Hi Sammyloue!
It was nice to hear from you! It sounds like you are doing everything right for your conditions; taking Amlodipine, drinking lots of water, eating low salt potato chips etc. Plus it's nice you have a new doctor that you like. That is so important.

Your homemade vegetable soup with beef sounds wonderful! My husband, Ed and I make beef stew which is basically the same thing. We add onion soup mix in place of onion for flavor plus garlic salt. I don't know what they have done to onions in Washington State which is where we live, but when they are cooked there is no onion flavor at all! The soup mix gives the stew the onion flavor that real onions used to give to the stew. I know it's the "in" thing to avoid beef these days, but like you, my husband and I have eaten beef all our lives and just love it! Ed has lung cancer and his last 7 CT scans have all been good. We think that the beef has a lot to do with it.
Ed's coffee started bothering his blood pressure too. I did a lot of research only to find out that they are no longer making Folgers coffee like they used to! However, I did find a very mild brand called New England coffee, Donut Shop Blend. He makes that with half of the amount of grounds as they suggest and it hasn't affected his blood pressure negatively at all! If you just do a search for the name, it's easy to find. It's reasonably priced also.

So sorry to hear about the stress you are having with your family. However, you are not alone. Unfortunately, this seems to be the norm in much of today's world. This is the second marriage for both Ed and I. We haven't heard or seen from any of the children on either side in years! (Once we quit spending money on them in dinners, trips etc.) It's been rather nice in a way and much quieter on holidays.

Say a prayer for your kids and let God straighten them out! You just enjoy your quiet time!

Have a good week!
PML