Big Accomplishment, Dad Update

Congratulations to Danielle! 

She received an Associate in Arts degree from

St. Petersburg College! 

We are so proud of her!
She’s worked really hard while
working a full-time job
                  AND
taking care of a full-time KITTY! 
Hooray for Dani!

We’ll be celebrating as soon as we get to Tampa!

Cheesecake Factory,

HERE WE COME!

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OFFICIAL DAD UPDATE:

Dad’s recovery is going very well. He’s had a couple of tough days but has worked so hard at staying strong and following the doctor’s orders.  He walks several times daily using a walker or cane, sometimes neither.  He sits in a straight chair for meals and occasional email checks. (He loves his laptop…who doesn’t!) 

We’re glad he is able to get up and down without any help.  Mom and I both have really strong biceps now! Mom’s been helping him with his clothes and waiting on him “hand and foot.” We’ve been mowing, weeding, mulching, gathering produce from the garden and taking care of the gazillions of flowers. Our chores also include feeding 20+ hummingbirds, and the mix of finches, cardinals, doves, bluebirds, orioles,and wrens.  Yes, we’re pooped…but extremely grateful that he has come thru this so well considering all he had done. 

We’re looking forward to the day he can begin driving and gardening again. He misses his daily drive to the river and to the park to feed his pet squirrels. He even has a pet woodpecker (“Woody”) that swoops down and swipes the squirrels peanuts. He gets a big kick out of watching him. Besides, we miss him taking us all out to LUNCH!

Thanks again for all your kind thoughts and prayers.

Doing what he does best, FISHING!

Blessings Y’all!

Kathy

Fabulous Family, Flying Solo, Cashew Chicken, & Barefoot Rider

 

~~Fabulous Family~~

 

Nothing helps a person heal faster than love and support from family. Dad’s had lots of family visitors  during the past few days including my daughter Danielle, my brother Gary, my aunts Mimi, Ann and Juanita, uncles Dick and George, and cousins Pam, Jackie, and Kevin.

Here are just a few…

 

Pam and Jim                                             Mimi and Ann

    

Jackie and Danielle                                           Kevin          

 

Dad, Mom, Me and Gary                          Gary and Me               

 

          Mom’s famous Crappie                        Dad’s First Outing                       

 

Gary Grill Meister                                          Porch Relaxation

    

My daughter, Danielle and my brother,Gary     George and Juanita           

Uncle Dick

I’m so blessed with this fabulous (crazy) family! 

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~~First SOLO~~

My son, Josh completed his first SOLO flight today!

He flew SOLO in his third week of flight school at ATP in Texas! We’re so proud of him!

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~~Cashew Chicken craving~~

We made Cashew Chicken today!

Growing up in Springfield, Missouri, Cashew Chicken was a dish we ate at least once a week.  It’s become something that Springfield is now famous for.

David Leong created this recipe in 1963 and soon opened his own restaurant, Leong’s Tea House. (now closed) His recipe included a combination of fried chicken chunks covered with Chinese oyster sauce mix, a handful of cashews and chopped green onions served with white rice. 

While there are many recipes online, none can come close to the current award winning Canton Inn dish.

(worth stopping for)

We made our own tonight…

Triple coating the chicken

YUMALICOUS!

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~~Barefoot Rider? Really?~~

 

I thought I had seen it all until…

on my way to Nashville…

 

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, he’s barefooted!

unbelievable!

(hope his guardian angel is with him)

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Until we meet again

Blessings, Kathy 

 

 

 

 

Showers of Blessings

I watched it rain today.

It made me GRATEFUL .

GRATEFUL for my father’s incredibly fast recovery. He had EXCELLENT care! Centennial Medical Center nurses in 6Tower are superior!

Thanks K.J., Ashley, and LaTonya!

  

 

His physician, Dr. Rex Arendall is truly gifted. God has given him an unbelievable ability to ‘make things all better!”

Dr. Rex Arendall (Gifted by God)

Of UTMOST IMPORTANCE is the hand of God. The Lord heard many requests from praying people on behalf of my father. Thank you, Lord.

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GRATEFUL for my “Dirty Old Man.” My husband works harder than any man I know. Angels protect him in his high risk job, when he’s high in the sky or swinging a gazillion pound tool. At the end of his day his muscles ache and he’s filthy but he presses on because of our God-given dreams. He’s the love of my life even if he IS a

“Dirty Old Man!”

   

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GRATEFUL for the person that invented the “TREK Bike Trainer.” Now I can ride my bike inside with all the comforts of home. Now don’t get me wrong, I love riding outdoors but not so much when it’s over 100 degrees!  Hey, no one can see me sweat if I’m indoors!

NO EXCUSES!

(Does exercise count if you have a pbj in one hand and a oreo in the other?)

and finally…

GRATEFUL for my mom who taught me how important family is, for my daughter who is my life coach, for my son who inspires my creativity, and for my friends who validate who I am in the Lord’s eyes.

Grateful to you for reading this…

Blessings, K

 

SuperDad

Dad is recovering well from his 3 1/2 hour surgery

but he’s in a lot of pain.

They removed 8 arthritic spurs, replaced two vertebrae, separated conjoined nerves, put vertebrae #4 back in alignment (it had slipped out completely) and joined two sets of vertebrae together with titanium rods. 

gimme an O

gimme a U

gimme a C

gimme an H!

I wonder how in the world he did all the gardening, yard work, traveling, and lifting with all that wrong with him! The doctor said it was worse than he thought and that Dad will be in a lot of pain for a couple of weeks.

But wait…what’s that I see??????

It’s a bird???? It’s a plane???

NO…IT’S…

SUPERDAD!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is him taking his first 5 steps

with Ashley only TWO HOURS after surgery!

That’s MY DAD!

Truly amazing!

Thanks for your continued prayers.

A special thanks to my Uncle Dick (Dad’s brother) for staying with us all day!

Blessings Y’all!

The Great Physician

The Waiting Room is quiet.

Some “waiters” are on their cell phones, some are asleep, others are visiting with friends and family. The WAIT has been LONG…I believe I have made a permanent indention in this chair! (Is that anything like “I’ve made my mark?”) Dad was scheduled for back surgery today at 10am here at Centennial Medical Center in Nashville.   His surgery actually began at 1:30pm although he was scheduled for 10am and they are not finished yet.

He wouldn’t let me take a picture of him in is surgical gown …It was a lovely shade of lavender with a paw print on it. 

I’ve had many reasons to believe that God is with him and that everything will be fine. My faith sustains me yet it’s always nice to have some encouragement. For me that came thru a fellow blogger’s post yesterday including excerpts from the 23rd Psalm. I always find that passage very comforting.

Then I found this painting… 

 

entitled: Chief of the Medical Staff by Nathan Greene

http://christcenteredmall.com/stores/art/greene/chief_of_the_medical_staff.htm

It took my breath away~

The Lord is so good to give us comfort in times of concern, thru friends, family, paintings, and even fellow bloggers…thanks Margie…

Headed over to the coffee pot.

I’ll post again once he is out of surgery and in his hospital room.

Blessings Y’all! Kathy