Halloween 2010

So, this year our Halloween was a total whirlwind. Thursday the girls got to wear their costumes to daycare where they played games and got treats. Then that afternoon they wore their costumes to dance for another little party. They also got to learn the basics of the Thriller dance. There is nothing like watching 3-5 year olds try to do it like Michael.

Friday morning Punkin, my mom and I went to the hospital where Punkin was having an EKG done. She had her 5 year check up a couple weeks ago and her Dr. thought he heard a murmur so he just wanted to have it verified. He was concerned because most children grow out of murmurs by the time they reach 5, not develop them. We are still waiting on the results. That evening we had two of our nieces over and we tried to have a mini Halloween party so we made Halloween masks. I think they all really enjoyed it.

We have been so busy with work and life that we didn't even get our pumpkins until the day before the day before Halloween (you know, because we don't celebrate Halloween on Halloween around here.) And we only got three of the four carved. Punkin did draw her own face this year and she did a rather nice job. Peanut just scribbled and then wanted a cat with square eyes. I did my best. By the time I got to mine, I went for quick and simple. D won't touch pumpkin guts and he wasn't "in the mood" to carve so I was tired. Halloween evening we had planned to go to my parents house for chili and trick-or-treating. We had the chili but the pouring rain prevented the trick-or-treating. So we headed to the nursing home for some indoor trick or treating. It was a little weird but the kids and the residents seemed to enjoy it. I liked that it was dry. My Grandma really liked seeing all of the little kids in their costumes and it's always good to see her. We stayed for about an hour. It was impossible to do much visiting with Grandma because of the noise, but it was good to see her having such a nice time. When we got home we went out trick-or-treating around our cul-de-sac and across the street. All in all it was a pretty nice weekend.

My Grandma

This lovely lady is my Grandma Brower. She is the glue in our family. Sunday morning she had a stroke that nearly took her from us. I was able to see her that evening and at that time we didn't know what to expect. She was not responding at all. The next time I saw her was Tuesday evening, she was still intubated, but was more aware and could respond by shaking or nodding her head. I talk to my mom everyday to get updates on her progress and up until yesterday she was very frustrated and discouraged. She thinks she was ready to see my Grandpa again, but God had another plan.

Last night, Dallas and I went up to see her. She had greatly improved and we got to hear a few words from her. She has her voice back but putting sentences together that make sense are very difficult for her. When I showed her the flowers we had brought she said "Very Nice". She looked at me and was struggling to say something, then all of the sudden "I LOVE YOU" came out clearly. Some words aren't even words at all and then she'll just say something. She had a sip of Diet Coke and said "some more", mom asked if she was tired and she said "nope". The significance of these phrases was that she said them quickly and effortlessly where most everything else takes time for her to get out. She understands what we say if we speak slowly and she shows frustration when she just can't get the words out. She smiled a lot, cried and laughed. It was good, especially for my mom, to see her spirits up. As we left she was eating after not eating much at all. They had brought her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich cut into bite size pieces. Every bite was following by an "OH" or "Yum". She is slowly coming back and her sense of humor too. We are grateful for a chance to have her here even if for a little while longer. She was healthy other than her diabetes up until this point to there should be no reason for her not to recover from this.

My Grandma has been a huge influence on me in my adult years. Last year during D's and my separation she was the one I could talk to about what I wanted and she made me feel like it was ok. She's a voice of reason for me. She raised a wonderful mother for me as well. Through the last year my mom and I didn't always see eye to eye on things and if it weren't for my Grandma reminding me why mom felt the way she did, the year would've been a little rougher for me. She doesn't choose sides, she's grounded in her faith, and a great sounding board. I love spending time with her. She goes camping with us, we have our girls nights and if I can swing it I try to visit her at home as much as possible. I pray that we will still be able to share some of those moments still.

On another note, today is my mom's birthday. It is easy to see that it is being overshadowed by all that is going on. I know she doesn't really care, she's more concerned about her mom at this time. But I want her to know that the strength she shows me during these times teaches me a lot, and for that I love her. Happy Birthday Mom!!