trend: pajamas! Adults wearing their pajamas in public! Grocery shopping? Wear your pajamas! Going to Target? Wear your pajamas! How about a movie? Those in style wear their pajamas! I'm not talking sweats. I'm not talking nighties. I'm talking tee shirt and flannel pants. For women, Tinkerbell or some Pooh critter. For men, plaid pants and a plain tee. These outfits are rarely clean and never fit quite right. They're either two sizes too large (guys) or two sizes too small (gals).
Accessorizing pajamas can be tricky. What footwear looks good with jammies? Summer footwear is a no brainer: flip flops! You can even buy a color to match your jammies! Winter is a little trickier. Do you wear fuzzy slippers, Docksiders, Uggs, or clogs? The possibilities are endless. Do you wear a jacket, coat, or robe? What about jewelery? Do you keep it simple and understated by wearing small earrings and, maybe, a necklace, or do you go over the top with dozens of bangles and multiple necklaces? Do you carry the Coach purse or do you go for the reusable Wal-Mart bag? Decisions, decisions!
College kids could be held responsible for this overly casual fashion trend. After all, didn't they begin it when they wore pajamas to early morning (say, 9AM) classes rather than show up late because they got dressed? Maybe. I think the real culprits are babies. That's right, babies! How many adorable little bundles do you see at the grocery store, mall, or sporting event wearing a comfy, soft sleeper? Of course, theirs are usually clean and well fitting. They are accessorized with a bib or blanket or hat. These pajama clad munchkins draw a great deal of "Oh, how precious" attention. Why shouldn't the rest of us draw attention to our cuteness by wearing PJs in public? Probably because, after a certain age (say, two), it's not so cute!
Babies, it is up to you to stop this disturbing trend. Stop looking so doggone cute in those sleepers! Get up thirty minutes earlier and get dressed!

Happy Anniversary

Wow! Thirty one years ago, Dave and I got married. That's a long time!

I graduated from college and passed State Boards. I've worked in nursing homes, hospitals, and an office. I've done everything from long term care to ICU. Dave Went to work for, and retired from, First Union.

We built a house. We demolished the kitchen and rebuilt it (and remained on speaking terms). We added on to that house and did a lot of the work ourselves. Then, we moved! Packing up 25 years' worth of stuff and a bunch of cats was no small feat! We've survived it all.

We've been through the "sickness and health" part. I went through a severe bout of depression (to the point of being suicidal, but was too much of a control freak to do it!). Everyone should spend a couple of years with a good therapist. Dave has lost part of his right foot and his left leg below the knee. He gets around pretty well for, what he calls, "a one legged old man". We have acquired creaks and groans as we've gotten older, but we still do what we want.

We've brought three really neat people into the world. If our goal is to leave to world better than we found it, we've done that with our kids. Chris lives with us and is working to find his place in the world. His girlfriend, Aaron, is a delight. I hope they have many years of happiness ahead. Catie teaches preschool and loves working with "her kids". She and Ben will become parents to Abbey in February. Elliott is waiting to hear from the Huntington Fire Dept about a job. He and Samantha are the parents of Bryce. He's the cutest little boy in the world! I will enjoy watching Catie and Elliott raise their babies. I promise I will not laugh at them (when they're around!), but I will laugh with them.

How have we managed to stay married this long? A strong faith in God is a must. I know that Dave was picked for me and I was picked for him. If it weren't for our faith, we would never have been able to make it through the valleys to get to the peaks. A sense of humor helps, too. Never take yourself too seriously and always find a way to laugh about a situation. If nothing else, that will save the life of an errant spouse or unruly child! Take time for yourself. Dave and I have individual interests and those that we share. He will go to the cloth store with me (boring!) and I will go to the hobby shop with him (ultra boring!). We do projects around the house together. I think Elliott summed it up when he was ten years old: "You and Dad are friends". I'm thankful to be married to my best friend.

Sssnnooooowwwwww!!!

The weekend before Christmas, this region was hit with the biggest snowstorm we've had in several years. News outlets called it "the storm of the century". How do they know? We're only nine years into this century, for Pete's sake! Anyway, Roanoke got about 2 feet of snow and nearly totally shut down. I had to go to work because hospitals never close. I really didn't have much trouble getting to work, and not just because my Jeep has 4WD. If people would drive slower and in a lower gear, they shouldn't have too many problems. If you drive like a moron, you'll land in a ditch!
The Call ins for Saturday morning started at 1130 pm. "There's.....snow......on the road!". No kidding. Snow is not selective, it falls where it wants to! "I can't see the road." See above. I wasn't very sympathetic. After all, I drove to Roanoke from the West Virginia mountains and I made it! Our monitor tech, Kerry, sat on I-81 for forever because a couple of trucks wrecked and blocked traffic. It took her 11 hours, but she showed up for work! She should get a raise for that! The roads were a little better on Saturday. All of the night shift staff came to work. Sunday call outs started at 1030pm, again. We scrounged together enough people to cover the unit. We survived the "big storm" and maintained the quality of care that I would want for anyone in my family.
At home, we got three feet of snow. Snow is a part of winter and the DOH crews do a fabulous job keeping the roads cleared. This snow fell so fast that they just couldn't keep up. A 6pm curfew was called by the Sheriff's department to keep people off of the road. There were a bunch of cars stranded in ditches already! By the time I got home Monday morning, the main roads were cleared and secondary roads were passable.
Last night, the snow started falling when I got to Covington, VA. It fell sporadically until I got to the highway leading to my home. Then, it came down heavily. The wind was strong enough to knock my car crazy! At times, the wind gusts and snow made for white out conditions. Slow down, be careful, keep both hands on the steering wheel, pray without ceasing. I got home safely. This morning, the snow that had fallen was gone (the snow from the weekend before is still here and probably will be till August!).
Snow makes the fields and mountains take on a different character. It smells fresh. The flakes fall like little feathers and float on the wind. Snow is one of my favorite things about winter . I love snow...........until April!

Gifts of the Wise Men

My kids learned a lot when they went to Sunday School. The Childrens' Minister, "Ms. Joyce" Dennis made learning Biblical truths fun. Her teaching has stayed with the kids as they have progressed into their adult years.
When Elliott was about five, he learned about the Wise Men and the gifts they brought to the baby Jesus. We give gifts to each other today because these men gave gifts to this very special baby on the first Christmas. Eyes sparkling, shaking with excitement at his new knowledge, Elliott listed these gifts for the rest of us in the car on the way home from church: "Gold, aaannnnd Myrrh, aaaannnnnd, uh, Frank......And, uh, Frank.......And, uh Frank......Oh yeah, Frankinatra!!!". Trying (very hard) to control my laughter, I gently explained to Elliott that Frankensence was the name of the gift, then explained what it is. Frank Sinatra was a singer, famous as one of the "Rat Pack" members, who's birthday was on December 12.
Frankinatra has become one of my favorite Christmas memories. Had God not sent His Son on that first Christmas so many years ago, we would have no need to celebrate. Thank you, God, for Your most precious gift to us, and for memories of special times.

Cold and dark

Yesterday, just as I discovered that the basement had flooded (AGAIN!), our power went off. Dave and I squeegeed as much water as we could into the sump pump but, of course, it won't come on without electricity! A call to the power company let us know that they were already aware that the power was out. It would be restored by 11:30 pm. OK. When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping!
We bought a few staples of life: toilet paper and paper towels! When we got back home, Dave called to check on the progress of our power repair. Power will be restored by 6:00 pm TOMORROW!
Holy Cow! When the going gets really tough, the wimpy take a nap! That's just what I decided to do. Why is it that when I decide to nap, Dave has to wake me up to ask me what I'm doing? What does it look like I'm doing?!? Do I look like I'm solving our country's economic crisis? He decided to go visit his dad.
When I woke up, it was dark. The wind was howling. The cats were freaking out! This is not part of their routine! Dave had lined up our oil lamps, lighter, and flashlight on the kitchen counter. I lit the smaller lantern and went back to the bedroom. Half a dozen cats, a fleece blanket, and my knitting were all I needed. I worked away on a baby dress for Abbey, paying no attention to time. I fixed myself a dinner of left over ham, an orange, and a diet coke. I ate dinner by oil lamp light. How rustic!
Shortly after Dave called to let me know that he was on his way home, the power came back on! Lights, Heat, TV!! Just in time for Jeopardy! The basement flood dried up with the help of the propane heater. Things aren't so bad after all!