We are off to water exercise! Later in the afternoon we go to get settled for the Heuga Program. I don't expect to blog again till Sunday. I am excited but also a little nervous today. I hope I can manage the exercise portion of the program okay.

Hope you have a great week and weekend. Mary & Emma

I went to the family Doctor but this time Emma stayed home. She managed fine as it is close by. My family Dr. and my endrochrinologist are both so afraid of dogs. Even when Emma is in perfect behavior their discomfort is noticeable. Emma and I both need practice in her managing home alone for awhile so this worked well.

Greg was super as it took longer than planned and he ended up going later to work than planned. It was a medication check up and still took awhile. I like how thorough she is however. I also had lab work done. I see the endrochrinologist who manages my diabetes next week. My neurologist will be at the event this week. So I am well covered by my medical team. Yeah.

Emma and I were outside several times. It is over 90 so she was not really active but still enjoyed being outside. I have been doing laundry, packing and picking up. I feel so much better physically than I did the past several days. I am so grateful for that.

Tomorrow we will go to the YMCA. I think they will start doing my bathroom floor Tues or Wed. We will go to the hotel late afternoon.

I am glad there will be someone here in the days and one of my kids will be here in the evening. My house is nice and cool for them.

I think Emma will like the hotel. She will like the king size bed. When we went to the couple's getaway (MS event same hotel) she loved it. She also likes to look at the dog in the long mirror hotels usually have at her level. Looking at the schedule I think she will do fine and between Greg and I we will get her out for exercise, and take her for walks in the hotel ac so she gets movement in her day.

Emma has helped with laundry, picking up, and just being adorable today. Our days alone at home I pet her a lot, we play indoors and out, and also got some things done. You can bet we took a nap too. I don't see times for naps or rests in the schedule for the week at the MS program. I would guess though that there are breaks even if not on the schedule I received.

Have a good week. Not sure if I will have time to blog tomorrow or not.

For those of you with MS or curious - the Heuga site is huega.org
The program we are going to is called Can Do Program.

Mary and Emma

It was a special day for us as we celebrated Rosa's Baptism. We went early to set up as it was the church where Greg works as a Campus Minister. There was a gathering space where we had a small family meal/party following the Baptism. As we prepared some food and go things ready Emma fell sound asleep under a table in the cool airconditioning. In fact she was sleeping so well that she stayed there during the baptism. She was just outside the door if I needed her or she needed me. It was cute.

The Baptism was lovely and I cried (surprised Judy?) as it made me feel so aware of what a gift Rosa is in our life. I am very grateful for her good health. She was beautiful in a white gown and her bare feet. Sophia had a beautiful new dress for the occasion also. During the Baptism Rosa was talkative, and no she didn't mind the water one bit. In fact I think she would have liked to have played in that water.

After the ceremony, the pictures, and being held Rosa was ready to crawl. Her first venture? Right under the table to see Emma? She moved so fast we did not get a good picture. Emma gently moved over to her and she greeted Emma with the smile we all had been seeking. A more curiousity and casual smile. She was so cute all day. She was so darn cute.

Rosa's favorite toys are rubber ducks. She had one with her after the baptism and that also made her very happy.

My son Michael, Tia, Rosa and Sophia are such a lovely family. I am so grateful for them all. My camera's battery gave out so I did not get as many pictures as I would have liked. Hopefully I will get some from others.

Emma also had some fun in the church yard. Near the enterance we use is actually the back of the building. It gets lots of traffic as people can walk through there to get to church activities, but also a lot of people just plain cut through to get to dinky town or classes. It must be full of wonderful smells as Emma is always so glad to have some free time there. Yes leashed of course.

We made sure she got outside both at home and there. They have more shade so the grass was softer than some areas of our yard. It also was just plain old dirt at places. She rubbed her face in it and my doggy had such a funny look on her face. Where was my darling Emma under the dirt?? It was amusing. We were very early so had time to clean her up. Funny how different they can look when they do that though. It was just her head which made it even funnier. SHe kept her brand new pack clean and her body.

What a great day we had. I had a lot of problem with high high blood sugars and dizziness and blurred vision though. But yeah it didn't ruin the day. I couldn't help at all but my kids, Tia, and Greg got the lunch ready. Tia did most the clean up and others helped I hope. I stayed anchored to a chair most the time so not to risk falling. I think that is part of why I was so emotional (besides the steroids). I had such a rough rough morning I just wanted to be sure that I was present for her Baptism. Had it not been that occasion I would have likely rested all day. Thank you God I didn't miss this very special day.

Emma is sure working hard, as now for sure she picks up things for me. No letting her off the hook if she is stubborn as once in awhile she can be. For the most part she knows I need the help and she knows what her job is. With all the jobs she does, cuddling up with me when I am in bed is awesome. Especially when I am teary when I wake up feeling so crummy like today.

Hurray we made it through today. I think I am home all day Monday. We can rest up and finish packing. We go Tuesday afternoon for our big event. The Heuga Center. We will be back on Sunday. It will be interesting, demanding, but a good program to help both with MS and with stress in my life and due to MS.

Please say a little prayer for me tonight. Thank God for Rosa and for the gift of families. Pray that those who are alone as parents find support to help them with this important endeavor.

Thanks for sharing my joy. I do not mean to complain. I am glad we had such a special day.

Mary

Due to a generous birthday gift - we went to the Ordway and saw Spamalot. It was delightful. It was very funny. I was a bit bothered by my blurred vision and yet enjoyed the show immensely. Emma did well but gosh there was not much room at our feet for her. I was so proud of her.

We will write more Sunday. It is the celebration of dear Rosa's baptism. I will be praying in thanksgiving for my family and especially my dear Rosa Grace and Sophia.

Off to bed so I can handle the day tomorrow. This was late but I took two naps today.
Mary

The steroids sure help the dizziness. I just hope it lasts after they are out of my system. Now let's think positive. I am back to drinking just tons of water and many visits to the bathroom ha ha.

It is a bit lower temp and humidity so that is nice. I was playing with Emma outdoors. Most the time lately I have to sit as my legs are weaker again. Well I asked her to pick out her toy and she did. We played awhile and then (her favorite) she decided to check the wood pile for a chipmonk. No she did not find one but enjoys sniffing just the same.

For just a minute I reclined back a bit and closed my eyes to rest them and feel the breeze of the day. Just relax. She flew across that yard and was nosing me. I assure her I was alright. I played with her more and kept my eyes on her. As it should be for both of us. She is so darn cute and fun to play with.

We did some laundry and took a short nap. My friend Jan called and she took me to the clearance sale at JC Penney's. I was so pleased to find a few new clothing items 70% off for next week. I don't have a big variety of clothes and some of mine look old or worn. This will perk me up.

They had baby clothing on sale and I found some cute items that I hope will fit Rosa next summer! They were so inexpensive at 70% off. I can't predict Sophia's size so I found one for her to wear right now. A shirt she could wear for play or school. I hope she likes it.

I can't tell you how long it has been sincce I went shopping. They did not have a scooter either. I walked pushing a stroller/cart type thing. I guess the second day on a bunch of steroids can boast my abilities. we didn't stay real long but found good things. It was fun to go. Now I have a family dr appt Monday, a haircut (badly needed) Monday, and I am ready to go.

Emma was great shopping. It has been a long while since we have gone or seems like that to me. She is very good at positioning herself when I have a cane, cart, scooter, walker. My girl can adjust. We were very impressed with her behavior and helpfulness. What a girl.

No midnight snacks for Emma last night. I made sure counters were clear of anything she might get into.

We had a nice day. We are going out to water our flowers now. The drought is making it tough to keep up with this task. I do feel good enough tonight to be the one to do it.
Yeah for a good day.

Rosa gets baptized on Monday. Otherwise, we have a very quiet weekend planned. Greg has projects to do around here. Justin starts work on our bathroom floor on Tuesday. Yeah for that. We go in the late afternoon Tuesday.

Those of you with MS might want to know more about the Heuga Programs. Here is a link to the program I am attending. They offer it throughout the country at different times of the year and in Colorado where there main offices are located.

http://www.heuga.org/programs/can_do

Have a great weekend.
Mary and Emma