Black Friday and "Wicked"!

How many of you are crazy enough or brave enough to tackle the "Black Friday" sales! Erica and I have gone the past several years and have a lot of fun. There are a couple stores that we avoid, due to the mass amount of people! However, we love to find that bargain that waits in some of the other stores that aren't quite as full! This year we started around 5 a.m. Late by some standards, but just right for us. We got to enjoy a good blast of snow, and scored some great deals. Erica was tired by around 7, so I headed home, she went back to bed and I started to get out my plethora of snowmen! :) Then around 9:3o, I decided the crowds would be a little smaller and my bargain hunter need fired up and I headed back to the stores! :) Glad I did, as I got a LOT of shopping finished up. Back home by 1 and then it was time to head out for our yearly Christmas tree shopping and cutting day! :) We found the perfect tree for us, and cut another one from Mom and Dad and were home in no time at all. Tree is up, smells and looks awesome!
Saturday brought an adventure to Cleveland! This time it wasn't Dr.'s that we had to visit, it was girl's day.......we were off to Playhouse Square to see the musical "Wicked"! Amazing musical, and gives a whole new spin to the Wizard of Oz. There were 5 of us who made the trip and we loved every minute of it. There are a couple other up and coming shows that we are interested, especially the Phantom of the Opera!!!!!!! :) Chipotle's and Cold Stone finished off our night. Delicious!

WHERE HAS THE YEAR GONE???

Is it me, or has this year just flown by? Seems like just last week we were out in the sun, enjoying all that summer has to offer! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE winter and can't wait for that first snow that sticks on the ground, but it just seems like we are hurtling thru the days at an alarming pace.
We are sadened at the loss of a long time community member, who has so many ties to our lives, thru sports, kids and grandkids. You will be missed, Clyde. Then we also lost a friend from Danville in a horrible car accident. She leaves behind 3 girls who are struggling to understand, why.
Scott is doing well, and we are so thankful for his pain free days. He has been able to work in his workshop a lot lately and that's great, as he has gotten quite a few orders for Christmas that need to be filled!
Today I worked on sorting thru the mountain of catalogs that bless us at this time of year! I love paging thru these things and just try to imagine who on earth buys some of this stuff! Some of it is great, and I do order quite a bit, but some of it is way off the charts in the odd catagory.
Thanksgiving is coming quickly, along with "Black Friday"! Erica and I love to get up way before the sun and head for the stores in search of a couple special items.....sale priced to way below normal! We do avoid certain stores, as they are just scary with the crowds that fill them. And we have never gone so far as to camp out in a tent to await the opening of anything!
Be thankful for all you have and all those close to you....time has a way of getting away from us!

LOTS GOING ON....

Busy times make for fun days, but long ones at times. Since I last posted, I have gone to WV and met a guy from my brother's bike shop and picked up a 4 wheeler!!! We are really excited. It's a white Honda and the dogs sure do love to chase it!
We had a lot of fun with Scott's relatives and visited a lot of shops in Berlin. Found a couple goodies for Christmas gifts and even scored a great birthday gift for a great friend! Ate too much, laughed a lot, but had so much fun. This weekend we are having 6 people from church come for lunch after church. We have hospitality meals at church every couple months. You can sign up to be a guest or host. Then you prepare the main dish and everyone else brings the rest. Very simple and fun.
Just got done baking another batch of cookies and cleaned the aquarium. Still have a few things to finish, but got most stuff done. Got word a little bit ago that Scott's little niece (8 months) has H1N1. Due to the fact that the daddy had some heart troubles earlier this year, he has moved to a friends house. His wife is also starting with it! Just got a text from my cousin and one of their boys has it!!! Sooooo many kids out of school with it. Really hope it makes its rounds quickly and leaves Holmes County!

Company's Coming!

Scott has some relatives coming in on Sunday that will be here for a couple days.....and we all know what that means! All the nooks and crannies that have been ignored will now need to be cleaned! :) Oh what fun.....but it's surprising what the words "overnight guests" will do for your housekeeping skills! I have gotten soooo much accomplished and it's such a good feeling. Now I'm cooking up a storm, as I invited Scott's siblings and more up for lunch on Sunday. Looking forward to when they come so I can relax and nibble some of the goodies that I've made.
Overall, Scott is doing better, so he should be able to go and tour some fun places on Monday. I am off work until Wednesday, so I will be able to enjoy Berlin from a tourists view-point.
I rearranged all the furniture in the basement, as well as in the living room, and it looks soooooo fresh and clean. Now I need to find a footstool that suits me for in front of one chair. Might have to hit Save-n-Serve this weekend.
It's Antique Festival weekend, so I think the street vendors will be cooking our supper tonight, as I will be cooking most of the day!

FALL IS COMING!

Fall is definitely in the air! Although the past couple nights have been a bit humid, for the most part, the nights have had a nip! We love this time of year, especially the snuggly blankets that make every evening seem so cozy.
Scott's fall on Labor Day weekend really took a toll on him. He just couldn't shake the pain and when we would think it was a little better, it would turn around and hurt even worse. Chronic pain....is a pain! On Sunday, I planned a lunch of salad, smoked turkey, mashed potatoes and corn, then invited Mom and Dad over after church. Scott couldn't go, and when I came home, he was upset. Our indoor kitty, Chowder, had jumped on the screen door going out onto the deck and caused the thing to crash out of it's tracks and onto the deck floor....which allowed Chowder to escape. Now Chowder has been climbing this screen for quite some time and Sobe, our new puppy on the outside of the screen, enjoys jumping on it from her side! Time and time again, we have had guests crash into the darn thing and jump it off the tracks, so needless to say, the screen has seen better days. Anyway, the kitty got out, poor Scott was using a walker and the kitty just wouldn't come inside. Sobe kept barking and chasing, which didn't help a thing. He gave up, came in and closed the door. A little bit later, Sobe was going crazy barking, so he made his way to the deck to investigate.....Chowder had jumped up onto the trash can where we store our bird feed and Sobe's food!!! Sobe was not impressed and had cornered her there! So, all ended well and Scott managed to get Chowder back inside!
Yesterday took us to Cleveland again.....this time for another sympathetic nerve block. So far, Scott's pain is MUCH better! Hope it lasts.
I have been "mucking out", something that I do when I can grab the chance. I have a HUGE pile of medical "stuff" that I am looking to donate to a place in Cleveland that will re-furbish it and put it to good use! Also got a pile of eye-glasses ready for the Lions Club and have made several stops at Save-n-Serve! Such a good feeling to get stuff out of the house that can be put to another use!
Have a wonderful week!

MYSTERY TRIP!

Our Mystery Trip turned out to be a lot of fun. Our first stop was in Middleburg Heights at the Olive Garden for supper, which was close to our hotel. Very surprised when 2 people from our church sat down at the table beside us! They were going on a mini-vacation too! After a delicious meal, we went to our hotel and got Scott settled in for the night and the kids and I took off for Strongsville Mall! If you've never been to that mall, you really should go soon, we LOVE it! Then we hit the huge Border's across the road. Saturday morning, we got up, at breakfast at Perkin's, then traveled into Cleveland (as if we don't go there often enough) and enjoyed the Air Show! Hot, but with a nice breeze and I enjoyed a yummy deep-fried Snicker's Bar! A lot like a corn dog, but with a much tastier center! :) Back to the hotel to rest, but the kids and I headed for the mall and Border's again.....we love books!

Sunday took us to Cleveland once again. This time it was The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! That place could capture your attention for hours or even days! We spent several hours there, then decided it was time to head for Holmes County. With Scott's scooter along, we were able to have a great time and he didn't have to worry about falling!

Monday at home for me, included canning pizza sauce, mowing the lawn and getting our 3 fountains mucked out! If you have a fountain, you know this is a necessary evil to keep them running nicely. I ran a couple errands after supper and came home to find that Scott had fallen. Poor guy fell on his ramp trying to come into the house. It had rained a little bit and he slipped and crashed onto his bad knee.......cut the knee and caused EXTREME pain. At this point he cannot put any weight or even any ice on the knee. Using a walker again. Felt so bad for him, but at least we had a fun weekend.

On another note, I will be taking Chris to Strongsville to the ortho Dr. on Wednesday. On Thursday he fell while skateboarding which took us to the local ER. He is in a splint for now, but it appears his wrist may be broken again!

WHERE WERE YOU.......

September 3, 1999.....any clue where you were or what you were doing??? For this family, I'm sure none of us will ever forget where we were when we got "the call". It's been 10 years since Scott had his accident and some days it doesn't seem possible that so many years have passed us by. Other times, I'm sure it's been at least 10 times that many years. We never had a clue that life would throw this curve at us, yet we have embraced it and gone on with smiles and laughter (most of the time) in a life that many can never imagine. If I ever get my book finished, you will be able to get a glimpse of what we have gone thru and continue to go thru each and every day. Life is good and I wouldn't change where we are now. Our faith is much stronger and I think we've leared a lot of lessons that life had to teach. To us, this is the new normal, but to others it seems hard. It's funny at times, and maddening at times, but this is who we are!

This weekend I have planned a Mystery Trip! We will leave on Friday when the kids get home from school and will return on Sunday. If you're planning a cook out, save us some food! No one but me knows where we are going, and I can't tell you yet! Check back next week and I'll fill you in!

Remember, Life is Good! and God is Awesome!

Road Trip!

We are home again and rested up???? from our little trip to Virginia. Had a great visit with my brother and his wife and their two beautiful dogs. Spent time on Saturday being tourists! Went and toured the Shenandoah Caverns. Really nice and Scott could even use his scooter in most of it! Went to a couple other favorite spots like Jess's Diner for lunch and the Barnes and Noble bookstore. We ate at L'talia for supper on Friday night and it was delicious! We went to the cabin on Saturday night and had a nice relaxing day on Sunday. Got to spend the whole day with them, then headed for home on Monday. All went well until we hit Charleston, WV, then a hose blew and we lost all air conditioning for the rest of the trip home! Really hot and humid down there, as well as up here when we got home.

Got all the applesauce done on Friday and am doing 30 dozen ears of corn on Monday!!!! I love to do corn! We were to Cleveland on Wednesday when we came home from Virginia for the second set of the nerve block for Scott. Overall, he is doing a lot better since the first injection!

Tonight Chris had his buddies here and they worked on getting the skate ramp in the rad finished. We had a surprise birthday party for my mom at her house on Saturday and a bunch of the guests came over and helped move the ramp from the garage up into our yard. They made it bigger in the middle and gave it a test run tonight. Now they are in the basement trying to get some sleep! :) Not happening quite yet from the sound of it. Hard to believe school will be starting on Tuesday. Summer sure did fly by.

Saw that "Wicked" is playing in Cleveland in November and early Dec. Let me know if you have seen it and what you thought of it.

FAST DAYS!

Seems like every day is going faster and faster and I am helpless to stop it! I'm sure everyone has days like that, but it just seems like summer is whizzing by at an alarming rate. Scott continues to do well, still has minimal pain, but a LOT better than what it was. We are leaving on Thurs. afternoon and heading to Virginia to visit my brother and his wife. Can't wait! :) We are mentally packed, but physically not even close! I was gonna mow tonight, but the rain changed my mind. So glad for the rain, but I think I heard the grass squeaking taller as the evening wore on and the drops were soaking in! Oh well, tomorrow night is another chance.

I will be taking Christopher to Strongsville on Thursday morning to get his knees checked out. He had double knee surgery for a congenital problem 2 years ago and is having a lot of pain in them as of late. Want to get it checked out, and we had the appt. made before all the plans were in place to head for Virginia. We will stop at Elkins, WV for the night, so at least I'll get a little bit of a break from the driving! We are taking Scott's scooter along and plan on touring the Shenandoah Caverns while we are down there. I had the vehicle serviced and had the brakes checked, as the extra weight from the lift and scooter will add to the need for good brakes!

Now we're just trying to line up people to come and play with our new puppy and new kitten while we are gone. Hate to leave them, but really looking forward to getting away. It's been a LONG last couple of months. We will stay until Monday when we head straight home. Sure hope the humidity doesn't come along with us.

Today the storms beat the running kids to the windows! I had a call from Erica, saying that both bathrooms and our bedroom was soaked!!! Grab the towels, then turn on the fans, as I didn't want the hardwood floors to warp. She did a great job, and I got all of the towels and rugs dried once I got home. Even got a pan of lasagna made (although Chris did all of the work) for tomorrow night's supper. Then put a batch of party mix in the oven. Don't even want to try to go visit my brother without a big bowl of it! Chris is having a couple friends over tomorrow night for supper and then a bonfire. Hope the rain gets out of here by then! :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS......IN JULY!

Only 5 more months until Christmas!!! Can you believe it!? Seems like this year is flying by quicker than ever. I wished several people Merry Christmas in July and got the Bah-Humbug reply! Oh well, I have been shopping a little and gotten a few gifts. Not really going out and looking, but if something jumps out at me and I know someone who it would work for, I buy it! :) On that note, Mom, Erica and I hit the Millersburg town garage sales on Saturday! Boy did we have fun. Started at 10 a.m. and didn't get back home until around 3 p.m. Filled the back of my Durango with a LOT of Longaberger baskets! My sis-in-law from Virginia is an avid collector, and when I hit a couple juicy sales, I gave her a call and got the thumbs up! Then we headed for Coccia House to get some yummy pizza for supper. After that it was off to check out the old cars at Wooster's cruise in! Sure would love to find one that we could afford. We would love to have an old car to run after ice cream on Sunday's! :)

This week seemed to bring more pain to Scott after he had been improving since surgery. On Tuesday I called his pain management Dr. asking for feedback on what we could do to relieve some of his pain. Got a call on Wednesday aroudn 5:15 p.m. asking if we could be to Cleveland on Thursday morning by 8:15 a.m. Sure, but what are you gonna do???? Gonna try a sympathetic nerve block. At this point it seems to have helped. Still has some pain, but back under control compared to what it was. Scott will have 2 more of these blocks over the next couple of months. We were lucky to grab an early appt. and then get out of town, as President Obama was making a visit to the Clinic. When the president hits town, they also tend to close a lot of roads, so we were glad to make a quick get-away!

Chris came home from camp in Michigan today. Along with a LOT of sand and dirt! The first load of clothes has been thru the washed twice!!! Oh well, they all had fun. Quiet week around here without him! I got the garage cleaned out, as well as the basement rec room and laundry room. Great feeling to get all that done!

FUN TIMES IN THE SUMMER!

So many fun things are simple and close to home. Watching boys skate, watching them scarf down TONS of food, even though they just ate at Kyle's house, Sobe the new puppy and Erica tussling in the grass, Chowder the new kitten hanging off the screen door.......the list goes on. Even though we have been home more than usual the last couple of months, there is a lot to be thankful for. Time with family is memories in the making. We have had a lot of laughs and have learned to appreciate sleep even more when the new puppy and new kitten decide to sleep all night.

On another note, Scott is doing better most of the time and has been in his workshop building Peanut Butter bird feeders!!!! Yea! I have sold 4 of them already! :) He did have a bit of a mishap with the door, as he didn't open it far enough and crashed it with his knee. But that is even feeling a bit better. Today he just relaxed in the breeze on the deck and watched the new puppy romp with Snickers our other dog!

No more work for me until Tuesday, which is awesome. We plan on going to Carrabba's for supper to celebrate our 16th anniversary! Taking the kids and Mom and Dad are going along to celebrate their anniversary which was in April. Should be a fun night!

JULY????!!!!

Where has the month of June gone? O.k., depending on when you read this, it is still June, but come on....I am still wondering where in the world January and February went. We have been enjoying the beautiful weather by sitting on our deck a lot! Didn't do much, as Scott is still swollen and sore from surgery. We did get that one weekend out, but decided to just take it easy and let him heal. Tonight he is horribly sore, probably due to the cold front and rain that is making it's way to our area. The birds have been chirping up a storm and have been eating a TON of food! Guess they don't want to be out in the rain. I split a coconut open this weekend and hung the 2 halves in our tree! Great to watch the birds nibble on it. I also made a fairy garden on our deck, complete with a little fire ring! Then I made a small one and put it on Mom's porch for her to find! I just love those little gardens. So many ways to fix them up.
We are planning on going to my Aunt and Uncle's for the Fourth of July for a cook out. Not sure what I am supposed to make to take along yet, but I'm gonna volunteer to make a cheesecake, as that sounds really good right now! I have a couple new recipes that I might have to try. I am off Thurs. thru next Monday!!! Glad to have an extra long weekend with Scott and the kids. We are also enjoying our new kitten, Chowder! He is so funny to watch. Right now he's chasing his tail in a box! We think he's got to be getting dizzy.
Erica is packed and ready to head to the Mennonite conference with her youth group in Columbus tomorrow! What fun for all of them. I am so thankful for the sponsors and their willingness to take the kids and have this experience with them.
Enjoy a safe and fun Fourth! ;)

AWAY FOR THE DAY!!!

We have been trapped at home for over 2 months! Since Scott's pain has been so bad, other than the trips to the Dr. and to Mom and Dad's now and then, we just haven't left Holmes County. I am happy to report that on Saturday we went to a movie and out to eat!!! :) The kids and I even ran into a couple stores for a few new summer items! Felt so good to go away as a family. We saw the movie, "Imagine That". Good movie and then we ate at Red Lobster! Delicious as always.
We were back to the Dr. on Friday and got a good report. Scott will be starting 6 weeks of PT this next week. The Dr. said there is a lot of inflammation around the knee cap area. He felt it was from Scott's weakened muscle in the upper thigh, so PT will be concentrating on that area. He said if that is strengthened up, it should better support the knee cap and keep it from causing inflammation. Overall the pain has been reduced. Still using crutches for support, but the pain is probably 1/2 of what it was. Seems to be mostly in the area of the incisions, so we think even more of that will leave!!! :)

A BEATUIFUL DAY!

Scott's surgery revealed that he does not need knee replacement and shouldn't anytime soon! That was a plus, but the Dr. said he never would have believed it before he looked inside the knee. He found one area that was needing some "cleaning up" and did that. Now we wait and see how it goes. Overall, Scott's pain seemed a bit better until last evening. Some storms moved thru to the north of us and caused the pain to really escalate. So, we are really praying that the surgery did it's job and in the next couple of weeks we can see improvement.
On another note, our Sunday School class arrived early Saturday morning and proceeded to mulch all our flower beds, trimmed the trees, dug up an old tree and tore down an old swing set!!! So much done, in such a short amount of time. To thank them, I made desserts to the 8 families represented and delivered a lot of those last night. I could never have gotten so much done in one day as they did in just a couple hours!
Erica has now gotten her driver's license and is enjoying this new freedom. Bible school starts this week, so that will be a big help that she and Chris can come and go as needed instead of waiting on a ride! They are helping the in 4 and 5 year old classes!

SURGERY

After a bunch of frustrating weeks of running to different Dr.'s, we will finally have surgery for Scott on Wed. the 10th. The Dr. told us he is not sure if this will solve all of the pain issues, but he is willing to try. I put in a call to Scott's old ortho Dr. and he called today to let me know that he feels this is the best thing to try at this point. I had talked to so many different Dr.'s and had so many conflicting suggestions that I needed to hear from a Dr. that I have known and trusted over the past 9 years. He was very nice and said this Dr. is very good and that he will be in contact with him after the surgery to see what he discovered! Not sure of the time for surgery yet, but it will be on Wed. in Garfield Heights (CCF has space at Marymount hospital).

On another note, we have a new little kitten named, Chowder that has joined our flock of cats!!!! He appeared at Erica's boyfriends house on Friday and he delivered it to us! :) Cute as a button and lots of fun. Then on Sunday, I had to take one of our other cats, Kiki, to the vet! His ear was HUGE with ???? blood and he had a bad ear infection! He had minor surgery today and I pick him up tomorrow after I take Scott to the Dr. to check his BP and to my Dr. to get allergy shots!

FRUSTRATED!!!

Off to Cleveland we went on Thursday thinking we would get some answers and a date for surgery! Wrong answer......this Dr. found several issues with the knee from the tests, but he doesn't do surgery!!! So he called today and set us up with another Dr.! Wait till you hear this name.....Dr. Shickendantz! Yup, just like it sounds. I hope to be able to keep a straight face when we get to meet him on Tuesday. We will be going to the new Sports Medicine Facility that the Cleveland Clinic just recently opened on Transportation Blvd. Really praying that this Dr. will get the ball rolling. Scott is just hanging in there, but the pain is horrible, and using a walker all the time is NOT fun!
So to combat my frustrations today, I pressure washed the deck, mowed the lawn and got my one fountain up and running! Not too bad for getting groceries in the morning, and then spending time on the phone chasing Dr's.! We plan on just hanging out at home for the weekend. I did buy a bunch of extra munchies and thought I might invite a bunch of the family over to help pass the time. If anyone reads this, don't tell Scott, I would like to surprise him......maybe Sunday afternoon after the graduation ceremony.

ANSWERED PRAYERS!

Today we met with yet another new ortho Dr. The last one we were supposed to see kind of blew us off and said Scott didn't need surgery, but yet we had never even met him!!! His PA met with us and ordered PT which only added more pain to the huge amount he was already having. Anyway.......we went to see the new guy today.......not the joking type, very serious, but he had read Scott's file and found that in 2006, when he had his last MRI, there was a small tear in the meniscus. Nothing was done at that point, but that is definitely the area where all the pain is located at this point. He ordered an arthrogram and CT for next Thursday and then we will be meeting with him to discuss what is next. Most likely he will be having surgery to correct the problem. This is what I have been asking for over and over!!!! We are happy to hear this, but don't have a date set at this point. The pain is thru the roof today since the exam, but at least the weather is nice and Scott is sitting out on the deck. At this point, we will take it day by day and just send up the prayers of thanksgiving that someone finally listened to us!!!
Chris got a good check up yesterday and will be returning to school on Monday. His infection is gone and he is feeling better. Even got in a bit of skateboarding!!! Erica thinks that some rollergblading is in order with the nice weather, and I hear the lawn mower calling my name.
On another note, Chris's bedroom is getting a great paint job by George's Painting!!! So glad to get this done.

WHAT'S NEXT???

The crazy train has stopped at this house!!! Chris went on his 8th grade trip to D. C. last week. On Tuesday before he left, he was home and not feeling too good, but felt better by the morning and I dropped him off at the school around 6 a.m. I talked to him a couple times and he didn't sound like he was having fun. His wallet got stolen, and he felt horrible about that. Then on the way home, the girls bus broke down and they got home at 3:30 a.m., instead of 11:15 p.m.! When he got off the bus I thought he felt a little warm. When I looked at his face, I thought he must have fallen and scraped it! No Mom, it just keeps looking worse every day! So he slept for a while Saturday a.m. and then I took him to the Express Care. They thought he had shingles, but that just didn't seem to sound quite right. Did more research and ended up calling a neighbor who is a Dr. He too, felt it didn't sound quite like shingles, so Chris and I headed to the local ER! Turns out they thought it may be a staph infection! So we came home and started washing everything in sight, and used a LOT of Clorox wipes. I took him back to the family Dr. yesterday and she did a culture to try to determine exactly what it is. For now she is calling it a skin infection, but he is out of school for a few days until it looks better and appears to be healing. As for me, my workplace thought it best if I stay home until the result of the culture comes back, as we are VERY busy and they don't want to take a chance of me carrying in a germ and causing a bunch of people to be off. That's fine by me, as this week has a lot of appts.
Friday I am taking Scott to Cleveland again about his knee. Pain is so intense he is using a walker to get around. I am also looking at running to Akron to get the hitch and lift put on my vehicle in preparation for the arrival of Scott's power scooter. Friday morning, I also have a dentist appt. in Wooster before we head for Cleveland. Thursday the VA rep will be here for a visit!!! And Thursday afternoon, I take Chris back to the Dr. for a check up. Erica has piano tonight and I have allergy shots!
Been looking at some info about Virginia Beach. Would love to get away for a vacation this summer and thought that might be fun. If you have any thoughts on this, let me know!

Rain and Relaxing!

This has been an even crazier week for me than usual!!! Scott has 6 appts. this week, and then Erica had piano and an eye Dr. appt., Chris had guitar lessons and then he had to pack to head to D.C. for a couple days with the 8th graders!!! What fun! We had a bit of a ruckous here last night as we lost power for around 3 hours. I ended up putting burgers and asparagus on the grill! Delicious! But then I had to wash a last minute load of clothes for the traveler around 8 pm!!! I guess a semi hit a pole in town and they had to shut power off in order to fix things. Glad it wasn't off overnight!!!
So tonight I am trying to catch up on e-mails, update my blog and just kick back. Really need to work on my book, as I have hit a roadblock and need to get it in gear. Any suggestions!!?? :) I got off to such a roaring start, but then hit a mental block, then it seemed life just got in the way. Oh well, I still have hopes to get it finished this year!
Scott had a biopsy on his stomach yesterday. He had a scope to look for an ulcer, but no sign of one was found. Then the Dr. checked his stomach and it was very red and inflammed. So he did the biopsy and if that doesn't show any problem, he wants to check out the gall bladder.

BACK FOR MORE PT!!!

This was a LONG week with lots of Dr. appts. Due to severe pain, Scott can only get around with the use of 2 crutches. This is causing more pain in his elbow that he had surgery on last April. It was just feeling better and we FINALLY finished with physical therapy. We were told by Scott's pain management Dr. that we needed to contact the ortho. Dr. about Scott's pain. They called this week and referred us to another surgeon, as Scott's surgeon has retired from doing surgery and is only seeing a few patients. When I called for an appt. they told me it would be July until we could get in. I called the ortho. Dr. back asking if this was the only Dr. he would recommend. Yes, he is the best. I looked up his credentials and was rather impressed, so I called again. This time the girl said she would set us up with the Dr.'s PA who evaluates new patients and can get us in quicker if he feels it is necessary. Would we be able to come up on Friday??? Oh yeah, we sure can, and since we were already going up for 2 appts. on Thursday, she added x-rays to that schedule. So Thursday was very tiring, but on the plus side, the elbow Dr. feels once Scott is off the crutches, his elbow will settle down again. Then on Friday we met with the PA. He said at this point Scott's muscles from the hamstring down are very tight. He feels that is where a LOT of the pain issue is stemming from. He told us that even if they would operate at this point and find a problem, he felt there would still be a pain issue due to the tight muscles. So Scott has to start PT again for 12 weeks. He also has to ice 3x's a day and take ibuprofen 3x's a day. As long as he is improving, we go back in 12 weeks to meet with the Dr. and determine if the knee is feeling better, or if he is still having issues. He said we will not see quick improvement, but it should get better with time and PT. So we go to start more therapy on Monday.
Beautiful weekend and I finally got the yard mowed! (and got the dog pooped smooshed!) Then today I worked on cleaning the cracks in between the boards on the deck. They get so full of bird seed and twigs and the helicopters off our maple tree, which if not cleaned out, rot and will cause the deck to become weak. The breeze blew most of the crud off as fast as I dug it out of the cracks.
Next week looks to be a bit crazy with the start of PT again. I'm gonna try and convince them to let us come only 2x's a week, as 3 just really makes for a bunch of running. But if it takes 3x's a week, we'll do it. Really praying this will work and give Scott some relief. No trips to Cleveland this next week, so far! We will have the PT appts. and we have a home visit from a VA rep on Monday, and on Friday we have to see a Dr. about Scott's reflux problem, but at least the sun is shining right now!

UPS AND DOWNS

This has been a challenging week, once again. On the upside, we were to Cleveland on Wednesday and Scott was evalutaed for a power scooter. They said he is a perfect candidate, so they ordered one for him, as well as a hitch and power lift for the back of our vehicle. Everything should be in and ready to install in about 3-4 weeks. This will give us a lot more freedom to go places that used to be off limit for Scott due to his knee problems. So we are excited about that. On the down side, his knee has continued to worsen. We are in contact with his ortho. Dr. and are waiting a return call with an appt. The pain management Dr. wants him to have exploratory surgery to see what is going on inside the knee. Today when he got up for church, he could hardly walk. Some of that is the rain that is moving into the area, but I feel strongly that something is wrong inside the knee.
On Friday I was in Cleveland again to take Scott's uncle to the Dr. for 2 appts. and I had an aunt who was having some problems and also needed to go to Cleveland. Worked out great to be able to take everyone at once. Scott ended up staying home, as I knew it would be a really LONG day and he was just hurting so much. Didn't end up getting home until after 10 pm!!!
Prom was last night and our daughter got to go to her first one!!! :) How exciting! I had no clue the gym at our school could be transformed into a wonderland! So beautiful. The grand march was also a new experience for us! Tons of people, beautiful teens, cool cars and perfect weather, made for a great evening.
This week will bring at least one more trip to Cleveland, and one local visit to the family Dr. Piano and guitar lessons are also on schedule and at this time it looks like that's about it!
It sounds like the skateboarders should be pulling in at any time. Rain is coming and they want to hit the ramps while it's still dry!

CHALLENGING TIMES

This time of year is always challenging for us. 9 years ago on Easter morning, we lost Scott's mom to a brain aneurysm. Even though Easter falls on a different date each year, we are still reminded of our loss at Easter time.
We are also facing challenges with Scott's pain issue. I have felt for several months that the pain in his knee is a mechanical issue and not one from nerve damage. I feel they have the nerve problem under control at this point. We were back to see the pain management Dr. on Friday and he agrees with me. Now we are faced with convincing the ortho Dr. to refer us to another surgeon, as he has retired from doing actual operations. I have a call in to his office and am waiting to see what they say. If they say this ortho Dr. will not agree to another surgery, we have decided to let the pain management Dr. help us find another Dr., possibly at University Hospital. We really like Scott's current ortho Dr. but my gut says we need to have a scope put into the knee to check for scar tissue. Scott falls a lot from his balance troubles and I think that has caused some of his trouble in the knee. The pain Dr. said Scott is his only knee pain patient that keeps coming back!!! He has had his spinal cord stimulator for 2 1/2 years and we do feel that has helped. However, anytime we try to go anywhere, even to just walk thru the hospital to visit someone else, his pain level escalates so badly, that for the next several days, he can hardly walk, sleep or just relax! We will be going to the VA hospital on Wednesday of this week to have Scott evaluted for the need of a power wheel chair. We know he needs this at times, but I hate to see him have to use it on a regular basis. Please pray that the ortho Dr. will find it in his heart to refer us to one of his associates. We feel very comfortable at the Cleveland Clinic and hate to have to go elsewhere. His history is so involved, that would also become a challenge to have to go thru that repetition again.
On another note, Erica and I enjoyed an evening with my sister in law and niece for supper and prom shoe shopping!!! : ) We found her a cute pair and enjoyed a delicious supper at Applebee's. Prom is just around the corner and I pray for safety for all who will be driving a little later at night than usual.
On a lighter note, I made an awesome dessert to take to Easter dinner tomorrow.......too late, we already ate it!!! It was amazing! :) We'll be sure to let the Beck's know how delicious it was!

BUSY WEEK AHEAD!

Here comes another busy week! But what week is not busy at this house??? We love our life, but sometimes I would love to have a couple days to get bored!!! On Saturday morning, I picked up Chris and 3 of his buddies from a lock in at a friends church. Dropped everyone off and by 8 a.m., Chris was asleep for the day......until 8 p.m. at which time he woke up long enough to eat and was back to sleep by 11 pm. and slept until 7 a.m.!!! Whew! I don't think I could ever sleep that much. While he slept, Erica and I took off for Canton to shop for prom shoes. Just had no luck at all, so we hit the highway and headed for New Philly! Success at last and we got a pair of shoes, along with a new purse for me and a ceramic rain boot to plant flowers in!!! ;O It was just too cute. Also got a new alarm clock with "noise" on it so my hubby could sleep better. After he had bronchitis and we had the humidifier on all night, we found he sleeps better with a bit of white noise in the background. So now we sleep to the sound of rain!!! :-)
Scott's brother in law came up today and helped Chris with some track stuff he was doing. Helped him figure out how to get his timing better. Then we stopped at Mom and Dad's to drop off their 45th wedding anniversary gift! Home and curled up with a blanket. Oh yeah, I've been texting with my neice and nephew most of the evening, but I enjoy keeping in touch with them.
Lots of running this week and need to get food ready for Easter at the in-laws.

Have a wonderful, blessed week!

1106 MILES LATER!!!

What a crazy week it's been.....aren't they all??? :) The week started off with a Dr. appt. in Mansfield. Not too bad you think, but I had to first go to Brinkhaven and pick up Scott's uncle to take him along, as he had an appt. and does not drive. After the appts. it was a stop at Wal-Mart, then the scenic route home thru Bellville, Fredericktown and then finally back to Benton. After Erica got off the bus, we headed for the Strongsville mall. Needed to find a dress for prom! Good luck for us, we found one, grabbed Chipotle's for supper and hit the road for home! Tuesday was relatively quiet, as I didn't leave Holmes County. Had to pick up hubby at my Aunt and Uncle's house after allergy shots, then it was home to make cookie bars for the youth group meeting on Wednesday evening. On Wednesday, I worked part of the day, then headed to Cleveland with Scott to have his spinal cord stimulator adjusted. That went well, then it was home and shuttle Chris to his friends house to go to church with him, then back home and grab Erica and the snacks and drop her off at our church! Back home for a bit, then hit the road again to pick up Erica and bring the leftovers home, before heading over to Countryside Chapel to pick up Chris. Back home and to bed!!! Thursday I worked until lunch, then ran home to load up and head to Columbus to watch our girls b-ball team play in the state semi-final game! That was a fun day, then it was home, and time to help Chris make mexican meatballs for his Spanish class at school......got those done and crashed into bed at 9:15! Friday morning was an early dentist appt. for me in Wooster, then home and get Scott moving to PT! That was just in Millersburg. Chris called from school and said his arm was hurting badly from a skateboarding fall the day before and needed to see the Dr. So after school, I took him to the Dr. and then for x-rays. Good news, just a bad bruise! Saturday brought another trip to Columbus to watch the state final game of girls basketball. Unfortunately, we lost! :( Great year for the girls. Stopped at Max & Erma's for lunch on the way home. Today we are going to Countryside Chapel to listen to Chris play guitar with their praise and worship team. Wasn't sure if we could go, as Scott has had seizure trouble all day Saturday and is having a little trouble this morning.
This week will be a little calmer (I hope) and we are hitting the road on Thursday to go to Kettering (close to Dayton) for a couple days! Scott has relatives there and Chris is taking a friend along as their is a skate park in that area. Our hotel is very close to the park. Erica plans on helping her cousin at her nanny job on Friday while we are there. We also plan on hitting Dewey's Pizza for a meal, as we LOVE their pizza.
Hope you all enjoy the sunshine!

THE SUN IS SHINING!

What a beautiful day! After church today we went to BCF for lunch and the installation service for our friends to their new position as pastor! Really neat service, then it was off to the school for the choir concert. Wonderful concert, lots of talent. Then it was home and the skateboarding boys started arriving!!! I love to hear them skating and having fun. Ordered pizza and they ate everything but the box! :)
Another crazy week ahead.....lots of Dr. appointments and basketball games to think about. Have to also be looking for a prom dress as Erica will be going to her first prom! We looked a little bit and have one on hold, but want to check out the Strongsville mall before we make the final choice!
Tomorrow will start the crazy week, as I am picking up Scott's uncle, then heading to the school to buy b-ball tickets for a bunch of us for the state game on Thursday. After that it's off to Mansfield for the Dr. appt. for Scott and his uncle, then home.....off to guitar lessons for Chris.....then home and grab Erica and off to Strongsville mall....but other than that, I won't have much going on tomorrow. So if you're bored, just join the train and follow us. I'm sure to find something interesting to pass the time! :)

NEW BABY!!!

What a whirlwind of a week we had last week! Scott's brother and wife were due to have their first baby on March 10th. On Wed. when we left PT I got a call from Scott's sister, expecting it to be the baby call, but instead it was a call saying that Scott's brother was in the hospital. Irregular heart rate detected at a regular physical. He was taken to the hospital to have it checked and they put him into the ICU!!! That was on Wed. Thursday at work, my mother in law called to tell me my sister in law went into labor after the craziness of Wed. and had delivered a little girl! Bad part was, she was at a different hospital than her husband! So after work on Thursday we traveled to Mansfield to see our new niece! She is so adorable. Then on Friday we took off for Mt. Vernon to see Scott's brother. Had a good visit, but they were not having much luck in getting the heart back to a normal rhythm. We got home and about an hour later got a call that he was being transferred to Riverside in Columbus!!! Scott then proceeded to have a minor accident in his workshop which resulted in a VERY sore and swollen finger for a couple days.
After checking out the finger, I was putting steaks on the grill when I saw a large cloud of black smoke rising up from a place by the business beside us that it really didn't belong! Looked out over the railing of the deck and saw flames about 15 ft. high pouring out of the dumpster! Called the fire dept. and continued cooking the steaks. Just glad I saw it when I did.
Saturday morning I woke up with a stomach bug that hung around until Sunday night. Had to miss a birthday party for my cousin and had to cancel small group from church! Talked to my sister in law and she said they would be doing a bunch of tests on her hubby on Monday morning.
Monday came and Scott and I headed to Riverside Hospital in Columbus. After a heart cath and a couple other tests they decided to shock my brother in laws heart back into rhythm. At this point, he is resting well and his wife was finally able to go and see him this afternoon. He still hasn't gotten to see or hold his little girl, but has seen pictures. He will be in the hospital for a couple more days, but we are so thankful that prayers have been answered and he should be home soon!
Don't you just love how crazy our weeks are? I'm not sure what I would do if we had a calm, "normal" week! Not even sure if I would know one if we had one! :) Life is good, and we are so thankful for all we have.

HARD WEEK!

Tough week here in Benton. Our neighbor and former babysitter's husband fatally shot his wife, son and then took his own life. I also worked with the husband. So hard to believe that anyone could get that low and depressed. Very nice family and they leave one married daughter behind. Kids are still having some trouble sleeping, and so am I.
Then there was a threat made at school this past week. Wasn't sure if I wanted the kids to go to school today or not. We prayed about it and finally I left it up to them. The school will have deputies there today and there is a prayer group of kids meeting as soon as they get to school. The threat was specific for "something" to happen today. I would appreciate all your prayers as you are reading this. I know God is with the, and keeping them home today would only make me wonder, if nothing happens today, will something happen tomorrow. I am mostly at peace with the decision, just really wish they would figure out who wrote the threat and remove them from school.
Scott is doing somewhat better. We managed to go to Canton shopping for a bit on Saturday, then wanted to eat at the Olive Garden. Got there a little after 4 and they told us the wait was approx. 45 min!!!! See ya! We left and went to Carrabba's! Delicious! Kind of glad we went there instead. We had only eaten there once before several years ago.
Yesterday was a 3 ring circus here! My cousins wife and little boys stopped for a while, then Chris went running with a friend. We decided to order pizza and my cousin joined us, as well as Erica's boyfriend and Chris and his buddy. Pizza sure didn't last long. But soon after the pizza disappeared, my Mom showed up with 3 loaves of fresh, warm sourdough bread!!! That went pretty quick too! :)

GETTING BETTER SLOWLY

Things are starting to get a little better. I found a remedy for the coughing! HONEY!!!! I teaspoon of honey quiets Scott's cough for hours. I had read about this last year and totally forgot about it until this year when his cough just wouldn't quit. The cough med. was only working for about 1 1/2 at the most. We went to the ball game last night, and as soon as he started to get too warm, the coughing started again. I quickly left the game, ran across the road and bought a bottle of honey and grabbed a plastic spoon. Mission accomplished! Coughing stopped.
As for the pain from falling last week, the knee is somewhat better, although the elbow is still somewhat swollen and very tender. We went to PT yesterday, but they couldn't do too much with it being so sore. They did some ultrasound over it and we go back again next Wednesday.
Our son, Christopher left for New York for snow camp yesterday! We took subs out to him and 4 buddies to munch on the way. He texted in the afternoon and said it was snowing so hard it looked like a blizzard! They will be home Sunday evening. Can't wait to hear about this camp. He has been talking about it for weeks.
Hoping to check out the newly renovated library today! Erica and I are low on books and I have to take Scott to a couple appts. in Cleveland on Monday, so I need a good book or 2.

Crazy Monday!

Good Morning!

What a morning after very little sleep. Hubby's bronchitis is causing a LOT of coughing during the night and very little sleep, then his water got dumped into the bed and onto the floor around 3:15 a.m., so that added to the festivities!!! Oh well, at least most of it went onto the floor, and not the bed. Then when the poor guy was getting out of the shower, he slipped and fell. So now he's using the walker and hurting all the worse. Just not the best day.
But.....it snowed again,.......and we love that! Kids were getting ready for school and I looked out and thought at first it was foggy, then realized it was snowing!! YEA !!! Not getting much done around the house right now as I have been working a lot on my book. That feels good, but I suppose I do need to do a load of laundry now and then! :O)
I got a beautiful vase of 12 roses for Valentine's Day!!! Our daughter's boyfriend asked hubby if he would like help getting something for me. So that came as a nice surprise. Stayed at home and had a nice supper her. Figured no one else needed to get sick from hubby's coughing!

Sick Days!

Well, my shoulder is feeling somewhat better, but now my hubby has bronchitis! Took him to the Dr. this morning and started him on anitbiotics. Hope that helps soon, as he just feels pretty tough. I am baking cookies and working on laundry. As you will notice, I also changed my blog background. I don't like it and have boogered up some other stuff on here, so if anyone has any helpful ideas on blogging, please call me or e-mail me!!! I just don't quite understand all that I should.
We were lucky to keep our power during the horrible wind storm the other night. Never heard wind quite like that and don't hope to any time soon! Slept in the living room to give hubby the bed and to try to avoid getting sick myself! Really worried that the windows were going to come crashing in at any time!!! Decided praying was the best option since sleep was out of the question. Hubby slept thru the entire storm! Never heard a bit of the wind. We have a few loose shingles on our lawn mower shed that need tacked down, but otherwise, we didn't have much damage. Very thankful for that.

Oh the Pain!

I am not feeling the greatest right now. Was to the Dr. on Wednesday for horrible pain under my shoulder blade. This has been going on for several weeks and has steaily been getting worse. I was eating a LOT of advil, but Wednesday I reached the point that even breathing was hurting so much I wasn't sure what to do! The advil never kicked in, so I called the Dr. around 10 and went in at 10:30, which was nice. He said I have inflammation under the shoulder blade area, probably caused from a lot of coughing from asthma trouble over the last couple weeks. Just got really inflammed and sore. So I am on a course of steroids and prescription anti-inflammatories to see if that helps. If if is not a LOT better in a week, I have to go back and he wants to inject cortisone in the area that hurts. So far, no improvement, or very little. Coughing and sneezing about brings tears and breathing anything other than shallow breathes is tough.

On a happier note, I am making serious strides towards writing a book!!! Called a publisher this week for pricing!!! and am actually getting started. It will be 10 years in Sept. since hubby had his accident and I have been wanting to do this for about that long. I feel our journey has been blessed in many ways by following Christ and I want to share with others. Not that I'm saying we haven't had struggles along the way, but I feel the way has been easier with God's help. So many books on brain injury are clinical or depressing! That is not the way this one will be. Now I have to work out the following issues: 1. Do I have the $ to invest in this project? 2. Will people really buy and read this thing? 3. How many copies would I need to order? 4. Can I get it done in a timely manner? 5. How do I choose the right publisher? Any thoughts, prayers or info anyone has about this subject would be greatly appreciated! I really feel strongly about this project, just need to get the ball rolling. I'm calling another publisher today to compare prices, so maybe that will help things along.

Sad to hear that our snow may be heading for a meltdown! I love the snow, although I could do without the ice. Our driveway is nothing but ice right now. A wonderful neighbor said if it melts like it's supposed to, he's coming over to use a plow and push the slush off the driveway so it won't freeze up again. He's also going to clear a path to hubby's workshop, as I have to put my vehicle in 4 wheel drive and drive him to it right now. Kind of a red neck operation, if you ask me! :)

IT'S MELTING!!!

What a week! From ice and beautiful snow to melting puddles everywhere! I love the snow and hope today's meltdown is about over. It is nice that some of the gunk under my running boards and wheel wells is melting and dropping off......making a lovely mess in the garage! Just came home from a delicious, belated birthday lunch at Mom and Dad's. I made butter pecan cupcakes with cream cheese icing and brickle bars to take for dessert.

Friday was a no school day again, and after I got home from Mansfield and dr. appts., our son had a couple buddies over to sled and skate. They spent the night and then enjoyed skating again on Saturday. Made a bunch of spaghetti and meatballs for them to chow on.

I am officially only working 3 days per week!!! No more Monday's or Friday's!!! :) Can't believe I don't have to go to work or to the Dr. tomorrow. That's a good way to start the week. I have a list of things to work on, but I love making lists. Even toying with the idea of starting to write my book. That's a dream I have had for over 9 years, and I'm thinking no might be the time.

Praying for more snow! :)

SNOW DAYS!!!!

I love the snow, but I really hate brain injuries!!! Hubby had a moment today and decided to shovel some ice!!! Now any progress he made on his knee is gone for the time being! He said he knew he shouldn't do it and doesn't know why he did, but he chipped the ice and put down a TON of salt. Now we really hav a mess. Oh well, that's the way the ball bounces.

I worked for a while yesterday, then left to try and chip ice off my vehicle so I could open the door and even get it started! What a mess. But then I came home and enjoyed the day with the kids. Piles of snow everywhere! Then a nice neighbor stopped in and plowed open our driveway! So much better and gave the kids a nice path to sled and snowboard on the ice that was under the snow. Tomorrow is Dr. appts in Mansfield, then home and relax.

Have a wonderful day!

HERE WE GO AGAIN!!!

Another crazy day at this house has begun!!! Started at about 4:45 this a.m. when the toilet wouldn't flush and the water wouldn't run!!!! Oh no, line between us and the business next door has frozen! This happened once before and it's a pain in the butt. It happens when the temps. go up, the ground gets saturated with melting snow, then it freezes like crazy again. This drives the frost in the ground really deep, thus the frozen pipe!!! The plumber has been called, as this one is more than I can take care of. He has to go in to the business beside us and work from their end. He said it will be at least noon, but he will get here today. So I had to rouse the kids, call Mom and haul everyone over there for a shower before school today! What a fun way to start the day. Came home and started a crockpot of veggie soup, that way supper will be done, even if we don't get water until late. So I'll try hard not to complain. Just had a great sermon about complaining where we should try to turn a complaint into a .....but yet....situation. So, we don't have water, but yet........we have heat and I was not working today, so I am home to take care of the problem. And on the plus side, there is more snow in the forecast and that makes me happy! I'll keep you posted when we get water. Until then, pray the pipe decides to thaw or the plumber decides to hurry! :)

Movies you should see!

Last weekend we went to see a couple movies that I highly recommend!!! The first one was "Hotel for Dogs". Really good story and a bit sad at one point, but no dogs die for you pet lovers. The next one was "Paul Blart, Mall Cop". What a hoot! We cracked up at that one. Not much going on this weekend, as hubby is having a LOT of pain again. Probably the weather, but still not much fun! Plan on baking cookies tonight after PT.

CRAZY WEEK!

Started out getting a lot done this week. Got the furnace lines bled on Monday, although I took a shot of hot water to the face and down the turtle neck......then I got the rest of the pictures in order, but couldn't find albums that suited me, so those are in a holding pattern. The rest of the week was fun with snow, school cancellations and bitter cold temps. This morning we were going to go to a pancake breakfast.......but our water line to the one toilet had other ideas! Frozen! It only dropped to 23 below last night! Only line in the house to freeze was the one to fill the toilet in hubby's handicapped bathroom!!!! So that was how my day got started and it was a LONG one! Couldn't get into hubby's workshop to get the tools I needed, as the lock was frozen.......went to Dad's to get tools......ooopps~!! need a couple more tools and a pry bar......OOppS! Dad's garage was locked and he wasn't home.....so I sat and texted in the driveway until he was home from coffee break! :) Then it was back home and back to fighting with the pipe! Hubby was upset that he couldn't help, but the cold is just not good for him, and with his brain injury, you never know how he'll attack a project.....thus it was up to me to fix the darn thing. As of 6:30 tonight, all is well and flushing again! :)

On a happier note, I did get to go to a Pampered Chef show last night! What fun! I haven't been to one in a LONG time. The place I went was the last show I did the night before my hubby had his accident! What a weird feeling that was. Anyway, had good food, good laughter and even won a cookbook. Glad I slept good last night, as today was a long and irritable one! I did get a few cookies baked and made a batch of rice krispies.....(that was during the break I took when I was really ticked off at the pipe)!

Hoping to get to a movie tomorrow! There are a couple new ones out that sound really good. Figure I'll have to shovel a bit in the morning, but we could use another coating to cover the tire tracks! :O

Let it Snow!!!

What a fun week! I only worked 2 days and am still continuing to work on unfinished projects around the house.......such a great feeling. Took hubby to Dr. for another knee injection on Monday. This was the last of the series and now we wait and see how well they help him. At this point, he is having some relief....which is a relief....still praying for more, but we'll take what we can for now. Dr. feels there may be continual improvement for up to 3 more weeks. If it helps, he can have a repeat of this procedure in 6 months.
I have resumed a project I started a couple years ago........organizing photos into albums. I am not a scrapper, but love to look thru photo albums. I have them somewhat in order by year, and am currently trying to put them into order in books. My son is the great critic, as he goes thru the albums when I have one done and will tell me if things are out of order.......just love when he finds them! :) I am up to the year 2006, and have run out of albums! Can't find anything locally that suits me.....so I'm trying to get the rest in order to put into books, and am hoping to get to the "big city" in the next few days. Any suggestions on what to do with all the double prints as well as the negatives? Just not quite sure what to do with them! I would love your input.
2 hour delay for school again today!!! Kids will be happy and surprised to wake up late! I sure wish we would have gotten as much snow as they had predicted, but we'll take what we get. The ice is another issue! I could have done with much less of that. Sounds like the deep freeze is coming this week, so I have a couple outside things to get in order before that happens.....as I am not working today! YEA! I am loving the extra time at home to get stuff done. Don't feel as pressured to work until bedtime every night. Hoping to get a kettle of corn chowder made today. Yum! We love having soup when it's cold outside.

CRAZY WEEK!
What a fun, crazy, busy week! Trans Siberian Orchestra along with my daughter and 4 others was a blast. We have started doing this as a yearly tradition. After the show we stop for supper at Chipotle's! YUM! This year had a bit of a twist as I had to take hubby to Dr. for a knee injection before the show. Luckily my dad was able to come along and then bring him home after his appt.
I spent a lot of the week mucking out areas that really needed attention. That is such a good feeling. We even got to take in a couple ball games on Saturday! That was stressful, fun, exciting and painful. At least for my hubby. He struggles with chronic pain and during the last game, he got his leg bumped and that caused a HUGE amount of pain. Had to wait until most everyone was out of our section before we could leave. He is now using a walker until the pain lessens. This is part of the problem with chronic pain. It just won't give up......thus the knee injections. We are praying for relief from some of the pain. He has had 2 and tomorrow is his last. Then the Dr. says we have to give it another 3 weeks to see if that helps. If not, we will be looking at exploratory surgery as another option to try and locate the source of the pain.
Today after church, I have just been a bit lazy. I worked with some recipes that needed mailed out, read a book and am now cooking a big pot of Tortellini soup! Party Mix will be hitting the oven soon. Fog has rolled in and we can hardly see across the road. The birds are munching up a bunch of my goodies, but refuse to touch the treats I have put on our recycled Christmas tree! :( They are eating everything else out there, and I even joked that they have curly tails (like a piggy)!
Kids go back to school tomorrow, but I am off work until Wednesday. It seems odd to be home so long, but I have thoroughly enjoyed it! Looking forward to a new year and all that it brings. Been looking at some new books I got for Christmas and thinking up a few ideas for "mystery trips". Love to visit new and different places!
Have a wonderful week!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! I have been wanting to start a blog for a long time, but time was the issue! I have not been working over Christmas break and am finally starting to get caught up on some things around the house. Right now I have pizza crust rising, so I thought, why not give this a shot!

Yesterday I tore down our Christmas tree and then got a little carried away. I put the tree on the deck for the birds and then proceeded to move all the living room furniture and washed the floor before rearranging things. Looks and feels so fresh in here! Then it was on to some other rooms that have been a little neglected. Due to TONS of Dr. appts. for my hubby over the past year, I have really let things slide......just tried to keep everyone running as they needed to, and didn't worry about all the other "stuff". I took a HUGE load of stuff to Save-n-Serve today and then goofed off for most of the day. Ran a couple errands and found a nice pair of snow boots in Charm! :)

Let me know what you think of this blog. I have no clue how often I'll post or just exactly what I'll post. Just thought it would be fun!