March 12, 2015

As the anniversary of Patrick's passing approaches I realized I never came back and posted about his celebration.  We had it the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend so not very many people showed up.  The ones that cared the most did and that's all that matters.  There were others that told us they would be there but then decided to go and fish or camp or just hang out and drink and grill that day away and that's okay because I figure that way Patrick went to a whole bunch of celebrations.  We had a BBQ dinner with brisket and a potato bar and cake for dessert along with other stuff he liked.  We had a good time and I got a few good pictures out of it.

R.I.P. Patrick

After 14 years of on and off illness my brother Patrick on April 4, 2014 at 1:02 p.m. slipped the surly bonds of earth to pass into heaven.  I know he had a wonderful greeting.  I can hear my Daddy hollering "What took ya so long son?"  "Time to get fishin' now that you finally made it here."  My Aunt Tricia would be asking if he wanted coffee and Grandma Ruby would be telling him lets go to Walmart.  Granny and Granddaddy Phillips would have him over to drink Dr. Peppers with him and Aunt Shirley would be asking if he saw all the beautiful blluebonnets blooming on his way up.  Grandpa Ivy would be setting up the dominoes for a moon tournament.  Horseshoes would be played in the cool of the evening and Patrick will be in his glory and not be hurting anymore.

Thank you God for your tender mercies and for your glorious heaven.  I look forward to the best family reunion when I finally get there with them all.

My Daddy passed away on December 22, 2013 at about 7 p.m.  He had been going down throughout the proceeding week but no one notified us so we had no idea until we got to the VA on that Sunday morning.  He looked bad but not so bad that we thought he would pass that day.  I'm just glad I got to see him that one last time.  Something came over me on Saturday night to go and see him.  I called my sister and told her I'd take her and Mom on Sunday and that my brother Terry could just stay home then and get some rest or run errands or whatever he needed to do.  I'm so glad I listened to that inner voice but so sad that we didn't know he was on his last day.  We would have stayed to the end if we would have known.  We went up there after he died and spent some time with him.  My Mama was very upset of course and kept beating herself up for not staying and being with him through the end.  She kept on saying how Grandpa passed after she left and how Grandma passed after she left and now Dad passed after she left.  I told her maybe that was Gods way of not putting her through seeing someone she loved so dearly pass in front of her.  She still kept beating herself up over it.  She's holding up pretty good, not great, but there's nothing wrong with being just OK when sad things happen.  He always wanted to be cremated so we arranged that, had a nice funeral for him, and brought him home to sit on the mantel and be with family.  He was in the VA for 4 years and one month.  After being away from family and my Mom there was no way she was going to bury him.  After the funeral we brought him home. He'll be there until Mom joins him and then I hope that we will pass them on to children and grandchildren through forever.  I'm sure one day we might find somewhere sweet that reminds us of them and spread their ashes together there.  After 53 years of marriage and 54 years of loving each other I can't imagine them not being together after forever.

and again its been too long

since I last posted.

I got the settlement money.  It wasn't much but it was what I needed which was my medical bills paid for and a little bit left over to get caught up on bills with.  That was in mid January. February and March were quiet months for us.  I was still playing catch up but finally Chris got a dedicated run at work and the paychecks were being around the same each payday.  Its so nice to sort of know what to expect each payday for sure. We didn't do anything for Spring break in March.  Just stayed home and vegged out with the kids. April, May and June were nice months too.  We had our family reunion on August 3rd and had to pay for the bbq we ordered at the end of July.  Wouldn't you know we almost get all the money saved for that and our water heater went out.  Just our luck but if only it would have waited.  The reunion turned out really well.  I wish more of the family would have attended but oh well, they missed out on some good food, good fun and lots of fun family time.  That brings us up to date.

Update on my Dad.  He's still the same.  We celebrated his 75th birthday and he seemed to really enjoy it.  I know we did.  It was everyone up there except for my brother Patrick.  He doesn't want my Dad to see him in a wheel chair and unable to do anything for himself.  He really should see Dad.  Dad wouldn't remember after that Patrick is really, really ill but it would make for an uncomfortable visit so I understand why Patrick doesn't want Dad to see him that way.  Patrick had a stroke on his right side on March 17 2012 and has gotten no better.  In fact he is worse than the few days after he had the stroke.  He's blind on the right sides of his eyes, he can't really walk and speech is slow and slurred.  He's alive but not a happy person so much anymore.  He has good days and bad.  Actually Patrick is in worse shape than Dad and is at home with my Mom and them.  He really should be in a home but because he only has disability no one will take him.  Its a harsh fact but he doesn't get the care he needs but he won't let himself get the help he needs either.  He has nurses and therapists coming and working with him but he lies and says he does the work outs and stuff when they aren't there.  He lies and says he's capable of doing things for himself too.  Anyway, that's for him to live with.

That's our year brought up to date.  God bless you everyone.  Count your blessings and let the bad roll away.

Christmas turned out better than what I expected.  The lawyer came through with some PIP money and I was able to buy groceries, put aside $50 each for the kids presents and had enough left over for gas money to and from Mother in Laws house in Marshall.  It wasn't the Christmas we wanted nor expected but it was the Chrismas we needed.  Thank God for small reminders and huge blessings.  Here's to a great 2013!

Merry Christmas!!!  I hope this Christmas season finds you all well and happy.  We've been having a hard time financially since about June.  It's just been one thing after another after another.  I'm waiting for a settlement from a major insurance company and they keep delaying paying me every chance they get.  We've had several things break that I had to pull from bill money to pay because I didn't have that money yet.  I got a lawyer in July and was told it was a simple case, six to eight weeks.  Yeah its going on 5 months now.  The release was signed but then I was told that the insurance company didn't know I was married and now want my husband to sign the release.  They said its because Texas is a community state.  Whatever!  But because we've had such a hard time financially my kids aren't going to have a Christmas.  I've always managed before to get them things but since I was strung along by the lawyer as well as the insurance company and had to pull money from bill money its just not going to happen this year.  They never ask for anything huge either.  It seemed this year that every time we'd be recovering and able to be caught up with bills and maybe get to save  Chris's driving partner would be out for a month and then we'd have to start all over again.  As you all know his partner passed away out of the blue in October.  I thought that since I should be getting the settlement by Christmas that we wouldn't have to worry.  Uh, no......I know better than to count my chickens before they hatch but I had hope and was continually reassured that I'd have the settlement by Thanksgiving, then it was the next week, oh somebody must have gone on vacation and the last one was you'll have it for Christmas.  I don't think we will.  I'm proud of my children and the way they are handling the news that there's no gifts for Christmas.  We raised them that way but never ever have we not had anything for them.  I know Christmas isn't about the gifts and my children have never been about gifts for any season be it their birthdays or as in this case Christmas but just being strung along for 5 months has worn me to a frazzle.  I wanted to give them what they each wanted this year.  They never go for big ticket items.  Jessi just wants a couple of anime drawing books and Nick is always happy with video games even if they're cheap ones.  I never thought there'd be a Christmas where I have to choose to be able to feed us or give presents.  This post is mostly just a vent.  A place for me to get it off of my chest.  Chris doesn't really get it.  He thinks I should be able to call the insurance company and tell them give me my money but unfortunately it doesn't work that way.  I'd hate to see how they would have dragged it out if I hadn't have gotten a lawyer. 

Merry Christmas dear friends and followers.  May God bless and keep you this holiday season and bring you joy and blessings in the next year.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you and yours will be having a wonderful day.  We're expecting mother in law to come in tomorrow.  She'll be here until Saturday probably.  Not long enough at all since we only get to see her 2 other times during the year but it'll have to do. 

It just seems like there's not much going on and then BAM!  it goes bad.  Chris's driving partner Carl passed away today.  He was around 65 and just passed away in his chair at home.  His wife found him and that's about all I know right now.  He had been off of work for a foot problem but that was almost healed and the doctor was going to release him for work next week.  He has had heart problems but that was under control so he should have been coming back to work.  I'm just in shock and I know Chris is too.  I wanted Chris to get out of being in a driving partnership with him but I didn't wish Carl any ill will.  This is just beyond believing.  My heart breaks for his wife Donna.  She has been wanting him to retire for a year or so but he just wouldn't do it.  My prayers go out to his family too.  It's just so sad but I'm glad he was at home with his wife and family when it happened. 

I didn't realize its been March since I've posted anything.  Again, a lot has happened in the past few months.  My brother got out of rehab on April 27th.  He had in home therapy but is still not doing well.  His overall health isn't good at all.  He seems to be blind in his right eye and has to go and see a neural opthomalogist at at the end of July.  Anyway in between then and now  Cheryl got her learners permit.  She passed the written test with a high grade of 97 I believe.  She was driving since mid April around and about and then in May I started her on the interstate.  She was doing well.  I took her to take her driving test in the beginning of June but they told her she had her appointment wrong and so she didn't get to take it then.  We went to another one in our county and got her set up for the test the next week but she failed it when she didn't pass parallel parking.  The guy didn't even take her out driving so I don't know why she failed if that's the only part of the test she got to take but anyway we got her set up to try again on June 26th but we had an accident on June 22nd on the interstate.  She was driving and over compensated and hit the wall in the middle.  The very hard, hard concrete wall.  I ended up with a nasty scratch on my neck (left a scar) and 4 bruises on the left side of my body from the seat belt.  She had a few bruises but ended up in a back brace because she fractured the T12 and maybe the one above it in her back.  She goes back to the doctor on August 3rd to get checked out but I have a feeling she'll still be in the back brace.  She will be trying for her license again but we will hopefully be having a smaller vehicle for her to use.  She'll have to start all over again though and get her written test again but that shouldn't be a problem for her hopefully.  My brother Patrick's truck is totaled to the tune of $20,000.  She definitely went big.  I had my first ambulance ride ever out of it.  Sure wish I would have just been a passenger though.  The only good thing about the whole incident?  We got my sister Kelly back.  She came to the hospital and we did a lot of talking.  Its still a little strained but its a start.  I told Cheryl God say hah!  Ya'll are a family and you're getting back together now.  So between getting back with Chris's Dad and now having my sister back for almost a month life is indeed a whole lot better in spite of how it went to get there.

Here's the injury that left a scar on my neck.  I hope to never have an airbag go off on me again.  That's one experience I never expected.

In the Last Month......

a lot has happened. A WHOLE lot. I had a place on my head that started out as a pimple under the skin but turned into cellulitis. Very painful and looked awful. Usually people get it in their legs but no, not me. It had to be where it'd be noticed. About a week before that I got a lump under my arm that I thought was a bug bite. It got to be as big as an egg but I was able to use hot compresses and get it to a head and get it drained. I wasn't worried about that. I went to the ER for the bump on my head and found out that the thing under my arm was MRSA. So I left the ER with two prescriptions for antibiotics. They had tried to drain both places but of course couldn't do anything with either. I wasn't worried about my under arm since I knew it was healed but they seemed more worried about that than the head thing. Oh well. I went to my doctor a few days later and she tried to get the core out of the one on my head but couldn't cause it hurt to badly. A day or so later I was able to do that plus I started using Ichthammol Ointment which is a nasty black looking tar smelling ointment that works amazingly well. Between the antibiotic and this ointment the bump was gone in about 2 days. I also got a new antibiotic for a place on my foot that is rashy looking. It helped some but not totally but that's okay. Now we're up to March 15th. I get a phone call from my Brother in law that his Dad had a heart attack. Now if you've followed my blog you know we've been on the outs with Father in law and his wife for almost 9 years. Brother in law thought he had called Chris but I told him to go ahead and call Chris and then have him call me. Chris was driving 3rd shift that week so he didn't get woken up to that news. The kids were on Spring break so we went and saw his Dad in the hospital on Friday morning the 16th. He looked wonderful in spite of the heart attack. They put a stent in his heart and with his diet change he should be okay. We had a nice visit but haven't gotten to see them again yet because his wife has bronchitis and is still sick with it. I went to my Mom's that Friday night to see my nephew John who came to visit with his wife and kids. They live in the Houston area so we don't get to see them too often. My brother Patrick looked awful. I asked him what was wrong and he said he just didn't feel very good. Said he was overtired. John was supposed to take him and Cheryl with them on Saturday to Six Flags. They didn't make it. Patrick had a stroke early the next morning in his left brain. He's blind in both his eyes on the right side of each eye. Kind of like vertical blinds that are only half open is how it was explained to us. It's very rare for a patient to lose their eyesight like that. He's also paralyzed on his right side on his arm and leg and has a long haul in front of him. They gave a target release date for him of April 13th but I don't think he'll be ready anytime soon. He was able to sit up on the side of the bed yesterday with Cheryl and my help but he's incontinent and doesn't get the signals in time to get someone to help him to the bathroom. We've been told he'll need 24/7 care but that's not possible at home. My sister and brother that live there with my Mom and him both have to work. I'm only 3 blocks away but I'm unable to help him because of my own health and Mom had a stroke about 5 years ago so she's not capable either. Hopefully my sister Cheryl can find a place for him that he qualifies for. He was 100% disabled and on medicare before his stroke so hopefully there's a skilled nursing program somewhere that can help him with more rehab. We'll see or as Mom has been saying......time will tell. Oh that Saturday (17th) I took Chris to Urgent Care. He had an ear infection. Got antibiotics for him and he was miserable all weekend. He was written out til Tuesday but I ended up taking him back to the doctor then because he just wasn't getting better. He ended up on the verge of bronchitis so he got a Z pack for that. And me? Oh yeah I was sick too but of course being Mom there wasn't time to get me taken care of. I was pretty sure I had strep but I was able to function as long as I took ibuprofen for the pain. I had to take my sister to work and back for the last two weeks and the driving is killing me because of my carpal tunnel but what can she do? She has no other way unless our other brother isn't at work and so far his schedule hasn't worked out with hers yet. It'll get better somehow or other. Oh I finally went to the doctor on Tuesday (27th) and I did have strep. I'm allergic to penicillin so I thought I'd be on another antibiotic for 10 days but (yeah me!) they have a Z pack equivalent for people who are allergic to penicillin. So I've been on 4 antibiotics in a month. I hope I don't see another one for a long time! I did get to see Dad a few times within the last month. He's doing great and we had a really nice visit the Sunday before everything went downhill starting with Chris's Dad having a heart attack. I'm so glad this month is at the end. Please let April be nice. I'll even take all the April Showers we can get as long as we get it with no sickness from anybody.

Blacksheep

I'm tired of being the blacksheep of the family. Little sister had nephew's birthday on Saturday. No invite. Brother told me that they were all going to see Dad. I wasn't feeling good so I didn't ask to go with them. Good thing cause he lied to me. They went to my sister's house for nephew's birthday party. Never said a word to me. It hurts so much that we weren't included. It's not fair. I've tried so much to get it all settled with sister but she won't meet me half way even. You can't settle something just from one side. I'm going to take the kids to her house tomorrow evening to drop off a birthday card for nephew with $10 in it. What's really bad is I'm sick and on two different antibiotics and my physical and emotional state is not good to start with. I won't be going to the door because of it. Don't need any little babies catching this from me. I just want to have my sister back. How does that make me out to be the monster that I must be in her mind for her to not want me to be her sister back? What's really bad is that my Mom and them won't even try to help get us all healed. I mean they lied to me about Saturday. I would rather have not known and found out the way I did on Facebook alone. My sisters Mother in Law posted pictures of my Mom holding the new baby. I have only gotten to see him in pictures. My heart is broken. I've got to realize that she doesn't want me and that I don't matter to the rest of the family either in the long run. At least that's the way it feels right now.

Happy New Year's Eve

I hope everyone had a wonderful and merry Christmas. The kids enjoyed theirs and have been enjoying the break from school too. They each got one big present and then 3 small presents so they really enjoyed it. We had Christmas morning on Christmas eve morning so we could have breakfast with my Mom and siblings. I made an egg casserole bake that was really good and a different take on fruit salad too. I got the recipes from Northpole.com. I'll post the recipes at the end of this blog. We also had monkey bread but it was frozen not homemade. We exchanged gifts with them. Jessie got one of the Glee soundtracks and a Bruno Mars CD. Nicky got a $25 gift card from Game Stop and so did Chris. They gave me a $25 Amazon card. I finally got to spend it last night. I got a book in the Remy Chandler series by Thomas E. Sniegoski that both Chris and I like, a movie called Gabriel that stars Andy Whitfield of Spartacus fame (he passed away much too young) and a cookbook I've been wanting forever called What Can I Bring? written by the Cake Mix Doctor cookbook lady. I just had to put about $5 with it to cover it all so that wasn't too bad. We headed to Mother in Law's house after breakfast and got to Marshall around 3 p.m. We had a really good visit with her and for the first time ever got to have Christmas dinner with her and Brother in Law and his family on Christmas day. It wasn't a long visit with him because he had to go back to Oklahoma where he's working temporarily while waiting for a job to come open at Eastman Kodak in Marshall. I hope that job comes through soon. I can't stand the idea that they might move to Oklahoma and we won't get to see them anymore. But anyway, that's not my business. We went to his house on Monday and hooked up on wifi there. Jessie got a tablet and Mother in Law got a Kindle (from us) so she was downloading free books through Amazon. Chris and Nicky went to Game Stop to spend their Christmas gift cards and cash while we played online. After that we went to McDonalds and treated everybody. They have the free wifi there so Mom kept downloading books there too. LOL. She loves her Kindle. My Mom got a Kindle from my sister and them and she loves it too. I just don't know if I'm ready to give up my real books yet. We left on Tuesday and got home around 1 p.m. It was a nice trip and good to see family but it seemed really fast. We're celebrating New Year's with my Mom and them tomorrow. We're grilling steaks and my sister Cheryl is making the sides (mashed potatoes, cabbage and black eyed peas). It should be a really good and tasty dinner. I hope everyone has a wonderful and Happy New Year!

Christmas Morning Casserole

From the kitchen of The Huthers

Ingredients
2 pounds hot bulk sausage (mild can be used) (I used Jimmy Dean Reduced Fat and didn't need to drain it)
8 slices bread, crusts removed (Left the crusts on)
3/4 pound grated sharp cheddar cheese
8 large eggs, beaten (I used the equivalent amount of egg beaters)
3 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard (Just used the jarred)

Directions
1.In a large skillet, brown sausage, crumble and drain.
2.Butter a 9x13 inch casserole dish.
3.Place bread (torn into bite-sized pieces) in bottom of dish.
4.Place sausage on top of bread. Sprinkle cheese over top.
5.In a large bowl, mix beaten eggs, milk, salt and dry mustard. Blend well.
6.Pour over other ingredients. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
7.The next morning, bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes uncovered.
8.Slice into squares.
Copyright 2011 Northpole.com, LLC

1-2-3 Fruit Salad

Makes 1 huge bowl •

From the kitchen of Veronica Spears

Ingredients
1 can Comstock peach pie filling
1 can pineapples, chunks, drained
1 large can sliced peaches, drained
2 cans tropical fruit salad (Del Monte), drained
1 large tub frozen sliced strawberries, thawed
1 small can mandarin oranges (optional), drained
1/2 cup - 1 sliced bananas (optional)

Directions
1.Mix all ingredients together. Chill

Broken

Today should be a joyous day. My sister Kelly is having her baby boy Andrew today. Because of a family dispute she's disowned me and the rest of us. I wish she'd just disown me and still be in the good graces of my Mom and them. My heart is broken. I'm giving up on her ever being back in the family with us. I never thought I'd feel like I wasn't good enough for family but that's how I'm feeling. She's an orphan now with only her husband and children and her husband's family. Grudges aren't worth broken hearts that's for sure.

Monday

I took my Mom and sister Cheryl to see my Dad yesterday. All he could do was sleep while we were there. Looks like it'll be another long winter for him. He mostly slept through last winter too. We stayed almost an hour. They probably gave him a pain pill. I know he has more pain in the winter than in the warm months. It was a short visit but we went at least. Hopefully he'll be "there" the next visit I get to make with Mom and them.

Happy Thanksgiving

It's been a really good holiday for us. Chris's Mom made it in on Wednesday and the kids have been all over her like white on rice. We only get to see her 3 times a year so its always a joyful occasion for us to see her. We had a huge dinner with my Mom and them. Turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potato souffle, corn casserole, green beans and rolls. Desserts were fruit salad, Pineapple Goo Cake and a butter pecan cake with cream cheese frosting. We had a good visit with my Dad too and took him dinner also. He had a little of everything but seemed to enjoy his turkey leg best. Cheryl brough both of them for him so they're supposed to give it to him today along with the other leftovers we brought him. He was in a good mood and we had a really good visit with him. Today we're being lazy but we're going to see Nature in Lights tonight. It's a drive through light display on lake Belton that's sponsored by Ft. Hood and other businesses. That's about it for our holiday so far.

Last Saturday

Nov. 18th was fun. I took my Mom and sister Cheryl Christmas shopping that morning. We went and saw my Dad for lunch. Took him Church's chicken and he ate it up. It was a nice visit and he was in a good mood too. After that we went and shopped some more. Then my brother Patrick called and asked if my husband would co-sign for him a truck. I told him no so then my sister Cheryl ended up co-signing for him in spite of not having a driver's license. She was so upset because he only had a year to go on his Durango and now its all back to square one. He got a Chevy Silverado quad cab so at least he can still have room for them all in it. The reason he needs a co-signer is because he's on disability and has no other income. I doubt he'll ever help pay the bills or for food but I don't live there so I'm keeping my mouth shut on this one. The last time I opened my mouth and gave my opinion I lost my little sister Kelly. I haven't seen her since mid-March or spoken to her since April 1st. Its on her though because I've been trying to get a response from her each month but all I ever get to do is leave a voice mail on her cell phone. I took Amanda to her doctor appointment yesterday. She's contracting but still not dialated. Unless she has the baby this next week they'll be doing a c-section on her on Nov. 30th. While I was waiting for her in the waiting room my sister Kelly came in. I just happened to glance up from the magazine I was reading and saw her. She saw me and gave me a look that looked right through me and sat down. I waited a couple of seconds and then went over to her and told her I just wanted to say hi, I love you and bye. Then I went and sat back down. I put the magazine up where she couldn't see that I was close to tears. A few minutes later I glanced in her direction but saw that she moved where she couldn't see me. I finished the magazine and was looking up at the TV when her husband came through the door into the reception area. Kelly must have texted him about seeing me because he didn't come through the waiting room but went in through the reception door to wait for her. I've tried to make amends. I've railed at her. I've apologized. I've cried but after the look she gave me yesterday (Monday) I'm done. I know that I've tried the best I can and now its up to her. The bad thing is she's pregnant and due at the end of December with a little boy. She told my Mom about the baby in an email. :( I found her registered on Target so I was able to send her a baby gift for him but haven't, of course, heard that she got it or not. Last I knew it was on her front porch. They're naming him Andrew Cole. I can just hope and pray that she'll come around and let us know him and get to know Phillip all over again someday. Til then our family feels broken when we should be having a wonderful, happy time expecting two new babies into the family.

Yeah!...Updated...

I'm so excited. Chris doesn't go out to work until Tuesday, the 8th so I get to go and see my Dad with the family on Sunday. Usually I have too much to do and am worn out on Sunday from all the running around I have to do on the weekend to go and see him. I just hope nothing happens to change my plans. Well, lets say I have no plans for Sunday and it should turn out okay.

We had a wonderful visit with my Daddy. He ate his small hamburger and fries from Wendy's and also ate his lunch plate that day too. He's gained a little weight back. He knew who Jessie was and that she was his granddaughter and that really made her day. I can't wait to get to go back. It won't be this weekend but the weekend before Thanksgiving and then Thanksgiving day we'll be bringing him dinner that evening. I hope he will have a good day then too.


Last night I didn't really sleep. My mind wouldn't shut down. My sister Kelly still isn't speaking to anybody especially me. I call her once a month on her cell phone. I don't know if she listens to the message or not but I refuse to give up on her as my sister. I don't think I did anything bad enough for her to disown me much less the whole family. I finally broke down crying and realized I'm grieving for her. She's not dead and that's what hurts so badly. She was born when I was 19 years old. It's like I've lost my own child almost. She was spoiled by all of us older kids but she was never a brat. I thought that chat we had back in April went both ways. She was griping about our other sister Cheryl so I was trying to tell her how special she's always been to the family but I overstepped and brought in some personal stuff about how my kids were never allowed to spend the night at my Mom and Dad's when they were 2 like her little boy is. I shouldn't have gone there but if she can't handle the truth what can I do. I've apologized several times and I've also gone off the handle too. Mostly I've tried to be nice. I went off the handle on her on my 50th birthday in June. Well, it was a few days after. She never called or emailed or even snail mailed a card to me. It was an important birthday to me and for her to totally ignore it really hurt. I called her in October to invite them to Jessie's 13th birthday but her anniversary is on the 6th and Jessie's birthday is the 8th so since she's been married she's always celebrated her anniversary by going away for the weekend. That has hurt Jessie's feelings to no end but this year she didn't even ask about Aunt Kelly. :( Nicky's birthday is coming up on Nov. 11th. I'm really excited for him to celebrate it on 11/11/11. He'll be 15 and I've been waiting for that date since the day he was born. I'm going to call and invite them but I know they won't come. At least I'm trying to make up and be good and get her back in the family. Oh yeah, she's also pregnant and due with a little boy on Dec. 30th. She sent my Mom an email when she found out she was pregnant. We heard it was a boy through the work grapevine. My sister Cheryl and niece Amanda both work where Kelly does. They have friends in common and I have a couple of them as friends on Facebook. It's really sad to see pictures posted by them of her on there. Also, I have her Mother in law as a friend. She's a nice lady. Not saying anything to her Mother in law when I've seen her around town is really hard. Her Mother in law posts picture of Phillip, my nephew by Kelly and it breaks my heart that we're not seeing him anymore. I can only imagine how badly it hurts my Mom to see his pictures. What makes me feel really bad is that my sister's husband was estranged from his Father and she made sure to get them together. I guess we don't count. I feel like all the years never counted sometimes. Anyway, that's where my heart and head are now. I'm grieving. Maybe someday I'll have my baby sister back.

Happy Hump Day

Today has been weird. I'm feeling disjointed and out of sorts. Not mad out of sorts. Just like something is going to happen out of sorts. I hate this feeling. Doesn't help I had a family dream last night. My oldest first cousin was in it and she came for a visit and brought her grandkids. We had a really good time. She mentioned somebody was pregnant so that means there might be a wedding for that family in the future. I think if I remember our family dream interpretations correctly. It's been a while since I've had one of our family prophetic dreams. So its either the dream throwing me off or the fact that I got my flu shot on Monday that's left me feeling this way. I never get sick from the shot but do feel worn out usually and this time I've got that worn out feeling too. LOL, who knows though. It could just be my diabetes and carpal tunnel working against me. I just hate this feeling of impending doom. Maybe I'll sleep better tonight and wake up feeling a whole lot better tomorrow. Just wanted to post since I haven't in a while. I'm glad I don't have really anything to talk about. Love when its just boring and routine stuff going on. No need for drama when I've got TV and movies that can handle all that. :D

Happy October

Another month started and days being counted down......by my daughter Jessie. She turns 13 on October 8th and can't wait. She wants a kitten for her birthday and while I was not considering another pet it turns out that it is a good idea. Our cat Skylar is also 13. We rescued her 11 or so years ago from Fuzzy Friends which is a local rescue center in the area. She's a wonderful part of our family. We did have another cat a few years ago but had to take her to the pound because she went crazy on us and started attacking Chris and then she started attacking me. It was all out of the blue and because the kids were still very little it scared me. Both of our dogs are fine with cats too. I'll be looking on Friday to see what fits with us. Jessie's not being choosy either. My choice is female. She's okay with that. Then I'm to try to find her a striped kitten, any color and if that can't be found her next choice is like a Siamese coloring and then it doesn't matter if either of those choices can't be found. So Friday can't come soon enough for her. LOL.

Happy Hump Day!

Nothing much going on. Chris's partner finally (since the 4th of July he was off) came back to work. Now maybe I won't have to finagle the bills so much anymore. It does make a difference having a partner team drive and there won't be any lets see if we have anything for you as to where he'll be going. Also there won't be in one day and back out the next day either. We shouldn't be using so much gas anymore. In January Chris will get a dedicated single line run which means he'll be by himself and know exactly what he'll be doing every week. He's going to try to be home on Friday and Saturdays so he can go to the band stuff and have a weekend (sort of) with the family. That's the news on his job.

I took my Mom to the eye doctor today. Her eyes are about 20/40 or 20/50 and everything is all good on there not being any diabetes in her eyes. They're also really good on pressure and the nerves and muscles so no cataract surgery until she's uncomfortable and wanting it. She was scared they'd want her to have it now.

Band is going well for Nicky. He's been excited about marching at the football games. Their first home game is this Friday but I won't be able to go. Chris has no idea when he'll be home and my luck would be he'd come home when I first got there. I'd rather not plan to go just in case and if he gets home in time then yeah we get to go. School is going well for Nicky. His grades are good except for Algebra but he's brought it up and I'm pretty sure he'll have it somewhere in the 80's by the time he does the test for the first six weeks of school.

Jessie is doing well in school so far. She decided not to do Volleyball after all. She's already failing math but that's her disability coming into play. As long as she passes the class is all that matters and right now she's just 4 points below. I think she can do it as long as she doesn't get frustrated. Her other classes are all 80's and 90's. Poor girl is just not math efficient. Ask her to read, write a story, spell or enjoy Science and you wouldn't know she had a disability. She's well rounded and that's all that matters to me. Math was never my strong point either and I'm not going to have her so frustrated that it ruins her school years.

That's about all thats been going on for us. Summer was ruined because of how hard Chris had to work and him being home only 1 day a week if that. I'm just hoping Carl doesn't have anything else happen between now and Christmas.