Tuesday, April 6, 2010

A Very Special Easter Celebration

This year, we did something completely different for our Easter Celebration. Some of you know, that in January my sweet sweet daddy was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. He is deteriorating rapidly, so I wanted to do something very special for him.






I gathered up the immediate family and had them come over on Saturday. Daddy was so happy to have all of his grandkids present. Sadly, we had to 'introduce' him to one of them he didn't remember. And he didn't recognize my sister at first either. Alzheimer's...such a dreadful disease!




Daddy LOVES Chinese food. When I was girl, every Friday evening we would have dinner at the Golden Dragon, where he would order the same thing every week. Food, I am sure no Chinese person in their right mind would eat. Daddy preferred what I call Chinese/American food...sweet and sour stuff and things breaded and fried. Well, on my watch, we'll eat none of that! But this is what I decided to do for him...Honestly, I would have chosen P.F. Changs, but time and distance thwarted those plans and I went with my second choice, Panda Express.



I still used our Spring china and I brought out the silver and crystal, just as I would had I served lamb or roast chicken. I ordered up healthy options, green bean chicken, walnut shrimp, beef with broccoli, Sichuan Chicken, vegetable spring rolls, brown rice. I prepared my yummy stir fried snap peas and garlic. Daddy is usually not very hungry these days, but this time he asked for seconds! We ate and told stories helping him recall memories...it was a wonderful time. We took a lot of pictures and everyone got to give him a big hug.

Daddy with my baby sister and me.



And...Since Sunday was My Man's birthday, we celebrated that as well. I love teasing him. He's 49, but I switched his candles so they read 94. He's a good sport and thought it was very funny. He should, I've been doing it for years.



We usually eat pretty healthy foods. But for his birthday, My Man wanted Shakey's pizza, chicken and mo-joes. So that is what I provided for him.



Oh! And while we were enjoying this gastronomical feast, we got hit with that loooooong earthquake. We were in a town that is about an hour outside of San Diego, which put us relatively close to Mexico. We really felt it...light fixtures were swaying, doors rattled, beverages sloshed about in our glasses. And after it was over, we found out that the entire staff at Shakey's had vacated the premises! LOL!! I was telling everyone in the restaurant NOT to run outside, I kept saying go UNDER the tables and cover your face and neck. It was quite an ordeal and it left us 'shaken' for hours because we anticipated after shocks.



We went home and had ice cream and cake. My Man with our daughters...doesn't get much better than this!


Thanks for visiting today.

Blessings~

6 comments:

Sparkplug17 said...

What a wonderful and special Easter! Glad you had a great time with your family!

Kim Burmeister said...

Holy Moly, Barb! I love the way you CELEBRATE!

Prayers for your Dad. It is so nice all of you could get together.

YUMMY! I wish I could have tasted those delicious meals. I wanted Chinese on Easter, but we settled for it the day before.

Happy Birthday, Barb's Man! I love when you write "My Man". I can feel the love.

Jeanne said...

Barb, you are truly one very special lady. I LOVE what you did for your sweet daddy. Good for you for bucking tradition and celebrating your time together. And it surely looks like a good time was had by all.

Happy Birthday to your man as well. Oh boy, what a memory you are going to have of this particular birthday...it was so fun, the earth was shaking! LOL I'm glad you were only shaken up, literally, and not hurt. Gotta say, I sure don't miss earthquakes.

Thank you so much for sharing this special and I'm sure bittersweet celebration with your family.

Carolyn said...

Very nice photos. How nice you got to spend Easter with you daddy! My dad has Alzeimer's too.
Beautiful family you have!

I tried sending you my addy. If you don't get it tonight. Please shoot me an e mail and I will reply back with it.
Thanks, you are so sweet!
Hugs!

Risa said...

Thanks so much for sharing the beautiful pictures of your family Barb. You are such a beautiful person and your lovely spirit touches everyone you meet!
Although I don't talk about it, my mom has Alzheimer's and it is a dreadful disease! She is in the last stages of the disease and no longer recognizes any of us and that really hurts.
Happy Belated Birthday wishes to your hubby as well! It looks like you all had a blast celebrating and the variety of foods look so yummy! (Seriously..I have cut back on red meat and fried foods but it doesn't hurt to look does it?) *ΓΌ*

Here I go writing a book again...take care.. enjoy your day and I'm glad to know that no one was hurt during the earthquake.
hugs
Risa:)

stampmonkey said...

Awww...that's so sad that your dad has Alheimer's. It's touched my family more than once, and it's just so very sad. I'm sure having everyone together to celebrate Easter (complete with Chinese food, his favorite) will be a cherished, even if bittersweet, memory for all of you in the years to come. I love how you elevated the status of your take-out dinner to be just as special as a gourmet meal would've been by serving it on your beautiful china.

How frightening to have an earthquake while eating out (of course I've never thought they were enjoyable anywhere!). Funny story and fun memory to mark your Man's special day, and glad you're all okay. Great pics, btw!

Thanks for sharing another one of your family's holiday celebrations. ;)

big hugs, my friend!
Christi