Update on Harper!

It was supposed to be wordless Wednesday, but I just had to let you all know that Harper is doing great, she came off all the oxygen and Kelly & Scott got to feed her multiple times today.  What a miracle.  Please check out their blog and see this beautiful little "chunky monkey" (that's what they called her, I think she is gorgeous).  

Wordless Wednesday

Blessings to you,

Magnolia

Great News!

Little Miss Harper is doing great, down to 26% O2 and awake and alert.  What a wonderful God we have.  And not to mention, she is completely adorable.  I love reading blogs like Harper's.  So onto my life, update on my Dad, he's doing good, still not eating a whole lot, but then again, he sleeps most of the day and night, he did try and get out of the new bed that Hospice brought him Friday, so I guess he hasn't completely given up being cantankerous yet (wow, that was a $100 word right??).  My Mom thank goodness was at home and coxed him to not get up.  I'm telling you, keeping an eye on the fellow is a full time job.  Glad it's not my job, or I'd seriously have to tie him to the bed!  (Yet another reason I'm not a health care provider.)  So while we're on the subject, let us move onto...Stage 3...

As defined by the Alzheimer's Association Stage 3 is whenfriends, family or co-workers begin to notice deficiencies. Problems with memory or concentration may be measurable in clinical testing or discernible during a detailed medical interview. Common difficulties include:

• Word- or name-finding problems noticeable to family or close associates
  
• Decreased Word- or name-finding problems noticeable to family or close associatesability to remember names when introduced to new people 
  
• Performance issues in social or work settings noticeable to family, friends or co-workers
  
• Reading a passage and retaining little material
  
• Losing or misplacing a valuable object
  
• Decline in ability to plan or organize
  

Stage 3 was really noticeable, I could just see the stain on my Dad's face when he was trying to remember things, it was a little heartbreaking.  I would try and talk to him on the phone and on a good day, he was quite lucid, but on a not so good day, he would just answer in a yes or no.  I think that at this point he still knew who I was andstill knew my voice on the phone.  Or at least that's what I told myself at the time, but who really knows what was going through his mind at the time.  My advise at this stage is to keep close tabs on where the patient is and what they are doing, also keep tabs on car keys, wallets and cash.  And as soon as you see a decline in memory, have your loved one tested and start on a regimen of choice as soon as possible.  Well it's time to call it a night and get some sleep.

Picture of the day

Blessings,

Magnolia

UPDATE ON HARPER!

I just read Harper's blog and she is doing great today.  Kelly & Scott got to see their beautiful princess with her eyes open.  She is such a doll!  And what a lucky little girl, she received an Annabelle basket from my friend Rebecca.  If you haven't read Annabelle's story please do, it is sad, uplifting, God fearing and absolutely beautifully told by her Mom, Rebecca.  Keep praying!

 

So much to be Thankful for,

Magnolia

Nope Not Me!

Yes, it's that time again.  Let's hear about what you didn't do this past week.  I myself was an angel and didn't do a thing I wasn't supposed to do (ok here comes the bolt of lightning from Heaven, I hear it!).  OK well I may not have been an angel.  Of course, I didn't want to reach through the computer and slap MckMama just because she was going on a cruise with her hubby and I'm not, we're all supposed to be happy for our friends when they go on vacation right??  And I certainly did not spend a bunch (and I mean quite a bit for the few things I did get) of money on make-up at the MAC counter, I mean who'd spend $100 bucks on just powder & foundation right, not me, I'm not that high maintenance.  And who would go on a scarf buying rampage and buy 4 new scarves in 2 days  (actually now that I stop and count them it's 5), not me, who needs that many scarves anyway.   And who did not get "fuzzies" all over J's navy suit at church, I mean I didn't think that my new sweater would shed that bad, he was only putting his arm around my shoulders, who knew, I'm sure that he won't even touch me with a ten foot pole if I'm wearing that sweater again.  Just a few of the things that I didn't do this past week.  What about you???

Pic of the Day (gorgeous door right and all for the low, low price of 7.6 million)

Blessings & Sleep Tight,

Magnolia

I Love Sundays!

 I really do love Sundays, its my favorite day of the week.  There's something quiet and peaceful about this particular day of the week.  I tend to slow down, refocus and breathe.  I also get to catch up with my internet browsing and spend time with J.  We normally go to church, have some lunch and watch movies or episodes on the DVR we've taped.  All in all, a very laid back day.  So on our laid back Sunday J. and I decided to go to Circuit City, just to check out their "Going Out of Business Sale".  Can someone tell me how this company is going to sell any merchandise when they've only marked it down 10-30%.  Most things like TVs, cameras & VCRs were only 10-15% off.  I suppose I just don't understand, I mean this company is in dire enough trouble to close all of its stores, so wouldn't you think that they would want to get rid of everything as quickly as possible??  I've worked in retail before and I know how much companies mark merchandise up.  A company could mark down stock close to 75% & still make a profit.  So I say to you guys out there in blogland, is 30% really enough to peak our interest in this time of economic uncertainty.  Nope, or at least I didn't buy anything and won't until they can truly mark it down to a point where I think they are serious about getting rid of it.   

Let me leave you with a picture of a home in 

Charleston that is now on the market for a cool 7.6 million dollars.....

Blessings, 

Magnolia

Road Trip!

UPDATE on Harper!!

Thank you all for praying for this sweet baby, She's doing wonderful her stats are up and they dialed her O2 down to 42%.  What a wonderful God we have!

J. and I had a wonderful day today, we took a little road trip to the historic city of Charleston, where we met my mother, sister & youngest niece.  It was a surprise for my Mom since she didn't know we were coming, and I'm pretty sure that she had a good time.  She rarely gets to really go anywhere since she is my Dad's primary caregiver.  So, when she got one of the nurses to stay with Dad today she was trilled to jump in the car with my sister & niece and head south for the day.  Needless to say, I had a great time, first I got to go down to the Battery and take a boat load of pictures and second I got to spend time with "my girls" which is what I call my sister, Mom, & nieces.  And I got to do some shopping, and since Angie Smith (Bring the Rain) has deemed 2009 the year of the scarf I just had to buy a new one (it was just a must!).  And also, if you decided to take a trip to Charleston, try Jim & Nick's on King Street for lunch or dinner, try the Barbeque Chicken, it is outstanding, the most moist chicken I've ever put in my mouth, and not to mention, it's very affordable.  Well enough of what I did.  Hopefully your day was just as exciting.  Until we meet again.

Picture of the Day (from Charleston)

Blessings,

Magnolia

T.G.I.F. - Thank Goodness It's Friday

Well that says it all right there.  I can't tell you how glad I am it's Friday!  Woo Hoo!  After a week that included me going out of town for a conference for 3 days, I'm glad that I don't have to think about work for a couple of days.

I am going to take a minute to thank all of you that prayed for Harper, she is doing great!  I personally can't wait to see this princess in one of the little tutu outfits her Momma made her.  Also, please remember to pray for Kayleigh.  This little tiger has a long road ahead of her, but we have an awesome God and we will see is will be done.  Well, that's all for today.  Short & Sweat.

Picture of the Day

Just Another Crazy Day

Yep, just another crazy day.  But then again, I don't think that there are days that aren't crazy.  It was nice to sleep in my own bed last night, I was at a convention for the first part of the week and it was just nice to be in my own bed and shower in my own bathroom.  I'm such a homebody.  I love going places but I always like coming home.  Nothing outstanding happened back at the office while I was away so that is a huge bonus.  I did get to talk to my sister today, which was nice, even though it scared the "poo" out of me when she called.  You see my sister rarely calls me out of the blue so when she does I automatically think that is something wrong with my Dad.  So of course when my cell rang at work this morning I freaked out and of course I was on my office phone when the call came in, so I had to finish the call and then check my voicemail and call her back.  Thank goodness she just wanted to check on me since she knew I had been out of town and she hadn't heard from me.  It took a good couple of minutes to get my heart out of my chest and pulse rate down from the scare.  And just another tidbit about me, I am the youngest to 2 girls, my sister is 12 years, yep 12 years older than I am.  In reality I am almost as close in age to my oldest niece than I am to my sister.  It's actually kind of cool, I love being a younger "hip" aunt (if you can call mid thirties younger).  

On another note, Harper, who I asked you to pray for is starting to turn the corner but not totally out of the woods yet, so keep praying.  There is also another little girl that I am going to ask you to pray for and her name is Kayleigh (see button), this is one tough little girl.   God has definitely been working in these little girls lives.  

Pic of the day

God's Love & Mine,

Magnolia

Snow in the South -- Are U Serious?

Yes, that's right, we had snow way down here in the South.  I actually have proof.  This was a picture that I took outside of my hotel yesterday morning.  And of course, we have what I term, snowphobia, here in the south.  The first sign of snow and we shut down everything, schools, government buildings, banks, you name it, it's closed.  We just can't drive in the stuff.  J. just laughs at this notion, you see he lived most of his life in Minnesota and quite used to snow, and I don't mean the "dusting" we get on occasion, I mean feet and feet of the white stuff.  So of course he loved seeing it snow Tuesday and even better, he ended up with the day off.   So enough about the crazy weather, I figured it was time for another Alzheimer's info session/talk/my experience type of post.  So here goes... Stage 2

As defined by the Alzheimer's Association, During Stage 2 induviduals mya feel as if they have memory lapese, especially in forgeting familar words or names or the location of keys, eyeglasses or other everyday objects.  But these problems are not evident during a medical examination or apparent to friends, family or co-workers.  My experience with this stage is that my Dad would sometimes forget that he told you a story and every now and again forget where he put his wallet or his keys.  Not really something that caused alarm for me,  I remember thinking that he was just getting older.  And to be honest (which I can be right), I kind of thought at those times "come on Dad, get with it, snap out of it".  Of course I look back now and wish I had asked more questions, not about his memory or lack there of, but asked him about his childhood, youth and how he used to do certain things.  I miss so much now calling him up and asking electrical or home maintenance questions or just talking to him about football or Nascar.  I feel that I was just really getting to know my Dad.  For most of my life Dad was the disciplinarian and you did what he told you and that was that.  But after I graduated college, and got out on my own, I really started to see a different side to my Dad.  He is funny, that dry quick-witted funny that just comes naturally.  I always wondered why I was a "smarty pants", well come to find out, it came from my Dad.  (Gee thanks! Dad!)  So my advise for those of you that have a loved one in Stage 2 or going into Stage 2, take time and get to know them, ask them questions and enjoy the answers and the experience, I can tell you it'll be worth it more than you can ever know.  

And now, my picture of the day

Please remember to pray for Harper,

Blessings, 

Magnolia

Not Me Monday!

Yes I have decided to participate in MckMama's Not Me Monday.  So here we go...

I most certainly did not on purpose forget to put the ham in the oven on Saturday afternoon, because I didn't feel like making the potato salad that was going with that ham.  Nope not me, and just for the record I fixed the ham & potato salad Sunday.  I most certainly did not totally space out and forget the base for my company's marketing display, and I most certainly did not rig the display to stand up just so I wouldn't have to call back to the office and get someone to bring it to me tomorrow morning (the convention is about 2 1/2 hours from our office!).  Thank goodness that God gave me quite good "make it work" skills.  And I most certainly did not get all mushy when I opened my laptop bag and found a card that my husband put in there for me this morning.  OK, I did get really mushy, what a great guy, I think I might just keep him!   Ok so it's your turn,  let us all know what you didn't do this past week.  I promise it is very cleansing!  Oh and I almost forgot, most important, please pray for Harper.  See the new "thingy" I posted on the side.  Also, while praying, please say a little prayer for my friend Rebecca (see Annabelle Lynn on the list on the side!)

Picture of the Day!

Blessings & More,

Magnolia

What's New??

As you can tell, I thought that I'd get snazzy, do you like??  I get bored with the same think over and over, so you may see a new background ever so often.  I suppose that's why I have a bunch of clothes, shoes & purses.  I like variety, what can I say.  Not much on the home front today, went to church, cooked lunch and watched a movie with J.  I thought about going out and taking some pics (yet another tidbit about me, I am an avid photographer), but it was overcast and rainy most of the day so photography today was a wash, not to mention it was cold, me and cold/rainy don't really get along too well.  And yes the photos that I post are mine.  If you like any of them please do let me know, I ask J. all the time but of course I could take the most out-of-focus picture in the world and he'd still say that it was great.  What a wonderful husband I have.   So without further adieu here's the picture of the day.

Bathing Suits in January?!?!?

Today was not a very productive day.  Other than getting my nails done (told y'all I'm high maintenance) & hitting the Super Target, I have been a "lazy bones".  And just for the record, Target's marketing strategy is in need of some help, I mean come on, how many bathing suits are you really going to sell when it's 35 degrees outside!  Ok, now that I'm off of my soapbox.  Let's talk about Alzheimer's.  Where do we start?  Well how about at the beginning. 

Stage 1 

As defined by the Alzheimer's Association, during stage 1 individuals experience no memory problems and no problems are evident to a health care professional.  Therefore making it almost impossible to diagnose and treat at this point.    

Personally, I can't tell you exactly when my Dad could have even started into Stage 1, definitely before J. & I got married.  I used to think that if I had noticed sooner, we could have gotten him help and started medication sooner, but that just didn't happen and now that I know more about this disease, the more I realize that there was nothing to see or detect.  So a bit of advise for y'all out there, don't beat yourself up for not noticing sooner, deal with today and what has to been done from here on out.  

 

So I'll leave you with the picture of the day

Blessings & Goodnight,

Magnolia

"Hey" is for Horses

Or at least that's what my husband of 7 years says, but we in the South know better right?!?!?  

So let me introduce myself, I obviously live in the South, have a husband (hereby we will call him J.) and 3 four-legged "kids" (the canine type, hereby know as C, M & S).  YES, you just read it, we have 3 dogs!  I love clothes, shoes, make-up & jewelry, (not high maintenance at all).  I adore my family (most of the time, but isn't that what families are for), like my job and am a Christian.  In fact I know that's what led me create this blog.  I've been reading blogs for a while now and most are a way for some to communicate their family's comings and goings.  Others are deeper and have peaked my interest for some time, most are about children but I've been sent on quite a different path, you see J. and I can't have any (whole other story, but who has time for kids why with all the shopping and nail salons right??), my story is one of loss like many bloggers have experienced, but my loss has and hasn't occurred yet.  Sound strange right?  Let me clear it up, my father, the man who played basketball with me, took me hunting, fishing and taught me how to wire a light switch as Alzheimer's.  Alzheimer's & the good Lord above has led me in this direction, which by the way I've been fighting for a while, saying I didn't have time or didn't know what to say, but as most of you know, he has a way of winning out in a fight, so here we go.  I promise this will be a fun filled, informative, sometimes goofy ride, but hopefully helpful, not only to myself but others.  So sit back and enjoy because you see......... "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get."

Blessings,

Magnolia