SLEEP TALKING?

We had such a peaceful Christmas.... it was a wonderful day for us all.  All of Our Family found a way to touch us in a personal way without disrupting the calm that had recently enveloped us......

Nothing lasts forever... this disease is ever changing - ever challenging....
 
No one person is the same as another.. the disease is as unique in everyone as people themselves are all unique.

"Just for fun?"......... Tom started to talk in his sleep.... clearly... articulate... then he added hand movements ... that wasn't entertaining enough so he started walking around acting out these dreams.....

It was a little frustrating for me when he would call the girls by name and ask them if they wanted to "go outside?" OR "are you hungry...do you want something to eat?....

The girls were getting confused by his talking ALL night and his behavior so they started sticking pretty close to me.... I was so pinned in the bed I felt like a mummy... I could not move even a toe and they were not about to move away no matter how much I squirmed.

Yes, we were seriously worried about him going outside and not waking up....... He would wake and ask if he was dreaming or was it real... sometimes he argued about them being real ...... most times I could say... "Tom your dreaming" ... and he would either answer....  "OH"  or  "no I'm not".... AND sometimes I had to ask HIM if he was dreaming or awake when he was talking to me....  lol

Our lack of sleep was draining us both..... we both could laugh about it at times but also realized the seriousness of it.

I contacted his Doctor and he thinks it might be medication related, so we are adjusting them to see if that makes a difference.

He is having less episodes now and we are all getting some sleep....

With this disease you really don't know from day to day or moment to moment what can pop out from left field....  and there is no one clear answer... it's all a guessing game and trial & error.

Christmas Day

Tom sported a smile on Christmas Day......

Sanj & her boys came out to share the day with us.... that was possible because of the love and understanding our family exhibits in response to the special and ever changing needs that this disease requires to make it as least dramatic as we can and yet enjoy life and family to the fullest.

WOW... that was a mouthful..... lol

In other words Tom was okay with and excited about them joining us for Christmas because the boys have exhibited control on past visits as to NOT create a ruckus with the dogs in the house as the dogs are BEGGING for them to tear around with them...   YEP... my girls instigate.....

 

 They took it outside and Grampa watch out the window and so enjoyed watching them play on the snow hills.......

AND Sanj & the boys have so displayed and re-enforced the love and respect they have for him... they are just plain and simple great with him and he feels at ease with them around.

THEREFORE...... it was a win-win day for me : )  

Ho Ho Hoooooo SH***!

I was awaken during the night by the girls making a ruckus.... I looked outside to see a figure in the snow bank... lying next to it was a big red bag.

OH my!  I think Santa fell out of his sleigh..... I could hear sleigh bells over head and mumbling from beneath the snow....  "Come on girls ... give me a hand"  I said. 

We all grabbed ahold of each other with Mag having a grip on Santa.  At the count of three we all pulled and out popped Santa.  We brushed him off as Rudolf and the rest of the reindeer swooped in and picked him up.... With a ho ho ho he was on his merry way.

This was a real exciting event for the girls and me as the only excitement we get around here these days is what ever we create...... or imagine? lol

Tom was a "little" bewildered but soon figured out that the girls got lots of stuffed toys and treats and that's all that mattered to him.....

I TOLD HIM THAT SANTA WAS GOING TO "DROP BY"  

Soon it will be Chrismas Day♬.....

The temps have pulled out of the deep freeze which put us back in the "chances for snow" charts...... We have been getting dusted with snow on a daily bases which is so "pretty" for lack of a better word.

I play Christmas carols when I can get away with it... at times Tom seems to enjoy them..... till I break out singing at the top of my lungs.... then he says... "MOM!" as loud as he can.... that's my cue to SHUT UP.... but it's not long and I forget my self and start in again......or I start dancing.... that's my quiet way of singing......

I wasn't born to be a quiet person....... when I am full of joy I need to release it and there was a time when Tom just laughed at me and said I was funny..... but now I guess it's annoying.  LOL

I love Christmas.... I find it's a time when I feel so..... full of life... full of song.... full of joy.... I can't explain it.  I don't buy presents because our income is so limited....  but I have found there are other gifts to give.....

I have some fun little things up my sleeve to make Tom's  Christmas fun.  He doesn't seem to get that excited over presents this year which is weird to me.....but I have picked up on things that do "tickle" his funny / happy bone.......

All is calm and all is well here at our home in the woods..... but I do have to keep reminding the girls... Santa Is  NOT going to come if they don't behave..... Tom laughs........

Winter Blast....

It stopped snowing and turned 30 below..... We are having way too much winter fun and it's only December.....

The girls are so loving the winter..... playing on the snow mountains and running on the trails I made in the yard with the snow blower.....they just go out more often for shorter times in these deep freeze temps.

Tom does the same thing no matter the weather.... sits at the table and stares outside..... and wishes.

He wishes for the things and the life he once knew...... who he once was and the things he use to do.......

I point out all we still have and the things we CAN still do and all that God has blessed us with to help get us through.....

We have more than many.... acceptance is key... in any given situation that you can not change...... give it to God and he will see you through... that your needs are met and from there it's up to you. (attitude)

We have a rough road ahead and today is as good as it gets but with God in my heart and in my life I have no worries or fears.  It is what it is and will do my best to see the "LOVE" of my life, through to the end.

Does that make the job easy?  NOPE! .....It's a daily challenge and always a new adventure..... BUT God gives me  strength, courage, patience, wisdom, comfort and anything thing else I need...... He is ALWAYS there for me and HE will see me through this to the end.

Snow & More Snow!

It is breath taking  looking out my windows.... everything is heavily coated in white..... it's beautiful, peaceful and quiet.... Tom's still sleeping and the girls finally settled in for a morning nap.

This is my moment before "OUR DAY" begins..... I thank God for all our blessings, I pray for patience and wisdom and for Tom to have a good day and I wait to hear that sweet little voice coming from the bedroom "M O M ?" alerting me he is awake..... the girls spring to their feet and go greet him with morning kisses.....

I trail behind with his coffee and hand him the telephone...... he usually calls his sister Susie upon waking..... I wait ........ "What's up for the day?"   That's my cue he is awake and READY to converse....... To speak before then can start the day off bad as all he hears is you making a lot of noise and NOT making any sense.

We've been getting a lot of snow these days.... Tom's 4-wheeler isn't able to do the job this year.  This stresses him out because he can't see how we will survive..... WHO & HOW will we keep our place open this winter?????

A friend has been plowing us for now and the county comes in for a small fee to widen and open the driveway..... I'm already on it to find someone to plow on a regular bases the rest of the winter.

BUT Tom's mind won't move past the idea he has to plow with the 4-wheeler..... I tell him NOT to plow and make big piles where I have to snow blow..... but he does anyway.  

Yesterday I chose to laugh at all the big piles I had to walk my little snow blower through..... It took me 4 1/2 hours going steady to do my paths and the mess he made which needed to be done before the temps dropped as it was all wet.

He sat in the house and watched me..... when I came in at 2:30 he was all smiles and happy with the job I had done.  "Didn't take you very long either"........ lol There goes that concept of time.

He announced he was hungry..... I cooked up some grub and we ate.... Okay your going to love this part...... "I'm going to go help Norm snow blow his driveway"........ he says..... "That's nice of you to help him." I replied and chuckled to myself.

Now Norm is in his 70's..... he has 2 long driveways to clear.  He HAD a plow for his truck for years but it bit the dust.... so instead of buying a new plow which he CAN afford he bought a really BIG snow blower.  I seen him in action last year with the NEW SNOW BLOWER and it was useless.

Well I think Tom seen an opportunity to run the BIG BAD BOY.....  He was soon home and said it was a worthless piece of junk.  I laughed as I told him it was but he thought it was just Ol' Norm trying to run something bigger than him...... Tom is all about size when it comes to anything  that falls under the category of "equipment"

So the day ended with Tom proclaiming that I have the BEST snow blower on the market and I did such a good job that he will not push up all those piles again and just let me go out and do the job.

WE"LL SEE!   ((grin))