my pops

IMG_0375
Originally uploaded by KDCNMorales.

that's him on the right w/Mei Mei... love him like any good son should! he's been a good dad to me, you know? he's the best! why am i writing about my dad all of a sudden? well, lately he has not been acting very well, er, rather, not feeling very well. blame it on his arthritis and hard work! like any good dad, he's an excellent provider and a hard worker. they just don't make em like they used to! right dad? well, dad had a fall a few months back and hit his head pretty good. subsequent ct scans showed a good solid noggin though! way to go dad! i always knew that you were a hard headed son of a gun! love ya! dad is getting 'up there' in age, you know, past 40. past 50. around that 60 year old mark. doing great so far! so why the 'not so good health'? working too hard? long crazy hours? probably. he doesn't eat red meat anymore though. never smoked in his life. his wonderful wife, which happens to be a great RN, takes great care of him! hmmm. recently, still feeling rather down, his doctor suggested a series of tests... let's check out your heart, he said. no problem! dad didn't have any chest pains! this will be cake. nope. the stress test stressed him out and he failed that test! uh oh. cardiac problems? pulmonary issues? couldn't be, he breaths just fine and can still work a full shift no sweat! his knees though, those are def. a problem! further tests, ecg's and what not pointed to his heart though. has a couple blocked arteries actually! what? did he have a silent heart attack? he has yet to have his heart cath procedure performed! who knows? doesn't look good though. doctor says, come in next week though, you'll be fine. nothing to worry about. we'll work you up and do the heart cath soon... next thing you know, dad is admitted to the hospital in a negative ventilation room with, get this:

LEUKEMIA!!!!

What? you have got to be freaking kidding me!!! no way. i don't believe it. dad didn't either, at first. mom just got married and is off on a marathon bike trip for untold miles and states! good for her! be careful mom! come back safe. she is staying in touch and being part of the 'support crew' like me. those of us that are too far away to be able to 'be there' for my dad can always call and lend a receptive ear or two, you know? we'll be there for you pops, we all will. i have yet to hear what type of leukemia it is though. mom heard this morning that it is the worse, most aggressive type. what type? she doesn't know as the doctor used medical mumbo jumbo and dad couldn't remember the exact name but the effect was the same. cancer. aggressive. chemotherapy. life expectancy. good Lord. what are we to do? my family and i have a trip to Orlando scheduled for November! we are GOING to make this trip happen come hell or high water! i need to see my mom and dad again now more than ever. i was JUST THERE fer cryin out loud! it was for mom's wedding! happy times! now this. great. thanks.
Dad, I love you like you'll never know. Words fail a person in times like these but know that my family and I will do whatever it takes to help you. If all that we can do is pray, and you know that I am not a prayin man, I will pray. I'll be here to listen, if all that you need is for someone to listen. Call me anytime! My cellphone is on most of the time (24/7 when I'm on-call!), the house phone is usually available, Kim's cell is mostly available and even Dallas now has his own cellular phone! You can reach me one way or another, I'll even give you my work number!

I'll see you soon dad. I love you.

Nixy Jose
hijo primojenito
te quiero mucho!

Neenda papa. ninda.

can anyone help me with this one? i really have no idea what it is that Mei Mei is trying to say here! she says it quite often too! sometimes loudly and other times very softly and rather coy. hmm. now she is FINALLY saying "i love you" though! or something to that affect! she's so adorable... speaking of adorable, Dallas is having his FIRST FOOTBALL GAME tonight! YES! i took four hours off call tonight to be able to be there and hopefully photograph him in action! Kim said that he looked very handsome this morning in full football regalia! i wish that i could've seen him but Mei Mei and i had left home at about 5:30. this time of year is great but it is now taking on a whole new meaning for us as a family! i am very happy that my family will finally be able to experience a northern winter and change of seasons as i did as a child! the kids are active in school and we are having a good time enjoying nature! this is so great! i am one happy camper, let me tell ya! a dream come true really.
gonna run now and dress Mei Mei in her cool fall clothing. we need to be there early and get a good spot! now where did this child put her cereal? jeez. can't look away for very long, huh?

One Year Later...

folks, it's been one whole year since i left Hays America to come to work out here in beautiful Wisconsin! (love the cheese!) amazing how time flies! Dallas in now in EIGTH GRADE and approaching 14 years of age! Mei Mei has turned two in June and both kids are adorable as can be! i feel very blessed although right now, as i write this, i am exhausted and sweaty from working around the house doing chores all by my lonesome. kim is currently working nights and that has left us all with a sour taste in our collective mouths. yuck. i wish that i could post some pictures of Dallas at practice but i have yet to see him at it! he's having so much fun! i am very glad and thankful that he went to Kansas this summer and made peace with himself. he is now starting the school year fresh, from the beginning, with new friends. he is very excited about most things again and the general attitude around the house has lightened noticeably. we are still up to our eyeballs with work around here and the house is in a perpetual state of dissaray but it is a happy mess! just ignore our grumbling as we enter the door each and everyday though! will this stuff ever end? didn't we JUST clean this and that? amazing.
even though we are working our buns off, we may not be able to head to Florida this November! our projects around the house and responsibilities are keeping us mired in a perpetual bog of work and general 'fixing up' of, well, things! we need to get ready for the winter and the house still has some issues that need tending to. we are all in need of fresh winter undergarments and whatnot too! i love it! we still try to get out and live a little but the checks and balances of life sometimes dictates that we forego certain items to do others. we need to rearrange priorities regularly as lifes' events come rolling our way. time will tell. (gas prices will be most telling too)
my trip to Florida was bittersweet in that i really enjoyed going and driving around to reminisce but on the same token, i realize just exactly why we left! it was a good decision even though we left many loved ones behind. i miss my parents, friends and Kim's family too. i felt surrounded by a bunch of wonderful people but then again, i spent 17 years of my life there! SOMETHING good is bound to come of that! life is too crazy there though and the humidity! oh the humidity! it's a killer... simply standing at mom's wedding left me sweating profusely! yuck! trying to hold on to a sweaty slippery daughter in one hand and a slippery sweat infused camera on the other sure was interesting! sorry that i didn't take/post more pictures!
speaking of the wedding, my new family is very good looking! wow! what a great bunch! hey mom! you did great! what a catch! Louis is amazing, what a guy. his kids, though quiet, are kind and very intelligent, hard working people. i enjoyed thoroughly listening to Louis talk about his life's exploits and all that he has done and accomplished. what an amazing man. he seems content with life and i like that. he and mother go bike riding together and enjoy each others company in ways that only age and experience can accomplish (or polish!). i felt very relaxed in their home and felt welcome too. Mei Mei sure spiced things up for all of us too! what a ham! she is a riot! such a wonderful child! she tolerated the plane trips better than daddy did too! i received many comments on how well behaved she was and i was very proud. we had many setbacks and delays but she took them all with aplomb! only during the very last flight towards the middle of the flight did she finally let go and start crying. what was i to do though? we had exhausted all of our food and drink! i could not console her and i thought that this was just going to make us all very miserable for the last half our of the (late) flight! but wait! what's this? the young, beautiful and sexy stewardess come to the rescue? did someone prompt her to do this? NO! this gal, though serving drinks near the back of the plane, came all the way forward to tend to Mei Mei's cries!!!!!!! i fell instantly in love with that woman! an angel come to rescue us all! i don't think that she realized that in that one minute of her time, and the rest of the passengers time, she totally changed the demeanor of us on board. Mei Mei instantly quieted down and started singing again and just went back to being her regular happy self! wow. Chandrie, thank you so much! suddenly, all of the days problems just melted away and my thoughts turned happy once again and looked forward to seeing my family reunited again! once i arrived at the airport though, what happened? happy ending? of course not! one last blow needed to be dealt. no luggage. no surprise there though so i was not upset, just extremely tired. Mei Mei? still singing and playing quietly and unobtrusively! amazing precious child. air rage was averted. no stiff drinks were consumed or profanity was uttered. the thoughts were certainly there though! my luggage arrived at home promptly the next day too. gotta love DELTA. yes, the trip was an absolute success! loved it! i wish that i could've seen a few friends and family but it felt good to relax and enjoy the company of my parents. both sets of them!
Thank you all! I love you all very much!
Sincerely and forever,

Nixy
p.s.
'Uncle' Joe, though unmentioned in my post, played a crucial role too! thanks go to him too!
:-)

'57 Caddy

wedding 050
Originally uploaded by KDCNMorales.

so no, perhaps this picture has nothing to do with my mothers wedding on Friday night but it played a role in it anyway. Mom's husband is pretty amazing and has an amazing collection of rare vehicles that he has restored all by himself! He's a great man and mom is pretty lucky/happy to have found him! Hector, Dad and I are pretty happy for her too... i didn't take many pictures as i was chasing Mei Mei mostly and making sure that she didn't go near the pool unattended! the ceremony was short and sweet too, which i liked. no long drawn out speeches. the humidity woulda killed us! at least the kids behaved pretty well and the rains quit before the ceremony so all went well.
Mei Mei and i are headed back home monday afternoon and i just can't wait! then we'll return in november... good times.