Paul's Update - 09/27/07

Dear Friends:

Wednesday was therapy day. The Occupational Therapist had Paul work on bending over and squatting since he doesn't like doing that and needs to work on balance. She had him bend over while sitting on the edge of the exercise table. He had to lean over and take balls out of the milk crate and raise up to hand it to Dad (above Paul's head). She wants him to bend more and squat and go down on one knee. This will make him put one foot backwards in order to bend down. He doesn't like doing this. She spent the whole session working on this but it is really important for improvement in balance and bending!! Speech is at 9:30am. There is only two visits left (this one and next week). Paul didn't cooperate much with her. They tried to do the alphabet. She was able to get him to identify a spoon verbally. She showed him a picture of a cup and then a real cup. She put the cup and spoon on the table and told him to pick up the spoon and put it in the cup. He told her "no" but after a couple of minutes he did it anyway. He knew what she wanted ... he just didn't want to do it!! He is so stubborn sometimes!! She had him trace a square ... he didn't want to do this either but he finally did it! After therapy they went and had lunch in the cafeteria. After lunch they headed home. Dad had to go out and get Paul's medicines. Soon he will transfer Paul's prescriptions to the CVS closer to our home ... that will make it a little less driving for Dad. Paul has been really enjoying his new chair. Nobody else is able to sit in it except while he is in the bathroom!! He hasn't been able to raise the foot rest ... that is on his right side which is weaker and will take some practice.

Thursday morning Dad headed out to Social Security to finish taking care of the paperwork they need to transfer control of Paul's income to an account that we can use for his care. After he finished he took Paul to DMV to get a new walker's license. The old license had a terrible picture from back when Paul was still not very alert. He looks so much better now. Paul enjoyed getting out of the house (Dora probably did too!!). Dad had a few other errands to run and got a lot of things done throughout the day. After another delicious dinner that Ronda made we had bible study. We shared many of the blessings that we have. God has been so good to us! We know that your prayers have been an important part of Paul's recovery and we thank you for that! Friday Paul will have Occupational Therapy. It seems like our weeks go by so fast!!

Have a great weekend, Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 09/25/07

Dear Friends:

Monday started out like most days. Dora shows up around 7-7:15am. She got Paul up, cleaned & dressed. Once Dad gets Paul into the living room she helps get him ready for breakfast. He seemed to feel better and was a bit more talkative. Dad & I decided to go out and do some shopping for a new chair that Paul can sit in. The chair we have in the living room is a swivel/base rocker. He really likes it but it has begun to squeak and is annoying. Dad tried to fix it but it still makes quite a lot of noise. Since Paul really enjoys rocking it we decided we needed to replace it with another swivel/rocker. We headed out and did some looking in Manassas. The furniture stores had some chairs that were OK but Dad wanted to check out the La Z Boy store in Fairfax. We tried out several chairs and decided we liked a leather recliner best. It swivels, rocks and reclines!! We actually were replacing what was MY chair so ... we also looked at a chair that would fit me better. We ended up buying TWO chairs!! We made a trip to the house to get our checkbook and get Paul his lunch. Dora was doing just fine. She is very good with Paul and can get him up to go to the bathroom when he needs it. I made him a sandwich and some soup while she prepared his tray. We headed back to the La Z Boy store to pay for our chairs. After we finished the purchase we went out and had lunch. There is a new Famous Dave's BBQ in Chantilly so we went there for lunch. It was really good! After lunch we decided to look at new Televisions. Dad has been wanting a large screen flat panel TV for some time. We shopped around a bit and got some prices. We ended up at Circuit City and bought a new 40" LCD Flat Screen TV and a console to sit it on. Dad spent the evening picking up the TV, putting the console together and then hooking up the TV. It actually looks great in our living room ... and Paul really likes it! Dad got a call while we were out from the insurance agent that has been working on a Bond for us as Conservators. The bond was approved and we needed to get an appointment at the Circuit Court Clerk's office.

Tuesday morning Dora came in and was pleasantly surprised to see the new TV in the living room. She really likes it!! Dad called the clerk's office first thing and got an appointment for 2pm. This is pretty amazing since they are usually booked for weeks ahead. I'm not sure but I think the insurance agent may have pleaded our case to get an appointment right away considering our position as Paul's guardians (and the NEED for it!). I took off from work around 1pm to get home and pick up Dad. Paul's new chair had arrived about noon and Paul was sitting (and rocking) in it when I came in. He seems to really like it. We had a scare when the clerk noticed that my name on the court order isn't really my LEGAL name. I actually go by a middle name and that is what the attorney put in the petition to the court ... Doh!! I run into this all the time ... but the clerk made a couple phone calls and decided it wouldn't be a problem. I sure hope it isn't!! Once we were sworn in as conservators he gave us instructions on what our duties will be. When we got finished there we headed to the Social Security office to take care of Paul's Social Security Disability income. He receives a check from Social Security each month and we will need to change how the payment is made. Since we got there late in the day we will need to go back to complete this change. Dad will be able to go back by himself in a couple of days and do the interview with an agent in their office. After leaving there we went to the bank and took care of some business and headed to pick up Bobby at his apartment. He is taking the old TV cabinet and we went to get him to help load it in the truck. We got home around 6pm ... Dora & Paul had been alone most of the day but they seemed to be OK. We got Popeye's for dinner ... Paul said he wanted their fish ... he likes it along with their rice & beans. Ronda & Bill came over with desert and we had coffee. We watched "House" on our new TV. After they left we watch some more TV. Paul was pretty tired and went to bed around 11pm. It seems like we are busy each day and Paul has not really had much time with therapy or the gym. He has therapy on Wednesday (this is the last week!) and they may start back at the gym some time this week! He appears to be getting out of shape a bit!! LOL

Have a great day! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 09/23/07

Dear Friends:

Friday morning Dad needed to go to the insurance agents office to turn in our application for a Bond. We should hear something by Monday. Once we get the bond we will be able to go to the Probate Office to be sworn in as Paul's conservators. It will be nice to have that taken care of so we can start getting things changed with Social Security & Social Services. Paul stayed with Dora most of the day while Dad ran errands. He took a trip to Costco to get a few things we needed. Billy came over about 6pm to stay with Paul overnight. We left about 7:30 to head for Maryland to go to the Renaissance Fair. Carl and I went to dinner with Bill & Ronda. We went to the Chinese Restaurant in Centreville before we headed out of town. We drove to Maryland near the Baltimore/Washington International Airport to stay at the Ameri Suites Hotel. We had a nice room. Carl had a book that he started to read. It was hard for him to refrain from calling home to check on Paul but we knew Billy would do a great job. After Bill & I checked emails and browsed the internet for a while it was time for bed. According to Billy, Paul was ready for bed about 10:30. He gave Billy a scare a couple of times. He went to the end of the hallway with the walker and then LET GO of the walker. He does this with Dad too ... but Billy didn't know that and wasn't prepared for it!! Paul was a little embarrassed when Billy went to help him in the bathroom. Billy had a talk with Paul and encouraged him that he didn't need to be embarrassed ... and Paul was OK after that! It is funny that Paul doesn't seem to worry about much but he does have some personal pride ... as he should!! Billy wasn't able to sleep during the night. He has been working a night shift and couldn't sleep ... even after taking his medicines!

When Gradis arrived on Saturday morning she helped Billy get Paul up and dressed. Once Paul was up and had eaten breakfast Billy was able to go and lay down for a bit. Gradis took care of Paul for several hours. She is really more capable than she is allowed to be when Dad is here!! She actually makes Paul stand up by himself ... she holds the walker and he grabs it to stand up. It is quite something to watch. after we had gone out to breakfast Bill, Ronda, Carl & I spent several hours at the Fair . It was a beautiful day and there was a large crowd there. We headed home around 3:30pm and arrived home by 5pm. Billy & Paul were watching TV ... well actually Billy was on the computer and Paul was watching TV!! Billy headed home shortly after we got home. Bobby & Jen came over for a bit and visited. We had planned to go out for dinner at Yorkshire Restaurant with Bill & Ronda ... so Bobby & Jen came too! We had a wonderful time visiting with them. After we got home they stayed for several hours and before we knew it ... it was midnight!! Paul was VERY ready for bed.

Sunday morning we headed out for breakfast as usual. Everyone at the Restaurant is always pleased to see how good Paul is doing. We headed off to Sunday School and church about 9:30am after Tabby had dropped Max off to spend the day with us. He has gotten so big and keeps up with the other kids in the nursery now. Carolyn, Alysa, Chris and Nadia came over after church and visited for a little while. Carolyn wanted to look through some of the pictures that we got from Grandma Johnson's house. The afternoon was spent watching football games and playing with Max. Paul didn't feel well today and wanted Tylenol several times throughout the day. He didn't get sick but just didn't seem to have any energy to do anything. Max took a two hour nap after lunch and was ready to play once he got up. Gradis always enjoys playing with him too! I spent some time going through the many pictures that Carl's mother had. We have quite a treasure of pictures! We went out to get fish for dinner at Captain D's. Max mostly enjoyed the French Fries and the Hush Puppy! Paul doesn't interact much with Max ... he does enjoy watching him though! Pap-Paw gave Max a bath after the football game and he was ready for bed about 8:30pm. Mommy didn't get home until almost 10pm. Paul wanted to stay up late and it was after 11pm when he finally went to bed. The end of another busy weekend!

Have a great day! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 09/20/07

Dear Friends:

Wow ... this week has gone by fast. Monday morning I had a doctor appointment. My family practitioner wanted me to have some routine "over 50" tests done so I had an appointment at the surgical center at 9:00am. Carl had to take me since I wasn't able to drive after the procedure. Carolyn met Dad at the hospital and got my purse from him so she could take me home once I was done. Dad couldn't stay because Paul had a dental appointment at 10:30am. This was the last of the appointments for Paul. He had some buildup done on his lower teeth. Now he doesn't have to go back until November. The afternoon was quiet. Dad had to go out and get some of Paul's medicines at the drugstore. Paul & I stayed with Dora. I had a meeting to go to in the evening. Paul stays up late most nights now and he didn't go to bed until 11:30pm.

Tuesday Paul had an appointment with the Orthopedic Specialist that made his new foot brace. She checked it over and made a few adjustments to it. He seems to be walking better ... at least he isn't turning his foot on it's side anymore. Paul wore his brace for about 5 hours. He is suppose to be breaking it in.

Wednesday was OT. Dad missed most of the session since he had some insurance business to take care of. The therapist said he did well for her. She said he had been folding towels. He is fussy about folding things ... he does that at home too. He really likes them to be neat!! When Dad got there they were working on transferring some small balls from one basket to another. She made him stretch his arm to reach the second basket. She even moved his chair away from the table so he would have to brace himself against the table to reach for the basket without falling out of the chair. After OT Paul had speech. She worked on recognition of numbers in print and did the alphabet and count to twenty ... he actually went to twenty-five. Paul does well up to eleven and then she had to cue him a little. She wrote numbers one through five on a piece of paper. He readily recognized the number two but had a little more trouble with the others. He got the number two even when it was out of order. The speech therapist said Paul has four more authorized sessions after which he will probably not have therapy for a while. Medicaid doesn't usually pay for speech so we may not be eligible for help with them. Later in the afternoon Dad took a ride to the courthouse to get a copy of the order to change guardianship for Paul. We need a copy for the Insurance Company to do the Bond with. We got the forms from the Insurance Agent so we can get that process started.

Thursday Paul stayed home most of the day while Dad did several errands. He had to go to the bank & Costco. Later in the day he took a trip to the attorney's office to pick up a certified copy of the judge's order changing the guardianship. We will need this to complete the transfer of conservatorship for Paul. Ronda brought another wonderful dinner over and Paul really enjoyed it. He still likes using his fingers to eat but he did pretty good with the fork. We had our bible study. We spent most of the evening sharing things that are going on in our lives and really didn't get to our study ... but sometimes that sharing is more important! Paul talked with Kelly a bit as she was leaving. He usually only says "hi" and when asked how he is he responds "good". He seemed like talking and answered questions pretty good.

Friday Dad & I are planning to go out of town. We will be gone Friday and Saturday. Billy will be coming to stay with Paul. What a blessing! Dad really hasn't been away from Paul since March when he came to live with us. We are looking forward to a relaxing time with Bill & Ronda. Gradis will be here on Saturday to help Billy. Please keep them in prayer ... they aren't use to working without Dad!

Have a great weekend! TGIF Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 09/16/07

Dear Friends:

Thursday was a quiet day. Paul stayed home most of the day. Dad was sick a portion of the day and wanted to rest. Dora took care of Paul so dad could rest. We had bible study at our house and Paul sat in and listened with us. Ronda had a delicious chicken/rice soup and salad for dinner. Paul ate it better than most things he has eaten lately so it must have been good. Lately he has been taking a long time to eat and keeps putting his fork down. It is hard to tell if he doesn't like the food or doesn't want to feed himself. After all had left from bible study we had cake and coffee for dessert and then went outside to visit with Bill & Ronda for a while before we came in to go to bed. Paul enjoyed going outside but he wanted to get into Bill's car and go somewhere!! He walked right to the Cadillac and tried to open the door!! It is always so interesting when he does that and we aren't sure if he has a specific place in mind that he wants to go to ... we just know he WANTS to go SOMEWHERE!

Friday was our court day. This was to change the guardianship of Paul from Tabitha to us since he is currently in our care. Paul stayed home with Dora since there is no need for him to be there. The court procedure only took about 5 minutes once the judge called us. We were the second case and we were out of there by 10:15. The next step will be to have us bonded so that we will be able to manage Paul's money. That will take place once the court paperwork has been filed and we can get a copy of the court order changing the guardianship/conservatorship. After we left the courthouse we went to the bank to open a trust account with the money that Paul received as a settlement from the insurance company that the girl who hit him had. This is a Medicaid Special Needs Trust which is set up to protect Paul's money from jeopardizing his Medicaid benefits. It is complicated but Medicaid rules EVERYTHING we do! We are certainly thankful for Medicaid but it sure is complicated and we have to do a lot of things to protect Paul from losing it. After we were done at the bank we came home. Dora had done very well with Paul. She was able to get him up and take him to the bathroom while we were gone. She really is a very competent nurse ... I don't know what we would do without her!! She also fixed him lunch while we were out. The afternoon was quiet and we all got a little rest. Dad went out for a bit later in the day and Dora stayed with Paul & me. Paul had taken a walk through the house and wanted to sit out on the deck. The three of us sat out there until it began to rain and Dora got Paul up to go back into the house!! Once Bill got home we went out to dinner at Logan's. Paul had a steak. He only at about half of it but he seemed to enjoy it. We had a late dinner and it was time for bed by the time we got home.

Saturday was a busy day for us. We got up early and Paul got a shower. Gradis helped with dressing and breakfast. She always does the vacuuming and mops the floors on Saturday. Dad had asked her to have her husband pick her up at 11am because we needed to go to Carl's sister's house to start the division of his mother's personal belongings. Ann, Shirley, Carolyn and I went through all of Grandma Johnson's things to decide who would get what! It was amazing how much she had kept over the years. Aside from dolls & her personal lace collection (she used to make lace) we also had lots of pictures and sewing things that we needed to go through. She had kept a lot of family genealogy information as well!! Paul sat in the office with us and watched as we went through things. He enjoyed sitting in Aunt Ann's office chair. We were there until very late and didn't get home until 10:30pm. It was time for Paul to head to bed almost right away.

Sunday we went to breakfast. It was Bill's birthday!! Paul was hungry and ordered scrambled eggs, bacon and when given a choice of home fries or grits ... he SAID grits!! Evidently he enjoyed the grits that Aunt Ann Z served him in South Carolina!! LOL We went to church after breakfast and after the service there was a church picnic. Paul had a hamburger along with other side dishes. He really enjoyed his hamburger ... he gobbled it right down! He seems to be feeling better and it shows in his appetite. After church Dad needed to go back to his sister's house to pick up the rest of the things from his mother's stuff. Paul stayed home with Gradis and me. Billy & Carolyn came over with Alysa & Chris and spent the afternoon. Billy was willing to help with Paul if we needed him to and you never know when that may be necessary. It was good that he was willing to be here so Dad can go without worrying. We had roast for dinner and Paul seemed to be very hungry again ... and ate all of his dinner without ANY help! Dad got back home around 7pm. Paul watched as Dad, Billy & Carolyn unloaded the boxes of things into our house. We watched TV for a bit and Paul as tired and ready for bed about 11pm. Monday will be a dentist day for Paul. This should be the last of the work he needed done. It is amazing that he has done so well and is almost done with the dental work. I am so thankful for the dentist that was willing to take a chance on Paul and get the important work on his teeth DONE!! He has been an answer to prayer for sure!!

Have a great day, Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 09/12/07

Dear Friends:

We've had a busy week. Dora was off on Monday since we originally did not intend to return from our vacation until that day. Dad got up and helped Paul get bathed & dressed. After I was up and had finished breakfast I had decided to spend some of the day cleaning. Dad had some errands to run so he went out and Paul stayed with me. Paul was watching TV but I think he was more interested in watching me clean!! When I was vacuuming Paul had to lift his feet so I didn't run over them!! Before I knew it lunchtime arrived. I made Paul a ham sandwich. Some times I can ask Paul what he wants and give him a choice. He doesn't always answer me but I was persistent and he finally told me he wanted "ham". Once he finished his sandwich I asked him if he wanted a drink. He said "yes" so I asked what he wanted. He said (without prompting!!) Sprite! I was amazed ... it seems to prove that he CAN say some things and DOES know what he wants!! Carolyn came over and I went out with her. She took me to run some errands that I had to get done. Carolyn had to be home by 3:30 when Alysa got home from school. After she dropped me off I went back out to do some grocery shopping. Max came over just before dinner and stayed until about 8pm. He was very glad to see Pap-Paw (the feeling is mutual you know!!). I had a meeting to attend after dinner. Paul & Dad stayed home with Max. Paul went to bed about 11pm. I set up the vaporizer in his room since he has been stuffy.

Tuesday Paul had an appointment with the Orthopedic Specialist to get his new brace. Dora was back and went with Dad & Paul. This brace is a thin plastic that goes from the back of his knee down the leg and into his shoe. Because it goes into the shoe Dad had to go out and buy a new pair of shoes actually ... TWO pairs). The brace requires the right shoe to be a size bigger than his normal shoe. For the first few days he will only wear the brace a couple of hours a day to get use to it. He seems to walk OK with it. Wednesday is therapy day. Dad, Dora & Paul have to be at Fair Oaks Hospital by 9:30am for OT. They did some stretching and throwing a ball. He had some trouble letting go of the ball. She had him stand at the therapy table and roll the ball around the table without holding onto anything. After OT they have to head off to Speech at 10:30am. Paul was slow walking and had to stop at the rest room along the way. They arrived 1/2 hour late. The therapist worked on counting and saying his name. He repeated the alphabet. They tried to do recognizing numbers on a page. Then she drew a square on a paper and a circle on another paper and he had to point out which was which ... and SAY "circle" and "square". By the time they did all that ... his therapy time was over! Dad had to head straight home after therapy. Dad made grilled cheese sandwiches (Paul's favorite!) for lunch. Paul's attorney came to the house at 1pm to talk to Paul. Dad & I are petitioning the court for Guardianship so that we can make decisions for Paul. Since he is living with us ... it makes more sense. We have a court date for Friday to appear in front of the Judge who will make a ruling. The attorney talked to Paul and advised him of his rights in this proceeding. He answered her when she talked to him. She took a look at his bedroom and made notice of the handicap equipment that we have in the house. This is really only a formality for the courts since nobody is disputing the need for Paul to have a guardian! This evening was quiet and I didn't have any meetings!! Yahoo! Dad installed a new faucet in our bathroom while Paul & I watched some TV. Paul seems to feel better. Fortunately he hasn't gotten a cough and he seems to be sneezing less.

Have a great day! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 09/09/07

Dear Friends:

We are finally home from our vacation. It seems I stay about three days behind on my updates lately ... I hope you will forgive me! Paul continues to do amazing things each day. They are small but none the less amazing. Friday after we had breakfast we headed out to Murrells Inlet South Carolina. We planned to take Paul along with Dad, Aunt Ann & me to do a Salt Water Marsh Exploration trip. This is done on a flat bottom touring boat. They have a two step stool and a ramp that you have to navigate to get into the boat (of course that is after the steep ramp to the dock!!) and Paul managed both very well. We had NO trouble getting him on the boat. The tour is about two hours long. We were able to see much marine life including Conk & Whelks, Crabs, Oyster Shells and various fish. Some of the marine life was live and some was just demonstration shells. It was an interesting tour. Paul was able to do a little fishing from the boat. Dad helped him put the line in the water and he held the pole. He wasn't able to catch any fish (several other people did) but he seemed to enjoy it. Dad & Aunt Ann walked on the beach for a while. Paul & I stayed on the boat ... why push our luck!! I did a little more fishing but we still didn't catch anything and Paul had lost interest in fishing by then. After we returned to shore we headed to a BBQ restaurant for lunch. It was actually a BBQ/Fish house ... what else would you find at the beach??? It was delicious ... another MUST DO whenever we go back!! Nana had stayed home since she wasn't feeling 100% so she was able to walk Ann's dogs while we were out. When we got home we brought a movie with us. It was recommended to us by Ann's friend Carol. It was a really good and inspirational movie that we all were able to enjoy. After the movie I went to Nana's house to see if we could get her internet set up. She has had lots of problems with her internet since she moved there but I think we finally got it fixed ... time will tell!! Paul seems to be suffering from stuffiness due to his cold and Ann put a vaporizer in his room. That seems to help and he sleeps well.

Saturday morning we got up and didn't really have any plans for the day. We had a great breakfast of Scrambled Eggs & Grits with English Muffins (muffins provided by Nana!!). Much of the morning was spent visiting on the back porch. It was a beautiful morning but it gradually got pretty hot out there! Ann & I were able to do some laundry though the day. It was otherwise a pretty quiet day. Since Paul & I have both not felt very well the last couple of days it was kind of nice to have a relaxing day. Naps are definitely in order on quiet days!! Nana came over and visited with us. Since she only lives two houses up the road it is nice to be able to spend the time with her! We decided to go out for dinner to a little Italian restaurant in Conway that Mom & Ann really enjoy. Ann, Dad & Paul had Pizza while Nana & I had subs. It was delicious and Paul ate about four pieces (2x2 inch squares) of pizza. He seemed to really enjoy it. His walking has been very good the last couple of days. He is wearing a temporary brace that we bought at the drug store to keep him from turning his right ankle. It seems to help and he can really get some speed up with his walker!! After dinner we headed down to the River where there is a park and Paul walked about half way around the marina there. It was a beautiful night and the river was beautiful as well. We headed home and watched another movie ... My Cousin Vinny. For some of my family this will bring back many happy memories!! LOL It is a great movie if you've never seen it ... the language is a bit tough but it is very funny.

Sunday morning we got up and Paul got a shower. We were able to hurry and get ready to go to church with Ann. We decided to pack the van to be ready to leave right after service. It is so wonderful to be able to go to church and feel like family!! We headed out right after church (about 11am) to get home. We had no trouble although I heard that the hurricane hit North Carolina sometime during the day ... we didn't see anything more than a sprinkle of rain! The traffic was light and it was a hot but beautiful day. Paul sat in the front seat the whole trip. We stopped and got coffee & doughnuts as we started out. We also made a stop for some peaches to take home. It is the end of the season but hopefully they will be good. We made several stops for bathroom breaks but made fairly good time. It took about 9 hours to get home (with minimum stops it takes 7.5 hours). Paul did great! It is a relief that he travels so well since we will be traveling again in December for a cruise that will go out of Charleston SC!! This was a good test run for Paul (and us!).

Monday will be busy ... and we don't have a nurse for the day. This vacation was also the first time we've taken Paul away without a nurse for any length more than a day! It is a lot of work but Dad is really the best nurse Paul has anyway!!

Have a great day! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 09/06/07

I had a little computer glitch Thursday night so this is a little late........

Dear Friends:

We are having a great time on our vacation. Tuesday morning we were still in Columbia SC. We had spent the night in a new Microtel Hotel. The beds were a bit hard but we all slept OK. Paul had some trouble falling asleep ...he isn't use to having so many people in his room!! Carl went to the lobby and got some coffee for us as we were getting up. We all got our showers (including Paul) so we could get ready for our day. The shower was set up for a wheelchair to roll into since it was a Handicap room. Dad had carried our new bath chair that has an electric motor that lowers Paul into a bathtub. He was able to sit on it and shower. We went to the lobby and had the continental breakfast that they offered and were ready to head out shortly after that. We met with Sarah & Lizzie at Starbucks for coffee & chatting! We spent about an hour with them. Unfortunately when I left the hotel ... I forgot to take my cell phone with me!! By the time we went back to the hotel (20 minutes later) it was already gone!! I had to spend some time after we had coffee talking to Verizon to get a replacement phone. On the way back to Conway we took the back roads instead of the interstate. It was a beautiful day. We stopped and had lunch at Arby's. Paul had a roast beef sandwich. He has a little trouble holding the sandwich but he managed to eat it all by himself. We headed home and met up with Nana (who didn't go with us) for dinner at Ann's house. We spent the evening relaxing and watching TV.

Wednesday morning we got up and Ann had made Pancakes for breakfast ... yumm!! Mom headed over to take Ann's trash to the dump. As Mom headed past the window Ann said "here come the trash lady"! Paul must have gotten a giggle out of that because he got a smile on his face! It WAS funny. I rode with Nana to the post office and the dump while Carl & Ann stayed with Paul. Ann has a very nice screened in porch on the back of the house and we spend a lot of time out there. Paul mostly wanted to stay in the house but he traveled around and tried out a couple of new places to sit. He went into the sun room again ... and sat there for quite a while. He also decided to go into the bedroom where Dad & I are sleeping and layed down on our bed! He took a little nap in his bed later in the day. Ann's bathroom is smaller than ours but Paul has figured out ways to get his walker in there. Dad doesn't like him doing that since it gets pretty crowded in there! Ann had to work later in the day so I went with her and hung out at the store. She works at a little gift store at the beach and was scheduled to work by herself so I went and helped out!! It was fun talking to the customers and we found that lots of them were from Virginia. I was able to converse with several folks ... and the cool thing is ... they are ALL on VACATION just like us!! Dad stayed at Ann's house with Paul & Nana. Nana made pizza for dinner and visited with Dad & Paul. Ann & I got home around 10:30 and Paul was already in bed. I have been sporting a cold and it looks like Paul may be coming down with something too.

Thursday morning Paul got up feeling very chipper. He had a shower and was at the table having breakfast when I got up. He was talkative and walked really good this morning. We were planning to head to Litchfield SC to a local Fish Restaurant. We had the BEST lunch. All of us had the same meal ... it was one of the specials for the day. There was so much food that we were stuffed ... five of us ate for less than $40!! After we were done we went to Captain Dick's in Myrtle Beach to check on taking a bay cruise that they run daily. It is something we might do on Friday. Next we headed to the beach. We were able to get a Handicap Wheelchair. It was a chair made from PVC pipe with a chair attached. It had large balloon tires on it. It was useable for going onto the beach but it was hard to push and Dad got quite a workout. Paul was able to take off his shoes and get his feet wet but he didn't really go into the water. The tide was very rough today and it wouldn't be good for any of us anyway!! I don't know that we will repeat this activity ... at least not this trip! We headed home and had a dinner of leftovers. One of Ann's neighbors came over and we visited for a bit. Mom & I headed to her house (just up the road) and I worked on getting her internet working. It appears that we finally got something to work for her!! YAHOO!! She hasn't been able to use the internet for the last two years (or at least MOST of that time)! After I finished getting her interned set up she and I sat and visited at her house over coffee. It was nice to be able to visit with her! Carl, Ann & Paul stayed at Ann's house and watched TV. Paul is feeling poorly tonight ... it appears he has gotten my cold. Actually I think it is BILL's cold ... that I caught ... and now Paul has!! Oh well!! He headed off to bed around 11pm. We will see what Friday brings!

Have a great day, Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 09/03/07

Dear Friends:

Sunday morning Dad & Paul were up by about 7am. I was able to sleep in a little. Dad got Paul up and into the shower so he could get ready for church. Aunt Ann started breakfast (eggs, grits & toast ... yummm) and it was almost ready by the time I got up. Ronda & Bill spent the night at Mom's house Saturday night. They came down after a little bit and ate breakfast with us. We got ready for church and headed out around 8:45am. It takes about 30 minutes to get to Ann's Church at the beach. After church we took a ride into the countryside. We stopped in the little town of Mullins South Carolina and had lunch at a bed & breakfast there. The food was served buffet style and was all home made. We really enjoyed it. It was a beautiful day. We stopped at a roadside vegetable stand and got some squash, corn on the cob, peaches and tomatoes. We also got some spicy ginger ale. Paul had his own bottle of it and seemed to enjoy it. Once we got home we just hung around the house. Paul took a little walk to the sun room that is just off Ann's dining room to sit on the futon out there. He seemed to enjoy being able to go in there. Ann has a great screened back porch and we ate a vegetable dinner out there. We sat out there for several hours and visited until it was time for bed. Bill & Ronda headed back to Mom's to spend the night there.

Monday morning Bill & Ronda left from Mom's abut 7am. We had a slow morning. Once we had finished breakfast and got ready we headed out to Columbia SC to visit with the Ellisors (Ann's longtime friends). They planned to have a BBQ with several friends over. Paul was able to walk up onto their deck and into the house. The step going into the house is rounded and Paul had a little trouble managing it but he was able to get in. Once he figured it out he was able to manage OK. You may remember some time back that I was asking for prayer for Gerlinde & Ben. Gerlinde had a bicycle accident while doing missionary work in Africa a couple years ago. Her accident caused similar injuries to Paul's. She and her husband are wonderful Christian folks and Ben is Gerlinde's primary caretaker. They live in Columbia and are good friends of Carol & Steve. I wanted very much to meet them personally and they were at Carol & Steve's for the BBQ. It is amazing how God has worked in all of our lives. We stayed and visited until dinner time. We went out with Steve, Carol their daughter Rebecca & her husband Tim, the grandson Samuel and their son JD. The plan was to go to the favorite Mexican restaurant but it was closed for the holiday. Plan "B" was to head to the Greek Restaurant in town. We had a wonderful dinner and a great time of fellowship. Dad, Paul, Aunt Ann & I are spending the night in a hotel in Columbia and will meet with my nieces Lizzie & Sarah who live here for coffee in the morning. We will head back to Conway sometime during the day. We got one room and Dad will sleep in the bed with Paul while I sleep with Ann. It is the first night that Paul hasn't slept alone since he moved to our home in March!!

Have a great day! Lynne & Carl

Paul's Update - 09/01/07

Dear Friends:

Things were pretty quiet on Thursday and Friday. Dad had to take a trip to Paul's doctor to get a prescription for his medicines. He also made a trip to Lowes to get a new piston for our front screen door. Since we put the new door on it has been slamming and we are hopeful that this will help. He also put on the trim for the door. Paul spent most of the day watching TV with Dora. He hasn't been very active but he is probably due to have some "down time" since he has been doing so well lately. We had bible study in the evening. Ronda brought a delicious dinner over. We didn't really do our lesson ... we talked a lot about things going on in our lives. Sometimes our prayer time is actually more important than our study time!!

Friday morning Dad had several errands to run. He wanted to get some things to be ready for our trip. We will be in Myrtle Beach visiting with my Mother & Sister for the next week. Paul enjoyed staying in bed a little late and watching a movie before breakfast. Some mornings are really good for that!! Dora had the day off since she has a wedding to go to in North Carolina. Carolyn came over to visit for a little while. She is going to keep Maggie (the dog) for the week at her house. We went out to dinner with Ronda and Bill. We went to the Chinese Restaurant. Paul had Lemon Chicken. We enjoyed dinner but Paul got sick on the way home. It has been quite a while since he did that and he has eaten at this restaurant before so we aren't sure if he is coming down with a virus or something. Hopefully he won't be sick on our vacation!

Saturday morning came VERY early for us all. Bill & Ronda decided to travel to Myrtle Beach with us and stay for the weekend since it is a holiday weekend! We were up at 4am to get ready to leave the house at 5am. Dad said Paul DID NOT want to get up when he went in to get him. He finally got him up and we were out of the house by 5am!! We made several stops including a stop for breakfast and another for lunch. It took us 11 hours to do a seven and a half hour trip! It was a beautiful day and we decided to take Rt. 701 in North Carolina down to Conway SC which is where my sister lives. We arrived around 4pm and after we visited for a bit we headed out to Applebees for dinner. Nana Richard, Aunt Ann & all of us ate and visited until almost 9:30pm. When we were done with dinner we headed back to Nana's house and she made brownies and coffee for dessert. We had a late night and Paul didn't get to bed until almost 11:30pm. We will head off to Ann's church early in the morning and spend the day out.

Have a great weekend! Lynne & Carl