Friday Again? Thank Goodness!

Another work week complete!  Yeah!  Of course we are supposed to get lots of rain (maybe some storms) and can you believe it, SNOW this weekend.  I guess that means no picture taking for me this weekend (darn!).  But it does mean that I can get around to really cleaning my house.  I started a little tonight by going through my closets (yes, more than 1 ok) and pulling out things that I haven't worn or don't like or don't fit and put them in the charity pile (everything that J and I want to get rid of goes to a charity unless it can't be used again or is just plain nasty).  I decided to be really honest with myself this time around and I pulled out a load of stuff, I still have to go through my shoes but that shouldn't take too long.  I'm so proud of myself for getting all that done tonight even after working all day, usually I'm a couch potato when I get home.  Now if I can get motivated to clean my bathroom the rest of the house will be easy.  Wish me luck!  

Blessings & Dish Pan Hands,

Magnolia

How's It Going? Really?

So as you know I've been avoiding talking about myself or my family for a while.  Truth be told, there's not a lot to say.  Well, maybe there is.  I am going to start out by saying how incredibly proud I am of my Mom, she has picked herself up and gotten things done all while grieving her husband.  She and Dad were married for almost 52 years (that's not a typo, that's a loooonnnngggg time, especially these days) and for the last 7 years she's been there for him, from checking and double checking medications to trips to the doctor to just sitting with him those last few days, she if the true example of "till death do you part".  And on top of it all she has COPD and is diabetic and kept herself healthy during all of this.  I am so in awe of my Mom I just can't begin to tell you what a wonderful woman she is.  My sister is getting there in terms of grieving, she has good days and not so great days, but that's to be expected.  Now for myself, there are unexpected moments that I think about my Dad and just want to crawl up on a closet and cry my eyeballs out.  At those moments, I just stop and talk to God and Daddy (there standing in Heaven thinking I'm nuts I promise you), just as if there were standing right beside me and somehow I realize that I'm okay.  I will say this, I've noticed that I talk a lot about him, more so now than ever, he's probably thinking that's kind of funny too (that's me Dad, your source of entertainment, right!).  So now that you know what's been going on I'll leave you all with a little advise on grieving, I've found that I find solace in my hobbies/passions.  As you all know photography is my passion, so I've been snapping up a storm and that really calms me down, so find a hobby/passion that you can throw yourself into.  Well that's enough for tonight.  Sleep tight!

Sweet Dreams,

Magnolia

BIG News!

I must have missed this BIG news, guess it was one of those days that I was out in "la-la" land!  Here you go...

Congress approves $10 billion in scientific research funding

The Alzheimer's Association commends Congress for passing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which will provide a much-needed $10 billion increase in funding for National Institutes of Health (NIH) for research — the largest funding increase for NIH in 5 years. For the more than 5 million Americans living with Alzheimer's disease, this investment is a significant first step in working to bring scientific breakthroughs in Alzheimer's and other major chronic diseases to fruition.

We applaud Congress and the Obama administration for recognizing that this vital infusion of funding into scientific research that works to save lives but also works to shore up the scientific research enterprise. The American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act also includes $1 billion for a Prevention and Wellness Fund at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is our hope that strategies to address chronic disease and expand health brain initiatives will result from this additional funding.

We would especially like to thank Sens. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) for their leadership in helping to secure this substantial funding increase for NIH. We are optimistic that part of this funding will increase support for research to cure, prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer's disease.

Finally, we would like to thank the thousands of Alzheimer advocates from across the country who reached out to their members of Congress to urge their support of this important legislation.

The Alzheimer's Association
The Alzheimer's Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer care, support and research. Our mission is to eliminate Alzheimer's disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. Our vision is a world without Alzheimer's. For more information, visit www.alz.org.

This news thrills me to death needless to say, just wish that it had happened 5 or 10 years ago, but better late than never right!  

Pic of the day

Blessings,

Magnolia

What you don't want to know

OK, does the next article scare me half to death, yep it sure does, but I have taken my postings very seriously on this blog, so I feel the need to share this one with you.  You can never be to prepared.  So here it goes.

Bad gene, parent with dementia raise memory-loss risk

09:16 PM CST on Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Bloomberg News

Middle-age people are two to three times more likely to have poor memories if they have a parent with dementia as well as one or two copies of a gene known to increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease, a study found.

Researchers at Boston University gave memory tests to 715 people whose average age was 60 and also checked if they had a variant of a gene known as ApoE4 that increases the risk of Alzheimer's. Among people with one or two copies of the bad gene, those who had a parent with dementia performed much more poorly on the memory tests than people whose parents didn't have dementia, said Sudha Seshadri, an associate professor at the university's Alzheimer's Disease Center.

The findings may help families of the 5.2 million people in the U.S. who have Alzheimer's, a progressive, fatal disease that destroys brain cells, understand their risks. Americans older than 55 fear they will develop Alzheimer's more than any other illness, according to a 2006 MetLife Foundation survey.

"What's interesting is the fact that the difference is so large between the two groups," Seshadri, the study's senior author, said in a telephone interview today. "It's equivalent to the difference between people who are 15 years apart."

As people age, their memories often decline. None of the people who were tested had clinical symptoms of dementia and all fell within the wide definitio

ns of normal memory performance, Seshadri said.

Reducing Risk

At this point, there are no special steps middle-age people should take if their parents have dementia beyond following standard healthy-living practices, Seshadri said.

"Everybody who is middle-aged needs to do things to reduce their risk of dementia and heart attack by staying socially engaged, engaging in physical activity, controlling their blood pressure and diabetes and maintaining a healthy weight," she said. "Those are things everybody should do."

Ten million baby boomers eventually will develop it, says the Alzheimer's Association, adding urgency to efforts to prevent or treat the illness.

For the study, Seshadri and her colleagues followed children born to people who were enrolled in the long-running Framingham Heart Study begun 50 years ago.

Further research over time will be needed to see if the people who scored more poorly will go on to develop dementia at a greater rate than their peers whose sc

ores were higher, Seshadri said. The findings were released in advance of the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, where Seshadri's study will be presented at the end of April.

Thanks for reading even though you might not want to know.  I know that I don't even like to think about my chances of having AD and what my husband may have to go through.  I've prayed about it and I know that God will do what's best according to his plan.

Blessings & More,

Magnolia

Dementia as Cause of Death

Here's your news article of the week...

TUESDAY, Dec. 9 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that medical officials often fail to record severe dementia as a cause of death in patients with the condition.

This finding not only points to a lack of knowledge about how dementia -- a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease -- can be a deadly illness, it suggests that deaths due to Alzheimer's and dementia may be severely underestimated, said report co-author Dr. Susan Mitchell, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

"With dementia so underrepresented on death certificates, it further exacerbates the issue of dementia not being a terminal illness," Mitchell said. In addition, she said, bad assumptions about dementia can lead doctors and relatives to make ill-informed decisions about patients at the end of life.

Alzheimer's disease is the fifth leading cause of death among people 65 and older in the United States, according to 2004 federal statistics. Those figures were based on information from death certificates, Mitchell said, and some studies have suggested the numbers are too low.

In the new study, Mitchell and her colleagues examined the medical records and death certificates of 165 patients with advanced dementia who died between 2003 and 2007. They all lived in Boston-area nursing homes.

Thirty-seven percent of the death certificates didn't list dementia as the main cause of death or a contributing factor. Just 16 percent listed dementia as the main cause of death.

In patients with diagnosed Alzheimer's disease, one-third didn't mention the condition as a cause of death or contributing factor, the study found.

The findings were published in a letter in the Dec. 10 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Mitchell said the failure to recognize dementia as a cause of death doesn't appear to be intentional. "There has been a general under-recognition of dementia as a cause of death. People have trouble getting their head around that."

Thank goodness my Dad was one of the few who's death certificate listed dementia as a cause of death.  If anything good came of his suffering it is that he's check is on the side of saying that AD & dementia is in  fact a terminal illness.  I thank the hospice doctor for helping this cause, may more doctors be more like him and be bold enough to list AD or dementia as a cause of death.  

Picture of the day (and by the way the last picture posted are the gears of a tank!)

Blessings,

Magnolia

Stage 6

Stage 6 as defined by the Alzheimer's Association

Memory difficulties continue to worsen, significant personality changes may emerge and affected individuals need extensive help with customary daily activities. At this stage, individuals may:

• Lose most awareness of recent experiences and events as well as of their surroundings

• Recollect their personal history imperfectly, although they generally recall their own name

• Occasionally forget the name of their spouse or primary caregiver but generally can distinguish familiar from unfamiliar faces

• Need help getting dressed properly; without supervision, may make such errors as putting pajamas over daytime clothes or shoes on wrong feet

• Experience disruption of their normal sleep/waking cycle

• Need help with handling details of toileting (flushing toilet, wiping and disposing of tissue properly)

• Have increasing episodes of urinary or fecal incontinence

• Experience significant personality changes and behavioral symptoms, including suspiciousness and delusions (for example, believing that their caregiver is an impostor); hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that are not really there); or compulsive, repetitive behaviors such as hand-wringing or tissue shredding

• Tend to wander and become lost

Keep in mind that every person is different, so some of these symptoms may not be as severe, I will say that my Dad did have quite a few of these symptoms and they did seem to progress rather rapidly.  Of course during this stage my Dad had a laundry list of other medical conditions, he had renal failure, and his kidneys were not so great.  You see along with AD he was a long time suffered of the gout and polycythemia which he took various medications for many years, thus causing his liver and kidneys to start failing.  So consult with your doctor about medications for pre-existing conditions and see if they are needed at this stage of AD.  Also, my recommendation to many terminal illness families is to go ahead and look into some sort of home health care providers (if you want to keep them at home).  These services, whether it is hospice or private care givers, will help the primary care giver to get some sort of relief and much needed help.  I'm not saying that you need to call them right away, but at least be aware of the services in your area.  And most important, see a lawyer and get necessary paperwork in place, if you haven't already.  Living wills, power of attorneys, etc are several of the documents that you can discuss with your lawyer.  Be prepared.  

Picture of the Day (can anyone guess what these are??)

Blessings,

Magnolia

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

So let's see, what did I not do this past week. I did not go and have my nails done again instead of fixing my chipped nail, that would be excessive and a total waste of money. I most certainly would not suggest to my loving husband that we could just go to Publix Grocery store Saturday night and pick up dessert for Valentine's Day, no not me, I would have baked a cake or already picked something up at the bakery. And I most certainly did not try on a formal dress and tell hubby that I would have to think about the dress because I thought that it might show a few too many bumps on my back-end, even though the truth is that it's a stunning dress and makes me look thin but it's red for goodness sake and bound to garner attention. I would not come up with some crazy excuse like that. And I would never call my oldest niece a "knothead" for something goofy she did over the weekend, I'm a tender loving aunt and would only say nice things to her. Well that's about it for me. What about you??? let us all know what you would never in a million years do.

Blessings,

Magnolia

Green, Green, Green!

Ok, let me start out by saying Happy Be-Lated Valentine's Day.  J. and I had a nice weekend, we started out by sleeping a little late and then just goofing off.  We went to the mall and then hit up our favorite sushi joint.  J and I do simple when it comes to holidays.   Just a nice day with my honey.  Now on to the title of the post.   Yet another little known fact about yours truly, I'm a Nascar junky!  So just to let all of you know out there, today is the 1st race of the '09' season.  Yep the Daytona 500 is today, so J and I will spend most of our Sunday afternoons at home now so that we don't miss a race, or at the very least, we'll tape it and watch it later on Sunday night, it's what we affectionately call "speed racing", since we can speed through the race (more like speed through all the commercials).   

Look what is popping up in our yard....

Blessings and Happy Nascar Watching,

Magnolia

WOO HOO - It's FRIDAY!

I can't even begin to tell you guys how glad I am that it's Friday, just the thought of being able to sleep later than 6am tomorrow morning is a blessing.  I think that the last 2 brain cells that I had yesterday are gone.  I need time to unwind and catch my breath.  I haven't had a chance to do that since my Dad passed away 2 weeks ago and I desperately want to "stop and smell the roses" this weekend.  And most of all I need to grieve.  I'm not a very weepy person, and I've caught myself getting really close to losing it several times this week.  So wish me luck and pray.  Talk to you soon and if I do find those brain cells at Target, I'll be sure to let you all know.

Blessings,

Magnolia

Stage 5

Stage 5 defined by the Alzhemer's Association

Major gaps in memory and deficits in cognitive function emerge. Some assistance with day-to-day activities becomes essential. At this stage, individuals may:

• Be unable during a medical interview to recall such important details as their current address, their telephone number or the name of the college or high school from which they graduated

• Become confused about where they are or about the date, day of the week or season

• Have trouble with less challenging mental arithmetic; for example, counting backward from 40 by 4s or from 20 by 2s

• Need help choosing proper clothing for the season or the occasion

• Usually retain substantial knowledge about themselves and know their own name and the names of their spouse or children

• Usually require no assistance with eating or using the toilet
  

This is a tough stage, you can tell by the look on your loved ones face that they are struggling and they get testy when you remind them of things like what day it is or they may need a coat outside.  Of course the severity of the mood is dependent on the patient.  Like I've stated before every patient is different.  I've personally heard horror stories about how disgruntled patients can be and sometimes violent, I thank my lucky stars that my Dad was not that violent.  My advise is to be supportive not condescending.  When they don't recall the day, say something like "you know it does feel like a Friday, just on Wednesday" or if the patient is retired or has no plans, who really cares what day it is!  Life is to short to worry about what day of the week it is.  

And just as a side, can anyone shoot me in the foot, I think that it might be less painful than installing our new operating software at work!  I'm a pretty bright gal, but there are only so many brain cells that I can blow (kind of like fuses) before I am just brain dead.  I think I might have about 2 left this week!  Hopefully I can pick some up at Target this weekend (they do sell them don't they??).  Ok enough for now.

Go COCKS!

.

Blessings,

Magnolia

Being Grateful

I have been so grateful these past weeks, for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ most of all, but also for my family & friends.  I received many cards and donations since my Dad's death and you learn so much about people and so much about yourself.  I know that a lot of times I take things for granted, I think that most people do, it is just human nature.  But seeing how people have supported me makes me stop and think long and hard about so many things that I take for granted.  So I just want to thank all of you for your love and support and for you to know that I am so grateful to have you as a part of my life.  And to the Good Lord Above, I praise and thank you for all that you've done (and haven't done too) in my life.  

Picture of the Day

Blessings & Gratefulness,

Magnolia

PS.  That's a magnolia tree in the pic if you were curious.

God is So Good!

God reminds us each day that there are miracles going on around us and that we need to stop and take notice.  You see I was way busy and wasn't going to write anything here tonight but God guided me to my friend Rebecca's (Annabelle's Mom) blog right when I fired up my computer and had the most beautiful surprise.....

12WKS_6.JPG

That's right Rebecca's pregnant!!!  What a wonderful, praiseworthy God we have.  Congrats Rebecca, Scott & Wyatt.

Blessings,

Magnolia

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

That's right it's Monday. Wow! Where's the week gone. I did not eat out everyday this weekend, nope not me, I'm a junior Paula Dean and love to cook. I also did not make the entire Saturday a day of beauty (nails, toenails & hair), that would be just too excessive. I most certainly did not buy 4 new scarves this past weekend, knowing that I had a zillion at home. And I most certainly did not did not put a comb in my Dad's casket so that he could have nice hair in heaven (I was constantly messing with his hair, or I should say what hair he had and he hated it). So what did you not do??

Picture of the Day

Blessings,

Magnolia

Urgent Prayer Request!!

Please prayer for a young family The McClenahans, they lost their daughter Cora today.  Cora is now in heaven with Annabelle, Audrey and my sweet Daddy.  Thanks so much.

Education & Alzheimer's

Ye another article that I have found about reducing the risk of Alzheimer's... 

Feb. 2, 2009 -- Having more education reduces the risk of Alzheimer's disease but does not slow memory loss once it starts, says a new study.

Reporting in the Feb. 3 issue of Neurology, scientists say they found that education does not appear to protect against how fast people lose memory once forgetfulness begins.

"This is an interesting and important finding because scientists have long debated whether aging and memory loss tend to have a lesser effect on highly educated people," says study author Robert S. Wilson, PhD, with the Alzheimer's Disease Center at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. "While education is associated with the memory's ability to function at a higher level, we found no link between higher education and how fast the memory loses that ability."

He and colleagues tested the thinking skills of 6,500 people from the Chicago area with an average age of 72 and varying levels of education.

The level of education of people in the study ranged from eight or fewer years of school to 16 or more years.

Interviews and tests about memory and thinking functions were given every three years, up to 14 years.

When the study started, people with more education were found to have better memory and thinking skills than those with lesser education.

The results remained the same regardless of other factors related to education, such as job status, race, and the effects of practice with the tests.

Further analysis, however, showed that the "rate of cognitive decline at average or high levels of education was slightly increased" during early years of follow-up study, but then decreased slightly later, compared to people with low levels of education.

"The results suggest that education is robustly associated with level of cognitive function, but not with rate of cognitive decline," they conclude.

I am determined to keep you guys updated on the latest news, reports etc.  Today was a little hard, J and I went to church this morning, this was the first time back since my Dad died.  It was bittersweet to say the least.  I know that I needed to be there but I sometimes I hate hearing "I'm so sorry to hear about your Dad".  I can't help but feel this way and I know it might be wrong, but it is what it is.  Thank goodness we have good friends in our "monster" church that supported us today.  I thought that I was doing good up until the point that J pointed out that in our worship guide, in the announcement section that that was a prayer request for my family and I and the announcement about the death of my Dad.  I quickly turned it over and tried to forget about it for right then.  I have teared up throughout the day, just different things make me a snotty mess.  The one thing that keeps me going is knowing that my Dad has his memory back because Our Lord and Savior has healed him.  Knowing that helps me get through the day.  Thank you Heavenly Father for those thoughts and healing my Dad.

Blessings, 

Magnolia

Coffee, Not Just a Morning Drink

I was again on the net reading the latest research and found this interesting article  (http://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/news/20090116/coffee-strong-enough-to-ward-off-dementia).  To make a long article short, it's about how coffee consumption in midlife reduces the risk of dementia in the elderly by quite a significant percentage.  Of course I love to hear this because I am a coffee freak!  Breakfast, lunch and after dinner and I don't mean wheenie coffee either, I mean Starbucks Bold or something comparable that's close at hand.   I inherited this obsession from my Mom (or at least I tell myself this).  She can drink it all day, even when it's cold!  Now I drink it all day long, but I can not drink it cold, I have to draw the line somewhere right???  Well that's my news on AD for the day.  On to something that just makes me smile ....  Harper's Home!!!!  Yeah!!!  What a wonderful time for Kelly & Scott to be able to bring there little Ms. Arkansas home.  Oh, and did you notice that I changed my background, Valentine's day is coming up so why not!

Picture of the day

Prayers & Blessings, 

Magnolia

What Now?

So what now?  We grieve, try to live and make the most of each day the good Lord above has given us.  That's all I know how to do.  We also, do a "boat-load" of research on this awful disease that has claimed the life of my very 1st Valentine.  I have been on the net trying to figure out the best way to use the talents and resources God gave me to combat this killer.  Did you know that Alzheimer's is the nation's 6th largest killer.  Did you also know that scientists really don't know if Alzheimer's is the cause of or the result of what is going on in the brain of a dementia patient.  There are so many little known facts that I want to discuss here and keep everyone updated for starters.  I have a few passions in life and I think that this project is fast becoming one.   I am going try to not let my Dad's death of the is hideous disease be in vain.  So Let's get back to some education.....

Stage 4 as defined by the Alzheimer's Association

• Decreaed knowledge of recent occasions or current events
  
• Impaired ability to perform challenging mental arithmetic -- for example, to count backward from 75 by 7s
  
• Decreased capacity to perform complex tasks, such as planning dinner for guests, paying bills and managing finances
  
• Reduced memory of personal history
  
• The affected individual may seem subdued and withdrawn, especially in socially or mentally challenging situations
  

This stage is very noticeable to friends & family but does vary from patient to patient.  For example, my Dad could remember his time in the Navy when he couldn't remember what he at for breakfast.  And of course depending on the patient's personality before onset, you may or may not notice them being withdrawn or subdued.  My Dad was a quiet sort of man, so if he didn't talk a lot that wasn't abnormal.  I suppose that if I were making an assessment of a patient, I would take his behavior as a whole and not necessarily individual events into account.  So now onto my favorite part.....

Pic of the Day

Blessings & More

So What's the Story?

So let me start at the the semi-beginning.  As you know my Dad was in Stage 7, he had been sleeping quite a bit for sometime, but would always wake up and eat at least a little something before he decided he had enough and tried to throw the rest in the floor.  J & I had seen him at Christmas and he was still in good spirits and tried to call for our dog when we let her up on the porch (what a sweet moment, he absolutely loved our dog), but we noticed that he had lost more weight and he wasn't eating much.  Of course, being the overprotective daughter that I am, I call my Mom everyday after work to check on her and Dad.  She kept giving me the same report, that Dad was about the same.  Well the beginning of last week, she said that he wasn't eating a lot (even less than before) and sleeping more (even more than before).  By Tuesday afternoon, my Mom & sister could hardly wake him for more that a few minutes at a time, Mom said that he had done this before a couple of months earlier and then snapped back.  By Thursday morning with another report of no eating and still non-responsive, I was concerned to say the least, at lunch I called J and told him to put in vacation time from work so that we could go down Friday morning.  But at around 6:45pm that night, after I came home, packed, ate dinner and started a load of laundry, my sister called to tell me that my Dad was gone.  She and my brother-in-law were there with my Mom when he was called home.  As you can imagine I was in a state of shock, I just started throwing things in my luggage (that was already partially packed) and prayed.  J. packed his clothes, we told our neighbors and asked them to look after the kids and hit the road for a 3 hour drive.  When we got to Mom's everyone had gone home and the funeral home had already been to the house to take Dad.  Of course, I being the stoic, rock-type of person, just hugged my Mom & sister and told them that we would get through this together.  You see I'm the type of person that cries, grieves and yells in private, I don't like to get upset in public or around other people at all, that's just the way God made me, thank goodness since my sister was a big pile of balling snot.   She finally went home and I put Mom to bed and stayed awake to make sure she got her rest.  The next day was hectic needless to say, friends, family and the funeral director were all in and out of the house, Mom, my sister and I went out to the funeral home to pick out all the necessary things.  By the time we got back to Mom's there were probably about 50 fried chickens at our house (by the way, there are only 7 people in our immediate family) I'm telling you that every chicken in the county was slaughtered and fried and brought to our house!  Ok, back on task, we decided to have visitation and graveside services all in one day (only shoot yourself in the foot once!) so I put Mom to bed again and waited until she was asleep before I curled up and passed out.  Saturday was a beautiful day, the sun was shining and it was cool (ok maybe a little cold).  We arrived at the funeral home for visitation about 11am so that we could say goodbye (actually see you later) to my Dad in private, it was quite emotional and yes, stoic me cried, quite a bit actually.  At 12 noon, people started to arrive and they didn't stop until after 2pm, we then piled in the limo and headed out to the cemetery for the graveside service.  At this point many of you might ask why no church service, well my Dad was not a very showy person and just a few words by our preacher at the cemetery was just fine with him when Mom asked years ago (when they bought their plots, before Dad was diagnosed).  The service was beautiful, not too long but great, paying tribute to a wonderful, beautiful, kind man, my Daddy.  After that, we just spent time as a family for the next few days.  Before I close out this post I would like to thank some people who have been with us through this journey, my Mom & Dad's Supper Club, their Sunday School Class and their neighbors and Preacher Ted.  I am so grateful that you have been there for my parents, checking on them daily, bringing cookies, soup, etc.  You guys have been more of a family than I could ever ask for in one lifetime.  My God bless you everyday.

Some of Dad's Flowers

Blessings & Love,

Magnolia

Sorry I've Been Away

Sorry I've been away, but my Dad passed away Thursday night at home.  As most of you know from reading my blog he was in stage 7 of Alzheimer's.  All I have to ask is that you prayer for my family.  We've been going through a lot the last several days.  But I know that my Dad is with Our Heavenly Father right now, and that alone gives me peace in knowing that I will see him again.  So in the mean time I'm sure that he'll hunt, fish (can you do that in heaven?) and catch up with friends & family.  Thank you all.

Blessings & Prayers,

Magnolia