Christmas Decorating

Today, I completed the Christmas decorating. I will not be putting up the tree this year as we won't be home too much in December due to Josh's graduation, Jackie's graduation & baby Andrews arrival.

Below is the mantel with all eight the Christmas stockings. We may have to really squeeze them together next year to include a stocking for Andrew.  Also shown below is the Santa & Tree that my father-in-law, Melvin made quite a few years ago. It is proudly displayed by our fireplace every year!

Below is the decoration on the kitchen table,
the quilted table scarf was given to me last year by my sister-in-law, Karen.

While we were in Iowa over Thanksgiving, Jackie & Jonathan came over to the house and they set up my Christmas village.  It has been a few years since this has been set up. 
Most of the pieces of the Christmas village have been given to me by my
mother-in-law, Lyla and the remainder by Karl, Jill and Jackie.

The formal dining room is a little more festive than the rest of the house.
We are now, ready to entertain some holiday guests. 

Finally, the memory tree is set up with photo ornaments of Granny Murphy and
our brother-in-law, Bob.  Also on the tree are two nativity ornaments we received
from Diane & Nathan as a rememberance of Bob.

25 days until Christmas!!

When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things - not the great occasions - give off the greatest glow of happiness. ~Bob Hope

May you have the gladness of Christmas which is hope;
The spirit of Christmas which is peace;
The heart of Christmas which is love.
~Ada V. Hendricks

Grandpa Wilbert Update

Last night, Mom called as Dad's blood pressure was high (194/102) and he was complaining about pain from his neck to his elbow.
They went to the emergency room in Lake City. He had an EKG and a chest xray. The EKG was good and the chest xray showed mild arthritis in his neck and some plaque buildup. The hospital wanted to keep him overnight for observation and then call the VA Hospital in Des Moines in the morning. But Dad was stubborn and said he could call the VA in the morning himself. So they left the hospital about midnight.

FYI. - plaque in the neck arteries is called carotid artery stenosis. The carotid arteries are two blood vessels that run along either side of you neck to supply blood to your head and brain. The carotid arteries are the most commonly infiltrated blood vessels in your neck.  Symptoms of plaque buildup in your neck arteries include sudden weakness, pain or numbness affecting your face, leg or one side of your body. You can also have slurred speech and become blind in one of your eyes.

The first symptom, chest pain, is also called angina. It may result from reduced blood flow to the heart. That reduced blood flow is caused by plaque in the arteries leading to the heart. Clogged arteries in carotid artery disease may cause stroke precursors known as transient ischemic attacks.
Tests for clogged arteries include: cholestrol screening, CXR, CT Scan, ultrasound, MRI, Pet Scan or angiogram.
Treatment includes:
1) Lifestyle changes - eating a diet low in saturated fats/cholestrol and rich in fruits and vegetables; maintaining a healthy weight; not smoking; exercising regularly and managing stress levels.
2) Surgical procedures - Stent placement: A metal tube called a stent, which may contain medication, can be placed in an artery to maintain adequate blood flow.Balloon angioplasty: This procedure helps open clogged arteries that have become partially or fully blocked. Bypass surgery: Arteries from other parts of the body are moved to bypass clogged arteries and help oxygen-rich blood reach its target destination.
3) Medications - cholestrol lowering drugs; blood pressure lowering drugs and aspirin to reduce the likelihood of blood clots forming.
The call to the VA Hospital this morning has not yet been returned. His blood pressure today is running between 158/91 and 150/79.  So I will update you all when I know more.

Grandpa Melvin Update

Grandpa Melvin had a CT scan done that showed a Middle Cerebral Artery Infarction (MCAI). The main symptom he has is Wernicke's aphasia (impairment of language ability). People with this type of aphasia can speak with normal grammar, syntax, rate, intonation and stress, but their language content is incorrect. They may use the wrong words, insert nonexistent words into speech, or string normal words together randomly. They however retain the ability to sing or to recite something memorized.In some cases, they are completely at loss and don’t understand the spoken language. People with Wernicke’s aphasia generally speak in uninterrupted, long sentences. The words, however, used are mostly made-up or unnecessary. The patients have difficulty in understanding other’s speech. Also, patients with Wernicke’s aphasia have an abnormal reading ability. Even though they retain their writing ability, what they really write can be illegible.

In order to understand spoken language your brain has to perform the following jobs:

• Recognize the sounds as spoken language
• Hold the spoken sounds in a temporary memory file
• Separate the speech sounds into individual units (vowels and consonants)
• Put them in the correct order to create larger sound symbols (words)
• Apply meaning to each word
• Apply meaning to the whole group of words (sentences)

Melvin will be going home today and will have speech therapy. The primary focus is on making use of the retained language abilities and emphasizing learning to use other forms of communication. This will compensate for the lost language abilities.
Family members can help the aphasic patient by:
Simplify language - use short sentences with basic words
Slow down the rate of your speech
Use pauses between words
Try to eliminate any distractions (like a television or radio)
Include the person with aphasia in your conversations
Try not to correct the person's speech
Be patient - give plenty of time for responses
Communication comes in many forms: drawing, pointing, gesturing, and writing.
These are some common examples of types of speech therapy he might receive.

Thanks-mas Christ-giving

Doug & I spent a few days in Jefferson, Iowa for the annual Kuklenz family gathering.  We flew in to Des Moines on Wednesday, November 23rd. 

The day would end on a sad note, Doug's dad - Melvin had a stroke earlier in the day and was admitted to the hospital in Lake City. The stroke affected his cognitive function (memory & speech).We are keeping in touch with family and we hear that he could be moving to a nursing home for some speech therapy soon.  Prayers for continued healing for Melvin & peace for the rest of the family.

The annual Kuklenz family gathering was hosted by Diane & Nathan Kennedy. They did a wonderful job with the entertainment and all of the food was awesome!!!  I didn't get many pictures, but I'm sure Diane will be sharing some of the good ones real soon.  I personally can't wait to see the picture of Denise, squatting over the bucket.  "Ask me for the story" "It was  hilarious!"

Saturday, Doug & I drove to see my mom and dad for a few hours. She has been sick for quite a while and I don't believe they will make it to Texas this winter due to health concerns.

So it was a whirl-wind trip with many highs and lows! 

Looking forward to the surprises that will come at next year's event!

A special thanks to Diane & Nathan for all they did to make our stay unforgettable. It was a very special weekend and we felt Big Bob among us at many times.  Our nativity ornaments in memory of Bob are hung and we will treasure them for a lifetime!

Hospital - Day 2

DAY 2Today, mom had an endoscopy.  It did not show any gastric ulcers, tears or tumors.

She has been diagnosed with diabetes. Her HgbA1c was 7.4. 
The HgbA1c is a measure of the average plasma concentration over the past 90 days. 
Non-diabetic range is 4.8-5.6;
The range for an increased risk for diabetes 5.7 - 6.4;
Diabetes diagnosis for results > 6.4

She has been started on oral diabetes medication and will attend some diabetic education classes in Pocahontas. The hospital will teach her how to test her blood sugar and will send her home with a glucometer.

The hospitalist is hoping the diabetes is the cause of her poor healing response to infection....or it could be the infection is affecting the pancreas and its ability to produce insulin.

It's all a crap shoot and I think they are just looking to get her out of the hospital before the Thanksgiving weekend. So she will probably be discharged on Wednesday and we are hoping she can finally turn a corner and find some relief from these ongoing infections.

Back to the hospital

Mom was  readmitted to the hospital around 12:30am this morning.  Dad said she had been sick to her stomach all day yesterday (Sunday).  She vomited a small amount, followed by a much larger amount of "brown stuff". 

She is on IV fluids & Levaquin (for her bacterial urinary infection).  Her liver and pancreas are enlarged and her blood sugars are running high. I guess they were very high in the emergency room.  Fasting blood sugar prior to breakfast today was 127, at lunch it was 207 and prior to dinner it was 156.  She has never had high blood sugar before so not sure if it is related to the ongoing infection or something new.  Urine cultures are of course being run, but that takes 24-72 hours to get the results.  She will have an endoscopy tomorrow to check out the reason for the "brown" emesis. Could be bowel related (?ileus-bowel obstruction) or old blood from some bleeding in the stomach (?ulcer) or who knows what???

The hospitalist called me this morning and "we" worked on a short term plan. I've also called her Dr David Christ, her urologist in Spencer to see if I could get her urine culture results and biopsy results from the procedure she had this past Thursday. They did not have the results, but are working to try and get them and will hopefully send them to the hospital in Fort Dodge.

Prayers for continued healing are being requested at this time.

Mom can be reached directly at 515-574-6396; send an online greeting at http://www.trmc.org/send-a-card.aspx or you can visit the hospital (Room 396).
Trinity Regional Medical Center

802 Kenyon Rd

Fort Dodge, IA 50501

Larry Miller @ the Eisemann

Last night, Doug and I went to the Eisemann Center in Richardson to see Larry Miller in concert.

As one of Hollywood’s most recognizable faces, Larry Miller  has appeared in over a hundred film and television shows. He began his career  with a memorable scene alongside Richard Gere and Julia Roberts in the blockbuster film, Pretty Woman. He played the shop keeper where Julia Roberts character bought all her clothes. He  has since gone on to other unforgettable roles in such films as The Princess Diaries, The  Nutty Professor, Bee Movie and Ten  Things I Hate About You.
Miller has made dozens of appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show with David Letterman and Real Time with Bill Maher. He has also starred  in his own HBO comedy specials and on Broadway in Neil Simon’s play, The Dinner Party.  His other television credits include Desperate Housewives, Medium, Burn Notice, Law & Order and Seinfeld

He is currently touring the country in  his one-man show Cocktails with Larry  Miller: Little League, Adultery and Other Bad Ideas. 

3D Ultrasound of Baby Andrew

Josh sent me a text message this morning with the 3D ultrasound photo of Baby Andrew.

Jill is doing very well, with only 4 weeks until her due date.

Here he is, in all his cuteness!

Window Replacement

Last week I called Hurricane Mirror & Glass and got an estimate to have a couple of our windows replaced.  The side-lite window next to the front door and the arch topped window in our bathroom had lost the vapor seal between the two panes of glass.  Late this summer, the bathroom window would look similar to the photo below. The condensation was not on the inside or the outside, but between the glass panes.

(not our actual window)

$92.50 - Sidelite Window next to front door
$94.87 - Arch top Window in our bathroom
$49.50 - Installation
$15.46 - Sales Tax 8.25%
$252.33 = Total Cost for project

Doug didn't have to get on a ladder ~ Priceless!

Hakuna Matata!

Look what my sweet husband made for me this morning!!!

He knows I've been a "little" stressed lately and wanted to start my day off right.

My mantra today is Hakuna Matata (that means "No Worries").

Maybe I'll have to watch the Lion King dvd

before the day is over or play Bobby McFerrin's

song "Don't Worry ~ Be Happy"

So here's hoping Jackie's car is painted the right color today and that mom gets her surgery finally scheduled and work will be a little less stressful.  I know that is a lot to expect from a happy face cup of coffee but it was a really good cup of coffee!

New Kitchen Light

The last thing on the kitchen remodel list, was to replace our builder's grade kitchen light.

BEFORE PHOTO

We purchased at Tiella Razzo Pendant - low voltage - track light.
It was a Lowe's clearance item $148.95

There were two tracks to combine.We didn't want to keep the track straight,
so Doug is shown here "customizing" the track for a different shape.

Doug is shown below putting the track together.
Notice the nice wave pattern of the mono-rail track!
We hung weighted strings to makes sure we put the lights in the right spot,
so that they would hang in a straight line.

AFTER PHOTO
Install complete: 3 lights (35watts) each
The light was never center with the table; so now that issue has been corrected!

A view of the lights in the daytime, so you can see the design of the pendants.

A close-up of the pendant lights.
They are made with chips of natural onyx.

 The colors of the pendant light are similar to our counter-top backsplash.

Nursery Set-up

Last weekend I went down south to deliver the baby crib & bookcase to Josh & Jill for the baby nursery. I had the dresser delivered to them previously.

Below is the theme of the room: HOPPER by Beansprout.

Baby Andrew has made another appearance. He was last seen at Jill's first baby shower!

 I'm sure the bookshelf will soon be filled with more books and toys!!!

During the stay, I also took the tags off the baby clothes and washed them in Dreft.  The problem was later when it came time to match up all the clothes. I did the best I could, Josh & Jill will have to figure that part out later :-)

FYIThe origin of the name ANDREW is greek. The meaning of the name ANDREW is manly, strong, courageous, warrior.  Andrew's nickname will be Andy or Drew.
Additional info: 

Andrew was a disciple of Jesus and of John the Baptist, who it is said was martyred by being crucified on a cross in the shape of an "X". He became a saint. This symbol is now referred to as Saint Andrew's cross. Andrew was the brother of Peter. Hurricane Andrew occurred in 1992 and was the second most destructive hurricane in US history, causing damage in the northwestern Bahamas, southern Florida south of Miami, and south-central Louisiana. Andrew is the name of the current Duke of York, son of Queen Elizabeth II. Other notable Andrews include American presidents Andrew Jackson and Andrew Johnson, entrepreneur and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and artist Andy Warhol. Andrew is a popular name throughout the USA. It is particularly popular in Missouri and Indiana.

Mom's new diagnosis

My mom was discharged from the hospital today - the doctor wanted her out before she caught any more infections from being exposed to other germs being in her immune compromised state.  It sounds like all the doctors got together and decided she has an entervesical fistula (an abormal passage or tear between the bladder and intestine).  This sharing of micro-organisms in her bowel and bladder have combined to make a super infection. The infection in her stomach has however, been cleared up.

She will be having surgery scheduled soon to have this fistula repaired.

Mom's Hospital Admit

Yesterday afternoon, my mom was admitted to the hospital, through the Emergency Room  She has been battling recurrent bladder infections.  The infection has now spread to her bowels & stomach.  She is probably septic. 

Today she had a stomach CT and more labwork.  They are only giving her IV fluids at this point, because they don't know what will work.  They are culturing her stool and urine specimens, but that takes a few days.

You can Dorothy a greeting three different ways.

1) Get Well - phone wishes: 1(515) 574-6391

2) Send an Online Card
3) Send a Get Well card 
Trinity Regional Medical Center
802 Kenyon Rd - Room #391
Fort Dodge, IA 50501