Walker Christmas 2013

 Our Family picture (something the big guys go crazy about- ha!) this year with-

 front row:  me holding Katie Dawn, and Dana

second row:  William, Annette, our daughter, Dawn, and husband, Randy, son, Dwight, with Case in front of  him.

 Our grand-kids, who are growing up so fast: Annette holding Katie Dawn, Case, and William

Christmas is: sister time and discovering that those fancy wrapped Christmas packages hold fun toys..,

 getting distracted with all the noise and whirl of activity around you..,

 

finding out what is inside the big present.., 

excitement and joy on the face of your grandson..,

 modeling time with a new hoodie 

(Is Uncle Dwight cool or what?) ..,

 sticky hands and faces..,

cousin time exploring a new book.., 

 and watching a new mommy take care of her baby!

Christmas 2012

Christmas is:

Family Time!

The Walker family  front row left to right:

William, Dorcas holding Katie Dawn, Dana, and Annette

Back row left to right:

Dawn, Randy, and Dwight holding Case

A baby's 1st Christmas..,

new toys,

fun surprises,

new creativity for our budding artist,

getting help reading a clue to find the next present,

excitement,

sister time,

reminding adults that boxes are just as exciting as the gift inside,

new discoveries,

and grandma time.

But most of all learning about when Jesus was born..,

and experiencing the wonder of Christmas through a baby's finger tips,

while getting to play with all the cousins.

Brand new granddaugher, baby dedication, and grandkids.

It has been a beautiful spring up here in the mountains of Tennessee this year. The flowers have been so colorful and vivid despite fluctuating temperatures.

 

March 2nd tiny Miss Katie Dawn was added to our family weighing 7 lbs, 8 oz, and 18 inches long.

 

Here is Randy and Dawn with their little angel in the Baptist Hospital in Nashville. 

 

Rev. Hamaker (Dawn & Randy's pastor) giving the dedication prayer. 

 

Randy, Dawn, Annette, and William with Katie Dawn at the baby dedication. 

 

Sweet little angel! 

 

William reading to Case on a recent weekend visit. 

 

Annette holding her baby sister.  She is such a good little mommy to Katie Dawn.

Christmas With A Cast

A week and a half before Christmas I fell and pushed my left elbow out of joint ending up with a cast on my arm. Dawn came up and spent the week before Christmas helping me get combed and dressed, doing housework, and wrapping my Christmas presents. Despite what a first seemed like a huge disaster, it all worked out into a blessing as we got to be with our grandkids a whole week instead of a couple of days like planned. Here are some pictures of our Christmas.


Case helping Grandpa open a Christmas present.

Case helping me open one of my gifts.

The fellows (Dwight & Randy) show off one of their gifts.

Dana helping Case with one of his gifts.

The big smile says it all. William was so excited to get a real tool set like his dad's.

Matching hats and scaves that I crocheted for Annette and her doll.

Best buddies- William and Case with the hats and scarf that I crocheted for them.

Summer Happenings

On a hot summer weekend Randy & Dawn came up so that Randy could help Dwight fix the hole in the workshop roof that had been struck by lightning. At first Dana managed to stay on the ground,


although it kept him busy trying to tell the guys on the roof how to do it. The fellows had strict orders not to let Dana on the roof!

Before I knew it Dana had climbed up a ladder to "help" the guys.

Meanwhile Annette and William had fun up on the roof as well. Then I had William climb up my pear tree to help shake out some pears for me that I couldn't reach.

After lunch Dana and Dawn took a nap (Dana was totally exhausted from the morning's work and Dawn was still in the early stages of her pregnancy.) While they slept the guys and I burned some brush and then we roasted marshmallows on the fire with the grandkids. What fun!


One weekend recently Dwight brought Case up to the house to visit. We hadn't seen Case for several months. He had grown so much.



Wake up, Papa! Let's play!!!



Case had fun making cookies and helping Grandma wash the dishes. Case is such a busy little boy- continual action. He managed to keep us three adults on our toes the entire weekend. We loved having Case with us again.

Our 35th Anniversary

The celebration of our 35th anniversary this year was bitter sweet- one that put me into an emotional tailspin this past June. We planned to go out to eat early in the week while Dana was down in Cookeville seeing the cardiologist the week of our anniversary. Dana had been having mini strokes, but it wasn't until after Dana was away from the house that it really struck me how bad the latest one had hit him.

When we came out of the doctor's office and was walking to our car, Dana asked me where I was going, and then when I opened up our car door he asked, "Is this our car?" To my horror I realized that Dana didn't recognize our car that we had for several years. Then on the way to the restaurant where we planned to eat, Dana started giving me mixed up directions- making me more confused as before this Dana knew the streets of Cookeville like the back of his hand having driven them so much taking people to the doctor and hospital- so I would automatically do what he said only to realize that we missed a major turn really stressing me out as I still am not used to driving in a lot of traffic.

Then when we got to the restaurant, Dana acted disoriented and confused- something that really put me into a tailspin as the restaurant we had chosen was one we often went to whenever we went out to eat over the years traveling. I tried not to hover over Dana as he already had lost so much control of his life so I let him go up to the food bar by himself keeping one eye on him to make sure that he would be able to find our table while I tried to eat and act like nothing out of the ordinary was happening. After grabbing a plate for Dana whenever he went up to the food bar as he would forget, our waitress asked me how she could help. I briefly told her the situation and she told me to sit and eat while she would watch over Dana. Dana was so pleased to do something by himself that I didn't want to ruin it for him. Seeing how truly helpless and confused Dana had become was heartbreaking. It was a relief to me when we finally headed back home.

Dana loved to buy me roses for our anniversary, but after our 25th anniversary I told Dana to wait and not buy me any more roses until our 50th. Over our anniversary meal when I mentioned how many years we had left until our 50th one, Dana looked at me very seriously and said that he would never live to our 50th wedding anniversary like we both had promised each other to do when we were married.

A couple of days later, when Dana was feeling more like himself, he called the local florist and ordered thirty-five roses for me for Saturday on our anniversary. When Dana came and told me I was so shocked- battling my dismay by covering it up with a big smile for Dana- knowing that the reason Dana had ordered me roses this year was to make sure I would have roses because he felt he wouldn't be alive later.

Saturday feeling like an emotional wreck and teary eyed, I drove to town to pick up my roses and pay for them as Dana couldn't drive. The roses were so beautiful! It was such a romantic gesture and one that Dana loved to do, yet I feverently hoped that these would not be the last flowers that I would get from Dana. I wore my 25th anniversary dress that Sunday and had Dwight take a picture of me with the roses while Dana beamed so proud of himself.

Today Dana doesn't remember anything about going out to eat for our anniversary- that evening after we got home Dana couldn't remember what we had done that day. But when I ask Dana if he remembers anything about our anniversary he remembers the roses. With his increasingly loss of memory as long as Dana can remember the roses and who I am, I remain hopeful.