The Hoppy Frog Review!!!!!

Is this not the cutest swimming pool you have ever seen???? Hoppy Frog!!! I love it!!! We are going to be watching Katie some this next month and she just loves it outside so Norm and I decided to look for just a plain little pool for her. Yea.........look what we found!!!! There was one there that was made like a rainbow with a little star on it but this one is much cuter!!!! At least I think so. Norm kind of turned his nose up, but too bad!!!!

Now here is something that even makes it cuter!!!!!! She wasn't too nuts about it when I put her in it but she ended up having a lot of fun! She kept looking up at those wild looking eyes.

We set the pool up early in the day and I put about four inches of water in it and let it sit in the sun. It got nice and warm by the time we were ready to get her in it. Didn't take long to cool off but by then she was ready to get out.

I think Grandma and Grandpa had more fun watching her than she had playing!!!!

But, while I was playing with Katie, here was Norm thinning out his radishes and pulling weeds!!! Tough job huh????

It was a pretty fun day. Norm and I had fun with Katie and spent some time outside. It was hot, but fun. We have so much gardening to do, but we just took some time off from it except for some that Norm did. It was nice to just play.

Norm really is getting better every day. I know I keep saying that, but he really does. Today we went to his new doctor today. We saw her two weeks ago and she wanted us to come back in a week this week. Today was it. The first thing she said when she walked in the exam room door was that he looked much better than last week. Honestly, I can see a difference from day to day.

He has been working on the lawn mower for a couple of days now. When Katie was here on Tuesday, he gave her a ride on the lawn mower after he was done mowing. He pulled the mower up in the shade so he could rest a minute. He went to start it again, and it wouldn't start. It wouldn't even turn over. We went to Wal Mart that night and got some fuses, cause he looked at it and found out that one was blown, but, when he put the new one in and tried to start it, it blew the new fuse. He says there is a "dead short" in it. Then, he thought he found a place where some of the wiring was rubbing on the frame and could have been arching. No, that wasn't it either. So, I don't know what is next but, I sure hope he gets it fixed before we have to mow again!!!

One good thing about it tho, is that it has gotten him out and gotten his mind off stuff. The bad part is that he gets upset about the fact that the problem is hard to find, and just kind of over-worries about it. Always before, he would "tinker" with something long enough and would always find the problem and fix it. I have total confidence that he will this time, but it is kind of sad to see him get so upset. When he gets upset like that, he has to use his oxygen, but I think it is all a matter of learning. We all have so much of that to do, and it just so happens that Norm has a little more than most, right now. But, it will happen. Just another small bump in the road.

Every once in a while, he will look at his arms and say "I'm getting some of it back!" I think he is too!!!! Every once in a while, I think back to the time that he had to be re-trained how to swallow. There has been a considerable amount of change since then. Everyone here in the neighborhood calls him a "miracle, several times over!!!!" That's the truth.

When it is dark enough, you can see the stars. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I got Rasberries....come on down!!!!!

Gosh, I took pictures of my wonderful rasberries but I guess the camera messed up because they aren't there. Of course it has to be the camera, not the one trying to take pictures of rasberries!!!! What is this world coming to????



Anyway, I have rasberries and I am thrilled. My plants are only about a year old and we never expected to have berries on them already, but we do. Not too many, but we have some!!! Of course it will be a long time before we have enough for jam or other stuff, but, it is a start!!! That is so cool!!!



The rest of the garden is taking it's time. It was cool, well into June, so, I think we are trying to play catch up!!! The onions are really growning, and I can't wait to try one. The beans are coming along, but there are bugs having a feast, so, I guess I will have to spray again. I hate to do it because the stuff is toxic for animal life, and people if they touch it before it drys. But, if I don't we won't have any beans. Some of the little plants got eaten even before they got leaves. Just as they were coming out of the ground. So, this is war now!!!! Don't mess with my beans!!!! But, of course when it comes time to can them, I will probably wish the bugs did get them!!!



Cardiac Rehab was good yesterday. Norm really is doing well, and Chad (the Rehab Guru) is pleased with how well he is doing, but, he got after Norm for not walking on the days we don't go. Actually Norm has been doing a lot and moving around tons, but, he doesn't quite understand that it is a sustained excercise that is what his heart needs. He needs to walk for about 20 minutes. So, we shall see what happens. I wish I could get him to understand that he would recover faster if he would just walk a little.



Today Katie came over to visit while her mom went to work. She is such a good baby, but is a lot of work. She is really good-natured and is not crabby much, except when she is tired, and when she is hungry....but, who isn't cabby then????



We had a lot of fun with her, but we usually do!!! Grandpa gave her a ride on the lawn mower and she loved it. I was so surprized because I figured that the noise would bother her, but, she was laughing the whole time. She is so funny.



I put her out on the lawn with a sprinkler, but she wasn't too nuts about that, but I think she got too cold. Tonight, Norm and I bought her a swimming pool so, she should have fun tomorrow. Hopefully!!!!



Well, I am sick about my pictures. It is late and I have spent enough time trying to figure out what went wrong. Hopefully I can figure it out tomorrow.



I want my pictures!!!!

Life is Good!!!

Things are going well at the Lyman house! Nothing exciting the last few days, just good ole family life...nice and calm and uneventful. I guess uneventful is not the right word....it just feels so good to have things just kind of "normal".

Norm has been doing really well. He feels better all of the time, but still is having a bit of trouble understanding why he has no energy, and sometimes gets a little depressed. The other day he said he never thought it would take him all day long to fix a sprinkler!!! Gosh, at least he is able to get out there and do it!!!! He has made amazing progress. It has been quite a while since he has used his oxygen during the day. He is learning how to deal with the heat. We don't go out during the real hot time of day, and we use the ceiling fans because the moving air seems to help him breath. He really is doing well. He has driven a bit, but I think it tires him out cause he always wants me to drive back. For all of these years, I guess I have taken for granted that I have been able to sit back and look around, instead of driving all of the time. Now, for about four months, I have been doing the driving. But, that will change too, although I think we are headed for a bit of trouble....I hate his driving and he hates mine!!!! I see a compromise in the future!!!

Cardiac rehab is going really well. Chad has boosted his time on the treadmill and bike to 25 minutes and he is going at a faster pace. He still uses his oxygen for excercise, but that is alright. His recovery is really fast. They take his "sats" (oxygen saturation) quite often during the excercise time and it will go down during excercise, but right back up again to the right levels. That is so much better than it used to be. He says now, that he actually feels pretty good after he is finished.

I guess I already said that we have gratduated from having speech twice a week, to once a week. I guess Jim is running out of stuff to give him to do. He has narrowed it down to a couple of specific areas to work on. Jims seems pretty happy with Norms progress. Life is really good.

On Monday (???) Ty, Bridger, Austin and EmberLee came over and spent some time with us. The kids played in the sprinklers and it sure felt good to them. It has been very hot!

Tuesday (I think it was Tuesday...Maybe Wednesday) Christy, Roger and Katie came for dinner and Norms sister Lurain came too and that was fun. I love eating out on our deck. It is nice out there and plenty of room to let the kids play and us to visit. Having my children and other family close is really nice. Before we moved here, we had little contact with familly. We had some dear friends that were like family but not the same. (But, we miss our friends too!!!)

Our 4th of July celebration was nice. We went down to Christy's house and had dinner. She made the best pulled pork sandwiches. I don't know where she got her talent for cooking cause she sure didn't get it from me!!!

Her in-laws were there. (Roger Sr.and Theresa Lowe) It was really nice to visit with them. They sre some of my favorite people. I always like to visit with Rogers brothers and sisters also. That whole family has been nothing but nice to Norm and I. They love my daughter too, so what more could I ask for. The Lowe family are just "good people". Thanks to Christy and Roger for asking us and for the Lowes inviting us to be a part of their family.

I was really proud of Norm cause he made it all day long with no oxygen. It was hard at times but he worked through it. We got there about 5:00 and left at about 10:30. A long day, and he did really well. I think things will be alright where he is concerned.

We ended up with quite a few fire works that night. I brought some, Christy and Roger bought some and "Big Roger" and Theresa bought some. Roger had to go to work that night at 10, and wanted to do fireworks so he got dressed for work before.

It just seemed funny to see a police officer setting off fireworks and then having to go to work and confiscate some. The difference is that ours were legal and he had to take the illegal ones. We all had fun and I am glad he was able to stay and do that cause he is a "closet pyro!!!!"

All in all, it has been a good week. Today we were able to make it to all of our church meetings. When we were getting out of the car at church I asked Norm if he was going to bring his oxygen in with him. He said "do you think I need it???" I told him that I would come out and get it if he did, so we went in without it and it stayed in the car. That is the first time we have been able to go to church and him not use it at all.

Tomorrow begins a new week. It promises to be a busy week, but a fun one. We have Cardiac Rehab tomorrow and then on Tuesday and Wednesday, we have Katie!!!! We love it when she comes!!! She gets to go to Cardiac Rehab with us on Wed. Then, Thursday we have a day off, but we are supposed to walk. Then, on Friday, we have Cardiac Rehab and Katie again!!!!

Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts.

~Author Unknown