San Antonio

The kids are loving summer, and even though all they seem to do is sit around and eat, they're really enjoying the time off from school (so am I!). We had Vacation Bible School at the end of June, and Gabriel was able to go for the first time. He cried a bit the first day I dropped him off, but he loved it, and said, "Mommy, I go back...I had fun!  Our sweet angel is getting so big!
We made a weekend trip to San Antonio 2 weeks ago to see my grandparents. For the first time, we got two hotel rooms adjacent to each other, and I must say, it was great to have our own space with Theresa while the older kids had a whole room to themselves. We got the rooms at aloft, and it was very nice, very contemporary, and resonable thanks to Hotwire.
It was the first time my Grandparents had met Theresa. Unfortunately, Grandma fell and broke her hip about a month ago. She is recovering amazingly well (the nurse say she is such a trooper) and is able to do her physical therapy to stay as mobile as possible.  Grandpa is about the same...he cannot remember things from day to day, but can make decent conversation and knows who we are.  He looks so much better than the trip I took last summer, not long after he got out of the hospital.  I pray God will grant them a little more time.

Grandpa and Grandma's room is pretty small, so David would take the older ones out after 10-15 minutes.  That was as long as Gabriel would last.   They'd go for a walk outside or to the lounge area just outside the Health Center, where there was more room for an active toddler.  But overall, the kids behaved very well.  Sometimes I worry that seeing their great-grandparents in essentially a hospital room would scare them, but I also want them to understand that growing old doesn't mean we love people any less, and they are still beautiful souls, even though their bodies are fading. 

I got a really close look at Grandma this visit.  She is bend over to one side, and can only go from her chair to the bed, but her smile was just the same, and she still has the twinkle in her eye.   I held her hand..it seemed so frail, the skin so paper thin...I could see every vein and bone.  She also had numerous bruises all over her, in various stages of healing.  It was hard to hold back the tears at one point when she told me she was sorry I had to see her under these circumstances.  But I said she had no reason to be sorry at all, and we loved her and wanted to come see her no matter what.  She said she loved me too.  It chokes me up just remembering her words again. 

Both Grandpa and Grandma were both so glad we came to visit.  Theresa was a bit of a celebrity...every nurse stopped us and wanted to hold her.  I am sure infants are a rare sight in a nursing home.  So our baby girl was passed around like a football, and she didn't mind one bit, bless her heart.  Grandpa held her for a minute while I got the pictures, and Grandma played with her toes and said she looked just like her Daddy (which is very true).  Grandma was so frail, I was afraid Thersa would bruise her if I put her on her great-grandma's lap, so that's why in the picture she's off to the side of the chair.  We were able to talk until Theresa grew tired, and started to fuss, so we left and got lunch.  We went back to the hotel and got changed for Mass, and went back to the Health Center.  It's very fortunate they have a chapel right on the grounds and a local priest comes and says Mass for the residents.  So we met up with Grandpa for Mass.  After that, we left to get dinner, then back to the hotel...the kids hit the pool, and finally, got to bed.

The next morning, we paid my grandparents one more visit before heading to the Riverwalk and taking one of the riverboat tours.  The kids hadn't gone up until this point, and they loved it, even though it was hot. I had my hands full holding the baby, so I handed the camera to Rebecca, and she took all of these pictures.  I was really impressed...she got some great shots...check it out. :-)

 We walked by the Alamo but didn't go in; the line was a mile long, and we knew the kids wouldn't last in the heat.  We got a picture outside though, amongst a million other people (seriously...it seemed very crowded for a holiday weekend). 

Lunch was at Fundruckers (so glad I saw that place before the kids talked us into McDonalds!), and then we took the kids to El Mercado...a Mexican market David and I had been to before.  The kids talked Dad into buying them guitars (of course!), and I bought another handpainted dish from one of my favorite vendors.  I'm getting to the point where I need bigger bowls to serve dinner with...maybe because our kids are eating more than ever?

After the market, we drove back home to Houston.  Theresa did amazingly well on the drive...she barely fussed on the way to San Antonio, and only cried when we were 1/2 an hour from home, and I knew she was getting hungry.  It was a long weekend for 5 kids, but I am truly thankful we were able to spend precious time with my grandparents.  Only God knows how much longer we will have them with us.