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Hi everyone,
Just an update about Mom.
She is doing well. Still intermittent nerve pain in her leg, but she takes meds for the pain when necessary.

She is starting to drive again a little and is so thankful to be able to get around now that she is feeling better and not on heavy doses of pain medication.

Yesterday we had a work party at Carmen's to help her paint her house. Mom and Paris went to Troy and Maria's to take care of Sadie and Nate while we all scraped and painted. Mom said she had a wonderful afternoon with the kids. Paris loves Nate and Sadie so much and they love to play with her. Mom said they all laid in the hammock and Paris was able to do the chasing and in and out breaks with the kids. She is really great with the kids and they played well all day. Brian,Paris and I had picked blackberries Friday night and when we left to go home, we discovered Grandma, Paris and the kids had made a cobbler with them. (I knew we had left the with the right person!) The house was looking great and Grandma said she wasn't tired at all. They headed to Carmen's to see the progress. The kids played in the yard and Mom was able to be with them and sit in a nice lawn chair with her leg up and a blanket over her. She seemed content and happy despite the fact that it drives her crazy to not be able to help paint. We just love being in her presence, so it was fun to have her there. She is usually working like crazy at all our family work parties. She has been such an example of servitude to us all for so long. It's hard to keep a good woman down though, so it's good that Dad was there to help rein her in and keep an eye on her. :)

Mom was "adopted" by Ray and Ida Altringer over 25 years ago as her surrogate parents. Ida passed away on Friday. Her funeral is Tuesday. Mom will miss her very much. They first met when she was working at the Toledo Senior Center. Yesterday Ray and his daughter Lynn brought Mom some flowers to arrange for the funeral. Mom was happy to be asked to put something together for her funeral. Tuesday will be a sad day. She loves them both so much and Lynn has always loved Mom and included her as a sister.

Radiation starts Wednesday so I probably won't update again until after that, unless something else comes up in the meantime.

I appreciate having this blog and getting to give you a glimpse into how things are going for her. She remains grateful for all you who have loved her so well.

With gratitude,
Kimberly