Rockin'

Kate, the climber.

Luke helping Kate rock in great-great Grampa Monte's chair.
This little chair has seen a lot of use over the years.
Madison says it's time to go home for a nap.
Bye-bye!

Snow Fun

If life gives you snow....
...go out and conquer it!
Then come inside...
...to warm up those rosy cheeks.

More Birthday Pictures

Here's 1/2 of the cake table.
Karina & Jason made two of these big cupcake cakes.

Birthday Girl Kate with Uncle Mark and G-Gma Mimi

Birthday Girl Madison with Nanie

Reiley pulled the first string on the pinata.

Kate and Madison pulled the last one.

Time for presents

Luke was a big helper

Kate with her daddy and new dolly

Madison with her Papi

Ready for cake

Happy Birthday to Kate

Happy Birthday to Madison

Yum

G-Gma Mimi doing her thing

Here she is with AJ, her newest great-grandson

My niece, Hannah, with AJ.
(Hannah is my sister's daughter. Congrats, Gramma Paula!)
Glad you all could make the trip!

mmm mmm good!

Just a couple of birthday party pictures:Kate, after cake time.

Madison, ditto.

Ella's Turn

(I meant to post these pictures earlier.)

The day after Christmas, it was Ella's turn to go to Claire's and get her little ears pierced.Then we all enjoyed a treat.

Kate & Madison - Dec. 26th, 2007
What a great "excuse" to be at the mall when it opened on their first birthday.Love those earrings!

I want to go with them...

The old man was tired. He sat in a chair next to his hospital bed, his daughter across from him, the supper tray between them. She'd been there most of the day. "I like to be here for meal times, to make sure he eats something. If you don't watch him, he goes straight for the dessert." The patient winked at me, and twitched a faint grin.
He was getting weaker, and it took three of us to get him back to bed and settled in for the evening. He wanted something for pain. I got him the pills and hung his IV antibiotic. He'd been here for over a week, and just wasn't making progress.
It was bedtime. I asked about his pain, and he said he was fine, "I'm really doing alright now." I headed down the hall to check on my other patients.
The CNA tidied him up, propped him up with an extra pillow to ease his breathing and asked if he needed anything. "I want to go over there, with them", he replied, pointing toward the wall. She gently told him there wasn't anybody there, and it was time to go to sleep anyway. He looked at the wall again, and nodded at her.
The phone rang at the desk. It was a call from the CCU monitors, "Go and check on #23. He's tracing asystole (flatline)."
There were no respirations. I put my stethoscope on his silent chest and listened; then marked the time by the clock on the wall. He was a DNR. I turned off his IV and oxygen. He had gone with them.

Happy New Year

My modem broke right after Christmas, and I'm just now getting back online.


This picture was in our mailbox yesterday. It's an invitation to Madison & Kate's 1st birthday party. Since they were born the day after Christmas, Karina and Jason have decided to wait a few weeks to celebrate so that we aren't all "partied out" at once. It will be a good chance to cure our cabin fever.