It's Tuesday and hubby did not have that oral surgery yesterday! Oh it's not because he didn't go to his appointment....it's because after we got there the oral surgeon refused to do the surgery. He said it didn't really need to be done as the dead bone would flake off and there would be new gum tissue under it. I'm thinking it had more to do with the fact that it was 're-work' so to speak and we weren't paying for it! Hope it's true and it all works for the best and hubby doesn't have to go through it at some future date and time.

We did take Amber home and I'm definitely glad that I wasn't driving being as I 'white-knuckled' the entire 66 mile round trip. The roads are treacherous to say the least. They are sanding them and that does help with some traction, but it does nothing to melt the 3 inch ice-cover on most roads. Of course, with the temp only being in the single digits, the salt they use on the roads wouldn't work anyway.

Hubby got to sleep in a little this morning. He got called for jury duty and had to report this morning at the county courthouse by 8:30 AM. This is the first time he has ever been called for jury duty and he isn't really happy about it, but since the big meeting at his work on Friday informing him of his lay-off beginning this past Monday and he isn't missing any time from work it isn't that big of a deal. Well, except for the fact that the courthouse is 20 some miles away and unemployment checks already have to be stretched just to meet monthly bills and we thought that at least we would be able to save on gas for the vehicles. Well, we are saving some on gas for the vehicles......he is driving my car because his truck isn't working right...AGAIN! But I don't mind....really! It's not like I'm about to get in and drive it anywhere with these road conditions. If it weren't for hubby, I would be a hermit all winter long....as long as there is snow and ice build-up on the roads. Hmmmm.....I wonder if he needs a chauffeur license?

Snow and more snow!

This is the view out my kitchen window.

We were under a "lake effect snow warning" most of the day Thursday. For those of you who are not familiar with lake effect snow, please read the following:

The heaviest lake-effect snow episodes usually occur when a bitter cold outbreak dives southeast across the Great Lakes. As cold air flows over the warm water, the bottom layer over the surface of the water is heated from below. Moisture also evaporates into the air as it is heated. Since warm air is lighter and less dense than cold air, the heated air rises and begins to cool. As the air cools, the moisture that evaporated into it condenses and forms clouds. When enough moisture condenses out of the air, snow falls over the regions downwind of the Great Lakes. The greater the temperature contrast between the cold air and the warm water, the heavier the snow showers will be. If the temperature contrast is great enough, the rising air will have enough buoyancy to form thundersnow, which are thunderstorms that have snow falling out of them rather than rain.

I happen to live in one of these so called snow bands and in the last 2-3 days we have received about 18 inches of new snow! Now this is the kind of Michigan winter I grew up with. We use to play outside every day in this stuff and we didn't know anything about windchill back then either. Cold was cold and that's all there was to it!! We went sledding, and built snowmen and rolled down hills and had snowball fights and went ice skating at the local outdoor rink. When your toes and fingers hurt and you could no longer feel your nose we knew it was time to head inside for some much needed warming up and a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows floating in it. If we were really lucky we might also get some homemade cookies or brownies! Yum yum! And you know what else? I don't ever remember having a 'snow day' off from school! School was held no matter what and was only dismissed early if there was a tornado warning or watch. I guess we were tougher in those days; or maybe they just didn't know as much technology back then and no one really knew just how cold it was.

It is official now, the television just announced that we received 9 inches of new snow yesterday....I guess there is even more snow out there than I thought. There is another snow advisory out for today for more snow and blowing and drifting snow from noon until 7 PM, and than at midnight EST, we will be under a 'winter snow warning' until midnight on Saturday.

I think it sounds as if it's a good thing that we didn't have any plans to go anywhere to watch Superbowl Sunday! We will only have to worry about getting Amber back home safely....she is coming for the weekend today after school. Hubby will pick her up after he gets out of work....maybe we can build a snowman and slide down the hill and then come in for hot chocolate!

What's outside your back door?

This is what a Michigan winter is supposed to look like!



We have been under a 'lake effect snow warning' for the last two days. The funny thing is, this time they were right. All of the schools in this area have been closed for the day. We have about 6 inches of new snow out there and it continues to snow ~ sometimes it's so hard you can hardly see the trees in the back yard and other times it is just a few flakes drifting softly and silently by the window.

Makes me more grateful for my fireplace and coffeemaker!!!!

Our little Drew was at the hospital Thursday for a stomach virus that left him dehydrated. Poor little man! He is on the mend, but he did SHARE with Naive and Mr. Naive. I spoke with them this evening and they are all starting to feel better except for extreme tiredness as a result of being so sick and not getting enough if any rest! Friday night she called and asked if I had any watermelon in the house....it was the only thing that sounded good to her. I told her I didn't but I would go to the store and get some and deliver it to her....I help when I can!

Our oldest son, Brian, came over for a visit on Saturday. He had his two boys with him, David (10)and Elijah (3). Normally Elijah sticks pretty close to his daddy while visiting but not this time. After several hours, Brian said they needed to head back to their house and Elijah immediately started crying and carrying on that he wanted to stay at 'Mema's house' and didn't want to go home. He ran to me and climbed up next to me and told me he wanted to stay. I held him for a few minuets and proceeded to tell him that if daddy said he had to go home then that is what he must do. I asked him if he wanted to go see his baby sister, Rebecca and his momma and he said NO. To make a long story short, he finally quit crying and decided he would go home this time.

On top of everything else going on with hubby, he had his yearly cardiac stress test done Thursday afternoon. He passed with flying colors and the cardiologist even changed some of his meds to generic ones to help keep our costs down. Yipee! Mine is scheduled for March 8th. Since I usually fail mine, please keep your fingers crossed and wish me luck!!!!

Never Ending Story ?

Well, hubby had what we thought would be one of his last dental visits today. We weren't very happy with what we were told. He has to go back to the oral surgeon one more time.

It seems that the last time the oral surgeon cut his jaw open to remove some bone growths, he didn't close it completely or correctly or the stitches didn't hold and let loose prematurely. Not that it matters why, the fact remains that he has to go back! The bone was left exposed and now that part of the bone is dead! So the dead bone now has to be removed! NICE!!!! And the only way to do that is to open up his jaw again and cut, chip, grind the dead bone away, and then sew it back together one more time.

Needless to say hubby is not at all pleased about this situation. I told him that what ever fee they think they are going to charge for this surgery will not be paid for by us. I don't care if the oral surgeon has to eat this bill.....the last one cost $1,498.00, we are not paying again. I'll take him to court before we will pay again! In fact, I think he owes us some money for all the suffering he has put hubby through. And poor hubby has no more time he can take off from work for this. So, like the last time, he will have it done late in the afternoon one day and return to work the following morning. And once again his diet will consist of soup and milkshakes.....oh, yeah.....and pain medication!

Tagged!

I've been tagged by Smalltown RN, who by the way, has a great blog. Stop in and visit her!


The 25 Question Meme



1. If you could build a house anywhere, where would it be? Somewhere in the Rocky Mountains near Denver.


2.What's your favorite article of clothing? I guess this time of year I would have to say my sweat pants and comfy fleece top!


3.Favorite physical feature of the opposite sex? I have to pick just ONE? How about eyes....followed by smile with tushy running close!


4.What's the last CD that you bought? Bought Christmas CD so I could play the Christmas carols I like whenever I wanted.


5.Where's your favorite place to be? Anywhere with my hubby.....but I prefer to be on a drive through the countryside with no destination in mind and hubby next to me!


6.Where is your least favorite place to be? Stuck in a traffice jam!


7.What's your favorite place to be massaged? Now, that is a hard one.....my back!


8.Strong in mind or strong in body? Another tough question...both I guess, although as I get older my mind and body seem to be falling apart at an alarming rate of speed! LOL


9.What time do you wake up in the morning? Usually around 4:30, but I go back to bed after an hour and sleep until around 7:00.


10. What is your favorite kitchen appliance? My coffee maker!


11.What makes you really angry? Meanness!!!

12.If you could play any instrument, what would it be? I play the piano but I would love to play guitar.


13. Favorite colour? Blue!!!


14.Which do you prefer...sports car or SUV? An SUV.....I can go four-wheeling then!


15. Do you believe in an afterlife? Yes, of course I do.


16.Favorite children's book? "Stand Back Said the Elephant, I'm going to sneeze!"


17. What is your favorite season? Spring, but I like them all really!


18. Your least favorite household chore? Cleaning the glass doors on the fireplace!


19.If you could have one super power, what would it be? The ability to heal!


20.If you have a tattoo, what is it? I am such a scardy-cat....I will never have a tattoo! I know....wimpy, huh?


21.Can you juggle? Only tasks, not any objects!


22. The one person from your past that you wish you could go back and talk to? There are three people and I can't choose just one...they are my deceased mom and dad and my late-first husband!


23. What's your favorite day? Any day that hubby and I can spend the whole day together with nothing we have to do!


24. What's in the trunk of your car? Spare tire, jumper cables, blanket, windshield washer fluid, some tools.


25. Which do you prefer, sushi or hamburger? Since my allergy to shellfish made it's arrival, I don't eat any fish, so hamburger it is!


I tag:

V

RiverRat

Tracy

Connie

Copy and paste this into your site and answer the questions and please let me know so I can read your answers.

Turn around and they're grown!

Normally I would leave all bragging rights to parents. But since Naive is way too busy to post anything at all lately, I have the honor (or should I say....TOOK) of showing off her daughter dressed and ready to appear on the "Snowcoming" court at the basketball game Friday night.

How old do you think she is? She is 14 years old and will turn 15 the beginning of April. Really! That's all the older she is....she looks older though, right? I never, ever looked like that when I was 18 let alone 14! I say we put that girl in a cooler on ice somewhere for at least the next 4 years. I took this pic of her when they came to drop Drew off until they were done taking pics of her at the half-time festivities. Her brother is the one that I wrote about recently turning 18.

Yeah, I have to go now and pout and whine about getting older myself!

Dog Nights of Winter?

Now, I've heard of 'dog days of summer' but I've never heard of 'dog nights of winter' or anything close to that. Yet the past two nights, my beloved fur kid has decided that from 11:00 PM on, it is play time and is displaying the need to go 'outside' repeatedly. I don't mean two or three times. NO, I mean like every half hour. She doesn't squat and pee or hunch up and drop her poo. She runs around smelling the ground and the bushes. When I call her she does return to me and comes back in the house only to repeat this behavior again and again.

I know, y'all think I'm crazy to allow this bizarre behavior, but if I don't let her out, she stands in the middle of the family room, stomping her front paws and barks at me creating so much noise that I am sure she will wake hubby up! And believe me when I say I learned a long time ago not to wake hubby up when he is working overtime. He's worse than a she bear protecting her cubs!

We have just finished playing this nightly game and I told her this has to stop. She gave me a strange look, turned and ran upstairs to find her sleeping spot(See above photo). Well, at least we're done with this game for tonight. At least I hope so!!

Just Relaxing.....

and enjoying the quiet and tranquil Sunday morning. Amber is here, but at almost 12, she is fairly quiet and really doesn't make much noise. She's a cuddler in the morning and will sit for a long time next to me or Bumpa in front of the fireplace just watching the fire and looking at television.....and she didn't even want cartoons on this morning. She wanted to watch the Discovery channel which is one of my favorites too!

Bumpa slept in for a change. He needed it since he worked 6 days this week and had more oral surgery done Thursday late afternoon. The only thing bad about sleeping in for him is that he went too many hours without his pain meds and now he will be miserable until the pain meds he just took, kick in! Poor man. We thought that the oral surgeries were all behind him and then he went for one simple little procedure that would have been nothing for him, and they end up cutting his entire upper gum from one side to the other and grinding some bone growths off. OUCH....AGAIN! Now, this time he is done. Because he won't let them in his mouth again....no matter what. He is hungry every couple hours because all he can eat is soup and milkshakes and neither of these stick with him very long. I'm spending most of my time in the kitchen making soup or cleaning up. I don't mind though, it's the least I can do for him! Besides bring him his next round of pain meds before the last ones wear all the way off!

Things will be better tomorrow, I'm sure.....at least I HOPE !!!

Getting old....who me?

Today, the ninth of January, my oldest grandchild, Steven turned 18! EIGHTEEN.....how on earth did that happen? When did I get old enough to have a daughter old enough to have an 18 year old child? I don't feel old....maybe a little, but only on the outside....the inside still feels very young!

I sit here amazed at how fast time seems to slip by. I remember the day we were at the hospital awaiting the birth of this, our first grandchild. He was born by emergency C-section and I was the second one to hold him. His father was the first. I got to hold him before his Momma even did! His father's mom was also there, but she thought since I was the mother of the 'momma' I should hold him before she did. That was awfully nice of her as I know how eager she was to get her hands on this darling shared grandson. It was a little like holding my first child, this new baby's momma, all over again. He was so perfect, so loved, so wanted!

As he grew, slowly it seemed at first, he needed me to be his playmate when he came to stay at 'Grandma's' house while his parents occasionally went out or ran errands. Darkwing Duck was a popular cartoon at that time and this wonderful little boy was infatuated with this show. He pretended to be Darkwing Duck. On the show, Darkwing Duck (DW) had a sidekick called Launchpad. In Steven's interpretation of DW, he had his 'sidepick, Yawnchpad' (his words)! And I was Yawnchpad! I played along, a willing participant in his 3 year old fantasy! Not only a willing participant, but a willing participant who thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the 'pretending'!

Happy Birthday, 'Darkwing', with tons of love from your 'sidepick, Yawnchpad'!

Wow, it's quiet! Too quiet!

Okay.....the visit is over! I guess I need to tell Slick, Nelly, and Chesney Girl how sorry I am that they didn't receive the invite in the mail. I'm sure they must have gotten lost.....errr, yeah, that's it, that's what happened! Okay, not true!

Clew's hubby was coming up this way to pick up a snowmobile he had purchased and they thought it would be a great time for Clew, Mr. Clew and Incrediboy to visit Naive and family and get the boys together to see how they would react. There was only one problem...Drew had been sick and not sleeping at night for more than an hour or two and Naive and Mr. Naive were exhausted. Clew and Mr. Clew weren't due to arrive until between midnight and 1:00 AM. NO ONE wanted Naive and Mr. Naive and Drew to miss the chance to get some much needed rest and since I only live about a mile from Naive and Clew knows me already, it would be best if they stayed here Friday night.

They arrived between midnight and 12:30AM and Incrediboy woke up some and they stayed up for a short visit and then turned in. My hubby had to get up at 2:30AM to get ready for work and never even heard them come in. My dog, Prancer, didn't even bark......but they brought a 'KID' in and she loves kids!

I woke at 7:15 AM and decided to get up and turn the coffee pot on. They awoke shortly after around 8 AM and came down for coffee and a breakfast of pancakes and bacon. Everyone then showered and Mr. Clew left to drive to another city to pick up his snowmobile and Clew, Incrediboy and I waited for the call from Naive stating they were up and ready for company. So we headed over there to see how the boys would react to each other. They were a little shy at first and neither one wanted to share, but hey, they are only 2 and 3, what do you expect? They didn't do too badly and they settled down to play. I left to go home and await hubby's return from work.

A couple hours later, the phone rang and it was Naive telling me that they would all like to go out and get a bite to eat and the "boys" wanted to come to stay at "Camp Grandma" and would I take them. Of course I said 'yes' and they brought them over and then left to eat. The boys played well, and no one cried upon the parents departure......thank goodness!!! They had some supper and then played some more, but it was evident that they were both tired!

While watching Monster Trucks on TV, Incrediboy fell asleep on my lap and Drew just stood nearby staring at the TV. Naive then called to say they were in the driveway and we opened the big garage door to let them in.....and subsequently back out.

Now, my house is quiet....almost eerily so! I think I like the hustle and bustle of two little boys fighting over the same toy to this kind of quiet......maybe I'll have to borrow them again.....SOON!

Overnight Guests

OMG! I am so excited....I just found out that Clew and Mr. Clew and Incrediboy are going to head this way tomorrow evening and instead of staying with Naive when they arrive very late at night, they will be staying overnight with ME! Isn't that cool! I can't wait to see her again and this will be the very first time that I get to meet Mr. Clew and Incrediboy. I can't wait to see Drew and Incrediboy together and their reaction to each other on Saturday. Wouldn't it be wonderful if they hit it off as well as their 'mommas' did and they become fast friends forever too!

I am so looking forward to this and the enjoyment we will all reap from each others company once again!!!

Hurry Clew, I'm gonna have trouble waiting.......

Gerald R. Ford......

.....finally laid to rest in the spot he chose on a slight grassy hill with the river flowing by below outside the Gerald R. Ford Museum. It is a pretty site with some historical significance of its own. I believe they said it was originally the site of an Indian burial ground.

Quite a lot of excitement for the city of Grand Rapids! In yesterday's post I mentioned something about airplane sounds reverberating in the air. I have since found out what they were and what they were doing. They were the 21 jet airplanes practicing the fly by they were to preform at the close of the graveside service. They were back in full force this morning before the funeral began. The events today were running behind somewhat and the jets were in place, but because of the delay had to circle the area above our home and the nearby city of Wayland to the south of us. They even had to have a refueling plane in the air here to refuel the planes since they had to circle for such a long period of time. The sound of planes overhead is a bit unsettling to say the least. I think we are very fortunate to not have been in a war zone......I know the noise would have eventually gotten on my nerves if I had to live that way on a long term basis.

It was pretty awesome to see them all in the air though....in spite of the noise!

The Gerald R. Ford Museum is a building that hubby worked on with his ex-late father-in-law. His ex-late father-in-law was the general contractor for the construction of this building/museum and hubby worked for him at the time. The last job hubby did in this building was to vacuum the entire building and dust it so the occupants could smoothly move in.

Jan. 2, 2007

Today Gerald R. Ford arrives in Grand Rapids to be laid in his final resting place at the Gerald R. Ford Museum. I watched some of the funeral service on television from Washington DC earlier.

Now I am listening to the sky above my home in southwest Michigan reverberate with the sound of several airplanes. I wonder if this is what the skies over Hawaii sounded like on that fateful day in December now known as Pearl Harbor Day? It is not time for the plane to land at the airport in Grand Rapids several miles away from me as of yet. I can only assume that the planes in the sky are some form of security making sure it is safe for those landing at the airport to do so. They are not due to land until about 2:15 PM and the motorcade will proceed down Patterson,a street near the airport that will be closed to other traffic at around 2:00 PM. My hubby works near the airport and this street closure will effect his drive home. He gets out of work around 3:00 PM.....my thoughts are that he will be a bit late today.

Having had my first husband and the father of my children pass away back in 1975 I can understand how difficult this is and I can't help but think that Mrs. Ford just wishes all this were over and she could have some privacy. And yet, this is such an historical event that she must see the need to share it with the public.

Rest In Peace Gerald R. Ford

New Year

How I wished I could spend time alone here!!! Happy New Year to all of you!

Clearing the air.....

isn't always easy, but it's the best thing to do.

I chose not to attend Christmas Eve festivities at hubby's moms this year. For all my regular visitors you may recall the events of last July that set me on this course. For newer visitors suffice it to say that some things transpired causing bad feelings toward his family on my part!

In my absence Christmas Eve, my daughter-in-law was put on the spot and questioned as to why I wasn't there. In the last few months I have heard they have questioned other family members about whether or not I had some kind of problem with them and everyone chose to remain silent and pretend they didn't know anything. My daughter-in-law(DIL) decided to speak up and say something. I don't mind that she did. My thoughts are that they should have come to me directly instead of questioning people behind my back, but what's done is done. DIL knew of the problem since she and the entire rest of the family were at my home on this July day for a get-together for our daughter, Rachel, who was visiting from Kentucky.

So tonight I decided to call the sis-in-law that was doing the questioning and firmly but politely explained once and for all the reason for my distance from the family. She said how sorry she was that this incident caused hard feelings but she doesn't remember it this way and her feelings were hurt by me on this same day. I tried to explain to her that at least four other family members remember the incident exactly the way I said it happened and what she was referring to never even happened and she didn't have any reason to have hurt feelings even if what she was referring to DID happen! She thanked me for calling and explaining so at least they would know why I was staying away.

Nothing is resolved, but at least now they know that if my grandchildren are not considered part of this family, I am not part of this family either!

Although it remains an unresolved issue, at least the air has been cleared on my part and I have no feelings of guilt over missing the holiday celebration!

A letter home

This letter appeared in our Christmas Eve paper and I thought it worthy of sharing. Please pray for all our men serving in every branch of service everywere!!!!


LCPL Curtis Mejeur from West Michigan is serving in Iraq. His family forwarded WZZM 13 this letter - His mother writes, I thought it would be a good reminder for all Americans:


As the holiday season arrives I would just like to write you all so you remember those serving our country. Remember that they have given greatly of themselves so that you may have a peaceful holiday season. I cannot stress the thankfulness that I have for those that have shown me support over the past year; it has helped me push on so that I can do my job here in Iraq.

I can remember standing in those fateful yellow footprints outside of MCRD. Thinking to myself, "here you go, lets hope it's all that you had planned". And it has been. I have made the best friends I could ever hope for, and I've kept the true friends that I never noticed enough. I've made it half way around the world, and soon, I'll make it back again. I've vested myself in something larger than myself, something larger than Alpha company, I've helped shape history as we know it. But it has come at a cost. I have also lost my friends. I have doubted the shape of the history we are creating. I have doubted the very beliefs at the core of my being.

This is where I will stand, I will. I have made my choices and I promise to stay with them, this I guarantee. Remember on the nights that are coming that there are men and women out there who share the same night, but with far fewer people. Remember his life is far different from yours, but still the same in so many ways. Know the differences, accept them, and hold on to the similarities. That is what we hold onto here in Iraq.

Remember that when you get dressed in the morning and you straighten your tie, he will straighten his Kevlar. You will button up your shirt, he will snap up his flack jacket. You will look in the mirror to make sure you look right, he will look to the right, and the left, to make sure his buddy has his throat guard on. You will grab your keys on the way out the door, he will grab his rifle. You will get in your car, him an armored humvee, and do 75 on the way to work. Anything over 10 scares him to death. You will spend all day attempting to close that lucrative deal, he will spend all day trying to figure out who wants to kill him, who doesn't, and who really doesn't care either way. You will do the same 75 on the way back from work, he'll walk 6 miles. You'll relax when you get home, he'll go right to post for 6 more hours. You'll talk about what you're going to do on Saturday, he hasn't seen a weekend in months. You complain about dinner, he can't believe he's getting hot food this evening. He lives in a world where he must be respectful and polite to everyone he meets, but also keep a plan to kill them.

I write this not for your pity or because I think I have it bad. I write it in the hopes that next time you hear someone disrespecting our troops, that you have the courage to stand up to them, and remind them that although they may not agree with what is happening in the world, our troops are not to blame. We will still care about their safety and interests long after they have forgotten about ours.

Remember their families, they are the ones that have the real fight. Everyone here stands together on the mission at hand. It is not the same at home. It hurts them to hear that, "the war is stupid, all we're doing is sending our young men and women to do, is die". This statement is false and uninformed at best. They fight a much different war, and theirs does not always have everyone standing together. Theirs is the constant state of worry that follows them day in and day out. They will not know much if at all for a year at a time.

I wish you the best, throughout the next year and beyond. Merry Christmas!

First, let me thank all of you for your kind words and encouragement. As you can see, they work!

Today I got to spend some time with two of my grandchildren. Two-year old Drew and three-year old Harley. They are both almost the exact same height, only Drew outweighs her by about 18 pounds. Being that they are both the 'baby' in their respective families, and due to their ages, I thought there might be a little jealousy....and I was right!

Drew was only jealous when Harley climbed up into my lap, but recovered quickly once he realized that there was still room for him too! I was a little surprised at how well they actually played together. Of course Drew, being the younger of the two, wanted every toy that Harley touched. And Harley was trying to be very fair in offering Drew more blocks than she was going to have to play with. When Drew would say a different color, Harley would kindly and gently hand him the color he asked for. Before too long, Harley was left with no blocks and Drew had them all, but Harley didn't complain or fuss about it. She just waited patiently by until Drew went back to watching the 'Cars' movie or moved on to a different toy to play with. I was amazed at this. When she is with her brothers at her house, I have seen her scream, yell, throw things and hit until she gets her own way. Was she being good because her parents and brothers weren't here or do you think she was putting on a show in case Santa was watching? How I wish I had taken a picture of them together.....her mom and dad would never believe it otherwise!

She was the first to get picked up and Drew climbed back on my lap for some extra cuddle time. I was hoping he would fall asleep, at least for a while so he would be in a good mood for his Momma when she got home from work. But that wasn't going to happen. Every time his little eyes would start to close all the way, he would jump down off my lap and run and get another toy car to show me and tell me about.

I guess I could have put him in the pac-n-play and laid on the bed next to him until he went to sleep. That usually works. But it had been such a long time since he and I have been able to spend time together I didn't push the issue. Sorry Naive and Mr. Naive. I'll do better next time! ; )

Dec. 19th......

Survived the boys and we are still alive, but everything else is just kind of sucky right now. Blah, blah, blah......later!

I'm getting too old for this 'baby' stuff....

we have our youngest son and wife's two boys here for the night. The oldest is 6 years....piece of cake to watch and keep entertained. The youngest is between 6 and 7 months old and hasn't seen a lot of us recently. As a result I think he is a little uncertain, if not a bit frightened, of us! He is also in the teething stage. Both of which are not conducive to a quiet evening.

The youngest 'screamed' for about 3 1/2 hours tonight. Never before has it happened that neither one of us was able to calm a screaming baby. Are we losing our touch, or what? The oldest said, and I quote, "I don't think he wants to be here, 'cause he never screams like that at home"! Well, thank you, I feel a whole lot better now! I think I now understand why very young parents become angry and frustrated and lose control and sometimes even become physically abusive. Maybe if all teen-agers were required to care for a fussy baby all night(while being closely observed) with observers readily available to step in before any abuse takes place it would be a great deterrent to the teen pregnancy problem.

Hubby has to work in the morning, he needs to get up at 2:30. It is now 1:00 and I finally have the baby asleep in the family room. I have no monitor. Which means I will be trying to sleep on the couch. Since he feel asleep with the TV on and the lights on the tree on, I am fearful of turning everything off in case it seems too quiet and he awakes screaming. My nerves are shot to say the least....and I need to be at Amber's church by 8:30 tomorrow morning to see her in the church Christmas program. The boys parents are supposed to be here by 7:00....I hope they're not late. The church is about 30 miles north of where I live.

I bid you good-night, while I try to sleep with the TV and lights on.....wish me luck!

I really shouldn't be on the computer right now. I have so much to do still before I go to bed and it is already 11:09PM.

I'm running behind because we went to Amber's Christmas program from school tonight. Amber is in the 5th grade and attends what they call a 'middle' school in the district she lives in. I cannot believe how grown up most of the girls in her grade look. Certainly not 11 - 12 years as she does. She is one of the shortest and smallest kids in the entire 5 grade. Not the shortest, but only about 6th from the shortest! Some of these girls look as if they are in 9th grade! At first I thought that maybe I was just getting older but when Amber's mom leaned over and asked "don't these girls look a little old for 5th grade?', that I realized it wasn't just me. Some of them had bigger chests than I had when I graduated from high school! I'm not kidding! Anyway, Amber did fine; all of the 5th graders sang holiday songs and it was a nice evening out. Now I have to play catch up.

I already have the dishes finished. We had to leave right after eating so all I had time for was to clear the table and carry the dishes to the sink to await my return. Hubby is on overtime still, so he got to bed later than usual and he will be tired all day tomorrow as a result. I have put coffee on the timer for morning (thank goodness for programmable coffee makers) and did the general night time pick up. I still have presents waiting to be wrapped, but they will to wait for another time, perhaps tomorrow!

Ok...here is some Christmas fun. It's another meme...but it really gives you an idea of what people are like. I enjoyed doing it, there are only 20 questions, below are my answers. Hope you try it and have some fun. If you want to play along, all you have to do is copy and paste it on your blog, let me know that you did it so I can come visit and tag 5 people. So here it goes:




1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Wraps them of course

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Colored

4. Do you hang mistletoe? NO, I don't need too, my hubby tells me I'm kissable!

5. When do you put your decorations up? According to hubby, Tom, too early.....the weekend after Thanksgiving usually.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Baked, honey-glazed ham smothered with pineapple rings

7. Favorite Holiday memory? Hearing Santa and reindeer on my roof...see last post.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Santa? what are you trying to say?

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? I did when I attended the Christmas Eve celebration with hubby's family, but I won't be attending anymore...:(

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Lights first...followed by all the ornaments that have special meaning that I have acquired through the years!!

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love to play in it, hate to drive in it.

12. Can you ice skate? Yes, and I went last year and only fell once!!!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Oh I have had so many...but when I was about 9 it was a 'Terrie Lee' doll

14. What's the most important thing? Being with the people I love

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Hmmm..home made ice-cream cake! Yum, yum

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? It use to be reading "The Night Before Christmas" to my kids....but the youngest is now 34 so that's out of the question :(

17. What tops your tree? A star

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? OH I love giving, I love to watch the look on the persons face....oh nothing beats that...love it love it


19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? I love "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem" and "Silent Night" and "Away in A Manger" sung by little children!

20. Candy canes, Yuck or Yum? Yum!

So I am going to tag:


Clew
Editor
Itchy
V
Chesney
Nelly

Happy Holidays all!!!

A Christmas Memory

Sitting alone in the family room last night and looking at the Christmas tree, my thoughts wandered back to when I was a little girl on Christmas Eve. As long as I can remember, my folks always told us that "if" we were good and "if" we listened closely enough we would hear Santa with his sleigh and reindeer land on our roof just before we fell asleep!

Talk about an incentive to get the kids to bed early on Christmas Eve, this one worked every time. My sisters and I would hurry through dinner and baths, pajama donning and teeth brushing so we could get in bed and listen for the sound of the reindeer and Santa on our roof! And you know what? We actually heard them. Every single year! They sounded like horses sound when they walk on the pavement, followed by a large "THUMP" which we were convinced was the sleigh as it touched down on the roof. And we even heard the soft jingle of sleighbells....we were lucky; and "good" children!

As I grew, I realized that all the noise was my dad enhancing the fun of the belief in the fantasy of Santa Claus. And as a parent with small children, my husband and I carried on the tradition. And my children also were "believers" in the legend of the landing of Santa on our rooftop every Christmas Eve. I'm not sure any of the kids remember these episodes but I do and I think that I had much more fun with the tradition than they did at the time. I can close my eyes and still see the expressions on their little faces as they heard the first "hoof" hit the rooftop!

Somethings are just better when you're grown!!

Christmas Tree - 2006

So this is this years Christmas tree. When I took the picture, the tree lights were on, but it was daytime and they don't show up very well. Usually I have help decorating the tree from hubby and Amber, but this year I was on my own. So I just put the Christmas cd's in the player and went to town. It only took me ALL DAY! Now I can finish with the other decorating but I feel good knowing that at least the tree is up now!

The tree skirt was made by my mil several years ago as a Christmas gift to hubby and me......back when we (she and I) were still speaking to each other. It is a really nice tree skirt and I do like it and appreciate the fact that she made it for us. Homemade gifts are awesome!

Even though we don't really speak anymore and I won't be attending any family Christmas festivities at her home, I do wish her a Merry Christmas!

TAG, I'M IT AND YOU'RE NEXT!

I've been tagged by ChesneyGirl! I am supposed to list "six weird things about myself" and then tag six people to do the same. Check the end of this post to see who got tagged!


1. If eating a small bag of colored candy, I must separate them and eat them in order so there is always the same amount of colors in each group!

2. After going to bed each night, I have to get up twice to make sure I locked all the doors even though I know I did.

3. I have to brush my teeth first thing in the morning, even before I can drink my coffee.....then after I have my breakfast I have to brush them again!

4. I can not stand to go barefoot outside....not even in the summer....I need something on my feet.

5. I have no trouble waking up if a child or baby is crying or calling for me, but can sleep through a blaring alarm clock.

6. I can not stand to have a candle with a white wick....I at least have to light it just to turn the wick black and then can blow it out!

So, I'm going to tag:

Clew

Bainwen

Renee

Melnhead

Mary Ann

Itchy

Have fun ladies!

Looking ahead......

....to this Holiday season. I can't wait to get my tree and other decorations up. I have just started and do have a few out, but with hubby's surgery and my ankle/leg thing still going on, it's been hard. Hubby has returned to work today taking my car (his truck still is not repaired correctly) leaving me stranded at the homefront. I don't mind though, the weather has become quite wintry.....freezing rain, sleet, mixture of rain and snow before turning into all snow.....blowing snow at that. Well, let me correct that. The wind is blowing, but the snow is not the powdery kind so it is not blowing. We probably have about 3 inches on the ground with a 1 1/2-2 inch base of ice under it. Makes me glad that I am inside where I am! When the roads become slippery I would much prefer to be on the inside looking out as I am a today!

Well, if any of these decorations are going to get up, I had better get a move on.
Maybe I'll even take some pictures and post them when I'm done with it all!

Later and stay warm!

Oral Surgery.....ouch!!!

This time hubby had to have extra bone in his lower jaw removed. It was located on the inside, where your tongue would rest. They made incisions on both sides and had to grind the bone down to where it is supposed to be, and then stitch it back together. It didn't take as long as I thought it would, but boy, he sure is miserable! I feel sorry for him, but there is nothing I can do except make sure he takes his pain meds on time and make him liquid meals until he is able to eat again.

Looks like I'll be busy waiting on him for a couple days, so I may not have a chance to stop in and read your blogs until late in the evening.....but I will catch up!

I'm getting real tired of all this, but I'm sure he is too! I'm sure that in a couple days he will start to feel better. Thank goodness this is the end of all the dental work he will be needing for a very long time! :)

I might as well have a job!

I say that because I had to get up this morning at 5:36. My phone rang and it was hubby telling me that he and his truck were stranded at the gas station on the hill near the freeway and could I come and get him. I wasn't happy about being awakened, but I put a smile on my face and told him sure. I put on the smile figuring he was already upset enough being stranded. You see, his son had his truck the entire time he was up deer hunting and was fixing it for him. I'm sure he is now thinking that if he fixed it, why isn't it working right?

Well, I threw a coat over some sweat pants and the t-shirt I sleep in and figured I would go get him and he would bring me back home and take my car to work. Wrong! I didn't know that he would drive to his work and then I would have to drive back home. Had I known he was running late (or thought he was anyway) I would have put some clothes on and at least taken a cup of coffee with me! He was afraid he would be late for work so he didn't want to take the time to deliver me back home. And it turned out that he was 15 minutes early for work so he could have taken me home, saving me from the 20 mile trip in to work and back. Gheeeez!

Now it has become my job to contact our son and tell him where the truck is located. If it wouldn't start for hubby I don't know what makes him think it will start for our son!

The above picture is not of hubby. It is one I found on the net!

Thoughts now turn toward Christmas.....

With the Thanksgiving holiday now behind us I can start thinking of shopping for Christmas. I can't believe the stores start advertising for Christmas earlier each year. I think the first Christmas merchandise I saw in a store this year was the day after Halloween. Come on, people! Isn't that pushing it just a little?

But now, I am ready to think about and even start shopping and decorating for Christmas. In fact, I am actually getting excited about beginning this special holiday season. Christmas is a wonderful time of year. People are usually filled with good cheer and well wishes for the entire human race. Oh, I know there are some who are "bah, humbuggers" but I refuse to let them get to me and ruin a perfectly lovely time of year with their bad attitudes! So in keeping with the true meaning of the Christmas Holiday, I am including an invitation that I received to a very special party and hope that you can make it too!




CHRISTMAS PARTY INVITATION


You are cordially invited to

A BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION!!!

Guest of Honor: Jesus Christ

Date: Every day. Traditionally, December 25
but He's always around, so the date is flexible....

Time: Whenever you're ready.
(Please don't be late, though, or you'll miss out on all the fun!)

Place: In your heart.... He'll meet you there.
(You'll hear Him knock.)

Attire: Come as you are... grubbies are okay.
He'll be washing our clothes anyway. He said something about
new white robes and crowns for everyone who stays till the last.

Tickets: Admission is free. He's
already paid for everyone...
(He says you wouldn't have been
able to afford it anyway...
it cost Him everything He had. But
you do need to accept the ticket!!

Refreshments: New wine, bread, and a
far-out drink He calls "Living Water,"
followed by a supper that promises to be out of this world!

Gift Suggestions: ; Your life. He's one of those
people who already has everything else.
(He's very generous in return though.
Just wait until you see what He has for you!)

Entertainment: Joy, Peace, Truth,
Light, Life, Love, Real Happiness,
Communion with God, Forgiveness, Miracles, Healing, Power,
Eternity in Paradise, Contentment, and much more!
(All "G" rated, so bring your family and friends.)


R.S.V.P. Very Important!
He must know ahead so He can
reserve a spot for you at the table.
Also, He's keeping a list of His friends for future
reference. He calls it the "Lamb's Book of Life."

Party being given by His Kids (that's us!!)!
Hope to see you there! For those of you whom I will
see at the party, share this with someone today!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

May you all have a Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving. May you find many things to be thankful for this year. May you be blessed with good food and the company of your family and loved ones near.

Please welcome Dorothy Thompson!

I have a guest author, relationship expert, columnist, renowned authority on the Soul Mate phenomena, and queen of the e-books here today, please welcome Dorothy Thompson. The one we will be talking about today is "A Complete Guide to Promoting & Selling Your Self-Published eBook."

Welcome Dorothy! Let me jump right in with a few questions for you:

First, how long did it take you to gather and research all the material needed to publish an e-book that would help others publish and promote their own e-book?



Hi Marcia, and thanks for having me! To be honest, this eBook is the accumulation of five years of research, but it wasn't until the last year did I realize the secrets to real book promotion. Five years ago, I started out with a children's book that was published by an e-publisher. I barely knew a thing about eBooks, much less how to promote them. It wasn't until I started self-publishing my own eBooks did I realize where I went wrong. For starters, I didn't take an active part in promotion. As a newbie author, I thought the publisher would do all that. After only a handful of eBooks sold over the years, I gave up on it.



Now, through trial and error, and a different approach, my eBooks are selling quite well. As in anything, it sometimes takes having you go under before you realize what it takes to come out on top. This I have achieved through "A Complete Guide to Promoting & Selling Your Self-Published eBook."



As for the time it took to gather and research to put this eBook together, I would say it took the whole five years to really figure out how to get people interested in a paperless book, and get them to buy one. People love print books, and I am one of them. But, eBooks are a whole different thing. People buy them for information mainly, and if you can provide that information that isn't available anywhere else, you have landed on a gold mine.



Next, is this the first book you have had published, either in paper or e-book?



Actually, this is my fourth eBook, and I also have print books I have either co-authored, or edited. All of my eBooks with the exception of the children's eBook, I have published myself. I like the hands-on control of self-publishing, and the profits can't be beat either. Where else are you going to make money off your books without having to share?



I am contracted by a small press publisher for books that I feel would do better in print. But, then, there are other books I have that are more suited for eBook formatting, such as one in which contains a lot of clickable links as in "A Complete Guide to Promoting & Selling Your Self-Published eBook."



One thing people need to keep in mind is your market when determining whether to go with print or electronic means of publishing. My eBook is interactive, so electronic is the only way to go. For fiction, I would recommend print because it's harder to sell in electronic format, but I have seen some eBooks do extremely well. Informational eBooks are hot right now. If you have a certain knowledge of a particular subject, put this knowledge into an eBook and sell it from your website. A lot of writers who are waiting for that NY contract or royalty statements from their already-published books find this an excellent way to make a little money (or a lot!) on the side.





Last but not least, what kind of money are we looking at to publish an e-book....from the actual publishing and promoting of it?



LOL, glad you asked. How does nill sound? If you have a program where you can make your own snazzy book covers, and have a way to turn a .doc into a .pdf, you're in the good.



If you don't have a program to make book covers, drop me a line at thewriterslife(at)yahoo.com, and I'll set you up with one. My rates are lower than anywhere, and I have a pretty good eye for what makes a good cover. I've been complimented quite a few times.



As for promoting, my eBook shows you hundreds upon hundreds of ways to promote your eBook without it costing you one red cent. Of course, you can buy ads, what not, but you really don't have to. And this is what it's all about—finding outlets to promote (which I have and are in the eBook), without it costing a thing.



If you would like to find out more about my eBook, visit www.thewriterslife.net/promoteebook.html

Thanks for visiting today, Dorothy. If any of you have any further questions for Dorothy please feel free to contact her at the website she has listed above.

Thanks, and happy promoting to you!

INHERITED OR DEVELOPED?

I was surfing blogs tonight and discovered some very creative ones. Not just in appearance but in content too! And it made me wonder why on earth I ever thought that I should start a blog myself.

I guess I just thought it would be a place to voice my feelings....to vent....to sound off freely. But after surfing and reading I feel it makes all my small attempts, on those rare occasions where I was trying to be creative, seem very ambiguous! I guess some people either lead a much more interesting life than I do and/or are just way more creative and witty than I!

And you know what else I discovered? That all the blogs that I find very entertaining are all written by women well, except for a couple. And those women are all in the same age range. There must have been a sale on 'creative genes' for a few years when these people were conceived and born. Some of these blogs are listed on my side bar and others are just ones I happened on by luck and chance.

Really though....don't you wonder why some people seem talented in so many ways and others seem to have received no talent whatsoever. Or if they have talent, maybe they never had the opportunity or the inkling to develop it. I'm a firm believer in thinking that talent does need to be developed or encouraged either by parents or some other outside forces. So maybe the credit not only goes to God for these peoples talents but maybe to all those others who influenced them and their creative ability!

And maybe the rest of us who wish to be creative just never had the opportunity or encouragement that we should have had.

Enough Already! - A short story

Okay, I have had enough! I am now a single mother of three young children after my husband passed away a few months ago. My children have all been sick with some kind of stomach upset and now I get a call about my 82 year old grandfather. He had been living on his own until recently. Before they discovered colon cancer and did the surgery.

Now he is recovering in the hospital. He doesn't like hospitals and has never before been a patient in one. I don't even ever remember him going to visit anyone who was a patient in one. He always waited until the person was home before going to see them. Even when his grandchildren were born they told us he didn't come to see us until after we were home and he could get his hands on us and hold us.

The hospital called me to tell me that he refused to keep any kind of covering on his body. He was literally sitting around naked and refusing to cover himself up. What was I supposed to do? They asked me to come and try and reason with him. Fat chance, I thought! He's always been a stubborn man, now he's a stubborn OLD man!

I have to quickly find a sitter for my 3 young children. Thank goodness for great neighbors, and I find one who is willing to take on three little ones to her already busy schedule of caring for her own three little ones!

I back out of her driveway and head down the road. I look in my rearview mirror and in the street behind me, I see my youngest son running down the road after me waving his arms and screaming. I stop immediately and when he reaches the car, I am standing beside it and I scoop him up in my arms and try to console him. You see, he is just under three and has been frightened of my leaving him ever since his dad passed away. He is so frightened of being apart that he doesn't even want me to close my eyes when I go to bed at night. He will often sneak into my room while I'm asleep and shake me and say "Don't close eyes, momma".

I return him to my neighbor and we pry his arms and legs from around my body and she must hold him tightly so he doesn't chase me again when I leave this time. He will be fine once he calms down and realizes that his brother and sister are with him.

I drive the thirty miles to the hospital, park the car and take the elevator up to the third floor. I walk down the hallway to the nurses station and speak with the head nurse. She informs me that he is being unreasonable and I need to go and speak with him about his dignity and not sitting there in all his glory!

I enter his room and sure enough...there he sits stark naked with everything exposed. I say "hi Grandpa, what are you doing?" He replies that they have stolen every article of his clothing and they won't give it back to him and he wants to leave....NOW! I ask him to cover himself with the blankets on the bed until we can sort this out because I am embarrassed to see him naked and he obliges. He tells me to go and speak with the nurse and find out why they stole his clothes. I humor him and leave the room. I go back to the nurses station and explain to them that he is at least covered up now and they ask me to try and calm him down enough where they can give him some medication to relax him and let him sleep and hopefully when he awakens he will not remember this episode.

I return to his room and explain that the nurse and I will try and locate his clothes but it make take a while and in the meantime he needs to get some rest. I ask if it is okay if the nurse gives him some medicine to relax him while we conduct the search. He is agreeable and takes the medication. Soon he is sleeping soundly and I sit down to wait for him to awaken in a few hours.

When he awakes, he is more like his normal self. He is remaining covered, calm and has no recollection of the happenings of a few hours ago. He seems surprised to see me there and asks me why I didn't wake him when I arrived so we could visit. I am amazed that he remembers nothing of my embarrassment, but pretend nothing happened also so he won't be embarrassed either.

Grandpa passed away a few weeks after they transferred him to a rest home. Goodbye Grandpa and rest in peace.

AMY

I spoke with my sister today and she tells me that Amy is making remarkable progress toward renewed health. Thank you God! And thank all of you who prayed for her recovery.

She has been home from the hospital one week now and for the first time in a very long time she is breathing without any outside help from oxygen! She even took a walk down the road to the mailbox cluster to retrieve her mail. I am amazed at the spunk this young woman has. I know first hand what it's like to be split down the middle, so to speak, and have your heart worked on. I know the pain she has and is going through and I know that she still has CF and still has a long arduous journey in front of her. But I also know that with God's help and the great attitude and strength of her faith she can make that journey as fun-filled and enjoyable as her health will allow.

I hope and pray for a lifetime of good things for her, her husband and her daughter. I pray that God will bless them with many more years to share their lives together.

She Lied

She told her folks she would be playing at her girlfriends house for the whole afternoon. She lied. She was going to be in so much trouble, but she had no idea when she lied that they would go to her friends house looking for her!

But, that is exactly what happened. And she wasn't there. Her friends mom told her folks where she was. Of course it was somewhere they had forbidden her to ever go. Into the woods where the hobos stayed when they jumped off the train and waited for the next one to come along and take them somewhere else on a new and different adventure. She loved to go into those woods. The hobos were nice. They weren't mean and awful and they certainly weren't looking to hurt any kids. They liked kids. They liked the way the kids listened to their many tales of where they had been and what they had done. The kids were a great audience. Grown-ups just wouldn't appreciate the stories these men told and their way of life. But to a kid it was a magical way of life....something a kid could dream of doing instead of having to grow up and be responsible. It sounded like so much more fun than the lives their parents led.

So that's where they found her.....sitting around the hobos campfire with her friend. They told her and her friend in a calm voice to get up and go home. The girls didn't hesitate to move. Mom and dad were much too calm and she knew she and her friend were in some deep trouble. She walked the few blocks to her friends house and left her there and headed home to wait for her folks to arrive.

It was some time before her folks got there. They had stopped at her friends house and spoke with her mother before heading home to deal with her.

They came in and at first just stood there and looked at her without saying anything. How she wished they would say something.....anything! But they just looked at her with that disappointed look parents get when you've really screwed up and you know it. Then they said "What do you have to say for yourself?" and then they walked into the kitchen and poured a couple cups of coffee for themselves and waited for her to come into the kitchen. They never told her to come to the kitchen, it was just something she knew she would have to do. Why oh why had she gone into those woods? She was sorry, but sorry wasn't going to cut it this time.

She entered the kitchen and sat at the table staring at the table top so she wouldn't have to look at them and see the disappointment on their faces. It seems she was always disappointing them in some way. She wasn't perfect like her older sister and she wasn't the baby. She was stuck in the middle and even when things weren't her fault, she got blamed for them just because of her birth order! It wasn't fair. But then it wasn't fair of her to lie to her folks about where she was going either. Maybe someday she would learn. If only she had already learned to listen to what they told her she wouldn't be in this mess. But here she was.....ready to face her punishment.

Then they dropped the bombshell on her. They asked her what kind of punishment that she thought would be fair to her. WHAT? This is a terrible spot to be in. Trying to think of an answer that would be fair to her and fair to them. They didn't ask for one that would be fair to them, but it was just one of those things she knew they would expect. Besides if she acted mature enough and was fair enough about the punishment maybe they wouldn't be quite so hard on her and would tell her that what she had come up with was too harsh afterall.

She decided that grounding for 2 weeks and having to clean up supper dishes without any help from her sisters for the next 2 weeks would be sufficient. And guess what? They agreed. No, but wait, I didn't really mean it, she thought to herself. It was just a starting point. They were supposed to say no and feel sorry for her and give her a much lesser punishment. She couldn't be expected to really have doled out her own punishment, but that's what they did. And then they told her that she was being much harder on herself than they would have been.

She cried herself to sleep that night. And she did learn.....that was the last lie she ever told them.

The news is getting better.....

Amy is feeling better than she has in a long, long time. She left ICU late Saturday or early Sunday. According to my sister, she is acting much more like the Amy we use to know. Joking around with her hubby and giving him a hard time (all in fun, of course)!

We still don't have the results of the biopsy but the thinking on that is that if it were malignant we would have heard right away. At least that's what we're hoping it means. We are very glad she is feeling so much better and I want to thank everyone of you for your prayers. It means so much to me to know there are blogger friends who really care about what is going on in my life. ;)

Update on Amy

Amy is out of surgery and doing okay right now. We don't have the results of the golf ball size tumor they removed but the doctor thinks it is benign. We are praying he is right about that. They also found a hole in her heart that she must have been born with and went undiagnosed for her entire life, and they were able to repair that. So, if the tumor is benign she should feel better than she has in a long time in spite of having Cystic Fibrosis.

Thanks to everyone who prayed for Amy and her family!

This is a photo of Amy taken in June of this year when I was out there for her brother Tom's wedding reception. Amy is sitting beween her husband and her daughter.

Just a short post as I am very busy keeping Drew occupied. Well, it's not really that hard....I just like to spend as much time with him as I can. We've watched Nemo upteen times and I've played cars until I'm out of gas....LOL.

He's napping at the moment so I'm taking a break. I had to call my sister in Denver and see if Amy(her daughter and my niece) was out of her heart surgery yet. She told me she was, but they haven't been able to see her yet. Amy is still in the recovery room. I now know that they removed a tumor from her heart but don't know if it was malignant or not as of yet. The worst would be malignant....there is nothing they can do for her if it is. She's 37 and is married and has one almost grown child. Still......

If anyone feels like praying for her we surely wouldn't mind!

Okay, I have gotten the Halloween pictures from Kentucky so I can now post all of the trick-or-treat grandkids under the age of 6. The one to the left is Drew dressed as a chicken. Isn't he too cute? The next one is of Trenten and Ty. Trenten is a crew member for Lightning from the Cars movie and Ty is a monkey! Cute costumes also. Okay, I'm a little prejudiced, I can't help it! Next picture is of my grandkids in Kentucky that I don't get to see very often. My son-on-laws mother was nice enough to loan her camera out for the evening so they could take some pictures and send them via e-mail. Darian is Superman and KeAira is a cheerleader. And the next one is their baby brother, Cayden, who is dressed as Bat Baby! I didn't get a picture of Amber, Hunter or Harley since none of them came trick-or-treating here. Harley did come over the next day with her Mom and Dad to use the garage to change a tire, but didn't have her costume on.

My sis-in-law did stop by with her two children Telyse and Kameron and her niece Shaila. I took a picture of them and also one of my sis-in-law wearing the shoulder pads her neice wore under her football costume. She's a real clown sometimes and she is a riot to be around!

Well, I guess I can't post the picture of my niece and nephew. Blogger has been acting up all day and that is how long it has taken me just to load the pictures that I was able to post. I think it is having a hissy fit of some kind. And you know what? It's starting to piss me off!!!

Stuff and more stuff!

Well, I finally received a call from the doctor that performed my colonoscopy. The office called this morning and informed me that the biopsy came back benign. I was confident that it would. The gal calling also told me that the Doctor would like me to remember to call and schedule another one in two years. YEAH......RIGHT!!!! I told her I understood and hung up and started laughing really hard. There is no way in HELL that I am ever going to do that again. The preparation for it is soooo terrible and I will not subject myself to it again. If they can come up with some other way to get the 'cleaning job' done, maybe I'll consider it....but if not....I'll just keep laughing ever time they try to schedule one. Enough said about that!

Are all of you prepared for the little gremlins and goblins that will be appearing on your door step tomorrow evening? I am totally looking forward to seeing the little ones dressed up in their Halloween best! Heidi (my dil) and Jeremy did pumpkins with their boys last evening and she took some pics of the big event.
The biggest boy is Trenten and he will be 6 on Sunday. The little guy is Ty who is 5 months old. Ty is our fourteenth grandchild! And the fourteenth is just as precious and special as the first one was! I thought that Naive would have sent me a picture of Drew carving his first pumpkin too, but she may have just gotten too busy to get on her computer and send it to me.

I will have pictures tomorrow of my little 'gremlins' dressed in their costumes as they come trick-or-treating to Mema's house. I will post them as soon as I can.

You all be careful.....and watch out for low flying witches and black cats!!

Cackle, cackle!

Full Circle

Okay, it's almost November. November in our household means deer hunting! Hubby is leaving Monday the 13th for his annual trip to the U.P. Last year was a bad year for deer hunting. Yes, he got his deer, but as many of you will remember he also had a heart attack back in the woods, 4 hours from the nearest hospital. Let's hope this year is better!

I have a beef about hunting this year though. Although our freezer is almost devoid of venison and as much as we could use the meat, I don't really want him to leave this early and be gone for so long this year. The last few years I haven't minded him going for 2 weeks. But the last few years we also had been able to spend quite a bit of time together before he went. Not so this year. For whatever reasons, this year we haven't spent much time together recently, one on one! I know the reasons, but there is no point in going into them here and no point in hashing them over once again. Suffice it to say, that I am feeling rather alone and lonely even though I have many loved ones living in close proximity to me. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the same old issue of not feeling that closeness, that connectedness (new word?) to each other. I've been feeling this lack of being connected for some time now. I don't know if he's not feeling well or is just tired from working so much overtime. I think it isn't that he doesn't feel well though. It just seems like he doesn't have time or isn't willing to make the time for 'us'! Like he is so sure of 'us' that he no longer has to invest time in 'us'. I believe that it's a good thing to be sure of your partner but on the other hand, it's not a good thing to think that just because you are secure in your love for one another that you don't have to stay close and connected. It still takes work and he isn't working at it right now.

Dang....I miss him already and physically he hasn't even left yet.

I thought that writing and venting would make me feel better but it hasn't. Maybe I didn't vent powerfully enough!

The Birthday Boy !

Just got back from Drew's Birthday party. The little lad is now 2! The picture is of Drew and his Mom blowing out the birthday candles (he needed help) and his big brother Steve. Hub didn't go; he isn't feeling well. Heidi also is ill and couldn't make it, but we had a good time anyway.

I think 2 year olds are overwhelmed with large groups of people. He didn't really know what to make of it all. But it was close to bedtime too, so he was getting a bit tired and just a little cranky! But he was still a good boy. He liked his presents and wanted to play with the toys and pushed the clothes aside. Very typical of a child.....Mom and Dad liked the clothes though!

The party was a "Nemo" theme since he is fascinated with anything Nemo right now. In fact, when I had him 2 days this week, we watched the Nemo movie 8 times in those two days! Bumpa and I gave him an outfit and also a big squishy Nemo. His brother and sister gave him 'Bruce' and 'Dorie' and a Nemo plate, bowl and glass. He also received a Nemo book, some Nemo cling-on stickers for the window or mirror, more clothes, cars (another favorite of his right now) and a big car set from Mom and Dad. I'm sure I've forgotten to mention some of the things but if this was all he received he was still doing good! Happy Birthday Drew!!!

Procedure completed and home again.

Just a short post as I am still very groggy. I wanted to thank you all for your good wishes, thoughts and prayers. The preparation was really the worst part since I slept through the actual procedure. Thank goodness for medication!

They found several small polyps and they were removed and sent in for biopsy and I should know the results of those in about a week. Sorry to be so short, but I really need to go and sleep some more.

Thanks again!

Preparing......

Okay, it's Sun. Oct. 22 at 12:21 AM and I have started preparing for a medical testing procedure to be done early Monday morning. I don't want to go into great detail about what it entails. Suffice it to say that the procedure won't be done from the waist up. Nelly works for doctors who do this all the time. If they email you with questions, Nelly, just ignore them!

So from here on until after the procedure Monday morning, I am allowed no solid food. Only clear liquids, which can include broth, jello, coffee, tea, soda, fruit juices without pulp, popsicles, Kool-Aid and hard candy.

On top of all this I have to take some medication that will flush my system "sparkling clean". I believe I will be up most of the night with the 'cleaning my system' part of it. So, not only will I be grumpy from being hungry, I will also be grumpy from lack of sleep!

I originally thought that we would just leave the house on Sunday early afternoon and go for a long ride to distract my thoughts from my deprivation from food, but I have been told by others who have had this procedure done that that will not be a viable option for me as I will need to remain very close to the porcelain facilities for the afore mentioned cleansing! GREAT!!

Since I didn't get any response from anyone who was willing to go to my mammie mashing in my place, there is no need to ask for volunteers for this either, right? All righty then.......see ya later!!!

Birthdays, Birthdays, Birthdays.......

This is the month that we have the most birthdays. Our daughter, Naive, turned 38 yesterday. I don't remember getting old enough to have a child that old....something must be drastically wrong for this to happen! One of our granddaughters is turning '3' today. She's pictured on the right.....a little cutie, and I'm sure the only reason her parents have let her live to be three! We will have cake and ice cream tomorrow night for her and give her birthday presents then. I talked to her on the phone this morning and wished her a Happy Birthday and she said, and I quote, "I got make-up on and I'm big today!" Little things make three year olds happy ..... put a little make-up on a three year old girl and everything's right with the world! At least, her world!!


On the 26th of this month, our little Drew will turn "2"! He is one of the sweetest little boys I know....of course I could be just a little partial. Drew shares a birthday with one of my nephews. Drew is pictured in the photo above with Naive and Mr. Naive.

On the 8th of October, our youngest son turned 27! I don't know how that happened either! Here is a photo of Jeremy....
As you can tell by the photo, Jeremy may have turned 27, but he's still 16 at heart!

My husband's Grandmother turned 89 on Friday the 13th; my great-niece in Colorado will turn 18 on the 28th and my first born niece's husband will add another year to his life on the 30th.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ONE AND ALL!!!

Dentist Office

Hubby visited his dentist yesterday. He had some extensive dental work done requiring him to remain home all of yesterday. He came home with a script for some pain medication which I took to the pharmacy and had it filled for him. The pain medication makes him sleepy not long after taking it. He will be home from work today as well. One can not work if one can not remain awake! He is pretty miserable anyway. His face is quite swollen and without the medication he is in a considerable amount of pain. I'm certain he will return to work Wednesday.....at least I hope so. I love him and I feel sorry for him, but dang, he really interferes with my normal routine. See, it's all about me! Just kidding....I really do feel sorry for him. I am taking good care of him......soup, jello and anything else that he feels he can eat. I am tired though.

The night before his dental work, one of our sons called and asked me if I would take him to the emergency room. He was running a temp of 105 degrees and he said something was swollen on the roof of his mouth. His significant other couldn't take him without waking up their small children and dragging them along, so what's a mom to do except get dressed and make the ER trip. After he received a shot of an antibiotic in the right buttock (which was good for a lot of moaning and carrying on by him and a stifled chuckle by me) and a written RX for some more antibiotics and some pain medication, I returned him to his house and came home. I got home about 1:30 AM.

I'm thinking that in another day or so, they both need to share their pain meds with me......I'll be ready for a much needed rest by then!

MICHIGAN CHILL

This photo is from a ride last Sunday. It was a beautiful day and probably the very last day that we, here in Michigan, will have temps in the 70's and so much sunshine this year! It was really nice.

This week has been very chilly and breezy. The temperature dropped down to below freezing on a couple of nights and we have had frost/freezing warnings and high wind advisories posted. The winds have caused many of the colorful leaves to begin an early descent toward the ground. Hence, many of the trees are "naked" at the top while sporting a full array of color around their mid-section. I don't know why, but this reminds me of a groomed poodle! Strange, I know....but sometimes I'm just strange. Some of the trees are just plain bare at this point and still there are a few that haven't even begun to change color. I suspect that those that haven't turned already are in the oak family and they usually turn brown anyway.

We are finally warm in our house again. Thanks to the 'furnace doctor' and being $3200.00 poorer. But it is well worth it to know that we won't have to worry about it for the rest of this winter at least.

Hope you all stay warm!!

Halloween Swap!!

My Halloween Swap partner Mary Anne sent me these lovely goodies. She couldn't have known that today was the perfect day for them to arrive! We just found out that we need a new boiler/heating system at a cost of $3200. And we need it today! And just two days ago, Hubs truck starter quit working and we discovered that my car needed two new tires, pronto, for safety!

It was just the most cheerful thing that could have happened to me after that bit of bad news. The package contained candles, a witch wind sock, a light up pen, some pumpkin faced candle holders, wonderful stickers I can use in my scrapbooking (they will be an added bonus near the pictures I have taken of the items!), a Halloween wall decoration, and an adorable little bear wearing a witch hat, a lovely little pumpkin decoration, and some really cute little stickers that she had adorned the package with. It all came wrapped in orange and black tissue paper with the pumpkin stickers attached. And enclosed was a nice little note from my newest friend. Very lovely, indeed. Thank you so much, Mary Anne, and keep your eyes peeled for your Halloween package!

THE LAST NICE SUNDAY OF THE YEAR ?

Well, the weekend of the big "Blogarita Festiva" is now a thing of the past. Hopefully it will become an annual event with some other family get togethers thrown in, like a picnic or something.

I understand that some of the lovely(?) ladies saran wrapped my garage door! Hubby is the one who found it at 3:30AM Sunday morning while trying to leave for work. He opened the garage door and his first thought was (remember it was very early in the morning and he was still a bit fuzzy from not getting enough sleep) 'what kind of a spider makes a web like that?' When he told me what his first thought was I couldn't help but laugh at him....sorry, hubby! So I didn't even get to see it. I am told that they took pics of it though and I can't wait to see the pics!!

I didn't get to hang out with the 'girls' very much due to the fact that another grandchild, Amber, was here for the weekend and she arrived from school with a temp of 101.3. So, I couldn't very well go over to Naive's
and leave a sick child here alone nor could I take her with me to infect everyone over there.

By Sunday, Amber was no longer feverish although she was still coughing, so we went for our ride to the lakeshore and walked on the beach. Then out to dinner and back to Amber's home to drop her off and then to stop at our son, Jeremy's home to have birthday cake and ice cream to help celebrate his 27th birthday.

Now I am anxiously awaiting new posts from Clew, Chesney Girl and Nelly to see what they thought of the weekend!

Miss you girls already!!!

This picture is for Drib.....

The girls had me take this picture for the Dribbler .......no offense intended. I can't post pics of their faces until I get permission from all of them to do so. Don't want any lawsuits on my hands!!! LOL So this will have to do for now....they all stopped by for a short visit with me while Naive was dropping Drew off so they could go out to lunch and, God only knows, what other mischief they were planning on getting into! I had a veggie tray and dip and some festive mini cupcakes waiting for them. You know, to tide them over until they reached their destination.

I didn't get to hang out with them last night because Amber came for the weekend and arrived with a temp of 101.3 and coughing. Maybe today she will be feeling better and Bumpa can stay with her while I spend some time with them scrapping. I sure hope so.....I want to get some more pictures for blackmail.....er, I mean for my scrapbook too!

One last walk on the beach!

This weekend is supposed to be lovely here in West Michigan. Sunshine and temps in the high 60's to mid 70's.

I would love to take a ride to the lakeshore with hubby and walk on the beach for one last time this year. I find walking on the beach very romantic and relaxing. All except for having to listen to the noises the gulls make trying to entice us to feed them something.

The ride to the lakeshore is always pleasant too. The way we take goes through many forests and small wooded areas and the colors should be beautiful with the sun shining on the different colors of leaves and foliage.

And another added bonus.....because it will take up most of the day, hubby will take me out to dinner! What more can a girl ask for on a beautiful autumn day!

Hope the rest of you have a great Sunday, too!

Been here and gone....where was I?

Hey, I just realized that I had an anniversary last month. On the 29th, I had been blogging for a whole year. It came and went un-noticed by me! How come I didn't remember...was I too busy, what was I doing that day?

Oh, that is the day of the cold air funnels over the Big Lake and the out of season tornado warning. No wonder I didn't remember.

I should have baked a cake or something to celebrate....oh well, too late now.

Happy Blogsversary to me.....a few days late!!

RIDE FOR COLOR!

October 1st and we went on our first color tour ride this season.

We took Amber with us and one of our nieces, Telyse. She is 9 1/2 but she and Amber have always played really well together and we thought if Amber had someone to help keep her occupied, she might not complain and get bored as easily. We were partially correct.....she didn't get as bored but instead of having one little girl to complain about things we ended up with two!

Fifteen minutes into the ride they complained that they were thirsty. I repeated to them that I had asked them if they wanted to bring something to drink along and both had told me "no". I guess I misunderstood. "No" meant they didn't want anything to drink that we had at home, they wanted us to stop and buy them something. I laughed and told them that they would have to wait. We would be stopping to have some lunch in a while and they could get something to drink then.

As we looked at the red, yellow, orange and mauve leaves, they played tic-tac-toe in the back seat and some other games. Hey, they were quiet and that was a good thing! Then they started talking about hearing stories of when their moms and dads were little and had to endure hours spent riding in the car and inevitably ended up arguing in the back seat. So they started THE GAME. You know, the one where one says "She's touching me, make her stop touching me!" and the other responds with "She's looking at me, tell her not to look at me!" When they are just playing it isn't so bad....but we know it always escalates into the real thing, don't we Moms and Dads?! Sure enough, that's exactly what happened...after one of them said "She's breathing my air!", I told them that is enough and to stop it and get along or we wouldn't be stopping for any food. Success! Now they weren't even speaking to one another.....ah, it was bliss.....nice and quiet for a few miles until they once again became friends and chatted amicably in the back seat for the duration of our outing.

We stopped and ate and then headed back to drop Telyse off at her house and then came home. Normally Amber would go home on Sunday evening so she wouldn't miss school Monday morning, but she doesn't have school Monday, so she will be staying with us and I will take her home sometime on Monday.....unless she talks me into one more night and I drive her to school on Tuesday! She's a good talker.......