Where has time gone?

Wow....in approximately 2 more months this coming Monday and it will be Christmas 2007......Where has time gone? Things here are moving along pretty good. I had a spell of not being to keep the chicken from the home made soup down tonight. Wasn't able to eat desert either....GGGRRRRRR Not sure what causes it but with such a small stomach it doesn't feel real good to lose what is in it. I have an appointment on the 23rd of October to have another scan....maybe they can find the answer. As I write this I am downing a protein shake, at least this way I am sure to get the protein down. It might very well be the fact that I don't really have enough teeth to properly chew up the chicken meat that caused tonight's episode. I guess I can run the meat through the processor, would rather not have all the other stuff mush, but maybe the meat could go through.

I did go today and get the blood tests I was needing to get for the 3rd month checkup. They will fax the results over to the Bariatrics Office for me. I don't know what they will find but hopefully I am okay with everything and we won't have to add any more vitamins of anything like that. If not before I will get the results of those when I go for the checkup on the 23rd too, after the scan.

Haven't heard from my son lately but know he wasn't going to reactivate his phone for awhile and try to catch up on bills. My dd Brie had his girls with her over night a couple weekends ago and took the to the renaissance festival. Jerrica loved it and Julie did okay but she was fighting a summer cold and that makes anyone miserable. Scott and I got to talk to them on the phone while they were there because Brie has the free calling on her phone. That was such a joy to talk to them, we miss the little buggers!! Jerrica let us know that she wanted to talk to Papa Scott, they get along pretty good now since she used some of his stuff to build with....that surprised us all how she was drawn to art and making things.

Well I am trying to get a group up here in the apartments to doing crafts and Hobbies. I know there are several who do quilts and some who embroidery, some who do cross stitch.....I am anxious to see how this comes about. One of the things I think I will do is to make up small circles with Pins on the back of them and have the group make their own pins, like a woman head......and maybe I can come up with a pattern i can sew up some small dolls and have them decorate them. I hope we can make this something everyone will want to participate in.

I have rejoined the FairieGoddessMothers again. I missed this group a lot and am glad to be back in it. Now I do need to get busy and do a quilts with the fairie pattern sent to me. They also have a lot of different things that I can get involved in.

Well, protein drink is gone so guess I'd better get started to bed soon. Night!

Newest building I have been working on

This is a combination of 2 kits that are the same. Reminds me some of a Boys boarding School. The small green buildings in the background are some Scott had started and almost desroyed when he was having some problems. i saved them and now with his help we are trying to restore them to go back on my RR.

More pics

These first 2 of course of Julie














































This picture is of all 3 kids once Brie took Julie back home.
Jerrica, Mikey, Julie

Julie is 4 today

My youngest grand daughter Julie's birthday is today. Her Aunty Brie went last night and picked her up and they had a girls nite together. Brie had planned on taking her to the zoo when i last talked to Brie, however she took her out to a homestead park where it is free and Julie could see the farm animals. Brie took her on a hayride and then paid for her to have a pony ride also. She seemed to have a lot of fun, she really liked the pony ride. Brie also took her to one of those stores where you pick out the animal and then you stuff it yourself, Julie picked out a dog instead of a bear . It is a husky dog I believe they said.

Brie took some pics, she has sent me a few and said she would send me the bigger files so I can get some copied off. I really do like the picture of the kids together...just wish they had left Julies hair longer, it has so much curl in it. Oh well it is summer and they need to be comfortable in it too. Jerrica's hair is so straight I do like hers cut short.....but she looks too grown up, not ready for her to 5 in October.

Well, I'm glad Brie and Julie had a day out and then she got her back in time for Mandy's family to come and have birthday with her at her house. Wish I could have been there and wish i had extra $ but right now that is not in our small budget, hopefully once Scott starts getting his disability i will have some money to spend on the kids. Right now however, with my income the only income.....I have to start trying to get stuff made up for them. Just not happening this year what with surgery and all.

Happy Birthday Julie!!

Another sleepless night

I just get to sleep good and the hip pain kicks in and wakes me up.....laying on it hurts, and not laying on it hurts even more. I can't sleep on my back or stomach anymore so that's out too. I think not having the ibuprofen is part of it, I know in the past when I was able to have a couple of doses of it down me over a days time made a difference. I will ask the bariatrics doctor if there is anyway I can have some yet. I have an appointment with them on Monday morning.

Scott called them this morning when I was having trouble getting my breakfast shake down. For some reason was having trouble not with swallowing but with it feeling like it wouldn't go through the opening in to my stomach. It really hurts when that happens, I had one other occasion of this happening this week and the reflex is automatic for what ever it is to come straight back up......and that is what the nurse practitioner thought was happening this morning when i had to throw up. Natalie believes that I am probably swollen down there a little due to the first time earlier in the week. So they had me go on a liquid diet for a day or so to give it a rest.

I am still losing weight but did discover that I wasn't getting all of my protein I was suppose to when I first started in to stage 4 of eating and adding soft food. So when I go back to eating soft foods again will need to watch that closer. Some how will need to start making a diary of what i eat and keep that up, I have had a terrible time in the past doing that, but will give it a chance once again.

Worked on my new building some this last week. I am to a place where I am adding something to the middle of the building that wasn't there. It is something like having a small place in the middle of the building where it is outside so that you can have "hidden garden". It will be like going out for some fresh air on your break or lunchtime. Scott had the idea and little by little I am getting it done.

I am also working on getting patterns made for a wall hanging to go over our bed. It is called Tranquility and can be found at http://www.woodsandquilts.com/Patterns.htm We are kind of partial to cats around here and this just looked like the best thing to put above our heads at night. I have both sets taped together with one being the guide line for the wall hanging and the other set can now be cut out into patterns. I don't think that the over all construction will be hard at all....it is the adding the middle section and quilting it that will get to me. But I have the confidence I can do it this time.

Well, the chimes just brought in 6AM....where has time gone? I wanted to mention that the Lord blessed us the other day. We thought that the phone and Internet were going to be shut off but the Lord intervened and someone sent us 1/2 of the phone bill due and the other 1/2 we will be able to pick up and pay first of the month. When God uses someone and they give "seed money" I'm not sure who gets more of a blessing the giver or the receiver....I do know that God has worked in our lives and blessed us with some wonderful friends and some of the best ones we have met on the Internet. I pray God will bless this family and they get a special blessing for what they have done.

I just had a major spasm in the left hip and leg just now. I sure wish I knew what to do about it. These things are getting worse and more painful as we go along. As the weight comes off, I sure hope that the pain will lessen and that I will be able to sleep at night instead of off and on.

Well, the chimes went off again, it is 7AM and I'd better go get my meds taken and breakfast figured out.

Buildings I have made.....

Well, finally figured how to get the building pictures posted. The first group of buildings are actually paper and were sent to me by a friend of Scott's, Joe Rainmaker. Scott met Joe on a group list that he is on. I appreciate the gift and actually had fun making it.

The second picture is of the building I made from scrapes of another building Scott had started before giving me the Ho trains and buildings. I am very pleased how the rock building turned out. I was able to color differently a few of the rocks which accents the building a lot. As can be seen in the picture i have several buildings that Scott started and now i get to finish....and that is said with a positive attitude. I am looking forward to working on them in the future. Right now I am working on another stone factory that will be a garment factory. When I get a chance I will take a picture and post it also.

I am up right now as my stomach was telling me it needed food. Haven't gotten a good handle yet on making it through till morning.....well a little later in the morning. I'm having some vanilla yogurt with some protein in it. Don't have much chewing involved in eating this but am making sure I take my time about swallowing it. Had to throw up earlier some egg that I;d tried to chop up on food processor, there was a small hunk that didn't get down in the rest to be chopped up and didn't watch to make sure i chewed it into nothing before swallowing......apparently it was too big to go through the small opening to my new stomach. I learned yesterday that when this happens you have pain and then no choice....it comes up whether your ready or not. But I felt 100% better after it happened.

well yogurt is about finished and my bed is calling me again.

furniture factory I made

Kathys Hobbies

Photobucket Album

Well couldn't sleep tonight, got started on another building and it was hard to stop the mind as well as the project. Had to put wood sticks in for reenforcement as usual so worked and got most of those in. Pain pills take hold and so is the drowseness but just had to take a minute and post a picture of my youngest grandson. My daughter took the pic when Aunty Brie went by and took the kids for Ice Cream.

Mikey is 2 years old.....where has time gone?? He got a bit upset with Aunty Brie as every once in awhile she would have to lick some off that was melting before it got all over him. Of course now when Aunty Brie shows up at their house all 3 kids are out to find their shoes and hope Aunty Brie has come to take them for ice cream again.

Aunty Brie will have to go over around the 18th of this month for Julie's Birthday.....She will be 4yrs old. In October the oldest of the girls Jerrica will be 5yrs old. Really hard to believe they should be that old.

Okay bedtime....oh, I was down to 303# this morning before I ate breakfast......I figured the weight would go up and down but so far it is going down and that is a good thing.

So much has happened.....

So much has happened since last I updated.....the biggest being I have finally had the gastric bypass surgery. Things went well with the exception of a fst heart rate that was'nt coming down. After several test on the heart, the doctor decided she needed to go back in with a scope and make sure nothing was wrong down in side. Everything was aokay and I was sent back up to my room again to try to sleep the stuff off again. So finally after extra days of poking whic caused a lot of black and blue marks, it was decided that my heart was just going to faster for now. So instead of being in the hospital just a couple days, I was let go home on the 30th and did fine until the 3rd of Aug..

Apparently on the 3rd I discovered what the "dumping syndrom" is in gastric bypass. Not a pretty sight at all. The bedding suffered badly and was finally thrown away it was so nasty. I went back to hospital through the ER and was on IV for rehydration for the night. I finally also got them to pay more attention to the spot where the drain tube had come out on the Thursday before. I had been running low grade fever with the highest being just the night before having the drain removed, 100.7 fever is not a fun thing. Anyway they finally dug some of the yuck out of the hole and began to pack it. When they went to send me home on Sat. I did finally to give me some antibiotics for all the infection. In fact I refused to leave the hospital without some.

After I talked to Jennifer the dietician and we decided that I was now lactose intolerant, which is what we believe caused the "dumping" So have changed over to soy milk and soy protein....doing much better now. This was a major blow for me as milk has never hurt me like that before, but was told it is not uncommon for someone to do after the surgery. Come this friday the 10th I can start adding a solid food. Must remember to chew it to a nothing paste like to get it to go through the small opening and small stomach I now have. I have also lost about 34lbs since moving here to Boonville.

Before surgery I did get creative and put together a couple buildings. One was a kit that a friend had sent and it is actually made of Paper and has 3 buildings to it. I'm very pleased with how it went together......here is a picture of it.














I also have another building I made out of scrape that was left over from a building Scott was working on while he was in to the Ho trains. He has now gone to a different size trains On30 and Gn15....I just know they are bigger and He pretty much has to make the things for them as the few things they have are too exspensive. But then that is what he likes to do, take things apart and redo them. Anyway back to my buildings here is a picture of the other one, still have a bit to do on it but this is the one made out of scraps......













The building with the tractor in front of it is the one. As can be seen there are several more that need finished. I will get to them and have a couple of quilt or wall hangings planned down the road here. First i want to get over to the YMCA and get the papers filled out for the scholarship program they have and try to start exercising for all this weight lose. Need to work on muscles and keep them working right, maybe it will help the Fibro too.

Okay time to close out this late night entry and try to get back to sleep.....

June 25, 2007 We've been here 20 days now....

Scott was just saying this evening how we haven't been here a month yet but it seems like we have been here longer in some ways, yet it doesn't. We have a lot of things unpacked but still need to rearrange the 2nd bedroom so that we can get it ready for the train boards to go up. We do have a good size path through the 2nd bedroom, 2 book shelves up and the computers up and running. Some of my sewing things are in the closet in this bedroom also, still have a couple of boxes out, also know I have one large plastic container that will not fit into the closet that has sewing and other craft things in it, it will have to go somewhere under the boards until I can go through it and figure out what all is in it and what i can do with it.

We also have his and my plastic boxes of train buildings, but we already discussed that they would have to go under the boards and come out slowly as we can put them up. The plan for my train set, is to put it out with my Jungle/fairies in the living room. If I get to do what I want to do it will be so cool looking in there!! My plants are really liking all the light from the tall windows so they are growing and I am trying to figure the wire it will take to make my fairies look as if the are flying thru all of this. Hey, it's my railroad!!

Okay, I have a date for surgery.....August 1, ..... I start my Protein diet 2 weeks before that so I will be prepared for it after the surgery also. I know this is the right thing to do, I have to get more of the weight down so I can get to feeling better. Fibro has hit me pretty hard this week, It hit last Friday and has been rough ever since, the body hurts all the time, and all I have done most of the last few days is sleep. Having said that.....that is where I say good night and head back to bed.

In Our New Place

We are finally in our new place and.... No we still have lots to unpack!! But then if we do a bit each day it will eventually get done....Right?? It will go faster than that eventually but for now, we are both so tired that is about how it is going.

We have found several things broken that we need to get reported to the movers soon, and that is frustrating to us both. One thing is another of the glass cooking pans, that only leaves us with one glass sauce pan left....guess we are going to have to do some serious pan shopping here soon. The one thing however, that is the most, well I'm really not sure what to call it is my extra computer monitor that they didn't even move. It was just fine before they got there the day of packing and when we went to load it into the car the housing was cracked right down the middle of the monitor!! How did they do that??

Tomorrow I hope to try to work on the flowers in the livingroom and get the flower/rockgarden started in there. I miss my water fountain and my rocks and seashells to mess with too. Today I found some of my material and sewing things and got them in the closet that Scott said was mine here in the extra room. Still have a few more things to find but they are mixed up else where in the boxes. I hope to find all of my train stuff and get it in a pile also, seems to be the best way to break these piles down to manageable piles.
Blessings and HUGS to all

We are Moving!!

WOW!! Can't believe it is almost here!! The movers will be here around 2pm on June4th to pack us up in their truck and then they will unpack the truck in Boonville the next morning at 9am. Scott folks were here yesterday, Saturday, and helped us do some packing. I am truly grateful for the help they both did, they haven't even had time to unpack from their own move yet but took time to come help us and will help us on the 4th take stuff down that the movers can't take in their truck. Mom packed up my kitchen and I am so grateful for that......I feel so bad as I was not much help yesterday at all. I hurt so much all day, tried to just get by on the lighter pain pills so I'd be available if needed to answer questions, but finally had to give in sometime after 4pm and take the heavier pain pills. With things that we already had packed piled up it was hard to have more than 1 person in the kitchen anyway, I guess if I could have figued out how to have sat down and wrapped up dishes I could have helped out that way. You know how hind sight is always there when you least want it!!grrrrr

We go down to Columbia on Thursday May 31, to see the Cardiologist and Pulmonologist. Then we will go on over to sign papers in Boonville at the apartment. We will also be taking a load with us that we can unload then. It is my wish that we will take a car load at this time, as I think we are going to have a lot of things to take that the movers won't be able to take. We will probably have to go ahead and start loading that the day before, Wed., as we will have to leave around 7:30 or8AM to get to the doctors on time and I don't want to get up real early and pack the car!

WE ARE MOVING!!!!

Auntie Brie takes the kids to the Zoo

My daughter Brie decided she would take the 2 granddaughter Julie and Jerrica to the Zoo a couple Saturdays ago. She figured no big problem, she'd just rent a stroller for 2 and they'd be okay.....what she didn't know was.....she wasn't getting out of the house this time with out baby boy Mikey. I understand at first when he realised he had to go with Brie he wasn't going, he hasn't or hadn't at that point completely made up with Brie, but then he realised his sisters were both going and he wasn't being left out!!

Soooooo......our brave and courageous Auntie Brie still rented a 2 seater stroller for Mikey(2yrs old) and Julie (3yrs old), then Jerrica(4yrs old) walked the whole way and if you ask any of the kids if they enjoyed the Zoo with Auntie Brie and you get major SMILES, I think that is a definite YES!!















Julie is the blond, Jerrica the brunette and Mikey has the ornery smile this time!! May he always keep those cute dimples!!

Scott and I look forward to being a part of their lives and to encourage them to have healthy imaginations and to always try new things.

So soon as I can get pictures of my oldest Grandson Dallas I will have his up. I did get a wonderful early Grand"mothers" Day gift earlier this evening when I got to talk to him on the phone for a few minutes. I hope to see him at least once before we move down to Boonville and then to try to keep an open communication with him.

"If it keeps getting better and better Oh Lord, I don't know what I'm gonna do.... "

That is a phrase in a song I remember some quartets singing when I was much younger..... These words sorta explain how I felt this last week when God was doing His Miracles for us and we were receiving them. WOW.......don't we serve an awesome God?

First, I'll tell you what has happened, then I'll go back and fill in the "rest of the story". Friday afternoon we received a call from the manager of Selwyn Place Apartments, we have the apartment in Boonville, Mo. and we can move in anytime. We don't have the money to move in until June, so we will sign the papers on the 31st when we are down in Columbia for more doctor appointments and begin moving in immediately as Scott's folks have hired 2 Men and a Truck to move us down there, Bless their hearts!! Boy has that lifted some stress off of me anyway, now we just have to work harder to get all of the packing done so it is ready for that day......we are planning for the 4th of June....which is also our anniversary. What a wonderful way to spend our anniversary......I mean that seriously as I know that this move is in Gods plan.

Okay to fill in......we went to our classfor the gastric bypass surgery, saw the doctor and even went to the hospital and did the preregister/anesthesia visit. We did have a small hitch however, as Dr Ramaswamy, the surgeon I have been seeing, felt there was a need for me to see the Cardiology and Pulmonology Doctors before I do go into surgery. Part of that is due to the fact that I have had to be on prednisone every month over the last 4 or 5 month. I've also had the development of lymphedema and now cellulitis and the cellulitis has been present every time I've had to be on prednisone for my asthma. That has been very discouraging for me and there have been times when I just knew they were going to call the whole thing off........"Oh Ye of Little Faith". But someone has always come through with positives and encouragement and I've had to go to God asking forgiveness, which He has granted and gone one more by showing me different things and ways that He was going to provide. I had the hard part.......waiting!!

Again I say......don't we serve an awesome God??

Because of the new appointments, and the fact that they couldn't take place until May31, the surgery date of May29th had to be canceled, and will be rescheduled as soon as all are at piece that I can go through this surgery without problems of the heart or respiratory, and that is A-OK by me. I believe God also showed me, that He had a plan for us to be moved to Boonville before I went to surgery also. It should be a lot easier on Scott this way, he will have a place to go home to that is a lot closer, and hopefully He won't have as much trouble leaving me there at the hospital as he would if he'd had to come clear up to Lee's Summit. Besides we just can't afford the gas to drive back and forth that far.

Our appointment start at 9 am in one of these departments,Pulmonology or Cardiology, I have it written down; then the other one is in the same area at 10am. When we get through with the Doctors and hospital, then we will go pay rent and sign papers in Boonville and move the stuff we take with us on in to the apartment. Then we hope to move the rest of it on the 4th.

Here we had no idea HOW any of this was going to happen but yet we really felt that it was what God wanted us to do, so all we could do was sit back and wait on God and see what He had in store for us and how He was going to make it all happen........and HE DID, God made it happen, not us. What an awesome God we serve!!

Another Day of Watching God Work

Today was slow at first......but then when you stay up late , well we just don't always get a early start. I fight muscle spasms so much especially after I take my meds at night and My body begins to relax from the muscle relaxer. When those start, it is really bad and on my left side where my hip hurts so much anyway. Makes one really think hard about letting go and going on to bed. So it get rather late before I give in and then I can usually lay down and not remember anything until morning.

Scott's parents called on their way back home from being in Branson, which is the area where Mom is from, and we met them at Denny's tonight for dinner. It was nice to see them and talk with them. Dad was concerned about our car and it being in shape for the trips we need to make down to Columbia . So they are going to come by after Dad's appointment tommorrow at the VA and pay for new back tires on the car. That will help a whole lot, we were hoping we could do it ourselves but until we are both bringing in some income that just isn't going to happen.

So guess I will borrow Brie's car in the morning and we will take our car and leave it at Walmart for tires, and come back home in Brie's car. Then around 1pm or so when Brie goes out to work at the Paper, she will drop me off at the doctors office for my appointment, and Scott will stay at home waiting for his parents to come and get him to pay for the work done on the car. Somewhere along in there when I get through and they get things worked out on our car, someone will have to come back out to Dr office and pick me up.

I was reading earlier another blog that we have been watching lately. The writings are from people who are Christians and are following God, but are bring up good points about all the clutter, man-made goals, man-made interpretations that get in the way of us truly serving God. It brings up a lot of questions.....do we really have to have a big building to meet in? God just told us to assemble ourselves together didn't He? He didn't say anything about a big fancy building, however, he did tell us to help the widows and orphans but how can we do that if everything we bring in is going for morguage, utilities, and insurance. Just think how many widows and orphans that could be helped with that much money!!

Well, need to quit,eyes are very heavy tonight....here is the url for the blogs I am reading right now. http://www.kinnon.tv/2007/03/the_people_form.html

Stop the World I want to get off or at least slow down...

Well, it seems I have used that title before but it sure seems appropriate again!! Thursday I got a phone call in the afternoon that told me I had an appointment down in Columbia on Monday the 23rd of April.

Boy was I surprised........ so I called down to the clinic to see what was going on. Apparently Carrie who I needed to talk to was already gone but AimeeK said it was suppose to be the last appointment before surgery according to the notes in the files......well, that didn't tell me anything, so I left a message on Carrie's voice mail asking her to please call me Friday.


Carrie did call me close to 10:30am on Friday and told me there had been a mistake on the appointment as she hadn't been able to get hold of me. However, if I wanted her to she could arrange for me to have all the appointments I needed to have on the 30th of April. All appointments meant the class I need to take, the Dr visit, and a visit with the anesthesiologist at the hospital. Since we travel 2 hours to get there that is a good deal! So I agreed to doing that, and since the money came in for the class, thank you Lord.

Brie and I went out for a short time on Friday, originally to go to the store but while out I decided I really needed to get shoes. I have been wearing the same pair everyday since just before Scott and i got married almost 2 years ago. Decided that they were probably what was adding to the leg and feet hurting all the time, and yes, they have made a difference. While out I got a call on my cell phone from Carrie and she had a date for surgery also. The first date she gave me was the 23rd of May but I found a message on my cell phone from her later in the afternoon where she had to change it and so it is set up for the 29th of May. I am to start a liquid protein diet 2 weeks prior to the surgery to prepare me for the changes.

This is not the beginning of the changes in my life style. I have been working on these changes for a couple of years or so now. It is not a diet it is a life style change. My stomach will now be the size of an egg.....I will be putting small amounts into it and I will be putting protein as a priority.......I have learned some of this already by the research I have been doing. However, the class I am to take will also cover some of this, Scott is to attend this with me to help with the decisions that need to be made now and later. I am looking forward to being able to buying clothes off the racks at Walmart, I think I am looking forward to being thin and hopefully being a lot healthier!!

Lifes Changes

It has been a long time since I have written on here and a lot has taken place.

The main reason for not posting has been because of health.....I have spent a lot of my time in the recliner with my feet propped up to keep swelling down as I have developed lymphedema and then later have battled a couple cases of cellulitis. Of course the asthma can't be out done, so as it kicks in of course the my dreaded drug has been needed......prednisone!! That stuff has done so much damage to my body it is a wonder I walk at all, at least this time I can say it has knocked down some of the pain level in the left leg. I am on the downward slide now, I needed it just a bit longer than the 5 day thing, so the doctor who did the recheck on Monday gave me a reducing slower over several days instead of a sudden drop. Those sudden drops are very hard on my system, I have a lot of withdrawal from prednisone anymore. But I am feeling better each day as far as the asthma is concerned.

Scott and I have made some other decisions over the past few months and we believe God is moving us to Boonville, Missouri. For one thing it will put us closer to where my gastric bypass surgery is and the follow up appointments I will need to make. Both of us feel that our bodies just aren't up to those long trips, neither is the poor 16 yr old car. However, we both agree at this point even if I wasn't having the surgery, we'd move anyway, we just have felt like Boonville is home every time we have been there now. We both feel the need to get out of the city and to really begin to depend on each other and God more.

We found some loft apartments that we really like and hopefully we can get into them. They are in an old Shoe Factory and are set up for the 55+ group, of which I qualify for and it only takes one of us. Here is a URL to the place http://www.homkor.com/selwynplace/amenities.asp We are planning to send the application and deposit just as soon as my back money from SSI comes in. Just got word it was released so should be getting it in a few days......the rest will go to pay for the class I have to take for the gastric bypass surgery. The rent for these lofts are about two-thirds what we are paying here and we should be able to handle that with out any problem.

I've also been doing a lot of thinking over the last few months about a lot of things and a lot of talking to God. I seem to have a lot more issues with my trust as I get older than I did when I was younger. I talked to my mom on the phone and mentioned that to her and she agreed that it was a problem she had noticed on her part also, so I don't feel so "wrong" for having those feelings. I believe it is that feeling of being "wrong" that puts us/mankind on our own guilt trips and causes us to put up barriers between us and God. We are the ones who leave God and allow ourselves to walk away, cause lets face it "if we were good Christians we wouldn't have doubts like that"......says who?? Are we not the same as everyone else? Sinners saved by Grace?

I know in my talks with God over the last few months I have come to Him so many times down, feeling like He wasn't there.....but God has so gently put His arms around me and held me close and reminded me to just take things one day at a time, even some days one minute at a time and I have seen Him work in ways that I knew He could work but always felt why would or should He do it for me. We have a Wonderful God who walks beside us, sometimes He has to come behind and give a little shove.......and then there are times when He lovingly carries us the distance. There are times when the path is so narrow that we have to keep our heads up and our eyes on Him as He leads us thru those paths of doubt and fear. He tells us not to be afraid to trust in Him and I think He knows that is hard for us to do, and that is why He is so gentle, kind and forgiving. That is why He walks beside us, with His arm around us and sometimes has to carry us.....have you ever tried to follow someone in the dark? When we are doubting and are in fear, we are in the dark, so when we call upon God for help He has to guide us out of that dark into understanding, into the light. Sometimes God has to keep pulling us along as we are wanting to come but we are just not sure, and God has to remind us constantly who He is and who we are.

In the last 20 years or so now I have found that there are a lot of things that I was taught while in the church that were more what man interpreted in the Bible. I have learned that a lot of things are a lot different and some of those things I have learned I owe to my children and the challenges they gave me as they saw things differently. I was raised that you did not question what you were taught by a "man of God" or by your parents along the Bible or Christian ways. However, if your parents learned under the same pastor......we were all in trouble if what we were being taught was not right. So having my children challenge the "Word" was new to me and at first didn't go over well, however, I'd also had a deal with my kids all along that IF they could show me a different way of doing something and it worked better and it accomplished what needed to be done, I'd go along with their way. If I was willing to do this in our everyday life.....why not give it a try in other parts of our relationship. I am very grateful I did as I have learned a lot from especially my daughter. I don't altogether agree with her stand she has taken right now, however, I do know why she has made some of the claims she has and I respect her for what she feels.

BLESSINGS AND HUGS TO ALL

Happy New Year

It is a new year and I have been busy trying to keep doctors visits and keep swelling in my legs down......don't spend much time on computer. My computer is temporarly down as the turn on switch is out of mine. My daughter had been working on putting together a different one for me anyway so trying to be patient and wait till she gets it finished. Meantime I can always use husbands.....when he isn't on it.

When I do sit with my feet up I have been trying to cut out some blocks for a quilt, it is a 1 1/2" blocks and it takes 9 of them to make up a block. There will be more but that much is all for nowas that is all I can handle at one time. I still haven't completely figured out how many I will have to have for the queen size bed.

I guess we will finally have to put the Christmas tree up tomorrow or it might be Tuesday as we hve so many appointments tomorrow. I have a Physically Therapy for my legs at 8AM and then we have counceling appointments in the afternoon starting at 1pmis mine 2pm is Scotts and then he has another appointment at 3:45pm and somewhere along the way we have to go to the store!!

My goals for this year is to finish up a couple of quilts I started several years ago. One needs to have the backing and filling added to it but the other needs to have the top finished. I still have some flat lace that needs to be added to it and then a border put around it to make it larger, then decide on a backing and filler. I hope one day this year to purchase a sewing machine that will zigzag.....I love my sewing machine I have that does the straight stitch but there are times when I do wish I had a zigzag.

Well, 7:00AM comes awful early......will have to leave here by 7:30 to get there on time. Night

December 15,2006

Wow...can't believe we are almost to the end of the year. In some ways it seems like it has flown by and in otherway it has been just a blur!! I guess that is saying the same thing but when I say blur I mean I don't remember what happened on what day......it just happened and life went on.

The last few week have been okay I guess, I've had swelling all thru my body and the doctors say it is leaky valves in the veins allowing blood not to flow right and so it collects. Mostly in the lower parts of the body but have it even in the face and chest and arms. They have taken x-rays when I was in for asthma and for the swelling and said there was no collection in lungs or around heart so that is a good thing!!

I got the okay for the gastric bypass surgery.....I have to have the psych evaluation and the class down with their people then I will be ready, so it should be about the middle or end of January when I get it done I imagine. In the meantime I will continue to see podiatry clinic and also go get results of tests done for neurology. Idon't really feel bad right now just hurt with the swelling as it has places like my feet, especially on the very top of my feet , stretched tight enough it is very sore to even touch. I wonder about nerves from the way it feels.

I haven't done really any sewing or hobbies lately, just felt like I needed a walk away for awhile. However, was able to bein and finished up using paint and stamps and got the grandkids names on stockings and placemats for them this year. Funds were pretty small but was able to pick up things that can use to fill those stockings and was able to get each one their own place settingincluding dish,bowl,silverware,glass,and placemat. Each is different and that should help, hopefully, with no fights over who's is who's. Mikey's is Thomas the trains, Jerrica's is the Princess, Julie's is Dora's, and for the 2 oldest kids I got Alexis a red set and Dallas a blue set.
Then I have been picking up just small things to add to the stockings over the last 4 months as I have seen it.

Maybe once I have the surgery I will have more energy and can get more done......I certainly would love to have that happen.

The latest pics of the Grans and of course their father, my son Rusty

Jerrica


Julie (Her Birthday)


Michael and his daddy Rusty

10/1/06 A Quiet Sunday

Hello to all
Today has been a rather quiet Sunday here. I slept in but still had to get on up this morning and take a run in to store and get my meds. My daughter let me borrow her car, she was probably still asleep and didn't even know I was gone!! I ran to get a black print cartridge from Wally World and the Meds plus cereal and milk from HyVee's and was back before the Foot ball game started where the Chiefs WON.....oooppppssss hang on have to add paper to printer!!

Okay, that should solve it for a short time......I am having to make copies of some papers for Legal Aid. I am having a problem thru Social Security and have had to involve Legal Aid and they need copies of my papers so rather than go make copies when i have a scanner, thanks to Mom and Dad Wood!!, it just makes more sense to do it this way. I was in need of a black cartridge anyway, kept getting a couple notices everytime i printed that it was going out. Just needed it to last a bit longer until some bucks came in from somewhere. Well, 12 more pages to go it says......

Not sure how this will work out but I surley can not afford to have them take out any more money out of my measly sum I get now, it just isn't enough for me to live on and it is rather depressing but, I try to remember who is in control and put my eye and trust back in on and in Gods hands, that is so very hard to do but I have done it all my life, especially my married life. Somehow it just seems harder this time, maybe because I'm just having to do it for me and not keep up faith and a front at all times especially for the kids this time. I am more alone this time, actually spending time by myself. In a lot of ways I have enjoyed it cause I have never ever had it where I didn't have to be or do for others at certain times.....

Spent time with my Grandkids at least the youngest 3 on Sat. The oldest and youngest were both not feeling real well. When Michael comes and snuggles up in my arms and wants to go to sleep, keeping in mind his mom had given him some Benedryl, but he usually just finds a pillow and plops on the floor.Then Jerrica the oldest kept fussing with the blanket she was trying to fix for her as she wanted to lay down on the floor. She had found a small bunny like her bunny she sleeps with in the toy box but every time she moved the blanket did too and it would upset her and when I tried to work with her she was crying and whinning when she'd say a word and i couldn't understand the word......Nana lost her cool which of course sent her into major tears!! So I went back into the hobby room trying to think it thru, even called my daughter because she is so much like her when it comes to textile feelings, you know, when things don't feel right to ya? Then I thought about how Brie use to be about being tucked in.....even my son the kids dad was like that when he was real young.....except for 1 foot had to be hanging out!! So since my daughter didn't answer, I headed back in and was going to suggest to Jerrica maybe she would be happier on the couch where Nana could tuck her in....but she had already figured that out and was working her way up there and we got her up there , said our sorries, got hugs and kisses and had her comfy, brother asleep and one to go!!!

Boy was I dreaming, Julie is a go getter, she can be yawning her head off, and she was, but she will keep on....... so about a half hour later, not sure if they got a second wind and woke brother up or brother woke up and they got a second wind but that was the end of my quiet time until they left about 3:30pm. I layed down to rest about 4pm and woke up about 11pm. Then I slept all night after I went to sleep again after midnight and woke about 10am.

Well, the printing is done and my fibro is screaming from all the extra typing tonight, so guess it is time for meds and bed!!

09/12/06

Well, I should be in bed and asleep.......but just can't sleep yet. Have court a little later this this morning and just can't bring myself to sleep yet. Not really worried because I know I am in the right, I did nothing wrong to cause this to happen. Even though I know there will be all kinds of people around I still find myself unsure about Scotts actions. I have'nt seen him since he left for work on the 1st of Sept..

Been working on seperating things and trying to get my things packed a little at a time. I know that since my appointments for Columbia have been postponed till next month and my ENT untill Dec that I will need to make time for the downtime that is sooo needed with my Fibro.....I have really been pushing it and not allowing it to happen and if I don't give in soon it is just going to take it's time whether I let it or not. When that happens it is always worse!!

I'm also going to take time here in a couple weeks to make some Christmas stockings. Brie and I have things for the younger girls and I need to go get one of the things i found for Alexia before it disappears. Then need to find more for hers and for the boys stockings. Of course the boys are always good with cars, Dallas with Matchbox and Michael with something a bit bigger for now. By doing it the way we have been doing it is so much easier and cheaper but as they get older it will change I suppose.....look at Alexia.

Maybe I can start looking at the $1.00 section at Target and do a stocking for Mandy and Rusty too. Hadn't thought about that!! HHUUMMMMM ohhhh they have those silk looking little purses....maybe one of those would work in Alexia's stocking too. They had some that looked like carry out boxes and got Brie one for her birthday, just big enough for her wallet, cell phone and keys!!

Last night I got this really cute black cat ceramic, well they called it a halloween cookie jar, but I'm telling ya those cookies would have to be about 1/2 inch to get very many in there!!Not much bigger around then a coffee cup saucer and only about 4 inches tall!! I just think it makes a cute ceramic bowl.....maybe a good place to put my pennies in. I'd say a good candy dish but since I'm going to be and am even now trying to cut sugar out of my diet having a candy dish is not a good idea!!

Okay it is after 2AM, guess I will try again to go to bed and sleep.
Night All!!

09-08-06 Wow has it been that long!!

I knew it had been awhile but was suprised when i saw just how long it had been since I'd posted last!! Tomorrow is my baby girls birthday she will be ....28years old........how time does fly!!

This last week was not a very happy week for me, I had to have an ex parte issued and served to Scott, I have bruises. We go to court on Tues the 12th to see if it is to be a year long one or what. I also know that the police were talking to the prosecuting attorney about filing charges. My right arm, shoulder and collarbone are pretty sore still and may have to take them to the doctors yet.
I was asked what i was going to do and my answer has to be the same as it has been for some time now......one day at a time!!

With no car I have to rely on others to take me places so most of that will be Brie as she is the closes, and since she is off on Fridays that is when most of it will probably get done. I do have an appointment down in Columbia on the 25th and Brie is going to take that Monday off to take me. It is the first of the ones to get ready for the gastric bypass surgery so that i can loose the weight i need to lose and get healthier and get to feeling better. I am ready for that. I am tired of feeling so run down all the time and I really am ready for this life changing event in my life.

Okay, this one is short but need to get to sleep.

August 4, 2006 Scott's Latest Boats

The upper boat is the tow boat Scott is building.















This is the Steamer Side Wheeler, like the old ones that you see in the movies where they are gambling on the.....like Maverik.

August 4,2006 Time Flies

I believe the old saying is something like this....."Time flies when You are having fun.....", well guess what? Time flies even if your not having fun, or even if your just kind of not not paying much attention to what life is like and just living life one day at a time cause that is all thet can be done!!

I can't believe it has been that long since I last wrote in here. We've had our good days and our bads as everyone does. Our worst was the day our oldest grandson was court ordered given back to his abusive mother.....yes we could not believe it either!! A lot of anger went on here in this house hold and thanks to my mom, on the spiritual side of things and one of my best friends, Deb Hecht, who lives in Bellvue Neb talking me thru things,Deb on the practical and the possibilities legally, I finally got calmed down. There really isn't anything I can do as a grandparent but sit back and pray. Which is what we have done, we have prayed a hedge of protection around Dallas for no harm to come to him and then asked Gods will to be done and for the kids, My son and his wife, to have wisdom in the decisions they make. If so inclined we would appreciate everyone how agrees with us in Jesus name to do likewise believeing it will happen.

I did get a call tonight from my son asking me to be looking at my calender for not next week but the following week to see if we have appointments that week to let him know as he plans to go see Dallas that week, just before school will start.

I have kind of put most of my quilt things on hold for now.....I felt like I needed a change or something. So this week I started putting or finishing up some of the HO train buildings we have. Right now Scott has been working on his wooden boats.....I'll have to see if he has any recent pics of the 2 he has worked on this summer but he has been doing what looks like an old fashion steam boat with the side paddles......right now it is sitting as he tries to figure out how to do the paddles and connect and make them work......and do it all cheap!!

At preasent he is doing a tow boat! This is cool also as I watch pieces of wood become shapes like some of the finished boats I see pics of that he saves and has on his screen saver program. Sometimes you look at what he has and you just have to say(to yourself....not out load, no discouraging allowed!!) NO WAY!!! The he brings it in to show me what he has done or I'm sitting close by and watch as he adds here and bend boards there and glues(and holds it in plave with good old MASKING TAPE no less) takes the sander and sands off corners. Takes a small drill and starts with a small hole and because you don't want the hole too big, you wrap sandpaper around the handle of a paint brush and sand the hole a little bit at a time trying the piece every few stoles till it is just right, of course this also allows you to keep the hole round or start it toward an oval which fits the ability of removing the piece in the future if need be for repair work that sometimes has to happen in this area.

Now tell me are you as impressed as I have been with all of this?? All from planks, sheets and sticks of wood!! When I find the pics of what is done so far I will post what he has done.

Well, the pain meds seem to be kicking in again so guess I will head for bed, but before I do......My daughter Brie took a painting class this summer at the college where she works.....because she could and she loves art!! The first url will have the photo she took of herself and we are going to work on this one just a tad and i am having this one made big and put in my family pic wall for her recent pic.....I love it!! www.deviantart.com/deviation/35998613 any way the next url is the self portrait painting she did from it!! www.deviantart.com/deviation/36068016 The next url is her standing outside at the campus on the patio and what she saw(that is what they were told to paint) www.deviantart.com/deviation/35751998 and the the last one is actually a Christmas ornament we picked up several years ago, she got the dragon fly and i got my giraffe. www.deviantart.com/deviation/35538762

ONE HAPPY SUBMARINER, HIS BEST MATE and His SUBMARINE

How to have a ride in an Ambulance and spend 6 hours of your Afternoon in the ER.

Well, yesterday really did start out pretty good, I took my daughter Brie to work and she needed to stop by Lowes to see if they could make keys for a new box that the Art Dept had and only one of the teachers and her had keys so far. Lowes said they thought the only one key they had was just a bit short and they would recommend the regular key co. here in town. Now you know most places like Lowes who are out for your business only do that IF they really do not believe they can help you. I like doing business with companies like that.

So Brie needs to get on to work, as she is also taking a painting class out at the college this summer also. So I volunteered to take her on to work and since i have to run an errand across from the Lock Doctors, I could have the keys made and bring them back out. So since I've taken classes out there and graduated from out there in '99 there are still a lot of people who know me and of course I had to go in and up stairs to get a Tax Free Exempt Letter, so everyone was in yesterday, well not everyone but it wasn't an in and out thing. Anyway I go get my errand run, get keys made and they even had to take some off of the key as it was too thick and he could tell. But he did a good job cause as soon as i got back we tried all the keys and they all worked!! There is sometimes you just have to go to the experts and not fool around.

I came on home, I had picked up some pop and had left 1 2ltre with Brie, brought the others home, went and checked the mail, got my Missouri Conservation Magazine and came on in. Got something to drink, Mt Dew of course, layed down on the bed and my husband and I were looking at the Conservation, his alarm went off letting him know it was time for him to begin to think about getting ready for work, he gets up, heads to shower, something is tickling my nose and all of a sudden I'm hollering......Scott, quick, find me a towel or something, my nose is bleeding and it is a gusher this time!! We mess with it for 10 min. and he is ready to take me into ER, then I begin to gag on it and he hits 911. They are telling him to have me do this and that and he telling them ....she's already doing it!!

At the ER, they have trouble getting it to stop too. The Paramedics had gotten it to ease way down by having me toblow out my nose and then very quickly they came in with a couple of good sprays of Nasonex something like that , it will shrink the vessles and help slow down the bleeding. I knew that, just didn't know how to do it....now I do!! Anyway, after many tries of the dr trying to put a patch on the bleeder, and the pulse knocking it back off he finally got the nurse ready and put the patch on, she held it on with a long handle of a q-tip while he slipped in a wad and inflatted it with saline to keep the patch in place and then we did a lot of praying for the next half hour that it would hold!!

I came on home and have been in bed as Instructed except to eat, it is awful hard to breath out of your mouth and eat or drink all at once. I go back into ER on Thursday evening/afternoon to get this removed, I just pray the patch stays on then too, if not I have to be transported down town Kansas City as they have an ENT dr on staff down there. I also have fears of this going against me for the Gastric Bypass surgery also. I've had to keep telling myself all day, you can't cry, it won't help the current situation!! but the tears do keep trying, very frustrating!! They kept thinking last night it was do to my blood pressure but my blood pressure has been great.....it was bad then because of my frustrations of what was happening and what was going on in my head.

Okay food break over, as soon as I put up the latest pics that my husband has scanned in today of our sub he has made and of us with it then it is back to bed.

June 17, 2006 A major Change in my Life

Been a busy monthso far.

Scott and I went down to Jefferson City, Missouri to a seminar on the Bariatric Services thru MU., looking at the probability of having a gastric bypass surgery done on me. The Roux-en-Y Divided Gastric Bypass is the better one done that medicaid will allow and it is what I wanted done anyway.. It is not the answer to eveything I know that....I still may have to end up in a wheel chair because of the damage to joints, some of the is from arthuritis and I know I have fibromyalgia. I also know that it will involve a complete change in my life habits as far as eating but it will be a healthier life change and I have been dragging my feet doing that on a slow bases anyway.....this way i am just going faster, even now I am working on it and have made changes. I'm almost off of sweets and pop!! That is a MAJOR STEP FOR ME,they have been my downfall for years!! I have a peace about doing this and feel confident in my heart that it is the right thing for me. I will have a psychiatric and psychological evaluations to make sure that I am ready and that is okay too.

It is a LIFE TIME COMMITMENT and I plan to spend the rest of my life commited to making it not just a part of my life but my life style and living my life to the fullest and healthiest that i can.

Rusty's Family

Been a while but have good news.....my son Rusty got to take his wife and kids with him and on June 3rd, they went down to his oldst sons Dallas 6th birthday party. Dallas got to meet his brother Mikey and his 2 sisters Jerrica and Julie for the first time. He also at some point asked Mandy Rusty's wife to be his new mommy and told her he loved her!! I understand the nextday he had another big birthday party and he told everyone who would listen about his dad, his new mom and his brother and sisters!!For all of us this is a very BIG positive!! This weekend Dallas has come up and is at my sons home, they wanted to try this out and see how he does with it with all he has been thru, just not all together sure if he was ready to be away from Grma and Grpa yet.

Dallas Michael Wilson Rusty's Son

Well, on May 13, 2006 my son Rusty got to see his oldest son Dallas for the first time in 3 years and we got a pic of them together. He looks good considering all he has been thru. His last day of classes was Friday May19th. He had one special needs teacher that gave him an uncut decorative key when he had a good week and he was excited when he talked to Rusty on the phone this weekend as he got to bring his keys and keyring home with him. I think he had 6 or 7 keys on his ring but then he had a pretty rough time of it when they first got Dallas into classes in Warsaw after getting him out of his mothers care in January. He didn't care....he was excited cause he had keys of his OWN!!

Rusty does hope things will work out so they can go down maybe next weekend, he'd like to introduce Dallas ro his other brother and 2 sisters soon. Can't help but wonder how they will all eventually take to each other. There are six years difference in the boys ages, and both of the girls are trying to be leaders so we really wonder how this will fall together!!

I had the 3 younger kids for about 6 or 7 hours each day on Sat and Sun, while their parent tried to get some of their things moved out of Mandys mom's house. It is a long story and not a very nice one as their family thinks of no one but them selves and are litteraly kicking Rusty Mandy and the kids out on the street, so Mandy's brother can move in.....yes you read it right, her mom rented the place out from under them to her brother!!! Brie came over on Sun and helped me some with the kids so we have a few new pics and will put up one of each kid maybe tomorrow later in the day after I turm them all into jpgs and name them but for now will try to get some more sleep.

My very creative daughter....Brie

Now I can brag on my very creative daughter.....there really isn't much she hasn't tried that she hasn't accomplished in some form. It may not have finished the way she originally wanted it to, however, she has always been good about changing it into something she liked almost as good if not better. Up on occasion she has had a dud or 2 and has been frustrated for a short time but never for any length of time.

After her Advancement this year at the college and since with that advancement she recieved the benefit of free tuition, she has decided to take a few classes and work on her GPA as well as take some classes that she can just enjoy for a change.

Last week she was awarded a small cash award for one of her digital photos in a school booklet. Here is a url to that pic.

http://www.deviantart.com/view/28303558

Today however, was the art show at school, I try to go every year but just didn't feel like driving myself this year so guessed I wouldn't get to see it. However, at some point in the afternoon I get a phone call from Brie, first she was checking to see if certain people had made it down to go to see the art show cause she'd had to do another job and didn't see them. The hadn't so she was releived.....then she told me she had some really great news to tell me. Okay, what's up??

Her digital manipulation picture for digital art had been bought by the school from her for $250!!! She was very squeaky excited!! The funny part was that last night or the night before we had talked and she was joking and said wouldn't it be funny if one of her enteries like her Cinderella pic got bought by the school!! Then she said something about not holding her breath as that didn't seem to be the kind they looked for......you guessed it it was her Cinderella one that one!!

http://www.deviantart.com/view/31727422/

It's called After the Ball, now if your computer monitor is like mine...very old the pic might be too dark, it took her several trys to get it to print out light at the school but it is gorgeous and does have several thingd like shoes and mice/rats at the bottom. I am so proud of her, she has been doing this type of work for some time now. If you click on her name, then on the page that takes you to, click on gallery, it will load some of her pictures she has on this site, then there is a spot where it says next 24 at the bottom and you can click on it and see more. You can also go into google and just put in brie alsbury and several sites will come up where you can view some of her earlier work......can you tell I'm proud of her??

Okay....bedtime....Night All

I Believe I can Fly, She's still Singing it!

Back the first of February my niece Roxanne was in a helicopter crash on a training mission with the army as she is trained to be a medivac personel. She recieved a compression fracture of the spine which was the one thing we were the most concerned of. She has been doing, and not really paitiently, office duty for sometime now to let things heal up but now we will quote Roxanne... "I finally convinced them that I am not crazy, concussed, or fractured any longer (crazy took the longest) and so am not only flying again....I am also pulling duty already." Now when you see this pic you understand why I know it is the best thing for her to be back in the copter where she wants to be!!

Now here are one or 2 of the crash and you will know why we are grateful to the Lord for His wondeful Grace!!


This is what the copter they were riding in originally looked like before crash.



This is the actual site where the copter crashed by clicking on the smaller pic you can see where the tail made an indent very deep as it was the pivot point for even when the copter flipped over on it's side.





Thank You Lord!!

What a Wonderful Day this has been!!!

Dallas Michael




Today has been a good day!! My daughter in law called early today and was so excited I almost didn't recognise who it was. "You'll never guess who I just talked to and they are willing to let us see Dallas!!" Now let me explain this.....My son was married before and had a son that we have not seen for over 3 years now. Recently we found out that he had been taken from his mothers custody, and his grandparent who had always been enemies with my son, now had him in there home and we were trying to figure out how to get a loan to fight for Dallas as he didn't even know who we were and we didn't even know where he was for sure except supposedly down in the Warsaw area of Missouri. Well, today his other grandparents called my sons current wife and told them not to spend money they didn't need to as they were not going to try for legal custody, they just wanted guardianship for now and after what we found out Dallas has been thru and how much of a difference they have made in him since he was placed in their care, we are all in agreement that he is where he needed to be for now.

His mom and her boyfriend will both spend time in prison for the things they have done for this little boy. He is 5 yrs old and was beat by his mom with a belt and her boyfriend with his hand, He was sent to his room all the time, have no idea really about how they fed him but he was undernurished to the point his eyes were sunken in and black all around they said. He told his grma that his mom poured hot sauce down his throat when he said bad words. His mom and her mom use to chase him around with the sweeper and other appliances that made noises to get him to do what they wanted.
One place they had him at said his bowels had been backed up for 2 years!!!

But he is better now, he talked to his daddy last night asked his daddy when he was coming to see him. My son told me he talked to Dallas...no he was on the phone with Dallas for about 30 min. and Dallas did most of the talking!! Don't know who is looking forward to the weekend more Dallas or my son Rusty. I know we have all tried to find him and have waited a long time for this to happen, Just can't wait till it is my turn....this Nana use to have him every weekend and he will be 6 yrs old the day before my 1st wedding anniversary. Maybe shortly after that we can see him and finally become a part of his life again

Easter 2006 Michael

Mikey and his daddy whispering "I loves you"



Mikey talking on his "phone"



Mikey and his train



Mikey's smile

Easter 2006 Julie

Julie discovers the eyes on the train


Julie's smile


Great Grandpa Wood and Julie fix Mrs. Potatohead

Easter 2006 Jerrica

Jerrica and her Mrs. Potatohead


Jerrica discovered the eyes move on trains


Jerrica and her SMILE

04-18-06 2 days after Easter

It has been awhile since I have really felt like being up much and really felt like adding to the blog. Between the stress of making decisions and weather changes over the last month or 2 I just haven't felt like doing much of anything. Then there are the meds that make me so sleepy .......well, enough of that.....right now it is letting the meds take hold again and the pain letting up and going back to bed here pretty quick.

We had a wonderful day Sunday for Easter, Scotts parents had Scott, my daughter Brie and I, meet them at the Denny's here in town and we had dinner with them. Then we all met my son Rusty and his family back at our place and got to watch the kids play with the toys we had gotten them for Easter. Papa Scott and I, Nana, had gotten them trains from the Thomas the Train series, 3 different colors, 1 color for each kid. Then they each got a plastic boat to go with same color. The Aunt "Bee"(Brie) got the girs Mrs Potato Heads that had rabbit ears and a tail and rabbit slippers, then Mikey got a John Deer columbine tractor....plastic of course. The girls got some clips and ponytail holders also. But this is the first time Gr Grma and Gr Grpa Wood have had a chance to spend any time with the kids at all.

See when Scott married me almost a year ago he became an instant Grpa, without ever becoming a dad. But his parents also became instant Great Grandparents too!! They kind of liked that idea, especially Scotts Dad Kent. He and our Miss Jewels(Julie) hit it off real well Sunday, She let Gr Grpa do a lot of things for her and let him help her do things.

So now I will share some of the best of the pics with you all from Sunday. Meds are beginning to kick in.....so pic then off to bed.

Is My son Rusty Proud of His son Micheal or what?

Stop the World I want to get off or at least slow down...

Life has been very busy these last few weeks even more so than usual. It is kind of like when you were a kid and the summer disappeared too fast? Well, that is kind of like the way my life has gone lately.

Some good news I got today was the nurse from the neurologist office called and said my taking the B-12 was doing the trick it was coming up and all the other blood test they ran looked good. AMEN! The new med she put me on I think is making a difference in the long run, it is suppose to help with all the spasms that I have at night, they are like restless leg syndrome, Scott says he sleeps better and that I don't keep him awake or wake him up in the night hardly ever now.

We just recently found out that there seems to be a problem in thesituation where my sons oldest son is at and DFS did not contact my son about it so I am trying to be the cheerleader/ sounding board for my son which is about all I can do. Since there are no more Grandparents rights I can't even go for my grandson!!So trying to have patience and wait this all out and that isn't easy!!

Well, it is almost midnight and I need to be able to get up in the morning....that is one of the things I am trying to work on changing, the time I take my meds so I can hopefully wake up of a morning. Hopefully it will come together eventually. Didn't wake up till 2pm the other day.....just slept hard clear thru!!

Say Good Night Kathryn....Good Night Kathryn

Hail stones from Storms that went thru on O3/12/06

The 2 pics with hail stones on the table up against trains and tools used in hobbies were taken by my husband Scott. Then the other 2 pics with the hail stones being shown compared with a quarter were taken by my daughter Brie. Either way you go....we had some BIG HAIL STONES HIT and they left a lot of dents in our cars!!

Fibromyalgia

I have been reading a new book I ordered thanks to one of the ladies on one of my groups. The author is a neighbor of hers and Believe me this woman seems to know what she is talking about! Some of the things I have read to Scott and afterwards he said when we got back home he wanted to look the place over and find the cameras they had hid and were watching us with to write this book!! The book"fibromyalgia: a comprehensive approach" by Miryam Ehrlich Williamson.

Actually I have read the book clear thru, patially read it thru(you know the parts where you go back and say ....wait did I read that right?) Now I am going through with my ink pen(since my highlighters are all dead) and marking things as I come to them this time, that I either want to remember or that I want to be able to go back and say....see I knew it was the fibro when I told you that before!! Then there are those where we have looked at them and re-read several times the first time going thru and said WOW.....didn't know that but it makes a lot of sense!!

Now don't get me wrong I'm not stupid and I realise with my age that some symptoms could be just from getting older but then again some of these symptoms have been with me too long to blame it on just getting older. I also have an answer for the Doctor who is always telling me that I'm always going to be depressed and i might as well learn to live with it and just keep taking the meds all the rest of my life!! Yes I may have moments, even weeks of some depression, but you show me someone who suffers from pain who dosen't suffer from depression!! I do not plan on staying in depression all my life, he makes it sound like I had just better plan on being a psycho case the rest of my life and I don't plan on that happening!!

In fact my regular Doctor and I had a good session the other day and the neurologist and I had a good session the day before, they both are thinking we are on the right track and are hoping to see changes soon. They took me off of Celebrex and gave me some new meds that we hope once I get up to the appropriate dose for me will stop the massive spasms and restless legs that I seem to have all over my body. Scott says some nights I almost knock him out of bed with the spasms and I have knocked him upside the head a few times. I had a really bad spasm last night that jerked my whole body and made my hip where I couldn't move it. All I could do was cry and Scott had to help me move the leg so the hip was back in place so it would ease up. When I finally was able to get up I was very cautious as i wasn't sure if the hip would hold me but I needed to get up and take some meds...bad!! My whole body has increasingly let me know how much of it was involved with the spasm.....it is going to be a very long day I have an idea on Wed March 1st.

Okay better head for bed again and try to get more sleep.

THE GRANDKIDS

Alexis-8yrs old, Jerrica-3 1/2 yrs old, Michael-1 yr old, Julie 2 1/2 yrs old
Aren't they cute and sweet looking!!

Surviving yet another Valentines Day

Well, these last 2 weeks have been rough in a lot of ways.....On Feb 8th recieved word that my niece Roxanne who is in the Army was in a helicopter during a night training flight at Yakima Training Center, Washington. to quote her mom "Roxanne has a concussion and a compression fracture of the spine, whiplash and various technicolor bruises, cuts, nicks and scratches." That was a big scare but now it is still a concern as we know the compression fracture is at T7 of her spine which is just about the middle of the back!! Also it is hard on her as Roxanne is and always has been a very active person physically. The need to stay in Washington state till the investgation is over then they will be going back to Fort Drum in NewYork where they were stationed, and we will see what the Dr. there say about what needs to be done further.

Then Feb 14 has been a hard day for my family since 2000 when my sister Jane passed away from tongue cancer. Scott had even arranged for my Valentines to be on Monday the 13th so we could enjoy it. Now this year we have had another tragedy added to the Valentines Day and that is my cousin Mark in California, he and his wife Karen lost their oldest daughter Tiffany. It was thought that originally it was suicide but now it is uncertain until autopsy is finished.

I know I've been taught that God will not give us any more than we can handle as Christians but you wonder sometimes when things like this seem to pile up on you!! I've really wanted to sew or accomplish something over the last month or so but just have had no energy and with the arthur and fibro I have really been hurting. I did find a pamplet that I believe explains Fibromyalgia better than any I have seen so far If you know of someone who has fibro and want to help them it is worth reading!!

http://www.arc.org.uk/about_arth/booklets/6013/6013.htm

Well, it is almost 4am and we are up because the neighbors downstairs had their smoke alarms go off but fire department couldn't find anything. Now we have to begin to come down again so we can sleep again.

Very good first part of the week

First of all I should be in bed but tonight is one of those nights where I slept real hard for about an hour and now I'm wide awake!!

The weekend was looking like it was going to be rather dull. I did some cleaning, but for a change not in the hobbyroom. I was getting the rubbermaid/plastic bowls and containers back together where they belong and the doors where they will shut again......you know, that forever battle, where you say I am smarter than the plastic ware.....I will win!! It's amazing how once you go around the kitchen and find all the pieces, what a difference it makes in the looks of the kitchen clutter!! Then it just took some minor putting up of things and you could actually find cabinet tops in our small kitchen again......wow!!

I also got the coffee pot that my mom had brought to me that my dads mom had given them as a wedding gift, washed up and ready to use. It is old fashion compared to the ones now!! I nor Scott drink coffee but with it being ceramic I believe that I can use it to hold hot water for tea......now I will get in and make me a tea cozy for it then I can use it in the hobbyroom when I'm in there.

On Sunday I had several goals and it was very hard to stay on just one cause I kept having to get into the closet to put up things or get out things and I needed to actually go deeper into the closet stuff and get my small bookcase out to use in my bedroom. BUT....I needed to get certain things together with other things that were already in containers that were in the closet so I could get up to the computer and sewing machine here in the hobbyroom. I hate it when it is hard to decide which needs to be done first!!

Well, my son called and said he and family would be by sometime afternoon or evening so I thought.....okay I will get into the closet and get that done so i can get things put back into the closet before the kids get here. Then I find out that only the youngest, Michael is coming, he just turned 1 the first of Feb. Okay not problem He won't matter as much if I have to I can shove things in my bedroom.

WRONG.....when I hear them coming up the stairs I hear the girls talking so it is hurry hurry and stuff things back into the closet.....infact while the kids are knocking and hollering Nana, I'm hollering back Just a minute and having to get things in the closet so I can even get to the door!! But that's okay it all went in and I got my hugs and a bigger suprise as my daughter had come home at the same time they were coming in so I got to see both of my kids as well as my grandkids. YEA!!!

Rusty was doing some electical work for us so he started that while the kids ate the chicky nuggets they's brought with them and frenfries. Then we talked and played. Mandy my sons wife helped with the kids some and "helped" my son some. BUT.......they had also brought me pictures of all the kids that are around here!! So as soon as I can get it scanned I have a new pic to put up of Grand kids. We have Alexis(Mandy's 8yr old) Jerrica 31/2 yrs old, Michael 1yr old and Julie 21/2 yrs old. Very good pic of the kids, I am very happy to get a recent one.

Before they left I had my son see if he could get the knot out of my back so my rib would go back into place, which involves me laying on the floor and him having to do a lot of rubbing and massaging. The kids have never been around when he has had to do this before we realised that night......boy did he have help!! I think I felt everyone of the kids rubbing at some point!! The funniest was however, when Julie the very bold "tank" of the group got down almost on her head and pulled my hair back and said.....whacha doin Nana? We got to laughing so much it was hard to finish!! Her nose was almost on my nose and I could see her feet but she was almost on her head, and the biggest grin you can imagine!!

Okay time to get off and try to sleep....

Another Clean up Weekend

This last weekend was a clean up weekend. Scott worked so I worked on my part of the hobbyroom.Ya know how you can have things in a "neat" pile and all of a sudden something happens and you have an avalanche? I just do not understand how that happend, I mean after all the pile was only about 2 foot high and had books, material and a plastic bag or 2 in it! So I can now see the top of the sewing machine, most of the counter here and the floor in front of all of this is almost there. Actually the floor will be done as soon as I put up some of the small containers that are used like when I'm going somewhere and need small containers with handles on them.....thank you Rubbermaid and Sterilite.

I had also picked up some other beads and things for embellishments so found homes for them. My mom had given us some small glass bottles, you know the ones that you get when you get a gift with several different jellies in them......hey it works. Now that I have a surface to work on again I hope to begin a couple of projects, and how fast they get done or how much they get worked on will depend on how this spell fibromyalgia continues this time. Right now I have it switching sides, it use to bother just my left sidebut now it is beginning in the right side, starting as the otherside did in the neck and shoulder.