Mimi Time in TEXAS

Saturday morning I woke up excited to be bringing Mimi back to Texas with me. This little girl fell asleep while I was pleading my case to Mimi the night before, so she had no idea what fun was in store for us!

Mimi and I got around and got dressed (after our morning coffee of course. PRIORITIES!). And Brenna finally woke up and found out the good news. She was so excited! We got the car loaded and Mimi all packed up and we were Texas bound!

The ride went better than I thought. Mimi dozed on and off but really didn't sleep that much. She said the ride didn't really hurt her leg/hip that much either. I was pretty pleased! We stopped to get Macie at Pops and Memaw's on our way home. She was a LITTLE excited to see her Mommy! It made my heart melt. She acted excited to see her Mimi too, but she was a little stand offish. It took me most of the week to figure it out, but I think she was scared of Mimi being on a walker and having a difficult time getting around. She had never seen her that way before, and I'm not certain, but I think it brought back some memories of MeMawMom and how she struggled to get around some days. I am not certain,. but I think that was the case.
When we got home, I unloaded the car and got Mimi all set up in my recliner. It was her new "home" for the week! It didn't take her but a few minutes to be sound asleep! I put a lasagna in for dinner and the kiddos played. It was a quiet evening, which is what we all needed. I got Mimi all set up in Brenna's room and we all went to bed fairly early.
Sunday morning I got up and got dressed because Mimi had said she wanted to go to church if she felt like it. So I wanted to be prepared. She slept until after 9! I was so glad that she was comfortable enough to relax and rest well here. But the good sleeping caused her to miss a dose of her pain meds, so she was hurting by the time she got up. And it quickly became clear that church wasn't in the plans for the day. I think the car ride combined with missing a dose of meds caused Sunday to be a rough day for her. She broke my heart that day. She didn't say much all day and rarely got out of the chair. Jake kept her company for a little while...

And he didn't like it when she wasn't sitting in her chair! He waited patiently! 

I left her and Brenna here while Macie and I went to get groceries for the week. I told Brenna to check on her a couple times, and when I texted her on my way out of the store, she said she had checked on her Mimi 3 times. Sweet girl! She took such good care of her Mimi.
Josh got home from the deer lease later that day. Mimi continued to sleep on and off the rest of the day. And by the time we went to bed, I was in tears. I didn't like how quiet she was and how much she was hurting. Josh made a good point that she needed to set an alarm and not miss a dose of her pain meds. SO I got up and went in and told Mimi that and she agreed that it might be a good idea considering the fall and all. So that is what she did. And on Monday morning, she seemed better! She said she took her meds on time all night long and was hurting less! YEA! It was so good to see her moving around better and talking more! We decided to get out of the house for a bit. I had to drop Brenna off for a sleep over with Kinley, so after we did that we went to Pizza Place! The girls decided Mimi needed to eat at the Pizza Place because it was the SIDS of Weatherford! ha! And the good news is that Mimi liked it! She and I ate almost a whole Medium pizza!

After we ate, we ran a couple errands and then headed back home so that she and Macie could nap! And I did laundry. Mimi and I ended up watching Season 1 of Designing Women! We had so much fun!! It was a nice and quiet day. That evening after dinner, we took Macie down to the Riley's to swim for a bit. Mimi and I relaxed in the lounge chairs while Macie and Carter swam.

It was HOT, but we enjoyed sitting and chatting and watching Macie. 

I could enjoy any activity as long as Mimi is sitting next to me. :)
On Tuesday, we went in and got Brenna and dropped both girls off at Marlin's so that I could go to a drs appt. I was so thankful that Mimi was there to go with me. She calmed me, which is just what I needed. Afterwards, we picked up the girls and went to eat at La Playa Maya because...MEXICAN FOOD! On the way home, we picked up a couple movies for the girls and one for all of us to watch later on. I fixed stuffed chicken for dinner and afterwards the girls and Mimi and I all watched Big Hero 6. It was a good movie.

And as soon as it was over, we all turned in to bed for the night. Mimi was in bed before Josh and I! She didn't nap at all on Monday or Tuesday! So I think she was ready for some sleep. But I was so glad she wasn't hurting as much!!
Mimi and I decided to make an outing for each day. I told er it was good for her to see the sun!! I could tell that she did better when we got out of the house for at least a little bit. We didn't do much other than eat lunch, but at least it got us out of here. Wednesday we went in and ate at McAllisters. After that, I ran into Walmart wile Mimi sat in the car. I tried to convince her to go in and ride around in one of those motorized carts! But she didn't think it would be as fun as I thought it would! haha! The best part is when she told me to turn the car off and just roll the windows down....um....yeah right.... I'm gonna leave my grandmother in the hot car with the windows cracked! I laughed at that one! Silly woman!
After we got home, I put Macie down for a nap, and Mimi decided to join her and went to bed for a good nap. She slept almost 3 hours!! I was impressed! That night I made a grilled pork loin and veggies. One thing we did do well while Mimi was here was EAT! I know she doesn't eat good like that at home so I wanted to make sure she got decent meals at our house! Then we spent the rest of the night watching Duck Dynasty. As the theme of the week went... it was nice and relaxing! We all went to bed early again since Josh had to go to work the next day and us girls had big plans!!
Thursday morning brought coffee time, once again. I'm not gonna lie- our morning coffee was one of my most favorite things about our week!! I loved that time in the quiet house just me and Mimi sitting at the table talking. It was greatness. A memory I will treasure forever. After we finished coffee, we got dressed and headed to town. We all 4 had nail appointments! I got my nails done, Mimi got a pedicure, and the girls got their nails and toes done! Hello pampering!!!
Mimi seemed to enjoy herself...

Macie enjoyed herself...

Brenna enjoyed herself...

And I enjoyed myself!

It was a great time! And we followed it with one of mine and Mimi's favorite places to eat- Olive Garden for soup and salad!!

After that we went home and put Macie and Mimi down for naps! :) And I did more laundry and ironing so that Mimi would go home with all of her clothes cleaned and ironed! I didn't want her getting home and needing to do laundry. Later that night, I asked Mimi what she wanted for dinner since I didn't really cook anything. I was thinking we could have sandwiches or leftovers. She said "let's eat popcorn for dinner!" Yep- a woman after my own heart!!! So we had popcorn and cokes for dinner while we watched Blue Collar Comedy Tour and the kids played. We laughed a LOT! It was good for both of us! We put Macie to bed early and had movie night. We chose Devine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood. Neither of us had ever seen it. It was a great movie, and a great way to spend our last night together!
Friday morning we got up and did the usual...COFFEE! I soaked up my last morning with Mimi while we drank coffee and watched some tv. I didn't want it to end!! I even made claims to kidnapping her and not showing up to make the exchange with Aunt Susan! I know Mimi was ready to go home and not have an 8 and 5 year old running around and whining and being needy. But I wasn't ready to give her up! Why does Texas and Oklahoma have to be so far apart??? But I put on my big girl panties and delivered her to Aunt Susan. We all ate at Boo Rays and then went back to Dads for them to get their stuff. And about 3pm, they left. It was all I could do not to cry. But I was So beyond thankful for the 10 days I had. If I had planned it, it wouldn't have turned out so well. It was surprise time, and I am thankful for that. I am thankful for the long heart to heart talks we had. She listened to me vent about things and listened to things that I miss about my Mama that I can't talk to just anyone about. She listened, and she understood. It was good for my sole. I just hope that Mimi knows how much the week meant to me. It was a wonderful time!!

Mimi time in El Reno!

When Dad, Aunt Susan and Aunt Bit started planning their Alaska trip, I started planning some Mimi time! I worked up a plan for Mimi to ride to Texas with Aunt Susan on July 4th, and then come to our house and stay a few days. Then the girls and I would take her back home and spend a few days in El Reno with her. It sounded like the perfect plan, and Mimi was on board! I was extremely excited to get this time with her. Then a few weeks before their trip, I found out that Mimi hurt her back and wouldn't be able to come down with Aunt Susan. I was SO disappointed. 

After our cruise, I was talking to Aunt Bit and she told me just how much pain Mimi was in. It broke my heart. But she told me that Mimi had an appointment to get an injection in her spine on July 9th. Suddenly- the wheels started turning. Dad and my aunts would be in Alaska during this procedure. I knew that Uncle Dave would be there, and was very capable of taking Mimi to her procedure. But I decided that I NEEDED to be there. I wanted to be there for Mimi, and take care of her. I also knew that this might help Aunt Susan to relax and enjoy herself if I went and stayed a couple days with Mimi. So I started the ball rolling. BUT I know my Mimi, and stubborn is her middle name! And I knew that she wouldn't readily accept the offer for me to come take care of her. SOOO- I started with Aunt Susan!! And she handled the whole thing. :) And even though Mimi tried to call me the day before I left and tell me it was too early for us to get up and Dave could take her.....I stuck to my guns and told her I WAS taking her! Poor Mimi. Never stood a chance! Ha!

In my thoughts about this trip, I decided that it would be too much for Mimi for both kids to be there. And it would be too hard to try to handle Macie at the hospital. So I arranged for her to spend 2 nights at Aunt Emily's, and decided Brenna would enjoy the alone time with me and Mimi! I think it was a good call, because she loved having all the attention and just relaxing. 

Early Wednesday Morning, Brenna and I set off on our road trip to El Reno. 

It was SOOO easy to travel with just an 8 year old. She never whined or complained and entertained herself! It was heaven. And a great opportunity for she and I to spend some one on one time. We got to Mimi's about 1pm. 

Aunt Bit and Aunt Susan had prepared me for what to expect. But even still, seeing my Mimi in that shape- hurting  and on a walker- it broke my heart. But I was so very thankful to be there. I was ready to take care of her!! (Even if she did tell me that I was getting "lippy" when I told her to quit questioning me because I was there and I had plans to DO FOR HER!) 

We visited for a while, and eventually Mimi wanted us to go see Aunt Bonnie's new apartment. So I drove us all over to Yukon. Aunt Bonnie's new place is really neat! A great place for her! And I enjoyed getting to see her and visit for a few minutes. But we didn't stay long because I could tell Mimi was getting tired. So Brenna and I took her home to rest and headed to WalMart to do our grocery shopping!

 I made Poppyseed Chicken and peach cobbler for dinner while Mimi slept. And I kept thinking how glad I was to be there and able to do this for her. Brenna was a great help! She entertained herself and helped me in the kitchen! Such a trooper. 

We all turned in fairly early since we had to be up at 5 to get ready to leave by 6 the next day. And 5am came pretty quickly. Mimi slept through her last chance for pain meds in the middle of the night, so she was hurting pretty bad by the time we left the house. But we made the hour drive to the spine hospital and got all checked in. They called Mimi back to get her prepped, and Brenna curled up with her iPad. 

They then called me back to sit with Mimi until her procedure. Brenna opted to sit in the waiting room. Such a big girl!! I sat in the back with Mimi for about 45 minutes until they were ready for her. When I got back to Brenna, she was still in the same spot. I was so proud of her. We sat there for about 20 minutes and my buzzer went off. I figured it was a mistake because she couldn't possibly be done already!! But she was. 

When I got to her, she was sleeping off the meds they gave her. I'd post the picture I took, but if she found out I'm pretty sure she'd KILL me! All of the nurses kept commenting on how she was the only person that came in there for a procedure with her hair done and make up on! Yep- that's my Mimi! Always beautiful! 

I sat there with her until they made her wake up and drink some sprite so that we could go home. It took about 45 minutes before they got her awake enough to get dressed. But they eventually did, and I went to get the car. She was way more alert than I expected on the ride home. Probably had something to do with all my talking. Well, that and the fact that she had a granddaughter driving her home that had no idea where we were at!! But we made it! We were home around 10:30, and I got her something to eat. Uncle Dave stopped by to check on her, and by the time he left, I found Brenna on Mimi's bed like this...

Out like a light! 

So, Mimi kicked back in her chair and I curled up on the couch and we joined Brenna! Naps all around! I kept expecting to get a call from the Alaska folks checking on her, but soon realized that they had to be somewhere with no signal. Either that or they trusted me way more than I thought! Haha! 

That night, I made spaghetti and salad for dinner since Mimi told me it was one of her favorite meals. Brenna was a great help yet again. Mimi napped while we cooked! Worked out great! But I just wasn't ready to leave her. Luckily Becky had offered to keep Macie on Friday night if I wasn't ready to come back. So I put in a call and set that up. I knew I would feel better about leaving her after one more day post injection. 

That night, I knew exactly when my aunts had cell signal....because my phone started lighting up with texts and questions! We eventually decided to face time them. It was great to talk to them and hear about their trip! And I loved that Mimi got to see them too. 

Brenna, Mimi and I took this selfie after we face timed...

You can tell we are all a little exhausted! But we were enjoying just being together. I've learned a lot of tough life lessons in the last year. And the importance of time is one of the biggest. Time with the people you love. Time is something you can't get back. And I will never take it for granted. I certainly didn't take one moment of the TIME I had with Mimi for granted. I enjoyed every second. 

The next morning, we got up and slowly started getting around. Coffee was priority! Mimi and I had some great talks over our morning coffee. Showers followed that. Mimi seemed to be getting around a lot better on Friday than she had been on Wednesday and Thursday. That made me so happy. We decided that a trip to SIDS was in order! That made Brenna's day! 

We even had to take pictures to send to Alaska! 

Yes, Brenna ate two double meat hot dogs!! SIDS can bring out an appetite in you that you never knew existed! Has that effect on me too. One of those coneys was mine.... 

And so was this onion fried burger with extra pickles!! 

And then we sent this to Alaska.....

Because- what's the point of eating at SIDS if you can't make the rest of the Johnson clan jealous??!! It's what we do. And we are good at it. But it's all done in LOVE. Usually. 

After lunch, Mimi needed to run some errands. So I took her to the post office and the pharmacy. I snapped this as she was walking into the post office- ALONE... Because did I mention she's stubborn?? But check it out! No Walker! Just a cane! And standing up straight! 

She was so much better. 

After the errands, we went home, and I asked her where her ironing was so that I could do it while she napped. Stubbornness didn't want to tell me! The background story is that ironing is how she messed up her back. She spent a whole day ironing, and the next day sweeping the garage. Sooooo- I was gonna take care of that for her. She FINALLY told me where her shirts and the ironing board was. Well- where ONE of her ironing boards was. Because she apparently has two. Yall- my Mimi is serious about her ironing I tell ya. Still not sure why she has TWO. 

Anyway..... I sent her to rest and promised her I would only iron her shirts. She was going to look into taking her pants to the cleaners, but wouldn't tell me which one so that I could take them. Did I mention that her middle name is Stubbornness? SOOO- I texted this picture to Aunt Bit and Aunt Susan...

And told them that if she fell asleep that I was doing the pants too. And guess what....

I sent this picture next with a caption that read "I'll show her to take a nap!" And when she woke up 2 hours later I was down to only 3 pieces to finish! I was so happy to have it all done for her! Because I know that was a load off her mind. 

We spent the rest of the evening just relaxing and visiting. About 8pm, I was coming out of Mimi's room and saw her fall! It scared the crud out of me! She tripped over her walker and fell on her bad leg. I kept asking her every few minutes if she was ok. I MAY have driven her to the verge of nuts asking so often. But I was worried. She assured me that she was ok, but I knew she wasn't. I could tell she was hurting. At about 11pm, I went in to go to bed. And as soon as I closed the bedroom door, my stomach became full of knots and I got a lump in my throat and tears started. How could I leave her and go home the next morning? I knew I had to get home to Macie, but the thought of leaving Mimi was killing me. I texted Josh what had happened and told him I was going to leave a bit later the next day to make sure she was ok. He replied with "bring her home with you". And suddenly- I had my answer! But I never thought she'd go for it. So I texted Aunt Bit and Aunt Susan "I would give anything if Mimi would come home with me tomorrow." And suddenly I had all of Alaska on my side telling me to get in there and talk to her! And to take her home with me! So- after some coaching from them, I opened the door and marched in and pled my case to Mimi. She tried to say no. And she tried to say she'd think about it. (Which I knew meant that she'd work on a reason not to go all night). But the texts were rolling in saying "tell Mimi this" or "show this to Mimi". I didn't want her to think I was forcing her to do something. She's 81 for Petes sake! A grown woman! So I told her that the decision was hers. But that I wasn't going to bed until she said yes. So she had a choice...kind of....except not! She eventually said she would go! And the relief I felt in my stomach was amazing. God is good. He orchestrated the whole thing. Because less than an hour before I hadn't even given a thought to bringing her home with me. And now- here we were! I think the happy screams from Alaska could be heard for miles! And I shed some thankful tears as well. Not only was I thankful to not have to leave her in the pain she was in, but I had just scored 10 days with my Mimi!!! Totally unplanned! Little did I know that God had done the whole thing. He knew I needed her as much as she needed me. 

Next up- 7 days with Mimi in TEXAS! 

4th of July fun!

We had a wonderful 4th of July this year! We started our celebrations on the 3rd by dressing in our patriotic best! Mainly because I knew we wouldn't be wearing much more than swim suits on the 4th! 

An impromptu photo shoot was in order! 

I couldn't believe that they were so cooperative and posed so well! 

That night, we went out to celebrate Graddy's birthday since he would be in Alaska on his actual birthday. We enjoyed dinner at Railhead, and as a plus there was a balloon artist there! 

Brenna chose an Elsa crown....

That her Daddy tried on....

(Back off ladies...he's mine!) 

Macie chose a purple puppy...

And as soon as the balloon guy heard that it was Graddy's birthday, he went to work on a special hat just for him....

Hahaha!!!! A beer mug complete with foamy bubbles! 

It was a fun night!! Especially for these three.... 

They sure do love their Graddy!!! 

On the 4th, the girls and I got up and started on our red, white, and blue cake baking tradition! This year we went with cupcakes. 

Then the rest of the day was spent enjoying friends at the Riley's. 

These two had been separated for WAY too long. The Baldwin's had been on vacation for almost 4 weeks, and Macie Claire was having BFF withdrawals from Maylee! They had a great day together, and we're pretty much inseparable. 

Sometimes, when you've missed your BFF so much, you just need to share the same chair to eat a cupcake. 

Brenna had a great day too! She was in heaven playing with Landry and Jaylee. 

Madison, Jaylee, Brenna and Landry

Macie and Maylee eventually decided that they needed to go for a drive. 

The conversations we overheard while they "drove" we're hilarious! At one point, Macie said "Hey Maylee, let's go pick up some friends!" Oh boy. I caught a glimpse of the future...and I got scared! 

When the sun went down, we all migrated over to the pond for fireworks. Schaef and Carter put on a great show for all of us! 

Best seat in the house! 

Of course, these two were connected at the hip! You can see the total exhaustion on their faces! 

It was a great time with great friends!! Doesn't get much better than that! 

On the 5th, we got together at Pops and Memaw's to do some fireworks because...TRADITION! We've done fireworks at their house every year as long as the kiddos have been around. And probably before, but my memory isn't that good! Josh and Pops always put on a great show, and the kids love doing sparklers together! 

Sweet Macie! 

When did my Brenna grow up?? I'm not liking this. 

Aunt Emily isn't one to be left out of anything fun!! Shouldn't everyone have an aunt who plays as hard as the kids?? 

As soon as the sparklers were done, the show started! 

And these guys got a front row seat! 

Emily, Memaw and I just sat back and enjoyed the squeals of pure delight that came from these 3 munchkins! They had so much fun! I loved hearing them scream and giggle every time a firework went off. I'm pretty sure this is one of my favorite parts of July 4th. Hanging out with family, watching Pops and Josh enjoy setting off the fireworks, and listening to these 3 cousins have the time of their lives!!