Thanksgiving Day . . .

This is my
Grandma Phyllis . . . . .
and the Yummy Turkey
she made for Thanksgiving.





My Grandma makes a very good Thanksgiving Dinner. It is her favorite holiday. Her "love language" is food so this holiday is a great time for her to love on us!!!! I spent most of my day with my Grandma and Grandpa on my mom's side. It was a fun day with family and I enjoyed the food and the company. I am thankful that I could have Thanksgiving Dinner twice this week with both sides of my family. God has been good to me.

A Time of Thanksgiving

This is my Grandma

We love each other very much

My family on my Dad's side gathered at my uncle Aaron's house for Thanksgiving Dinner this afternoon. We usually gather on the Sunday before Thanksgiving - this tradition has worked well for our family. All my aunts and uncles and most of my cousins were there - we had 17 people in total. Aunt Diane made the Turkey, Stuffing, Potatoes and Gravy - YUM!! Everyone brought food and it was ALL VERY GOOD. I ate well. It was a traditional Thanksgiving meal. I enjoyed the food but more than that I really enjoyed spending time with my family. I am very Thankful.

Test Results . . . . What we know today . . .

I know that many of you have been praying for me regarding my weight loss and difficulty eating. Mom spoke to the Gastroenterologist and our Family Doctor on the phone last week . . . here is a summary of what we have learned over the past month.....

• A muscle in my neck is weak making it difficult to swallow. Both doctors feel that this weakening is not from the medicine I take but instead part of the progression of my disability.
• I am taking a new stomach medicine - different kind and higher dose - It seems to be working well - I have less heart-burn and less complaining.
• We are monitoring my weight - It has stayed the same for about 3 week - I am maintaining - which is good. Doctor says that if I continue to loss, I will need a feeding tube (not really what we want).
• My diet has changed to softer foods, BOOST, slower eating and lots of drinks during eating.
• I have a follow-up appointment with the Gastroenterologist on Dec 15.
• Next Tuesday, I have a "well-check" appointment with our family doctor to prepare for an out-patient procedures (Dec 19) - Teeth Cleaning and Endoscopy. At that time, there will certainly be further discussion on my overall health.

We are really trying (with God's help) to live each day based on what we know today and not worry about tomorrow. Thank you for praying for me - we really saw God's hand in both the procedures. In my world, it should not have gone that smoothly!!!!!! God is VERY good and he keeps showing us how much he loves us. We felt your prayers - Thank you for your love and support.

The end of Fall . . . signs of Winter . . . a Successful Hunt . . .

It is snowing at my house today - it melts pretty quickly because the ground is not frozen yet.









Most of the trees in our yard have dropped their leaves so it's looking a little gray. The worst part about this time of year is that "you-know-who" makes me bundle up - with a hat and gloves ! ! ! It doesn't me very happy.






Notice the white spots on the deck? SNOW - If you click on the picture to the right - to get a closer look, you can see that one flake on the right is shaped like a star or a flower with 6 petals - I hope your computer can display the different shapes and sizes - isn't God amazing!!!!


It's a big project to get the leaves raked off the grass before the snow falls. We rake most of them into the street and the city picks them up. This week will be the last round of leaf collection. I guess I'm lucky that I don't have to help with that!!!! We have 5 pear trees in our front yard that hold on to their leaves . . . .


They give us fall colors until after Thanksgiving.




My Dad left on Friday night to go to Deer Camp. He had one inch of snow on the ground Sunday morning where he is hunting. The hunt was successful!!! At 9:00 am on opening day he called to tell us that he got a 7 point buck. (one point is small so it might technically be a 6 point). I haven't seen it yet but he is pleased and continues to hunt until he fills all his tags. I guess we'll have meat for the freezer. For the sake of my friend Nancy G. and others who don't like to think about or talk about hunting, I decided not to include a picture. Dad will gladly show you one if you ask!!!

One season ending another beginning - we are praying for lots of snow for early December. My cousins live in the desert and they will be visiting us soon, they love it when they can experience Michigan snow. I'm dreaming of a White Christmas - if it's going to be gray, we might as well have snow to brighten things up a little.

Ready or Not . . . . . . Here it Comes . . . . .

My School Pictures . . .

I usually close my eyes when I smile - Karen worked very hard with the photographer to get a good picture with my eyes open. It's been a while since I had a school picture (several years) so we thought we would give it a try this year.

Mom thinks I look pretty grown up in this picture and she thinks the green background looks good with my red hair.

Good job Karen !

Serving the Community with my Friends . . .

I would like you to meet my friend April . . . .

Once a week, Karen & I meet my friend April and her mom, Betty at a Senior Citizen Apartment building in town. We both take public transportation and we have a great time together making new friends, seeing our old friends and serving our community. We find out if there are new residents to welcome to the complex....who is celebrating a birthday or anniversary and we decorate the apartment doors for these special people - sometimes we decorate ALL the doors (150) with seasonal decorations.

Today was a VERY special day because my friend Ellan just moved into this apartment building - Last night was her first night in her new home. We just knew that we had to help Ellan feel welcome. (you may remember Ellan from an earlier posting).

Above is a picture of April and

I decorating Ellan's Door.

To the left is a picture of Ellan, her daughter Ann, Betty (April's Mom) and April. We are all standing in Ellan's new apartment.

Ellan gives me a BIG HUG!!!!

This is such a great place. April and I have been meeting here for several years. It started as a school function but April continues to meet me here even though she no longer attends school. We sometimes meet on non-school days in the summer and I will probably continue to come here after I am too old for school.

We have many friends and continue to meet new ones. This is a great place to find friends!!!

Second Test Complete......

The Modified Barium Swallow test was completed this afternoon. I was very cooperative. I had to eat several types of foods and drink different liquids containing Barium. As I swallowed, a Speech-Language pathologist was watching the process on a TV screen. It was clear that I have a general weakening of the muscles in the back of my throat and in my neck. My parents have noticed over the past year that my neck muscles are weak and that I have trouble holding my head up. We may have to discuss this further with the doctor to see if this is just the progression of Cerebral Palsy, if it is a side effect of one of my meds or what may be causing the weakening.

There are several things that we can do to help with my eating - softer foods - no more fun foods like chips, pretzels, popcorn (boo hoo!!!) Any meat that I eat should be covered in gravy or sauce - foods should be thinned out - add a liquid if possible - slow down while eating and drink between each bite. I was given a list of foods to allow and a list to avoid. Many changes to be made in my eating habits. Hopefully, this will help. There is residue left in my esophagus after eating and drinking because the muscles are too weak to push it down. The hernia may be part of the problem so there needs to be further discussion on the seriousness and possible options regarding the hernia.

Thank you for your prayers - I have periods of fussiness and discomfort - hopefully we can get to the source of discomfort and with the new eating habits, I can re-gain a few pounds!!! Thanks again for your love and prayers.

Able to get a nice picture .......

My test went well today (Esophagram) - I was able to swallow enough Barium (flavored with strawberry syrup) to get a good picture. The doctor and techs were very nice and patient with me. It was determined that there is not narrowing of the Esophagus, no obstruction, no aspiration but I am swallowing a large amount of air. I have a hernia (which we knew about) the liquid was able to get around the bulge in the Esophagus. Nothing from the test would show the cause of the weight loss. Possibly we will learn more tomorrow and hopefully we will get more information from our doctor. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers. Y
Click here to see a nice picture of me snuggling with my Grandpa!