So sorry this has taken me soooo long to get on and update what has been going on in the Stowers family lately. I had planned to finally get this post up right after we returned from Indiana at the end of May, but until now the new blogger format was not letting me do a new post. So finally blogger is working for me and I have a lot of work to do in updating our blog. I will do one post at a time over the next few days here.
For those that don't know, my grandma Wilder is 94 years old and lives in southern Indiana. The last time we had seen her in person was during a two week stay she had with my Aunt Betty here in Chicagoland about three years ago I think. So we looked for an opportunity to go travel to visit her and Memorial Weekend was open. Phil had lots of grading to do as it was the last weekend of his school year, so me and the kids and my mom and Aunt Betty made the 6 hour roadtrip to Indiana. It really was a fun time together!
This was of course the first meeting of Chun Le and great grandma. Here is a photo taken when we first came to her room on Saturday night.
It was neat to see how much Chun Le enjoyed being with great grandma. She seemed very comfortable being in the nursing home environment and never hesitated to just go sit on the bed next to great grandma or hold her hand. One afternoon when we took a walk with great grandma down the halls, my mom was pushing the wheelchair and Chun Le came alongside the wheelchair and placed her hand on great grandma's and walked along with her. I got that on video but did not have the digital camera with me for that moment. It was so sweet. :) Chun Le's orphange in China shared their building with a nursing home, so we wonder if she and the other children maybe made regular visits to the older people there and this setting was just "natural" for her. Rachel and Isaac also enjoyed being wtih great grandma, although for them seeing her in a much weaker and frail condition than they remember her was a bit more "shocking". We all thoroughly enjoyed our time with her and time with Aunt Mary Lou and Aunt Doris who live in the same town as great grandma.
Another highlight of the roadtrip for the kids was our hotel stay while we were there for two nights. My mom stayed with me and the kids at the hotel. All three really enjoyed the pool and we were in it a bit each day. None of the kids can swim yet, but they were working on being more "brave". Rachel even jumped into the 5 ft deep end a few times and let me catch her when she came up--all without her water wings on--this was a big step for her. Isaac got to the point that he would swim around in his puddle jumper floaties on his own without me holding him--a very big accomplishment for him as well! This was Chun Le's first time in a pool (since she has been with us at least). The first night we were there the pool was crowded with kids and lots of splashing/kicking going on around her so she did not want to be held for long and preferred to watch us from the side. The next day when it was not busy, she began to really enjoy being carried around and even spent time climbing up and down the stairs in the shallow end with us standing right next to her of course. It seems like she will enjoy water and swimming as she gets opportunities to be in a pool more often. Here is some of our hotel pool fun:
One other neat thing that me and the kids got to be a part of on our trip was placing flowers on the gravesites of several relatives. This is a tradition that my grandma did each year that she was able, so Aunt Betty and Aunt Mary Lou, my mom and the kids and I were able to do this for her this year.
Here are a couple of last photos of our special Memorial Weekend 2012 roadtrip to be with great grandma. It really was special to have time with my grandma, my mom and aunts and for the kids to get to know these wonderful family members as well!
It was neat to see how much Chun Le enjoyed being with great grandma. She seemed very comfortable being in the nursing home environment and never hesitated to just go sit on the bed next to great grandma or hold her hand. One afternoon when we took a walk with great grandma down the halls, my mom was pushing the wheelchair and Chun Le came alongside the wheelchair and placed her hand on great grandma's and walked along with her. I got that on video but did not have the digital camera with me for that moment. It was so sweet. :) Chun Le's orphange in China shared their building with a nursing home, so we wonder if she and the other children maybe made regular visits to the older people there and this setting was just "natural" for her. Rachel and Isaac also enjoyed being wtih great grandma, although for them seeing her in a much weaker and frail condition than they remember her was a bit more "shocking". We all thoroughly enjoyed our time with her and time with Aunt Mary Lou and Aunt Doris who live in the same town as great grandma.
Another highlight of the roadtrip for the kids was our hotel stay while we were there for two nights. My mom stayed with me and the kids at the hotel. All three really enjoyed the pool and we were in it a bit each day. None of the kids can swim yet, but they were working on being more "brave". Rachel even jumped into the 5 ft deep end a few times and let me catch her when she came up--all without her water wings on--this was a big step for her. Isaac got to the point that he would swim around in his puddle jumper floaties on his own without me holding him--a very big accomplishment for him as well! This was Chun Le's first time in a pool (since she has been with us at least). The first night we were there the pool was crowded with kids and lots of splashing/kicking going on around her so she did not want to be held for long and preferred to watch us from the side. The next day when it was not busy, she began to really enjoy being carried around and even spent time climbing up and down the stairs in the shallow end with us standing right next to her of course. It seems like she will enjoy water and swimming as she gets opportunities to be in a pool more often. Here is some of our hotel pool fun:
One other neat thing that me and the kids got to be a part of on our trip was placing flowers on the gravesites of several relatives. This is a tradition that my grandma did each year that she was able, so Aunt Betty and Aunt Mary Lou, my mom and the kids and I were able to do this for her this year. 
Here are a couple of last photos of our special Memorial Weekend 2012 roadtrip to be with great grandma. It really was special to have time with my grandma, my mom and aunts and for the kids to get to know these wonderful family members as well!
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