It is snowing here tonight and for the third weekend in a row, I broke out my "bread and milk" socks.  For those who don't know, we rarely ever see snow in Charlotte.  It is a well known phenomena that when winter weather is forecasted, southerners clear the grocery stores shelves of bread and milk.  I guess we think that if we get snowed in, we can have milk sandwiches.  I'm so over this cold weather and I'm ready for spring to arrive!  

It has been quite a January.  Dad spent 11 days in the hospital for a UTI and then a heart procedure.  He is doing MUCH better; however, he is still pretty weak.  Thankfully he was given a room in a brand new 7 story hospital tower.  It had been open for less than a month.  The room was huge and even had a pull out bed.  If you have to stay at the hospital, you might as well stay in comfort.  

After waiting for 7 weeks, (hospital visit and then his stylist had Covid) Dad was so excited to finally get a haircut.  

I bought some new flowers for Mom's grave.  These didn't look as good as the last ones but they are strong enough to get through this wintery weather.  I have ordered a custom bouquet for the spring and can't wait to see them.  Life comes at you fast.  I had no idea this time last year that I'd be so excited over buying flowers for my mom's grave.  

My sweet Aunt Bobbie passed away this month.  Aunt Bobbie was married to my Dad's brother, Coy, for 69 years.  I didn't get to see her very much but we spent a lot of time corresponding via email over the years. She was always so encouraging and also a wealth of knowledge too!  I will love and miss her always. 

Dad told me that when Uncle Coy first saw Aunt Bobbie, he took one look at her and said he was going to marry that girl before he had even met her.  The rest is history.....

Love always.  

Wish You Were Here

Today is my birthday.  I didn't know it would be so hard.  I expected it to be like every other day....it wasn't.  I woke up remembering how Mom always called me early on my birthday, eager to either sing or just cheer "Happy Birthday!"  I realized today that it was always a special day for her as well.  Mom loved birthdays and wanted to go out of her way to make us feel special.  Even though she grew up very poor, her family went out of their way to make birthdays an important time of celebration.  Cake and presents were required.  

I feel like part of me must have thought Mom would "show up" on my birthday somehow.  I know she would have moved heaven and earth to be with me today if she could have.  I guess she couldn't; she really is gone.    

On a much happier note, my Aunt Zell surprised me this week with a special birthday lunch.  I can't believe I didn't suspect a thing!  I thought we were just meeting for lunch but when we were seated at a table with a beautiful flower arrangement and card.  It meant the world to me.  She told me that my Uncle Coy was in on the plan as well.  I can't tell you how much I love my family.  

Life isn't easy but I sure am blessed.  

The Week Between

The week between Christmas and New Year's Day has always felt strange to me.  Christmas is over but things aren't back to "normal".  Update:  This showed up in my Instagram feed this morning.  I guess I'm not the only one who feels discombobulated this week! 

Christmas Eve, I watched our church service on line with my parents. After supper (breakfast) Mom and I drove around in the rain listening to Christmas music and looking at lights.  It was nice.  

I want to be transparent in this blog.  Christmas Day started out very hard for me.  I was in the same funk that I felt on Thanksgiving morning.  I felt very reminded of the fact that things are not the same as they used to be.  The holidays now feel like a measuring stick of how different my parents are.  Mom isn't able to do much to get ready for the day.  She did make deviled eggs but something was a little off with them this year.  Dad sat down with all of us at the table, ate a few bites and went to bed.  He told me that his catheter was hurting him like it did before we went to the hospital last Monday.  We continued on with our meal and opened presents without Dad.  I was unsure whether or not we would be spending Christmas Day at the hospital.  

On a fun note, some of Rana's Muslim friends asked to make Christmas dinner for us.  It was all very good....and different!  I'd tell you what we had but I have no idea what it was called or how to spell it.   Rana told us and it all sounded Greek to me.  There's a joke behind that - I once had to explain that saying to Rana as they clearly don't have it in Syria.  It doesn't work for Rana as she actually does speak a little Greek!  (Kevin made turkey and dressing just in case any of us didn't like the menu.)  

The cat spent the entire day on the couch with us.  

Late that afternoon, Dad was feeling much better.  He told me that his catheter had been blocked but he "fixed" it.  I can't tell you how nervous that makes me.  We have an appointment with his urologist on January 7th.  I don't know if we will make it that long.  He's had 2 more days of feeling better than usual.  He even fried potatoes last night and said they were just like his mother used to make them.   

Daniel loves playing with his buddy.  

It actually snowed for several hours on Christmas morning.  It wasn't enough to stick but it was the first time I ever remember having snow on Christmas.  It was cute but I hope it never happens again.  I like warm weather!  

Mom and Dad celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary on Christmas Eve!  

We are so happy and full of gratitude that we still have Blossom with us this Christmas.  If you had asked me this fall if that was possible, I would have told you there was no way.  She is our Christmas miracle this year.  We are blessed.  

Christmas sure looks different these days.  Here's an old picture of many of my Helms family at Christmas.  I'm going to assume that it was 1990ish.  I'm in the back middle with my cousin, Jason.  My grandmother is in the middle.  Growing up, we always had Christmas Eve with my mom's sister and Christmas Day with Dad's family. I'll never forget those days.  I came from a lot of love.  

Happy week after Christmas!  I'm in the office all week.  

I Put On Pants Today

I put on pants today.  I've actually been putting on pants every day, but only sweat pants.  I put on jeans today and I felt dressed up.  I had 2 different appointment times at 2 different grocery stores to pick up groceries for my parents and myself.  I couldn't get appointments at the same time, or at the same store, so I had to go with the times and locations that were open when I ordered them a week ago.  

I put on pants on Wednesday as well.  Mom had a very thorough exam with her doctor.  This is one of the perks of having to pay so much for a concierge physician.  You may recall that our very good family friend is their doctor and he changed to a concierge practice last year. After taking 4 vials of blood, they did vision, hearing, body mass, muscle strength, circulation, ekg, and lung capacity tests.  We go back in 2 weeks for the results.  

November Wrap Up

Sorry for the long post.... I wanted to start my post where I left off.  On November 12th, my cousin, Brigadier General Jeff Jones, spoke at our Veteran's Day luncheon at church.  I took a couple of these photos from Facebook, hence the reason there are boxes around their faces.  I can't figure out how to turn that feature off!  

My pastor, Jim Davidson, is on the left; Jeff is on the right.  My pastor is an Army Chaplain in the National Guard.  

November Rain

The forecast said the weather would be beautiful this week but, so far, it has rained both days.  It has been a very hard week for my family and this weather is fitting to our mood.  Aunt Sara, my beautiful Aunt Sara, died unexpectedly over the weekend.  My initial post was going to include how her son, Jeff (Jeffrey as we call him), spoke at my church for a Veteran's Day service on Tuesday.  Jeff is a Brigadier General.  Aunt Sara and Uncle John were in attendance along with several other family members including my parents and Aunt Zell.  I will post pictures this weekend once we get through the initial shock and the funeral.  

Meanwhile, I just wanted to update everyone on where I've been.  Here is the picture and obituary of my beautiful Aunt Sara.  

Summer Is Early

It is 92 degrees as I sit on my porch typing this post.  These are the days I wish I had a pool.  

April Flowers

Happy Birthday to Dad's sisters.  These women that I love so much all have birthdays in the month of April.

Family Fun

Saturday, Mom, Dad, Daniel and I, drove to Chesterfield, South Carolina to visit my Uncle John and Aunt Sara. (Kevin and Laura were at Mitey Riders Equine Therapy) Some of my very favorite childhood memories are at their home.  Chesterfield is a small, historic town full of beautiful old southern style homes with wraparound porches.  Everyone knows everyone in Chesterfield.  

Long Time No Post

I didn't mean to go so long without posting but life got a little crazy last week. For reasons that aren't rational, I had been dreading last week for quite a while.  Actually, I've been dreading Friday, August 17th.  That was the one year anniversary of the day Dad (after a catheter procedure) went into cardiac arrest and had to be brought back more than once.  

Photo from August 17, 2017 - just before we left for Dad's heart procedure.

October

After writing that title, I now have U2's "October" stuck in my head.  It's a perfect fall weekend here in the Carolinas.

Laura is enjoying riding on the back of Daniel's tricycle

Daniel insisted that she ride back there although you can tell he is working hard to chauffeur her around.  The tires are actually flat on that tricycle.

Blossom and Balto are enjoying the weekend as well.

On Saturday, my dad was strong enough to have his baby sister come over and give him a haircut.  We are so thankful that he was feeling good enough to sit up and that Aunt Zell was willing to cut his hair.  She did a great job.

Several years ago...maybe 4...I had to get rid of my bird feeders because I had attracted a hawk to the yard.  I didn't want that kind of bird feeder.  For my birthday, I told my mom that I wanted a new bird feeder.  I put it up on Thursday evening but the birds still have not found it.  I'm thinking of renting a bird costume and pretending to eat out of it.

The little triangle hat thingy is to keep the squirrels from climbing up the pole.

Coming this week:  I got my Ancestry DNA results back!  98% of it was totally expected.  2% was exciting.

Family Wedding

The Helms family celebrated a wedding this weekend!  Congratulations Daniel & Hannah Couchenour.  I'm so mad that Scott & I didn't have someone take a picture of us while we were dressed up! I did get a couple of pictures of my parents though...

Mom's first selfie. 

Mom and Aunt Sara

Dad and Uncle John

Mom & Dad

Even though I don't have any pictures of the rest of my family....Aunt Zell, my cousins, THE BRIDE AND GROOM...we had a wonderful time.  The wedding was beautiful and it was so much fun catching up with my family.  

Exhale

Last week was a crazy busy week for me.  Friday night was the only night I didn't have something planned for after work.  I even went to bed early that night!  Besides, I had to get up early Saturday morning for a training session with Blossom and Katie at a nearby Greenway.  Blossom did amazing and frankly, so did I.  :-)

Tuesday was my niece's birthday.  We had a wonderful celebration at Red Robin and then went to her house for cake.  She sure loves cake! 

On Thursday, I lost not one, but two of my beloved uncles on the Helms family side....Uncle Dick - far right (below) -and Uncle Ken -far left.  Yesterday, we said goodbye to my Uncle Dick.  The service wasn't easy but it was absolutely beautiful.  We will have a service for Uncle Ken at a later date.  I can not tell you how much I love my precious family.

My Uncle Coy & Aunt Bobbie are not pictured in the above photo but I am happy to say that I got to see both of them at the funeral as well.  

My dad was diagnosed with the Shingles last Wednesday for the third time.  Yes, the THIRD time.  He was unable to make the service yesterday but he is feeling better each day.  Unfortunately, the third time has been the worst time for my dad.   

I'd like to publicly thank my Megan for bringing me & my family a "Mini Taco Bar".  How cute is that?  I should have taken a picture.  Megan is in New Orleans for business this week and I feel like I am getting a personal tour of the city via text pictures.  While I am loving all of the pictures...this might be my favorite.  Here's Megan in the "coolest hotel room ever!" 

 

And to wind up this terribly random post, I wanted to post some pictures of Scott & our nephew.

 

Daniel designed an "air conditioner" and Scott helped him build it.  Daniel is a little obsessed with air conditioners right now.  He can't wait to meet my friend, Brian, who gets to work on air conditioners all of the time.  

Well, there you have it.  That is what has been going on with me.  How about you?  What have you been up to? 

Mi Familia

I wanted to share a few more of my loves...

Scott & his mom.  I really hit the mother-in-law jackpot with Kathy!

The Helms Family.  Not all of my aunts & uncles could make it to the wedding but the ones that did sure look good!!!

 

 Dad and all of his beautiful sisters

Mom with her brother and sisters.  (Mom was the baby of 14 children!)

Grandmother Lanford

 My sweet, sweet Sue (right).  I miss her more than words can say.

The young girl to the far left is my cousin, Lauren.  Lauren is now an actress in New York City.  The handsome boy to her right is my cousin, Daniel.  Daniel is now a teacher at Myers Park High School.  (Yes, I've been married for a while).  The beautiful lady in the middle is my Mrs. Ruth Patterson.  She was the pianist at my church for over 40 years.  She is also the mother of one of my oldest & dearest friends.  

And, because I can't wait to show this to him at my yearly physical next month....here is a picture of me & my doctor, John Sensenbrenner.  LOL.  He & his wife Kim are dear friends of our family.  

 

Thanks for indulging me as I shared the photos with my family!!!  I know it has been a long time since some of my aunts have seen these photos!

Potpourri

I was looking on the memory card in my camera and found a couple of pictures that I had forgotten about.  This is me and my cousin, Johnny, at April and Jason's wedding a few weeks ago.

April and me:

Blossom:

Greta watching Blossom from a safe place:

Psalm 28:7

The Lord is my strength and my shield;

    my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
    and with my song I praise him.