Annual Pilgrimage to Ronald McDonald

Katelyn and Jake, our grandchildren from Oakley, came to stay for a few days this summer. We picked them up in Russell which is half way on a Thursday evening. Two of their cousins, Allie and Hannah who live here in town came also. Friday morning we headed out on our annual pilgrimage to the Ronald McDonald House in Wichita. In the past we have always gone to the one by Wesley Hospital so this year we decided to take them to the one by St Francis/Via Kristi. When Nick was born Cystic Fibrosis his mom and dad stayed at the one by Wesley because that is where he was for 3 weeks. Now when he is in the hospital he stays at Via Kristi. The lady there was very nice and showed us around and explained how they do things there. I think the kids have a better understanding of what the Ronald McDonald House is and how it is so helpful to those who use them. We delivered another 7 and 1/2 pounds of pull tabs so we are over 21 pounds now! Believe me that is a lot of pull tabs!! My co-workers here at ESSDACK have been very kind to help with the collecting of them along with our family.

After that we went to the Town West Mall and did a little shopping and while there Jake, Katelyn and Hannah tried some bungee jumping. They didn't jump off of anything, they only went up about 20-25 feet with harnesses, but they could turn somersaults, if they wanted. Hannah really liked doing that, she is six. They would have liked to do it longer of course....

The rest of Friday, Saturday and Sunday we had fun with water fights, going to the water park and play ground equipment at the Fair grounds. Making giant bubbles, painting finger nails, playing games, more water fights anything to try and stay COOL. I say try.....because it has been over a hundred degrees for weeks now. The day I wrote this it was suppose to get to 113!! : (

Sunday afternoon we took them back to Russell where they got a ride with their other grandparents who live in Oakley back home. I got the pictures developed and they are in the mail. Looking forward to next year!

Ronald McDonald Houses collect pop tabs instead of entire aluminum cans because it's more hygienic to store tabs than cans, and collection and storage is easier. The program is an easy way for people of all ages to support RMHC and know they are making a difference for families and children.

If your local Ronald McDonald House participates in the program, it’s likely cardboard collection containers in the shape of a house have been distributed to schools, community and civic groups and other organizations in your area. Collect pop tabs to drop off at one of these areas, or contact your local House about getting a collection container that you can be responsible for filling through one of your own groups.

Therapy on Hold

If you have read my blog before you know that working in my back yard is my therapy. This has been a very unusual summer with the extreme heat and no rain for weeks on end. We have had 100-110 with no rain for way to long. My flowers started off good in the spring and I am glad I took pictures of them so I could remember what they did look like. I say "did" because they no longer look like that, they are stressing and that is making me stress. Every day I go out to water and they look so sad it makes me sad. We usually would have had some coffee time or evening supper on the back patio often by now but even in the shade it is miserable. I don't know whether to put them out of their misery or keep hoping they will come out of it this fall for awhile! It is not only the heat and no rain but also the insects that are eating on the plants. I have tried to doctor them but I can't seem to come up with the right combination of things to help them.

I don't do any better in the heat then my plants in fact maybe I do worse. If I'm out in the heat to long my face will get red and white splotches on it and then I get nauseous!

When I was around nine years old we lived on a farm near Walker, Missouri and were out in the pasture when I decided to go to the house, for what, I don't remember. I probably had a 1/2 mile to go and I saw a snake! (I'm so terrified of them that it was hard just typing the word on this page) Well I ran the 1/2 mile in the heat and I get the splotches and nausea ever since. I think maybe I had a heat stroke or something.

Thank goodness I work inside in the cool of ESSDACK with COOL people!!

Time for a Tune Up!

Our grandson, Nick, who has Cystic Fibrosis just called and said he was headed to St Francis/Via Christi hospital in Wichita for what the Cystic Fibrosis community call a tune up. They just need a time of IV meds under the watchful eye of a CF Doctor.

He has a new Dr since he turned 19 and now considered an adult! We are hopeful that this time in the hospital will help him to feel well. His lung function is down to 50%. He has been waiting for a room to open up and away from others who have respiratory illnesses.

His mother asked if maybe he could check into the hospital here but his Dr said she would rather he came there so she could keep an eye on him. She said she had been looking through his file and noticed he had been on the wrong antibiotic and that is why she felt he wasn't getting better. That is a good and a bad thing!! Good because it sounds like we have a Dr that is on top of things and bad because you don't know how much we have probably paid for some antibiotic that didn't work.

We are headed to Wichita to visit him this evening and he has requested some goodies, Twizzlers, Cheese Chex Mix, Peanuts, Sour Patch candy and of course DR. PEPPER!!!!! I work at ESSDACK an educational service center and they very kindly let us borrow a computer for him to use while in the hospital. They are so good about things like that.

Nick hates going to the hospital and starts working on the Dr to let him go home way before he should. He needs to have patience and let the meds work and just relax. Easier said then done! A good week there might make him feel like a new person!

If any of you that read this would like to encourage Nick his address at the hospital would be Nick Craig, Via Christi, 929 N St Francis, Rm 7043, Wichita KS 67214 or Nick Craig, 713 South Halstead, Hutchinson KS 67501 and Thank You Very Much!

Fourteen Pounds and Counting

Three of our six grandchildren came to stay for a few days before school got into swing for the new year. Jake a first grader, Katelyn a third grader and Hannah a kindergartner. Katelyn and Jake can't wait for school to start another year they have been counting the days! Hannah is excited about starting her first year of school. When Hannah's mom took her to enroll she told everyone this was the best day of her life! It is a great feeling when your children or grandchildren are so anxious to go to school.

One of the things grandpa and I wanted to do while they were here was to take the pull tabs that we have collected over the last few months to one of the Ronald McDonald houses in Wichita. When I say we I mean our family, extended family and my work family. I work at ESSDACK , an educational service center, in Hutchinson, KS and some of the people there help collect tabs for us. I have mentioned before about the jar we have in the kitchen at work and sometimes some of my co-workers bring me a "bag of tabs." I know this is an extra step for some of them but they are awesome for taking the time and we appreciate it. Our first trip was back in December and we said at the time we wanted to bring the grandkids the next time if possible. We usually take them to Sleepy Hollow close to Wesley hospital in Wichita but next time I think we will take them to the one close to Via Christi which is where Nick stays in the hospital when in Wichita. Nick is sometimes in the hospital because of Cystic Fibrosis but Via Christi is also where Nick goes for the Cystic Fibrosis clinic. We took their picture outside on the porch with Ronald and then took the tabs inside. We took 7 pounds in December and we took another 7 pounds this time so we are 14 pounds and counting! They could see some of the families that the tabs will help and we talked about it in the car afterward. I want my grandchildren to realize one of the best things you can do in life is to help people. There are always people that need help whether it be just spending some time with someone who is lonely or taking pull tabs to Ronald's house, or donating in some other way, there are lots of ways to give back.

Another way my co-workers give back is by taping segments of My Kids Turn. If you are like me you need a little help when it comes to homework or just extra fun things that help your children or grandchildren with their school work. They are taping new segments all the time. I haven't had time to look at all of them but the ones I have seen make learning fun!!

Summer and Cystic Fibrosis

Summer can be hard on kids with Cystic Fibrosis with the heat and humidity. The humidity makes it harder for them to breathe. When Nick was little the Dr. told us he needed central heat and air because when he goes room to room and the air is different his body has to adjust to each room. It is amazing how much I take for granted in my daily life with my health. I only need a minute to sit back and look around to find someone else (other then Nick) that has more challenges then I do. Life isn't fair but that is hard to say to people like Nick that feel like I have it pretty good and that is easy for me to say.

Nick was suppose to have a counseling appointment this week and I haven't yet asked him how it went. I'm not sure if I should ask at this point. I have thought for a lot of years he needs someone to talk to that is not in any other part of his life, to say whatever he wanted about anything and everything. As I've said before you need to walk in another persons' shoes before you judge what their choices are. I have to remind myself of that more often then not.

Nick is a good kid I don't want anyone to think different. Life has just been one tough thing after another for him. Life has changed in the last couple of months for the good I hope so things may turn around for him. You need positive things going on in your life or you tend to dwell on the negative things to much. I wish Nick could find a part time job to fill some of his time. I know that working at ESSDACK has been a big positive in my life. There are always fun, positive vibes going on there. ESSDACK is where the learning never stops!

My Kid's Turn

I wish My Kid's Turn would have been around a few years ago for Nick. I mentioned this site in my blog a couple of months ago. At ESSDACK (an educational service center) where I work they have put together about 80 videos with handy hints for teachers and parents, about different subjects, math, spelling, reading, art and many more that help teachers, parents and grandparents. His mother, grandpa and grandma could have used that to help him with his school work. Nick has always missed so much school, this would have been so helpful then, even now they just expect him to learn things on his own with no teacher. That might work for some kids but not everybody.
As a parent or grandparent you want the best for your kids. You want them to enjoy learning, and to succeed at school. You want them to grow up excited and engaged with their teachers. The good news is that helping your kids succeed in school isn't just something the teachers and schools have control over -- there's a lot you can do, too!
We have 5 younger grandchildren and you can be sure I will tell them all about My Kid's Turn so they can get the benefit of using this great resource.
Nick seems to be getting along better with the port then the picc line but he thinks he still needs sinsus surgery. We are getting ready to send out his Cystic Fibrosis letter and hope for a good year!

Time with Family

This was one of the best Mothers Days I've had in a long time! My son and his family came on Friday and stayed until Monday afternoon. Well Jacque, Katelyn and Claire stayed until Monday afternoon because Katelyn's third grade class from St Joseph school in Oakley traveled to the Cosmosphere on Monday. My daughter and her children came on Saturday for as long as they could be gone with Nick on his Port. Nick has to be hooked up 8 hours out of the day to get his meds through the Port and there is a break between 11:00 and 2:00. They were going to be at our house on Sunday for lunch but that didn't happen because of the nurse coming to take blood for checking levels. We had plenty of food so we delivered it out to their house. Nick says he is feeling better so hopefully that is the Port working for him. Saturday we also went over to see my mom and dad, they live within a few blocks of us. They hadn't seen Claire since she was born and I wanted to give mom her Mother's Day card.

Claire is our new grand daughter that was born in March. She is smiling and really wants to talk so every once in a while when her mom or dad talk to her she does do a little cooing. She is a very good baby! I know I'm grandma and I might be just a little partial to my grandchildren, that is our job, right?

Jake our son's boy graduated from kindergarten last week and took his field trip to the Garden City Zoo. On the way home they got caught by a big storm and had to stop a long side of the road not knowing if they should continue on the way home to Oakley, where the storm was headed or turn back to Scott City, they finally got the go ahead to go back to Scott City. Katelyn's class didn't know if they should start for home because of the storm approaching Hutchinson. For a while we thought the bus load of 3rd, 4th and 5th graders with their sponsors would be going to ESSDACK where I work to eat and wait for the storm to pass. After some discussion they decided to start for home instead. They all arrived home safely thank goodness.

Well lets see I have managed to get four out of the six in the blog today so I better go ahead and get Allie and Hannah in as well. Allie is a very good student and in the 5th grade, she goes to Haven grade school. She is on the bus at 7 am and doesn't get home until 4 pm, that makes for a long day. Hannah will be attending kindergarten this fall and she is so excited.

Angels Among Us

I just read one of my co-workers here at ESSDACK latest blog http://iswearitstrue.com/ and it reminded me of a time we had a tire blow out on I-70. We left early one morning to get Nick to Childrens Mercy in Kansas City for sinus surgery and tonsil removal. Just out of Emporia I was passing a semi at 70 miles an hour, another semi right behind me and the tire blew. Well our guardian angel was looking out for us because this grandma remained as calm as she has ever been and pulled to the left because there was no where else to go. After the traffic had passed us by we moved to the right side of the interstate, breathed a sigh of relieve and collected ourselves. Our first thought, "THANK YOU GOD WE ARE STILL A LIVE AND WELL". Second thought was how were we going to get Nick to his surgery third was how were two women and two small children going to change the tire and get Nick to his appointment on time. Fourth thought "THANK YOU GOD WE ARE STILL A LIVE AND WELL"!!! Thank goodness for cell phones because we called grandpa and he called Cooper Tire in Emporia. I should say thank goodness for cell phones, heavenly angels and earthy angels. By earthly angels I mean grandpa with his quick thinking, Cooper Tire for sending two very nice men to quickly change the tire and we were on our way. We made it to Childrens Mercy on time! I always thought we would do something for Cooper Tire when going through Emporia for more of Nick's Cystic Fibrosis appointments but lots of appointments and years later we haven't. Heavenly angels I KNOW we have them "WE ARE A LIVE AND WELL" to prove it! Nick is now on his 10th or so sinus surgery and is getting ready for another one which is something that comes along with CF.

Therapy Begins

Spring is finally here and that means cleaning out flower beds and pots, trimming off the old dead foliage before the new sets on. I "LOVE" this time of year because it seems to be therapy for me and gives me a new lease on life. Give me a hand spade some plants or seeds and turn me loose! Even the crabby elderly backyard neighbor can't get me down, at least not until he starts trimming MY vines off of MY fence which he has HIS roses growing on (well that is another story). The redbirds, finches, wrens and even the sparrows give way with song while I work. Work did I say work I meant while I'm doing therapy. We have a small yard so it doesn't take long before it starts to take shape. I usually don't like to start planting bedding plants until the first of May. I'm afraid it will frost and kill them but with 80 degrees it is making it hard to wait. I like spring-a-rye baskets hanging from the patio roof, silver lace vine on the fence, geraniums, alyssum, lime green sweet potato vine in the window boxes. Zinnias, black eyed susan, bunny grass, lilies and hosta in the flower beds. I tend to use pinks, lavenders, purple, yellow and white. I like to use old chairs, old metal wash tubs, watering cans and a wooden wheel barrow that Dennis's dad made for us, for containers. I like bird houses, bird baths, fountains, and old wagons. On my patio is an old buffet painted white with a small table and chairs. Above the buffet is a candle chandelier and a picture painted on an old screen. There are a couple of rocking chairs, for guess who, and a big pot of impatience. Are you starting to feel my therapy yet? If not...to each his own.

Now I don't like hot weather and it gets "HOT" here in Kansas. You will only find me out doing therapy in the early morning or later in the evening. The time goes by so quickly I might be out there for hours before I realize it. It is sort of like some people I work with at ESSDACK that can be on the computer for hours on end when they are at home. I don't get that but...to each his own!

Heart Prints

A few years back well nine to be exact one of my co-workers at ESSDACK, Lori suggested we do a cookbook to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis. A lot of the women in the office put their recipes in a computer database that Lori set up. Then she compiled them together into categories of main dishes, salads etc. We copied and sold enough of them to give the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation $1000 after our expenses. It was a great idea and everyone I know that has the cookbook says they use it a lot. I saved one for Nick so he can have one some day when he is on his own. He likes to cook and change up a recipe from time to time. Anyone who offers to help raise money for CF or is kind enough to donate to Nick's medical fund leaves heart prints on my life. It is a very hard thing to ask for money even when it is for someone you love very much. I guess you have to be in my shoes to realize the importance of not only the support financially but the support emotionally. Because we have been on the other side, the side of receiving it is so hard to say no to others asking for help and I would rather not. I guess we don't look at it as a donation but rather a gift of help. We have to say no sometimes, we've found you can't give to everything. We have a good friend with MS and we used to teach a Sunday School class for the the mentally challenged so the Special Olympics along with Multiple Sclerosis have a special place in our hearts.

Everybody has their own special place that they like to give, I just want you to know you have left heart prints on those who will benefit from your gift.

Now There are Six!

Nick is our first grandchild but as of Monday the 22nd we have six! Claire Janelle was born on Monday of this week making a grand total of 4 girls and 2 boys. They range in age from 4 days to 18 years. Nick 18, Allie 12, Katelyn 9, Jake 6, Hannah 5 and now Claire 4 days. It has been a journey and you know journeys they take lots of twists and turns but that is what makes them interesting, fun and challenging! Each grandchild brings their own personality into the mix. I can't wait to see how Claire will fit into the puzzle. Right now she seems to be very content only needing her mother, father, sister, brother and other family members to love and nurture her. It really is an amazing time in my life! Children, grandchildren, husband of 44 years life wouldn't be the same without them.

I work at ESSDACK an educational service center in Kansas. Our office has 32 people, about half of them are grandparents and 10 of us have or will have new grandchildren in a years time, we all know that education is important for them. In the last year our specialists and technology team have come up with a lot of new ways to reach and teach education to our children and grandchildren. I work with some very talented people and hope that you get to experience their talent. I know that my grandchildren will benefit from their knowledge and hope that yours do too! Among some of their projects are My Kids Turn, Bullying, Art Snacks, Math Snacks, Tammy Worcester's computer books for teachers, to mention a few. To find out more go to www.essdack.org.

Ronald McDonald House

In the past we have used the Ronald McDonald House in Wichita and Kansas City because of our grandson Nick. He has Cystic Fibrosis which is a genetic disease affecting approximately 30,000 children and adults in the United States. Cystic Fibrosis (CF) causes the body to produce an abnormally thick, sticky mucus, which clogs the airways and leads to life-threatening lung infections. The thick CF mucus also obstructs the pancreas, preventing enzymes from reaching the intestines to break down and digest food.

The Ronald McDonald House is a wonderful place for people with a lot on their plate already with diagnosis and treatment to rest in a homelike atmosphere but close to the hospital where their love ones are.

I ask my ESSDACK co-workers this last fall if they would help me collect pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House. They very graciously said "yes." Grandpa and I dropped off 7 lbs. (which is more then it sounds like) around Christmas and they were very appreciative. We keep a glass jar in the kitchen at work and one at home. It is a very simple thing you can do that will help a lot of weary people. This grandma thinks that helping people through the good and bad times in life is after all what life is all about!