Coffee May Prevent Dementia

 Good news to all of us who love our Coffee. I knew there was a reason, and for the record Mom drank some coffee but she never was "A coffee drinker"

 I posted some links to articles that will prove I'm not just saying this because I love my coffee. Even if it is what gives me a reason to get out of bed in the morning, and what gives me that afternoon pickup instead of a nap and even though I enjoy that last cup after supper as a social time with my husband and my kids.

  Now I have scientific evidence.....

  Maybe we don't know for sure, but at least we can feel great about drinking our coffee because, you know, it might!


 Coffee Strong Enough to Ward Off Dementia


5 Diseases Your Morning Coffee Can Prevent

Facing Giants

  In church on Sunday, the pastor got up to preach the message, but before he started he called on my son....."____________(I won't say which son for the sake of...oh whatever :) anyway the pastor asked, "What was my message about last Sunday?"

  Talk about being put on the spot! I don't have to tell you that his Mom was squirming. After he admitted that he couldn't remember, the pastor opened it up to anyone....What did he preach about the Sunday before?"
 Would you believe no one knew? Nobody, me included....could answer the question.

  Can you imagine how exasperating that must be for a pastor who dedicates most of the day before and spends hours in prayer only to find no one remembers!

I figured out from having kids why Jesus said so many times,"He that hath ears to hear, let him hear"

 Well the truth is we are forgetful people and sometimes inattentive. But he did preach a good message about facing the giants in our life. He used the story of David and Goliath. I was impressed by a few things because I have a GIANT in my life, but I am not telling what it is until I tell you the good stuff first.

1. The odds are against me. Meaning the giant is bigger than I am and I have no hope of winning unless God intervenes.

 2.  I need to be God-focused.Not enemy focused. Yay! I really like this one because when I see God I get REALLY HAPPY and when I see the face of the enemy it's scary and looks too big.

 3.David had only two important questions that I need to be asking as well. WHO IS THIS UNCIRCUMCISED PHILISTINE THAT DEFIES THE ARMIES OF THE LIVING GOD? and WHO IS ON GOD'S SIDE? David made two statements that need to be in my heart and mouth as well. "THE LORD WILL DELIVER ME." and "I COME TO YOU IN THE NAME OF THE LORD OF HOSTS, THIS DAY WILL THE LORD DELIVER YOU INTO MY HAND."

4. David referenced God 9 times and the Giant 2 times in that story, In order to win the battle I can focus on God without fear. I don't have to cower in front of the enemy because God fights along with me. He makes my aim accurate, he reaches out and steadies my shield of faith when it begins to slip. He whispers in my ear and lets me know that his victory is sure and that there are more with me than with the enemy.

5. DO NOT RETREAT! I really liked this one. DO NOT RETREAT! I do remember one thing from the Sunday before. One of the families at church had a new baby, a girl after four boys. The Dad was on for devotions, but he forgot. So he did an impromto reading of Eph 6. That part stuck in my mind because I noticed something....

                                                         The Whole Armor of God

10 Finally, my brethren,be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,


 I noticed that what we need to do is  TAKE, STAND and PRAY . Everything else is about God, His Power, His Armor  It makes the battle so much easier when we realize that the BATTLE IS THE LORD'S.

   So now, what is this giant that I am facing? It is fear of the future, and about Mom. How long will Mom need care? Is she going to be bedfast? At all? A long time? A short time? What if something happens to Dad like it did before? 

  Everyone has giants that they face from time to time in their life. I have seen many crumble, so I know that God will fight this battle with me. I know he has it all taken care of.  I love to focas on God for he is always faithful, always the conquering king, always more powerful than any enemy that comes against us. So even though I find myself in the valley of the unknown I will fear no evil.

  We have so much to be thankful for. Mom is very easy to care for. She is mild and mostly happy. I mentioned before that Angie is good at getting her to respond. Today my Dad said he would like Apple Crisp and Angie asked Mom if she wants some. She nodded her head, than Angie asked her who should make it, herself or me. Mom points at Angie indicating she should. Angie gets a big laugh out of that and I'm secretly rejoicing because I'm too busy and Angie likes to cook better than I do :)

A picture we took on one of Mom's good days. Angie wanted to make her look as close to normal as we could. She looks really good here.

                                                                Kristin with Grandma

Time Changes Things

  Mom is still being very happy most of the time. Angie and I were there today for her shower. She was looking kind of mad and kicking the water (like a kid). We asked her if she is mad and then she looked at us very intently and smiled. Like she knew she really shouldn't be mad at us.

  She still gets out a word or two sometimes. Last time I was there I told her that Uncle Earl had called me. She worked really hard and managed to say EE A R L.

  Yesterday was my birthday. Not that it matters so much that it was my birthday but  it holds a little note of sadness for me. Mom always remembered Birthdays. She always had a gift waiting. The last birthday gift she gave me was bath towels.

   Last year was the first time in 48 years that she didn't remember. So this year my Dad called to wish me a Happy Birthday for the first time that I can remember. I guess he's taking Mom's place.

Thanks to Uncle Earl we get another post tonight!

    On Saturday I got a call from Uncle Earl, just checking in to see if I was still living and breathing, because I haven't been here since Oct 4th. I have to admit it has been a really busy time and since Mom has been behaving pretty well it was easy to let it slide. But I really don't want to. Although I have been having way too much fun with my Grandchildren :) I love being a Grandma!

   Here is a song for you Grandparents out there.

  

   So now the news on Mom. She has been so good. Seems mostly happy. Her biggest hangup is she hates to have her toenails and fingernails clipped and will put up a huge fuss. One time I tried to cut her toenails I ended up straddling her leg and that put me in a precarious position that she immediately took advantage of. I found myself flying across the room. So that was the last time I tried that. I'm learning a lot about what not to do.

    Her not cooperating with trimming the nails brought her some grief though. One evening she was planning to try to get out the door and fell in the process. She tore her big toe nail and she is going to lose it. She did submit to a trimming then. Not sure how that went because my Dad did it. I just saw it was much better. My Dad asked me to do her fingernails then too, I had to reassure her over and over that it was not going to hurt and I would be extremely careful. So we got that job done and everyone is happy now.

    Hope you enjoy the song and don't forget to thank God that you still have your mind and can trim your own toenails!

Days Go By

Mom was having a more rational day when we went to give her a shower last time. When we walked in my Dad said, "Here comes the team." That felt good, knowing I'm not alone in this! ....... Angie is always very interactive with Mom. She got her to say her (Angies) name and then we exclaimed that Mom was talking and Mom manages to say "talking" in PA Dutch. So that was really cool........... On Sat. I took my turn with Mom. I decided weather was too nice to stay inside all day. So I got her in the van and we took off. I noticed Mom waved at all the houses as we drobe by. There was no one to be seen. She just waved. Being friendly I guess. We picked up Angie and then my 2 girls and headed into town for a donut. Mom loved her donut. When she finishedhers she promtly took the other half of mine and ate it. Then she took the coffee right out of my hannd and drank that too. I was telling my daughter about how Grandmas mind just ain't right no more. She would have never done that before. To which my daughter responded with, "That sounds just like something my Mom would do.She knows what she's doing.Lol!

Update

 I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted here. I have been so busy! But I will give you all a quick update.

  Mom has been doing" pretty good for the shape she is in! " :)  Quote from Grandma Kropf. I still remember Grandma's classic expressions. After she took the walk to the bathroom and back to her chair she would always breathe a huge sigh of relief and say," Whew!, That's work."   Another saying was, "This old lady ain't what she used to be."

  But back to Mom now...... She has a good attitude. Usually is happy unless she senses that someone, (like my Dad) is sad and then she gets concerned and sad too. But generally speaking, she seems content except for the times she gets in her head that she needs to go somewhere.

  LaRita stayed with Mom while the rest of us went to Dolan's and Dominique's wedding. I still need to get a report from her on how that went.

 So just want you all to know, we are still here very much alive. To Uncle Earl, I took your cd to Mom now. She seemed to enjoy the music, but I couldn't tell if she recognized it. I told some of you that I don't know if Mom knows me from anyone else, she did however try to say my name on Monday when we were there and nodded her head when I asked her if LaRita stayed with her the Saturday before. So, you never know......

Still Here

    I know I'm very overdue to post again. August was very busy for us getting ready for Marc and Hannah's wedding. So basically Mom got her shower twice a week and we filled in with meals here and there for the freezer.

  So even though things got done my mind has been really tied up with other things. The wedding is over and they are on their honeymoon enjoying life.....Marc told us to leave them alone and said he planned to throw his phone in the ocean. So, in spite of the fact that home seems very empty with life busy as it is I managed to keep my nose out of their business, until last night I thought surely we should know they are still alive so I sent him a private message on FB. Just a smile with a question mark. I got a thumbs up back so now I'm happy :)

  I have been up to my ears in canning as well. 30 qt. of Green Beans on Tues. plus 17 jars of Salsa. Today we did 24 jars of Salsa and tomorrow we will do sauce for Anna and I both. I love fall when it comes to rain with the perfect cool temperature and then I love the Pumpkin Pies, Pumpkin Cheesecake Bread and Apple Pies and COFFEE!

   Fall is beautiful. But I really don't like October anymore. The sun shines warm on the South side of the house in the afternoon and the Box Elder bugs, Asian Beetles and Wasps come out in droves and congregate there. So while I love September I dread October. It seems like Summer takes it's last breath and tries hard to stay, and calls all the bugs for their last rendezvous before they die. 

                     Aunt Sue emailed a few pics of Mom and her brothers I want to share with you all.

                              Mom sorting through Grandma Kropf's things after she passed away.

                                                        Uncle Earl, Uncle Les and Mom

  


  Angie and I went to the folks this morning to give Mom her shower. Pop told us then that Mom had a bad night again last night. She didn't sleep well and he was awake quite a bit but fell asleep and when he woke up she was missing. He found her outside on the porch. She had fallen and couldn't get back up.

  After her shower Angie got her all dressed up in one of her best dresses. Trying to make her look like she used to. I tried very hard to comb her hair like she always did. She did look very good. But then it was hard on my Dad to see her looking "normal" when she isn't. EllaMae came down and took a picture of Mom all dressed up so as soon as she gets that emailed to me I will post it for you.

  After a talk with Darwin, we decided for a quick fix for Mom's wandering, we could just scoot their heavy couch in front of the living room door so that Mom can't get out that way. The other door is secure. That way Pop can at least get a good nights rest knowing that she cannot get out of the house. So this evening my boys and I ran over and took care of that. All doors secure. It's a good feeling. I am concerned about my Dad and how long he can hold up with the stress of caring for Mom.