And In Other News...

Ross has been looking at houses. He wants a nice house with lots of land. We have gone through the disappointment of putting the cart before the horse once. He's looking at another place now. It'll work out like it's supposed to, I'm sure of that.

This is the latest picture I have of Ross, Cam and Alicia and me. It was taken on Easter Sunday after church. You'd think now, that Ross is 25 and Cam is 21, that getting a good picture would finally be easy. You'd be so wrong if you thought that. Some things never change. I'm thankful they're not the kind of guys that love to have their pictures taken. That would be weird. But isn't my daughter-in-love gorgeous? I love that girl. And when I tell you what a great catch she is, my daddy told me this morning that Cameron had gotten himself a keeper. He bragged ad bragged on her. And it's all true. I'm so thankful for her.

Tonight they are spending their first night in their new place. It's a barnn apartment. It's just like being in the mountains in a cozy cabin. I am so excited and so, so, so happy for them.

The pretty girl in the green shirt is Ross's girlfriend, Jennifer. If you choose the type of girl you would want Ross with, she's the type you'd choose. They go together like peas and carrots.

 

Daddy has had a restful, calm day. It was what he needed after this weekend. It's a learning curve for all of us. Dealing with him can be challenging when he's feeling perfect, much less when he's sick. Keep us in your prayers. I pray that the beautiful, sunny, warm upcoming week will help his healing process. Tomorrow is May 5th. He plants his garden after May 10th. Let's see how we'll figure this one out.

Till next time... I wish you all a blessed week!

 

Posted with Blogsy

I Can Face Tomorrow Because He Lives

God answered another huge prayer for us last night. My daddy had not been able to sleep in two nights. He was up and down all day and night, fidgety and anxious. It has been terribly exhausting on my mom as well as him. But last night, Crystal went over and visited with them for a few hours. Helped calm the situation down some and gave them both a feeling of security so they could sleep a little while. She left and went home, cried herself to sleep, while Suz and I prayed as hard as we could that sleep would come upon him. We knew that if he slept, my mom could sleep, too. Praise God, he slept. And she slept.

God's beauty and promise that weeping lasts for the night but joy comes in the morning felt so real to me this morning. The birds are singing and the squirrels are all over the place rejoicing in the bright beauty of the morning.

This hydrangea is one that my mom gave me for Valentine's Day. It has a lot of new growth coming up on it. I am curious if anyone who might happen to read my blog has any tips on taking care of it this summer. I may leave it in its pot and see how it fares. Just didn't know if I should plant it in the dirt this year or wait. I want it to live and grow and make pretty pink blooms.

I can face tomorrow just because I know He lives.

Till next time...

 

Posted with Blogsy

Life Lately

So life threw me a curveball of epic proportions on Friday morning at 5:30 in the morning. My mom called me after she had called the paramedics. She found my dad unresponsive in the living room. He had fallen asleep before checking his sugar and eating his snack. He's a very bad diabetic, and controlling his sugar has been almost impossible lately. The paramedics got his sugar up, but he was still unconscious. We didn't know, and still don't know, how long his brain was partially without oxygen.

Friday was touch-and-go. We weren't sure he was going to make it through the day. He pulled off another miracle and survived another close call. He was in intensive care until last night and he was moved to a regular room.

The last few days have been spent at the hospital. Thank goodness we have a big family to share the big responsibility to staying with him and we've kept each other company. We have pretty much been every one of these numbers on the pain scale while we've been here.

The hours go by fast. Not sure how or why, but they do. At least they do for me. They crawl for him, though.

We've discovered new water. He has to be on a pureed diet and this is what he is drinking for water. He said that they've figured out how to make even water taste bad. Bless his heart.

We are expecting terrible storms tonight. My daddy's room is on the 4th floor and I pray they will be safe.

My aunt, Brenda, is staying tonight with him. There's actually a very good place to sleep here. They are sure to have a good time.

Hopefully, I'll have better news to report tomorrow. Till next time...

 

Posted with Blogsy

Fish Fry

Yesterday I had my final follow-up for my recent surgeries. The doctor said I had healed perfectly and she was very pleased with my progress. She gave me the go-ahead to do anything that I felt like doing. The key word there, as I am finding out, is FELT or FEEL like doing. It doesn't mean that I have to do or should feel like doing any particilar thing. It only means that if I FEEL like doing it, she doesn't have any restrictions on me to do anything. Today I felt like washing my front porch and back deck. It's an annual ritual for me to do. They get so covered in pollen and dust and mildew. I gave them a good washing and now they look so nice and ready for the rest of the spring and summer.

Jean has got the prettiest Knockout Roses. Jeff and his brothers gave them to her a few years ago for Mother's Day. She isn't able to prune them or give them any special treatment, but just look how pretty they are. Each one is full of blooms. This one is red. It's from Ronnie.

The yellow one is from Jeff. They don't make a Knockout Rose that starts with a J, so they just chose the yellow one to be from Jeff.

The pink one was from P-nut.

Considering how little care has been given to them, I was surprised by the blooms. They were so pretty.

We picked up Jean and her sister, Dot, to go and visit their other sister, Anne, who has moved into an assisted living home. At first the transition was so hard on her entire family, but she seems to have adjusted well.

The home hosted a fish fry tonight. The residents were encouraged to invite their families. So Jeff and I took Jean and Dot to the fish fry.

They had fried up so many good fish! And hushpuppies! So, so good.

Anne is on the left. That's her son, Ted, who is Jeff's cousin and BFF growing up. They grew up next door to each other. Jean and Dot are also in the picture. I know Jean misses having her sister right next door. They were next-door neighbors for at least 50 years!

The home also made the cutest banana pudding cups.

Why can't I ever think of something like that?

We had the most beautiful sunset while we were driving back home. We were driving straight into it and it was gorgeous. I never get tired of a pretty sunset.

Two of my uncles from South Georgia drove up today to visit with my daddy and my mom. I baked a pound cake for them to have with their lunch. My MaMa Kimball always had a fresh pound cake. I even put it in her big, old, green Tupperware bowl that she used to store her pound cakes in. I think it makes the cake taste even better, if that's possible. Jeff was so sweet and took it over to their house last night when it was still warm from the oven. Daddy said it was the best he'd ever had. I guess after all he had been through, it probably was.

After my appointment yesterday, I took another small nap and that nap got me over the hump. I feel like I have recovered from the stressful hospital stay. I am taking life one day at a time. But that's how we're supposed to do it, right? Thankful for each blessing that comes my way and taking advantage of every chance I'm given to spend time with loved ones, that's what I'm trying to do. And tonight I was able to enjoy my mother-in-law and her sweet sisters at a fish fry.

Looking forward to a nice weekend. Hopefully, the weather will be nice enough that I can get some flowers planted. That is, if I FEEL like it.

Till next time...

 

Posted with Blogsy

Two Long Days and One Longer Night

My daddy's health has been poor the last several months. His diabetes has been way out of control and unmanageable. Finally, some of his symptoms and problems landed him in the hospital to have a test done.

Normally, people who are in the hospital don't look their best, but I thought daddy looked just as handsome as ever. Of course, this was on the first day, shortly after we got there and got situated in our room.

He was referred to several times while we were there as a "brittle diabetic", which basically means that his diabetes is hard to control and is up and down, up and down. Those ups and downs can cause lots of nerve damage that you may not be aware are occurring until years after the damage has been done.

I stayed the night with him to help him get prepped for his colonoscopy that he was going to have yesterday. Normally, a person could prep for it at home, but he had tried that already and his sugar dropped too low to have it done. So it was determined by his doctor that a hospital stay would be the only way to have the prep and test safely done.

Alicia and Cam brought me this little jewel to the hospital Monday night. They knew that I was in for a long night.

But how long and frightening the night was going to be was something none of us, especially me, expected.

His sugar dropped three times during the night. Once it was brought up by drinking orange juice, with some sugar mixed in it. The second time the level was critical and wouldn't come up with orange juice. He had to have an injection of dextrose into his IV. The third time the level was critical and life-threatening. I had saved this photo off someone's Facebook during the day on Monday. I knew that one day or night, as the case was, it would come in handy. Monday night was that night.

I was disappointed by some of the ways the hospital handled his care. They knew his history and how quickly his condition could go from sitting up and talking to nearly being in a diabetic coma. Yet it took between 5 and 10 minutes to get the dextrose to him the third time. The nurse's station didn't have the dextrose and had to wait to get it from the pharmacy. I thought I was going to stand there and watch my daddy slip into a diabetic coma. Scared and afraid can't even come close to the feelings I felt as I was there alone. But just like the picture says, I wasn't alone. But I was afraid. I recited the 23rd Psalm to myself so many times that night. When I felt afraid, I prayed. I was afraid a lot that night.

Finally, I watched the night turn into morning and I knew that we had made it. Crystal got there around 7:30 and I was so happy to see her face. I have a large family, as you all know, and there were many people I could've called to stay with me. I thought I'd take care of the night, never knowing how many more nights there could be like that one in our future. I thought that maybe next time I'd be the one at home and I would want the person staying there to handle things and let me rest at home. But as Ross pointed out to me last night, that was too much for one person to take on their own. I should've called someone to come and stay with us to help quiet my fear. But really, like the picture says, I wasn't alone at all.

Daddy's test was done at around 10:30, after Crystal begged our nurse to get him worked in ASAP, because we knew it wouldn't be much longer before his sugar would bottom out again.

I don't want to belittle the fact that the test showed no cancer. That is a blessing for sure! The devil was on me big time while we were waiting and was working to convince me that he did have cancer. Again, I played the 23rd Psalm over and over in my head. He had three polyps removed, one of them being quite large. He's being checked for colitis. But I was disapointed that the doctor couldn't tell us specifically that he had found the cause of his symptoms. He has to get his sugar under control, but even that may not take care of his problems. We are taking it one day and one night at a time.

We were released from the hospital yesterday at 3:30. Here's my sweet daddy just as he was about to get in my car, his chariot, to take him back to his home, his castle.

We will have long days and longer nights ahead of us, I feel sure. But we will be comforted in the 23rd Psalm and by the picture reminds us that God will never leave us lonely. Or afraid.

Till next time...

 

Posted with Blogsy

So What'd You Do Today

Inevitably, the day before a holiday is going to be a crazy, busy day. I'm not exactly sure why, since you can look at calendars far into the future dates the and see exactly when Easter 2015 is going to be. But I bet next year on the Saturday before Easter, I'll be having another crazy, busy day. I just don't understand.

Today was no different. I woke up at 7:30 a.m. and haven't stopped till now, at 8:33 p.m.

Here's a sample of what I did today. I made my mom's Crusty Pound Cake. Do you ever need a relatively simple, very southern and very homemade dessert? This is the perfect thing. It also uses ingredients that, even I, have on hand. Well, all except for the eggs. My daddy brought me a dozen REAL EGGS. Yeah, you know, the brown-colored ones that come from real, farm-raised chickens! I'm lucky, I know.

Should've greased and floured the pan better. It stuck like crazy. I thought I was going to ruin it.

It looks so pretty in my glass cake dome! It's a pretty cake! The appearance doesn't hold a candle to the taste of it, though! It's so moist, little lemony, little vanilla, WONDERFUL!

I wanted to make a squash casserole for Easter lunch tomorrow. Lots of cutting and slicing in this little dish, girls. But that hot, squash casserole will be wonderful! It's another one of my moms's recipe.

I had been looking for an Easter apron or something springy, something festive. I couldn't find anything. So if I see an Easter apron on clearance anywhere or if I can remember next year, I want to get an Easter apron.

Michael's came to my rescue, though, with a plain canvas apron, a beautiful cross and verse of scripture iron-on transferrable. I made myself an Easter apron.

Of course, I stuffed eggs and got everything ready for the Easter bunny. Yes, I realize that my children are grown and, no, I'm not crazy. At least not in that sense. I hope to always be able to make the boys' an Easter bucket. What a fun time to give them just a little something!

I called my daddy this morning to see if he'd like to take an Easter lito his momma and daddy's grave. He said he would if he had one. Well, they were on sale at Publix for $5.99. So I bought one and took it over and rode with him to visit their grave. Someone had put two beautiful crosses, with the prettiest little robin eggs on them. These two graves stood out in the cemetary with all the flowers and thoughtfulness given to them.

After we left the cemetary, daddy drove me around to one of the subdivisions he worked in when I was growing up. I couldn't begin to count the number of times I had heard him talking to someone about the Chapparal. The Chapparal, and the work it gave daddy, helped raise Crystal, Suz and me. Then he showed me a road he used to drive on as a teenage boy. He said he knew that he had gotten his car up to 100. It was a narrow, curvy road, too. Man, I bet he gave his momma a few gray hairs.

We got back to their house and I helped mom carry her groceries in the house. Is that not one of the worst domestic jobs there is? I hate it. I will carry 48 bags and practically dislocate my shoulder to make one trip. She hates it, too.

Came home and finished tidying up after my cooking earlier in the day. Then I gave myself a DIY mani/pedi. I am not a fan of DIY mani/pedis. I don't have a steady had, even though I've been polishing my nails since I was probably eight years old.

Oh, well. I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter Sunday. I hope everyone celebrates the risen Savior we serve. I hope everyone eats too much of that oh, so perfect Easter candy. And I hope everyone enjoys the time they spend with their loved ones. I can tell you that A Girl Named Kelly Kelly plans to do all of the above. And bake two hams in the morning before church...

Till next time...

 

Posted with Blogsy

One Busy Day

Today was house cleaning day. Jeff and I clean the house together every other week. You know, the good, deep-down cleaning that lets you sleep extra good after you do it. I wasn't able to do as much as I would normally do, but my sweet Jeffery took up my slack, just like he always does.

I had to finally toss my pretty flowers that Suz, Crystal, Cam and Alicia brought me after my surgery last week. I was sad at first, but then I thought about how much I have enjoyed them over the past week. I felt better about it after that. I was able to save six Gerbera daisies that Crystal gave me. I put them in this Mason-type jar. I'll get to enjoy them a few days more.

So if you need a good reason to take the best care of your body that you're able to, then read this sign that was at the diabetes doctor I took daddy to today. Ain't nobody wanting to stick their fingers SIX times a day! I learned a lot about diabetes today, but the most important thing I learned is I HOPE I NEVER HAVE IT. I know it runs in my family, but I pray that it runs the other way. In addition to that, I learned that my daddy is lucky to be alive. His diabetes has been completely out of control. 90 percent of the things that my daddy has been doing, some thinking it was the right thing to do, have been WRONG. Some of it was just him, as he put it to me, not "liking that word moderation." We have a lot of work to do. Diet, finger sticks, more lab work, lots of moderation. I'm praying that this doctor will help put us on the right track. It's a slow process. But we've got time and really, nothing else better to do. His and my mom's health are the most important thing right now. Gotta get them feeling their oats again.

I sat in my daddy's truck and just chatted for at least two hours. Really, it was longer than that. We talked about so many different things. The weather was lovely and there was a perfect little breeze blowing through the truck windows. He wasn't in a hurry, and neither was I. So we chatted.

When he left, I knew I still had the daunting task of shopping for an Easter dress. Where I come from, your Easter frockery is of the utmost imoprtance. My momma and daddy ALWAYS made sure that Crystal, Suz and I had new dresses, shoes, gloves, hats, socks and purses. Many years momma made our dresses. Lucky little girls we were.

I have shopped for weeks and weeks for my dress. I had even ordered two off the Internet, which I sent back to them barely taking them out of the packaging. I could tell by first glimpse that neither was what I was looking for.

Suz text me that she had seen some gorgeous dresses at Dillard's. We don't have a very good mall near me. She has the Mall of Georgia, only the best mall in the whole state. I thought, yeah, right, Dillard's has the gorgeous dresses at your mall. They won't have diddly-squat at mine.

The Lord took a little burden off me, though. I nearly pulled a muscle in my arm carrying all the beautiful, colorful dresses I wanted to try on.

Easter Dress Conquest 2014 is over. I got the perfect dress. It wasn't at all the color or really the style I was looking for, but I love it, and I know I'll get a lot of use of it, too.

Next time I'll just go to Dillard's to begin with.

Till next time...

 

Posted with Blogsy

Pretty Pink Flowers

I have the best family. I had a job today and when I got home, there was the prettiest hanging basket outside my door. It had a handwritten note signed by my aunt Barbo. It's a double begonia with the sweetest pink blooms on it. I love it, but I love her so much more!

It's four days until Easter! I have searched and searched for an Easter dress. I had a vision and a color in mind. I think that's where I made my first mistake. Now, nothing except that color dress appeals to me. I've got to find one because I've already bought the necklace that I wanted to wear with it! That was my second mistake. Maybe I'll choose another color, like, say, one the color of the pretty pink blossoms on my hanging basket.

Till next time...

 

Posted with Blogsy

Living Life

We visited the farm in South Georgia where my MaMa and PaPa Kimball lived, farmed, and raised their family. My uncle, Bobby, has a house on a portion of what used to be the tobacco field. He had all of us down for Easter. Nice photo bomb, Reid. There's a definite art to photo bombing.
Everyone brings food. It's a potluck. There was chicken, ham, a beautiful salad, the best poppyseed chiicken casserole I've ever eaten, a yummy hashbrown potato casserole, and lots of other yummy stuff. My aunt, Libby, makes the best baked beans. There are two things that MUST be at every Kimball family get-together. One is Libby's baked beans and the other is Jefff's chocolate delight. We had both. Jennifer's mom made a very good banana pudding. Who doesn't love banana pudding?!

Sometimes I look at my handsome sons and nephews and my beautiful niece, and I can't believe they are

the same little kids they used to be. How they grow up on you while you're busy living life.

Wish I could hear what Ross and Reid are conversing about.

 

Alicia and Cam

We don't have any "little" kids in the family anymore. Thankfully, we have some "not so little" kids that still like to bend over and pick up a plastic egg filled with Easter candy.

I love this one of sweet Ethan. There is something special about that boy. I got to spend some one-on-one time with him Friday when he helped me with some chores. I told him we could use a doctor in the family, and that I thought he'd make a good one. He chuckled.

My girl, Alayna. This is a big week for her. She gets her braces off on Thursday. I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE THAT BEAUTIFUL SMILE! Love her so.

Ethan, Alayna, Eli, Colby, Emma and Hannah.

We fished and caught at least 100 of the smallest fish you've ever seen. But before leaving Twin Ciy, Georgia, we drove the small distance to Garfied, Georgia, where my grandparents are buried. Rest their souls. I miss them so much.

That was our Kimball Easter. It's always fun to go down to the farm and pond where I have so many great memories.

But today is someone's birthday who is very special to me! Can't even believe that this little guy is 10 years old today! He is the bonus given to our family. He's proof that being around a happy person will make you happy, too. Wish I could be around him more! Love him so, so, so much!

 

Looking forward to a wonderful week: I'm back to work, so far, so good. Just still weak and not much energy at a time. I think that anesthesia takes it out of you for a little while. Alayna's braces come off Thursday. Daddy finally is seeing a doctor whose specialty is uncontrolled diabetes. Stuffing billions of Easter eggs. Planning the menu for the couple of places we'll spend Easter Sunday. But mostly I'm looking forward to celebrating Christ's resurrection the ENTIRE day on Sunday. I have chills thinking about it.

Till next time... If you can be anything, be kind.

 

Posted with Blogsy