Rooms With a View

SHOW AND TELL

My sister in law recently lost her only sister. I finally made a card for her weeks after the fact. It is hard to make a card when you are too busy sleeping away the pain from a stupid surgery. So, hopefully she has received the card and I can now share it with you....

This is the front of the card. I did not want to do the usual "Sympathy" card. So, I used the words "Believe", "Laugh", and "Smile". Inside of the card I wrote what I hoped these words would mean to her.

This is the inside right page. The other page is my note to her. This is the most wonderful poem called "Reassurance". Since you cannot read it very well I will include it here....

REASSURANCE

Never look down for me after I leave your sight

Nothing of me is there-for who can imprison light.

Look for me in the stars- on a scented night in spring

Nearer to you than your heart-for space is a human thing.

Look for me in the rose-the gold in a sunset sky

For love has transfigured me-the mortal that once was I

Look for me in the dawn-when the day is new and fair

Now and eternally, call me and I shall be there.

As you cannot conceive my freedom from time and space

Why do you think it's strange that you cannot see my face?

Trust in that inner sense that you and I hold dear

Of knowing beyond a doubt, that I am truly here...

I don't know who wrote this beautiful poem. My Grandmother gave it to us when my mother passed away.

Please keep my sister in law in your prayers as she grieves over the loss of her sister.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a groovy weekend. We love you Chrissie!!!

FACEBOOK

As I mentioned in my last post I have found a few old friends on Facebook. Only one of these friends knows about our move so I thought instead of writing to each of my 38 friends, I would post it on my blog.

In February of 2007, we were watching TV and trying to stay warm. Charlie's daughter Megan called and informed us that it was 64 degrees in Atlanta. It was below 0 in Salt Lake. I said to the family that this is silly! We need to move to a warmer climate. My health does not do well in the cold which is unusual for MS patients. Most MS patients do better in the cold. Charlie's job at Western Governor's University allows him to live anywhere. The only thing holding us back was how to pay for the move.  So we had the house appraised and found out we could get closed to double what we paid for it 7 years ago. So we did a little renovations on the kitchen and added a mudroom. We painted the purple family room and the red living room a boring beige and spent less than $10,000. Then we put the old house on the market at the end of March.

 

Three weeks later it was sold for more than double what we paid for it. So we now had enough money to pay a mover and plenty to put down on a new house. Meanwhile, I was doing the research on where we should move. We were hoping to get half way between Charlie's two daughters (one in Atlanta and one in New Hampshire). We could not go too far north because it is just too cold. So we settled on Raleigh, NC. Well, it turned out that all of the schools in Raleigh were going to a year round school year. I don't like year round schools so I started my search over. This time I settled on Greenville SC. I don't know why I overlooked this area on my first search because it looked perfect. The schools are amazing, the climate was close to perfect, low crime and the cost of living was amazing. It was only three hours from Atlanta and 15 from New Hampshire.

So Charlie and I flew to Greenville just before Mother's Day to look for a house. The night before we were to meet with our agent, I found a house that looked interesting in Roebuck, SC. Our agent had never even heard of Roebuck. She made an appointment to see this house along with what seemed like 10,000 others. After two days of looking we were exhausted and had one more day to look at our top three homes. I had to do more research on Roebuck which is just outside of Spartanburg and things looked great. So, we decided on the house in Roebuck mainly because of the pool. I posted a photo of the house in my last post.

 

Charlie closing on our house in Salt Lake.

Charlie drove out to Roebuck to close on our new house the first week of June. The kids and I waited for the movers who came on the 14th and we left on the 15th. We decided to take our time and see a little bit of America. The boys also wanted to skateboard wherever we could find a park. So here are a few photos from the move...

 

Bye bye icky old house..

 

Hello Wyoming.

 

Patrick skating in Wyoming. They skated in Wyoming, South Dakota, Missouri, and one other place that I have forgotten.

 

Mitchell skating somewhere.

Hello South Dakota

 

Patrick, Vinny & Mitchell at Mt. Rushmore.

 

Hello Iowa!

 

Hello Humidity, I mean Missouri!

 

Vinny, Patrick and Mitchell on a river cruise in St. Louis. Where are the hats? It was too windy.

 

Yes, we got stuck with taking Baci the cat with us. She was a very good kitty on the trip.  She just laid around on the floor eating whatever food the kids dropped on the floor. Life is good when you are a big fat kitty.

I don't have photos of Tennessee, North Carolina or South Carolina. Their welcome signs are not in a very safe place to pull over and take a photo.

 

We pulled a little trick on Charlie. We called him when we were about 20 minutes away and told him we were just leaving Asheville. He thought we would arrive in 2 hours. So, when the kids rang the doorbell he was quite surprised. We had not seen him in almost 2 weeks. He had been staying in a hotel the whole time but we planned on spending this first night in the house. STUPID IDEA! W had three pillows, no blankets, nothing but the bare floor. It was awful. Oh, that is Mitchell who is hugging Charlie.

 

Patrick getting a hug.

 

And last but not least, Vinny getting a hug. I got one too, I just did not get a photo of it.

So, the first thing the kids did was run through the house,  grabbed their bags, and then this...

 

Mitchell

 

Vinny.

 

Patrick.

The next day we were so happy to see this pull up to our house...

 

Did I mention that we sold every piece of furniture we owned before we moved? We still managed to have 393 boxes of STUFF. We still don't have every room furnished but we are getting there. The first thing Charlie bought was a pool table which has been the best money we have ever spent. We also converted the pool to a Salt Water Pool. If you have a pool, I highly recommend this.

So, we have been here for over a year and we all love it. The kids are so happy and doing well in school. They have great friends and are involved in singing, drama, skateboarding, and of course they swim just about every day.

If you are ever in the area, please let us know. Our door is always open and we have plenty of space. Tomorrow some great news about Vinny!

Don't be shy, please leave a comment.

I AM BACK, SORT OF.

I want to thank all of you who sent your prayers and get well wishes. I came home from the hospital late last Thursday and I have done absolutely nothing ever since. I sleep, wake up, eat, take a percocet,(spelling?) sleep some more and so on. Today is the first day I have felt like I might not need a percocet. We will see as the day progresses.

As you might have read in Patrick's post, the surgery went perfectly. They were able to leave my cervix, my tubes and my ovaries. There was some scar tissue on the uterus but it was not stuck to anything. I got to tell you, for having three one inch incisions, it is amazing the amount of pain I have had. The doctor said I might experience more pain due to my MS.  I am trying to be good and not do anything and just let Charlie handle it. Those of you who know me well know that this is a very hard thing for me to do. I am not used to just lying around. The other tough part of this ordeal is that I am not allowed to drive for 2 weeks! I also cannot swim for 10 days. So, one more week and I can drive and two more days and I can swim. I am looking at my pool as I write thinking how nice it looks. I can wait another two days.

I recently joined Facebook because Mitchell begged me to. Well, I had two friends for a while, Mitchell and his best friend. Then, out of the blue, a very good friend who I have not seen or spoken to in 7 years found me. Then I see someone that I might know, yes, I did. And now I have over 20 friends, most of which I used to work with at Pearson Education. I cannot wait to write to all them and just say hello. But, for now, it is time for nap. I cannot post without some photos so here are a few random shots...

 

A friend asked for a photo of the front of our house.

 

Patrick and Mitchell attempting to throw starbursts in the air and catching them in their mouths.

 

Mitchell, Beautiful Bo, and Patrick pretending to hold up the peace sign on a wall in Mitchell's  room. Notice the un-maid bed. Uggh. 

 

And last but not least, a great photo of Beautiful Bo and Patrick.

Before I go take my nap, I hope we all say a little prayer for those who lost their lives 7 years ago today. And keep the families of those they left behind in your thoughts.

Have a groovy day!

UPDATE ON MY MOM

Patrick here; my mom asked me to post an update on her surgery yesterday and I ran out of time. Here surgery was a complete success. The only mystery is as they were looking around to check out all of her organs, they could not find her appendix. She never had it taken out so they believe she was born without one or it has slowly dissolved over time. Pretty cool! She came home late this afternoon and is in quite a bit of pain. She is well drugged so she is resting and sleeping most of the time.

She hopes to be back to blogging in a couple of days. In the meantime, here are some photos we took on the morning of her surgery. She will probably be very upset with me for posting these but I think she looks pretty.






Thanks for all of your prayers.

SHOWING OFF CATHERINE AND OTHER EVENTS

Charlie came home on Friday with more photos for me to share...

This is Megan on Sunday, August 23, five days before giving birth. Doesn't she look beautiful?

John and James hanging out.

In an attempt to get things moving on the baby front,  Grandpa Charlie took everyone to the mall so Megan could do a little walking.  John, James, and Matthew found a fun game to play. I don't know who the little one in red is.

After all that walking, they needed a little ice-cream. The original photo was very yellow and I could not fix it so I made it black & white. Grandpa Charlie is getting better at taking photos of everyday life.

James meets his new little sister.

The boys admiring little Miss Catherine. Matthew is taking the first of many photos of his little baby sister. A little history on Matthew; he has known for many years that they would have a baby sister and name her Catherine Siena. Megan was doing some decluttering and had some baby toys set aside to give away and Matthew told her that she could not give them away because what if Catherine wanted to play with them. This was months before Megan was even pregnant.

The door to Megan's hospital room.

James being James, Grandpa Charlie, Catherine, and John.

Grandpa Charlie. I love how little she looks compared to his hands.

John getting ready to hold Catherine.

I love how this photo shows off Catherine's beautiful dark hair. Isn't she just the most beautiful baby?

I never thought I would feel the way I do  towards all of Charlie's grandchildren. I am way, way to young to be a Grandma and yet I feel in my heart that all 15 of them are my grandchildren. They may never call me Grandma Shaun and I am finally ok with that. All that matters is the love I feel for each and every one of them, even the two I have never met. So, that is all of the photos I have at this time. Grandma Shaun signing out until tomorrow!
Have a groovy Labor Day.

IT'S A GIRL!

Megan FINALLY had her baby on 8/28/08. She went to the hospital at 2:00 am on Thursday morning and Catherine was born at 3:39! This quick timing meant no epidural for poor Megan. Catherine weighed in at 8lbs 15oz and was 22'' long. She is so beautiful from what I have seen. She was born with a little cleft lip which they will repair in a couple of months. Here are what few photos Charlie has sent me so far. We will start with Megan on her way to the hospital...

Now, I don't know if she is smiling or wincing in pain. All I know is that no woman should look this beautiful at 2:00am while in labor. The man in the background is Kent, Megan's husband.

This is James. James is my buddy. He is eating a donut for breakfast anxiously awaiting his dad to wake up from a well deserved nap so he can go see his new baby sister. When I had Charlie ask James later after he had seen Catherine if he liked her James said, "I love her, can we buy her"

The proud Grandpa Charlie with Catherine Siena 

John holding Catherine with a little help from Dad.

The big brothers checking out the new sister. The tallest is Michael, then Matthew in the blue shirt, John is in the striped shirt and then James.

 

Daddy and his little girl.

James gets a turn.

Isn't she beautiful! We are so happy that she is finally here and that both she and mommy are doing well.

 

ROLLER COASTERS!

On Friday, August 1st we decided it was time to venture to Charlotte, NC to visit Carowinds Theme Park. Charlotte is only an hour away and we were able to score discount tickets at the local grocery store. This park is nothing like Lagoon (Salt Lake City). They do not have a lot of rides, but they do have some very, very fancy roller coasters. They have a nice area for little, little kids and then the roller coasters. The problem is they only have a few rides that are in between. It is a very clean park and you can get free water at any of the 30 restaurants. We took full advantage of this. They also have a nice water park with some of the largest slides I have ever seen and a wave pool. The great thing about the water park is you don't have to pay extra to enjoy it like you do at Lagoon.

Mitchell had already been to the park when he went with a friend a few weeks ago. So, he was our tour guide. Something that I must explain is my how much my kids love roller coasters. Well, they don't! Or at least they did not the last time we went to Lagoon which was in 2006. That summer all three went on the White Roller Coaster and all three hated it. Patrick and Mitchell went on Jet Star and found it to be just ok. Patrick and Mitchell also went on the Spider and found it to be kinda fun. They would never go on Colossus. I and Charlie love roller coasters. So, as we were driving into Carowinds Mitchell is explaining the roller coasters that we are seeing and telling us how fun they are. I am looking at these things thinking there was no way he would ever go on them. I am not sure I will ever go on them. So the first ride we go to is a log ride. This was not like at Lagoon, it has a few hills and tight turns and yes, we got soaked. We were dry in 5 minutes. This is the only ride we had to wait in line for. We waited for 30 minutes but it was under a covered area with ceiling fans.

Next, we head to the Vortex. I am so excited to go on this. Vinny stayed behind with Charlie and the boys go with me. Patrick sees that we will be going upside down and asks me what it will be like. Remember, this kid has never been on anything bigger than Jet Star. So we get on, and they hook us in (you are standing on this ride) and yes, the bar between our legs is a little uncomfortable. We start off and down we go and Patrick screams "Oh my God" the entire ride. I was laughing so hard that I thought I would cry. Much to my surprise when we get off he runs to his dad and tells him it was dad's turn and he could not wait to go again. Patrick is now a roller coaster lover.

Here is a photo of the Vortex off of the Carowinds web site...

Specs on Vortex:
This stand-up roller coaster takes you on a 50-m.p.h. series of fun-filled loops and dramatic drops.

RIDING TIME:
2 minutes, 19 seconds

HEIGHT OF LIFT:
90 feet

MAXIMUM SPEED:
50 mph

It was the best ride I have ever been on. Next up was a ride that Vinny could go on. I cannot remember the name but they had one at Lagoon and I also do not have a photo.
The one coaster that I could not wait to ride is called Top Gun. Charlie and the boys went first and Patrick said it was amazing. I went next with the boys and it was not a pretty site. One of the issues I have with MS is dizziness. I have it 24/7 and I guess I am just used to it. Well, this ride and my dizziness did not go well together. I thought I was going to die. Here is the photo of this ride...

Here are the specs.
Experience nearly 3,000 feet of flight-simulating maneuvers on Top Gun's sleek, silver track—including six breathtaking inversions. Clear for takeoff and soar skyward while you level out at 144 feet over ground. Then, zoom back to earth with the Space Drop. Soar through a Vertical Loop, followed by a vertical 180 and 180-degree twist combo with the Immelman—a quick-escape maneuver named for the world-renowned WWII pilot. Next, spin into the Zero G Roll for an instant of zero-gravity flight. Then, it’s the Batwing, with a dive into the fog right under the midway. Come back up for a final wingover and Flat Spin, a helix finale, a picture-perfect landing. . .and a storehouse of stories for your earthbound friends!

HIGHEST PEAK
144 feet

MAXIMUM SPEED
62 m.p.h.

RIDE DURATION
2 minutes, 47 seconds

The kids hit the water park and then a few more rides before the last ride of the night, The Nighthawk. I was done after the Top Gun so the boys went. This is a roller coaster where you are laying down and you go head first . You truly have to see it in person to appreciate how scary this thing is...

The Specs:

The

Carolinas

' first flying coaster is also the tallest roller coaster in the park. It soars riders through eight inversions, most while flying face down, zooming toward the ground and turning skyward just in time for the next inversion. The unique rider position offers breathtaking and virtually unobstructed views of the park.

�HIGHEST PEAK
115 feet (11 stories)

MAXIMUM SPEED
51 m.p.h.

RIDE DURATION
2 minutes, 47 seconds

SEAT ANGLES
In station (start of ride): 60-0 degrees
Top of lift (angle of lift) as train enters curve: 30 degrees
At braking: 0 degrees
In station (end of ride): 0-60 degrees

INVERSIONS
8 (More than any coaster in the Southeast)
Includes:

When they got off of this ride, Patrick said it was a life changing experience. Charlie said it was like nothing he had ever experienced and Mitchell said it was better than the first time he rode it.

It was a really fun day but boy did my feet and legs hurt by the time we got home. One of these days I must put my pride aside and rent a wheelchair.

Have a great week!

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION!

After Charlie's birthday dinner we headed home for cake, ice-cream and presents.

Vinny made the beautiful & yummy cake.

The kids and I had a card making party today. Even Patrick made a card this year. The one above is by Mitchell. I will post better photos of each of the cards tomorrow.

Patrick's card.

Vinny's card.

And mom's card.

Yes, this is Charlie holding a photo of an Espresso Machine. I did not get the opportunity to go shopping for him until Friday due to my stupid Tysabri headache. I thought that I would just walk into Bed, Bath and Beyond and purchase the machine I had decided on after a thorough research process. Well, I was wrong. Bed, Bath and Beyond were out of stock, Linen's & Things were out of stock and so was Target. I ended up ordering through Target since their price was almost 1/2 of the price at BB&B. It will arrive on Wednesday. Yes, I felt very bad that I could only give him a photo of what was to come. He did not care, he was just very excited to know that in a few days he can make himself an espresso any time his little heart desires.

Yes, a photo of an espresso cup. Vinny wanted to buy one for her daddy but again, we could not find one at the three stores we went to looking for the machine. So, on Monday, our search continues.

When I realized that the espresso machine would not be here on Sunday, I decided to put together a quick and dirty mini album called, "A few of Dad's Groovy Things". I put it together in about 6 hours. It is very simple but he  LOVED it even though he looks a bit confused in the above photo.


He truly got a kick out of this book and the kids loved helping me put it together. I am trying to record everyday life and information about each of us so that when the kids get older they can look through the layouts and albums and have memories of what our lives were like and what we were like. It is impossible for anyone to remember every thing as they get older. I know I can hardly remember anything from my childhood. I don't want that for my kids. I want them to remember what we did on Sundays, how we celebrated birthdays, and how their dad loves to wear hats. More on the hats tomorrow.

We ended the evening in the pool; our Sunday night tradition.

See you tomorrow!

LOOK WHO'S HOME!!!!

Charlie arrived home last night and boy were we happy to see him! We met him at Jason's Deli so he could have a Muffaleta for his birthday. A Muffaleta is a sandwich made with different meats and olive salad. They originated in New Orleans and Charlie grew up eating them from Central Grocery. Here are a few photos from dinner....

Charlie was waiting for us at the restaurant. Mitchell was just a little excited to see him.

Vinny and Patrick finally get a turn. I also received a nice hug and a kiss.


Daddy and his little girl.

A very happy Mitchell. He has a very difficult time when he is separated from me or Charlie.

Patrick spies his grilled cheese.

Charlie enjoying his Muffaleta.

I want to send a thank you to my brother Jim and his wife Chrisie who had Charlie over for dinner on Saturday night. They were joined by my other brother Pat and his wife Debbie. Charlie had a terrific time and truly appreciated the meal and the company.

More birthday celebration tomorrow.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLIE!!!!!!!

Today, July 18th is Charlie's birthday! Unfortunatly he is in Salt Lake City on business so we cannot celebrate with him until Sunday! So, please leave him a comment wishing him a wonderful day. You know I cannot post without a photo.....

Charlie at a much younger age...
And Charlie now. He looks pretty good for having been born in 1947, don't you think?