I just want to take a moment to say "rest in peace" to Becky and to Bill who passed away last week.   They were classmates of mine from high school.  I went to an extremely small school. We were close and although we went our separate ways all of these years we kept in contact and also attended a few reunions to catch up. Their families are in my thoughts and prayers.  

Happy Birthday Joy!

Today is Joy's birthday.  I was looking for a picture of just her.  It's hard to find.  Joy is always with someone.  She is really a people person.  I thought this was a nice photo of her and Rob.  They went on vacation to Galveston for a few days so we will celebrate when she returns. She is due a nice get away.  Joy, have a great vacation and birthday.  We love you.

Happy Birthday Rob!

Our son-in-law Rob had a birthday yesterday.  I would say 45 looks pretty good on him.  Some of us went out to a Mexican restaurant last night to celebrate.  It is always nice to take some time to give special attention to those we love.  And, we love you Rob, lots and lots.

Congrats To Our Niece Joyce for Graduating From High School This Year!

I mentioned previously I would post a picture of our niece Joyce.  She Graduated this year from High School.  We wish you the best Joyce as you further your education and enter into a new phase of your life. We are proud of you.

Did You Ever Wonder Why People With Amnesia Can Still Talk

The above video will show improvements to Bob's speech during the past few months since his stroke.  He is explaining why the speech part of his brain is causing difficulties with pronouncing words.

July 4th 2015

How was your July 4th weekend?  Ours was low keyed but relaxing.  We went out the lake house on Eagle Mountain Lake and had a barbecue with family and a few friends.  There is not a place I would rather be than sitting on the porch watching the fireworks on the 4th.  It is so awesome!  There are fireworks all up and down the lake and they can be seen near and far. The only thing is, no one knows when to stop.  They are going well into the early morning.  I can't help but think of the cost of all of that shooting into the air and then, GONE!

Bob continues to work very hard going to therapists, getting various kinds of massages, working out at the NRH Rec Center and going to doctors.  He saw a specialist this week regarding his pinkie finger. There may be a torn ligament in the finger but they are not sure.  It is just kind of floppy and doesn't move like the other fingers.  He is wearing a figure eight splint to see if that will help before they do anything else.
Bob has found several machines that are helpful to his leg, arm and hand at the NRH Rec Center.  I usually go twice a week to walk in the current pool but Bob goes almost everyday. He seems to really enjoy it and has made a few friends.  He was telling me that a young man ran up to him as he was walking up the stairs and said " I just want to say that you are such an inspiration to me."  There have been several incidents similar to that and I think that though these people are encouraged by Bob, Bob is encouraged to see that his struggles are encouraging to others. It's funny how that works.  I am so delighted by his progress and so happy for him. I really need to do a video of that progress to show the difference and I will soon.  Even Bob's speech is improving dramatically.

This has allowed more time for me also. I have been busy with some paintings for some shows coming up.  It feels so good to feel almost normal again.   I am so thankful.    

If you are lucky you may have some friends that you may consider as family.  They are always there blending in.  They show up to family events and are just there for you. You let them in as a part of your family because you have become to love them as one of your family.  That is what Jeff was to me, my brothers and sisters for the past thirty five years. When Bob and I would go to Lafayette Indiana to visit he would many times call and say "hey, I heard you are going to be in town!" "Would you like me to call everyone and have them to meet at such and such time at such and such place?" Jeff knew everyone's schedules and how to get a hold of them.  (don't forget I come from a family of twelve kids) He called himself number 13 kid.  Jeff was also very hospitable, offering us a place to stay at his home.  When Mom was sick we took him up on it.  These seem like little things but it meant so much to us. God took Jeff home Saturday. We are really going to miss him. Jeff had a good sense of humor and was very kind. There will be a huge feeling of emptiness with out him.    

R.I.P Jeff

Joy and Rob are renting the lake house. We went out for Father's Day on Sunday. The second round of flooding was more than I have ever seen. We went from drought to flooding. The water reached up to two steps down from the porch. Everyone was joking you could fish from the house. The water is going down now and I really hope there will be no more flooding. It is scary to think the damage it could cause and has caused. I imagine the boat house is going to be in need of repairs. They took the boat out of the boathouse and tied it to the railing by the pier. There is a picnic table on the boathouse completely covered by water. Rob said he placed heavy stones on top of the table to keep it from floating away. There is much debris and green moss floating on top and washing a shore. We are so glad Joy and Rob are there to help us with everything. There is no way we could physically do it right now. Pictures do not show the reality of really being there. We had a small Father's Day celebration but it was nice.

Flooded Waters at Eagle Mountain Lake

Bob had his 60th birthday!

 There's nothing quite as delicious as an ice cream cake!

Bob had his 60th birthday yesterday.  We had a small family dinner/swim/party. When Angie asked what she could get for her Dad I told her Bob has been asking for a Johnny Jump Up.  So, she made this card for him.  It is about the closest thing he is going to get to having one.

Catching Up!

I have a lot of catching up to do!  I am going to try and put into sequence the things that have happened in the past few weeks and soon I will post some pictures.  I caught a virus that lead to a sinus infection and have had a cough for about five weeks. I am just now getting over it. Even though there has been a lot going on I have had very little energy.  I guess a sinus infection will do that to you. Hopefully this will explain the void in my posts.

Our friends Joe and Char from Chicago came for a visit for a weekend before we went to Chicago.  It was great to spend time with them. We have had a lot of company since Bob had his stroke.  It has been so appreciated because until last month traveling for us was not an option.

The week before we went to Chicago we were informed our daughter Angie had melanoma.  From birth she had a mole on the top of her foot.  It was itching and oozing.  When she had it looked at they found that she had melanoma. They did surgery and we waited a few days to make sure it had not spread through the lymph nodes.  It did not spread and we were so thankful and relieved.  They grafted some skin to place over the top of the open wound.  The mole was pretty large and they dug very deep and wider than the actual mole in hopes to get it all.  As of now, the skin graft did not take but the doctor said it is healing from the bottom up.  This will cause a slower healing time.  Angie's boss is allowing her to work part time from home.  I think this will make the recovery much easier for her since she now has other things to think about.

After that, we drove to Chicago to see our daughter Jane graduate from college.  She went four years to college but never got her degree.  She changed her major and needed more credits.  She got a very good job so she put school off until now.  She didn't want to make a big deal about it but we are very proud of her.  She is a mother, works and has a lot of responsibility for work outside her regular hours. It was not an easy task for her and she was on the Dean's list the whole time and graduated with honors. While in Chicago we had a little dinner and invited some relatives and a few friends to celebrate our anniversary.  Bob and I celebrated 29 years of marriage.  It was also Mother's Day.  We thought we would leave the following Monday but I became so sick I went to the doctor there and was in bed for about a week. Unfortunately when we left my daughter, her husband and son got sick.  I felt so bad.  I have not been this sick in years.  Bob did get it but I was very happy it wasn't too bad and only a few days.
The trip to Chicago was the first time we had gone anywhere since Bob's stroke.  Bob did very well with the traveling.  We only drove 5 to 6 hours per day to make it easier and to get out and stretch.

Bob's niece Joyce graduated from high school a couple of weeks after we left. I wish we could have been there.

Since we have been home Bob has had a lot of therapy, doctor visits and both of us have become very active at the rec center.  I usually walk in the water for exercise while Bob has found some machines that work for him. He also walks.

Tomorrow we are having a small family party for Bob.  He is turning 60.  I will post pictures of that later.