The boxer dog kiss
Our two boxers dogs love to run, play and wrestle together.
Daisy is 6 yrs and 9 months & Zoee is 1 yr 6 months.
They get into these kissing sessions that are normally initiated by Miss Zoee she loves her Miss Daisy girl.
I wanted to do their pics together so I raked up the cypress tree leaves into a large pile and this was their idea of a photo session.
Gotta love these two doggies.
Macro Lens and Rose Petals
This rose was so beautiful I needed to photograph it.
I grabbed the camera and my macro lens and started taking some pictures indoors.
Rose petals are a lot like life each layer represents a new day full of life & joy its beauty fades but the memories will always be there.
Happy Thanksgiving
I would like to wish you all a safe and Happy Thanksgiving from Texas.
This is a Pyracantha bush they have 1″ thorns and bloom in the spring/summer and make berries in the fall. I love this plant but I hate to trim it due to the thorns. This one is on the side fence area of our yard and accents that part of the yard this time of the year.
The colors of the cypress
Fall is here and our biggest show off for fall foilage is our cypress trees.
The foilage turns quickly and then it all falls off and the tree becomes bare.
Fall is a time for reflection of this year 2019 and all the things that have happened. With a new year around the corner, anything is possible.
The death of my mom
My mom passed away on Tuesday, November 19, 2019, and we buried her on Friday, November 22, 2019.
She will be missed by all who loved her and respected her.
Our family spent the evening at the homestead in Pearland, Texas that my sister and I grew up in. Our oldest son Joshua and his wife Cori ordered Olive Garden which was my mom’s favorite place to eat and we just sat around and talked. It was really nice to be around family & friends who felt the same way about her as I did.
When an elderly person loses a spouse their life is forever changed. My mom’s life pretty much started declining when my dad passed away five years ago in September.
This made her very vulnerable to some family members she trusted with her life.
My mom was emotionally, psychologically and financially abused and I will spend my lifetime getting justice for my mom who never deserved that treatment from anyone.
In the state of Texas, all wills have to be probated this takes about 45 days and NOONE is allowed to take anything jewelry, money or personal belongings until that happens. I had taken pictures of all my mom’s jewelry during Hurricane Harvey so it will all be accounted for down to every single ring and necklace.
Mom, I hope you find peace and happiness with my dad and grandparents.
I love you today, tomorrow, always and forever and until the end of time.
Sonya
Dr. Appointments, Testing and Results
I have spent the last few weeks at Dr. Appointments, testing and getting my results on follow up visits.
I have had 3 EKGs, 1 regular stress test, 1 nuclear stress test, 1 echocardiogram and I wore a Holter monitor for 24 hours. The only results that are not back yet are the Holter Monitor.
I have mitral valve stenosis this was discovered about 12 – 14 years ago. Almost every year without fail I have gotten my yearly echo that is until I got breast cancer and then I had other priorities to take care of. No one should ever put off their yearly heart testing that was not very smart of me but I have no one to blame but myself.
Mitral valve stenosis is caused by Rheumatic Fever but I never had that as a child or an adult. This was verified with my parents. Think of stenosis as a hose that is being stepped on and blood can not flow through the valve properly there is leakage spewing and backflow.
My mitral valve is what they call Moderate/ Severe, there is moderate regurgitation or leakage, as well as my Left Atrium, is now enlarged. There is an estimated right ventricle systolic pressure of 45 – 50 mmHg. I am sure this will be verified by a heart catheter in the very near future.
The symptoms that this causes me are cough, chest pain, and soreness like a bruised feeling as well as dizziness and fatigue.
The Cardiologist says right now we have to get my pulse rate down to around 50 it runs 74- 80. To do this we have decreased my thyroid medication, changed BP meds to a channel blocker 2 x a day. He even added Lasix even though I am not retaining fluid he thinks there is fluid we are not seeing. All these things will ease up the pressures around the heart and hopefully help some of my symptoms.
On top of all this, I have lung issues emphysema and asthma so my lungs are not in the best shape.
In order for me to have Mitral Valve Replacement surgery the heart and the lungs have to be in the best shape, we can get them with medication. With getting an artificial valve replacement I will have to be on 2 blood thinners for the rest of my life.
I have a pulmonologist appointment this Friday and we will see if there is anything else we can do for my lungs to get them ready for this surgery.
Hopefully, by January this surgery can happen. It is open heart surgery which means more recoup time for me. The thought of cracked ribs scares me to death as well as being put on a heart-lung machine but I am trying to stay calm and not overreact.
I am sharing my story with you all in the hopes I can help someone else. I want others to learn through my experiences and I will do my best to keep everyone updated as new things happen.
Cat in action
The best way to get a clear action picture of a cat or dog is if they are headed towards you.
If that is not possible up your shutter speed and try from the side of the animal.
This is Puffy Tail I was in the pasture and the cats follow me like dogs well she was the last one out there and came bounding across the pasture running. I was able to get this shot really quickly.
Dear Mom
Dear Mom,
You were always my best friend we were so close during my life.
Olga told me she had never seen a mother and daughter as close as we were that made me feel really good.
We loved crafting, decorating, & our many shopping trips to Hobby Lobby and Big Lots were lots of laughs. Going to Hobby Lobby without you is not any fun so I order a lot of my craft supplies.
We were always planning our next big project. Dad always wanted us to bring him back something good. He hated it when we were using glitter because he always got it on his face & someone would comment on it.
My goal in life was to always be there for you and my dad and I feel like I accomplished that in my 41 years of marriage to Jack. You both told me numerous times you were so grateful you could always count on me.
I went with you when your mom my grandmother Mama Dot was dying we cried all 300 miles to Louisiana our faces were so swollen by the time we got to the hospital. I think that was our fastest trip we ever made and we did not even stop to pee.
I had taken Daddy Dub home one night and we were about to walk out the door at the house the next morning when the phone rang it was yall telling us Mama Dot had passed away in the night. He said, ” Well Sugar I guess there is no need to go to the hospital right now.” I was the only one with him for 1 hour before you all got there and that was the longest hour of my life.
I went with you to take Daddy Dub back home from Texas to Louisiana when we knew we were taking him home to die. We knew it was the last time we would see him and we cried all the way there & all the way home.
I was there for you and dad through many surgeries through the years from prostate and breast cancer to knee replacement and Emergency gall bladder surgery these two were one week apart.
That was a hectic time with follow up appts and Physical Therapy 3 x a week for 8 weeks.
I was still recovering from rotator cuff surgery when Dad was diagnosed with esophageal cancer.
I was at every dr and hospital appointment dad had. The only time I left the room during an appointment was when you had to meet with the financial people at Texas Oncology. I felt like that part was not my business.
I took Dad to his cancer treatments the radiation and chemo and I really enjoyed my time with him that was very special for both of us.
I was the first one with you at the house within 10 minutes of you finding dad and that by far was one tough thing to go through.
My dad was not supposed to die yet I felt so cheated! I called his primary care dr to get his opinion of what might have happened and he agreed that it was probably an Esophageal Varices caused by the chemo. It really made sense with the bleeding he had been experiencing.
I stayed with you for 6 weeks waiting for the security system to get installed. I was so worried about you being alone I think I was more scared for you than you were for yourself. I went into protection mode.
I took you to 16 appts during the first few months after dad’s death. From every bank, financial advisor, attorney appts, Drs appts, etc. I had all your appointments written on my calendar which I still have. I still have my planner that listed all dad’s appointments.
I felt like no family member or friend should ever know anyone else’s business and told you not to tell me anything about the financials. This was not my business, in fact, it was not ANYONE Business.
I wanted to remind you of these good things since I will not see you before you die. I am glad you got to hear my words because I wanted you to know how much I loved you and what a great mom you were. Give my dad a hug from me.
I never thought I would go through breast cancer without you by my side and I never thought you would be dying without me by your side.
I love you today, tomorrow, always and forever and until the end of time.
Sonya
