so lets catch up in the life of one Crystal Nichole Ontis....
my grandpa seems to be doing well again...he is lucid again and seems to know everyone just fine. must have been the meds he was on and now isnt. his insurance has run out though and we are fighting like mad to get him some medicade to help pick up the bill at the home...he's getting a little physical therepy on his hip, not as much as he should though since the insurance is gone.
kaila won her art contest and banner contest which is a huge thing for her...cant even begin to say how proud we are!!
bradley turned 8 and we had a nice family weekend with him. birthday weekends are very special here since the kids arnt here all the time the whole weekend is theirs...whatever they want to eat for dinner, they pick out their cake, whatever games they want to play or tv they want to watch and to make them feel super special the rest of the family pitches in to do their chores. i hope bradley felt as special as he is to us. we love that little guy!!
elizabeth...she has been amazing me left and right lately...she is growing so fast and talking so well. she recognizes her name now adn is getting to where she understands a little that others have the same name...elizabeth mcfarlen is a morning anchor on the Today show and when liz hears her name she says "no i elizabeth" and i explain so is she...ive never seen a two year old so into reading too. i swear we have read each of her books 100 times!!! she has a whole book shelf all to herself and her books and not only book but magazines too...she will sit in a chair with her "mickey" (blanky) and read a magazine from cover to cover...she loves my parenting and kaila's oriental trading magazines the best! on road trips as long as there are books in the car she is all set!!
next week is spring break for kaila and we are thinking of going to my sisters house!!! we were thinking of going to kalamazoo but todd really wants to hook up with some of his new found brothers and sisters in the detroit area now that he has a couple days to do so. he has been so busy lately and gone a lot...it will be nice to reconnect with family and ours to boot!!
i love my sister cynthia!! she is the best...not only does she resemble our mother so when i see her i get a little memory burst but she loves todd and our kids with a huge, open, loving heart!! she has welcomed him and bradley with open arms and that is AWSOME!!! wish i could say that for his family about us...oh well though...we have the zellers and vaughns on that side...thats all we need!!
i hope to see my lil sister hannah too that week, not sure though she may be going to disney world with a friend...this girl goes EVERYWHERE!! she goes to cedar point at least like 3 times a year and florida all the time too...can i say JELOUS...yup!! i just did!! lol but if she doesnt go i am definelty fitting in some hannah time becuase i miss her so much too...family is everything people remember that...
well thats the latest...till next time my "followers" have a great week!!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
what a gal!
my daughter is so awsome!!! kaila is 10 years old and in the 4th grade at clare primary school. she recently entered two different art contests and won a place in both!! the first was a contest for the local Big Brothers Big Sisters organization, the contest theme was happy and she drew a little girl jumping for joy because she just scored a goal at her soccer game...kaila worked so hard on it and it certainly showed when i got the call that she had won.
the second contest was a banner contest. every spring/summer season the city of mt. pleasant hangs banners from the light posts all through town displaying local artwork...kaila also won a spot on a post for her entered banner...she gets to go to the park every saturday and work on painting it with a special paint. she is super excited about it all!!
so she is going to have a banner displayed and her "happy" drawing went up for auction last night. it sold for 60$!! not too shabby for her first piece of art!! i will get it scanned on here soon so everyone can share!!
it was a great night for all of us last night, a little family gathering you could say. todd, kelly, elizabeth, aunt luanne, wayne and i all went out to dinner at big boy before the auction...we were running a little late and afraid we would miss her art but low and behold it was #29 out of 30 so we were ok with time for sure!! there her dad josh, his dad, sister, sister iin law met up with us and we were all there to support kaila and make sure she knew there was a lot of love there for her!! if only papa could have come it would have made the night complete. there were a lot of things for auction that night encluding a HUGE saw blade with artwork on it and a silent auction that kelly won a few things on...
not to be left out, kaila also won a drawing for 2 Great Lakes Loons baseball tickets and a 15$ gas card to get her there!! she was so excited she may have peed a little!! lol
all in all it was a fantastic night and elizabeth had a great time too!! i cant wait to see whats in store for my little girl in the future with all her accomplishments!! IM SO PROUD I CANT STOP SMILING!!
the second contest was a banner contest. every spring/summer season the city of mt. pleasant hangs banners from the light posts all through town displaying local artwork...kaila also won a spot on a post for her entered banner...she gets to go to the park every saturday and work on painting it with a special paint. she is super excited about it all!!
so she is going to have a banner displayed and her "happy" drawing went up for auction last night. it sold for 60$!! not too shabby for her first piece of art!! i will get it scanned on here soon so everyone can share!!
it was a great night for all of us last night, a little family gathering you could say. todd, kelly, elizabeth, aunt luanne, wayne and i all went out to dinner at big boy before the auction...we were running a little late and afraid we would miss her art but low and behold it was #29 out of 30 so we were ok with time for sure!! there her dad josh, his dad, sister, sister iin law met up with us and we were all there to support kaila and make sure she knew there was a lot of love there for her!! if only papa could have come it would have made the night complete. there were a lot of things for auction that night encluding a HUGE saw blade with artwork on it and a silent auction that kelly won a few things on...
not to be left out, kaila also won a drawing for 2 Great Lakes Loons baseball tickets and a 15$ gas card to get her there!! she was so excited she may have peed a little!! lol
all in all it was a fantastic night and elizabeth had a great time too!! i cant wait to see whats in store for my little girl in the future with all her accomplishments!! IM SO PROUD I CANT STOP SMILING!!
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
my poor grandpa...
a little update on my grandfather. he is not doing well. we honestly are starting to accept the fact that he probably wont be making it out of the home. he isnt walking on his own, he doesnt know who we are...
this man who was such a strong male precesnce in my life for so 30 years is now laying in bed, shaking, confused, and unable to do anything for himself really.
the last time kaila and i went to see him will probably be our last time seeing him, hers for sure. he was very confused as to who we were and kept calling me luanne and kaila crystal. its all so sad. although i knew this day would come i never thought it would be so hard on him.
if there is a "god" out there what is the purpose of him making my grandfather fall apart the way he is? this "god" is supposed to be caring, almighty, and all that but my grandfather who lived a perfectly honest, good, caring life is laying in a strange bed, with strange people taking care of him becuase we cant, he is going to die in this bed with these people and for what? why couldnt he pass in his own bed, in his own house of natural causes one night in his sleep. i guess maybe that would have been too tramatizing for luanne to find him that way and that is why....
there are so many bad people out there...why cant they be falling apart in a nursing home with strangers not knowing who their family who loves them so much is? why my grandpa?
im having a difficult time not being numb to it all...i cry yes, i feel sad inside for him and luanne...he has to feel lonely...i hope in a lucid moment he doesnt think we have abandoned him...he probably cant remember when we are there.
aunt luanne and i have both agreed that it is best if the kids and i dont go down there until he knows who we all are again, we say until...but i know it should be "if"...the last time i was there was super hard and im sure it will only get worse. kaila and i left crying last time and i think that it was hard enough.
today luanne went down to see him and see if there was any change and of course there wasnt. the only thing that changed is his mind has gone even further away...he was asking aunt lu if she would find his glasses...when she asked what he wanted them for he told her he need to take joe to work for dawn. joe is my stepdad who lives in detroit..dawn is my mother and she has been passed away now for almost 6 years....
its like it is receeding into iteself and hanging onto long term memory and axing short term..he remembers joe and mom but doesnt know luanne, kaila, or i...
so long story short we are doing all we can to keep him comfortable and make sure he is ok. he cant come home becuase neither luanne nor i have the medical training or the physical strength to take care of him...just to go to the bathroom is a huge task...everything they do for him in a 24 hour period is very appreciated and thank you to all the staff at tendercare for doing what luanne and i are unable to. its all so very sad......im sure there is going to be a funeral in our future, honestly i think he wishes it was sooner rather than later...cant be anyway to live...he tells me he feels usless and his body is old and giving up on him...its all so sad...
this man who was such a strong male precesnce in my life for so 30 years is now laying in bed, shaking, confused, and unable to do anything for himself really.
the last time kaila and i went to see him will probably be our last time seeing him, hers for sure. he was very confused as to who we were and kept calling me luanne and kaila crystal. its all so sad. although i knew this day would come i never thought it would be so hard on him.
if there is a "god" out there what is the purpose of him making my grandfather fall apart the way he is? this "god" is supposed to be caring, almighty, and all that but my grandfather who lived a perfectly honest, good, caring life is laying in a strange bed, with strange people taking care of him becuase we cant, he is going to die in this bed with these people and for what? why couldnt he pass in his own bed, in his own house of natural causes one night in his sleep. i guess maybe that would have been too tramatizing for luanne to find him that way and that is why....
there are so many bad people out there...why cant they be falling apart in a nursing home with strangers not knowing who their family who loves them so much is? why my grandpa?
im having a difficult time not being numb to it all...i cry yes, i feel sad inside for him and luanne...he has to feel lonely...i hope in a lucid moment he doesnt think we have abandoned him...he probably cant remember when we are there.
aunt luanne and i have both agreed that it is best if the kids and i dont go down there until he knows who we all are again, we say until...but i know it should be "if"...the last time i was there was super hard and im sure it will only get worse. kaila and i left crying last time and i think that it was hard enough.
today luanne went down to see him and see if there was any change and of course there wasnt. the only thing that changed is his mind has gone even further away...he was asking aunt lu if she would find his glasses...when she asked what he wanted them for he told her he need to take joe to work for dawn. joe is my stepdad who lives in detroit..dawn is my mother and she has been passed away now for almost 6 years....
its like it is receeding into iteself and hanging onto long term memory and axing short term..he remembers joe and mom but doesnt know luanne, kaila, or i...
so long story short we are doing all we can to keep him comfortable and make sure he is ok. he cant come home becuase neither luanne nor i have the medical training or the physical strength to take care of him...just to go to the bathroom is a huge task...everything they do for him in a 24 hour period is very appreciated and thank you to all the staff at tendercare for doing what luanne and i are unable to. its all so very sad......im sure there is going to be a funeral in our future, honestly i think he wishes it was sooner rather than later...cant be anyway to live...he tells me he feels usless and his body is old and giving up on him...its all so sad...
i love you papa...i know you wont ever read this but i guess maybe its for me more than you...i love you and everything youve taught me, how to drive, how to fish, how to be a good person....common sence...love...checkers...rummy...5 card draw poker... all our nights of popcorn and john wayne movies...cursing mom together for dieing...being there for eachother when she was gone...you were always there for me...ALWAYS for 30 year...im going to miss you terribly and i wish elizabeth could have gotten more time to know you and im super greatful kaila had the time she did...you got to see me get married and loved my husband...you mean the world to me and i hope you find peace soon...love you papa...
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