Caring for my parents!

Rose has gone to Chile for 3 weeks with Martin and Andrea. John leaves to day to join her. I've have the opportunity to go help with my parents for a few days. I have even more gratitude and appreciation for all that Rose and John do for them. Mom loves having someone from the family to reminisce with. I think it is interesting that she always speaks about the positive things in her life. I don't know if that is a conscious effort on her part or if she just doesn't remember the negative things. She can be delightful if you don't mind hearing the same stories several times a day. Her eyes just light up when she tells you some of her growing up stories about her dad, mom and sisters. She can get very animated when she talks about meeting my dad for the first time.

She can be very helpful caring for dad. She's always right there when he needs something and I think she is the only one who knows how to stop his coughing when he chokes. She puts her hand somewhere on his back and rubs and voila, he stops choking - albeit just for a few minutes. You do have to watch her because she will forget and try to feed him part of her sandwich (he's on thickened pureed foods). Sometimes when dad takes an extra long time to eat you might catch her eating some of his dinner. That can be a serious problem if she eats his applesauce which has his medicine crushed into it. She is a pretty high functioning person with alzheimers, but you do have to watch her carefully.


Dad was having hard time smiling and keeping his eyes open at the same time. But after a few tries this is what we got. He is struggling. He is getting harder and harder to move. We can get him to his feet, but his knees bend a lot and he is having trouble moving his feet. I sometimes stand behind him and hold him up while mom stands him front and guides him holding his hands. During the hot weather, we discovered that if he doesn't get enough fluids, he gets very sleepy and it is hard to keep him awake even during his meals. But, he is still an angel to care for. At one point I felt prompted to tell him that when it is his time to go, we promises to take good care of mom and see that she gets the best of care. He, in his whisper of a voice, said "I appreciate that."


One of their favorite things to do is go out in the yard in their swing. They will sit, hold hands and talk for an hour or so, until dad gets uncomfortable.


They love when family drops by. Maria and Eric came to visit them on their way home from Seaside last week. Before they got here, she kept saying, "Now who is coming?". I'd explain that it was my daughter, Maria and her husband, Eric. I could tell she could not remember exactly who they were. But, after they left she could remember very well who they are.

It is a pleasure to visit and care for them. I do hope I age as sweet and appreciative as they are.

A Summer of Reunions

***WARNING*** This a a very long blog. I had all these pictures on my camera with some on the card and some on internal memory. I couldn't figure out for the longest time how to get the internal memory pictures on my computer. So now you get two months worth of pictures in one blog.

LEE FAMILY REUNION
There is nothing as fun as family reunions - even with all the hard work and planning it takes to have one. This summer has been a fun one for me. First my side of the family (The Lee's) had their regular reunion at the Ensign Ranch. This was an emotional one because we wonder if my dad will ever be able to make another one. (But then again, he is stubborn and could fool us all) Here are some pictures and memories: (A lot of these pictures are from Rebecca, the family photographer. If she is around the rest of us tend not to take as many pictures. We sure keep her busy.)


Arthur and Betty Lee - Patriarch and Matriarch of this huge family.


So many activities: Organized games for the children, slip and slide, horses (to feed and ride), horseshoes for the adults, boating, and indoor pool, shuffleboard, etc. You could always find something to do. And the cousins loved just hanging out and playing with each other.













Good Food


A special family home evening, Here are my parents with all of their children. At the end of the program they sang a song they had sung in church many, many years ago - "I Stand All Amazed".


The highlight of the whole reunion was a special blessing given by my dad to all his posterity. Unable to speak it himself, Ed had spent time with my dad weeks before the reunion learning from dad that he wanted to give a blessing and what he wanted to say. My mom read it and it was hard to hold back the tears when hearing it. Thanks Ed and also for finding the recorded talk that dad gaves years ago in a Sacrament Meeting before he and my mom left for one of their missions. It was just perfect for the occasion.

STRINGHAM FAMILY REUNION
This was our first official Stringham Family Reunion. Whenever Jason and family comes into town we have gotten together. But, this time my brother, Ed let us use his beach house in Seaside Oregon to be able to just get away. It is the cutest beach housse I have ever seen. The back door leads leadss to a deck and right past that is the beach. The kids had so much fun playing in the sand, riding the waves on boogie boards, roasting marshmallows in the fire pit, playing with all their cousins, and spending wonderful time with their parents. How fun to have undivided attention for each other.

Here are some pictures from our camera and of course from Rebecca:
The beach house from the ocean.

The whole Stringham Family

Playing in the sand.

Grandpa was in charge of seeing that Brody didn't eat the sand. Whoops! But, he did get this picture.

Hanging out inside while it was raining outside.

The cousins played together so well.

Cousins bedroom. Up to 8 kids slept here with two in sleeping bags on the floor.

We had wonderful food. I ate way too much and I have no idea why the chair cushion is in the middle of the table.

The kids loved playing in the ocean as well as the guys. Tommy and Eric before they were called out of the water for a white shark sighting! Can't believe we let them go back later, but we did after we were told they were gone. How do they know for sure?

Jason Stringham on the boogie board. He ended up breaking one of them - must have been some wild waves. Jason Kidd was right behind him.

Roasting marshmallows was a favorite and I think we all agree that Ethan was the best marshmallow roaster. Notice the tent in the background, Yep, we had two families bring tents, Mendenhalls and the Kidds and they loved listening to the ocean waves at night.


Jaylee and Audrey led me to their secret "cave". They spent hours fixing it up with little places to sit. Theytold me they were digging to the other side of the world to "Australia".

The kids being buried up to their waists in the sand. Most of them loved the idea, but a couple said "no way"!

Grandma and Grandpa with all the grandkids, my favorite picture of the reunion.

Pike Place Market with Jason, Jenn, Jaylee and Jenni.

This is such a fun place to visit.

First off they bought Grandma and Grandpa a boquet of flowers. Thanks so much!

Jaylee getting a close look at a big fish. This place is famous for their fresh fish.

They have some pretty hair ribbons there.

Jenni chose the pink and Jaylee chose the multi-colored one.


Jaylee getting a picture of the "Hello, I'm a monk fish" -- pretty brave of her considering it tends to move unexpectedly.


So much easier to enjoy when you up above the crowds.

Thanks for the memories!

Health Issues

I've hesitated doing this post hoping that after seeing a couple specialists I would have better news to report. Most of my life I have been blessed with great health. My growing up years were very healthy, missing school very rarely. Of course I had the usual childhood diseases for that generation - measles, mumps, chicken pox, whooping cough and managed to sail through them. Four years ago I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, and a little later with high blood pressure. not too surprisingly because my mom has them But, my doctors were happy that I was very controlled and seemed very healthy. I remember my family doctor praising me and saying she wished all her patients with diabetes were as healthy and well controlled.

Thanksgiving Eve I ended up in the hospital for an appendectomy. It was a quick surgery and recovery. Imagine my surprise when Mark told me the next day that when they did the CT scan and surgery they noticed that I had cirrhsis of the liver. After quite a few tests and a biopsy it was determined that I have the kind that is a mystery to the doctors. They don't know what causes it. It is called NASH. Often people who have this have the metabolic syndrome, but not all. Usually they are overweight, but not all. After seeing a couple of specialists they have essentially told me there is no treatment or medication to cure it. The scary thing about diabetes and liver diseases is they affect every part of your body.

But, I was am in a research program through Virginia Mason Hospital and the University of Washington Hospital. Which means I will be followed every 6 months and monitored. The liver specialist from Virginia Mason did change a couple of my medications, added Vitamin E supplements and told me to exercise 45-60 minutes a day. So that is what I am doing. So far the only symptom I have is fatigue. (What is interesting about this is that because of the diabetic medication I have had my liver enzymes tested every 6 months for the last 4 years and have yet to show any abnormal levels. So if I hadn't had appendicitis I still would not know to this day that I have this disease).

The up side to this is that I have joined a fitness center and am swimming at least 45 minutes a day (well 5 days a week). I love swimming - always have and now I have an excuse to do it every day. I am also working with a trainer in weight training. He is very nice and very encouraging.

For Father's Day, I got Mark the Wii game and his children chipped in and got the Wii Fitness so we are both enjoying that. So I am now exercising a lot more than I ever have and I actually enjoy it.

The fitness center is part of a hospital and the time of day I go they have lots of elderly people in the exercise rooms and the swimming pool. I have seen women with canes and a man with a walker come in and get in the pool on a regular basis. One elderly man I swim with is a good swimmer. He uses a paddle board and can swim faster than I just using his legs that I can using arms and legs. They inspire me and I hope I can be just as active and cheerful when I need a cane and walker.

My goal is to gradually lose weight (even though a new medication I am on causes weight gain), and to increase my endurance and muscles strength and try to slow down damage to the liver. I want to postpone a liver transplant as long as I can.

Oh, I forgot to tell you that I am on a diet that decreases saturated fats, but increases protein which I have been doing-sort of-but now I am more strict. So I eat a lot of chicken, fish, cottage cheese and low fat string cheese for protein.

So that is my health news. I won't continually dwell on it or bore you with a lot of detail. But, I think it is worth mentioning from time to time for my posterity who unfortunately may inherit some of these diseases.

I am not feeling sorry for myself yet. Maybe when I deteriorate to the point where I am helpless. But for now I plan to just move forward, listen to my doctors and change my lifestyle to a more healthy one and trust the Lord knows what is best for me.

Wish me luck!

Welcome to grandchild #13, little Allie

Here she is, Alexandria Stringham, or Allie as she is called. She was born May 29, 2009 around 3:30 pm, Renton, Washington. She weighed 8 lbs. 11 oz and was 19.5 inches long. Of James and Jamie's 3 kids she looks the most like the Stringham side. The other two have strong Argo genes - which are beautiful, by the way. Unfortunately, I was at home sick and unable to babysit the other two or help in any way. Jamie updated her Twitter account (which transferred to her facebook account) before, during and after the birth. How wonderful of her! I sat by my laptop morning and afternoon.

Isn't she beautiful!


Ryan and Emily seem pretty excited about having a baby sister. When I called James yesterday he put me on speaker phone so I could talk to them. Ryan said she was little, but when I tried to talk to Emily about her, she started talking about fruit rollups. Made me chuckle! They were excited for us to see Allie, leading us right to her, showing us her blankie and bottle nipples.

We got to take James and the kids out to Red Robin for dinner which is always a treat for Gma and Gpa. Jamie's mom "Grammy" stayed with Jamie and Allie and we brought Jamie back dinner.

We're feeling very blessed!

Hello, Again

It's spring and our little birdies are back!


This year we were prepared. Mark bought me a little bird house for her little nest and to protect our hanging plants. Here they would be safe from my constant watering and necessary disturbing of their nest. Last year the plant didn't do so well and I accidentally knocked it over and two eggs fell out while I trying to water around the bird nest. Those two little birdies never made it.

Mother's Day gift from my children! If you were a bird which home would you choose?


Hello, again!


So we hope these will help keep the roots watered and lessen my moving the leaves, etc. to get it watered thoroughly. Hopefully, this year the plant and the birdies can live together.

Monthly Visits

This week I made my usual visits to see Jerry and Mom and Dad. Unfortunately, I could not take mom and dad to see Jerry because they have an infection among some the the residents that dad doesn't need to catch. So this is how Jerry was when I first entered Rocky Bay. He had just had some physical therapy to keep him limber and strong enough to help with his own mobilization. He continues to have some silent strokes and it has changed him a lot. He no longer winks, blows kisses, talks or stands alone. He hardly responded when I talked to him. After a few minutes of talking, I asked if he ever thought about his mom and dad. That got him to open his eyes and look at me. After that, a little puppy they bring in for the residents caught his eye and and he followed him with his eyes. A couple of the staff talked to me and said how much they miss the old Jerry. He was such a flirt and they all loved that about him along with his friendliness, cooperative nature and joy in all the activities they have. One of the ladies got a little emotional. The lady sitting near him and holding his hand is Marianne. She is one of the residents there and she and Jerry have become great friends. She is a sweetheart and as you can see loves necklaces and hairbands. I asked her if he ever talks to her and she says, "yes, in the mornings, a little".



Rose has hired a caregiver to come in and help with mom and dad. Her name is Adeline and mom and dad seem very comfortable with her. Carrie Ann helped find her for Rose. It is no longer safe to leave them alone even for a short time. Besides helping to feed dad, help him to the bathroom, she does little physical therapy things with him. Dad seemed easier to move this week. Mom seems to have adopted a couple of "anxiety" areas. One of those is the checkbook and the other is the medication. It's typical of Alzheimer's patients to tend to focus and worry about certain things the more it progresses. Mom will always ask me to sit and play some piano duets with her. This time I noticed that she forgot her part often. She would tell me that she is used to playing the other part. But when we switched she couldn't play it at all. It's sad for me to see her lose her ability to do some of the things she loves. She was also proud of the cards she got for Mother's Day.

I remember Nancy Reagan sayng about President Reagan that Alzheimer's is a "long good-bye". They slowly change into someone you don't know. That makes me sad. So for the time being, I plan to enjoy what she is now and deal with the rest later.

Pennsylvania

Thanks to Jason and Jenn's generous Mother's Day gift we were able to go to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to vist with their family for a week. We got to spend the week just being with and doing what they do on a day-to-day basis. This is the best for us, but I think we wore out Jenn. They were so sweet to us and those two girls made Grandpa and I feel very loved. Here are some photos of what we got to do with them.

Jenni being a little princess. She has several of these dresses and a few dance outfits that she wanted to wear every day.


Jaylee being a little tomboy. She found a little birds nest with some eggs in it and we all had to come and see it.


Jenni stayed close to Grandpa most of the time and here they are waiting for the hayride to begin.


Here we are on the hay wagon. The hayride took us out to a bunny field where they had hidden Easter eggs amongst a cute little bunny garden. We had two more Easter egg hunts so they were not hurting for candy. One of the egg hunts, though, was for money. Jenni made a real haul and Jaylee didn't do so bad either. Talk about generous neighbors!



Coloring the eggs!


Ready for church! Darling matching outfits!


We were invited to the Liounis' home (Jenn's parents) for Easter Dinner. Here are the grandparents with grandchildren they share! (Well, except for Morgan who is so cute we would claim her if we could)


Socializing after dinner. It seems we have many common political views and enjoy our discussions. We got together with them one more time for ice cream social.




We spent a day at the Philadelphia Zoo which was lots of fun. Here are Jenni and Jaylee posing for Grandpa.


In the middle of the zoo they have a children's area which consists of lots of climbable objects. There is a treehouse which you can climb (via little paths), which is fun, but easy to lose a child in there. Here they are sitting inside a flower petal.


Petting zoo - Jaylee feeding a goat.


Jenni brushing a goat.


The week before we came was Grandparent's Day at school, so Jenn arranged for Mark and I to go and eat lunch with Jaylee at school. So cute and Jaylee was bubbily and pleased! They sure can make us feel loved!


We were able to attend their gymnastics (and Jenni's dance) classes. That was so fun and a couple of times I was off my seat cheering, when they accomplished certain difficult moves. Jenni doing the splits.


Jaylee doing a combination of jump, sit, stand and move into a cartwheel onto the next mat. She is good!

So as usual, our visits were fun, busy, and the best memories grandparents could ask for. Jason and Jenn know how to make us feel at home and have done a great job raising two lively, beautiful, kind and loving girls! Thanks to you both!!