Visiting My Parents!!!

So now you're wondering what I've been doing since I've been "up north".

April picked us up at O'Hare yesterday, and we came straight to my parents' house.

Had some very nice time w/ my mother, and then found out that they were expecting a visit from Roy Moffitt from their church! The man stayed for about 2 hours, talking w/ Daddy about all sorts of things. Great visit! Interesting stories! Daddy enjoyed the man-to-man talk!

Then I jumped at the chance to go with David and Daddy to David's basketball game in Crown Point that evening. It was like old times again! Loved it! Fun to watch David play, and just as much fun to be sitting next to Daddy in the stands! Close game, and we won. So it was a pleasant ride home too!

This morning April and I went down to Brook/Kentland and visited w/ Kim. Gave her new fondue fountain a trial run before she took it to the bridal shower this evening.

(Everyone approved of it, especially Chase, Brooke, and Abby!) We tried dipping quite a variety of foods....strawberries, apples, bananas, pineapple, cookies, blueberries, and more! Here is a photo documentation of that portion of the day.

Note the clean shirt! :)

Yes, chocolate does run in our veins!

Then we drove on to David/Tracy's house to see our new nephew, Daniel Benjamin (Ben). Cute as can be, of course! So good to spend some time w/ Tracy and all the kids. David was out somewhere, so I didn't get to see him. Here's little Ben!

Then I dropped April, Abby, Brooke, and Zachary off at their house and rushed back to my parents' house, because I had promised I'd take Daddy to his dr. appt. I walked in to find my dad AND mom all ready to go! WHAT? This was going to be ME taking Daddy out!! Well, she didn't figure I could handle Chase and Daddy too....since Daddy's just a little unstable on his feet right now. I reminded her that I have 6 kids, am used to juggling this sort of thing, and I'd take GOOD CARE OF HIM. She saw my point, and let us be on our way once I promised to take one man in at a time. LOL! I think this was the first time in about 15 years that I'd been on a drive with just my dad! We always used to have great talks as we drove to and from work together before I got married, so this was like a step into the past, and I LOVED IT! We talked and laughed and had the best time. His reflexologist is also a massage therapist, AND a naturopath, AND several other things, so very, very knowledgable, very good at what he does, and a fabulous conversationalist. Mother and Daddy had both told me I'd like the man, and I had to agree. The Lord really guided them to Dr. Bert when they needed him. There are other reflexologists in the area, but this man really knows his stuff. I was impressed. Afterwards Daddy showed me several things in Crete...some things have changed over the years such as the size of Crete-Monee High School! (Now I know where their property taxes are going! WOW!) Other things have stayed the same, like the Princess Cafe....and the small-town atmosphere. Got home after a while, and sat in the car talking heart-to-heart for a long time. You have no idea how great that was! Then went in and after a little down-time, Mother and Daddy illustrated for me the exercises Daddy does as prescribed by his physical therapist. Some are very difficult for him due to his recent fall, but he really works at them.....or at least he did tonight! Mother said that having me as an audience must have helped! HA! He is improving daily, from the reports I've heard, and from what I've seen in the short time I've been here, especially compared to how he was a month ago! The Arnica Rub that Kim gave them to use for his back is REALLY HELPFUL too. It alleviates the pain in his back very effectively! We found out tonight that warming the container up in a heating pad for a few minutes before applying it makes it doubly helpful. It it's cold, he tenses up and winces as Mother's applying it, whereas a warm application feels good right away! He is still the same scamp and jokester as ever! When Mother reminds him to keep his right foot more straight when he's walking on the treadmill (the therapist emphasized form over speed), he OVERcorrects with a smirk on his face, starts high-stepping, or starts walking pigeon-toed just to be silly. I told him he's like a 14-yr-old boy.....and he grinned and said "13-yr-old!" Hilarious! We have laughed so much. He may have some difficulties, but he really is working through them, and said tonight that he "used to start out on 2.5 on the treadmill, and nowadays can only start at .5.....but I'll get back to 2.5". I love the indomitable spirit! How many 75-yr-old men do you find using their treadmills at 7:00 pm and then again at 10:00 pm, laughing out loud while he and his daughter and wife tell funny stories back and forth. The problem he had in January and the bad fall he had a week ago may have set him back a bit physically, but he's as sharp as ever mentally. :)

This has been so great! Thank you, Johnny, for this trip!