Taking the good with the bad..

As life moves on we all go through a series of changes. We recently  had to bring a family member down from another state to live here so that we can care for them.
Responsibilities that I honestly never thought about. When a family member starts the process of dementia, and experiences the struggles with altzimers, it affects everyone.
Going through finances and organizing accounts, all the while helping someone that used to help you is quite humbling. This person is still respected by you, but due to the aging process is not in control of themselves as they used to be. Now you are the one making decisions, and its hard. Its really hard when they experience moments of clarity, think they can take care of themselves, resist you, then a few minutes later forget the conversation/actions ever happened to begin with.
I got the privalege of caregiver this past week, and while my heart aches, I am so glad that now he is close enough (distance wise) for me to help him. Scheduling and watching the therapist come in and run him through a series of exercises snapped me back to watching another family member doing the same thing. The pain from that is still fresh in my mind.
So far, he still calls me by name, although I know it won't be much longer and this too will be taken from him.
I treasure the times of clarity, and conversation. Time is draining out of the perpetual hourglass faster these days it seems. I wish I could plug it, keep my family close to me; to somehow cheat age and have things go back to "normal". 
"You have to take the good with the bad",  that is what I heard the whole time I grew up. As I get older, I understand a deeper meaning of that. Somehow I know this is true, as these things are all beyond my control, but I don't have to like it!

Travelocity Gnome goes to Costa Rica

Our Travelocity Gnome  goes with us all over the place! This time he took pictures with Jason & Kerby our missionaries, with David ,  next to a coconut, on the beach, with Van, hanging out with the guy driving the cattamaran boat, and sitting with the pineapples.

Sky Lanterns

 I started this blog back in January, and for some reason never attached the pictures, so we get to look at this in March.
We first discovered these Sky Lanterns back last July when we went to my Aunt and Uncles for July 4th. We let one go then, and it was so much fun.
We couldn't find any more after the 4th, so we made it a point to go looking for some when New Year came around. We bought 8 of them, in different colors! I know.. but we really think these are neat.
In many Asian cultures it is considered good luck to release a sky lantern, and many believe they are symbolic of problems and worries floating away.

While we all made a new year wish, we don't put any stock that this lantern will grant it. However, as a family activity its fun. The fuel cell inside burns out and the thin rice paper dis-senegrates into the thin air, a a small piece of paper if that falls to the earth.
Yes, there are several of these that are not safe, they have been known to start fires, eeks! Since Sweetie is a former firefighter, he made sure that we were far away from everything, that there was not a big breeze and that no fire touched the ground or anything else for that matter.
Happy New  Year!



Here Sweetie and the boys are ready to release the sky lantern. We only let one go this time. It was pretty cold and wandering around in the dark wasn't as much fun as one would think. So it looks like we will have more for fourth of July!