This last weekend Mom and I and the puppies drove up to Spokane to visit my cousin David and his wife Leslie and two kids Justin and Tayla. We spent the night at their house and the next day visited my Aunt RaeAnn who is in a nursing home because she had multiple strokes which paralyzed her
right side. The real reason we drove up was to bring her Christmas early. We bought a small fake Christmas tree and decorated it. I got some small tin cans that look like presents and we put some candy in them that she can eat or give away, whichever she feels. Then we had her Christmas presents with us and had her open them, which is the best part about giving gifts. She was so happy, mostly with just seeing us, but also with the tree and presents. David and Leslie helped us bring her back to their house and we sat around watching Harry Potter and talking, just being together, which I think she misses the most. Leslie made a great dinner that RaeAnn can eat. See the paralysis also affected her throat and her food needs to be a ce
rtain consistency for her to eat it and even fluids need to be thickened so she can swallow them. After dinner we all piled into Mom's van and drove around Spokane looking at the beautiful Christmas lights. Some of the houses really go all out up there, but the best house was a barn way out of town. The guy living there has all the lights on this barn, the trees around it, a whole row of small trees in front of it and an entire cast of characters hooked up to a computer. You tune your radio to the station posted in lights and listen to the music as the Christmas lights and characters "dance". It was a-freakin-mazing!!!!!! The characters would sing some of the songs and the best song (at least our whole van agreed) was the song "Sandstorm" by Darude. If you listen to it you get the gist of what the lights would be doing. After all this fun we drove RaeAnn back to the nursing home. She had told David that she was getting really depressed, but with all the joy we brought her, she thought that she'd make it. She was always a bit dramatic ;)
right side. The real reason we drove up was to bring her Christmas early. We bought a small fake Christmas tree and decorated it. I got some small tin cans that look like presents and we put some candy in them that she can eat or give away, whichever she feels. Then we had her Christmas presents with us and had her open them, which is the best part about giving gifts. She was so happy, mostly with just seeing us, but also with the tree and presents. David and Leslie helped us bring her back to their house and we sat around watching Harry Potter and talking, just being together, which I think she misses the most. Leslie made a great dinner that RaeAnn can eat. See the paralysis also affected her throat and her food needs to be a ce
rtain consistency for her to eat it and even fluids need to be thickened so she can swallow them. After dinner we all piled into Mom's van and drove around Spokane looking at the beautiful Christmas lights. Some of the houses really go all out up there, but the best house was a barn way out of town. The guy living there has all the lights on this barn, the trees around it, a whole row of small trees in front of it and an entire cast of characters hooked up to a computer. You tune your radio to the station posted in lights and listen to the music as the Christmas lights and characters "dance". It was a-freakin-mazing!!!!!! The characters would sing some of the songs and the best song (at least our whole van agreed) was the song "Sandstorm" by Darude. If you listen to it you get the gist of what the lights would be doing. After all this fun we drove RaeAnn back to the nursing home. She had told David that she was getting really depressed, but with all the joy we brought her, she thought that she'd make it. She was always a bit dramatic ;)