My Crazy Child

Skylar is a nut. Really. She is.

She went out with me to feed all of our dogs tonight. We have 3 ~ Tyson, a boxer; Chloe, a pit; and Sadie, a Heinz 57. Tyson is my baby and always has been. We got Tyson last summer when he was only 10 weeks old. He's such a sweet dog! We found Chloe at our favorite flea market a few weeks after we got Tyson. When I saw her, there was no way that I could leave without her. She is a diva! I found Sadie on the side of I-85 this summer on my way home from work. She is Tommy's dog and has been from the day she joined our family.

This is Tyson (above).

This is Chloe (above).

This is Sadie (above).

All three dogs now live together in a rather huge dog lot in the corner of our back yard. They have ample room to run and play, and a huge dog house that Tommy and his dad built for them. There is enough room in it for all 3 dogs to stretch out and sleep comfy with each other.

When we got home from grabbing dinner at Firehouse Subs, Skylar and I went to feed the dogs. One person can not do this task easily when by themselves, as Sadie is the ring leader for their favorite game of "Let's-Knock-Mama-Down-To-Lick-Her-To-Death-And-Make-A-Break-For-The-Gate". Sadie is the sneaky one that can dart thru your legs while Chloe and Tyson are trying to run through you. It's a good idea to have one person inside the fence with the dogs while the other person fills the bowls and passes them back to you.

Tonight, I was inside the fence as usual. Skylar had already given the full bowls back to me and I had passed them out. All three dogs were excited about Skylar's presence, as she rarely graces them with her presence during the week (Band practice, basketball practice, homework, etc...) Skylar has the less than brilliant idea to come inside the fence with me.

I don't know what she was thinking. There was no way that we could both get out of the fence without a prison break. Jokingly, I told her climb the fence and jump from the roof of the feed building. The goofball actually climbed the fence while I snuck out the gate without any escapees. Then, she preceded to get stuck on top of the roof because she was scared to jump down. I went to the tractor shed and got a ladder, but she would not climb down because the feed building has a pitched roof and the ladder did not sit flush against it.

Skylar called Tommy to come out in the back yard to help her off of the roof. I just wish that I had had a video camera out there with me. I just hope that none of the dogs try to climb the fence because they watched her climb out.

Fall

Fall is finally here. Cool weather, sweatshirts, colorful leaves, and football.

Saturday, Tommy and I took Alex to roam about a mostly indoor flea market on Hwy. 101. Skylar had a band tournament in Boiling Springs and would be performing at 1:00. We left home around 9 am, so we would have plenty of time to browse around and make Skylar's performance in the tournament.

While at the flea market, we found our favorite booth that sales all of the cutest college football mascot things (for lack of a better word). Tommy bought a crusher with the Florida logo and on the bottom is the Florida State logo. This thing looks like a big rock with the F logo on it. We found Alex a Gators light switch plate, a magnet for the fridge, 2 tags for our vehicles, and something else, but I can't remember right now.

Then, as we are walking around, Alex finds the only vendor in the place that has live baby turtles. That's what we need. Turtles. Yes, we came home with not 1, but 2 little baby turtles. I have to go to Petco at lunch and find them larger accomodations. We have named them Albert and Elvis. So now our Zoo consists of 3 dogs, 1 cat, 1 lizard, and 2 turtles.

It started raining on our way to Skylar's tournament. We went home expecting a call that she was on her way back to the school. No such luck. They performed in the rain. They placed 3rd out of 28 bands. Skylar said that the colorguard did very well and only had minor problems on the last song, which is a routine that they only learned this past week. I think that they did very well for their first competition.

Now, I hope that we can avoid any sickness that comes our way from her being out in the rain for so long on Saturday.

Alzheimer's Disease

Today is my mom's surgery. It is scheduled for 10 AM.

My dad had a nerve conduction test yesterday and follow up visit with the neurologist. The results from the MRI and the nerve testing were pretty devastating. We have not told my dad any of the details at this time because he is not able to process the information and will not understand what lies ahead. We will take it one day at a time with him and tell him what he needs to know for that day.

Basically, Dr. G told us that the Imaging place did not do all of the MRIs that he had ordered, however, they did do the one of his brain. This one MRI told him what he needed to know. There is not a brain tumor. That is good. However, what he did find is kind of worse, because there is nothing that they can do about it. My dad's brain has atrophied and is more the size of a 10 - 14 year old. He also has hardening of the arteries in his brain. These two things led Dr. G to the diagnosis of progressed stage Alzheimer's Disease. It's too late for any of the AD drugs to help.

The nerve conduction testing showed significant neuropathy in both of his legs. They drew 8 vials of blood for more extensive lab work. The neuropathy has an undetermined cause at this time. Hopefully, we will get more answers with these lab reports. The AD does not cause the neuropathy. So, we may be dealing with a second issue as well.

I'm off to get ready for the trip to the hospital with my mom.

Update

The neurologist appointment for my dad went ok yesterday. He is scheduled to have an MRI on Monday afternoon and a nerve test on Thursday morning. Hopefully we will get definative answers on Thursday.

My mom has her pre-op appointment on Wednesday and her surgery is scheduled for Friday morning.

This is going to be a long week.

Calgon.....

Take me away!

My mom is having surgery next Friday to prepare for dialysis. This is an item of great stress to me right now. I know that God is in control. I have FAITH. It's just hard to try to see past the current day to when she will feel better.

This week, my mom took my dad for a check up with his family dr. Not good news on that front.

A little history about my dad. He is legally blind. In November of last year, on my birthday, we almost lost him. He had a heart cath that led to several stints being placed. In January, he had to have his right eye removed due to glaucoma. He is mentally challenged, and always has been. In the past few months, his balance has virtually disappeared. He can barely walk.

Anyway, back to the news of the week. The family doctor did a series of tests with him to check his balance and dexterity. She saw signs that she did not like. She pulled my mom into the hallway and told her that she was referring him to a neurologist because she feels that there is a strong possiblity that my dad has a brain tumor.

So, about that Calgon. I need some, so it can take me away.....

9-6-09

Alex's Baptism at Milestones Church, Spartanburg, SC.

Tailgate Baptism

Our church is hosting a Tailgate Baptism party tonight. Alex is being baptised. Will post pics when I get home.....

Friday Night Football

Tommy and I went to the LHS football game tonight. It was the first home game this season. Skylar performed with the colorguard and marching band before the game and again at half-time. She did a very good job! She is not a very musical-inclined individual and prefers fast paced sports to calm, sedate activities. I was very impressed with her work on the field.

The LHS Cardinals lost to the CHS Eagles. The game was close for a while, but Chesnee got their act together before the Cardinals could. It was fun being at a football game. We saw many friends from our high school days and also parents of Skylar's friends.

Alex went out to dinner with my mom. He said that he had a date with his Nonna. They went to a fishcamp. He informed us that he had catfish for dinner. He is one adventurous eater!

I'm tired. It's been a long week. I was ready for the 3 day weekend on Monday.

Have a safe and happy Labor Day Weekend!

Bloom

See that new button over there? The one that says: "Bloom - Read. Discuss. Grow."

Hey, alright! You found it. Good.

Let me tell you about Bloom. I am super excited about it. Angie Smith of Bring the Rain and Jessica of The Mom Creative started Bloom. It is a reading group for women. The first book that we will be reading and discussing is Crazy Love.

I was fortunate enough to be blessed to receive a copy of Crazy Love. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the book in the mail. I can not wait to get started and discover what Christ has in store for me to learn from this book and these amazing women who so graciously share their time and insights with all of us!

I have also recently began attending the women's bible study at my church, Milestones. It is led by our amazing Women's Ministry leader, Brenda Blankenship. She wrote our study and is a very inspiring woman with a passion for sharing Christ. Our study this semester is titled, Like A Bridge, and it is an in-depth study of the heroes and heroines of faith in Hebrews 11.

Face First in the Gravel

Today did not start well for the Henderson family. I overslept to kick things off. Skylar was dragging this morning. Alex could not decide what he wanted packed for his lunch.

I was the last one out the door. Alex decided to race Skylar to the car. That was not a good idea.

Our driveway is gravel. Little shoes on gravel gets very little traction. Down he went. Face first. In the GRAVEL. And slid about 3 feet on his face.

When I got to him, he was screaming. I would have been too! He had gravel dust, dirt and rocks all over his little face and in his mouth. My extra MickeyD napkins that were stashed in the car were not going to do the job on this.

We went back inside. I called my boss to let her know that I would be late and roused Tommy to help me get him cleaned up.

Alex went to school and made it the whole day. I was waiting for a call from the school nurse to come and pick him up. He was a little trooper after his traumatic start.

Here is a picture from right after the face dive in the driveway.

And when he got home from school.....

I am amazed that he doesn't have huge bruises!