Good Grief

I can't believe it has been so long since I have blogged. Just going from day to day. We have been deluged with tons of snow, and horrid cold temperatures. I can't tell you the last time the kids had a full week of school. As Don and I get older, we talk about why we remain in Iowa, esp. in the Winter. I know, FAMILY. One of the advantages of being retired, generally don't have to go anywhere.

I have managed to get some scrapbooking done, but mostly have been sorting and purging all of my supplies. Got an album almost done this weekend. It is one I did of a girlfriend weekend. It went pretty fast, with lots of laughs, just remembering all the fun that we had. I am going to scan it, and probably post on Flicker, eventually. Turned out pretty cute.

This is a 2 page layout I did last week. I used Daisy D paper, and some embellishments I have had for ages. This is my granddaughter Grace.

This is just a simple page. The subject matter is my 16 year old grandson. He had found the Bumble Bee infant costume and put it over his head. I think it turned out pretty cute.

Well, back to the day to day. Nope, kids don't go to school today, some teacher's inservice thing. Maybe tomorrow.

Update on my moms

After all the ups and downs of all that has gone on, I have so much to be thankful for. My mom is home, and Dad is being a fantastic caregiver. We went to see her yesterday, and she looks wonderful. There will be another surgery/procedure, in a few months. There are still a couple of blockages, in her heart. Just have to wait for her to recoup from this one. I am just so thankful that Dad got her to the E.R. when he did.

My mother-in-law is doing fantastic. She just makes me smile. I don't have the ambition and drive that she has, and she is approaching 100. They are seriously talking of sending her home next week. I don't know how it will go, but we'll see. As determined as she is, she will do it. I have to say a huge thanks to Mercy Hospital and their staff, for the wonderful care she received, and that they didn't just blow her off, as a 97 year old. They did a fantastic job.

Our other Christmas present, which I can't go into, in great detail, involves our youngest granddaughter. For the next three months, she gets to be with the people she loves the most and who care most about her. I am in amazement at how poorly some people can treat their biological children, and not bat an eye. So, to see the joy and relief in her face, her mom's face, and all of ours, has been truly priceless. All children should feel safe and loved, every moment of every day, forever and ever.

So we have had an amazing Christmas, so far, and still have more to come. I am so excited. Hope that everyone else has had the best Christmas possible. Our Holiday wishes to all. Our wishes for everyone, is a safe, healthy and joyous 2009.

My Moms

Man, when it rains it pours. Since Nov. 14, we have been running to Des Moines, 40 miles away, or Nevada, 8 miles away, to visit my Mother-in-law. As I posted earlier, at the age of 97, she had to have her right leg amputated, just below the knee, due to no circulation. She is doing fantastic. I am amazed every time I see her. She is working her bottom off with Physical Therapy, with the hope that she will get to go back home some day. She lives with her daughter, who is also wheelchair bound, so who knows.


She just works so hard, and keeps saying she can do it, and from what I have seen her do, she just might be right.

Well, Tuesday morning my dad called and told us that Mom was in the E.R., having a heart attack. They were taking her to Surgery to put in a stint for one artery that was 100% blocked. She came thru that okay, has to have two others done, but that will have to wait for a later date. Shortly after noon, she kept complaining of horrendous chest pain, so they took her back in, just to be on the safe side. Everything looked okay, so they figure it was caused by excessive Plavix that was given to her for the proceedure, causing extreme heartburn. The Dr. thought that is what it was, but wanted to be sure that something hadn't happened.

Aboout 3:00 a.m. yesterday morning she started having some problems, and her heart went into atrial fibrilation, fast, irregular heart rate. So yesterday was a day of tests and drugs, to try and get her heart back into a normal, regular heart rate. Finally at 3:30 in the afternoon, it happened. She did well the rest of the day.

This morning, Dad got to the hospital at 6:30, to find her rather agitated, and somewhat confused. She is having some problems retaining fluids, also, which isn't good. When we left this afternoon, her B.P. was pretty low. Dad hasn't eaten anything today, and plans on spending the night. We worry as much about him as we do Mom.

Me and Mom, Christmas 2006

I just can't believe that all of this is going on. It is the Christmas season, and all the kids are so excited and letting us know all the things they want. Me, all I want for Christmas is to have another year with my moms, and them to be healthy, both body and mind. I just think that I may be 60, but I need them as much today, as I ever have. I was asking Mom yesterday, about a recipe she gave me a few years ago. See, I still need her, and always will. Just hope Santa is listening to my wish list.

99 things

Several of my blogging friends have done this list, and I thought it was fun, so thought I would play along. Would love to see your list. The ones in bold, are the ones I have done.


1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Now here are a few other questions posted by others

Worn two different colored shoes
Worn your shirt inside out
Called someone by the wrong name
Driven the wrong way on a one-way street
Driven on a “buses only” street
Thought about stealing a cat
Actually stolen a cat
Assisted with a hemorrhoidectomy
Got lost going someplace you’ve been before
Eaten frosting straight from the plastic tub
Dropped your driver’s license into the toilet

5 kids, 5 pictures

Thanksgiving day, we got together with my family, for a wonderful dinner. I like to get pictures of the 5 grandkids for our Christmas cards. Would love to have Sasha in them also, but with her in MN., just never works out.

So, had the kids go outside and get on the play equipment. Did this a few years ago, and loved how they turned out. Well, this year, the sky was perfect again. Can't say the same for the subject matter, LOL. Anyone that thinks toddlers don't cooperate, hasn't dealt with teens and preteens. Like I always tell them all, "what you do, is what I scrapbook. So which of these do you think would make the best photo for the Christmas cards?

I am very thankful that they are all close enough, right here in town, that I can get them all together. I am also very thankful that they are close enough to act like this. We don't do the, get them all in matching clothes, thing. Just wouldn't happen. Now that I think of it, I sent home clothes with three of them, and none of them have them on, so much for trying to plan this.

Oh, this is Mhikealy 14, Katisha 18, Teddy 10, Tyree 16, Grace 9. Katisha and Mhikealy are brother and sister (Misty's). Tyree, Teddy and Grace are brothers and sister (Joan's)

I think I am going with the top one. God I love these crazy kids. I love them all, more than my life.

I did have a wonderful dinner, with my family. Mom and I really had such a wonderful talk about what we are the most thankful for, our husbands.

Don's mom

Thought I would do an update on her recovery. She is an amazing woman. She cries from time to time about the loss of her leg, but then we all talk about celebrating 100 years+, and she beams. She wants so bad to see 100 years, and many more. And who wouldn't mourn the loss of a body part?

Today she was transferred from Des Moines to her local hospital, which is about a block from home. She knows all the staff there, and is really looking forward to seeing the Physical Therapist. He is a close friend, and will do wonders with her.

What a wonderful Thanksgiving gift to our family.

Amazed

Today has been such an emotional day for us. My beautiful, mentally alert, 97 year old mother-in-law had to have her right leg amputated, just below the knee. This has been one of the most gut wrenching things to even imagine. This shouldn't happen to anyone, but especially someone that has lived this long.


The first 6 years of our marriage, this woman did so many things to ruin our marriage. I don't know that it was that she hated me, I think she just wanted her son to move back home. In 1974, her brother passed away, and a month later, I lost my brother. I think that was what bonded us, and we became the best of friends. This is a woman that has never harmed anyone her entire life, except for that brief period in our lives.














So today, this beautiful woman had to go thru such a horrific ordeal. This is a woman that has never been seen in public, without powder, rouge, and lipstick. In her day, she was a WOW! She just had her hair done a day or so before she was admitted to the hospital, and yes she is a red head!!!!

The hardest part of this day was when they came to get her to go down to surgery. Darleen, Don and I were there. We had all talked to her, and she was doing pretty well. As they started wheeling her away, she raised up, and grabbed at me and called my name. OMG, my heart just totally melted. We have been somewhat estranged for the past 4 years. She let me know at that moment, I was still her best friend.



The surgery took longer than first anticipated. It was one of the longest days I have ever put in. I spent the whole time with Don and his nephew, David. Darleen sat by herself, just because none of us can stand being anywhere near her, but we just won't go there. When we finally got to see "Mom", she looked gorgeous, seriously, gorgeous. She was smiling, no pain, and doing great. She was a bit teary at times, but not bad. We all got a chuckle when I told her she looked gorgeous, and she said, "well, they did put rouge on me". I said, well, did they put lipstick on also, she chuckled and said, "yes, I think so."

Guess I should mention, these pics are from Don's retirement party, June 20, 2007. These are of Don, Me, our daughters, our grandkids, Me, and Don's nephew, David.