We got safely back from the beach yesterday afternoon. We went back to daughter's place in morning & after lunch came back to Columbia. It was ok about half way then we kept hitting rain squalls so couldn't drive fast. There was a lot of traffic as people were slowing up.

We had a nice restful vacation for a week. I cooked one breakfast & spaghetti for one lunch. The rest of the week our son-in-law & daughter cooked. Big meals! I gained about 10 lbs. I told them, especially son-in-law that they did not have a vacation as they were working most of the time.

He said he enjoyed doing it.

They had some friends & cousin & her husband over a few days. So we had a house full of people.

We got to see pelicans fly right in front of us when we were sitting on the front porch looking toward the ocean. Then when you went to the beach you could see them diving for fish.

We also got to see dolphins & got a lot of seashells.

Our a/c is now fixed. It is cool today, only in 60s. Tomorrow supposed to be in 70s, then low 80s. So we are glad it is fixed.

My daughter bought me a cane as I have been having some trouble walking, especially on stairs. When I get back every body at Kingdom Hall are going to ask me if I got hurt on vacation.

It is just that old "arthur" & old age as I will be 70 in Dec. Probably my last trip to beach in this system until I get young again!

I sat on chair on beach & waded in water. It was warm, about 75 degrees. Could not lie on beach or sit down as I would not be able to get up again.

Old age is a bummer! Thankfully the scriptures tell us it will not last forever. Isaiah 33:24 says "No resident will say I am sick!" What a joyous time that will be!

liberation day anniversary, twins' birth, beach vacation

Well today is May 8 & it is the anniversary of my husband's liberation from the concentration camp 64 years ago when he was 10.

It is also the day in 1966 our identical twins Dawn & Denise were born. We do not celebrate birthdays because they are rooted in pagan beliefs. But they are healthy & 43 years old today.

They were the first babies born on that day in Bergen County NJ. They were born at 12:03 & 12:10 am. I told the doctor I thought I was having twins, but he said no. Also when I went into the hospital they checked the babie's heart beat & I asked how many? The dr. said just one. I looked like I had swollowed 2 watermelon. Besides that I felt like I had a kangaroo in my stomach as they were so active.

I went to the hospital while my neighbor was having me a baby shower, so I did not get to go to my shower.

The doctor's nurse who delivered them told me when I went back to him that you kept telling the doctor you were having twins.

Also the nurses at hospital said they thought I was having twins even though the doctor there said one baby.

When I went to visit my brother-in-law when he was in the hospital & I was 6 mos. pregnant the nurses said mam you are on the wrong floor, the maternity ward is .....lol.

The twins were born about 4 wks. early as they were due June 1 or 2, but that is usual for twins. They weighed 5 lb. 2 oz. & 5 lb. 1 oz. After 10 days in isolation we took them home at 5 lb. & 4 lb. 15 oz, like 2 sacks of sugar & their heads the size of oranges!

At that time you could not go into isolation or ICU or whatever they called it. You had to look at your babies through the glass like everyone else.

They suppose to be 5 1/2 lb. before they were released. After 10 days my husband told the nurse to get his babies ready to go home. She said she could not without the dr.'s authorization. My husband said then the dr. can pay for them after today. She came back & said we could take them home.

A similiar thing happened in NJ with my next baby Kelly, daughter no. 5. She weighed 9 lb. 12 oz. It was hard to imagine she was a newborn as she looked about 3 mos. old after having the twins. She & I were going to be released on Sunday. The hospital demanded a $1000 bank check before releasing us. My husband said how can I get you a bank check on Sunday? He said if you don't let my wife & baby go I will bring you my other 4 children her for you to watch as I have to go to work tomorrow. They released us.

Sometimes it pays to speak up & be forceful!

My first daughter Susan (Susie) was born here in the same hospital in Columbia, SC that I was born in. She was born April 27, 1961. She weighed about 7 lb. All the rest besides the twins weighed 9 lb. or more. We are going to the beach for a week with her & husband & 2 teenage boys tomorrow.

She was a beautiful baby as all my daughters were. The nurses said she was so beautiful that she would probably be "Miss America". The baby nurse that took care of her also took care of me after I was born.

My relatives all said she was beautiful also. She still is, & especially so the way she acts.

We are going to Edisto Beach which is below Charleston (near where they live) down about an hour's drive from where daughter lives, toward Beaufort & Savannah, Ga.

I have never been there, but they got a nice private beach house that has 4 bedrooms on the oceanfront. It is not commercialized there as it is in Myrtle Beach & further north. Only has about 1 store & gas station & mostly private houses, only 2 rows.

The beach should not be crowded & they say you can find a lot of shells.

Will write more after we come back of how it was.