In Good times and in Bad times....

We had a little scare with Scott's mom this past Monday...but the story starts the previous Monday...it seems she fell...kind of tripped over her oxygen hose...fortunately she did NOT hit a table or chair...but none the less, she was quite bruised on her face and her ribs were hurting her.  Unbeknownst to us, they went to the doctor to be told it was just bruised ribs...however, by Thursday she was in a lot of pain and decided to share the "falling" event with the family...they decided to take an ambulance to the hospital...and from there she was diagnosed with 4 fractured ribs and sent to a Rehabilitation Center in Gladstone.  Everything seemed to be going fine until Monday when my SIL asked the nurse to check Elsa's lungs because Robin (SIL) didn't like the way Elsa was sounding.  Sure enough, neither did the nurse, so once again Elsa was transported by ambulance to the Milwaukie Providence Hospital...after several hours in the ER she was admitted for pneumonia and the family was called in because the doctor said it came on fast and she didn't think Elsa would make it through the night.  She is reminding me of my mom...how many times my mom was in the hospital and we thought:  this is it....only to have her "have one more life"  (like the cat with 9 lives!!)...well, with an IV and getting fluids, she managed to pull herself out of that state and she is now back at the Clackamas Rehabilitation Center...she is looking so much better and she can remember things and recall a little bit about the hospital stay, but mostly it is very fuzzy for her...and I say that is a good thing, because Elsa was a little "cuckoo" would be a nice way to say it.  She was exhibiting some paranoia, some delusional thinking and speaking and we weren't sure if she had suffered a stroke or what was going on, but for sure we were very concerned about her mental abilities.  After more testing, it was determined that she did not suffer a stroke, her heart is as good as mine or Scott's, her lungs and kidneys are all great...she is just "fragile" and so if she were to have another 'event' she may not survive that...her blood flows to the region that is hurt and does not go to her brain..hence the paranoia and delusional thinking and speaking. 

Today we visited with her back in room 13 at the Rehab facility and we even took her and Bill down the hall to have lunch in the Sun Room...and you know what?  We actually did have the sun...and a very nice black and white cat was curled up sleeping in another chair in the room.   We pulled up the blinds so they could see outside...there was a bubbling rock and the cutest little bird fluttered by...I learned it was a Western Tanager...bright yellow with a most striking red head...just gorgeous!  It is so nice to see Elsa sitting up and eating and responding to conversation.  She will be there as long as it takes to get her to the place where she can get up on her own and handle a walker...and our hope is for her to go home.  We will most likely be looking for additional help for her in the morning and again in the evening.  With TLC from her family we hope to keep her out of a Foster Home or a nursing home.  Her husband would be ecstatic if she could come home and talk with him!  Here is a picture of the two of them sitting in the Sun Room eating lunch together...it is a little hard to tell which one is the sicker of the two...this event with Elsa has certainly taken its toll on Bill.

The Tualatin Yogurt Shack

We opened the new yogurt shack on Thursday, May 19, we had a grand opening on Friday and gave away FREE yogurt between 4 - 8 pm!  We must have had about 1000 people come in for a yogurt!  What fun!!  And now the boys are planning yet another Yogurt Shack in Canby...we hope to open that one by July 1st or as close to that date as we can...you know it really helps to be open during the summer as this is a kind of summer treat.  However, our Oregon City store is doing quite well and we opened it on October 15 last fall!

http://yogurtshacks.com/      this is the website for our Yogurt Shack...check it out...it has pictures of my grandchildren on the front and it lists the flavors of the month too!  After working the Oregon City store, we realized that it is best for our customers to be able to use both sides of the condiment bar...it helps move the line through quicker...so straight ahead is the yogurt machines...5 machines, 10 flavors and then over 42 toppings ranging from all kinds of candies to nuts and cereals, granola and then of course our fresh fruits, and then the assortment of sauces like hot fudge, chocolate, caramel etc....we even have whipped cream!!  You want to know my favorite?  Well I really like the Very Berry Sorbet and then I add fresh raspberries or strawberries and sometimes even a few kiwi. DELISH!!    Now, if I am in a chocolate mood, then I go ALL chocolate...chocolate yogurt, mini chocolate chips, brownies or oreos and then I top it off with Hot Fudge!  Yummo!!!  So good....COME ON IN AND TRY US , YOU'LL LIKE US... I promise!!

 
Now for the art on the wall....well at Oregon City we just had someone do vinyl pictures of some fruit for us...this time we asked our favorite Papa Murphy's employee and the Snook kids favorite babysitter to paint our fruit for us...take a look...she is so talented...she just graduated from high school last June and is a freshman at a local community college..her name is Chloe...

Doesn't the fruit look GREAT??  The pictures are even better in person!  We love the art work and are so happy Chloe was willing to do them for us!

A surprise new home....

First comes the house...a new one this year... tucked into the corner...behind a downspout and also behind a topiary in a pot.  Actually if you look close in the foreground is a nest built in the topiary (BTW it is a fake topiary).  Last year that nest had 5 eggs...and then one day they were all gone...I think something got the eggs, we were very disappointed to not see the family hatch.  The parents seem to be smarter this year, placing the nest on the top shelf of the stone around our house...and an extra added protection seems to be the downspout....

while mom was away hunting for food, I stepped close to have a peak into the nest and sure enough...FOUR little speckled eggs...now to wait and see.....

I don't think these little feathered guys are very old as mom as been very diligent about sitting on the nest.  This morning when I stepped out to leave, I looked her way and didn't see her sitting on the nest...so I quietly stepped closer and there were four little barely feathered birds!!  I ran back into the house to get my camera before mom came back squawking and giving me holy heck for being so close to her babies...we are going to watch these little guys and make sure another predator doesn't come and get them!

Lily's First Communion

What a special day for Lily...the day she has been looking forward to for quite a long time...probably since Ellie received her first communion two years ago!  Her Nana (Jamie's mom) bought her the special dress and shoes, and the veil is actually my wedding veil that my mom made for me...so that is very special also.  Lily was just beaming and glowing with anticipation in receiving Our Lord in the bread and wine...Lily is a very spiritual little girl...she takes to heart all the goodness and kindness that is taught her...she is kind and welcoming to all in her grade school class...she does not ever slight anyone, nor does she make judgements based on their looks or clothing...she is always eager to play with whomever asks her...(please note that this does not necessarily apply to siblings!  hah...she is just like any other middle child...although I must say she is the first to be helpful, to offer assistance to her mom, to offer to clean up, to make things easier for her mom...but she is still not perfect (yet!) she still gets into plenty of mischief with her sister and brother!!)...and she is a girl after my own heart...she LOVES to come to my home and 'craft' with me...we make special diary books together and she writes her 'famous' quotes or bible quotes in the books...and she draws the most wonderful flowers ever...and I let her use my watercolor pencils and special inks...who knows, I might be encouraging a new artist!!

Yes, we even got Papa to come to this celebration!  And we couldn't pass up a picture with Papa Ben!!  and finally the whole Snook Family...doesn't Lily look just so pious?  She was so excited for this day!  And afterwards we joined up with Nana and Jamie's sister Amber and her children at the Spaghetti Factory because one of Lily's favorite foods is spaghetti...of course she changed out of her white dress for that feast!

Congratulations Lily, what a special day for you!  May 7, 2011, First Holy Communion

Mother's Day Luncheon

Every year the Celebrate Life committee at church has a very nice Mother's Day Luncheon with a guest speaker, music, the young girls crowning Our Blessed Mother Mary with flowers, good food, and nice fellowship.  The theme this year was Women of Grace...we have been doing a bible study on Women of Grace the past 8 months...it has been a very inspiring and wonderful study.  God sure knew what He was doing when He made women!!  Ellie was not able to join us this year as she was playing volleyball with her club team down in Corvallis, we missed her, but Lily was with us and Dina, Lacey and Elsa.  We sure do enjoy this time together...it is a special "mother's" time...

Special Times to Remember

It is so important to document the special occasions in our lives and the lives of our family.  We so treasure being able to share another holiday like Easter with our parents.  We try to gather everyone around and get that big group photo taken while everyone is fresh and all together waiting for the food...so here we are at Easter...the only one missing today is "Mom", but she is certainly in our hearts and our thoughts...we all say grace and give our thanks for having the other great grandparents still able to share the day with us.

Bottom row...Addie (3.5) Dina (mom!) Tristan (2) Lily (7.5) Great Grandma Elsa, Papa Bill, Ellie (9) Papa Ben
Top row......Jamie (dad) Jalen (3.75!) Aaron (dad) Lacey (mom) Caleb 11.75 ME, Papa Scott!!
...You are probably wondering why I mentioned everyone and gave their ages (well except for the 'elders'!okay, I may as well add their ages too as long as I want to remember everything...Elsa is 88, Bill is 88.5 and my dad is 89.5!!  Scott and I are both 61...so there you have it!)  remember this is the blog to "Remember" things...so in say 20 or 30 years, I may not remember how old everyone was when this picture was taken...and to be honest, I may not remember everyone's name...oh how I pray that doesn't happen, but you never know!!  Now I have it documented and I will look back with loving memories of these times gathering us around Dina's table to celebrate yet another Easter.
...And that brings up another thought...what will happen to this blog when I am gone?  hmmmm...things to ponder, for sure...

A Lacross game in Hood River

Mt. Hood in the background, Apple blossoms in the foreground

Ellie and Lily had a Lacross game in Hood River and I offered to ride with Dina so Jamie and Scott could stay and work at the new yogurt store...We had a nice sunny day...not particularly warm, but sunny and a little windy.  The girls won their game, I think Ellie scored 7 points herself!!  She is a great little athlete.  Lily is also a great athlete, but doesn't always play the position to be able to score.  Fortunately, I brought my winter coat, and although the sky was blue and the sun was out, the wind made it cold, we were bundled up with coats and blankets, but surely enjoyed the day out in the sun.

We decided to go down to the Columbia River when the game was over and watch a little kite-boarding...we had never seen that before and it was quite intriguing.  Dina and I were thinking these people were crazy to choose to be in the river and get wet when we were all bundled up trying to stay warm!!  The kids even took off their shoes and went into the river and played for a short time in the sand...all in all it was a very good day with the three Snook kids and afterwards we stopped at the Claim Jumper for dinner...what really helped the drive was a DVD player in the car and some good DVD's with headphones for the kiddos...Dina and I actually had some conversations without interruptions...it was awesome!

Mt. Adams from the Lacross field with apple blossoms in the foreground

The "Kite boards" laying on the grass..getting ready to go into the river

Sunny but windy on the shores of the Columbia River

The Tualatin Yogurt Shack

Scott and I went out one night...oh about 9:30 pm, specifically to see the sign lit up...this is for the second store we will open sometime this month...hopefully by mid-May!  It looks really good, nice and sharp...the colors really stand out.  Right now...really right now, at 9:35 pm on Monday May 2nd, Scott and Jamie are at the store helping with the sheet rock...they have been there since before 7:30 am this morning.  They really want to get the hot mud on the walls where ever there are screws or joints, so they have a day or two to dry...Scott was hoping the girls could paint by Thursday...we will see...

I have lots more pictures to post...Easter and random shots...but that will have to wait for another time...