October 19, 2013

Relaxing Family Fun

October 19, 2013

David and I stayed up late talking the evening they arrived.  Everyone slept late - except me.  I got up early and started baking Ron's birthday cake which is his favorite: German Chocolate.  I make it from scratch and have been doing this for his birthday for over 45 years.  I am so glad it is his favorite, because it has become my favorite, too.

It was 9:00 before anyone else was up and later than that before the majority were up.  Once everyone was up, Ron picked up Shipley Donuts for breakfast and it didn't seem like long after that before it was time for lunch.  During the morning, once I had finished baking the cake, I took care of the ponds and feeders in the yard after noting some warblers on the waterfall.  What a delight to spot a new bird on the waterfall and as an added bonus, he is so colorful!

This beautiful little bird is a Northern Parula.  I hope he remembers where we live and will continue to visit in years to come.  There was a delightful variety of birds in the yard including the Wilson's Warbler pair, two budgies, a Canada Warbler, a Yellow-breasted Chat, and two little warblers I didn't identify, as well as the ducks, sparrows, Golden-fronted Woodpeckers, assorted doves, and a host of hummingbirds.

 

 

Diana spent the morning on the computer doing some work for school and taking occasional breaks to do some crochet work that she does so well.  David and Ron went to visit Ron's mom. 

After lunch, it was time to watch the Aggie football game.  It was a long, hard-fought game, but in the end, the clock ran out for the Aggies and they lost by a narrow margin.  By the time the game was over, we were very late to supper at Jeff and Barb's.  I watched much of the game on the kitchen TV as I baked daughter-in-law Barbara's birthday cake.  Barb's birthday is Sunday.

Our grandson Jacob wanted to make a cake for Ron's birthday, so we had lots of desserts.  The evening was fun-filled.

 

It was also filled with LOTS of laughter and "sounds" with all the kids gathered together.  There were times that the sound sensors in my brain were on overload.  There were piano duets:

Teasing, tickling, dancing, chasing, giggles...

 

 

But at times the sounds were all a little overwhelming to me.

 

I am so thankful that I have my Cochlear Implant, so that my day wasn't spent just watching people's mouths move with no sounds reaching my ears, but there were times I wished it could better deal with the myriad of assorted sounds coming all at once.  Hopefully continued practice will help my brain deal with it.  I have been told a second implant would help a lot, but Medicare will only pay for one and the cost of a second is not feasible.

 

Ron and I came home before too late, and left David and Diana and the kids to have time to visit with Jeff and Barb.  I was asleep by the time they got home.