My Life

Piece of the Puzzle

2009-12-11T12:18:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was great, the weather was great, the food was great and the whole family being together was great. This was the first holiday Lamont spent with us and so it was a special time for all of us. I think he got a little bored here in Baton Rouge since it rained the last few days while he was here. We shopped both of those days. On Friday we went downtown to listen to a band and dance. Saturday we took him tailgating at LSU and Sunday I took him to the western store to buy cowboy boots. We had some fantastic talks. When he got home he thanked me for being patient the past 14 years. That meant so much to me. I can see this will be a permanent thing and I just never dreamed it would be like this. God has answered this prayer for me in ways I never thought possible. One day we were at the health club and we were doing some exercises together. As I looked in the mirror and saw the 2 of us together I just thought it was the most surreal thing ever. Never did I imagine he would be at the club with me let alone sharing an exercise together. It is just the most awesome thing. I cannot even begin to tell you how content I feel with all of this. It is like I have had a puzzle piece missing and it has been found and now we are a complete picture.

Pictures

2009-11-04T15:44:00.001-08:00

My mom in the teal, Emily Jane in the middle and JoAnne in the red, they are all sisters! This is Chamberlain, SD, it isn't my home town but I have to go by it and it was pretty so I took a picture.

This is Alicia and her new husband Andrew. Aren't they cute?

Sorry...

2009-11-04T15:12:00.000-08:00

I am sorry I didn't post right after the wedding. I totally forgot! Anyways, the nasty texts went on for the rest of the week, there were texts telling us that she won't be around after the wedding, that I should go back to my "hick" town. Mom tried reasoning with her but everytime she called she yelled at mom and then would have cell phone problems and then all of a sudden on Thursday Cammy and I got texts from Brenda saying she is sorry for everything. WHAT??
So now everyone is suppose to be ok..it is hard to turn that switch off. Mom and I prayed for our attitudes. Everyone was on edge and apprehensive. Mom, stepdad and myself went to the rehearsal dinner and Brenda was her sweet self and everything went well. Saturday Brenda comes by the hotel and gives Paula (older sis) a card apologizing for everything. Paula doesn't text. We arrive at the wedding and Brenda makes sure Paula has a corsage and all was good. After Brenda apologized I suggested we talk but she didn't want to have anything to do with that. She said she didn't want me to shame her, so I said never mind. Brenda has had a very traumatic life, as a teen ager she had 2 abortions, that will mess anyone up. She had a 4 year old daughter that drowned and her ex in laws have blamed her for that for over 20 years, then her 18 year old son was killed in a car accident. She is divorced from the father of her children. Mom and I have talked about this situation many times and we all agree she is slowly killing herself. Everyone in the family has told her she needs help but she just gets angry. She has been on crack, presently smokes dope and drinks every evening. She is a sad sad person.

Hey Ya'll..

2009-10-20T18:24:00.001-07:00

I am sitting on a bed in a hotel room in Sioux City, Iowa. I have been driving all day and decided this was as far as I was going to get. The fall foliage has been awesome but later today it started to rain and so I thought it was time for me to quit for the day.
My day started bad. Last night my niece called to tell me my younger sister was causing alot of trouble. It is her daughter's wedding and she thinks she can dictate who comes to the wedding and who does not. My younger sister and my older sister having been fueding for many many years. I am not sure anyone knows the whys or whatfors but they haven't spoken for along time. So my younger sister thinks my older sister is coming to the wedding to upset her, she also thinks her ex husband is going to hurt her at the wedding. Doesn't this sound like Conspiracy Theory? Wasn't he a little nuts? Welcome to my world....
So I was on the phone all morning while driving listening to all the drama. At what point does a grown woman realize IT ISN'T HER WEDDING? Sheesh..

On the road again..

2009-10-14T09:17:00.000-07:00

Well, Sunday I will be hitting the road for South Dak. again. There is a wedding that my mother and stepfather want to attend and I said I would take them. I kind of want to go to the wedding although there seems to be much drama around this one that I am not looking forward to the uncomfortableness around some people. What a blessing family is..
I have been told that there is snow up there. It is in the 80's here in Baton Rouge and so it is very hard to pack for snow when you are in shorts and flip flops. Can I get an Amen?
Later.....

God is sooo good!

2009-10-08T12:54:00.000-07:00

This young man I gave up for adoption is 38 years old. I have prayed for him for almost that many years. I have prayed that I would get to know him, that he would get to know the sons I was able to raise and that he would feel a connection with us. When I first met him 14 years ago it was a very scarey time and he seemed to be uninterested in me or my family. We parted ways but I kept tabs on him he had no desire to speak to me. Finally, these last few years he has slowly come around. Last weekend he was invited to the wedding by the bride and accepted that invitation. I was in shock. At one point during the week before he arrived I had a panic attack, worrying about what he would think of us. There was so much riding on this visit. I wanted so much from just one weekend. I prayed and prayed and begged God to make this a life changing weekend. God has done was I asked and more. Friday night Lamont arrived and we took him to eat, Natalie and her girlfriends took him out for partying. Saturday he was able to meet the boys and everything was perfect. The kids played soccer at the park, the etouffee was delicious, everyone got along, no drama, Sunday the wedding was so much fun no one wanted to leave. Lamont has written to me that he feels a connection with us and wants to fit in and I am on cloud 9.

Big Surprise!

2009-09-22T05:42:00.000-07:00

As the wedding got closer Natalie (Lucas' fiance) decided along with my suggestion to invite Lamont to the wedding, I told her he won't come but being the sweet person that she is did it anyway. Lo and behold he has said yes. I am so in shock and excited. He will get to meet Gabe and Lucas and vice versa. I get to take a picture of all 3 of them together. I get to cook for him and have him in my home. He gets to see me in my element. I haven't been able to get a good night's sleep since he said he might make it. I am just in shock...did I already say that?
I will post a picture the minute I get one. Please be praying he won't think we are a bunch of hicks or hillbillies.
I am making crawfish etouffee for 30, I may need prayers for that too. tee hee. I have never cooked by myself for that many. Etouffee is quite easy so I think I can do it especially if no one is here to distract me.
We are having a play day at the park the day before the wedding so everyone will be able to strut their stuff and the old people will just be stiff and sore. :-)

A busy October

2009-09-18T14:59:00.000-07:00

We have a very busy October coming up. Lucas and Natalie are marrying on October 4. We are so looking forward to meeting her family. They are from Philadelphia. Her mom is Vietnamese and her dad is American. Natalie is a lovely young lady and truly committed to Lucas. October 24th my niece in Mitchell, SD is getting married. I have volunteered to drive up and pick up my mom and step dad and take them to the wedding. I am looking forward to that trip.

I forgot to post pictures about my finished bathroom so here they are, didnt Stanley do a fantastic job?

Adin at 10 months

2009-08-20T07:25:00.001-07:00

Adin is such a little delight. He is still cuddly and a very happy baby. He loves peek a boo and patty cake. The day after the party he found the yellow balloons and wanted to peek a boo with them. Of course I could not resist pictures.

Asher turns 3!

2009-08-20T06:59:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so long since my last post. Sometimes I don't know where the time goes. Last weekend we went to north Louisiana for Asher's 3rd birthday. It has become a tradition that I get to go and pickup the birthday cake for the birthday boy. This time Asher tagged along to pick it up and he was very very excited. Asking constantly the night before "When are we going to get my birfday cake?" So off we go...I took pictures of the big adventure. He had a shirt that had the number 3 on it and was very proud of it.

Everytime I took his picture he would say "Mimi take a picture wif my tongue hanging out!" So of course I had to do that.

This was Asher's reaction when he saw his birthday cake, he turned around and told a complete stranger that that was HIS birthday cake. After we got it home, he proceeded to constantly touch it and lick the frosting off of his fingers. He couldn't resist and ate the "e" out of his name on the cake.

Next we pick up the balloons. Yellow is Asher's favorite color so orders "3 lellow bawwoons!" It took the guy a couple of times before he understood what he was saying and then he couldn't even repeat what Asher had said. There is that tongue again.

Mom, Asher and tongue!

Slippin' and Slidin'

2009-07-21T18:24:00.000-07:00

The weeks I have Wesley and his friend Hayden have been wonderful. There are days they want to just stay here and and play with the legos that I saved from when Gabe was young. There are times when I don't hear from them. They go in the back room and they have the portable DVD player playing a movie and the TV with cartoons on and they are busy building something with the legos. Since they want to stay home it keeps me off the roads and I have gotten several projects done in my house. One was the clean and polish my granite countertops. Now they are clean and shiney. WOO HOO! Another one was to paint the new bathroom and I am almost finished with that then the mirror and light fixture can be hung along with the pictures I have purchased.

Some days we go to Foxy's to swim and that is always an adventure and tiring. Yesterday we decided to do the slip and slide.

Video Games

2009-07-11T19:10:00.000-07:00

This is your backside playing video games.

This is your frontside playing video games.

Need I say more?

The bathroom so far

2009-06-18T18:40:00.000-07:00

This is the shower, I wanted to do a seamless shower but it costs $2250 so I guess it will just be a regular shower.Here is the sink, a very large mirror will go over this along with a really cool light fixture. I am really getting excited about my new bathroom. I am thinking of painting the sheetrock a burnt orange. What do ya'll think?

Home at last..

2009-06-07T12:56:00.000-07:00

I made it home! The inside of the house is convered with a layer of fine dust. Hubby says it is cuz he has been working, obviously not housework tho. Sigh....So the next few days will be spent catching up with the housecleaning and stocking the frig. That's right..he didn't bother to get groceries either. The milk had been in there since I left and boy did it stink! There were things in there growing mold so first on the agenda today was to clean the frig. I want to start a group that we all clean each other's house if one is out of town unless my husband is the only one that does this. I cleaned before I left town and I am not sure why I did that.

All is good with the parents. I will be going back up there in October due to the fact that my sister's daughter is getting married and someone needs to take them to that wedding. It is a 3 hour drive and I don't trust my stepdad to drive safely.

Before getting back to Baton Rouge I went to north La. to visit the grandsons. I was able to take them to their swim lessons. Mark has improved alot. I love taking the boys swimming.

The business of caretaking..

2009-05-24T11:42:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the long delay in postings. I have been a little busy with this caretaking business. Ha! Life in Gettysburg can get real dull so I really have no excuse to not post just didn't feel like it I guess. Mom is doing ok. Although she wanted to go to the hospital today and things started to deteriate at that point. My step dad said a few hurtful things to me and now all I want to do is run away. Mom was dehydrated and so they hooked her up to a IV and a few hours later sent her home. My first plans were to go home this weekend but mom wanted me to stay for a special event at her church next Saturday (the 30th) so I am staying until the 1st. I am homesick for grandchildren, Bella, my own bed and of course hubby. Also things like going to the gym, sushi, visiting with a girlfriend at the local pub and all of that normal life I have in Baton Rouge. When I come home to Gettysburg I have a few friends that I look up but as small as this town is these few friends have a life and are busy so they have not had much time for me. The more I live in the south the more I see the difference in the lives of these people and the people that live down south. If I had a friend that came to town I would call on her/him often, see if there is anything I could do, ask if he/she wanted to go for coffee, drink, coke or whatever and try my best to listen to their grievances. All I have gotten from these few friends is "I will call you to get a beer" or "We should go get coffee" then when I pin them down to a time they are busy with parties, cleaning, or whatever. I am feeling a little lonely, taken for granted and homesick. Sorry for the whining.

By the way...

2009-05-06T06:33:00.001-07:00

For my one reader...I am heading to South Dakota on Friday. Yes, I am driving. I am meeting a girlfriend in St. Louis for some R & R first. My mom had knee replacement surgery yesterday (she is getting a new part every year now. ) I am going to help get her up and going. I will blog while up there and hopefully get some pictures uploaded. While I am gone Stanley will be tiling. YIPPEE! Maybe it will be done by the time I get back home which should be the first of June.

Things that I love..

2009-05-06T06:28:00.000-07:00

I love Adin's fat little thighs and his wonderful giggle.

I love the way Asher wrinkles up his face when he is telling you something.

And I especially love the way Mark is a thinker and will one day a really awesome adult for God.

Remodeling

2009-04-11T16:34:00.000-07:00

The shower floor.

Naked wall

Stanley worked hard on these pipes.

I finally talked Stanley into redoing a bathroom. I should have taken a picture of before but I forgot so I will describe it. When we added onto our house we put a bathroom next to the laundry room. For along time it was a storage area and then we had an idea...let's make it a place to relax. We found a very large jacuzzi tub. Picture a hot tub but a little smaller. It is not a tub that is self-contained. If you want to use it you have to fill it up each time. No filter, just a big ole tub with jets. It would take about 30 minutes to fill up. Also in this "relaxing" bathroom was a counter and sink and a mirror. No toilet. It was where I did my hair and makeup and that was about it. The tile was a very shiney hunter green. Remember that color?? We put up wall-paper and it really looked nice for a little while. We (maybe just me) plan on updating the other bathrooms soon and I was thinking if we converted this bathroom into a useful one then when we do the other bathrooms we will have another toilet. Makes sense to me. Stanley gutted the bathroom in no time and could just not part with the tub. So it is sitting in my backyard and he says he is going to make it into a hot tub. Now, we didn't use this tub while it was inside of our home why would we use it outside?
He has gotten the piping where it should be, put up the board for tile and now the fun is about to start....the tile. Thanks to Marci it is already picked out and ready to order. Whoo Hoo!

A puppies' work is never done...

2009-02-23T13:29:00.001-08:00

Bella felt the need to start planting her flowers early this year.

First thing you have to do is to clean out the old soil.

Bella didn't realize how deep this pot was and wondered if she would have enough soil to fill it back up.

The pesky critters have to be dealt with immediately. (This is not a real snake)

Random things........

2009-02-07T11:29:00.000-08:00

I had the priviledge of hanging out with Mark, Asher and Adin last week. They continue to delight me in many ways. They are getting along better and therefore easier to do things with. The second day I was there the weather was warm and they went outside to ride their battery operated vehicles. Gabe is sort of Tool Time Tim sort of guy and souped up the battery power in these vehicles and they have a blast riding them around the property.

We donated a yellow lab (Charlie) to them since he seemed unhappy in our small yard compared to their property that also has water. Charlie is a very active dog and most of the time he is called "No Charlie, Stop Charlie, Quit Charlie" and Asher calls him "Carlie dog". Charlie doesn't realize how big he actually is and so therefore likes to play with Gabe and Marci's chihauhaus (not sure if I spelled that right). Niko is trying to explain to Charlie that he is way too big to play with her. Of course she is a bit of a Diva and playing is not really part of her make-up, she only wants to sit on a person of her choosing's lap and be petted.

Won't this be a fantastic picture to show his girlfriend?

You would not beleive the giggling that went on trying to take this picture.

Is this just cute or what?

Skiing with Lamont

2009-01-25T16:07:00.000-08:00

Wow, what an awesome trip skiing with my birth son of 37 years. It has been 13 years since I last saw him and he has been a tad angry with me for most of those years. He now seems to be ok with me but not sure why he wants to get to know me but that is ok as long as he wants to. I am hoping he will figure it out eventually and realize we are a cool family and want him to be a part of it however he wants.

We skied Thursday night, Friday all day, Saturday all day and Sunday all day. Let me just tell you, at 57 that is no easy task. The body was screaming for rest on Sunday but Lamont was a slave driver that wouldn't let up so off we went. Once I got on the slopes I was good to go and tried not to slow Lamont down. He decided to make a jump and I wanted to capture it on camera. First time I was in the wrong place, communication is not easy, second time I was in the perfect place to get a picture. He jumped and as I snapped the picture the camera slipped and I did not get it, at that very second Lamont landed and fell. First thing he asks was "Did you get it?" I hated to tell him no but couldn't lie. I think he let out a groan knowing he won't be able to do it again. He asked how high he was and I said very high. What is it with guys?

I met his girlfriend, Brenda, she is really cool. We were looking at the grandsons and she said "Lamont those are your nephews." He said "No". I said "Biologically yes." She said "Yes Lamont." Too cool. We went out for sushi one night and one night they cooked for me. I felt honored to be invited to their home. I was able to meet their babies (dogs) and that meant alot to me.

I asked Lamont to please not wait 13 years to let me see him again and he said he wouldn't. They expressed an interest in New Orleans so maybe they will be here for the Jazz Fest. I know I won't have a relationship like my boys but at least it is a start and it is something.

As he was heading down a slope I thought to myself, I don't know that kid but I love him very much. It is such a strange situation. I know him but don't know him, his mannerisms remind me of my family members, he looks like my family members, DNA is a strange thing.

New Baby

2009-01-08T16:56:00.000-08:00

Hubby is turning 60 this month, yea I know that is way too old for me but what the heck I almost got him trained I am keeping him. So for his birthday I bought him a registered Beagle puppy. I brought her home yesterday and Stanley said "What is that?" Uh...... a puppy? She ran right up to him and he was smitten with her. We have named her Bella Jo and will shorten that to BJ in honor of Bjarne, the teen-age exchanged student from Germany living across the street from us. I forgot how beagles howel and boy can she howel. Do their voices change at puberty? Will it get deeper and not so high pitched? Hope so. She is sweet and very compliant and we are having fun with her.

P.S. I am leaving on the 15th for the ski trip, thank you very much for your prayers. I know it is going to be good, he is being very nice about the whole thing and this is a first since he has been a bit rude in the past and I was about to give up.

Nashville or Bust

2009-01-06T14:16:00.000-08:00

So far 2009 has been busy for me, how about all of you out there? I got home from my road trip with BFF on Saturday and it was good to sleep in my own bed. I missed my pillow and my bed and my clean house. We had a great time hanging in Nashville. We did not get to see the Grand Old Opry due to the fact that it is only closed 3 days a year and New Year's day was one of them. When we left Ohio it was snowing and the roads were slippery, it was a little nerve-wrecking. As we were coming to a stop on the interstate due to the fact that there were many cars up there stopped there was a car behind us that was trying to stop and he maneuvered his car to the side of us, scraped the guardrail and then very gracefully slid into traffic never to be seen again. I was amazed but I bet he was cussing about the damage on his very nice Audi.
We had many hours of girl talk. Nashville was fun, we bought matching cowboy boots, walked around in them breaking them in and spent New Year's evening at the Wildhorse Saloon listening to a really cool band. BFF learned to line dance, I chose to sit and watch. Next up is my ski trip and I am very very nervous about it.

2008-12-28T09:21:00.000-08:00

Greetings!

My Christmas was quiet and relaxing. How was ya'll's? Friday after Christmas we made a fast trip to north La. to take our lab (Charlie) to our son's house so they could adopt him. Charlie is a beautiful dog that likes to run. One night as my husband was walking him he got off the leash and took off and crossed one of the busiest roads in BR. It was scarey, we have had a dog get run over on that road many years ago. Someone found him and brought him back after a few hours of freedom. That is when hubby decided it was time to take him some place else to live. Our son has an acre on the bayou in West Monroe. Saturday morning we let Charlie free to run the land and watched as he toured his new home. He was very excited, he ran until his tongue was hanging out. Plus he loves to run with the boys and they have an abundance of boys at their house.

We also got to hang with the grandchildren as Gabe and Marci jumped at the chance of free babysitting and a night out. Here are a few pictures of the newest grandson at almost 2 months old. He was born a little over 6 pounds and has almost doubled his weight in 2 months.

Awesome!

2008-12-23T06:08:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending the day with Wesley. This was to be my gift from him for Christmas. His dad dropped him off around 8:30. I had dreams of going to the movie, eating lunch with him and his dad, and maybe a little extra shopping. He had other dreams. First he wanted to go to the museum downtown, a museum over a movie what is up with that? Then I got to thinking about the few last times we went to the museum (this ain't my first rodeo you know). We end up at that "gift store" where everything is drastically marked up. So I asked him "Are you going to just go to the toy store?" He said "Sort of". Don't ya love the honesty of kids? I said "Well if you want to buy a toy I don't mind but I would rather go to another toy store." He was eager to do that. So, off we go to the museum and guess what? The museum is closed on Mondays. Sheesh! You would think they would be open THIS Monday since it is the start of Christmas vacation for school children. Wesley says "Mimi let' s go to the new toy store!" I said "OK!" We make it to the store even though the traffic in Baton Rouge is absolutely terrible. Wesley shops and shops and shops at this small locally owned store. The clerks kept asking us if we needed help, one time the young girl was suggesting items I should buy. I looked up at her (I was squatting on the floor playing with a toy that Wesley was interested in) and said "I understand that we have been here a long time and must be a bother to ya'll." She said "NO, NO!" and walked away. It was beginning to annoy me and was hoping they would leave us alone to make our decision. While Wesley was shopping I was texting his dad making plans for lunch. At last we made our purchases and headed to lunch. Lucas was anxious to see Wesley one more time before he leaves today for Philadelphia to meet the soon to be in laws. After lunch Wesley wanted to go to my house to try out one of his new toys. It is an excavating thing that you chip away at this dried clay to find a dinosaure fossil. It looked kind of cool so he immediately got started and laying everything out on my coffee table. I was busy checking email so I wasn't paying much attention. At one point he stood up and started waving his hand and I said "What?" He said the dust is bothering me. Thinking he meant my unclean house I started to just ignore him then I noticed what he had been working on and he had dust and clay parts all over my coffee table and rug underneath. I asked him what did the directions say and he said "I didn't read them" so I took them and it said you should spread newspaper underneath the project and wear protective eye glasses. OOPS! No harm he was being careful. He finally got tired of the project so I had to clean up but he did run my Swifter all over the house, it may be dirty but it smelled good. A good day with Wesley is always special to me and I am hoping him too. I won't get to see him for quite sometime since I will be gone the next time his dad has him. I sure do miss the times with that kid.

Merry Christmas to my few readers.

2008-12-21T16:42:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we celebrated our Christmas with the kids and grandkids. We had bought a tree for the presents to be under but we didn't get around to decorating it so we just have this little bare tree sitting on a small table by the window. I have been thinking all week I need to just throw it out but haven't gotten around to it. Anyway, we are now thinking of how we will handle the Christmas day we have by ourselves and no place to eat out. I asked hubby what he wanted me to cook and he said "Nothing, can't we eat out?" I saw in the paper that Tokyo Cafe is open so I am thinking we can go eat sushi and go to a movie and call it a day. The kids are all going their separate ways. Lucas and Natalie are heading up north to meet her parents. This a big deal for Lucas. I sure hope they like him as much as we like Natalie. Gabe and Marci and kids are renting a cabin and spending a couple of nights away from the hustle and bustle of Christmas. They don't really talk to the boys about Santa so Christmas is downplayed in their family. My goal is to go on vacation with the whole family at Christmas and not do the gift thing. I think everyone is in agreement when the kids get older.
Next Monday (the 29th) I am flying to Pittsburg to meet up with a girlfriend and we are driving back in the car her dad is giving her. We will be spending 2 nights in Nashville seeing the sights. After that trip I will be nervously getting ready for my ski trip. I think about it constantly, wondering if he is as nervous as I am, wondering if he is excited about seeing me as much as I am about seeing him, wondering if I can keep from getting emotional and keep my hands off of him. Adoptees don't like the touchy feel thing from their birthmoms. I have asked a few friends at church to be in prayer for this meeting. My hope is that he will want to continue to get together with me, maybe meet Gabe and Lucas, my mom and my siblings. But most of all I just want to enjoy myself with him and be thankful that I get to see him one more time. I have enclosed some pictures of him. Ain't he cute?

Germs.................

2008-12-17T04:51:00.000-08:00

I had this cute little posting in my head but cannot get the pictures uploaded so I will just have to use my words. Last weekend we had Christmas at our house cuz Marci worked in Baton Rouge and they want to spend their Christmas in a cabin with just their family with none of the grandparents around to spoil the kids. What's up with that???
Hubby and I bought a very small tree but never did get around to putting decorations on it. The kids didn't ever notice, they were more concerned with the presents.
On Friday Marci took off for work, Gabe and Mark ran errands and Asher, Adin and I hung out here. After getting Adin fed Asher and I decided to bake a pie. He loves to help pour and stir and I was eager to have his help. He poured all the stuff in as I directed and I gave him the spoon to stir it all together, I turn my back to get the camera and I hear this "ACHOO!" I asked him if he sneezed he said "Yes". So we got an extra special pie. Baking kills the germs and sort of breaks up the mucus, right?
The pie was delicious.
The boys love playing on my dead end street, every now and then we have to check on them and make them come back as they ride the bikes and trikes down the street. I was glad we had nice weather for them to do that.
With our Christmas over I am enjoying the quiet and looking foward to my trips. When is the right time to throw the Christmas tree out?

Tagged

2008-12-10T05:15:00.000-08:00

8 Things About Me

8 TV Shows I Watch

1. Dancing with the Stars
2. The Amazing Race
3. Desparate Housewives
4. House
5. Law & Order
6. What Not to Wear
7. House Hunters
8. John & Kate plus 8

8 Favorite Restaurants

1. J. Alexander's
2. Galatoire's
3. P.F. Changs
4. French Market Bistro
5. Parrains
6. Ichaban's
7. Ruffino's
8. Drago's

8 Things That Happened Yesterday

1. Got to have lunch with a favorite girlfriend.
2. Ran into ex-daughter in law and had a pleasant conversation
3. Whittled away at my Christmas shopping list
4. Enjoyed pizza with neighbors.
5. Confirmed ski trip
6. Got fussed at from hubby.
7. Purchased a very small Christmas tree.
8. ????????????

8 Things I Look Forward To

1. This weekend with my family
2. Trip to Ohio
3. Ski trip to Utah
4. Next trip to So. Dak.
5. Time with Wesley, Mark, Asher, & Adin
6. Taking Christmas decorations down.
7. Playing Spoon with the family
8. Weekends

8 Things I Wish For

1. Being debt-free
2. Happiness for my children
3. Health for my family
4. A close/comfortable relationship with birthson.
5. A new house (definitely)
6. Living closer to Gabe and family
7. Spiritual growth
8. An attached garage

8 People I Tag

I don't have anyone to tag, I only read Lita's blog and the Pioneer Woman. Sorry!

Need prayers.

2008-12-04T16:27:00.000-08:00

I am sooo excited. My relationship with my birthson has turned a corner. We have actually had a conversation about meeting. He lives in Utah and I LOVE skiing. He has just started skiing and so I asked if we could meet and ski together. He agreed. First he asked where I wanted to go and then volunteered to pay for the lift tickets and food. I am scared/excited/nervous/anxious and would like to get on a plane tomorrow and go see him. Please be praying for this. My goal is to make this a yearly thing, to get to the point that he will want to meet Gabe and Lucas and my mom and siblings, to get comfortable in this relationship (it makes me nervous when I talk to him). He doesn't need a mom at the age of 37 and he already has a mom (not sure what sort of relationship it is tho). But most of all I want this to be an enjoyable time for both of us, no pressure to have a serious talk, just 2 people skiing and enjoying each other's company. Pray that I can be relaxed and be able to keep my emotions in check. Thanks!

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-30T10:46:00.001-08:00

While I am here blogging I might as well say something about Thanksgiving. Gabe and family were at our house for 10 days. It was very hectic with all the boys. My house is not real spacious so I felt like we were on top of each other many times. The boys are able to go outside since we live at a dead end street and their dad was working across the street from my house. Thankfully I have many many inside and outside toys and of course I "had" to purchase more just to keep them happy. I also have 3 battery powered vehicles for them to drive around but unfortunately only one worked. So, Mark rode Asher around and then when Wesley came over and rode his bike Mark felt the peer pressure to ride his also. Thus leaving Asher to man the only working battery operated vehicle. I bought the boys rakes and shovels which kept Asher very busy. He would tell us every day "I need to wake the weaves." So when Paw Paw was home they "waked" together. He got to ride in the wheelbarrow with Paw Paw and had a grand time.

We have a tradition in our family that on Thanksgiving day the guys play baseball with a ball made of masking tape. I am not sure how this started. But it is funny to watch the guys try to pitch/hit/catch this homemade ball.

Ok, I will bite.

2008-11-30T10:35:00.000-08:00

Lita has tagged me and I am suppose to pick the 4th picture on the 4th album and blog about it so here goes. This is a picture of Asher who is 2. He found some stickers and decided to put them all over his face. He is a very serious little boy and it is hard to get a smile out of him so this is the result. He was very proud of all of his stickers. It was one of those quick shots because he moves fast and his mom and I thought it was hilarious that he put all of the stickers all over his face.

Things that I have learned

2008-11-25T06:36:00.000-08:00

Even tho I have learned alot in the past 3 weeks I will narrow it down to 5 things:

1. I never ever want to have to raise kids again.
2. I definitely have become quite selfish and like my ME time.
3. If you bake something in the oven and it spills the next time you bake the smoke alarm will go off.
4. Little children are louder than a rock and roll concert at full blast.
5. I tire easier than I use to. What is that all about?

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

In a flash..........

2008-11-18T06:06:00.000-08:00

Isn't this a sweet picture? I caught the big boys playing sweetly with Adin, Mark was playing with this toy that played songs and watching Adin's face for any response from his songs he was playing. There was a pumpkin flashlight that he had shining on Adin's face to make sure Adin could see who was playing for him. I couldn't help but capture it on film. I tried to move the flashlight so it wasn't shining on his face but Mark insisted on it being right there.

Shortly after I took the picture Mark (in the red shirt) accidently pushed a button on the toy and it quit playing the songs. In Mark's frustration he picks it up and tosses it because it wouldn't play right. Of course he got in trouble but we fixed the problem after his time out.

ON YOUR MARK...............

2008-11-18T05:54:00.000-08:00

On your mark!

At Gabe's house the driveway slopes as you arrive and so Mark and Asher use this little hill to their advantage. They pull/push their little scooters to the top of the hill and then jump on and scoot so that gravity will take over.

Get set!

GO!!!!!!

Wesley turns 8.

2008-11-09T12:34:00.000-08:00

Friday was Wesley's birthday. It is beyond my comprehention to believe that he is 8 already. I remember when he was born, it was right after 9/11. He is such a delight to us and has grown so much. When he was born I had this burning desire to make sure he knew he was loved and wanted. I would list over and over the many people that loved him. I had a feeling he would have a difficult road because of the age of his parents. They have done a great job so far. He is a bright kid and well liked by his classmates.
His dad had a party for him Saturday. They had a teasure hunt and hit a piniata and slept in a tent. Not sure if they got too cold to come inside or not. Here are some pictures.

Things on my mind.

2008-11-07T19:26:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine owns a Subway restaurant and was shorthanded on Wednesday and asked me if I wanted to help during the lunch hours. I said sure, how hard can it be? Just make a few sandwiches and call it a day. HA! They started coming in at 10:30 for food and finally at 1:00 I literally ran out of there. (I had made a lunch date so I could leave early.) I was in charge of lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, bell peppers, onions and all of that on that end of the bar. If the person was short it was hard to hear them over the little bar thingy so I had to stand on my tip toes and tell them to repeat their order. Several times I put the wrong mustard on the sandwich, one time I squirted too much mayo on there and so I had to scrape off that stuff and start over. Needles to say I won't be applying for a job at the nearest Subway anytime soon. Although I did get to have one of their cookies fresh out of the oven. YUMMY!
I am slowly getting to know my birthson. He is not the greatest conversationalist but of course I don't think I am that good at it either. I keep asking the same questions over and over. I usually get an answer from him sometimes he doesn't respond and that bums me out. Anyway he rarely asks me a question about myself which leads me to think that he just isn't interested. But then he will come up with something that makes me think we are taking baby steps. I have never had to work so hard on a relationship in my whole life. It is never been very hard for me to make friends but this one guy has tested my ability many times. Anybody have any suggestions?

Happy family...

2008-11-03T12:28:00.000-08:00

Adin Rex Livingston was born on Wednesday October 29, 2008 at around 3:30. Mark was so excited about his little brother. He said he was going to kiss his forehead when he got to see him and tell his mommy what a little tummy she had. What a sweetie he is. Starting out early giving the compliments to the ladies. Asher was like "whatever". Gabe and I took them to the hospital Thursday night and when Mark rounded the corner and saw his mommy he let out a squeal and ran to her. It was so cute. Then he crawled up on the bed and they place Adin in his lap and he started telling his mommy that the blanket was too hot and he needed to take it off of Adin. But he did kiss his forehead. He pulls his hand out of the blanket and said "Look at his fingers mommy!" (yea mommy hadn't noticed them yet). He said "I want to see his toes!" So they went thru the same ritual with the feet too. Mark will make a wonderful big brother, he is very attentive to him and wants to help mommy.

How cute is this????

Fall has arrived.........

2008-10-29T08:02:00.001-07:00

I had great intentions of doing several postings while at Gabe's house taking care of the boys but they took the cord that you use to connect camera to computer and I could not download my pictures. They have the same camera I have and so it did not occur to me that they would need it at the hospital. After all they would be busy giving birth. Right? Makes sense to me but apparently they wanted to download pictures of the baby right away. How selfish is that???? Kidding!

So first day, I actually got to get up before the boys did. I like to fix my coffee and take a deep breath before they wake up so that was nice. Gabe's house is on the bayou of the Ouachita river and there was a beautiful fog that morning. I tried to capture it on camera but it sure looked prettier in person.

October 28, 2008

2008-10-28T05:18:00.000-07:00

I got to spend some time with Wesley Sunday afternoon. He put his costume on so I could take a picture. Very scarey don't you agree? I would give him anything he wanted..............oh wait ....... I already do. chuckle chuckle.

Today I am heading to north La. Marci is ready to deliver the 4th grandson. I am anxious to lay my eyes on him and can't wait to see Mark and Asher's reaction to their little baby brother. Pictures will be forthcoming.

October 22, 2008

2008-10-22T16:17:00.000-07:00

I am not very good at keeping up with this blog. I think about it writing something. I follow Lita's blog and she is fun to read, she makes it funny. She has turned me onto the Pioneer Woman. She is very entertaining. I was reading her love story and got so wrapped up in it like it was a novel. Unfortunately it came to an end and I miss hearing about her and Marlboro Man's courtship.
Right now we are on baby watch. Marci and Gabe are about to have their third son. Did I mention that I have 2 sons and almost 4 grandsons? How cool is that? Yes I would like a granddaughter but boys are so much fun. Maybe someday someone will have a baby girl but I don't beleive it will be Marci. I think after this one she will be done.
Last night Wesley and I got to attend Suessical the Musical. It was fun. I can't beleive those people danced and sang non-stop for over an hour. I would be wheezing in a heap on stage. Every now and then I would look at Wesley and he was smiling and watching the people dancing so I guess it was a hit. He told me about a month ago that I needed to get tickets so of course I did.
I am working part time for an engineering firm. I have never worked for that sort of a firm before so it is different. I am enjoying not having any of the responsibility other than to do what they tell me when they tell me. I think my hours will be cut to just a couple of days a week. Oh darn. :)

Two Delightful little boys.

2008-09-21T12:49:00.000-07:00

This week I had the pleasure of taking care of Mark and Asher in West Monroe. I was excited about the two days I was going to get spoiling them. I wasn't needed until Thursday but I arrived Wednesday afternoon and started my "work". I got to wake them from their nap. Asher is very cuddly after his nap and I was able to partake in that. He has grown up so much from being a toddler to a little boy. He is a little fella and fit right into this little bucket that his mom keeps blocks in. He was sitting in it and yelling "WHA ME, WHA ME!" At first I thought he wanted me to rock him but when I watched him he rocked himself over and giggled. I told him to do it again so I could take his picture.

Mark was watching all of this from his perch. I asked him if his mom wants him sit up there and he said "No but I can do it when you are here." He was quite proud of himself and told me to take his picture and of course I obliged.

Friday night all was quiet at their house and I was feeling quite content and reading my book. Mom and dad were out and I thought I had gotten them down for the night when a sudden thump was heard. I waited thinking it was mom and dad coming home but then I heard little feet running. I came out of my room which is on the other side of the play room from the boys' room. Mark is standing there looking very guilty and he said "Asher is downstairs". (They have a 2 story house). I yelled for Asher and he started yelling "YAMP BWOKE! YAMP BWOKE! YAMP BWOKE!" as he walked upstairs. I said "How did that happen?" He threw up his hands and shrugged "I dunno!" So I go into their room and notice that the nightstand between their beds had toppled over and sure enough the lamp is broke and lying on the floor. Again I ask "How did that happen" in my sternest voice and both of them said "I dunno!" Guess it was a ghost. So I fuss at them and tell them they had better get in bed or I was going to spank them and they quickly crawl under the covers and lay there waiting for punshment. I tuck them in and try my best to look mean and angry and tell them to not get out of bed again and to go to sleep. They both nod with wide eyed fear. I had to quickly get out of there cuz I couldn't keep a straight face. I took the lamp downstairs and put it on the counter so their parents could see their offspring's work first thing when they got home. Mom finally got to the bottom of the story and I am not sure what actually happened but no one got in trouble and dad said he probably could fix the lamp.

I came home Saturday night and am ready for a kid free week.

Speaking of modern technology......................

2008-09-12T08:30:00.000-07:00

On the left is a picture of a street in my neighborhood that was littered with branches. Gustav blew in Monday and left much devastation in Baton Rouge. Our electricity went out at around 11:00 a.m. that morning and stayed off for 3 days. It was very hot and sticky in this house. We tried playing cards and the cards were hard to shuffle because of the humidity. If you have never lived in the south I am not sure you can comprehend the humidity down here. I have a gas stove and water heater so thankfully we were able to cook and take hot showers. As I watched the trees being whipped around I wondered how many were going to be able to stand the pressure without breaking. I have lived in Baton Rouge for over 30 years and have seen many hurricanes but that is the worst one I have ever seen. It was scarey. I was afraid that a branch would come thru my window at any moment during the storm. After the storm we walked around the neighborhood and realized how lucky we were, there were many trees on top of houses, well I should say laying inside of houses, many utility poles laying on the road and wires everywhere. Here is a picture of one of the trees uprooted by Gustav. Charlie and I are standing by the bottom that was pulled out of the ground. They gave everyone a curfew and of course it was broken and people were arrested. You could not find a bag of ice if your life depended on it. There were long lines to get gas because not very many gas stations were able to open. Forget about going to a restaurant. No one had electricity. They would tell us that we shouldn't even go anywhere since the street lights were not working. This was the case for a couple of days. It was like living in a third world country. Standing line to get into a grocery store, waiting hours to get gas. Scarey driving. All traffic lights had turned into 4 way stops. People don't know how to do that anymore. You creep out into the intersection and pray no one will come barreling thru on their cell phone and plow into you.

We got power 3 days after the storm but not everyone on our street were not that lucky. At one point you feel guilty cuz you are living in the lap of luxury while your neighbor is miserable in the heat and humidity.

Baton Rouge is slowing healing from Gustav but it will take a while. I have heard that this is the worst BR has been hit since Betsy in 1968. Hopefully it won't happen again.

Modern Technology is the best.

2008-08-26T04:25:00.000-07:00

About a month ago I bought my first laptop computer. I have been wanting one but could not convince Stanley that I "needed" one. The old desktop computer is slowly dying and I finally persuaded him to get a laptop. My neighbor was trying to sell me on getting a webcam on the laptop but I didn't see the need for one. He told me all the benefits to it and I could not think of anyone I knew that had a webcam on their computer to talk to. My oldest son and his family came to town and they said they were shopping for a laptop also and decided to get the same one I was about to purchase. All of a sudden it seemed that this webcam thing was a really good idea. I get to see Mark and Asher once or twice a month but seeing them more often was exciting to me. The first time Gabe got theirs hooked up and we were able to talk and see each other was well worth it. As Gabe came into view and I came into view on their computer right next to his dad was Mark jumping up and down squealing at the top of his lungs "I SEE MIMI, I SEE MIMI, I SEE MIMI!" Do I need to tell you how important this webcam has become to me? It was so worth it. Asher sits there and says "Hey Mimi." Last Saturday was Asher's birthday so Stanley and I got on the webcam and sang to him. He was so cute, he just sat there and smiled.
I have this thing I teach my grandsons, when I ask them "Who loves ya baby?" They are suppose to answer "MIMI!" I was able to teach Wesley and Mark with no problem but for some odd reason Asher has teased me from the get go and said "Paw Paw!" And then will grin and watch my reaction. So it has become this joke with Mark and Asher when I say "Who loves ya baby?" They scream "Paw Paw!"
Does it show that I love being a grandmother?

August has arrived................

2008-08-11T15:22:00.000-07:00

School started today in Baton Rouge, public started last Thursday. Wesley just called to tell me about his day. He was disappointed that they didn't give any work today. Gee I hope he keeps that attitude. He likes his teacher and says she is pretty and is glad he got to see all of his old friends.

A girlfriend from Florida is visiting this week. Her mom had surgery this morning and she is here to help take care of her. It is weird how all of a sudden we are in this faze of our lives. I am thankful that she wanted to stay here with us.

I have gone on some interviews but nothing that came to anything. I use to work at Pier 1 several years ago and everytime I go in there they ask me to come back. I may end up doing that just for the rest of the year. Not sure if my legs can take all of that walking around. I remember that being a physically exhausting job. We had to empty an 18 wheeler once a week, rain or shine, plus get stuff off the way top shelf. I think things are different now and they said I don't have to work weekends. They didn't say anything about holidays. Didn't want to push my luck.

Marci and the boys came down. We had so much fun. We went swimming one morning. The next morning we took the boys to ride on the carousel. I think they liked swimming the best. Because Mark would not even ride on a horse on the carousel, he just sat on a

bench on the carousel.

I am looking forward to go up to north La. at the end of the month

when Asher turns 2.

Back to the old grind............

2008-07-28T11:16:00.000-07:00

It has been awhile since I have blogged. We got home on July 7 and it seems to have taken me this long to get on my feet. I don't seem to have as much energy as I use to and I don't seem to have the drive to do many of the things I use to do. Gee, I sound drepressed but yet I don't feel blue.
I have been job searching. I really want something part time and flexible. I just went on an interview and it was just about everything I want except they only guaranteed 10 hours a week. It doesn't seem worth it to get ready and drive over there just for that. Plus it was a $2 cut in pay and that sucks.
I sent out 8 resumes this week so maybe more people will call. I don't want to go to work until school starts so that I can help with Wesley plus Marci and the boys are coming down next week to swim and I want to be free for that. This is not the first week I have sent out resumes tho, I have been sending a few each week. There were alot of positions that I am qualified for in the newspaper this week.
On another note, a friend downloaded Quickbooks onto my laptop and I am trying to learn that. I am already bored with it.
Hope all is going well with everyone out there in cyber space.

June 25, 2008

2008-06-25T08:28:00.000-07:00

I have talked to all the family that is heading this way and they are on the road. I spoke with Mark and he said "I am on my way to South Dakota!" I wonder if he will constantly be asking "Are we in South Dakota?" I sort of wish I was with them but I am enjoying my time alone for now.
Mom is doing well, she ate a good breakfast today. We will be going to the Sr. Center for a yummy lunch. Last night I went to the bar and had a beer with some friends. Some I went to high school with and some I did not. Tonight I will help set up chairs for registration and other stuff.
I am a little concerned with the place we are staying. It seems they have had alot of problems with this guy running this place. I went for my daily walk and I knocked on his door but he did not answer. I am going to go by there later today and have a talk with him about cleaning the place otherwise he may not be getting any money from any of us.

June 24, 2008

2008-06-24T14:22:00.001-07:00

Here it is Tuesday and it seems like this week is just dragging by. Maybe it is because I am anxious to see everyone on Thursday and Friday. I am not anxious to leave mom tho. I worry that she will continue to sit in the chair all day long and not exercise. I don't believe I have gotten her to do more than she would otherwise but I worry that they both will get lazier and lazier. So I am torn between fussing at her and getting her mad at me or just leaving her alone. She will start physical therapy on Friday so that is a plus. Her appetite is good and she is eating more every day. She says it sort of hurts to walk but she said it seems more like a sore muscle on the back of her thigh. Hopefully when more of the family comes they can get her moving better than me.

A nice weekend in the hills

2008-06-22T19:02:00.000-07:00

I spent the weekend with my sister in Rapid City. I like going to her house because one I love seeing my sister and spending time with her and two her basement is nice and that is where I get to stay. It is like having your own apartment. I have my own bathroom, TV, computer and it is cooler down there during the summer. I love seeing Cammy and the boys and spending time with them. We went to Brandon's baseball game. He is very good. I can't wait for Stanley to watch him. Danny is one of my favorite young men. He is always so polite and I think he likes it when I come to town. I love giving him a hard time. Taylor has turned into such a handsome young man. I can't wait to see where he goes in his life.
When I got home the front door was locked. I thought Mom and Ralph were at the Medicine Rock eating so I drove out there but they weren't there. I drove by the church and then came back to their place. I walked around to the back door thinking they forgot to lock it but it was locked too. I walked around to the front and there was Ralph in his stocking feet asking me if I was lost. He said he forgot that I was coming back. Mom and I fussed at him. Mom is doing good. I am hoping she has her appetite back so I can cook some stuff for her. Tomorrow I need to dust and get everything ready for everyone. Just 4 more days and the gang will start to trickle in. I am so looking forward to seeing everyone especially Mark and Asher.

She's getting better..........

2008-06-19T08:21:00.000-07:00

Mom got her sutures out of her incision today and the dr. said she was doing good. In 3 weeks he wants her to start weaning herself from her walker. Next week he wants her to start going to physical therapy a couple of times a week. He said he won't need to see her for 6-8 weeks. He seemed like a good dr. I liked his bed side manner. When mom asked the dr. if he wanted her to get on the table he said "No, just face the table, hold on and drop your pants." The look on mom's face was priceless. She said "For real?" He said "Yup!" It took her a minute to realize he was serious and she did it. It was funny.
Mom got out of the hospital yesterday afternoon. She still does not have an appetite. The hospital sent her home with some orange sherbert and she likes to sip on coke so we are keeping her stocked with that.
I had fun with a girlfriend in Aberdeen yesterday. It was fun to get away and visit and shop.

Life in the fast lane................

2008-06-18T09:09:00.000-07:00

Mom is doing so much better but still wants to stay in the hospital. She will be getting her staples out from her hip replacement surgery tomorrow and still feels some nausea other than that she is doing good.
I am going to Aberdeen (this is the big city here in SD) with a girlfriend as she has a dr. appt. and it will be fun to visit with her during the ride. I don't know her very well and just met her last January. Possible I will get to do some retail therapy and that is always a plus in my book.
I am going to go to Rapid City this weekend and visit with my older sister. We plan on getting pedicures and doing girl stuff.

Roots

2008-06-16T07:45:00.000-07:00

Main Street

Dakota Sunset Museum

I wasn't sure what to call this posting and didn't want to bore anyone by continuing the saga of how we are all feeling. Which by the way, I am doing well and hopefully mother is too. She is still in the hospital. Last night she sounded much better.
I went for a walk this morning and it is a glorious morning here in good old Gettysburg. The temperature is 60 something and it is clear and a light breeze. Much easier to walk in then the weather in Louisiana. UGH! I came home and opened all of the windows in the place just like we use to do when I was growing up.
As I walk around town (it doesn't take very long to cover most of the town) I think about how anxious I was to escape this sleepy little town and spread my wings to the big city. After living in almost a foreign country (everything about Louisiana is foreign to the average midwesterner and probably most of the other people in the US) I love coming home to this small town. I love the memories here and the people I use to know that are still here and the people that I see when there is a big reunion or celebration in town.
Gettysburg is getting ready for a celebration in a couple of weeks, this little town is turning 125. They are sprucing the place up just as I would if I had company coming to my home. They are painting the curbs, getting new awnings, putting up new signs, repairing the cracks in the asphalt. Every day I see them working and getting ready for their company.
I am proud of my little town where most of my roots are and where my parents now live.

Gettysburg High School

Courthouse

Day three

2008-06-14T15:43:00.001-07:00

I am not shaking this virus very well. Now mom has it and I am still not feeling well. I feel horrible about bringing this up here and now she is sick. She is a real trooper tho and said it was no big deal. Poor Ralph, he waits on us going and fetching whatever we want. We were going to grill some steaks for Father's day but we don't feel well enough to eat that. I will try to write more tomorrow.

Day Two

2008-06-13T09:07:00.000-07:00

I got all ya'll's emails and this is what is going on so far. It is 11:00 a.m. I am sick as a dog. I have been throwing up since early this morning. I guess I have what Wesley had last week. I am trying to stay in my room so as not to infect them. I was going to cook and clean the bathroom today but I guess that may have to wait. On the lighter side maybe i will lose a few pounds, tee hee.
Mom really has a hearing problem, it seems to get worse. Of course they never think of muting the tv. Sometimes they really holler at each other. But she is getting around pretty good, she did laundry yesterday and fussed at me cuz I fussed at her to sit down. She wants to feel useful so we just let her do what she wants to do.
They are not happy where the recliners are so we are going to have to rearrange furniture again. I need Marci here to tell me a good way to position everything.
The home health nurse came by, I heard her talking anyway. Not sure when she will be back.
Cammy, I definitely agree with your email. Us kids should sit down together and talk to them.
On my way up here I had thought about us doing that. Cammy, can you do the mary kay thing during a lunch?
I hope Brian takes you up on your offer to help. I will try to write later.

Day one

2008-06-12T08:59:00.000-07:00

This morning when we got up it was 48 degrees. BRRRRRR! This Louisiana girl is cold up here. The wind is blowing but it is sunny. During my walk this morning I tried to stay in the sun just to keep warm.
Mom and Ralph are doing well. I made some scrambled eggs and toast for them and they were happy. We are getting lunch from the senior citizen's center so that is going to be taken care of.
Right now the home health nurse is here talking to mom and checking her out. Apparently she comes over a few times a week.
I have wiped down the kitchen cabinets, swept and mopped. We are going to move furniture and dust today. Mom wants us to vaccum the front room. We need to place the tv on another wall so all can sit in front of it. Doesn't that sound exciting?
I went by the Buechler Dental Clinic ( I have several classmates that work there) and visited with Sandy, Marsha, and Steve. We made plans to get together. Marsha gave me her nail tech connection so I can get a manicure.
That is about it for the day.

Going home................

2008-06-11T16:29:00.000-07:00

Well I made to Gettysburg on Wednesday at about 3:30 and mom and Ralph had not arrived yet. So, I called and they had not even left Aberdeen, it is an hour and a half away. I was starving so I went to get a sandwich. I drove around a little and decided to get a nice cold beer at the Legion and see if anyone was hanging out. But it was too early. I had to get the key to the apt. from Logan's and so I went there and did that. By the time I got my stuff moved in they finally arrived home about 4:30 and they both look real good.
It is cold here, in the 60's and windy and cloudy. The sun finally came out and I guess tomorrow it may warm up. Mom and Ralph seem sort of tired, they are fussy with each other.
I saw 4 dead deer along the highway so ya'll be careful on the way up. They were large deer too, not babies. There is alot of construction near Sioux Falls and in Iowa, the ditches are full of water so if they get much more rain they may be covered. Through Ark. it is 2-lane, if you take hwy. 65 up you might want to avoid that way. Once you get to Missouri tho it is 4-lane.
I will keep ya'll posted on how they are doing.

Home at last.........

2008-04-27T11:26:00.003-07:00

We got to Baton Rouge on the 6th of July. The night before we stayed at our son's house so we didn't have to arrive in BR at midnight. It was good to be home but I miss South Dakota and the weather up there and of course my mom. I enjoyed my stay with my parents and hope to do it again in about 6 months.
Since last I blogged everyone arrived in Gettysburg safe and sound and we had a roof over our heads and had a great time. The weather turned cool but it was ok. Mark and Asher loved the parade, they liked being able to walk just about everywhere. We hit the bakery for donuts several times and that is always a hit with the young ones. Mark and Asher loved playing with their cousins and just plain running crazy. I kept asking Mark if he had made to SD and he said "No not there yet!" He was such a delight as was Asher. Saturday night there was a street dance and Mark entertained us by his special moves. We laughed so hard.
Monday we left for the black hills of South Dakota. The kids did Crazy Horse the first day, the second day we all went to Mt. Rushmore and the third Paw Paw, Mark, Asher, McKenzie and I rode the 1880 train. When we got off Mark turned to me and said "Mimi I had fun!" That made it all worth while.
While in Rapid City we were treated to several dinners at my sister's house. The first night my sister's friends cooked for us and it was delicious. What a treat. the second night we got to visit with one of my favorite aunt and uncles. That is always a special treat to see them.
It is good to be home and get back into the swing of things.

On being a Mimi

2008-04-27T11:26:00.002-07:00

On May 22 I packed my suitcase and picked up Lucas, Natalie and sweet little Wesley and off we went to Jacksonville, Fla. Lucas had a soccer tournament that started on Friday. It took about 9 hours to get there. There was a soccer game Friday morning at 9 a.m. so Lucas went to that. Wesley and I decided to try out the pool but it rained on us a few minutes into our fun. So, Natalie, Wesley and I headed for Target to get supplies for the beach plus toys for Wesley. Friday night we wanted to see the new movie Indiana Jones and was not disappointed, it was an awesome movie.
Saturday Lucas had an afternon game so we headed for the beach and didn't want to leave. But we did and promised to return. We started talking and decided to leave Jax on Sunday and head for the beaches at Panama City plus we would be half way home. Once we got checked into our hotel in PC we shopped for a boogie board for Wesley and of course Mimi had to buy t-shirts for the grandsons back home. Now it was time to head to the beach, off we go with all of our stuff. The lady at the desk told us that we shouldn't go in the water because of the under tow. We were determined to get out there though. The waves were pretty intimidating to Wesley and we could not get him to use the boogie board in there. It started raining and sent us inside for a bit then Wesley and I decided to swim. This kid never gets tired. By the end of the day I was pooped but Lucas and Natalie took over.
We got back to Baton Rouge on Monday evening and then Tuesday after Wesley baseball game he and I headed to Monroe with some fun with the other grandsons. I brought a slip and slide for entertainment. Wednesday morning the boys hit the ground running. When I walked into their room at 7:30 a.m. they both screamed "MIMI!!!". Ahh it is nice to be loved. But then Asher burst my bubble by saying "PawPaw?" Meaning of course Why didn't Paw Paw come with you. First on the adjended was to try the slip and slide out, they weren't quite as brave as I thought they would be but it was fun. See picture below.

Next they went for the pool. Apparently they are in and out of that all day long. Marci is either putting a diaper on Asher or a swimmer. We finally decided no one was watching and it was ok to just let him go naked. I love getting all 3 boys together and just watching them. They have so much energy. It was an exhausting but fun time.
Next trip is going to be on the 10th or 11th of June. I am heading to South Dakota. Driving by myself and looking forward to the alone time.

May 21, 2008

2008-04-27T11:26:00.001-07:00

Good News! I am finished with that job I disliked. YIPPEE SKIPPEE! After the 4th of July I will look for something part time and something I like with people I like if that is at all possible. In the meantime I am heading to Jacksonville, Fla tomorrow for the weekend with my son, grandson and Natalie (son's fiance'). After that I will be taking Wesley to north La. to see his cousins. I am very much looking forward to that. I love to have all 3 grandchildren together so they can play. Speaking of grandchildren, Gabe and Marci have announced they are expecting in November and it is another boy or so the sonagram says. Who knows what will happen between now and then.
After my trip to north La. I am planning on going up to S.D. to viist my mom. She is having hip replacement surgery on June 3 and I am going to help her with that. At the end of June Gabe, Marci, Stanley, Mark and Asher will be joining me in S.D. and then we will do some sight seeing in the black hills. There is an 1880 train that goes thru the black hills and I know the boys will love to ride on that.

April 27, 2008

2008-04-27T11:26:00.000-07:00

I understand some of you think I should retire and I agree to some extent. I do like being at home but I do like my pocket change too. I don't have alot to do at home other than scrapbook and cooking and cleaning. The last 2 are just a bit overrated if you don't have kids around. I don't have the opportunity to play with grandkids every day as Wesley is in full time school and with his mom during the week. The other grandkids live 3 1/2 hours away. So, therefore I like to work to keep busy and it gives me spending money in case I want to go shopping or travel.
Having said all of that, I started a new job March 6, it is with a temp. company and at first I thought well I can do anything for 3 months and then I started liking the job and some of the people. They have been real good to me and are wanting me to stay. Unfortunately I have to work 10 inches from someone that is not very pleasant. I have had numerous problems with her and last Wednesday was a nightmare. I talked with my supervisor who gave me no suggestions whatsoever. He did say she is retiring at the end of the year and they would like me to stay but not sure I can put up with 8 months of this person. I asked to go part time and he said no. So, this tells me that this company is not flexible and does not want to work things out. Apparently, I am the 4th or 5th receptionist they have hired to work with her. So, I think I will quit in June. We have a family reunion in South Dakota at the end of June and I have told them I have already made reservations for this. I told them when they interviewed me that I had this planned. I think that is when I will make my exit.
Any feedback will be appreciated. Life is just too short to be miserable in a job.

Basketball Florida Style

2008-02-25T08:59:00.000-08:00

Last week we took off for an impromptu road trip. We had sort of planned it but weren't sure how things would go. We woke up really early (3:30 a.m.) and took off for Lakeland, Fla. My niece was playing basketball in the state tournaments and we wanted to see the state playoffs, they started on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. They were two of the most exciting basketball games I have ever watched. On Wednesday they won by just 2 points, during the game they were either 2 to 4 points ahead or tied or the other team was 2 to 4 points ahead. There was never a time when we could actually relax and say "Ok I think we have this." Then on Friday it was the last game and would determine whether they won state or not. All during the first half of the game we were behind 5 to 7 points. We were screaming and worrying. At the second half we pulled up to tie then got 2 more points and then 3 more, we were 5 points ahead and very excited. About that time the other team got 2 points making the gap not so big. It was 1:00 minute left in the game and we were ahead 3 points. Our girls held them off and at 6 seconds left one of the coaches called time out. Our nerves were shattered. They all get back on the floor and start playing. I am standing there and all of a sudden my brother starts hugging and screaming at me. I guess I missed the buzzer cuz I sure didn't know the game was over. We won by 3 points. The girls were crying, all the parents were crying. It was awesome. Could not have asked for more excitement, surely my heart would not take it, haha.

February 8, 2008

2008-01-07T11:15:00.000-08:00

Life can change in a heartbeat. How many of us have heard that? On January 17 I lost my job. I really really liked that job but it wasn't meant to be. The housing market has slowed and since I worked for a residential appraiser it affected us. There was absolutely nothing to do. So, I was off for a few days when I decided to go and see my two grandsons in north La. Their mom was working out of town so I got them to myself. Needless to say, it was a fun but exhausting 4 days. I left early Sunday morning. Before going to Monroe I booked a flight to see my mom in South Dakota. She was going to the doctor and thought maybe she would have surgery. But the doctor told her to see her other doctor. She hasn't been able to walk more than a few feet without having excruciating pain in her hip and leg. She has an appointment with 2 doctors on 2/22/08. Hopefully they will be able to fix any problems she is having and she will be up and moving again. She is depressed because she can't do anything. She told me the other day she hasn't shopped in 2 years. Gee, I would hate that.
While in SD I had a fantastic visit with my older sister, Paula. It was one of the best visits we have had in many years so I am thankful for that.
On another note, I have been able to instant message my birthson twice and he has actually responded. In the past he has ignored any correspondence from me. A year ago he responded to an email but that has been all. So that has been encouraging.
As 2008 progresses it is always exciting to see what path our lives will take. In a couple of weeks the grandsons from north La. will be visiting in BR. Mark called last night to thank me for the clothes I sent and especially the toys I sent with them. He is so adorable and his mommy is teaching him how to be thankful. It is just too cute.

Skiing in Colorado

2008-01-03T10:10:00.000-08:00

We did our annual ski trip, this year we went to Keystone, Colorado. We have been there before and I don't remember it being so commercialized. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that we went during the Christmas holiday. We had to go at that time due to the fact that we took our 7 year old grandson, Wesley. He and his dad snowboarded together for the very first time. It was so cute to see him in his ski outfit. He is very agile and did a great job of learning to snowboard. I hope he will want to go again. This year the weather was very cold and windy. Not a good introduction to someone that had never been in that cold of weather before. But he had many layers on and did not feel it at all.
One day I hope that both of my son's families will be able to go and we can have a family vacation. I would much rather do that then spend money on all the toys that they don't need.
The picture of Lucas and Wesley was too hard to resist. When they got their rentals they headed to the slopes and I watched as Wesley copied his dad and told Stanley to quick take a picture.
I love making memories with my family, especially the grandkids.

Christmas Celebrations!

2007-12-20T07:19:00.000-08:00

Christmas is almost here! We celebrated Christmas with Gabe and family last weekend as they were in town and it was easiest for all concerned. The boys are so much fun. Next week we will be hitting the slopes to ski in Colorado. Our oldest grandson who is 7 is going with us and will ski/snowboard for the very first time. I am excited about seeing his face when he actually goes down a mountain and enjoys the exhiliration of that activity. We have enjoyed skiing for many years and hope to take the younger grandsons soon.
A girlfriend of mine has just become a grandmother for the very first time and I am excited for her. It is a rewarding time in our lives.
As I reflect on this time of year I yearn to hear from my birthson. I have emailed him several times throughout the year but never get an answer. It is frustrating and I have thought many times about giving up. But my prayer is that some day he will want to know me and my family and enjoy visiting with us.
God has blessed me with a happy and healthy family and I am thankful for what I have.

November 1, 2007

2007-11-01T14:28:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday the 30th I found out that someone died. This someone touched my heart and life many years ago and I had not thought about her for almost 25 years. Every now and then I would wonder where she was. She was only 56, that is my age. There are many articles about her and the good work she did while on this earth. As I read those articles I know that would not be said about me. Some days I sit in church and yearn to be close to God. Right now I feel far away and I don't know how to get back. I admire the work this person did and would have liked to have had the chance to talk to her about her service. She has not been back to Baton Rouge since they left to work in Africa. The picture of her looks the same as when she left 20 or more years ago. Her death has affected me alot. I think of her family.

September 26, 2007

2007-09-26T12:30:00.000-07:00

Greetings!
I am still resting up from last week. On my birthday (the 14th) I took off for our church's camp to cook and take care of grandbabies for my son's retreat. All weekend was spent keeping up with a 2 1/2 year old and a 1 year old. I napped when they napped so that was helpful. Then for the week following my daughter in law had to work in the Baton Rouge area so I took a week off of work and took care of Mark and Asher. I was knee deep in poopy diapers and toys. They were exhausting but delightful. Mark is an intelligent little boy that soaks knowledge up like a sponge. Little Asher is just trying to keep out of big brothers way so as not to get pushed or bumped or hit. One of these days he will catch up to Mark and that will be the end of it.
Speaking of birthdays, my family forgot so I have been angry at them. I don't understand why they don't do something the minute they figure out that they have forgotten. It makes me feel unappreciated by them.

Weekends Can Be Exhausting!

2007-08-06T10:37:00.000-07:00

Friday night after a long week I did not want to cook but everyone was hungry. Wesley came in and I asked him if he had ever had breakfast for dinner. He had not so I said well let's fix breakfast. He loves to help me cook so we made french toast and bacon and scrambled eggs. He did most of the work, all I did was supervise. It was so cute.
Saturday was a busy day. Since we cooked all of the breakfast on Friday night hubby and I went out for breakfast and then we test drove a few more cars. This kind of shopping is exhausting.
Car shopping with hubby is frustrating. Although he is knowledgeable in the car situation he is very tight in buying a nice car. He does not believe in buying a brand new car and so I thought it would be nice to have a really nice high end car just not brand new. I have saved some cash and was willing to put down a big chunk but getting him to agree has been both frustrating and annoying.
The sort of cars I am interested in are BMW's and Mercedes Benz and am willing to go for a used one........say a couple of years old. It is amazing the way some people take care of their cars or should I say don't take care of them. Now, we don't own a carport or garage to house our vehicles but I do try to keep the dings down to a minimum. So, months later we are still car shopping. I am ready to give up and drive the one I have into the ground.

2007-08-02T13:01:00.000-07:00

My oldest son is building his own house. I am so impressed with him. This is a picture of it so far. They have moved in but there is still alot to do. It will be an awesome place for them to raise their family. They love to entertain and when we are there people are always stopping by.

August 2, 2007

2007-08-02T12:46:00.001-07:00

Here we are in August already. Wow, this summer has flown by. We are in the process of car hunting. I have the fever and figure it is about time. I was promised a new car when the one I have hit 100,000. It is at 128,000. I am way over due. We have test drove some high end cars and now we both have an expensive fever.
August 4 is my oldest son's birthday. He will be 32. Gosh that is hard to believe that he is that old. He is such a fine young man and I am very proud of him. He is a hard worker, loves God and is a good husband and father.
I am going to Dallas in a few weeks to spend the weekend with some ladies I went to high school with. Not that I went to school in Dallas, we are all from South Dakota and one of the ladies lives in Dallas so we are meeting there and having a fun weekend with shopping and catching up on each other's lives.
Here is an adorable picture of 2 of my grandsons. I was able to take the oldest to CATS the musical last Sunday. It was such a fun time with him, although he did fall asleep in the middle of it he was so good thru the whole play. It was a special day with him.

July 26, 2007

2007-07-26T14:31:00.000-07:00

The colonoscopy went well. Sleeping off the drugs was wonderful! Everything is ok with the colon. YIPPEE!
Last weekend we went to Monroe to see our oldest son, daughter in law and 2 delightful grandsons. They are so cute and sweet. We took our oldest grandson, Wesley with us so the boys played hard. Our son has built his own house and it is awesome. He has done such a good job, I am very proud of him. We had a fun but tiring weekend. They are coming this weekend so Marci (daughter in law) and I can take Mark (2 year old grandson) to see the musical CATS. Not sure if this will be a fun thing or not. On Saturday I hope to take him swimming for some good quality time, just Mimi and Markie Mark.
Another full and exhausting weekend.

July 12, 2007

2007-07-12T13:46:00.000-07:00

The saga of my sister has to come to an end. She has stated she is moving to Minnesota and marrying the abusive guy and does not want to hear from me. She said my intentions were selfish pride. Spending an extra $640 just to go see her was not my idea of being selfish. The guy she is marrying said he was changing and getting help. I hope this true. I worry about having to attend my sister's funeral.
On another note. I am fasting today. It is that time for my colonoscopy. Since my dad died of this and I have had precanerous polyps I have to have this done every 3 years. I am hungry and dreaming of juicy hamburgers or fat steaks. YUM!
I will be done and over with it 10 am tomorrow. YIPPEE!
Our boss at work took all of us out to eat along with husbands last night and gave us gift certificates. How cool is that? It is nice to be appreciated.

June 14, 2007

2007-06-14T10:55:00.000-07:00

This has been a rough week. I had plans to fly up and see my mom who lives in South Dak. As the week has worn on I came to the realization that I need to stop in and have a firm talk with my little sister. So I have changed my reservation and ever since I did that I have been tense. It seems my sister has gotten herself into a drug situation and does not seem to understand the danger of what she is doing. She has admitted to doing crack which apparently is highly addictive.
Anyway, she has always blamed others for her problems and our parents have always bailed her out of situations. That has come to an end and she is spiraling downward. Since I was going to SD I have taken the responsibility to go and see her in order to have a talk with her. I do not want to do this. She is not easy to talk to because she gets defensive and lashes out with hateful remarks, brings up history stuff, she has even gotten violent by slapping me. I realize this is the drugs talking. I will write when it is all over with.

Family and Friends

2007-06-04T12:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was such a fun day. After church I usually go out with some ladies for lunch, we always have such a grand time visiting and catching up with what our kids are doing and where we are all headed.
Later in the afternoon we went bowling with Lucas, Natalie and Wesley. It has been several years since my husband and I have bowled and so we were a little rusty but it was fun watching Wesley, who is 6 throw that bowl down the alley. After that we all went to dinner and then for a little drive.
Lucas and Natalie seem so happy and in love, I hope it works out for them. Lucas is trying to save for a house so we are helping him find just the right one.

May 31, 2007

2007-05-31T07:07:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe May has come and gone. I made my reservation to go see my mom in June. I am looking forward to visiting with her. It has been a year since I last saw her. She struggles with pain in her hip and leg and she gets depressed alot. She is not the kind that likes being immobile so this has taken a toll on her. My sister and aunt are meeting me Gettysburg and it will be fun hanging out with them as well as my neice and 2 of her sons. I wanted to bring my grandson, Wesley but I was not able to do that. Being in Gettysburg is very nostalgic and it is fun to see people I knew growing up and old high school friends. This is such a small town, sort of like a Norman Rockwell town, I believe the population is around 1700-2000. I like visiting and then going back home to the real world.

May 24, 2007

2007-05-24T12:48:00.000-07:00

Last October I landed a job I love. It is with an appraiser. I have never done this work before but to me it is interesting and always challenging. I am the office manager and am enjoying this line of work.
Mr. Charlie (my boss) is a a nice guy and very patient with all of us and teaches us the ways of an appraisal. I am amazed at the rules and regulations especially here in the south for homes that are being inspected. Anyway, I am learning so much and having a great time.
Mr. Charlie has gone to Alabama for the long weekend so it is pretty quiet in the office. We worked hard to get most of the appraisals out that were due.
Lucas will call or text me every now and then and ask me to take him to lunch, that is a delight for me and I enjoy treating him and catching up with him. He has met someone that is a beautiful person inside and out and I pray that it works out for them. Lucas deserves it.
Gabe and Marci are building their house on the river in north Louisiana. They are working hard plus raising 2 small sons. We hope to have Asher's birthday party at the house so there is a deadline of August 2007.

South Dakota Road Trip

2006-08-14T15:43:00.000-07:00

July 2006

First of all I need to say I was born and raised in South Dakota. In July my two girlfriends met me in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and we started a fantastic road trip across the state of South Dakota. The day we all arrived we met up with a few of my high school friends, Butch and Chuck. We visited for a while and then went to dinner. We were met there by my sister Brenda, her friend Tim, her daughter Alicia, and Alicia's boyfriend Andrew. After dinner we went back to our room and viisted some more. At that time Brenda, Tim, Alicia & Andrew went home. From there Jim, Judy, Tanya, Chuck, Butch and I went dancing at Borrowed Bucks. That was so much fun.
We danced until 1:30 a.m. We were exhausted!
The next morning we all met for breakfast. Butch had to go back to Oregon, Jim headed to Rapid City, Chuck was driving his truck, Judy, Tanya and I were in our rental and we headed to Gettysburg. This is my hometown. First we stopped in Mitchell to see the Corn Palace and to eat lunch, then we headed for Gettysburg. This is where my mom and step dad live.
This is a 3-4 hour drive so us girls had plenty of time to chat and giggle and talk. We get together and start getting silly and have alot of fun. By the time we got to mom's we were hungry and in need of a drink. We went to pick mom and Ralph up and went to get dinner. Dinner was delicious, the steaks in South Dak. are always so good. It is good to be home again.
Gettysburg is a very small town, about 1700 people. We stayed in a little hotel. The first morning I got up to go walking and visit with mom. Tanya rolled over and asked for some McDonald's breakfast. There is no McD's in Gettysburg, did I tell you there are about 1700 people there??? Tanya was worried she wouldn't have anything to eat. We were staying right next to the Medicine Rock cafe so no need to worry. Later we did main street and played Scrabble with mom. That night we went out to the river to eat steaks again. YUMMY!
After eating we dropped off the parents and went bar hopping. We danced and giggled until we were exhausted.
Off we go to the next leg of our trip, we headed to Rapid City. That took about 4 hours. We were greeted by big sister Paula and friends and family, they cooked for us and we sat around enjoying the beautiful weather and getting to know each other. The next day we piled into Cammy's suburban and went sight seeing. For those of you who are not familiar with Rapid City that is where Mt. Rushmore is. Tanya and Judy had never seen the faces so that was fun to take them to see that and stopping and eating and drinking whenever the mood struck us.
One night we met up with my aunt and uncle and some cousins. The next day Judy and Jim left, it was sad to see them go.
Then Tanya had to leave. Our trip came to an end. I stayed a few more days and visited with more family. My aunt and cousin from Wisconsin came to visit and of course I had to see my step mother and catch up on her life.
Coming back to Baton Rouge was sort of a let down but it was good to be back home. Although I love visiting with mom and my sisters it is good to be home with hubby and see the boys and the grandsons.

Grandchildren are the best!

2006-01-23T14:35:00.000-08:00

I lost my job on the 11th of January. I knew I should not have gone to work for attorneys but I did it anyway, that is what I am use to doing. I seemed to get burned by them everytime and this last time was no exception. So, I am unemployed once again.
Last week when I called my daughter in law and told her of my job situation the first thing out of her mouth was "Come and help me." So, since I was needing a Mark fix I jumped at the chance. I left on Monday and stayed until Friday. Mark is a delightful baby, very content and is on a schedule which makes him easy to take care of. He is trying to walk and I am sure by the time he is a year old he will be walking.
When I got back to Baton Rouge I was able to pick Wesley up from his pre-school and spend the afternoon with him. At the end of the day we met his daddy for dinner. Saturday Wesley and I had tickets to the puppet show Hansel and Gretel, what a delightful time that was. We enjoyed it very much and are looking forward to another one.
August 14, 2006
I had forgotten I started this post and didn't finish. So much has happened since this posting. Mark is going to get a baby brother any day now and Wesley has just started kindergarten. Wesley is a very bright young man and constantly amusing his whole family with whatever he comes up with. Mark is walking and starting to talk and is quite an entertainer. His smile is contagious.
Tonight we went out to eat to celebrate Wesley's first day of kindergarten. He was so cute. He said he took a nap at school and slept like a bat. Wesley does not like naps and so that is a surprise that he actually fell asleep. I asked him if there were any cute girls and he said "Stop that!" This place where we went to eat is chinese food and they cook it in front of you. They are very entertaining. Anyway, Wesley enjoys that place and we told them it was his first day at kindergarten and they misunderstood and thought it was his birthday, so they brought a cake out and sang Happy Birthday to him. We all thought that was funny!
Grandchildren are delightful little people!

Being a Birth Mother

2006-01-01T07:22:00.000-08:00

I am a birth mother. If you don't know what that means let me explain. I had a child before I was married and had to give him up for adoption. He is my first born son and it was the hardest thing I have ever done. This was in 1972, in a very small town in the midwest and I was 19 years old, this pretty much has defined my life. I wish I could go back and do things differently. For about 20 years I had pushed this trauma in the back of my brain and tried not to think about it. One day at church there was a young lady, pregnant and not married. I don't even remember her name. I said to myself "I was there once." Then I had doubts because I had tried so hard to forget that part of my life not because it was so horrible but because it was painful to think that I had to give up a part of myself, my first born son. I spoke with an older lady in the church and told her about me (I didn't dare tell anyone for fear of being judge). She was really quite sweet and encouraged me to counsel women when they were in this position. Of course nowadays it is not shamed or frowned upon to be pregnant or to give up a child for adoption. It is open and talked about.
When people ask me how many children I have do I say 2 or 3? If I say 2 then I feel like a liar, if I say 3 I am lying also because he isn't mine, he belongs to someone else. But I gave birth to him. How do you not claim someone like that?
I have had contact with him and he does not seem to care for me. I have made mistakes in our "reunion" and I am not sure he has forgiven me. He just seems so angry. I wish there were some magical word that I could say that he would think I was interesting or that we had something in common. I would like him in my life. I am not sure what category that would fit in. I cannot mother him, nor does he need that. I guess all I would like is to be friends, to actually be acknowledged that I did exist. I email him and respond to his postings on this blog but he does not respond to me at all. That is so frustrating and maddening. Something would be better than nothing. Sometimes I think about giving up and just going away but I don't believe I should do that. I want him to know that I will always be here no matter what.
As birthmothers we get crumbs from our birthchildren. Whatever little bit of anything they will give us we cobble up and rejoice for days or months. It is pitiful. I am thankful for the sons I raised. If it weren't for them I would probably be consumed by this birthson.
So, here I am wishing and hoping and wondering what to do with this situation. Shall I give up or go away, shall I keep subjecting myself to his anger, to his ignoring me. I don't deserve this treatment. I wouldn't allow my own sons to do this to me but yet I take his abuse and keep responding to him.

New Year's Day

2006-01-01T06:52:00.000-08:00

Good morning all!
I hope you all had a fun New Year's Eve and did not celebrate too much. We stayed home with our grandson, Wesley who is 5. My husband is sick and so it was not a good idea to go and expose him to anyone. Lucas (Wesley's daddy) came over later last night, not feeling well either and spent the night. It was my intention to take Wesley to church this morning but doing that I would wake up the household. Lucas got up about 7:30 and crawled in my bed, since I was up, where Wesley is sleeping. Hubby is in the back bedroom with the steamer on. So, it looks like it will be a yucky day at the Honeysuckle Hospital.

Merry Christmas to all!

2005-12-25T07:48:00.000-08:00

It is Christmas morning and all is quiet at my house. We had Christmas Friday. Tuesday our oldest son and his wife came to town. They left Wednesday morning to help with some construction on a flood damaged house in New Orleans and Mark (9 months old) was left with us. This is the first time they have left him with someone other than a parent over night. So it was a thrill for us to be able to spoil him. He was a delight to have around. What a sweet baby. Everything went quite smoothly considering there was a baby in the house.
Mom and Dad came home on Thursday evening and Mark smiled from ear to ear and hugged his mommy. It was so sweet. Our youngest son dropped off his son Wesley at our house Thursday evening so he could spend the night.
Friday everyone was here to open gifts. After that was done my brother and wife and my beautiful niece and our neighbors came over and we grilled hamburgers and barbecued chicken. Only in the south can you grill out on Christmas. It was so fun having everyone here. The guys played with the toys that Wesley received. It was fun watching them laugh.
My neighbor is an older man who loves to play monopoly. We gave him a fancy monopoly set and so later that evening we played until midnight. He has a teen-age exchange student staying with him from Austria so that was fun playing with him. He has played it before and is pretty good at it.
Everyone left Saturday. It was nice to clean up and get everything back to normal.
There is such materialism in Christmas. I would love to be able to take a vacation with everyone. It is important to me to be with family during this time. I believe we need to remeber God especially at this time and to be with family no matter who or what you think family is. I also believe you need to dwell on God's love and what He has done for you every day of year.
Anyway, those are my feelings and thoughts at this time.

December 16, 2005

2005-12-16T14:48:00.000-08:00

Greetings Everyone,
There are 9 more days left to shop for Christmas. YIKES! I am almost done. All I need to do is pick up some gift certificates.
Tomorrow my husband and I are going to see the Nutcracker. I love going to the theater, this is the biggest thrill. Then we are going out to eat and hopefully meet up with some friends.

Visit with mom

2005-12-05T04:30:00.000-08:00

On Friday December 2, 2005 I flew to Pierre, South Dakota to visit with my mom. I got into Pierre Friday night and it was snowing and windy and very miserable. My first thought was "What the heck was I thinking?" I booked a hotel room and hoped it would be nice in the morning. It is a 60 miles drive from Pierre to Gettysburg and I didn't want to do that at that late hour alone, it was after midnight.
I was pretty tired and slept until 7:45 the next morninng so by the time I got dressed and ate breakfast it was 9:30. I drove to Gettysburg and it was a pleasant drive. I had never seen mom's new apartment. It is nice and comfortable.
I was so glad to see mom, I couldn't believe how much I had missed her. We went to the Legion club to decorate for the dinner and we talked with many of her friends and they all commented on how great it was that I came for the dinner. I must say I was sure glad I came also. We went to lunch with her friend Dorcas. What a delight that was. I saw an old classmate, Kenny Brown.
After lunch we shopped for sweatshirts for the grandkids and we drove to mom's church, they had added on and she wanted me to see the addition and meet the new pastor.Then we went home to relax.
We dressed for the dinner. Ralph left early to park the truck close to the building, they were expecting almost 200 at the dinner so parking was going to be difficult. Plus they had some things to bring back. Mom and I walked to the Legion. There was so much snow on the ground and it was very cold.
We got seated at our table and people were coming in, some I knew from growing up in Gettysburg and some I didn't know. A guy I went to school with but was a couple of years younger sat down with his wife. I asked mom who that was and she told me. He kept looking at me and I kept looking at him. Mom had told me a story about him having a crush on my listtle sister (Brenda)while they were in high school. Later that evening he comes up to me and whispered in my ear about that time in high school. I looked at him and said "I am not Brenda I am Jeanette." The look on his face was priceless. He was so shocked. There were alot of people that thought I was Brenda. So I decided I was going to get a t-shirt that said "I am not Brenda!" next time I go.
Anyway, I am sorry to be going on and on. I had a great time with my mom and stepdad and would like to go back maybe in the spring.

November 30, 2005

2005-11-30T09:25:00.000-08:00

Greetings,
Today it is cold. I love this chilly weather. I have a job interview today. YIPPEE! Right now I work for a few attorneys and although I like it there are a few things I don't like. One being that I was hired only to answer the phone and I like doing other things, answering the phone is not challenging. I have been doing one of the attorney's dictation and I really like that, he is without a secretary right now. Anyway, I may not like this new place, it is with a brokerage firm. That ought to be interesting. Or maybe I just need to be content where I am. The problem is I am not sure of where this job is going and am wondering if another secretary will be hired soon and I will be back to ho hum answering the phone and reading a book and playing on the computer. Can you say boring?

November 29, 2005

2005-11-29T09:38:00.000-08:00

I have been reading several blogs, authors are friends and acquaintances. I have decided it was time I started one. I like the thought of journaling and since I am on the computer at work and then when I get home why not put my thoughts down.
Now to think of something to say.
Our Thanksgiving was wonderful. I love spending time with the adult children and the grandchildren. It was busy. Our oldest son is remodeling a house next door to theirs and he had his dad hanging doors in the house and gave his younger brother a job of painting.
We had several college students from my son's church over for Thanksgiving day feast. There were 2 sisters from Ohio, a young lady from Canada, the college minister's sister from Australia who has been living in England for several years and the college minister and his wife. It was so much fun explaining to them the different foods we eat for Thanksgiving. We, of course, fried our turkey. The food was fantastic and the company was fun.