I neglected to write about when my sister Kelly called and came to visit.  What a good time!  My health behaved for the most part and we were able to go to the beach.  We ate at Boston's on the Beach in Delray Beach and did some souvineer shopping.  We played cards.  We reminisced about our childhood days.  Some good and some not so good memories.  I took out some old pictures and we had fun looking through pieces of time captured through a lens...

Having Kelly here was extremely soothing to my spirit.  She, out of all of us girls, resembles my mother in many ways.  She looks like my mom more than the rest of us.  Her mannerisms are similar as well as her voice.  When mom was alive and Kelly still lived at home, it was difficult to know who had answered the phone.  It was a joy to have Kelly with us.  She has been going through many changes in her life.  She is a proud new Grandmama with a beautiful new grandson.  Her children are all adults now, and she is working several jobs at once. At any rate, I hope she was able to relax and enjoy us as much as we enjoyed having her. 

 

A few months went by and my homesickness came back full force.  I called my dearest best friend in Minnesota and had her fly out to stay for about a week.  Just to see her beautiful face was enough!  I have known Terry for twenty some years now.  Wow.  I can't believe that there is so much time gone by since then.  We have gone through just about everything in life there is to experience together.  She is more than a friend, she is my sister, my confidante, and I love her and her family dearly. She came bearing gifts of love from Minnesota.  She bought T -shirts for all of us girls, Terry also gave me a stuffed brown bear "From Minnesota, with Love! and an adorable log cabin nite lite.  Madison and Sal sent along a fantastic necklace heart with "Rock On" engraved upon it.  I guess Terry remembered a story I told her about my guitar.  When I was fifteen, I received a guitar with lessons for Christmas.  It was repossessed on my fourth lesson!  Then I was able to get another guitar, a classical with nylon strings, and I carried that thing every where I went.  I had a hard gig case I kept it in and brought it to school with me.  I played it whenever I could and had anyone who had enough patience to teach me anything new sit down with me.  I would practice until my fingers bled.  How sweet of them to remember that part of me.

 

After Terry came to visit, we had a call from Sam who lived across the street from us in Minnesota.  We kept in touch at first, but then as time seems to run away, unfortunately the distance and circumstances seemed to get in the way as it does.  It was so wonderful to hear her voice.  We have missed her and her family very much.  They were wonderful friends and neighbors.  I love Sam as if she were my own daughter. 

 

During the call I invited her and her family to come visit us anytime.  She called backed a few days later and said her parents thought that would be fine if she could come.  We made plans and down came my little miss sunshine from Minnesota.  I wasn't quite expecting the young woman she grew up to be during the three years I hadn't seen her.  She is taller than I am, even taller than my eighteen year old daughter!  She's only thirteen...  But she has turned into such a beautiful young woman.  Inside and out.  Her heart is so tender and kind. My son Drew was so happy to have her come.  That is all he talked about.  When she was finally here, his special night time prayer was, "Thank you dear Lord for letting Sammy come to stay with us.  I missed her and love her very much."  How cute is that!  He was still just five at the time. When we lived in Minnesota, he had the biggest crush on Sam.  His little eyes would light up and that is all he would talk about later. 

 

Megan and Sam picked up right where they left off.  Everyone enjoyed the time spent but it went by too quickly as time has a way of doing.  I can't wait to see her again.  Our families are keeping in touch with each other and that is a wonderful thing...

 

After Sammy's visit, Grammy and Papu came.  I have to set this up the right way.  Drew's birthday is something extremely special to him.  He thoroughly enjoys every single one of them and wants a gigantic party every time.  This year he wrote an invitation letter to Grammy and Papu to come to his birthday party.  About a week before the "big day" he received a letter from Ohio that if it was ok with mom and dad that Grammy and Papu would love to come!  He was so excited and happy.  He could hardly contain himself! It is so hard to throw him a proper party with friends from school and the neighborhood because of my health situation.  It is iffy wether or not I will feel well enough to organize that kind of a party.  We have to have "impromptu" gatherings because to plan anything in advance is foolish.  I am in the hospital every other month it seems, and my chemotherapy always seems to come at a bad time.  I am not sure when there is a good time for chemo, but, you know...

 

Daddy, Meg and I got everything ready.  We had purchased a few gifts before hand.  I did not want to disappoint Drew because he did not get his big 'to do' but he did have his grammy and papu.  Meg and I went to the dollar store and picked up a lot of little things, party favors, gifts, etc.  We had also gone to Target to pick up some clearance items.  Drew requested a Pinada this year, so we found one of those, too.  Needless to say, that it did not turn out the way Drew wanted it to exactly with all of his classmates and neighborhood friends, but it was a great shindig if I do say so myself.  Grammy and Papu won the best gift prize, however, with a game for Drew's Nintendo DS. It is a wonderful and powerful thing to see such happiness in your child's eyes.  I wish that I could give each of my children their hearts dreams every time, but I can't.  I hope that when they are completely grown that they understand I gave them everything I could...  I love them, I love this family we have together more than I can say.  I wish this cancer would just go away and leave us alone.  But it doesn't and I just have to do my best...