So, Mom is now set up and comfy-cozy in her hospital bed that of course has been equipped with matching sheets and blankets that compliment the current room's decor :-)
She's been sleeping a lot and has actually been more comfortable the past few days with less severe symptoms :-) Not sure if it's attributed to being off the antibiotics, the special water Jeannie sent us that is supposed to help( she'll be pleased), and/or all your prayers on her behalf! Whatever the reason, we're grateful.

Nate has the boys (he and Michelle's) and my doggie and is staying at my house in Olympia so that we've got an extra quiet house here with little interruptions. Cory arrived today so we're here having a nice quiet time together.

We're grateful for the help and support we continue to get from family and friends. The food brought in, helping around the house, prayers and well wishes, and more. We're so blessed!

Playing Favorites

What is your favorite thing about Sandie? Memory, mannerism, quality, etc..... Whatever you want it to be! Please participate and we will pass them on to Mom. I just thought it would be a fun thing for mom to read!


I will start....one of my favorite things about mom is her laugh. It is hearty and oh so contagious!

Tag, you're it!

I'm a bit behind on our updates, sorry! It's so easy to get busy caring for Mom and logistical stuff and I just haven't been able to get it completed and posted until today.

We had another busy weekend, especially with it being Easter. We had 18 people here for dinner with Mom/Ron's five kids and families. We worked hard to decorate the tables to meet Mom's expectations and we did a pretty good job! We had a lot of fabulous food too.

It's getting pretty difficult for Mom to be up on her feet with the swelling in her legs and it seems that too much movement or exertion prompts vomiting so we didn't risk bringing her downstairs to join us, but we made sure someone was with her at all times so she didn't feel left out.

She is getting weaker since we have not been able to stop the vomiting, yet. We're trying some things and hoping that it will eventually alleviate some of the symptoms or at least provide more relief but it does seem we can get the pain level under better control so that's good.

We don't include every little detail but in general she needs help with most everything and gets worn out VERY easily. We're doing our very best to make her as comfortable as possible. We're having a hospital bed delivered tomorrow and that will help tremendously with getting her in and out of bed and help her change positions easier.

She's more drowsy with the pain meds and one of the things she's taking makes her a bit loopy :-) which has been a source of some humor and confusion at times. For example, Cory and I were visiting with her Saturday night having a heart to heart and discussing the "hallucinations" and a few minutes later she smiled and kind of giggled and told us, "Just so you know, someone is serving you cookies right now!" in a way that told us she knew it wasn't really happening but it's what she was seeing. So we asked, "What kind of cookies?" We all laughed. Luckily she's not having any disturbing experiences or anything like that.

We appreciate all the prayers and good thoughts on her, and our behalf, and all the sweet messages that you put on the blog.

Mom and Ron chillin on the couch

Mom loving the snuggles from the grandsons

Mom's had a rougher time the past few days, unfortunately. It's been quite a busy week with visitors, on top of everything else, and we're seeing that it's taking it's toll, so we've been discussing how we can balance everything better to ensure she gets adequate rest with fewer distractions and interruptions.

Despite not feeling well, she's managed to jot down notes and instructions for us so that we get things right for Easter dinner! She hasn't been able to turn off her hostess knack and still wants things just right. We'll have quite a houseful for Easter with all the immediate family (Ron/Sandie's kids and their families) here and it will be nice to all be together. Hopefully, she'll be able to join us and it won't be too overwhelming.

First of all, we're loving the comments that have been posted! Thank you, all for your messages! Michelle just printed the most recent comments and shared with Mom.

Well, yesterday was full of family, food and fun. Mom made it downstairs and Cyndie set her up in a recliner so she could have her legs up and she hung out for quite awhile; we wore her out :-)
It was a houseful with all the visitors and it was great to have four of Mom's brothers/sisters here at once! (Marian Sue, Tom, Jeannie, Cyndie)

Mom got brave and had small samples of root beer float, a potato chip, some brie on bread, artichoke spinach dip, and potato salad, which even though very small amounts, when compared with a mostly liquid diet was quite an adventure! She ended up pretty uncomfortable as a result though :-( We stayed up late looking through her high school annuals and talking till late. So, again, we wore her out! Other than not sleeping as well last night and that spell of discomfort she's doing better overall with the pain, which we're really grateful for.

Today, Ron's mom, brother Ray and his wife, Kitty visited for awhile and then mom got a little siesta and then was able to visit for a little bit with Jean and Kathy before they had to return to the airport. It was so good to see them and we wish they could have stayed longer!

The Home Health nurse came today and looks like we're doing pretty well taking care of Mom. She took another rest and currently Cyndie, Marian Sue, and Richard are visiting with her. We are so blessed to have such a great family! Tonight we're going to watch Dancing with the Stars which has been a little tradition Mom, Ron, and Marian Sue have been doing for the past few seasons.

We're grateful for you all and your love and prayers/positive thoughts. It is helping :-)