Happy Birthday Beth!

Like this year, October 10, 1984 was a Wednesday and Beth was born at exactly 10:00 at night. 10/10 at 10.

She was an emergency c-section and when Chuck held her for the first time, he brought her over for me to see (I was behind that blue 'wall' they put up so you don't see the procedure) and I remember thinking she was the most beautiful baby!!

Beth began sleeping through the night while we were still in the hospital... first Beth did, then Sharaya. I was spoiled!

(Our camera didn't work in the hospital although we didn't know it until days later when we developed the film.) 😞

One of her first car rides.

Beth was an easy baby. She slept well, although she couldn't nurse. As hard as she tried she just couldn't latch on but she ate well from a bottle!

   
I wouldn't say she was easy to raise but Beth is a gentle soul who keeps to herself and loves everyone she meets.

Two years old

I love you Beth! 

Happy Birthday!

Sweety Bear

October 6, 1986 was a Monday and she was born at 9:45am.

She was a c-section so I had 4 days in the hospital with her. It was such a sweet time of bonding. I remember absolutely loving that time with her, feeding her, changing her clothes and just talking to her!

She slept through the night from the very beginning, even in the hospital! I remember getting 6 hours of sleep one night and the nurses were very impressed with her!

 

She was so easy going.

And was always happy.

Well, okay, not always happy, but pretty close!

As a toddler I played a record for her - a 45 - that I'd had since I was little girl called Sweety Bear and I'd play it throughout the day. She loved it! We started calling her Sweety Bear and she'd raise her shoulder and sort of turn her head and look at you all cute. She was adorable! 
 

  And now as an adult she has a bold determination to the way she lives her life. Raising her daughter to to be a strong woman and to      fight for what she believes in.

You're an incredible woman Sharaya!

I love you and I hope you have an amazing birthday!

Getting Nervous About Beth Having A New Sleep Study Done

Earlier this year we got notice that Beth's Primary Care doctor - Dr T - would no longer accept her insurance. We could get new insurance or find a new doctor and since Beth has been seeing her for decades, we decided to get new insurance.

It took a few months, lots of phone calls and paperwork to get everything transferred over but we finally did it. And while all of this was going on, Dr T referred her to a Sleep Medicine doctor - Dr M - because I was hearing her gasping for air during the night. We were able to do a home study and Dr M got enough info to give her an official diagnosis of sleep apnea.

Well, a couple months after starting the Cpap machine, we got a call saying Dr. M doesn't take the new insurance. 

Sigh.

So I found a new sleep doctor, Dr G. Then I sent Dr T all of his information and set up an appointment with him. 

Dr T sent them Beth's records and the results of her sleep test. Dr G's office mailed us paperwork to fill out and I had to go on-line to fill out more paperwork that took almost 30 minutes. After already doing all this for Dr M!

Beth had her first appointment earlier this week.

It was pouring rain when we got there.

 

They took her vitals and then Dr. G came in. He asked a few questions then said he wanted her to have a full sleep test. In the lab.

(Beth had a sleep test done in the lab before she had her tonsils out and it was a disaster. Granted it was a long time ago, but I'm still nervous about doing it again.)

Beth usually doesn't go to bed until midnight or later but we have to be there at 8:30. 

The more I think about this the less I like it. Were the other tests inconclusive? Why are they having her do another one?

One good thing is that I get to be in the room with her this time. But she rarely talks when she needs something. Will she tell me if she needs to go to the bathroom? Here at home she uses 2 night lights, but the room in the lab needs to be dark... I don't know, the closer it gets the more nervous I get.   

What Beth Has Been Up To

I snapped this picture of Beth and Allie when we were driving home from the airport after our trip to San Diego.

 

We went to the mall the other day and did some shopping at JC Penney. I parked in the parking garage like usual and then realized we had to go up stairs to get socks and other things she needed.

After we had everything, I suggested she look for a new shirt. She rarely buys clothes, usually only when I encourage her to buy something. So we headed back down the escalator and looked and looked for her size, only to find out they were back upstairs! :) 

  
She's drawn to bright colors and found a really cute shirt that she wanted to try on. We were so excited when it fit her around the waist and in the shoulders! (I find most of the shirts she tries on are too tight at her waist or really baggy up top.) But this was just right! I guess I should have taken a picture of her in it! She's worn it a couple times already, I'll try to get one next time.

After we bought everything, it was back downstairs to the car!

I was walking through the foyer last Tuesday evening and spotted her sitting in a chair.

Sound asleep!! She's been sleeping a lot: if we're in the car for just a few minutes, when we're in the waiting room at the doctor's office... I know she hasn't been using her CPAP machine a lot so I had her watch a video on 'how to gain confidence' when using it. We went on line and looked at her results. I showed her how many hours a night she wore it, how many times she took the mask off and on during the night, they keep track of all that for you.

  

She did really well the night after we watched the video but is struggling again to wear it more than a couple hours each night. Thankfully we see the sleep doctor on Monday. 

So what have you been up to lately?

Lifeguard Rescue

We had been at the beach for a little while and Chuck and I were up on our 'spot' in the sand and our girls, plus The Cousins, their spouses and kids were all playing in the sand or out in the water.

The weather was gorgeous: blue skies, temps around 80 and the water wasn't as cold as we expected. It really was as close to perfect as you could get.

 

 

 

All of the sudden we heard the sound of the lifeguard jet ski as it splashed through the waves heading out to get someone. It happened a couple times while were there and just about everyone on the beach stops what they're doing and watches.

 

As we see it go close to a couple people Chuck asks, "Is that Sharaya?"  I asked him why he thought it would be her and he said it was about the same area where she and Jess had been before. (Jess is my nieces husband.) I stood up to get a better look. 

The person grabbed onto the board on the back of the jet ski and they started bringing them back in. Chuck says, "That really looks like Sharaya!" By now I recognize the black bathing suit and I'm walking faster to the area where they're bringing her closer to shore. I realize at that moment that the rest of our family has left the water and they're coming over too.

The lifeguard stops in about 2 feet of water and Sharaya gets off the board. It IS her!! I could just feel my heart pounding, I knew she was okay but oh my word!! We all gathered around her and just bombarded her with questions: "What happened?! Are you okay?! Did you motion for the lifeguard?!" "Did they just see you?!"

Looking back now I could tell she was absolutely exhausted and we should have let her get back to the sand and sit down but I think we were all just so concerned and scared!

She said that her and Jess had been out far enough that they couldn't touch the bottom and they just were treading water for a while. But then she started to get really tired and as hard as she tried to swim in, she wasn't going anywhere. She thought about trying to swim again when the lifeguard showed up. She figured she could make it on her own, but decided to go with him instead.

And we're so thankful she did!

Of course her cousins couldn't let it go by without getting in a few jabs, "Yeah Sharaya, we know. You just wanted to meet the lifeguard!" "Did you get his number?!"

I will forever be grateful to the lifeguards at La Jolla Shores for seeing my daughter way out there in the water, noticing she was getting tired, and keeping their eyes on her as she tried so hard to swim in to shore.

And especially to Lifeguard Tower 31 for getting on the jet ski to go get her.

 That day could have ended much differently but they saved her life and I will be forever grateful.

San Diego Part 2

On Sunday we all went to the church where Chuck and I met, married and started our family. They recently merged with another congregation and remodeled a lot of the building but so much of it was still the same. 

Being there brought back so many memories and there were actually still quite a few people attending there that we knew back in the 80's! We had a good time reconnecting with so many old friends.

I kept forgetting to have someone take a family photo so we kept taking selfies. 😏 

After church we stopped for some lunch then headed to La Jolla Shores! One of our favorite places in all of San Diego. We love the beach and we absolutely love jumping the waves!! This is a picture I took back in 2000 maybe? Chuck and Sharaya. I was brave and took my camera into the ocean!

   

I wasn't that brave this time but we jumped waves for a long time. We came out tired but oh so happy!! Most of 'The Cousins' came and hung out with us, we ended up being at the beach for more than 5 hours. We could have stayed longer but we needed to get back and see my dad and sister again.

 

Some kids who weren't with us started building this huge mountain and mote and all our kids joined in to help them.

I caught Beth taking a selfie to send to her boyfriend!

 

Almost all of The Cousins and their kids

There was a church group there doing water baptisms! 

How cool is that?!

We had such a great time! I'm glad we got to stay there a while cause I really needed a beach 'fix'!

For He's A Jolly Good Fellow!

We flew to San Diego this past weekend for a family reunion and to celebrate my dad. He's 93 and has Parkinson's so my cousin Bobby decided to get the family together for what might be the last time with my dad. Bobby's dad was my dad's younger brother.

 

 Beth does not like to fly and she made sure she was current on all the safety procedures!

Our flight left at 6am so we got to watch the sunrise at 35,000 feet!

I love aerial photography and I took way too many pictures just on the flight down!

Diana came in from Philadelphia and her flight landed about an hour after ours so we got some breakfast at the airport then walked over to the other terminal to get her. She and Sharaya laughed at how much they dressed alike! 

 We rented a van and left the airport around 10:00. The reunion started at 11:00 so we had plenty of time to get to East County. We  brought my dad out and sang "For He's A Jolly Good Fellow" and he was so overwhelmed at all the people who came out to honor him.

We had a friend who was there take a group photo of the entire family but we haven't seen it yet. I'm so anxious to see how it turned out! We had such a fantastic time catching up with each other, some of us hadn't seen each other in decades! 

I snapped this as we were all starting to gather for the main photo...

And there was so much laughter! Especially between my kids and my sister's kids. 'The Cousins' as we call them.

It was such a great day, oh my word. As perfect as it could be. 

I love you Dad!

Thank you Sharaya for taking this picture!!