Happy 80th Birthday, Grandma!

This past weekend, my sisters, mom and I drove up to Ohio for a surprise birthday party for my grandmother. Both of my parents are from Ohio and I spent a great deal of time there in my childhood but it has been years since I have been back up there. We're not particularly close to my dad's side of the family (since he was never really all that close to his family when I was growing up), so I believe that I was in high school the last time we made the family trip up to that part of Ohio. I'm really glad that my mom has been able to maintain a relationship with my grandmother (her former mother-in-law) because it was really nice to be able to bring my mom along on the trip.

I drove about two hours to the Virginia border where I met up with my mom and sisters. My mom left her car at a hotel right off the interstate and we drove the rest of the way together. We had a lot of fun, although I must say that our stop for lunch left a little something to be desired. I wish I had copies of the pictures from the trip (right now all I have are the thumbnails so you might not be able to tell) but since my dad is from a super tiny town our trip takes us through pretty much the middle of nowhere. We are sitting on a stoop behind a parking lot splitting a Little Caesar's pizza at one of the very few exits we passed on our journey. It was pretty funny - there were even three children who lived in an apartment above a store right beside our stoop who proceeded to skateboard right behind us (wearing pajama pants and no shirts!) while talking about going to swim in the river later. I wish I knew what town we were in because it would make a great setting for a book!

My dad actually showed up for the party (awkward!) but my sisters and I were polite and asked him some questions about what he's been up to. We weren't sure if he would be there or not, but I thought there might be a chance since this was a party for his mother. (He isn't close to his family at all, so it would not have been that strange if he didn't come.) We haven't seen him in the two years since Bethany's graduation and we haven't really spoken since then either so it was weird. We're all open to having a relationship with him (which considering the things he has done, says a lot) but he makes no attempt to contact us at all. It's just sad to think about going through life without a relationship with your family members. I'm so grateful for my mom and sisters and the close relationship that we all have with each other.

Carolyn, Grandma, me, Bethany

My grandmother was really surprised by the party, and by all of us being there. I'm really glad that we were able to go and even happier that I was able to reconnect with some of my cousins. I think we're going to really try to make an effort to keep in better touch. All in all I'm really glad that we made the trip.

Grandma's bunch - Christopher, Derek, Stephanie, me, Bethany, Carolyn, Julie, Ben (and Julie's 3 kids)

MIA

Okay, so I'll be the first to admit that I have not maintained my resolution of updating this site more frequently this year at all. I apologize for hiding out! Things here haven't been too good lately, and I've been pretty down about it all. Everything is okay, but it's been pretty hard to deal with this situation. When things are bad I tend to hibernate until I'm ready to face the world again, hence I've been missing in action for a little while.

Have you ever had one of those moments at church when you suddenly feel as though the priest (pastor, minister, etc.) is speaking directly to you? Even in a massive crowd this past Saturday night (we've taken to attending church on Saturdays since Patrick works on Sunday mornings) I felt like I was the one for whom the readings and homily were designed. I felt my cheeks flame red as our priest emphasized forgiveness in a way I haven't really thought about before. I know forgiveness is a common theme, but somehow this resonated with the situation currently at hand in a different way. It is so hard when your trust has been betrayed to forgive somebody, but if I am going to be the kind of person I want to be I am going to have to learn to actually live out these lessons. I'm not quite there yet, but I am trying! I'm really glad I was at the service I was this past weekend because it has given me a lot to think about and a renewed perspective on things. (Oh, and for the record, you are never to old to call your mom in tears!)

When I think about all that everybody has going on right now, it feels overwhelming so I am resolving right now to focus on the positive and to try not dwell on hurtful situations. I know that things will get better and until that day there really is so much in my life for which I am grateful. God has truly blessed my life in so many different ways.

So there's my long explanation for my absence and my promise to try to not let things get to me quite this badly again. We'll see how it goes!

Today's Random Thought

So I just got home from the gym and I had the most random thought that I had to share it. Why on earth do gyms (which promote fitness and healthy living) all have tanning beds (that promote skin cancer)?! I have yet to understand the connection between the two. Well, I guess both have to do with appearance to a degree, but it still seems counterintuitive. If I spend an hour doing some cardio and weight training and then go lay in a tanning bed, does all the good I just did get cancelled out by all the bad of the tanning bed? (FYI - my husband made me promise when we got married that I would not use a tanning bed so if for no other reason I don't use them for him.) So there is my random thought of the day!

A New Look

So my friend Jennifer recommended this great site where you can change the look of your blog...totally FREE! It was super easy so I highly recommend it to any of you looking to update your blog. The link to the site is in the top left corner. There were a ton of backgrounds to choose from and so many I loved that I may have to change it up regularly now. Thanks for the awesome recommendation, Jen!

Let it Snow!

For those of you who live a little further north, you may not quite understand the excitement we had a little over a week ago when we got...snow! (For the record, it has been two years since we have seen any type of snow here.) When we woke up in the morning everything was covered in a beautiful white blanket which proceeded to melt off throughout the afternoon and by evening the roads were completely dry. It was perfect - just enough to take a few pictures and then gone before navigating the roads became difficult. After attending school in the mountains for so many years I had my fill of snow, but now I kind of miss it from time to time. (But not enough to ever live in the mountains again!)

Holly wonders what is going on outside (she is an inside only cat)

Our backyard in the morning with the snow still falling

Our outside rescue kitty (who for the winter months is living primarily in our garage with a heating pad!) checking out the snow

I did realize a big drawback to a snow day when you work from home full time - it is still a work day even when everything shuts down. Patrick was home from work all day and got to enjoy the snow and I was so jealous (since it will probably be another couple of years before we see any snow again!)

Catching Up

So I realize that I am terribly behind with my blogging as of late...with everything that has been going on with Caddy I haven't really kept up with this too well and there's been a lot going on! I'll try to catch you up on what we've been up to lately and then hopefully I'll get myself back on track again. (Of course, knowing me that's highly unlikely...here's hoping anyway!)

To start the catch up process - Merry Christmas! Patrick and I went to his family home on Christmas Eve for a holiday party with all of Chris and Bill's friends which was a lot of fun. We then drove to my sister Carolyn's house to spend Christmas day with my mom, Carolyn, Brian, and Bethany. Bill and Chris came and joined us for Christmas dinner and it was really nice for us to be able to spend time with both of our families. My mom and Chris had time for girl talk since neither had many kitchen responsibilities (which is probably unusual for both of them!) and the guys went outside to the grill with the asparagus. (I think guys like any excuse to go stand by a grill!) Carolyn made a wonderful Christmas dinner (with a little help from me!) and it was great getting to try some new things. She's a vegetarian so she has some really yummy recipes that I don't usually make. (She did have a Honey Baked Ham for the rest of us as well!) Here are just a few pictures from Christmas:

Our fireplace - yes, our girls have their own stockings

The "Baker" bunch - Patrick, me, Bethany, Carolyn & Brian

Over Christmas break my dear friend Jennifer, her husband Patrick, and their adorable daughter Morgan came for a visit. I just so happen to be Morgan's godmother, and I might be biased, but I think she is the most precious little girl in the world. She has grown up so much since we saw her last summer and I hope that we get to visit again this summer. She is growing up so fast and I don't want to miss it! Patrick and Patrick got to talk a lot of sports (although Jennifer and I are pretty avid fans ourselves) and it was wonderful to have them here. Morgan even made us breakfast one morning!

Unfortunately Caddy was still pretty sick on their return trip through Charlotte, but she showed her love to our friends by adopting the basket they gave us at Christmas as her very own. I think this is her new favorite place to spend time! (I wanted to recaim it for the family, but Jennifer has given me permission to let her keep it...for now!)

Caddy's favorite spot

Since I haven't been giving any football updates lately, for those of you that don't follow the NFL let's just say that the Panthers went down in flames during the playoffs. We had a first round bye and then a home game during which we were absolutely destroyed. I will still love them, and here are a few pictures of happier times (the last home game I attended this year.)

I will be better about updating this more frequently from now on (or at least I promise to try to be!)

Caddy Update

First of all, thank you all so much for praying for our Caddy. I don't think there has ever been a cat with more people praying for and checking in on her. All of you calling, emailing, texting, and checking on her progress has been so encouraging for Patrick and I. This has been a pretty difficult ordeal, but Caddy has made significant improvements!

She is no longer on any of her prescriptions (and she is finally done with the fluid treatments - thank goodness!) She did okay with the fluids initially, but those last couple of days were pretty difficult and if you could have heard the cries she was making you would have thought we were torturing her. Her energy level has gotten much better, but she's still not quite back to the activity level she was at before this happened. Every day brings more progress though, so we are hopeful that one day she will be running wild again. She has not vomited in two weeks now, which is another great indication of her recovery.

She will go back to the vet next week for some additional blood tests, which should help us determine what her long term treatment will be. The vet did indicate that Caddy will need blood work every 6 months once she is fully recovered, just to keep an eye on all her levels. If something abnormal occurs again they want to be able to catch it early so she doesn't get as bad as she did this time. I'm pretty scared about what her results will be, but her initial blood work came back okay so hopefully this is just a precaution.

The hardest part now (and this is extremely selfish on my part, so if this is the only thing that remains I will be forever grateful) is that Caddy is not too thrilled with me these days. She has always preferred me (the one kitty that loved me best!) but as she recovers she is reluctant to let me pick her up or pet her. Patrick can do both of these without a problem, but she is shying away from me. She'll still nuzzle me and purr, but I really miss my "Caddy Cuddles." I hope that as she continues to recover she'll forgive me for everything we had to put her through (all the trips to the vets, the medications, the sitting with her for hours to encourage her to eat!) and will be "my" kitty again. Like I said, that is totally selfish but I really miss the special bond that we always shared.

I'm really sorry that I haven't been keeping up with this blog the way that I should be lately. With everything that has been going on with Caddy, it has been hard for me to talk about since for awhile I really was not sure that she was going to recover. Those of you with pets understand how they really are a part of your family, and my heart ached watching her suffer and not being able to do anything for her.

I'll keep you posted on the results of her follow up blood work and maybe I'll actually start blogging again sometime soon as well!