Sunday Dec 9th
It's a winterwonderland here in St Cloud.  We woke up to 6 inches of snow & it is still coming down.  Watched people getting stuck as they were leaving church.   Big game today - Vikes vs Bears!

Mom, Colleen, David and Cecelia made Christmas cookies this morning. Below are a few phots.

We slept in a few extra minutes this morning. Mom was up after 9 last night. After breakfast Fr. Allen came to give Mom first Friday communion. After our prayers and blessings (he annoited Mom with oil) we sang Christmas carrols. Mom sang along with him to Jingle Bells and Silent night. Here they are sinign together. When he left he have Mom a kiss--asked her if she was ever kissed by a priest before--we got a good chuckle out of that.  No plns for today and tomorrow but Saturday we will make and bake cookies with Colleen.

Mom had a very long day today. She had a visitior that is in Minnesota for work related. Kevin and Colleen brought Anna (Dale's oldest child) to have a visit with Mom. We had a taco supper and then some visiting with Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren. Mom stayed up later then usual and enjoyed the evening a lot.

I don't have photos for now but will try to post them when I get back home over the weekend. Mom's Thanksgiving weekend srated yesterday when she got home from Talahi with Annie, Hannah, David, Leo and Cecelia Steve, Katie, Christopher and baby Lily coming for supper. After Mom was n bed Brian, Mickie and Jim came.  Mom started the day with a nice warm shower and breakfast. She picked hot cereal. (she usually chooses that when I am here.) A few quick naps in before the food was served. Brian grilled 2 turkeys. Also on menu was ham, wild rice, corn, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, orange jello, cranberry relish to name just a few of the foods prepared by everyone. Robbie and Jasmine came--they ate at Jasmine's family but still mangaed to find room for more good food here.  After dishes were done time for pumpkin pie, bars and a peacan pie. Rest time in her chair until time for bed. No Black friday shopping for me or Mom bur Annie and Cecelia might hit some stores. More later. Happy Thanksgiving!  Karen and all.

This morning (11-15-12) when I got Mom up I asked her how she was and she answered back "wonderful"
Life is pretty quiet for Mom these days. Denise takes her to P/T on Mondays and Doug gets her out on Tuesdays for their pork sandwiches at Dickie's. Wednesday she spends the day at Talahi Care Center and joins in on games and actitivies, lunch and a nap. Thursdays and Fridays I am here. Mom likes watching old TV shows like I Love Lucy and Andy Griffith. When weather permits we take a walk around the block. Weekends Brian, Kevin ,Ann, Doug (Denise) come. We celebrated Mom's birthday on November 8th.. We gave Mom a choice where to eat for supper and she chose to stay home with me. After Denise and family and Doug came for cake. She recieved cards and phone calls all day. We now look forward to Thanksgiving. I don't have my camera here to download photos but did get some from the home camera. One is one I just took today. We had a pumpkin sitting on deck on a TV tray table and some squirrels had fun chewing on it making a mess. Mom said Wow when I showed her. Other photos are kevin, Colleen and Mom picking the pumpkin from the garden. And an outing tot he re store in St. Cloud. Hope to get back sooner ---Karen

Party Time

Ceil was up and out the door by 10:45am. Brian and Ceil had a date to attend a retirement party at the Medina Ballroom. After 35 years fo being a greeter/dancer/musician Don Roers is retiring.  Ceil and Brian had a great time.  Everyone was happy to see Ceil again. Brian stated Ceil was the prettiest gal there and that's easy to believe...Ceil was always the prettiest one on the dance floor (just saying), then again us kids might be a little partial.  Ceil stayed awake all day and is now watching TV with Denise and Hannah.  Tomorrow Denise will be taking Ceil to speech therapy. We are all still hoping and praying Ceil will be able to talk our ears off once again sometime. One day at a time.

Indian Summer's Day

Ceil woke up to sunshine today!  It's an Indian Summer's Day with a temperature reaching into the upper 70's.  Karen made french toast for Ceil this morning.  It was delicious.  After breakfast, Ceil, Karen and Linda jumped into the van and headed to St. John's.  It's homecoming day at St. John's and there were lots and lots of people dressed in red ready to cheer on the home team.  Karen, Ceil and Linda took a long walk around the grounds and near the lake.  They stopped inside the church, blessed themselves with holy water and then took a few pictures.  The autumn colors are at their peak and Ceil enjoyed the walk very much.  After St. John's, they made a beeline to Arby's for some lunch.  Arby's is one of Ceil's favorite places to eat. She enjoyed a jr. roastbeef sandwich and some curly fries.  Ceil is down for a nap now.  Not sure what the plans are later. Perhaps we'll get invited for some birthday cake over at the Fletchers' house.
Update- Ceil had a surprise visit from Kevin and Colleen late in the afternoon. Kevin and Colleen came to see Ceil and to see Linda before she leaves for Texas.  Kevin and Colleen wanted to treat everyone to dinner. We tried MT's on 8th but because of the meat raffle and no open tables to sit at, the five of us decided to head to Jimmy John's for a sandwich.  Well, loud, thumping music changed our mind about eating there, so we took our sandwiches and chips to Lake George.  We had a wonderful picnic at the lake. It was warm, the sun was shining on the lake and the ducks were very interested in our lettuce from our sandwiches. After finishing off our sandwiches, we took a nice walk around the lake. Ducks, swans, and pretty flowers were out and about.  Ceil had plenty of fresh air today and is now in bed resting for a full day tomorrow.