Family Update & Mountain Time

It’s been awhile since I did a family update, so I’ll start today with mom and dad. They’ve now been at Dogwood Forest for 5 months and it really has flown by so fast. We still could not be happier with how the move has gone and how they have settled in their new home so well. What a blessing that is! Mom and I talk about it all the time, how content they are and so glad we went ahead with the move when we did.

One of the managers captured this picture of mom visiting with dad. She takes their photo albums sometimes when they get together so they will have things to talk about and reminisce about. Dad doesn’t remember everything, but he’ll say to her, I sure am glad you remember all of that, because I don’t. He doesn’t get angry at his memory issues, but seems to take it in stride.

Dad will be staying in memory care, as it became very apparent after he moved over there that it was the best place for him and they could help care for him way better than mom could. She just needs to worry about herself and not have to take care of him too. It’s a relief to know that he is well cared for every day, with 3 good meals a day. Believe me, he looks forward to every one of those meals.

Our weather is getting nicer and nicer so he will be able to get outside much more in the coming months. He loves getting outside and he has a patio on memory care side and mom can also bring him to assisted living and sit out on the patio there. They have a lot of comfortable spots to sit and relax around the facility, which is so nice. They both enjoy getting outside.

In February, they had a nice Valentines Dinner for all the couples to enjoy together and took pics too. So cute!

Their house closed in January and we are so glad to have that behind us as well. We sold their truck recently too. I was going to keep it, but Mark has his daddy’s truck and is very attached to it, so we decided to sell it. We didn’t need to keep 2 trucks for us and so Mark told his sister about the truck and she bought it so it’s still in the family. I’m so glad about that and it made mom happy too.

Things are going to well for them at Dogwood and I’m so happy about that. It’s such a relief that they are well cared for and when I went out of town to see my sister recently, I didn’t have to worry about them. I knew they were fine and cared for. Mom is so happy there, she had made so many friends and it has really helped her a lot. She plays rummikub with her lady friends and they have so much fun.

Daddy’s dementia is probably getting worse since they moved in, but he has settled in so well now and even though he still talks about going home (but no anger anymore), it has transferred back “home” to his childhood of Panama City, FL. He has memories of their Marietta house, but I think he has it in FL. He is starting to forget that he pastored churches and doesn’t talk about that like he used to, so many memories are fading away. It’s hard to see that, but it’s part of dementia and it will probably get worse and worse. As long as he is still happy, smiling and content that’s all that matters to us. He will say that they are well taken care of there and that he’s happy with the food and how nice the place is. That’s what we want to hear!

I got daddy an electric razor for Christmas and he’s been learning how to use it. He was cutting himself with his other razor, so we thought this would be a good solution and he’s getting the hang of it. Mom goes over and helps him with that and this is the first time he shaved with it by himself and he did fine.

Lauren and her family are doing great. They all just celebrated Mardi Gras in New Orleans and they always go to the parades as a family. The kids love it and everyone gets dressed up in Mardi Gras colors.

They meet up with friends on St. Charles Ave. for the parade and that’s where they took us a few years ago. Mom and I got to see a parade in person in 2015 and that was fun. Now there are 3 little girls to take.

Little Alex got plenty of beads at the parade! They said she had a grand time.

Lauren and her family came up to Blue Ridge, GA last weekend to spend a week in the mountains and invited mom and me to come up for a night, so we did. It was so much fun and so relaxing. Lauren found this gorgeous cabin on Air BNB and it was beautiful and so well laid out. And it had the most amazing views. They’ve enjoyed a week of beautiful weather and fun outdoor activities all week.

Here’s a look at the cabin they rented for the week. You can find it at Air BNB here.

It’s a gorgeous cabin with all the bells and whistles.

There are 3 levels and I stayed upstairs in a bedroom there. There’s a loft up there too with a pullout sofa. Mom stayed on the main level in that bedroom and the big bedroom on the lower level was for Lauren and Philip with the fireplace. it was perfect for them.

Upstairs window above the pullout sofa.

I stayed in this lovely bedroom with my own bath.

Looking down below to the greatroom.

This huge open porch was the star with the outdoor fireplace and seating areas. We spent the whole day after we got there out here on the porch. Philip built a roaring fire and there was enough cool in the air that it felt so good.

Stunning!

I loved this screen door, it even sounded like an authentic screen door slamming.

They really had it well appointed and comfortable, with plenty of firewood to burn inside and out.

We enjoyed the warmth of the fireplace.

Mom loved sitting out there with Lauren and the girls.

They played games.

Mom and Alex playing.

They had fun together.

Love this pic! We have a little blonde baby girl with brown eyes this time around. She’s so cute!

She sat with me for about 60 seconds.

Mom is so good with the girls.

After dinner, the girls played Rummikub and it was fun. I’ve played with mom and her friends and learned how to play. Fun game! Iris was getting into it and Lauren helped her. Parker didn’t last too long and moved on to something else.

Lauren and Philip cooked a delicious dinner that night: Philip made the meatloaf an Lauren made the vegetables and it was SO good!

There’s a PacMan game as well as an air hockey game downstairs and we had fun playing with those too. I loved PacMan back in the day!

Iris got in the hot tub and was excited about it.

We went outside for a little walk and the girls walked their baby sister.

So cute! This is a gated community and so nice, just outside Blue Ridge in Mineral Bluff, GA.

The sweetest thing happened the next morning before we left while we were all on the porch. Lauren told mom that Parker had told her that she wanted to ask Jesus into her heart. She had told Parker that when she was about Parker’s age, that she had told Nana the same thing. Mom prayed with Parker and we all cried! It was a moment to remember.

These are the mountain views from the porch, so gorgeous!

We watched the sun dip over the horizon that night before we went inside. What a fun day!

They were up there all week and Lauren sent us more pics of their fun trip.

They did some hiking and waterfall gazing. Philip carries Alex in a backpack and she loves it.

The family.

I know they made lots of memories together this week. Lauren and Philip take the girls on all kinds of trips and they get to experience a lot of outdoor activities which they all love. I’m so glad they get to do these things together as a family. So proud of them!

After leaving the mountains yesterday, they all stopped by to see mom and dad on their way back to New Orleans. We had a good visit out on the 3rd floor balcony where mom lives. I took Daisy with me and the girls were happy about that. I got them still long enough to take this pic.

The weather was just perfect and we all enjoyed being outside on this covered patio. I caught dad with his eyes closed, but he really enjoys being outside so they will use this patio more often as it warms up.

It’s nice that I can take Daisy with me to see them.

Iris was so proud, she’s just lost a couple more teeth so she showed dad her recent tooth loss. I guess the tooth fairy visited them last night.

Before they left, Lauren brought Iris over to mom and dad and told mom that Iris was paying attention when Parker prayed with mom to receive Jesus in her heart and she wanted to ask Jesus into her heart too. Mom told dad what she wanted to do and Dad prayed the sweetest prayer over them all and it was so heart warming. What a wonderful family legacy we have and it’s such a blessing that these two sweet people are still being used by the Lord. Mom has told me she prayed that God would use her at Dogwood and she’s had the opportunity to talk and pray with a few ladies in there who were sad and distraught. I’m so glad that God is still using my sweet mama and I know Dad is being used too. He still prays regularly in memory care and leads some of their devotions.

So that’s a family update for now! You all are so gracious to care about my family and I appreciate that. After 15 years of me blogging, you’ve watched this crew grow and change along the way. I love my family and am so grateful for them!

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