We are Loading up!!! And getting out of Dodge

Merry Christmas to all our Blogging fur friends from Lilly and Tucker Boy

Merry Christmas to each and everyone of you our wonderful Blog friends!!! Where ever you are!! I have been more down on the sofa that up off it due to a miserable attack of bronchitis..but I'm feeling much better this evening..I think those antibiotics are kicking in. I swear we should have a revolving door on our home as Rick is in and out like a ginnyspinner putting things in the motor home..the rig has been pretty well packed, loaded and ready to roll for over a month now..we just need to load on those last minute things which we can't do until early Tuesday morning..but hes enjoying slipping out with CDs of music..the printer for the laptops etc etc..so I say fill your boots buddy!!


We are all ready for Christmas...our adopted grand arrived yesterday safe and sound..to spend Christmas with us...and we are anxious to spend it with our kids, and the grands..our dear daughter is hosting pretty much everything at her home..and that is a bonus for me. All we have to do is show up, just across town. This will be the first year we've changed that tradition, as in the past I was always the 'host'..so I have no trouble breaking tradition this year. She feels it would be too hard on me to be packing, de decorating etc to host christmas brunch and dinner for everyone the day or so before we are slated to pull out..and I say 'bless her heart'..


We plan to be in the Myrtle Beach area for new years and meet up with friends of ours there. I'm not looking forward to the first couple of travel days, due to the fact that we are winterized but we can ride the wave on that I'm sure. Out running any bad weather will be our challenge and we are up to it. If we run into bad weather we will just find the closest Wallyworld and park. 


Al and Kelly hang in there you are in our thoughts and prayers that you can glide along with your health issues until the spring..Contessa your family and your mom are also in our thoughts and prayers. I will try and keep up with the blogging during our travels-and I will surely have more time to read the blogs without rushing, to check on how you are all doing.


Have a blessed Christmas and all the very very best from our home to yours for a wonderful 2012.


PS: Just a little chuckle for you all concerning Uncle Dennis buying the grands a mininature horse for Christmas. Their parents took the girls yesterday, on a surprise drive and the grands were quite excited. Caitlin is a dear little diva girl and I thought she just may not enjoy the barn thing..Hannah is our little tom boy who bass pro fishes in tournaments, hanging off the side of the boat and baiting her own hooks. To our surprise upon their arrival here last night after the 'great reveal' Caitlin was so excited she was bouncing off the walls..even to the point of sitting on the horses...Hannah was petrified of the horses. The pictures sure made me chuckle, Caitlin all excited as if Uncle Dennis had just passed them the moon, and Hannah looked horrified with a look of 'what are we doing here-this is the end of the world' face..she made it known that she would have been perfectly happy with a "barbie" as a present from Uncle Dennis. I am sure once she is used to Betty she will love her...she is a dear looking little horse who is saddle and cart broken. She did inform me that they are not house broken like Lilly and Tucker and they make big poops that do NOT smell good....I guess what they say is true...expect the unexpected with kids.

Update-Has Murphy Moved on? I think so

Hi Everyone,
I haven't posted because I'm sure you are all sick and tired of hearing all the 'murphy' stuff thats been happening in our lives and home. But I think he is moving on..
We were back to the doctor yesterday, for another bp checkup for Rick..he is still all over the board, up and down like a yoyo...Sunday showed the most decent readings so far..but yesterday he was all over the place again..so we are praying it all levels out within the next few days. Yesterday the doctor doubled his bp meds from 4mgs to 8mgs per day one pill every 12 hours. He has been on these meds since Dec. 2. 


Our doctor of many years passed away suddenly in 2010 and it was a struggle to find any doctor who would take us on. He is the type of physician who always has his hand on the door knob the whole time your in there. I inquired if we should still go away-he said sure..play with the meds..don't let him get any lower than xyz or higher than xyz...I am not a doctor!! I sure wish he was stabilized.....I think the only thing Rick heard was 'yes I'd still go away'... of course I read between the lines...what if what if... I'm definitely not in a comfort zone with this physician, or this situation. He did at least listen to my chest..I got up yesterday and wondered who parked the elephant on my chest during the night..yes I'm full into a bronchitis attack..he did prescribe antibiotics and puffers for me. Hopefully within 48 hours they will kick in and I'll feel better. Last night was a long night of coughing.


Upon our return home yesterday, Rick immediately moved the motorhome back up to the front driveway and the lists are flying around here organizing the last minute load ups. There is so much you cannot do till the last minute. Plus we have company arriving today to spend christmas with us. Our foster daughter's daughter..Theresa..Jen is in the army and they are now posted in the North West Territories..we haven't seen Resa in 3 years so we are pretty excited that she will be with our family for christmas. She is now almost 17 years old.


This morning we had to be up early and across town to attend the grands christmas concert. It was scheduled for 8:30am...wow thats early...my but all the kiddos were adorable...and Hannah and Caitlin were so cute..waving at us all from the stage.

Hannah 

Caitlin

They were Attired in velvet Dresses with satin bows and fur trim-sent to them in Canada from Aunt Becky and Uncle Matt in Mississipi-Aunt Becky sure does a good job on the Christmas dresses every year. She black Friday shops at Macys for the girls christmas dresses each year. And what a good job you do Aunt Becky.

This afternoon Tracey and Tood are taking the girls to meet up with our youngest son Dennis. They are taking them to see a surprise!! Uncle Dennis bought the girls a mininature horse for Christmas..she is a beautiful little horse. She will reside at his friends stable not too far from here. I'm thinking Santa can't even top this gift. I can't wait to see the pictures of their dear little faces when they reveal this surprise to them.

I'm happy to hear that you all seem to be doing well...Al seems to have possibly, hopefully passed the stone? We can only hope and pray that Dr. Kelly fixed him up. Contessa's mum is having her much needed surgery today, so I will be keeping a prayer on my lips for a successful surgery and speed recovery for her.

If yall would throw Rick in your prayer baskets we'd sure appreciate it..I would feel a whole lot better having a few days of level acceptable bp readings under our belts before heading out next Tuesday.

Take care and stay safe!!!

Home is where you park it

“Sometimes you have to forget whats gone, appreciate what still remains, and look forward to whats coming next”.

"May your day be filled with blessings like the sun that lights the sky~and may you always have the courage to spread your wings and fly"

“Life is like a party. You invite a lot of people, some leave early, some stay, some laugh with you, some at you, some didn't come. But in the end, after the fun, there would be a few who would stay and help clean up the mess with you. And most of the time, those were the ones who didn't even make the mess: ) How true this is!!! “

Old Murphy is Still Hanging Around-grrr

Ok Murphy we've had just about "enough" of your antics..you can leave us anytime, you are really starting to become a jerk. 

It has been a busy time here in our stix and bricks getting ready for the Christmas season and travel plans while  dealing with family health issues. Our daughter is doing very well from her latest issues, and Hannah is back on the mend from her flu bug.

As for Richard? He is fully recovered from his surgery in October but his blood pressure is not improving. We started the medications on Dec. 2 and the only change in the monitoring is his readings are not coming down. In fact some days it is worse. Yesterday and today it has been 170/100. We had another appointment with the doctor for Dec. 19th but I felt that was too far out so I called today and changed it to this Thursday. She stated we should be seeing a significant drop/change by now and to continue monitoring it and we will see our physician on Thursday this week instead of Monday next week. Time is of the essence for us if we still hope to leave on the 27th.

We did have a lovely weekend..friends arrived on Saturday and spent the evening and night with us and we thoroughly enjoyed their visit. Although we tend to enjoy each other so much that we stay up too late. I think we fell into bed around 3:30am Sunday morning.:) Yesterday was a jammie couch day watching movies until.....we remembered that we were suppose to go to our daughters for supper and pick up the grands around and take them out to see all the pretty Christmas lights and decorations. Talk about two people hopping in the shower and rushing around to be ready on time.

Supper was great and the grands loved the lights. We didn't get out of the car and walk around because Rick has a terrible head cold and it was a very cold evening. But they still enjoyed our time together. Then it was back home with treats of Tim Hortons candy cane hot chocolate. 

Here are some snaps of our sights..they are not the best because in all the rush I left my camera at home and had to use my crackberry..but it will give you a good idea.

Downtown City Hall Area

Partial display of a home that decorates each year

Today is a sunny but bitter cold day...but I know we will be in 'sun and warmth' soon. I am confident we will get this blood pressure issue under control and still be on target to leave. 


Just a tidbit for you-I didn't know-did you?

Do you know what a "Candy Cane Really is"? Many years ago a candy maker wanted to make candy that would symbolize the true meaning of Christmas-which is "Jesus". The hard candy was shaped like a "J" to represent that Jesus is our rock of all ages. The candy was white-which stands for the pureness of "Jesus". And the red represents the blood that Jesus shed to save us from our sins. So the next time you see a candy cane, take a minute to remember the real meaning of Christmas :).


Today is 'blog' catchup day so I can see that you all had a great weekend..so I better get at it...


Take care and stay safe!!!

Home is where you park it

“Sometimes you have to forget whats gone, appreciate what still remains, and look forward to whats coming next”.

"May your day be filled with blessings like the sun that lights the sky~and may you always have the courage to spread your wings and fly"

Is it Friday Yet? Update from our home

I am so far behind in my blog reading..hum I wonder why..maybe later today I can catch up.

As some of you know our darling daughter has been sickly for quite some time. After levelling  out at close to a 100 lb weigh loss she was finally diagnosed with celiac disease and colitis a few months back. Due to the fact that it went undetected for so long it will definitely take some time to get it under control.

On Nov. 25th she had surgery for gall bladder removal. Yipee, we are on the road to recovery. On Dec. 3 she was rushed to the hospital with a massive pain attack..they performed an xray of the abdomen-did a blood test-her white cell counts were high- which tells me infection somewhere but they gave her a strong dose of dalauded a prescription for morphine and sent her home. She had a fairly good day on Monday. 

Yesterday morning early we received a telephone call that the massive pain attack was back, and could we please come immediately and get our grand Hannah (as she was home from school sick)..this time her hubby took her to the other hospital in our area versus the one he took her to on Saturday. The pain was so bad she blacked out upon arrival at the hospital.

After blood work-and a ct scan it was discovered she had kidney stones..well no wonder she was in pain. A urologist was called in and he decided he was taking her to the OR to remove them. It was a long day but she had her surgery (2nd one in less than 2 weeks)...at 9pm and they finally got back home around 11pm last evening. She will have to go back and have the stint removed in a couple of days. I wonder why that other hospital didn't do a ct scan on Saturday, this could have been fixed at that time. 

After a ct scan and u/sound 3 weeks ago she was informed she had two cysts and something else on her kidney and would require a biopsy for the something else. Hence why we were not sure if we would / could leave on 27th and were hoping and praying that biopsy would be done before we left. 

So it was wait for a urology consult then biopsy. Around here that could take forever. Her consult appt was yesterday which she missed because she was in the hospital.

Good comes out of bad folks-the urologist who was called in to take care of her last night-stated her ct scan was good and all the three things on her kidney are just cysts and no biopsy is required. So just a little piece of sunshine in all this mess. 

On the home front here its been quite a week and feels like it should be Friday instead of only wednesday..we have been babysitting the grands off and on because of all these health issues and surgeries with our daughter. 

On Monday a friend's little 3 yr old was sick and could not go to daycare so she spent the day here with us. Yesterday we had our Hannah because she was sick with the flu and couldn't go to school. She was spiking a temp all day and just feeling miserable and of course worried about her mom. Thank heavens for children's tylenol and advil-I was able to keep it under control. She slept very well for us last night but she won't be going to school today and we will take her back home sometime today, after I make them some supper to bring with us.

Tucker the nurse-he shadows this child when she is with us

Tucker loves kids, and seems to know when they are not feeling well and becomes Mr Velcro..he hung around Serenah all day monday when she was here and he never left Hannah's side all day yesterday. He is quite the nurse.

On another note Rick has been on bp meds since last Friday, I still check him daily, and although he is not coming down as fast as I would like-I'm praying this issue levels out within the next couple of weeks. He is hovering around 150/90 hopefully it will keep moving lower.

Ok I'm am off to make supper to take to the kids and pack things up to take the darling back home. Hopefully we are all over the 'hump' so to speak.

Have a super day folks, I hope to catch up on my blog readings later today-and hope that you are all safe and sound and that 'Murphy' is leaving you alone.

Home is where you park it

“Sometimes you have to forget whats gone, appreciate what still remains, and look forward to whats coming next”.

"May your day be filled with blessings like the sun that lights the sky~and may you always have the courage to spread your wings and fly"

“Life is like a party. You invite a lot of people, some leave early, some stay, some laugh with you, some at you, some didn't come. But in the end, after the fun, there would be a few who would stay and help clean up the mess with you. And most of the time, those were the ones who didn't even make the mess: )"

Chin Up - Tis just another Bump in the Plans!

Good morning everyone,

We have hit another bump in the road-yesterday we had a doctors appointment concerning Rick's high blood pressure. It was noticed while we were in Ontario for his surgery, that is was on the high end of the scale. (160/100)

I have been monitoring it daily and charting for our doctor so he would have a good base line to judge from. Well it has been staying consistently high and our doctor started him on medication as of yesterday. Rick exercises regularly, eats well, stays away from salt etc etc is not over weight-I think he is his Mother's son..as she suffered with high BP for many many years.

Our Doctor stated he would have to monitor it monthly..he knows we are planning to roll out of here in a couple of weeks..he said he needs to watch it in case he has to increase or decrease the dosage. 

I suggested I continue to monitor it daily and possibly email him results and he can tell me how much to increase or decrease? I think he thought I was cracking a joke..little did he know I was serious to say the least. I'm not a nurse but after taking care of Rick's mom for 16 years and knowing how to adjust her dependant upon her readings I think I can do this.

We return on Dec 19th for recheck..and I will continue to monitor daily from now until then, and hopefully we will get good news. Maybe this wee tiny pill will do its magic and level things out. Rick is adamant we are leaving come  h*ll or high water..I am adamant we will have to wait and see. 

We will carry on carrying on as if we are still 'rolling out'...you may as well 'laugh' as 'cry'...laugh and the world laughs with you-weep and you weep alone. It is what it is and we will just have to deal with it come what may! Regardless we will have to listen to the doctor I think.

Looks like you are all having a blast out there..I so enjoy reading all your blogs-I feel like we are right there with you.

Stay safe everyone!! Hope to see you down the road!

Home is where you park it

“Sometimes you have to forget whats gone, appreciate what still remains, and look forward to whats coming next”.

"May your day be filled with blessings like the sun that lights the sky~and may you always have the courage to spread your wings and fly"

Counting Down-How Many More Sleeps?

So the countdown is on!! 26 more sleeps; that is less than a month :) The furkids are pretty anxious to get going. They have been hanging quite close to the door - just in case we try to leave without them. They don't seem to be sleeping as much as they usually do and are constantly on alert.

I'm watching you!!

Is it time to go ? huh huh is it mom?

We had the other kids again today for awhile-those grand little grands . Our daughter had surgery on Friday and is doing well. So we picked up the girlies at daycare after school, brought them home with us for supper, then while Rick did the dishes (not a big chore with the dishwasher) I popped one into the tub and one into the shower, got them all cleaned up and hair done and into jammies. We then delivered them back home to their parents-with their bed snacks; Tim Hortons candy cane hot chocolate and a big chocolate chunk cookie each.


I must mention that when they were here decorating on the weekend they did not know what "mistletoe was" - so we gave them both a lesson in the purpose of mistletoe. I think our mistletoe is about 30 years old, but hey it still serves it purpose. 


Well being 7 years old you have a memory like an elephant and forget nothing. This evening every time poppa or I stepped or walked under that mistletoe they both dove on us at the speed of light. Oh they make me chuckle and they both make my heart sing. I love their innocence and honesty. We are sure going to miss them while we travel-thank heavens for  today's technology such as skype and IChat video visiting.


We did join passport america today..and we are looking into good sams. Rick is trying to decipher the good sams information and merger. Thank you all for your input it is much appreciated. When we have an rv question or travel concern my first thought is to go ask you, our blogger family. And you always seem to have the answer :)


Also a great big thank you to any and all new followers. I sure wish blogger had a way of alerting us when we have a new follower, but alas they do not, so I do not always notice (I tend to be technically challenged as most of you know). We truly do appreciate each and everyone of you new or old. And I love reading all of your blogs, and travelling along with you throughout the good travel days and also the not so good travel days. 


So now we count down, and hope and pray for decent 'get outta town weather' come Dec. 27th-I have lists for my lists and it seems every time I pick up my clipboard to add or scratch something off the furkids go on alert. How funny-they have always associated my clipboard with motorhome! Its like get out the leash-they bounce around "its walkie time" -try writing on the clipboard "its motorhome time"...why they label them dumb animals is beyond my comprehension-they certainly are not dumb.


Oh oh Rick is standing under the mistletoe time for me to dash off...catch you all later..have a super evening..and be safe out there!!!

Home is where you park it

"May your day be filled with blessings like the sun that lights the sky~and may you always have the courage to spread your wings and fly"

Quick Question need some Input!!

Hi Everyone,
Rick is here researching our route and areas to stay through the US etc..just wondering if any of you have advice on which discount clubs to join...Passport America, looks good, what about good Sam..is there any others we should look at? Did any of you join a couple or do they offer combo discounts? We currently do belong to the Explorer Club..that is more for the roadside I think...which has an excellent roadside assistance program....Appreciate any and all advice...and Thank you!!!

Home is where you park it

"May your day be filled with blessings like the sun that lights the sky~and may you always have the courage to spread your wings and fly"

We Decked the Halls!!!!!

Well it has been one busy weekend. We picked up the 'grands' yesterday morning, our daughter had surgery on Friday and is doing well, but Poppa and I thought we would give them a break and take the grands for the day and night.

It was off to the mall (ughhh crazy crazy) to sports check for new winter boots for Caitlin and Hannah. Then to Walmart hair shop to get Hannah's bangs trimmed. Then it was off to their favorite store "clairs" where they sell everything from fingerless fishnet gloves to makeup, glitter, purses, funky hats - you get my drift. The perfect store for two 7 year olds. Poppa's wallet took a beating in that place. 

Then we thought we should have lunch, mercy it was almost 1pm by the time we did all of the above, but the food courts at the mall were packed and the lineups long. Poppa suggested we head back toward home and have lunch at Steves 50's diner (excellent food) where he could at least hear himself think. 

After lunch we pointed the car toward home-I think we must have walked a gazillion miles in that crazy people packed mall. Traffic was heavy, due to everyone coming to town for the Santa Clause parade last evening. Thankfully our two 7 year olds decided they wanted to forego the parade and decorate our home for christmas instead. 

So Poppa headed to the storage barn and started bringing in all the Christmas boxes. Talk about a couple of excited little girls..and of course the furkids were in on it all too. Tucker and Lilly love when the girls are here they become their two shadows.

Hannah and Tucker at Movie time

Caitline and Lilly at movie time

Our Little Tree and lighted garland-practising for the Motorhome Decor

Fiber Op Santa Made an appearance

The Girls Created a Centerpiece

Working on the village setup

Our Fiber Op Angel is in place

After all the decorating-supper-and baths it was snuggle down movie time-of course the furkids were on guard !!

After movie time and snacks it was off to bed -until around 6:45 am this morning when some little one was standing beside our bed poking me and stating it was time to get up.

After a big breakfast of pancakes and bacon it was announced that we 'must' make christmas cookies. First we video I Chatted with Aunt Becky and Uncle Matt in TN...

Poppa had to run to the store though because we forgot to buy decorating supplies. What were we thinking-(apparently we weren't)

While he was gone we ladies got busy mixing up shortbread cookies:

The wear their 'great grams' aprons- that seems to have become a ritual whenever we cook..here are some cookies ready for the oven.

Decorating time for 'all' the kids

Some of our finished product

So the manger is setup (we don't put baby Jesus in until Christmas eve) the village is setup and the halls are trimmed here in our stix and bricks. 

I told the girls at breakfast this morning that I emailed Santa last night and told him how very good they were. And low and behold when I opened my email after breakfast there was a beautiful message for each of them from Santa!!! They were so excited. I found this wonderful magical little program on the internet last night and signed them up. For those of you who have grands or little ones check this out..its adorable http://magicsanta.ca/homepage.html 

Just click on the 'start here' button. And you can email a copy to your grands.

I have seen a lot of controversy on the internet and facebook lately, concerning "happy holidays" instead of 'Merry Christmas' etc. and just thought I'd add my two cents worth. It will always be Christmas to me, and I will continue to wish everyone a very "Merry Christmas"-our family will always keep the "Christ" in Christmas and remember the 'reason for the season'-one of our rituals in years gone by was to have a birthday cake for Jesus on the center of our Christmas dinner table. While shopping yesterday, and viewing the masses of shoppers, rushing from store to store, screaming at their kids, being rude to other shoppers I wonder if they all even took a moment to remember the 'reason for the season'..

On another note, I sure didn't get many stitches into this over the weekend, hopefully sometime this week I will accomplish more....

Have a wonderful week everyone-where ever you may be-I'm off now to try and catch up on yesterday and todays blog readings. 

Take care

Home is where you park it

"May your day be filled with blessings like the sun that lights the sky~and may you always have the courage to spread your wings and fly"

Happy Thanksgiving to our American Friends!!

May you all have a wonderful day, lots of sunshine, great food and fellowship, with family, new friends and old friends!!

Yesterday we were blessed with over a foot of snow..for those of you 'laying' in the sun it is 'white' 'wet' and 'heavy'...we have had the plow in twice to clean out our driveway. Oh and did I mention it is also 'cold'. :) 

Just so you will all be thankful to be where you are and for those of you who forgot what it looks like here are a couple of snaps to 'remind' you to be thankful you are there and not here!

Ossumer parked up in the snow!!

Poor Ossumer

He is very Anxious to Roll Out

A shot of our back yard

Have a wonderful 'Thanksgiving' folks eat, drink and be merry and above all be 'thankful'...

Home is where you park it

"May your day be filled with blessings like the sun that lights the sky~and may you always have the courage to spread your wings and fly"