Showing off the newest addition

This is our new princess. Of course, the GrandmomE has to be in the picture too. I want her to know I was there when she was born. As you can tell she is full of expressions and animation.

What a joy.

Steps forward and Steps backward

My daughter had been having abdominal pain since last Thursday. We called the doctors message service, because I could not feel her fundus. No one called back. Since she had left the reason for having called, she did not think to call back when there wasn't a response. Early Friday she felt a bit better and decided it was her over reacting. However, by midnight the pain had increased and on Saturday she was in bed. Her husband had gone to a special session at their church and would not be back until 5pm. She wanted to wait. At 4pm, she began to feel hot and the pain increased. Her temperature was 100.4 F orally. I had her call the doctor again. She called and since her temperature was a raised, they asked her to come into the hospital. Her husband arrived at 6pm to find her packed and ready to go. His parents were here....his mom thinks the baby is "BEAUTIFUL". She is...
They admitted my daughter for postpartum endometrosis. [The doctor said one in 10 of their patients come back with this problem. I think that is a lot and a result of lack of post partum instruction.]
As for the rest of us, well while the couple "languished" in the hospital, the two grandmas' had a blast caring for the granddaughter. The grandpas' doted and shared funny stories. The grandmas' also spent time working on family history.
While we missed them, we did have a fun time together. The other grandma makes wonderful cookies and spaghetti.
Love to all
Oh btw, my hero had excellent treatment results last night. After the treatment, for the next two hours he sloughed off dead tissue and related cancer cells. It is working, but today he is tired and feeling sore from the tissue slough off
HUGZ

Reunited

How wonderful it was to see my hero walking out of the terminal to meet us at the car. I could tell the week long IV treatments had taken their toll. He looked tired. Of course, only 2 hours of sleep the night before had not helped either. Our daughter does not have a regular bed. She has a queen air mattress. That sounded okay, I knew though since I had to sleep cross wise to keep the sheets on that there would be trouble when there was two of us. Besides being challenging to get up....hold on the the side and pull or dump yourself off..., turning over in the night resulted in the mummy affect. The sheets let go of the side of the mattress and curled themselves around our legs and bodies, now getting up was more complicated. When I went into the kitchen and my hair was like it had been in a light socket, everyone knew the answer to "did you have a good night?' Mostly it was just good to have his presence back beside me.
Things are better today. He had a treatment last night that helped. He also loved holding the new bright star for the future. She is a cutie. We have been giving her subliminal messages when she is a sleep...."When you hear this voice you will smile" " When we call you will want to talk." Hope it is not too obvious that she is special to us. : )

I am enjoying talking with him about my class, the environment around here, and just sitting and watching the hummingbirds. Tomorrow we will help the kids put up a hummingbird feeder. Good thing to do as they are running low on flower nectar right now.

I was listening to my professor lecture today. The pictures of improperly planted trees are so real. When I drive through older neighborhoods in the Houston area, there are many examples of what she said was NOT a good thing to do, ie. plant a large tree too close to the house, sidewalk, septic. We have had many people come in to our nursery looking for answers to their now challenges...a referral to an arborist is usually the best answer. Our new customers are advised of how important it is to consider the height, and width before placing a plant. At least we are on the right page so far.

Only two more days and we will be going back to Texas. It has been a most pleasant break. ; )

California has its pretty spots

All my life California has been mostly large cities in my mind, because that was all I read about. Between earthquakes and fires, when my daughter said that they were moving to a town about 1 hour from LA, my heart sunk. But here I am. Last night, we went looking for land for their future. I was amazed that 10 minutes out of their town, we were in the mountains and it was beautiful.
The trees and flora are interesting and appear in spite of the dryness to be flourshing. (Must be from spring thaw.) When I got out to walk, the feel of the land was soft from mounds of decaying pine needles. I love the conifers here. [There were shrubs I must look up and perennials that worked great in the dry climate. I can tell I have some homework to do in California flora, if I am to help my daughter landscape when they build.] I could tell that the land has never been worked where we were. However, my son-in-law felt it too far and too primitive for them to achieve a home before their lease ran out, so it was back to looking for them. It was helpful to me to drive around with them looking at the surrounding area. The area is nice and with more flora will continue to be prettier. Definitely, it is not what I expected from all the newspaper and news media information. Interestingly, the people in the mountain area were all fire conscious. They had firebreaks and store a certain amount of water for fire fighting. They appear to be provident in their planning. There is wind energy used for most of the area. I love the wind mills they use for energy. They fascinate me with their size, movement, and utibility. Many though use solar energy for their homes. If it weren't for the earthquakes, I would consider coming here. But for now...a week visit with my sweet granddaughter and her parents will do. Plus, I don't feel so bad about where they live.
More later

Several New Beginnings

On Monday, August 27, I began my horticulture classes again. The subjects are Urban soils and Arboriculture. Information easily applied to life. My professors are very nice and patient with me. I will finish.

On Friday, I flew to California to be with my 4th child for the birth of her first child. A beautiful (even if I say so myself) little girl. Taking online classes makes it so much easier for me to juggle my life. My hero is lonesome though. He will fly out on Sep. 6th. I have missed him a lot. It will be nice to be reunited after a week. I just don't sleep as well when he is not there.

My first daughter has decided to start writing again. She has a blog that is fanfiction on Alias Smith and Jones. She says she needs the practice.

So far the site looks good.

My second daughter is working hard to hang in at work until her dad comes back from California. She is having her third child. However, it has been 12 years since her last child. She is so excited. Her sons have been working hard to adjust to a new step dad and new schools this year. The boys are liking where they are. The oldest was moved up to advanced band because he does so well.

My son got to have his first do nothing labor day. He laughed and said for the first time, besides when he went on a mission, he did not have to work on the farm with dad on Labor day. He slept in and watched old movies. His wife sent out a help email...Funny bunnies.

Life is not easier nor is it overwhelming. Things are good and are best when done with a smile and some laughter. My hero said he hasn't had a good laugh since I left. How sad...he and those around him should be able to find light hearted jokes or conversation that can be uplifting. I love to laugh and enjoy life to the hilt. I sat on my daughter's patio looking at the mountains and desert in the distance thinking how wonderful it is to be alive and how beautiful our surroundings are. I think that is why I find learning more about horticulture exciting. As I studied about climate, etc., I could see how just a little more attention to the plants around us can do so much for the next generation.

Now don't think I'm going political or environmentalist. I think it is all about stewardship and that involves everyone.