The Lion "is" King

We went to a show the other night at the ASU Gammage theater in Tempe...The Lion King was in town and we had never seen it. A short ride in and a very nice evening.

(please don't ask me why when we lived in NJ and could just hop into NYC that we never went to this ...or any other show. It defies logic; we are just too cheap!)



Anyway, it was a GREAT show. We had nosebleed tickets and felt like we could fall down into the next row so easily you wouldn't believe it with the absolutely insane stadium seating, but that brought us that much closer to the stage so we cant complain. and for $24 bucks, I'm keeping my mouth shut!

If you have seen it you will appreciate that the costumes are fantastic, absolutely worth the price of admission for that alone. And I always loved the music. The story isn't bad either. Too bad we didn't know Stephanie would be with us when we bought the tickets months ago, or she would have been right along with us.

So if you get the chance go see it. You will just love it. Oh, and by the way, in case anyone should ask you, Pumbaa isn't a Javlina after all, he's a wart hog!

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Feed-back

Definition: The return of a portion of the output of a process or system to the input, especially when used to maintain performance or to control a system or process

I never realized how important your comments would be to my motivation...and conversely how much you probably appreciate feedback on all the good blog posts and emails that you have sent over the months and years.

Well I'm gonna be blunt - I really look forward to seeing comments when I make a post. So...help a brother out, will ya?

Love y'all!



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OSP

I think I did a post on this already...but Organ Stop Pizza is an amazing place. We were here once before but went there tonight with Grammy and she had a FANTASTIC time!!!



The place is filled with the pipes and other instruments all connected to a giant organ...they are spread everywhere throughout the hall you eat in - all are in working order. An expert musician plays a variety of songs in sets from marching music by John Phillip Susa (moms favorite) to Disney Mary Poppins and Mickey mouse club and Hawaii 5-0 in between.



You have to see it to believe it, and the experience is well worth it. The food is OK but the Blue Bell ice cream cones are to die for. And yes, those are cat puppets in front of the organist that dance along at times too. It's a hoot!


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Gravity 3D - oh yeah!

If you haven seen this space thriller yet, drop whatever you are doing and go to the movies right now.



This in not your ordinary sci-fi boarding flick ladies...this is a tear-jerker that will captivate the whole family. I promise if you splurge on the extra few bucks to see it in 3d you will not regret it. It had me INSIDE the movie the entire.90.minutes. Sure, there are gaping holes in the plot, but who cares. You are traveling right along with Sandra and George who are both terrific. Besides, no matter how busy you are, it will be a great diversion.


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Playing and Flying

Here is a great picture from our time out with Joe today. We went out to McDonalds with Stephanie and Elijah. This picture was taken back at the house when we returned after eating and playing for an hour or so...it was a good way to include family in an outing with Joe.



I had a chance to ride high this weekend. Saturday morning Peter T was looking for a passenger to take along flying - he owns a 6-passenger Beech Prop plane that he keeps at Deer Valley airport near Scottsdale. It was a short flight up within eyeshot of Sedona and back. A nice smooth landing capped off a very pleasant flight. Next time we are planning a longer trip including landing and having lunch before returning.












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Some Family times

We have had some really fun times with family this week.

Stephanie and Jamie have been here for two nights now, and the conversations are...shall we say amusing. I can't even tell you the topics, everything from emotions, to well, you fill in the blanks...they are so varied and bizarre at times. Add to this Noah and Elijah, who are crazy, crazy, CRAZY, when playing together, or at time you might say fighting, it's hard to tell. Thanks to God they go to bed at some point.

This is what we call fun around here. I know, it's sad ;)


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Email Updates

We are now getting email updates on Joe via email from the house. This is one of the outcomes from yesterday...another was a plan to handle these desat episodes. In general the meeting went as well as anyone could hope and we fell like we are making good progress, if that is even a word that describes this time, I don't know.

Just to give you an idea, today's update was "Joe had 2 episodes this morning at 6:30 and then 7:15 each lasting 3 min. He has been High Pressuring on and off since about 4:45 when we put him o bed. He had a BM for Night shift and day shift today.". This is exactly what we asked them to do so we have made progress...this really is the kind of info we need.


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Care plan meeting and special visitors

Please be praying for wisdom and a good outcome for our first Care plan meeting with the group home staff and the palliative care team...our friend Jon will also attend as a support for us. Topics for discussion are hospitalizations, blood transfusions, and the episodes joe has been having where he drops sats suddenly for a very short time.



Before the meeting we plan to take Joe out for a short time...this has been our plan for wednesdays and this week is no exception. Our goal is to get him out as much as possible while he is stable, which he has been thanks be to God. So off we go - a local place called Coffee Rush is a possibility, but there are plenty of options for that time of the morning for sitting outside I hope.
We are also expecting some special visitors. Stephanie and Elijah are going to be staying with us for two weeks, and I thing Jamie and Noah are planning to come up for a few days as well. So break out the boy-toys. *"To infinity and beyond!"*


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Weight loss

Most of us would not see weight loss as a bad thing...unless of course we had lost too much, which is highly unlikely for me considering yesterday's post.


Joes weight has been dropping some over the past few months for unspecified causes. At first i would say he could stand to lose a bit, but now he is more or less at a good weight...losing much more would not be a good thing.

There are a few possible causes - one is the C-DIF, which wreaks havoc on your digestive system. The other possible cause is the antibiotics. In either case there is no change this week which is a good thing.

This will remain one of those things we will be watching as the weeks go by. But then who doesn't jump on the scale from time to time anyway? For Joe it is every Monday am. I had a friend in NJ who used to tell me that when he got on the scale it used to say "one at a time, please!". What about you? What would your scale say if it had the chance?



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Freddy's

After a bagel and coffee with Jeremy before they headed out this morning we did our church thing and went up to pick up Joe. We've been eating out a bit more lately because of all the times where it just makes sense to do something rather than just sit around at his home...and I have to write about the place we went to today.


Freddy's is one of many hamburger joints that are out here, and we like it a lot for a couple of reasons...first they are really nice and very disability friendly. They seem to look out for people coming in with wheelchairs and walkers and that was us on every occasion we have been there, including today (the wheelchair, not the walker, that is). There is plenty of room to move around and we can always get a table where people aren't right on top of you. But also the food is good; (notice I didn't say good for you).



Probably our favorite thing about Freddy's is that they play 60's music which is really fun because we know many of the songs and can sing the words to each other. Now Joe doesn't sing much thankfully, because neither of us is in the mood for the kind of sounds that he makes. Frankly no one else is singing either, and come to think of it maybe they aren't in the mood for the kinds of sounds that we make either. Oh well. Home to read the paper afterwards, followed by a great salad for dinner.

We enjoyed this wonderful break as a day of rest today. What did you do to glorify God on his sabbath? I'd like to hear about it.


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Visiting with Jamie

Jamie and I went up to see Joe today while G-ma watched Noah. We went up in the late morning and Joe was up in this chair and looking really good. He opened his eyes wide for our visit. That was of course after the aids had to change his shirt and everything else that had gotten wet from a bib mishap. He really is looking good, which may be temporary but we will take it.

Then we went back home and ran 3.5 miles. So much for a perfect day (just kidding). Jamie started out too fast and I was having trouble keeping up. She actually talked my ear off while I huffed and puffed and eventually slowed the pace. When we got back she talked me into committing to running a half marathon together in the future. Does this sound familiar? I had an epiphany while out...we have actually switched roles...I was the one that used to lead the running, now I'm being dragged. Ugh!



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Some good days

We have had all good days with Joe this week. A few episodes, but all in all we have to be thankful for what it is. We also have taken some time together, and making the days count has never been more important.


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Wednesdays

I have decided to take next few Wednesdays off from work to focus on spending time with Joe. I have 7 vacation days unaccounted for and we thought we might just spend them with him...either out to eat, at the park or back at our house. The weather is getting nicer and now some outdoor time is possible (I know it sounds weird, but we are in the equivalent of Spring back east since it is like the end of our worst weather..i think you get the idea).

So we have the van, we have the vacation time, and we have Joe able to get out, so off we go. Today we went to Jason's deli for salad bar, and ice cream for dessert (me only). Then off to Freestone park where we checked out the gym and the kiddie park. A nice relaxing day.










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Pandora's box

Guess who is working on a Pandora bracelet?




We added a new bead today - the blue one - and now the bracelet is fit for wearing. Isn't it beautiful?

It it really isn't a Pandora's box after all...just a fun way to show off some new life events. Like there is a cruise ship we bought in Alaska, and a cupcake for her birthday, and just some other nice ones. The blue one adds color and there is a plan to get another one in a little while.

Congrats Vickie! I hope you enjoy it a lot!


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A ride

We took a ride on our tandem bike on Sunday afternoon. It was a great way to end a very rough weekend.



You can probably tell from the picture that this is not us...our bike is blue.
Why this matters: this was a huge hurdle since we haven't been out on it all year. I don't mean all season either, I mean all of 2013.
The only reason we went is because I did a foolish thing and planned a scenic ride in the car to a nearby lake within the national forest...bought the pass on line and everything. Of course we realized after the purchase that the federal shutdown means parks are, yep, closed, too. So that drive never happened.
We miss our kids, and our grandkids...basically all family. We have some light at the end of the tunnel with some visits planned real soon including Noah this weekend and Stephanie and Elijah in a week and a half. We also had a sample recently with the Goodliffes having visited.
Happy Monday.
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To my ladies

Ladies -
There have been some hard topics to talk about that I want to have a family discussion about here. But I'm a bit confused about how to share them with you. A blog seems too open, too impersonal, just too world wide web ish. Yet communication has changed so much and I don't want to be too old school.

So I need your advice...should I just open up here, or create a separate private blog, or use some other medium? Let me know your thoughts, cause I really value your opinion as the godly, wise women that you are.

Btw - I struggled here with how to address you all...mom says you should be referred to as ladies since that is what you are, but to me my usual use of the title girls is more affectionate. So if you have a preference id like to know that too.

Love,
Dad

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Elephants

We had dinner tonight with a friend from work and his wife tonight. A place called The Elephant Bar Restaurant. It has a really interesting menu and a safari decor...even some elephant statues.

The food is really good but the reviews on Yelp are not great. One reviewer said "I don't know why they call this place the elephant restaurant, there isn't even any elephant on the menu...". Huh?



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Micro blog

Hi again...it's been a while...since april, and I don't have much free time these days. However I realize that all of you are blogging and you dont have free time either. So I thought I'd give it a go with a new approach

-micro blogging.

I'll be brief, and I'll be gone. Thats it. No pictures, just a brief update on us and Joe or whatever..

The question is -- does that work for all of you?

I'm asking cause I need feedback to even bother to do this if you know what I mean (you faithful bloggers understand) so please humor me and post a comment please :)


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