A gorgeous day

Earlier this week it was absolutely gorgeous. Like shorts and tee shirts gorgeous. Windy...but gorgeous. The perfect day for kites. Praise the Lord for homeschooling freedom. We put down the books and went outside to play. We threw rocks in the creek and watched Cooper swim in the frigid water and then flew kites until they had all be sacrificed to either power lines, treetops, or trash cans. It truly was a dream afternoon. And even better....it was a Friday (my hubby's day off). This is what family is made for. You could not get the smile off my face for anything in the world.

Momma

Lots has happened with my mom recently. None of which is very good. But, on the bright side, none of which is terribly related to her health. She is living at a nursing home that is about 20 minutes from our house and I am able to go see her about once a week. She is stable in her health and I really feel as though her meds are appropriate and that this facility is better equipped to serve people with her type of disease.

The issues I am having are with the nursing home. They recently had to fire an employee for being rude to my mom. They "punished" her for wetting the bed by making her change the sheets herself. While I was trembling with anger over this mistreatment, I was pleased with the managements response to the employees actions.

But then just days later I got a call saying that mom had choked and was being sent to the ER just to be sure she had not aspirated anything. I was in St. Louis for a wedding and was unable to travel to get to her. I guess that I just assumed that they would send a representative from the nursing home with her. However, I later learned that she was in an ER bed by herself...with no one. And to make matters worse the ER was so busy that they could not transfer her back to the nursing home for 8 hours after she was discharged. And as hard as I tried and as much as I kicked up a fuss, the nursing home would not send someone to get her. They kept saying, "there just isn't anyone here to go get her. it's the job of the hospital to transport her back." I was L.I.V.I.D. The thought of my mom all alone in that hospital for all those hours was heartbreaking. Now, I am glad that she is okay (she did not aspirate anything). And I am thankful that she has caregivers who want her to be healthy and are cautious with her health. But, I am not sure of the next step.

I want to let the nursing home know that I am not okay with my mom's care currently. But I am not exactly sure how to do that. I want to be direct....but, I also don't want to be mean. I still need her to stay there....I don't really know where else we would go. Please pray for us. Pray for some resolution between me and the nursing home. Pray that God will either give me incredible peace about her care or show me exactly where we should head.

And while you are praying....would you mind to ask the Lord to heal her? I want so badly for her to be whole again....and whether that is on earth or in Heaven I don't care. Wholeness....that is my dream for her.

Fall Fun

We have had the most gorgeous weather lately. The kids can go outside and play almost every day still. In the midst of riding bikes one day last week we decided to rake leaves and jump on in! I grabbed my camera (I wish I would do that more often than I do).

Just look at those beautiful faces! Is there anything more precious than that...true love!

Those 3 hold my heart....they make me smile, cry, laugh, scratch my head in wonder, and count my many blessings.

Cooper

Our little puppy is no so little anymore. Weighing in at over 45 pounds at just 6 months of age, he is certainly a giant. He looks Aubri in the eyes and he weighs more than each of the kids. He is a beast....but a beautiful beast. He is graceful when he runs. He is playful (especially when you have a baseball or a tug-of-war rope). And the dude thinks he is a lap dog....especially when the lap that is available is mine. Lots of people comment that he has a very "cartoonish" quality. And I would have to agree. He is a Golden Doodle (mom is a poodle and dad is a golden retriever)...or as they are more affectionately referred to, the teddy bear breed. He is simply that....a big ole teddy bear.

Halloween

Well....I officially stink at updating the blog. I blame it on a few things really....

1. homeschooling

2. I am mostly online on my iPad now and I can't upload from my camera to the blog on that

3. Pinterest. That website is at the top of the list of things I am loving right now, things that are occupying my time, and things that I am totally addicted too.

I will do my best to catch up and to do better. (you can't see it, but I have my right hand held high promising to improve.) So, without further ado....here are the Halloween pictures...