Thursday, October 27, 2011

HAPPY TRAVELERS, A GOOD DEAL AND A VIDEO OF SAM!

Just had to share a couple of quick things.  As I told you already my youngest son James and his wife are in Italy celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary.  This has been a dream of Larissa's (who is half Italian) since she was quite young and something that they wanted to do for their honeymoon but didn't quite work out.  Then it was going to happen our their 5th, but babies got in the way.  I am soo happy she is FINALLY getting to go.  But what I am REALLY happy about is how technology today makes it possible that they can be in another country TODAY and post pictures about their adventures on Facebook TODAY and I can see everything through their eyes NOW!!....sooo amazing.  Anyway, I wanted to show you just a couple of pictures of how it is....

Her joy is just written all over her face don't ya think??  


How GORGEOUS is this?  Looks like she belongs there I am thinking....

Sooo pretty!!

Soo neat!


Darling!


In front of the Spanish steps.....LOVE this!
 And then I had to tell you about my trip to Joanne's today.  A week ago I hit Joanne's with my sister Diane and got enough Christmas flannel fabric to make all of my grandkids Christmas jammies....except for baby Sam.  It was all on sale for 50% off.  Then, if you spent a certain amount (which I did of course) then you got a 30% off  coupon that was good for your ENTIRE purchase this week (and here is the real kicker) rather or not the fabric was already on sale or not!!  Pretty good huh?  Soooo I went today and got some darling fabric to make baby Sam a Christmas blanket sack and matching hat AND! Christmas fabric to make up several aprons....It was already 30% off and so with my coupon it was 60%!!   In addition to this I bought thread, a 40% off pattern, a zipper,  and some snaps that were all already 20% off and got another 30% on top of that.  Seems practically free now, haha.   Anyway, I've decided I am going to make up a couple of the aprons as a give away here on my blog.  I will post more about that later.  I do have MOUNTAINS of sewing to do now so I will be busy for the next couple of weeks or so on that.

And finally I wanted to show you a video that Melody posted of baby Sam on facebook last week of him ALREADY rolling over...Yes, at just shy of 4 weeks he is already rolling over!!  She said he is doing it now pretty much whenever she puts him on his tummy.  It took me FOREVER to figure out how to post this so hopefully it even works.  The funny this about this video is how happy he is when he finally manages to roll over.  She feels bad letting him cry on his tummy, but he had already done it a couple of times so she knew he could and wanted to capture it on video for grandma, lol.  I think she may have a crawler on her hands at a very young age, haha!





Hope you are all having a GOOD week!  I know I am! and so are James and Larissa!  Thank you Jesus....

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

HODGEPODGE WEDNESDAY

I decided to try and "quickly" do (haha) Hodgepodge Wednesday as I love random questions...both reading others answers, and writing my own.  I hope I don't regret this as I have lots to do today...OK, here goes.  To join in with the other click here.


1. What gives you goosebumps?  


Oh, a few things.....A heartfelt testimony on the power of God in someones life.... Patriotic music.....many voices raised in worship.


2. Halloween-are you a lover or a hater? Okay, that sounds harsh...Halloween-yay or nay?

I think I will have to be careful here or this question could take me HOURS, haha....My feelings for Halloween can be somewhat mixed.  I guess I would have to say overall I am a nay.  I do love the little trick or treaters in their little costumes and desires for candy and some fun.  But the with the origin of it all being  from the occult and full of evil, it is hard to get totally on board.  I'd like to think that a lot of that is not still being practiced today, but I would be naive to believe that.  I don't decorate, I don't "celebrate" it per-say, but have always enjoyed the little ones, and passed out candy to the kids.  I missed that last year since moving to the senior citizens park we don't have trick or treaters anymore, haha. When my kids were young we hit the Harvest parties at church.  They got to dress up and get candy and have fun, and the scary evil stuff was left out of it.  I think there is always a way to redeem the time.

3. Can you respect someone you do not trust, and can you trust someone you do not respect?

This question too may take some time, lol.  I guess I would have to say that I think they go hand in hand.  However, I think I can respect someone's ability let's say without being able to trust them  necessarily.   But for me to truly trust someone I MUST respect them.    

4. Apples or oranges? Yes, you have to choose.

Oh, an easy one....It would be apples for sure....A juicy good apple is just hard to beat.  But when you add in apple pie, apple fritters, apple crisp, cider, applesauce, I could go on but I won't, you get the idea.
  
5. What is something you wish was in your town? (shop, restaurant, attraction, etc)

Well truthfully I live right smack in the middle of some of the best restaurants to be found, every store you can imagine, a HUGE wonderous Mall etc.  But I WOULD love to have a Hobby Lobby by us...They have one our by Mel's, and I loved it.

6. What non-food item is in your refrigerator or freezer?

I have ice packs in my freezer that I used pretty much every day on my knees... : )

7. Are you at all superstitious?

No, not at all.  I guess again to believe in superstition would be contrary to my Christian beliefs.  I believe that nothing happens outside of the will of God.  He controls our very breath and the whole universe all at the same time.  We have our free wills, and therefore make our own decisions and choices everyday, but as Christians I do not believe we are controlled by some other mysterious force or power.

8. Insert your own random thought here.


Again, random thoughts for me are such a common thing, haha, but I will try and pull out just a couple or so for this morning.   I am loving the weather again recently.  Cool mornings and evenings, and lots of warm sunshine during the day.  I am getting my thoughts together for Thanksgiving (all of my kids are coming, YAY)  and making plans for the "Meet and Greet" party for Sam.  I can't wait for everyone to see him.  I am praising God this morning that he is up to 8 pounds 13 ounces and is doing soo well, and also that James and Larissa have arrived safely in Italy.


OK, I did pretty good for me....sometimes a post takes me soo long.  I am off to my mom's!  Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Monday, October 24, 2011

A GRAND KID KIND OF WEEK-END!

I don't know about you but my week-ends have become so busy I need a day or so to rest, haha...

I guess I will go all the way back to Thursday and tell you I picked up my 10 year old grand daughter Lindsey after school and the two of us went to see Annabel play another volleyball game.  What a good time we had!  Lindsey will be 11 in Dec., and what a little grown up girl she is becoming.  She chatted non-stop and filled me in on all she has been up to.  Her progress report brought all A's!  She is also her class president right now (they get to do it for one quarter of the year) and I am soo glad she is soo focused and into her school work.  Annabel's team lost (booo) but she did VERY well.  She chatted and visited with us for a while after the game.  How I thank the Lord for both of these girls, and that I can  do things like this with them.

On Friday Jeff came home a little early so we could get dinner out before going to my parents to play cards.   I enjoyed a delicious sea food salad at my favorite restaurant (Market Broiler) and we split a Salmon roll...soo yummy.  I think I could eat seafood everyday.  : )  Then we went to my parents where us girls got sooo ruthlessly beat that I am surprised we didn't just throw in the towel, haha, instead of going to the very bitter end like we did.  My stepdad is doing much better, but he is still kind of weak and his stomach is still somewhat bothering him.  I am really hoping he feels better soon.   He has just gotten sooo thin.  My mom continues to have different problems too...sigh....growing old is just plain old hard sometimes.

On Sat. morning Jeff & I went over to my oldest son's house and visited for just a bit and then took Jeffie with us to travel down to San Diego to see JD's last soccer game.  We have been wanting to do this all season but it just hadn't happened yet.  But grandma and grandpa both REALLY wanted to see him play.  How glad I am that we did!  He was just adorable (sorry my Grandmaness shows pretty frequently) JD just turned 5 of course but he is bigger than most 6 or even 7 year olds....He played goalie most of the season I guess and I got to see why.  He'd dive on the ball with such gusto, oblivious to the fact that the other little players would kick him when he was down there in their excitement to get the ball.  It was just hysterical.  I was also reminded why they call it "bunch ball" at that age as they all run along in a pack, haha.  I have no idea who won that game, lol, as I don't think they were even keeping score.  JD's coach soo favored him she was hard pressed to keep it from showing to the others.  She just gushed about him after the game to his parents and my hubby and I saying he was a coaches dream as he was not only just flat out talented, but has such a sweet little personality you just want to squeeze him.  Couldn't say I disagreed in any way....haha  She sent the goalie jersey home with him to keep.  Soo cute.  Here are some pics of this.

ALL READY!

One of his many dives for the ball!

Hi Grandpa!  Such a cutie!

Getting watered down by daddy!  It was soo hot!

Lots of water breaks!

Cooled down and ready to go again!

Fan Jeffie

Tella's seat on Grandpa

Fans!  That's Grandma under the umbrella, haha
JD and his sweet coach!

After the game we headed over to the Pumpkin Patch that is becoming somewhat of an annual event for us.  The kids just LOVE it.  The place is HUGE and there is soo much to see and do.  I did have a hard time walking everywhere there was to go, so I took lots of breaks on hay bales that were pretty much everywhere.
Everyone had a wonderful time, including their little dog Bruno who came along as well.  After we were through we went back over to their house and enjoyed a home made chicken soup that Larissa had left simmering for supper in the crockpot,.  It was sooo good.  We let the kids play for a little longer before we made the drive back home.  Such a LONG, but fun day!   There were soo many cute pics to chose from that I decided to just put together a quick little video of the day....but I decided to share a couple of my favorite pictures as well


TOO MANY TO CHOSE FROM!

THEY HAVE SOO MUCH FUN TOGETHER!

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And finally, I had to share the latest pics of Sam.  I promise I will TRY not to constantly post new pics of him (but don't count on it) as I beg her for several a week (How else is this Grandma suppose to watch him change?) But they are just soo cute!

SWEET LITTLE SMILES

READY TO GO TO MEET HIS TEXAS COUSINS

ONE MONTH OLD TODAY ALREADY!!  HE LOOKS LIKE A MINI VERSION OF HIS DADDY HERE


GETTING FESTIVE!
MELODY'S GOOD FRIEND WHO MARRIED MIKE'S FIRST COUSIN....MEETING SAM FOR THE FIRST TIME

6 MONTHS MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE RIGHT NOW, HAHA

HE LOOKS SOO TINY IN HIS CRIB....HE LOVES HIS MOBILE!


On Sunday we went to church but forced ourselves to leave right after service so we could get back home to do some grocery shopping etc.  Jeff enjoyed a couple of football games, and I enjoyed  a brief nap, haha,  Well guess I better end this for now...sorry it is so long.  I do thank the Lord for all of the sweet blessings I enjoy in my grandkids.  They do keep me busy.  I am going to begin my Christmas sewing tomorrow, and the next day will take me to my mom's to help out there with some doc appointments.   Hope you all have a wonderful week!  


Wednesday, October 19, 2011

HODGEPODGE WEDNESDAY ~ added a new smiling pic of Sam!


I decided to join up with Hodgepodge Wednesday even though I really don't have to the time to do so, haha....I have the font soo messed up on this post I should really just throw in the towel, but I refuse so it is what it is...I really don't know how I DO these things, or WHY I can't fix them, but again...it is what it is.  I enjoyed this.


1. How do you typically react in a sudden, extreme, pressure-filled crisis? Would we want you nearby in an emergency? I think I go into a mode of a "do what you have to do think later" feel and handle things pretty well.  As a general rule, yes I think people would like to have me nearby.  HOWEVER, I do remember one emergency involving my precious dil Larissa where a karate demonstration went wrong and she was hit in the face with a weapon. I just sort of flipped out and became somewhat hysterical.  Soo not me in many ways, but I was soo sure she was REALLY hurt.  She was OK, as it turned out, (though she was carried off in an ambulance) but it took a while to recover...

2. Caramel apple-caramel sundae-caramel corn-caramel macchiato...of the four, which caramel treat would you choose?   Oh, it would definitely be caramel corn!!  Love it, though I honestly can't remember the last time I had some...  ; )

3. Is there such a thing as destiny? Explain.
WOW....I may have given this one to much thought...I guess I don't know what I really think about destiny.  I understand it to be something that is just MEANT to happen somehow.  Where you don't have much of a choice or a decision in the process.   I believe that God has a plan for each and every one of us.  And yet we have our free wills to chose what we want. We can change the course of our lives by making choices and decisions to live them in a certain way.  

4. What's your favorite piece of furniture? I'm referring to something currently in your possession as opposed to something on your wish list. I actually have several favorite pieces of furniture....could it be my soft leather coach where I curl up every night to watch some TV with my hubby?  Or is my recliner where I sit EVERY day as I read, blog, talk on the phone, and spend time with the Lord?  Maybe it is my soft comfy bed? Or the beautiful bedroom furniture that reminds me of Mel every time I walk into the room?  (it was her's originally) It might be my new buffet.....But I guess I will settle on my dining room table.  I just LOVE it for some reason.  Soo pretty.  And has been the gathering spot for my family for MANY family dinner and holidays and occasions.  
LOVE THE COLORING AND DETAIL ON THIS TABLE

CLOSE UP OF SOME OF THE PRETTY CARVINGS


ALL SET FOR THANKSGIVING DINNER 2010



5. Wednesday night marks the start of the 2011 Baseball World Series. Did you know? Do you care? Will you be watching? Ever been to a professional baseball game? If you're not an American do you find the title 'World Series' annoying or amusing?  
Didn't know, don't care, won't be watching, haha...Yes, I have been to MANY professional games and I ALWAYS love them.  Can't say I find the title the list bit annoying, nor have I ever given it any thought one way or another... : )


6. A sound that takes me back to my childhood is____________. 
 I think it would be the sound of a few different TV shows music....You know, the theme from the Flintstones, Bewitched, Leave it to Beaver.....Or it might be my mother's voice.  I hear it all the time.  "Kids, it's time to eat."  haha  Or "Debbie, it's your turn for the dishes..."  haha


7. On average, once you've linked your hodgepodge post to mine how many other participant blogs do you visit? Do you ever come back to the Hodgepodge later in the day or even the day after to read posts?  I usually come back later in the day and read a few of them at least.


8. Insert your own random thought here....My head is soo full of random thoughts, it is hard to pull just one of them out, haha.... I guess this morning I am thinking that I miss baby Sam and would love to hold him and love on him some today.  Mel said he is starting to smile at her....Time goes by soo fast.  I am glad I am going over to my mom's this morning though and how grateful I am that they are both doing a little better.  I am also thinking I love this time of year and can't wait until it is cool enough to turn the heat on.  I am looking forward to another one of Annabel's volleyball games tomorrow.  I am hungry for ANYTHING pumpkin....See?  I said my head was all over the place....Hope you all have a wonderful day!


Mel sent me this pic this morning.  The "grins" are soo quick she has to be fast, haha, and his eyes shut before she could get it....but how darling is this???


Just wanted to wish a happy anniversary to my youngest son James and his wife Larissa!  Married 10 years ago today.  Soo happy for them both.  They are leaving in a week or so to celebrate in Italy!





Monday, October 17, 2011

MY THINGS I DO NOT DO LIST

Well here we are in mid Oct., and I can hardly believe it.  I have been thinking for a while now that I would love to come up with some "new" material for my blog.  I honestly can't believe how entertaining and creative soo many of your blogs are, while it seems as if I am always saying the same old thing in somewhat of a different way, and only if I try REALLY hard.  Isn't there more than just the day to day story of my life on my mind?  haha   I was going to try the meme that my friend Jennifer did at Trading Ashes for Beauty, but I honestly don't  know if I can even think of 10 things I don't DO (I think I will try doing just 5)....which sent me down another whole train of thought, but I will leave that alone for now.   I seriously hope I don't just come up with a list that proves I am a little more neurotic than I thought.   : )

Jennifer you started with a food that you don't DO or dislike, so I decided I would "try" starting there.  But it made me hit a blank wall right off the bat.....There is NO food I don't DO....sigh.  Honestly I love almost everything.  But upon deep reflection I did come up with..... I no longer DO donuts.  Now this has nothing to do with my not loving donuts, or my knowing that they are really not good for me in ANY way, but more to do with the fact that I have FINALLY learned (over the course of MANY years) that I always end up sick when I do, haha....Just kind of heavy headed, slow, tired, and downright bizarre.  Obviously just too much sugar and fried grease.....VERY yummy, but just doesn't work for me.

Now my next one is something I have decided to change VERY VERY soon...but at the present time I do not DO airplanes.  This is do to my extreme claustrophobia, and therefore the just knowing that this would require being in a sealed place for an extended period of time, and not the fear of the plane crashing.  Sooo not good in my book.  This has caused me some HUGE problems over the course of my life, and now with both a daughter AND a grandson living as far away as they do, something I really do need to change....sigh.

This is one is also kind of weird, but I do not DO sleeping in.  Not since I was in high school anyway.  My body just doesn't seem to want to for some reason.  I don't care what time I went to bed, I pop up at around 6 (or even earlier) pretty much no matter what.  I would love to think I might just even occasionally spend a morning laying around in the comfort of my bed, but I really have my doubts as to rather or not that will be happening anytime soon.

Ok let's see....I do not DO multiple pairs of shoes....really random I know, and also pretty weird.  But I just never have.  I find a pair of shoes that are REALLY comfortable, and (now there is one pair for warm weather, and another one for cool) then I wear them pretty much everyday, everywhere I go until they either fall completely apart or look completely disgraceful.  I told you this post would make me look pretty neurotic...lol.  I DO try and branch out or at least have a couple of different colors or something even if it is the exact same shoe but I have found that I don't even really DO that very well.

I DO not DO turtlenecks....my reasons for this are simple.  Again, the claustrophobia comes into play, and I am ALWAYS hot.  Not sure if this is because I am overweight, or because I seem to be in a continual state of menopause...

OK, I guess that is 5.  lol.  This was kind of fun, but I probably took it a little toO literally.  There are MANY MANY MANY things I don't do often, but not very many I just don't DO at all.

My week-end was good.  My sister Diane and I got together for the WHOLE day (starting literally with breakfast at Coco's) on Sat. as Jeff went to the men's retreat.  It was nice to "hang out" as we don't get much of that anymore.  We did go over to my mom's for a while.  My step dad got out of the hospital on Sat. even though it didn't seem as if he was really ready in any of our books.  But I am sure you all know how that goes anymore.  If you are even thinking about you might be getting a little better, they toss you out.  He is still of course barely moving along but he is getting a tiny bit better everyday, and we are all grateful.  I still covet your prayers for his recovery.  We also hit Joanne's moonlight madness sale and I got Christmas flannel to make 7 of my grand kids Christmas jammies.  The lines were LONG, the crowd somewhat crabby, but it was all worth it for the money I saved, and the prospect of some really cute PJ's.   I will post more about this later, and show the fabric of course.

I have another busy week coming up so I guess I better get busy as I am already over my time allotment (I try  to be somewhat disciplined about my computer time) for this day.  Hope you all have a wonderful week!   Until next time.....HUGS!!

Debbie


Just FYI....I "somehow" erased my usual signature, and didn't know how to get it back...hopefully, it will just be erased for this post... ;)

Thursday, October 13, 2011

PRAISE REPORT

Boy is it warm here in So. California!!  High 90's and even over 100 in some places.  Whew, I really hope this is our last little wave of summer heat.  I was sooo enjoying the cooler Fall temps and the need to curl up with my soft little throw blanket for TV at night.

I did want to let you know and praise God that my step dads  surgery went very well on Tues.  He is S L O W L Y recovering of course, but so far everything looks good.  He managed to keep some broth down this afternoon, so I think he is moving along as they expected.  Please pray he continues to improve and will be able to go home soon.  : )   My mom is somewhat lost without him but Joe's daughter is here to of course see her dad and is staying with my mom and getting her back and forth to the hospital etc.  We are all VERY grateful for her help.  I spent all day Tues at the hospital and most of today as well and it is hard to see him just lying there in his bed, (he has always been soo active and self sufficient) but he is still managing to crack a joke or two (when he gets awake enough that is, haha).  Anyway, thank you for all of your prayers for him.

Soo many of you are posting yummy recipes for pumpkin bread, soups, and other Fall comfort food.  Right now I guess it is one thing I can be grateful for about this heat...it doesn't sound nearly as appealing. (see there is always "something" to be grateful for, haha)  I am having a HARD time keeping my head on the page of dieting right now.  I am still "on it" but I could soooo easily tip off, haha...Hope you all have a wonderful week-end, and count your many blessings.

Monday, October 10, 2011

WEEK-END WRAP UP....

We had a really busy week-end, and truthfully I just enjoyed every minute of it, but I am kind of tired today, haha...

Friday night we went to BJ's to celebrate Jessica's 25th birthday.  It was a really good time.  How I thank God for this young woman.  Beautiful, sweet, helpful, giving, funny, talented, creative, and full of life are all words you simply have to use to describe her.  Her younger brothers are twins (not identical) and are pushing 22 now and I honestly couldn't believe how OLD they look now.  Where oh where does the time go?  Seems like it was just yesterday and they were all running around with Mel just being kids.  I did get a picture of them having a good time.  The guy right next to Jess is her husband Phil.  Already married a whole year, and they just celebrated that in Hawaii.  How fun....


Sat. Jeff & I sat around and enjoyed coffee and a LONG chat.  We haven't done this in 3 weeks and we had both really missed it..(the SITTING and coffee part, not the chatting, haha)  After that we got ready and headed out for lunch and a movie.  We saw Moneyball with Brad Pitt.  I REALLY enjoyed it.  But then I usually love a sport movie of any kind, especially if it is based on a true story.  This one was especially good in my opinion.  After that we got the car washed (after the L O N G drive it was REALLY bad, and then did a massive grocery shopping.  Jeff barbequed for dinner and we watched a little television and headed off to bed. 

Sunday we headed down to San Diego for church and the day.  It was good to catch up with them.  The service was wonderful.  After service we decided to go to lunch to celebrate a belated birthday for both me and Larissa.  Our birthdays are just two days apart so this is turning into a tradition.  We settled on sushi.  I was soo in the mood, haha.  After a yummy lunch we went back to their house and the guys put the football game on and Larissa and I hung her new curtains that I had finished making BEFORE Sam was born, but hadn't gotten a chance to get to her yet.  I had enough left over fabric to make a small runner for the table, and then I got her a center piece to go with it....There is a LONG story behind the curtains, but I will give you the short version, lol.  Let's just say, I had a senior moment and cut them shorter than I intended and went into a total panic that I had ruined the fabric.  Larissa was never worried for a moment as she was sure I'd figure something out!  Well, the finished product looks good, but they are not like I had originally envisioned them.  She is thrilled with them, so that is all that matters.  Here is a couple of pics...


Soo cute!
This pic is kind of dark, but you get the idea... : )


A closer look at the fabric

We hung out the rest of the afternoon visiting etc., and then I was supposed to go to the women's craft project at the church that Larissa had arranged, but I was tired and my back has kind of been bothering me after our 16 hour car drive so we headed home.  Looking at the finished product on Facebook this morning made we wish I had stayed.  They were soo pretty. 

My step dad's surgery is tomorrow and I will go the hospital and hang out with my mom for the day.  I have a feeling it will be a busy week of this.  I am praying that all goes well, and that he gets the relief he is so desperately looking for.  The weather is GORGEOUS and just feels soo much like Fall in Southern California.  WARM during the day, but nice and cool in the morning and evenings...I am loving it.  I am fighting the urge to throw the towel in on my diet sooo badly.  I just want to relax, and bake, and cook, and OK... EAT!!  But I just can't do it.  I know I will regret it.  If I start now I will eat right on through the holidays and gain back who knows what.  I am going to press on but I will admit that I am doing some whining over here....sigh.  I am also missing baby Sam.  I could tell he was gaining weight from the last couple of photo's Mel sent, and sure enough she took him to the doc's today and he is already up to 7 pounds 5 oz and is 20 inches long.  This means he has gained, in a little less than 2 weeks, a little over a pound and half and grown a whole inch!  WOW!!  He is just doing great!  Melody's MIL and Mike's sister have been there for the last couple of days to meet Sam.  I am happy they are getting this visit.  They helped Mel give Sam his first tub bath as he had to wait until his cord came off before he could do so of course, which meant I had already headed home before that happened.  I am soo glad they were there to help out with that first time experience.  They sent me a couple of darling little pics of the event.  Here is one....the look on Mel's face is again priceless.



I just can't express enough how happy I am for her that she is holding her baby in her arms.  God is sooo good.  And after MANY years of female issues, I honestly feel this is a direct answer to prayer and a miracle to behold.

Hope you all have a good week....much love to you all!







Friday, October 7, 2011

CATCHING UP....(sorry, this one is kind of long!)

SUCH a miracle!

Well, sooo much has gone on in the last couple of weeks, I am just kind of behind everywhere.  I have had such a busy week.  Sometimes I am afraid that you all think that I must think that I need to keep you aware of my every movement, haha, but I guess I will just say again that I write this blog mainly as a journal of my life after my kids were raised.  You will never know how much I wish I had done such a thing when I was raising my kids, and how I envy all you young gals who are doing so now.  I have also found that I "do" pictures in a whole new way now too.  After 37 years of taking pictures, I have boxes and boxes of pictures that are not in albums.  I started off doing pretty good, but somewhere along the line it got away from me.  Now I have more than I could ever possibly sort through, and truthfully what is the point of countless photos, some of the same old thing just with a different turn of the head etc., haha.  Now I take my favorite pictures and put them on my blog which is then printed into a book.  The only pictures I develop are for the ones I carry in my purse (grandma's brag book) and a VERY few chosen few I display in my house.  The rest are stored in folders in my computer.   I print my blog into a book at the end of a year and it is set aside just in case any of my kids or grandkids might be interested someday.  I have actually found myself looking back through the books myself to see what went on for certain holidays and birthdays etc., or even where I might have had certain seasonal decorations placed in my house etc., haha.  Guess the old memory is going.  Anyway, having said all of this I will attempt to catch up here with what has been happening, and where my head and heart are at.

My 10 days at Mel's raced by and I enjoyed every single minute.  Saying good-by to Mel (and Mike) is always difficult, but I am afraid having added little Samuel to the equation it will now be worse than ever.  I felt very good about how they were all doing however, I just know they are going to be wonderful parents.  It was fun watching them both discover the wonders of a sweet little baby.   We drove straight through on the way there and back this time and now I wonder why I haven't always done so, haha.  Soo much better.  We were taking 2 days to get there, and 2 to get back, which meant 4 days of travel.  Really cuts into your time.  And I honestly think Melody had a good way of describing it.  "The drive is just long and boring and BAD....It is definitely a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being just awful.  But at least it is over in one day.  To do it in 2 days it is still an 8.  So why have 2 days of an 8, when you can have 1 of a 10??"  haha  I couldn't agree more.  THOUGH....16 hours in a car, is a LONG LONG time.  Anyway, for as long as I am able, I will do it this way.

Mike & Mel have decided to come for Thanksgiving this year instead of Christmas and I am kind of a mixture of feelings on that.  Mainly good, so I guess I will fix my mind on those.  It is closer than Christmas for one, and it is my year to have my sons.  Years ago I got all of my boys to get on the same schedule of spending every other Thanksgiving with their in-laws.  That way both families get their times, and we can all be together every other year.  I always felt bad for those people who had to rush from house to house on a holiday, and never really relaxed anywhere, so this has worked well for us.  And believe it or not, my whole family has not been ALL together since last Christmas.  I cannot begin to tell you how much that bothers me for some reason.  Now of course I see them all on a pretty regular basis, but putting us all together for a meal just doesn't happen much anymore.  I guess they are all just busy with their lives, and we don't exactly live close by each other, so it is what it is.  But needless to say, when it does happen, I will be grateful, and guard the opportunity with my life.  It is one of those things that I honestly never saw happening to me or my kids, but it has happened nonetheless.  I think we will get one other day while they are here to have a Meet and Greet for baby Sam where all of the rest of the extended family can come by and meet the baby.  There are just soo many of us that I don't want to include it all on Thanksgiving Day, as then my family wouldn't get their time to be together just us.  Do you know what I mean?  Anyway, I am looking forward to this, and already have begun my mental anyway, preparations for it all.

We got back late on Sun. night and it was soo good to sleep in my own bed.  On Mon. I unpacked and did laundry, a little grocery shopping, and caught up with everyone on the phone....Tues, I got my gray roots done, haha, and then went to my grand daughters volleyball game.  She is doing soo well, and I am so glad she has had the opportunity to play.  It is weird being back in the gym where Mel played for 4 years, and where both Joe and John played basketball as well.  How times does fly.  Here are a couple of pics of her...

It is kind of dark, but you get the idea....she is the tiny one, number 3, lol



She plays back row (like Aunt Mel)...waiting here for the serve

Practicing her serves

Down & ready!


Oh, and my new cleaning lady came on Tues.  I had to let George go...I felt bad for him, as I think his crew will probably lose a lot of business for him while he recovers from his stroke, but not only weren't they good, they were quite rude.  Sooo, that was that for them.  I discovered this new woman and so far I just LOVE her.  By far the best I have had since Nina.  She is a hard worker and definitely wants to please me, which is working well.  ; )  Guess we will see how it goes, but when I got home on tues. night and discovered she had cleaned out the INSIDE of my refrigerator,  I felt like it was like the good old days.  I won't lie, I am excited!

On Wed. I went to my mom's.  I took her out to lunch and shopping to get slippers for my step dad.  We also ran to the bank, and to the pharmacy.  It was good to see her and catch up a bit.  My step dad is to have surgery on Tues., and I covet your prayers for him.  They have discovered cancer in his small intestine, and without the removal of it he will be in a lot of pain and discomfort.  They surgery will be difficult in that he is 87 years old and does have lung cancer as well, but most of his discomfort in the last few months have been coming from this.  So we are hoping this will improve his quality of life for a while.  The surgery will take 3 hours and he will be hospitalized for at least a week.  Most of my time next week will be spent there. 

Yesterday, after a little shopping, (suddenly I needed some warmer tops in a SMALLER size) I went to have my nails done and then went and picked up my grandkids Lindsey and Jeffie and went to go and see the movie Dolphin Tale.  We ALL loved it.  It was an inspirational, feel good, kind of movie that I always like.  I enjoyed seeing them and catching up with their lives a bit.  Lindsey is class president again.  Such a student she is, and I love to see her taking such an active interest in what is going on.  She is getting to be so grown up.  I just had to tell you something Jeffie said to me.  "Grandma," he says, "Did you have a happy birthday?"  After assuring him I did I said, "Jeffie, do you know how old Grandma is?"  and he said, "No, but probably pretty old."  haha  So I said, "Well how old is pretty old Jeff?"  and he said, "Oh, I don't know....28?"  lol  Soo of course I said, "Your right!"  haha

I just had to tell you really quick too that my wonderful hubby FINALLY got our wireless internet connection set up so that my connection is sooo much better.  I have been sooo frustrated as I just kept getting thrown off, or it would just take forever downloading pictures, or just getting from one thing to another.  I have just not been able to visit and comment as much as I would like as it was just taking soo much time.  I am sorry if it has seemed as if I haven't been by some of you.  I have, I promise.  But now I shouldn't have any excuses.

Today I have to leave for Jenny Craig in a couple of minutes (who knows how I have done with all the time away....how I hate dieting, but that is another post!) and then I need to pick up a gift for my niece Jessica who is 25 years old today.  We are having dinner tonight with them to celebrate her day.  The week-end looks just as full, but guess I don't need to post about that until I have lived it, haha.  I will say I am sooo looking forward to church on Sun., and seeing that other set of grandkids.  I've missed them.

How blessed I am.  How grateful I am.  What a loving and mighty God we serve.  May you all enjoy this GORGEOUS Fall weather we are having (at least we are here anyway) and remember to praise the One who blesses us all!

LOVE this one....


Oh, of course I put together a little video of baby Sam....How I love him, and miss him sooo.  : )




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