April has been gorgeous, certainly spring has sprung. We are enjoying wild flower season, and decided to take advantage of the Bluebonnets. We took a little trip with the residents, just to scenic sight-see. Here they all are in the Bluebonnets, and at Freddy’s for burgers and shakes afterwards. Arguably, their favorite part!
Abigail, Emma, Marie, Esther, Doreen, Anita, Shawn
Elsie, Ruth, Ronald, Gwen
Kenny, Emma, Marie, Esther, Doreen, Salena
Elsie, Ruth, Ronald, Gwen
Here are the staff from the same day.
Abigail, Anita, Salena 
Shawn, Anita, Kenny, Salena, Abigail
The staff decided it would be nice to have a picnic to continue enjoying this weather. Here everyone is enjoying the breeze on the porch.
Just like with March we have a lot of birthdays in April. Kenny turned 33 and got to have pie instead of cake. Marie even made some fabulous shrimp etouffee! Here he is with his pie and card, and the table set with Marie’s etouffee.
Ken and Shawn’s birthdays are 2 days apart so we had a birthday lunch for them.
Alice and Ken share a birthday, so we all went to celebrate at Park Manor nursing home. We brought cupcakes and even shared a few with their staff and residents. Everyone was so happy to see Alice and Gilbert again! Fern was too tired, but the ladies talked to her all the same. Here we all are in the lunchroom, and a few of everyone enjoying their cupcakes.
Doreen had the first visitors of the month, Chuck and Elain Griffeth from Michigan. Also, her cousin Janalee Kracht and husband Harold came for a short visit. Here she is with both sets of visitors, and again everyone around the lunch table.
Franz and Sally Holzmann visited Elsie. They were her neighbors when she lived in New Braunfels. Don and Becky Schroeder visited and took Elsie home for a week, then brought her back the following weekend. David Cleveland was here for a few days, gathering his things. Elsie loves scrabble, so Wayne and Dawn watched a scrabble game.
Franz and Sally Holzmann
Jack Nelson and his wife, Linda, brought Joyce Major to visit. Jack helped us build Pecan Grove so he has many good memories to share. Here they are in front of the fire place.
Linda, Jack, Joyce
We had a good visit from Brooke Henderson who came to see her great aunt Ruth. They had many discussions back in her room and Brooke was so happy to see her fitting in. They are both related to Talus Murphy who is in our field this year. Here they are in front of the dinning room.
Talus Murphy, Ruth and Brooke Henderson
Our young sister worker, Aislynn Stanton, came with her grandmother, Susan, for a visit. Here they are chatting with some of the sisters in the living room.
Aislynn and Susan Stanton, Marie, Emma, Doreen, Esther
All of our new ladies really like to work hard. They don’t call them “sister workers” for nothing! Kenny says there are so many helping hands in the kitchen it feels like swimming with a school of fish. Here is a quick picture to show what we mean.
Pecan Grove’s School of Fish
Ken and Kathy were on a Far East trip. In Singapore they were asked to make a presentation about Pecan Grove at a pot luck! Ken quickly put a presentation together, and the friends certainly enjoyed it. Here are the friends and workers that were there.
We still have Minerva with us, she has taken to walking with Ronald down to see the fish. She must recognize people using walkers and it reminds her of Alice. She stays right there with him, often crossing under his feet or following close behind him. Here she is with her new walking buddy.
Resident Journals
Ronald Elliott
Ronald has been getting better with improved sleep. He loves to walk down and feed the fish. The staff now tries to accompany him. He really lights up when he sees the fish and even seems to get some of his memories back. So the staff has been encouraging him to go out into the beautiful sunshine more. Here he is on one of his nature walks down memory lane, and again with Doris Kopitke (Salena’s aunt).
Doreen Beyer
Doreen is still doing great, although she did have some strange headaches recently. Her blood pressure was higher than normal for a few days which kept her from working too hard in the kitchen. Everything passed pretty quickly and she was back to her usual self again. She still keeps a regular correspondence with many friends in the islands and can be found texting or calling them on a daily basis. Here she is with some of the ladies and some of our Texas sister workers Mona Reese, Sue George and Sue Dawson.
Esther, Ruth, Sue George, Sue Dawson, Marie, Mona Reese, Emma, Doreen
Elsie Schroeder
Elsie stays the same, ever willing to put piece after piece into a puzzle. Even when her eyes might fail her she still painstakingly feels the edges of each piece and finally puts them all together. This month brought several surprises for her, for example she spent an entire week with her son Don and Becky Schroeder and her neighbors from New Braunfels Sally and Franz.
Elsie, Emma, Alice and sisters Becky Schroeder and Mary MacAdams
Esther Duncan
Esther is still doing great. She really likes astronomy and catching the phases of the moon. Every night she goes out to check on her lunar friend. She said “even if I can’t see him, I know the moon is there”. Just where God put him.
Abigail, Joyce, Esther
Emma Perez
Emma has had a few outings already with some of our dear friends. Of course she also loves to go visit Alice, Gilbert, and Fern. Here she is smiling in front of the fire place and again with Alice.
Gilbert, Clara Perez-Moreno, Emma and Alice
Marie Mounce
Marie does well, still finding her way around the kitchen. It sure is nice having a Cajun in the house! She bakes and makes classic Cajun cooking, with a lot less spice of course. We get these local magazines called “Postcards” which have some fun recipes. Marie is always game to try them. Here she is happily baking applesauce pancakes, and again with Anita.
Gwen Farmer
Gwen is doing great! She still is part of the puzzle crew and gives a lot of effort to putting them together. We recently received some new puzzles which are more tricky, this does not deter them.
Gwen and Esther
Ruth Henderson
Is doing well, and has adjusted to living here quickly. She is another one that likes to be in the kitchen, drying dishes or rinsing them. Whatever is needed!
Joyce Naber (Willis Nursing Home)
While finalizing this blog update, we just heard from the nursing home that Joyce fell and hit her head. She seems fine but they are sending her to the hospital to get checked out.
Otherwise, Joyce really does well, considering she had some dental trouble this month. She had to get some temporary crowns, and then return a week later for the permanent ones. She takes it all in stride. Here she is completely unphased enjoying a Freddy’s milkshake, and again smiling with Anita and Salena.
Fern Duncan, Gilbert Reese, Alice Oetken (Park Manor Nursing Home)
Fern, Gilbert and Alice stay pretty much the same. Alice still likes to eat meals with Gilbert, she calls him grandpa and worries about him. Alice loves having visitors and is quick to invite us back anytime. Here she is with Emma and Esther, then Fern with Esther, then Alice, Gilbert, Ruth, Joyce and Ken. Emma suggested getting a toy cat for Alice, which we did. She was delighted.
Alice, Gilbert, Ruth, Joyce and Ken 
Thanks for your interest in us here!
Kenny and Ken