On the phone with dad!

Well, amazingly enough while Sue was sending me the e-mail to put on the blog I was the one on the phone with dad. I have been really struggling with a lot of things lately (thus no blogs). Work, home the realization of what has really transpired over the last six months and how none of us have really had time to think about it. (A little thanks to those of you directly related for my often erratic and spontaneous behavior lately). Sue was right that dad did mean to call someone else but once I told him it was me we had a very, very good conversation, like 20 minutes. We talked about things going on in Hawaii, how he was enjoying being back there and how the weather was amazing. I told him about my refi on our house and how everyone was doing here in Idaho. It was so nice to talk to him! I have always known what an amazing man he is and I have never taken that for granted but every day he amazes me even more I love him so much and I thank God every day that he made him my dad!

Aloha

Hi All-

Well, we have been home here for a little over a week and have been running from one appointment to another.
Dr, rehab, audiologist, massage for Len, ST and PT at home, and welcome home party from the book group.
We are both glad to be here and enjoying the warm weather, especially after Minnesota.
It was a little voggy earlier in the week but the weather over the past two days has been amazing. I see the vog coming back but I understand the vent is closing up in Volcano. It will be a while before we see the last of it but hopefully our air will clear up around here.

I know Len is glad to be home and has started to take more interest in business. He is asking more questions which is very gratifying to me. He is also more bossy which I can do without.

He is walking to church and has jogged a couple of times on his usual route. This Sunday he got caught in our short storm just before he made it to church. The wind really picked up and I was running around closing windows and wondering if I should drive down and find him then realized he would already be at the service before I could get there.
The rain started so I decided i would pick him up after church. Well, the service is being held in a tent at the moment so they canceled the service and before I could get out the door here comes a very soaked Len. Yipes!! Oh well, just another show of independence on his part.

Len has decided to go back to chorus so we will start in tomorrow night. Mark ask him to come back and Len said he would give it a try. Mark feels it will be good therapy for Len and I agree. We will see how it goes.

The welcome home party was held at Judi Nakamaru's house and Len was great. He talked to everyone and at one point I looked over and he was talking to the "guys". It all felt so normal. Everyone thought he was adorable and they were all so understanding. What a great group of friends. I have missed them alot.
Right now he talking to someone on his phone and almost every word is clear. I have no idea who it is but he is giving them the low down on his progress. I think he meant to call Patti but called someone else.

Thought you would all be wondering how things are going. They are going GREAT!!!!!

Happy 5th Birthday Rylee!

Rylee's birthday was this week and she had a party today. Once, everyone arrived for Bug's party she got to open her presents. She had some of the best expressions. Tex, Tristan and I got to meet Tommy, Dani's boyfriend for the first time. He seems like a really nice guy. After presents we had cake and ice cream. The kids all had a great time. I love the picture when they are all sitting on the floor eating their cupcakes. The kids were all so good!

Hanna's Christmas

Well, we got Hanna for the weekend and she finally got to open all of her Christmas presents. Johnnie, she loves the coat! She didn't at first but she took it home and now she wears it all the time! She also loved the crazy shirt! Hanna got a few buck and was able to get an IPOD that she was very excited about! The bad news is we had to take it away for two week because she lied to us. She apologized though, she will get it back next weekend.

New Years Day

Tex, Tristan and I woke up and watched the Rose Parade. We then went down and had some breakfast. Last night when Scott, Donna and the kids were here they brought Tristan a present for his birthday. Since I had just put him to bed he was not able to open it. So, here you go! The McFadden's got TJ a toy remote, a couple of shirts and a blue and orange football, which he loves! That's a good sign!

Thank you Scott, Donna, Hannah, & Blake

Happy New Year

Well, Sheree and I decided to put together a little get together at the last minute. We did it at our house so Tristan could go to bed at a reasonable hour. We invited over a few friends for a family friendly party, which was really nice! The kids and the adults all had a lot of fun!

The girls.

The Fam.


Friends...


Cam & Brittles came and Cam and Mac got Tristan the cutest little "Hall" Jersey!
It is the cutest thing I've seen!

Tristan is definitely his number one fan!



the number one fan was not too interested in getting his picture taken at bedtime!


Just after I got TJ to bed the McFadden's showed up!
Hannah, Blake & Paige all had a great time with the streamers!

Well, the time has come, 2008 has come to an end....

10, 9, 8, ...


7, 6, 5, ...


4, 3, 2, ...


1!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!

ENJOY OUR LIVE MIDNIGHT FOOTAGE!

We went outside to light fireworks!

Johny even lit the ones that I confiscated as a police officer.... shhhh, don't tell!

Time to clean up!, Thanks Donna,

And Texas!

Nice Air Guitar!

Hope your New Year started off as good as ours!

Happy New Year and We are Coming Home!!

Dear Family and Friends-

Len and I would like to wish you all the best of New Years. Some may say that I am glad to see 2008 behind me but I think there is a lesson to be learned from every experience and 2008 has taught me many. First, I have my husband with me and am grateful to this year for that. He has taught me to be patient and take one day at a time. I have learned that I could do more than I thought I could and just how much I love this dear man.
Len has learned to be patient too. He is very philosophical and knows he will continue to improve everyday. Like he says"after 70 years I guess something had to happen".
We had a small detour to Minnesota this week where we said goodbye to Len's mom and saw all Len's family. The services were lovely and I am glad I was there even if it did get down below 0 back there. Brrrrrrr!
Now that 2009 is here, we have the best news of all. We are going home to Kona on January 3.
We will continue with rehab, lay in the sun and enjoy our friends. Another words, get back to normal.
Kona here we come!!!!!!

May this day find you well. All of our love and Aloha,
Sue and Len