A beautiful farewell for "Mac"

Today, Mac has turned a corner. When I arrived at 10:00 a.m.,Flavia, the full time caregiver met me at the door to tell me that this morning things became different. She ate very little of her breakfast and is struggling more with her breathing. The hospice nurse,Teresa came and evaluated her overall appearance. She started her on morphine, she began to relax and slept most of the day. She has told me that she has seen her dad waiting for her and she is tired. I feel so blessed to care for her,she is such a gentle kind soul, To witness the journey a person takes as they leave this life is beautiful, I felt the same way with my Mom. What an honor to be there in the final days. My prayer is for God to wrap his loving arms around Mac and carry her into heaven......

January Showers in Sunny California

We love the rain... Last night we heard the rain on our deck. We got so excited to see the raindrops coming down and making puddles . Then in the middle of the night it began to rain harder,You know we just don't get enough rain here so this rain is so welcomed. The weather is still warm(about 65) so this will be good for the plants and trees. Don't believe em' when they say "It never rains in California".....

Papa is taking Baby Steps

Today, Papa walked a short distance from his room with the help of his Physical Therapist. On January 15th he went in for a total hip replacement on his left hip. He is dealing with the pain very well and is eager to work with Physical Therapy so He can get full movement again. Please pray for a full recovery and that Genelle will get some rest.

Heirlooms

I feel my role as a caregiver is to take care of a family's heirlooms. Since I began this new journey I have met the most amazing people. First there is Phyllis and Robert. She was married to his brother and now they are both widowed so they take care of each other. He loves roses and email and she likes to take care of Robert. Then I met Dot, a precious christian woman who had just returned home after having a knee replacement, We spent long afternoons talking about her years as a young woman who attended Biola College. She met her husband at Youth for Christ, They didn't have a car when they got married so they rode a bus to Big Bear Lake for their honeymoon, She emails me and keeps me up to date on the goings on at her Senior Living Facility. Next I wrote out Christmas Cards with Bob, a retired Pastor who is stuggling with Parkinson Disease and Dementia. A gentle soul with such a compassionate heart, His wife Donna is a pre-school teacher and the love of his life. Then there is Jacqueline, 94 and a classical ballerina from the 20's. She grew up playing with the Kennedy's in Mass. She reminds me of the actress that played Rose at the end of the movie Titanic. She wears her pearls everyday and loves to have a manicure and listen to classical music.A real beauty. Another woman,Jean lives in a beach house she has owned for 50 years on Faria Beach. She is a retired High School teacher and loves to watch Little House on the Prairie and drink green tea, She has beautiful white hair and is very soft spoken. I spend 48 hours with "Mac" she is 84 and has been diagnosed with Lung Cancer. She and I share the love of beautiful china,drinking tea and talking about our Scottish heritage. She lives in Camarillo and is the most organized person I have ever met, She is teaching me how to have a farewell party and enjoy each day. She taught me how to bake shortbread cookies and I make her homemade ice cream I count her as one of the most inspiring.
If you knew you were at the end of your life, how would act? All of these people have lived their lives with No regrets and have such peace. I am so blessed to have been trusted with these family heirlooms

January is Birthday Month for Nick

January 23rd our Nicholas Blake turns 24! Anyone that has been to our house during birthday months, knows we set up a Birthday Display for the Honoree. Here is Nick with Baby Lillie Sage, Big boy Hunter Hall ,Christmas Day with the Farm Fam and his Birthday Shrine here at home. So Happy Birthday to you, our favorite boy, Nick!

A Month of Memories

We decked the halls, baked the cookies,hung the lights,shopped for bargains then hit the floor running. We spent special times with our extended family, The Starr's,celebrated Christmas Day with The Colvard's and ended the month with all of The Wallace Clan. The holidays were complete with a weekend stay from our dear friends, the Varela's including their beautiful girls Angie and Allie. Nick and Ashley were home and it was a reunion 10 years in the making.
Ashley's roommate,Helen join our family for Christmas, what a blessing.
We had such good times with everyone and loved spending time with some of people that mean so much to us.

Sweet Little Jesus Boy

"Behold the King was born this day, The Savior of all the earth". Join us as we celebrate the birth of Sweet Little Jesus Boy. We are so thankful for all of you who are in our lives and count you as one of our many blessings.
Nick commented that he has heard "Merry Christmas" more this year, We try to say it as often as we can when we are out and it's surprising how people respond with Merry Christmas to you....
On Saturday night we were with many special friends here in Santa Paula and then on Sunday we had a family gathering with over 30 members of our extended family, It was very sweet.
We are looking forward to a beautiful service at our church Christmas Eve to celebrate the true meaning of this season, Then more good times with family and dear friends the 25th,26th and 27th.
Whew, what a great week...