Summer fun!

I have a couple of pictures to throw up here because I think they are cute. Yesterday was a warm day and it was also the first day that was warm enough to visit the local splash pad. My boys (and Adam, who is my spare child most of the time) were the eldest by far.

A splash pad, for those who are not aware of these locales, is a flat, open water park. There are jets that shoot water up out of the ground, into the air, and the children run around and get soaked. They are a fairly new phenomena around these parts so the trees are not very mature and there is little shade to speak of. This particular location also seems to get a lot of wind because it is out in the open, and so it has to be fairly warm for the children to use it without freezing. The water is clean (which is good and bad -- I can't get past the HUGE waste of water) but because it is clean it is like ICE shooting out of the floor.

As I was saying, the trees are young. This summer they put a couple of new trees in and new trees require a lot of water. My boys like to take pails to the splash pad so they can collect the water and dump it on one another. Yes, I know, it's a painfully mean game to play but they seem to love having their heads ache from the cold water coursing over their skulls. When one of the local Parks and Recreation workers saw them collecting the water he came over to ask if the boys were with me. When I indicated that they were indeed mine, unless they'd done something wrong of course, he asked if I thought they would be willing to water the two new trees around the parkette. The boys were delighted.

I guess all of the running around and playing was enough to wear poor Quinnie out because he couldn't make it all the way through my reading of Chapter 8 in Harry Potter last night. Reading Harry Potter is a new thing for our family. I wanted to wait to read them myself until the boys were old enough to hear it. We started just after Easter and are halfway through book number three. It is all Fergus wants me to do with him these days -- well, that and play tennis on the Wii, which I do fairly well I might add. Hopefully we are able to read them fast enough to get to the last book shortly after it is released this summer.

Henry is okay

Very briefly for those who are checking in to find out how Henry is making out, he is doing fairly well. It seems they caught the pneumonia at the beginning this time (an advantage of having him in a place with 24 hour nursing staff to assess his well being) and the antibiotics have stopped it's progression. He is now complaining more constantly about pain in his back. The pain is behind the spot on the lungs where the cancer is. We don't know if this is related or not. It would seem sensible to us but we are not oncologists.

Christena's sister, Marianne, lives in Mount Forest and she was kind enough to stop by to see him last evening on her way home from work. She felt Henry was fairly engaging and seemed to know that he should know her from somewhere. This felt fairly positive to us.

Anyway, that's what is new. I'll write more when there is more to tell.
Take care

Wii did it!!!

Well, since Christmas Fergus and Quinn have been patiently (or sort of) waiting until such a time would arrive when they would have enough money to purchase a Wii. For those who are not familiar with this item, it is a video game system of the latest variety. It is interactive in so far as you swing the controller and move your body to engage the game. In the two images attached Fergus and Quinn/Daddy and Quinn are boxing against one another. It is entertaining to watch. I haven't actually tried to play it yet.

The system arrived this morning. With Quinn's birthday money added to the cache of Fergus' Wii funds, we had enough to buy the system. Last weekend when we were in Future Shop to see if they had any Wii in stock they told us they didn't BUT would likely have more on Friday next. They also said to call on Thursday to see if more were coming in. When Doug called last night he was told there were more coming and he set his alarm to get up early and go stand in line. Because we didn't know what kind of a line up there would be we chose not to tell the boys about the Wii coming and instead Doug took the money they had set aside to purchase it. They were fairly excited when he got home with this treat!!

They whole day has been about this gaming system. I suspect that it will be on the list of activities to do when it is raining outside this summer. The boys have been allowed to play most of today but know that tomorrow they are back to their one hour of screen time per day.

Anyway, thought you might like to see these pictures. The flash wasn't working so I have lightened them as best I can. Sorry about the image quality.

Take care

And Quinn turns 6, second.

Can it really be that six years ago this past Saturday I managed to birth another baby of my own (and Doug's too)?? The time goes by so fast. Yes, it is so and our own Quinnsterman (as my parents call him) has moved into his seventh year, having happily completed six (by the skin of his teeth a few times, I might add).

They day dawned sunny and bright so we found Grandma outside, working out and we interrupted to have some birthday gift time before the party started. The party didn't start until noon but there was some tidying to do first and food to prepare. All Quinn wanted was money from everyone to be able to add his money to Fergus' so they could collectively by a Nintendo Wii. The gift we gave him with the money was because giving money still feels weird to me -- even when it's all they really want.

The pictures are of Quinn opening the gift from Doug and I (he had already opened the money from Grandma and the Phlat Ball from Fergus) and of Quinn and his party cake.

We had a few of his friends here on Saturday and we let them beat on a Scooby-Doo pinata for a little while before they gave up and just pulled the ribbons hanging out the bottom. My brother emailed from Taiwan -- where he and his partner stay -- and asked how Quinn's birthday was. I wrote: "It was great. A party with a bunch of 4-6 year olds running around, eating chocolate and swinging a large wooden stick at a papier mache "Scooby Doo." You know . . . it was non-stop entertainment. Then we reeled them in to sit still in the theatre to watch Shrek the Third. [Quinn] said it was "the best day of [his] life!" So I take it that he had fun."

It was a great day! Doug joined us at the theatre for the movie and Fergus came home about ten minutes after we got back as he had been in Guelph at another birthday party for a couple of his friends. What a busy day. And that was just the start of our long weekend.

Last night (Sunday) we went to hang out with a bunch of our friends and sit around the campfire (well, a caged campfire as we were in town) sipping wine and visiting until the fireworks started. We could see the town fireworks display from their backyard. It was perfect!

I saw my parents and Uncle Des on Friday while Christena was visiting Henry and then saw my sister and Chris today. It has been a GREAT weekend all the way around. I hope yours was GREAT too!!

An update about Henry first . . .

as things have deteriorated with Henry's health. He
seems to have another case of pneumonia. We don't know how bad it is
at the moment but while Doug and Christena were visiting him today his
condition became steadily worse and when they left he was being given
a nebuliser treatment and a dose of antibiotics. This also likely
means that his Alzheimer's will advance too as that seems to be the
case for him (and anyone I suppose) who has Alzheimer's and ends up
with pneumonia. Unfortunately the pneumonia is normal as Alzheimer's
patients tend not to walk much. Even when they do, as my MIL swears
that Henry walks a lot, it isn't done as exercise, it is done as simple
movement and that's not enough to work his lungs. He mostly just shuffles along.

Anyway . . . any thoughts, vibes, prayers or otherwise would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you

Our weekend

Well, we were lucky enough to have Jennifer in Ontario again this week. She had to travel to New York for business and when that happens, she travels through Ontario to stay with us for a day or two at either end.

We were extra glad to have her here this time as this past Sunday (after she flew in from New York Sunday morning) Doug, Jennifer and Christena took Henry to a Long-Term Care Facility to have him admitted into permanent care. In the week prior he was spending time standing, unable to move, he had fallen in the bathroom having forgotten what to do when needing to toilet, and had become increasingly hostile and unwilling to take the medications necessary to keep him alive. It was time.

It was indeed that hardest thing Christena (or Doug or Jennifer) had ever had to do. Christena was talking last week about all of the things in her future that aren't going to be as she had planned. She was looking forward to retirement and taking walks with Henry, socializing more. She was looking forward to the two of them spending more time doing things with Fergus and Quinn. And to top it off, it was Mother's Day. Not how any of us wanted to spend Mother's Day.

He has been there for 2 days now and I have agreed to drive her to see him -- the closest available place for him was in Mount Forest, about a 1 hour drive from here -- this coming Friday afternoon. As soon as there is a bed in a facility closer to home, he will be moved. The idea is for him to be in a location that she can access by bus if we are not around to offer her a ride.

Stuart, would please make sure that Uncle Robert knows what is happening? I don't know if Jackie reads my blog or not but if you are in contact with him, Aunt Tillie or Uncle Jack, would you let them know what is happening here? Anyone who has more questions is more than welcome to call so I can further explain what has transpired to find us at this point.

Thank you to all for your words and thoughts of support and encouragement.

Our weekend

The weather has become consistently more sunny and agreeable. On Sunday I was able to couple the nice weather with some time off to be spent with my family. Since we don't often have this opportunity we took a little drive to Belfountain, a hamlet just north of where we stay. It is a lovely little place and we wandered around and took a few pictures (as you can clearly see).
http://www.belfountain.ca/

Fergus and Quinn both had a sleep over at Adam's house on Friday night. It was Quinn's first sleepover with a friend and his nervous parents had nothing to worry about. He managed to snuggle down and sleep soundly through the night. When I left for work Doug was wondering when they would be home. Turns out he had a large part of the day to himself as they stayed at Adam's and played outside until mid-afternoon.

After their play, daddy's day alone and my day of teaching we met at a local pub for dinner and some time to reconnect. We had plans to celebrate the Cinco de Mayo with friends in the evening but we wanted some down time first.

Saturday evening we went over to see friends (Karen and Larry) and were joined by another family (Janice and Dave) where we enjoyed an evening of hot tub, wine, fire, and card playing. The boys had friend, Liam, to play with and after running around in the back yard they settled to watch a movie downstairs. It was clear that Quinn was losing steam and the movie seemed like an easy way for him to wind down. By 11:00 Fergus was up to tell the adults that both Liam and Quinn were asleep on the floor and he sat to watch us play cards.

As I have said, Sunday dawned sunny and bright. I knew I wanted to spend some time in the garden but I needed time with Doug and the boys. How to decide?? We started with a big fry up for breakfast and Fergus went over to Adam's while I went to Kim's to receive some of the perennials she was willing to split for me. Fergus was only going to Adam's for a little while but long enough for me to get a trunk full of plants and come home to plant the most sensitive.

When we got home from Belfountain Doug made burgers for dinner while I continued planting. He is an AMAZING man. Not only did he feed us but he also tidied up and then came out to water the plants I had added to my gardens.

Some of you might be wondering how Henry is doing as this is often what I post about. He is okay. Not a lot has changed other than that we watch him slip into his disease a little more every day. For instance, he has forgotten now how to put his shoes on. (What??) He hasn't been able to dress himself for a couple of months but he was still able to put his shoes on. Over the past couple of days this has not been the case.

He no longer asks after his family the same way that he was a month or two ago. In fact, he almost never generates a conversation. He will sit for extended periods of time without saying anything and not appearing to see the people in front of him. His physical health seems to be okay though. While he wasn't able to climb the stairs between their home and ours only a few weeks ago, now he is up and down the stairs with ease. His depth perception has gone and we need to help him on the stairs so he doesn't lose his footing but he is able to do all the lifting without aide.

How is Christena doing as his primary caregiver? It is taking a huge toll on her to have to be in the role of caregiver instead of that of wife. He is not agreeable about most of the things she has to do for him so there are arguments over everything. He doesn't want medication, he doesn't want bathed, he doesn't want shaved, he doesn't want to drink the fluids necessary to stay hydrated. You can see these aren't little things and so the arguments go on most of the time. She is having to be home with him all of the time as he can't be left alone and that is exhausting.

Jennifer will be back tomorrow -- on her way through to New York -- to spend a couple of days. She will also be back on the weekend. It does help Doug and I when she is here so that there is not only someone else for mom to vent with but also so that there are another pair of eyes to watch Henry and allow mom to go out and clear her head.

Well, I think that's what is new here. Hope all of you are well. Please keep in touch!!