Friday, March 28, 2008

SPRING........maybe NOT?

This is what I woke up to this morning! And in my last post I said it was spring. This view is outside my back door looking southeast. It is very beautiful, although it isn't very welcomed by me. I would much rather see my flowers than more snow. The bush just off to the left of center is my lilac bush with my new buds buried under that snow. But I guess, if we're going to break the old record for snowfall amount and we've come this far, we may as well go for it!
And this picture is looking southwest out the same back door. I do think the snow on the tree with the sun beginning to shine is beautiful. But then I have always been fascinated by trees anyway. This is the maple tree that I spoke of that had buds and they were beginning to open. I certainly hope this wet heavy snow doesn't damage them. You can't see through the snow, but those buds were a very pretty red with the look of velvet to them. I think the sun will melt the snow up quickly...........at least I hope so!

This coming week is spring break for the kids around here and I am hoping for much warmer temperatures than the 26ยบ we have out there now!

Happy Spring to you.........whenever it decides to show up!!!!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Spring..........maybe?



Most of the snow from the previous post has melted and upon examining the ground around the house, I have found, much to my delight, the new shoots of my day lilies poking through the dirt as if lifting their heads to see if it is really spring and to test the air and see just how warm that sunshine is. These pictures are from last year and I am anxious for color and that is why I am posting them. It is so hard to wait!

I can't wait to be able to get outside and plant my morning glory seeds and start working those flower beds to get them ready for planting. I love flowers growing in my yard. I hate having to pull the weeds, but seeing all the pretty colors is worth the weed pulling. I'm hoping I don't have such a problem with the rabbits eating my flower petals this year. I'm going to try the cayenne pepper sprinkled about in the hopes of keeping them away. Some one told us last year to lay our garden hose around the area and the rabbits wouldn't cross it, thinking it was a snake. Well, it may have worked for them but it sure didn't fool or scare the bunnies away from my flowers! At one point they had stripped every petal off the petunias.

Now that the snow is almost gone, I can also see where those pesky moles have been pushing the dirt up. I didn't know they remained active under all that snow! We have gotten a recipe containing hot sauce to mix up and that is supposed to drive them out. I'm hoping it does. I know they are here because they like to eat the grubs underground and we could use a chemical of some sort to kill the grubs and deplete the moles favorite dinner, but I would rather not have to resort to chemicals. There are enough environmental issues and contamination already and I really don't want to be a contributor of any more.

So I am hoping we have had our last significant snowfall and spring has really sprung!

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Easter weekend

Although the buds can be seen on my maple tree, forsythia bushes and lilac bush, it didn't stop Mother Nature from playing a trick on us. The calendar may say spring, but the landscape says otherwise. These pictures are the result of a storm that hit us hard on Good Friday, dumping about 9 inches of snow in the area I live in. They have had to re-schedule the annual kiddie Easter Egg Hunt at the local park until the following weekend. Some disappointed children, I'm sure, but they can have fun next weekend this way, too!

It was very windy and before the snow accumulated on the swings, they were blowing as if invisible children were playing there. Once the heavy wet snow built up, the wind had trouble moving them. In spite of the fact that we have this new, perhaps unwelcome snowfall, we still have a lot to celebrate this weekend.

The greatest gift God has given us. His only Son to die on the cross and be buried and rise from the dead to give those who believe eternal life. How much He must love us! It is truly hard for me to comprehend that......as a parent. I know how much I love my children and how difficult it would be to watch one of them crucified. That is why it is so very hard to understand. He let His Son pay the price for us. He bought us with His blood. How lucky we are to have a God who loves us so much.

Happy Easter to all of you!

Tuesday, March 18, 2008


Since I am anxious for spring, I am showing some flowers from last spring!

A lot has been going on since I've even had a chance to write here.

I found out that we are expecting a new grandchild in the fall (that will make 19....total), I started a part time job but the training was full time. With that said, I want to praise all of you who work full time outside the home and are raising children at the same time. I don't know how you manage to accomplish both. Just working full time for one week about did me in and I had no little ones to deal with. Yes, I know I am older, but still it is very taxing to be working and still have to keep up your home and then throw in the multitude of tasks of dealing with the demands of small children and, in my opinion, it becomes almost impossible. So, hats off to you who can pull it off! I know I worked when my kids were teenagers and that was difficult at times too, and I WAS younger then. Maybe that's the key........younger means more energy. Getting old certainly isn't for sissy's! But I could do an entire post on growing older, so I'll save that for another time.

One of our grand daughters turned 13........that makes 3 teen-age grand children now. Her birthday was St. Patrick's day, but we celebrated it on Saturday late afternoon and evening with a birthday dinner and cake and ice cream...........all with a St. Patrick's Day theme, of course. That's what she chooses every year. The girl loves green, one of her favorite colors!

We just found out yesterday that our daughter, who lives in Kentucky, will be coming up for a visit in May over Memorial Day weekend. That will be nice.............I haven't seen them since last April when my sis-in-law and I took her two and one of my grand daughters, Amber, down for a few days visit. Hubby hasn't seen them for about a year and a half now with all the overtime he has been working. Hopefully he will be able to have some time off when they are here and really get to fit a nice visit in.

I think it is almost spring here. Most of the snow in our yard has melted but there is still a lot on the ground at my neighbors to the west of me. Maybe he has more shade in his yard! The buds on the maple trees, lilac bushes and forsythia are peeking there heads out and the pussy willow bush is starting to get those soft little thingies (I don't know what you call them, nor do I know the proper name of the pussy willow bush). I haven't seen any signs of my lilies popping up or the tulips or daffodils, but I'm sure there still there awaiting the right time to show themselves. After all, the official first day of spring is only two days away now. Hooray for March 20TH!

Friday, March 07, 2008

Working for Harley!

I have spent the last two afternoons making phone calls and searching the Internet to see if I can find help for this little girl.

I think I have at least one answer so far. If the original treating hospital will release the information, in a timely manner, from the date we took her into the ER for treatment until the date they removed the sutures and the Doctor's recommendation on seeing a Plastic Surgeon and fax them to a Plastic Surgery Clinic I was able to locate at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids and we get an appointment, they can most likely help. And there is a financial aid number, in fact two of them, that we can contact if they will take the case.

I will keep searching until I know for sure that someone, somewhere, somehow will help this family and restore this little girls lip to its' normal state!

I did take a few hours off this afternoon to keep my eye exam appointment. I found out that my eyes are worse of course (they are getting older, I am NOT) and I have just the very beginning of a cataract in my right eye. Nothing need be done at the present time; just keep an eye (ha ha) on it and keep re-checking it. Besides, cataract surgery is no longer a long difficult thing and the results now days are fantastic afterwards!

Thank all of you for your prayers and concern and kind words you left in my comments!

Oh, I almost forgot. I am starting a job on Monday. I will be training on Monday and Tuesday from 8:30AM-5:00PM at the main facility and then I will be working part-time on Monday and Tuesday's from 12:30PM-5:00PM. And the bonus........it's only 6 miles from my house! I applied for this postion last fall and they hired a younger gal and she isn't working out very well. It seems she doesn't want to work, just play games on the computer! There is something to be said about older workers, don't ya think?

Thursday, March 06, 2008

We just found out yesterday that our poor little Boo, aka Harley, will now need Plastic Surgery to repair her upper lip that she damaged in a face first fall into the coffee table last Thursday. She is on a state assisted program for insurance called Medicaid and they DO NOT cover plastic surgery as it is considered cosmetic.

I haven't seen her since they removed the stitches yesterday, but my son Doug (her daddy) tells me it looks very deformed. I guess the doctor at the ER we took her to just wasn't equipped to handle that kind of a cut or he thought it would heal and be fine. What ever the case, it didn't. The doctor has given them a name of a Plastic Surgeon in Portage, MI. I would like her to be seen by a Pediatric Plastic Surgeon at DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids, MI. I think that will be her best chance for a good repair. I talked to Doug about it and he said to go ahead and make some phone calls and see what I can find out.

I hear on the news about some of the doctors in Grand Rapids go to foreign countries and repair cleft palates and other cranial facial problems for free. I need to find one who will do it for free or on a sliding scale and take small payments monthly so they can afford to get her the surgery she needs. She is 4 years old, and the way it looks probably doesn't bother her now, but as she grows, I'm sure it will make her very self-conscious.

If any of you believe in prayer, please pray that we can find the help we need for this little girl. Thank you.

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Birthdays, Birthdays and Wedding Anniversary!


Don't these cakes look good? I didn't make them. I copied the pictures from flickr and posted it here. How I wish Rachel and her hubby, and my friend r j, and Bumpa, could all gather this evening for a celebration and enjoy some of that delicious looking cake. I know rj is especially fond of cake! We would eat the cake and some ice cream, and then sit around the fireplace visiting drinking coffee, tea, or what ever is their drink of choice. Maybe a better time to celebrate would be the weekend when no one had to get up for work the next morning and we could talk and talk until the wee hours of the night. The men would probably get bored, but we girls wouldn't run out of things to talk about, I'm sure!

It's nice to have dreams of how I would like things to be, but reality calls me back to the real world. So let me wish Bumpa and rj a Happy Birthday, and Rachel and Trenton a Happy Anniversary and call it a night!