Grandma's Diary - While Shoji was in NJ

Thurs. 3/11 : Drove through the rain and wore sun glasses to help me see ; they worked great. It was raining heavy . Arrived around 5:30 p.m. Priya and Stephen were waiting to warmly greet me. So wonderful to see them. Ryan got pizza for supper. Played several games of candy land before bedtime. Visited with Ryan and Shoji and got info on house/school routine ect.

Fri. 3/12: Shoji left at 6:30 for the airport. Helped Priya get ready for school. We all walked her to the bus. Ryan left for the church. Stephen and I played more games and some Thomas train. I picked Priya up at the bus. Stephen waited at home. Weather was cool and cloudy. Cooked mac and cheese for lunch with peas and corn--Stephen helped. Watched some howdy doody. Ry home early. We fried fish and made some sweet potatoes, salad . Kids went to bed
about 7:30. Taking turns who starts out in Mommy and Daddy's bed.

Sat. 3/13: Rainy and cool this morning but everyone in good spirits. We all went to get new wipers on my car. Went to Wendy's for lunch. Stopped and got crickets too. Ry went into the church around 2. We played games and then got ready for 5 p.m. church. kids had sandwiches and fruit. Good church service--about things being invented thru the centuries and how God has known all things and allowed this knowledge at just the right time in history. We have a great all knowing , all powerful, all present Lord and he knows each one of us personally. So awesome and amazing. Driving home from church, we followed Ry in the van and Priya kept her eye on the van. She said "Daddy coasts so he can save the brakes" - cute or what! Made some salads and snacks then to bed.

Sun. 3/14: slept a little later. Ate breakfast and played . time goes fast. love to hear Stephen say, "let me tell you something" . Had dinner at the Pin Stripes. So good . Kids got the buffet free. Sun is shining and getting more like spring now, warmer too. Went to Cabelas with a coin flip heads one. Priya was hoping for tails. (: Enjoyed seeing all the animals ect. Driving home noticed a note on the car thinking it was advertising , didn't look at it til later when I ran to Walgreens for bubble gum. The note said someone had hit the right rear fender. Not a bad dent but noticeable. Ryan spent an hour with the Hoffman Estate police department taking care of the report ect. Thanks Ry. Called Dad and told him and he called Dave ect. I think maybe the cute Latino family we saw in Cabelas by the fish tanks were the ones who opened their door and hit my car. I hope this won't be a hardship for them. What lesson here Lord? (got milk and good deal on pizza at Walgreens on way home from Cabelus.) Weather getting very spring like now. Praying for "Appacha" (sp) everyday. Missing Shoji. The bubble gum wasn't the best for bubbles, will try another brand. Priya is getting good at blowing bubbles. This was a fun day.

Mon. 3/15 Ryan took Pri to the bus. He left for work. Played with Stephen, likes the 'cars ' and Thomas train. Had Mac and cheese for lunch. I think we went to the park this afternoon, not for sure. Had Shoji's chicken for supper with rice and salad. yum .

Tues. 3/16 : Sunny and warm today. Ry took Pri to bus. Stephen and I played until time to pick up Priya. Had chicken nuggets for lunch and p&j sandwiches. Went to park with the bikes. (not yesterday). Shoji called and said the power was back on there and the weather was very nice too. Her Dad in good spirits. Kids played with Jaden and Samuel outside. Ry came home about 3 or so and I went to Butura for some fruit and milk. Grilled bison burgers , fried some boiled potatoes and had strawberry spinach salad and Shoji's good dress-ing , very good. Priya does her homework each day. I think it is pretty challenging for a 5 year old. Bless her. Kids go to bed early. Special to read with them and lay by them 'a couple minutes'. Such sweeties.

Wed. 3/17
Ry took Priya to the bus. It's another nice spring day , 60 degrees. After lunch(mac and cheese with corn) we went to the store in the van (Jewell) . Got some St. Patrick's day cup cakes. Priya's school really had the kids into St. Patty's day. She was excited to make it special for Daddy too. Ry home about 7 p.m. Matt Piercy took the kids on a bike ride and they loved it. We had chicken, rice and dressing for supper and cupcakes.

Thurs. 3/18
Pri off to school with Ryan. This morning Stephen and I made banana muffins and stirred up some bran muffins. didn't have buttermilk so made sour milk with lemon juice. Deegs was really into stirring everything up, lining the muffin cups ect. He has been helping make his own oatmeal too in the morning. Had strawberries in it today . Good eater. Had hotdogs for lunch. Shoji called and we all talked with her. Pri said" my mom makes the best mac and cheese, she uses butter." Went to the park, a little breezy and cool today. told them the old north wind was getting ready to send some more snow. they pondered this. Stephen's bike pedal got stuck so pushed him on his bike. Had chinese food for supper. Kids ate good. Last nite to tuck them in bed. They say the sweetest prayers , bedtime is good visiting time. I went to Target to look for scooters , found them.

Fri 3/19
Ry took Pri to the bus.. Deegs made oatmeal , said "do we make sour milk"? cute. He remembered from the muffin making. Precious boy We finished baking the bran muffins.
Ry went and got a hair cut. I packed and got ready to go. It is a gorgeous day at 60 degrees. We all went to meet Pri at the bus. They got on their scooters and were having great fun.
By the time I got to the Dells, it was 47 degrees and at Baldwin it was 37 degrees. Wow what a change. The old north wind is blowing.

Sat. 3/20
Ry called , they had snow on the ground. That old north wind did it.

Shoji's Dad's Health Condition

After a whole month of being sick, a trip to the ER and being hospitalized twice for a total of 14 days so far, the doctor is leaning toward the diagnosis of:

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy

You can read more about it here:
https://health.google.com/health/ref/Chronic+inflammatory+polyneuropathy He will be starting a plasma treatment tomorrow which will keep him in the hospital for probably another 10 days. We are happy to have some sort of determination and hoping that the healing process will not be complicated by anything that might be underlying this. Just in the last 2 days, he has lost all strength in his legs and we are hoping he would be able to recover quickly and fully. He has not lost any hope or courage through this whole process except maybe yesterday when he couldn't get himself out of bed. He is in the right place and in the right hands. His attitude and faith has been amazing and he is striving to get the "best patient award" by not bothering the staff if at all possible lest he be seen as complaining. Please continue to pray for his full recovery and for his spirit. Thanks for all your support, concerns and prayers to all of us expressed in many different ways.

Shoji & Ryan