4becksofbenton

CRAZY DAYS AT THE BECK HOUSE!

2012-01-10T13:25:00.007-05:00

This is our crazy, strong willed cat Simon! You never know where you will find him, or what he will be up to next. Some days it takes a LOT of patience to keep up with him!

This is our new set of wheels! Our 2005 Durango was totalled when a neighbor on his tractor turned into me as he was attempting to turn into his driveway! But we were both o.k. and that was the most important thing!

Check out the table favors we had at Christmas this year! I thought they were really cute! Thankfully I had a couple teens help me out as I made 25 of them!

The days at the Beck house have been full of fun, laughter and family! Erica was home from college for several weeks and that made for extra craziness! We loved having her home, but the return was hard on her and on me. So I decided to mail her a little "sweetness"! The bottle is filled with candy. One is on the way to Hesston to her boyfriend too! I love mailing the oddest things I can find....adds to the fun!

These are just a few of the crazy things that have been going on at our house! Sorry I haven't kept up with the posts lately, but maybe after you see what's been keeping me busy, you'll forgive me!

2 Posts in one day!

2011-11-14T07:20:00.002-05:00

Take the time and read both posts I've added below. Some of you may have read the "Dash" one in our church newsletter, but there is yet another post below that!

WHAT'S IN YOUR DASH?

2011-11-14T07:18:00.000-05:00

Every life has a beginning date and an ending date. These dates are almost always listed on a grave stone in the form:
· August 14th, 1908 - January 22nd, 1986
Looking at a grave stone doesn't tell you much about a person. Everything accomplished by a person can be found in that little "dash" nestled between the dates.
· When your end date arrives, what will your dash mean?
· How did you live your life?
· What will someone say in an obituary or eulogy?
I always thought this was such an amazing way to look at your life. But it never really hit home until the past couple weeks. As most of you know, my cousin, Professor James Miller, of Goshen, Indiana was brutally murdered for a reason we do not know. In listening to friends, colleagues, students and family talk and reminisce about Jim, I am left wondering…wondering if I am making the most of my dash.
Jim certainly touched many lives and in many different ways. As a cousin, I knew Jim as a really smart, geeky, quirky but wonderful guy! I didn’t remember a lot of him from growing up, due to our age differences and the fact that his level of schooling and mine took us in different directions. I got to know him as the “connection” to our family in Goshen. He was the one who we could count on to return an e-mail, to make a phone call, and to just stay in touch. It’s not that the others don’t care; it’s just what Jim did! I knew him as the girl’s basketball nut that would sit thru HOURS of driving only to turn around and sit thru HOURS of basketball, even when he was in lots of pain from back troubles. He would call and ask, “How are the girls doing” and I could never answer him as completely as he would have liked. He LOVED the t-shirts that Hiland seems to spit out like candy, and always wanted to know what they looked like, and could I please send him one, he’s sure he can sneak another one past his wife! He would show up in mid-January just like the groundhog in February! Always dressed like he was entering the frozen tundra!!! I’m always cold, but Jim took cold to a new level!
He was the one who always had that quirky joke no matter what the situation….some sure were good for a laugh and others for a groan. I never had a clue that he used those in his college classes! And it never failed, he was usually one of the last to finish his family calendar page for us, no matter how many times we told him when the deadline was! Wonder if his students had that ability to push the deadline back just a bit?
And when Jim stopped in for basketball, he always made time for church. And boy could he sing!!! I loved to share a songbook with him and listen to his voice. That’s just one more thing Jim did and did well. He left that with his family, a strong faith that will not be shaken, even as the days without him grow long. Their faith is strong and God will protect them.
As I sat at his calling hours and then the funeral and as I have read the many pages of print, I have learned soooooo much more about this man I called my cousin. His students loved his corny jokes and his passion for science! He was gentle, I can’t count the number of times I heard that word used to describe Jim. His students often called him D.J. Mills! Jim…. D.J. Mills…..never would have believed that one! He was always willing to go the extra mile for his students as well as his family! And if you had a question about anything, he would always look for the answer.
Jim left behind a wonderful wife and 3 children, and we can’t forget his 1 and only grandson! He was soooo excited when he was about to become a grandson. “Can’t you just wait and do the calendar after he’s born?” (He was due at the end of December!!!) But he laughed and said he understood that we had a deadline to meet. His family can smile and know that Jim’s DASH was filled from end to end. He never worried about himself; it was always about someone else.
I’m sure when I hear a corny joke, no matter who tells it; I will always think I should make a note to tell that one to Jim, as he would love it. They even told one of his jokes at the funeral! I could go on and on and on, but we all have memories we’d rather not share, that we want to treasure in our hearts. But it sure made me think, what am I doing for my DASH??? And what are you doing for yours?

Here are a couple of Jim’s jokes…enjoy!

Why can’t a bicycle go as fast as a car? It’s 2-tired!

What did the number zero say to the number eight? Nice belt!

What goes underground at 80 miles per hour? A mole on a motorcycle!

And sometimes he just would say a phrase that made you stop and think:

There are 3 kinds of people in the world…those who understand numbers, and those who don’t!

My church accepts all denominations, but prefers twenties!

42.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot!

Bloopers were also a favorite of his. His son Robert told me that his college computer is full of these jokes, phrases and all kinds of things to make you laugh!

So now that you’ve heard a tiny bit of Jim’s dash, what are you doing about yours? It doesn’t have to be huge; it’s often the little things that people will remember the most. So don’t wait until it’s too late, start adding to your dash today, and let God lead the way.

VIRGINIA AND A BEAR BUTT!

2011-11-14T07:11:00.002-05:00

Back and forth we go...on the road again! But loving every minute of it!!!! As we travel, I always try to look at the odd and different things that some may not take the time to see....such as shingles on rooftops, goofy looking drivers, deco in yards, and the list goes on! As we travel back and forth to Virginia, I always hope to see a bear!!!! A real live, in the wild bear, not one in a zoo, but one living free!!! One of the last trips to Virginia, Erica and I took a drive up on the Skyline Drive and I finally got my wish!!! One jumped off the bank, ran in front of the vehicle coming at us! I hit the breaks and yelled, "It's a bear....get the freaking camera!" As you will see in the picture, Erica managed to get a picture of his butt, but....that's more than I had before! ;)

PUNKIN'D AGAIN!!!

2011-10-07T21:09:00.002-04:00

Ya just gotta love the creative cousin I have!!! This pumpkin guy even came with his own TP, which I might add, came from our bathroom and was already trashed thanks to our cat, Chowder! Seems like I've been slipping up and not "punking" back lately! I better get my thinking cap on to compete with this!!!

COLLEGE....ARE YOU KIDDING ME????

2011-09-16T09:31:00.003-04:00

How is it possible that I have a daughter at college???? It seems like only a year or 2 ago she was starting kindergarten....or maybe Jr. high. She has spread her wings and is off to Virginia to EMU. Most of the feedback we get is positive, and for that I'm glad. She has a huge dorm room with 2 roommates and I haven't heard anything negative at this point. Can't wait to go and see her in October! She has been to a couple VB games with Uncle Mitch to watch Aunt Gina coach, and has been to lunch with Aunt Gina! So glad they are nice and close to her. She has been getting a nice amount of cards and even a couple boxes of goodies. Sure hope the mail keeps coming for her! Hint! Hint! So even though it doesn't seem possible, I now have one kid in college and the other one is driving and is now a Junior in High School. I'm sure his days at home are limited.

Maine and now College

2011-09-02T21:55:00.002-04:00

This summer we took a family trip to Maine! It was amazing in soooo many ways, yet bittersweet, as we knew when we returned we would be getting our daughter ready to head to college. She is now moved in (during some lovely wind and rain) and seems to be settling great! FB and texting sure make it easier to keep in touch. She is in Virginia and close to my brother and sister in law, so that does make me rest a little easier at night! Counting down the days until we see her again in October!

CANNING THE SUMMER AWAY!!!

2011-07-25T14:55:00.002-04:00

Today I had PT in the morning, then it was canning all afternoon! Canned 15 quarts of stinky peaches and 5 pints of stinky peaches (can you tell I don't like fruit!!!) and 22 pints of yummy banana peppers!!! I canned a bunch of peaches last week too. I'm canning some in pints for Erica to take along to college. Thought that would be a nice taste of home. The peppers are a huge favorite around here on salads, pizzas, haystacks and just to munch now and then. I plan on doing at least 1 more batch or 2. Then it will be time for corn...that's my favorite thing to put away for the winter months. Ordered it today and should have it in a few more weeks. I want to get it finished up before we take Erica to Virginia to college. Then I also need to do applesauce...that might come before the corn, and can't forget the pizza sauce!!! Some things just taste soooo much better canned and frozen then from the store!

PUNKED AGAIN!!!

2011-07-01T12:35:00.004-04:00

We just returned from a wonderful trip to Maine! Loved every minute and "bite" of it! Delicious seafood! I'll post pics of that trip soon. While we were gone, someone came to visit! Such cute things now live in our flower beds!! Check them out! I personally like the little tin man the best! Chris had a friend here skateboarding and I asked him if he saw our crazy rooster? No, I thought that Geeky Beek thing was what you meant when you said you got punked! Poor kid had no clue what crazy things I like and add on purpose....thought a rooster was my choice! Guess we'll have to be a little creative the next time "some people" go away for the day or week! ;)

NEW CAR!

2011-05-04T14:27:00.002-04:00

For the past several years we've been looking for an old car to use on the weekends....an ice cream go getter! Well finally, after a LOT of looking we found one! It's a 1965 Thunderbird! Can't wait for that first ice cream cone!

PROM TIME

2011-04-25T06:21:00.003-04:00

Prom day was a bit drizzly and chilly, so it was decided to have the Grand March inside. Great idea on every one's part, as it was really yucky until the actual March time arrived. My wonderful cousin said he would LOVE to take Erica and her friends in this awesome pink Buick! So glad the girls didn't have to try to stuff themselves into a regular sized car with those pouffy dresses! The theme was A Summer's Night in Paris and was just beautiful! So much time and effort went into transforming the gym into a trip around the world! They also celebrated Kelsey's birthday (the girl on the left) at midnight! Erica baked a cake and took it along so they could party at the stroke of midnight!

MARCH IS ALMOST GONE!

2011-03-28T06:22:00.004-04:00

It's been quite a long time since I've posted....but life got in the way. There have been LOTS of trips to Cleveland, high school basketball tourney trail, kids and their "stuff", getting ready to send one to college and now I'm trying to plan a summer trip to Maine!!! But other than that, life has been great. We finally got the rest of the tree mess cleaned up and the front of the house looks even more bare than it did before! We still need to get the stump ground up and see about planting another tree, but at least the brush pile is gone...thanks to some friends from church! As for the trips to Cleveland, Scott needed to have his kidney function tested, and I'm happy to report that all tests came back great! So thankful to have that out of the way. Now we are seeing a Dr. on Wednesday about his SEVERE reflux and heartburn trouble. We also saw a Dr. in Cleveland about his hernia issue and that can be put on the back burner for now! Whew! Sure hope we can get some relief for the heartburn troubles. On another note, Scott is back in his workshop a lot right now...trying to get some new stuff made and keep up on the best sellers! Spring is here and the birds need attention and so his feeders tend to move quickly. I found some other goodies for him to make, so that should keep him occupied for awhile!

THE ICE WON!

2011-02-11T06:30:00.002-05:00

Top picture is the first half that crashed, middle pic is the 2nd half and the third pic is my view of the mess from under our deck!

ICE AND A CRASHED DOWN TREE!

2011-02-11T06:12:00.005-05:00

The first week of February brought quite the change in weather! The weather report was for LOTS of snow and a possibility of freezing rain and sleet. I set my alarm and got up every couple hours to see the snow arrive! Much to my dismay....around 2 am, I heard rain...looked at the thermometer and it was only 26 degrees! NOT GOOD!!! Rain....what a rip off....just could not believe we were not getting all this snow! I went to work in the morning and not very many people made it in....the van drivers just couldn't get all the people picked up, but we muddled thru the day with who showed up. That night a little after 8pm, we were snuggled down watching NICS when we heard this roar and a crash! What on earth...hubby said, 'I think we just lost our tree!' Yup, but only 1/2 of it crashed. Looked like some of it was on the road, and then I saw our wonderful neighbor headed down the hill with his chainsaw. So we went out to try and get the branches that were on the road cut back....good luck standing up on this junk! Erica stayed on the deck with her dad, the dogs and the neighbor boys while Chris and I tried to stay standing while the neighbor started cutting....great combo...chainsaw and ice!!! Got the stuff off the road that was a hazard and then tried to get back into the house! I was whooped and ended up crashing on the couch...setting the alarm for every couple hours so once again I could see this snow! Never happened, but more ice did! At 10:30, Erica woke me and said we had another crash and she thinks the rest of the tree fell....looked out the window at the same time the neighbor did...yup, we sure did! Waved at the neighbor, closed the window and decided if anyone was out driving on this ice, they could just hit anything that was on the road! So early the next morning, I found out Weaver Leather was closed! The neighbor and I headed out once again to try to clear branches from the road while standing in an upright position. Mission accomplished and back to the house we went. The next hoot was all the ice in the driveway! When it's slick on the drive, we usually slide down, then quickly slide into the grass at the bottom to stop! Not this time, there was a tree in the way. So on Thursday, after quite a few phone calls, I was able to finally locate some salt. Dad picked it up and was able to back into the bottom of the drive. The kids and I spread 150 pounds of salt on the drive and let it and the sunshine do their work! Wow, what a week!
Really gonna miss that tree, but soooo thankful it didn't fall onto the house! Only thing damaged was the top rail of my split rail fence by the mailbox. 2 families have been nice enough to come and collect the wood and brush that evil Mr. Icehole tore down!

B.....is for BeeBops!

2011-01-30T14:36:00.005-05:00

We made it to letter A....which was Angello's in Canton a couple weeks ago....Italian Californian cuisine! Delicious!!! Mom and Dad went along and when we pulled up, the first thing Dad said was, "looks like an old funeral parlor!!!" Yup, we think it was, but it was still wonderful. I had mushroom stuffed ravioli which I loved. The bread was amazing, but then, what Italian place doesn't have awesome bread.

Last night we headed to BeeBops Grill in Wilmot for the letter B! Great food, and very large servings! Scott loved the deep fried pickles! Check out the picture I've included! Looking forward to continuing our journey thru the alphabet. Several people at church have indicated they would like to go along! Sounds like a plan to me!

EATING FROM A TO Z!

2011-01-14T14:22:00.002-05:00

My crazy brain came up with the idea of eating from A to Z this year! Gonna try to hit a lot of different places and use as many coupons as I can! Tonight we are trying Angello's in Canton. Heard it from some friends that it's excellent! Taking Mom and Dad along on the adventure tonight. I'll fill you in later about how great it was! ;)

2011-01-06T06:50:00.001-05:00

Check out this cool looking family! We had church pics taken and thought they turned out pretty nice!

HELLO 2011

2011-01-06T06:46:00.004-05:00

Life seems to be in fast forward! How on earth did it get to be 2011 already? Seems like just yesterday we were celebrating the Fourth of July! We are happy to report that Scott's pain pump is working very well and he is still pain free most of the time! The weather changes will always bring pain, but that's something we can live with....it's that daily pain that never lets up that is so miserable for him. Praising God and thanking all who have walked this journey with us! Our journey will never be over, but for right now, we are at a much more tolerable place!

Christmas was great, as we spent a lot of time with family. Wish it wouldn't have gone by so quickly, but we treasure the time we had. Snow is starting to fall again this morning and with a little luck, we'll have a nice blanket by bedtime! We love the snow and think it looks soooo much better than mud!

Christopher has started his driving classes and will be attempting to get his permit next week. Should make for an interesting next couple of months at the Beck house!

EMU, sickness and crazy chickens!

2010-11-26T13:50:00.003-05:00

Last weekend we headed to Virginia so Erica could spend some time at Eastern Mennonite University. On the way down, I ended up getting sick with a horrid head cold and a cough that just wouldn't quit. We got word on the way down that my sister in law was also sick with the flu! So the weekend was off to a great start! The tour of the college was great and Erica is strongly considering this as the place to spend the next 4 years! Uncle Mitch and Aunt Gina took her to a basketball game on Friday night and then on Saturday, Erica and Uncle Mitch caught another game. She really likes it there and I think the closeness of Uncle Mitch and Aunt Gina is a great plus. She is looking at studying church and youth ministry.

The ride down was filled with me coughing, Chris wanting to stop for food, and both kids putting the back windows down and yelling, "bass note" as my vehicle "buffers" very loudly when only 1 window is down. This forced me to be mean and lock the windows!

When we returned home, we found this lovely chicken gracing our porch! We never worry about robbers when we go away, just the pranksters!

Pranked!!!!!!

2010-10-28T15:40:00.004-04:00

Look what showed up in my flower bed!!!!!

I finally went to a Ladie's Game Night at our church and when I returned and pulled in our drive, I almost jumped out of my seat!!! I'd been pranked! I love this guy and laugh every time I pull in my drive! So many compliments too! The neighbor kids love him and have gotten a few ideas of their own......so watch out....you might be next!

IT'S WORKING!!!!!

2010-10-15T19:56:00.002-04:00

Scott had his intrathecal pump surgically implanted last Friday! As of today....I'm happy to say, it is WORKING!!!! He is walking without a WALKER for the first time in almost 10 months! We are so thankful, we don't even know how to act. After his appt., we stopped at a couple stores, then ate an early Sweetest Day supper at the Macaroni Grill! Delicious. We are so thankful for all your prayers. He is still healing from surgery and may have some ups and downs, but for right now....LIFE IS GOOD!

Elephants, cats and rain in the living room.....

2010-09-24T05:45:00.002-04:00

Those are just a few of the hallucinations we have had to deal with since Mom's surgery! While Mom was in the hospital, I felt she was a little confused, due to some odd texts she had sent....but figured that was normal for hospital life and didn't worry about it too much! Maybe I should have.....since things got totally out of control after she was home! She cannot remember coming home from the hospital, but after she was home a couple days, she decided she was a burden to Dad and ended up falling as she she was getting things out of the fridge to make supper. I took her to the ER, as her surgeon was in surgery the next 3 days and her family Dr. was off on that particular day. Nothing broken or messed up from the fall, thank goodness! That's when things started getting even crazier! She started seeing "spots" on all the walls and furniture, elephants with cats on chairs in the living room, and every night around 8pm, it started to rain in the living room! She was so mad that no one would take her to a motel, and since she had her surgery she had not slept a total of 24 hours! This added to the hallucinations. Long story short, no matter what we did, she still saw these things and consoling her was very hard. After talking to the family Dr. we decided to take her off her pain meds and muscle relaxants and see if that would help. It didn't happen overnight, but eventually, MOM returned! Really scary times! Wasn't sure how we would get thru this, but by the grace of God, we did!
She is now loving life, remembers all the hallucinations, and we are able to laugh about them! She loves company, (if they don't stay too long) and loves mail! So send her a card, give her a call, or stop in and visit for a bit!

FUN IN VIRGINIA

2010-08-16T06:56:00.005-04:00

We decided to make a quick trip to Virginia to see my brother and his wife and cool dogs! Wasn't sure how great Scott would travel, but thought if we would stop every hour for him to walk, he would possibly be tolerable enough to make it. Just wanted to get away a bit before he goes in the hospital and before Mom's surgery. Check out the pics and see the cool skate park we visited in the small town of Stanley! This is close to Mitch and Gina's cabin and we knew it was there, but figured it would be really small since the town is so small. Imagine our surprise when we walked back there and found an awesome bowl for Chris to skate in!

Tree Trouble!

2010-07-25T07:34:00.004-04:00

Our favorite tree that provided lots of shade or A/C split during a storm and gently laid to rest on our deck! That created a huge problem for relief from the hot sun during the heat of the day.

New Covered Deck

2010-07-25T07:30:00.001-04:00

Since the tree split, we felt we needed to do something to help shade the house and give Scott a nice place to hang out in the heat of the summer! We are lovin' it! We put a red metal roof on it and the sound when it rains is amazing!

WE HAVE A DATE!!!!!

2010-07-25T07:24:00.003-04:00

We finally have a date for Scott to go into the Cleveland Clinic for a trial of the intrathecal pump, that hopefully will give him LOTS of pain relief! August 25th, Scott and I will be going to the Clinic for 3-5 days. This will be a trial to see if it looks like the pump will be a good option for him. Please pray that this works. The past days with extreme heat and humidity have been a huge challenge for him. Along with the pain, he has had a lot of swelling....but I think we all feel rather swollen right now from the difficult weather we have been having. We don't have air conditioning, so we have been hanging out on our newly roofed deck a lot with fans blowing! Feel free to invite us in for a meal if you have air! :) We try to cook but have been hitting restaurants a lot lately. Just a nice break from the heat!

WAITING....

2010-07-03T22:00:00.003-04:00

Waiting has to be one of the hardest things to endure....waiting for the ice cream truck, waiting for Christmas, waiting for your birthday, waiting for a new baby to be born, waiting for a test score....you get the point. Well right now, it seems like all we do is wait! That goes for my family as well as for my Mom! Her surgery was scheduled for July 1st. We thought that day would never get here....and then came the phone call....your surgery has been moved to Sept. 7th!!!! What???? The Dr. has to go out of town for 10 days, so that somehow moved her back a LOT longer than 10 days. I have called her Dr. and we are WAITING to see if they will move her up even a couple weeks. At the Beck household, we are WAITING while the new Dr. learns to know us and will discuss implanting an intrathecal pump in Scott to deliver pain meds all the time to him. At this point, the waiting is getting rather old!

WHY......

2010-05-23T21:29:00.003-04:00

Do you ever wonder why......some people have to suffer so much.....the best pets can't last forever.....the ways of God are such a mystery to us.....some people seem to be so ugly to others, yet nothing bad happens to them? I could go on and on right now, as my heart is heavy. My hubby is hurting soooo badly that it just seems no matter how hard we try, we just can't find the answers. The Dr.'s keep trying, but his spirits are tough to keep up when the pain is so bad. I have an uncle who is also suffering soooo much right now. It just doesn't seem fair! My Mom is struggling with pain and waiting for surgery, our neighbor just had surgery for lump on his head and another good friend is awaiting surgery on Tuesday while her daughter is having her graduation party on Saturday! Some days I'd like to scream, but other days I just dig in and try to keep everyone's spirits up, even when mine would love to take a nose dive. I just have to hold on to my faith and know His ways are not ours, but it sure is hard some days!

DID YOU EVER?????

2010-04-12T08:45:00.002-04:00

Watching the news lately has really been a challenge. I hate the fact that all they share are the shootings, murders, rapes, sad, and depressing stories. I realize these are the headline grabbers, but what about those news stories that are just plain funny! When we go to Cleveland we listen to the radio and one of my favorite parts is when they talk about "News we didn't use"! It's stories that were "humorous, odd, heart-warming" that just didn't make the "shock value" that our news folk seem to deem necessary. One headliner that has really gotten me upset the past couple days is the parking attendant who was shot 3 times because he wouldn't let some guy (who wasn't handicapped) park in a handicapped spot! Did you ever park in one 'cause it would only take a minute or 2? Did you ever need one (as we always do) and couldn't find one???? That is one of my biggest pet peeves! I do NOT use the spaces when my hubby is not leaving the vehicle or is not along. At times he is able to walk, but we still park in handicap, because he is at risk of falling. Do you have any clue how many times we've had people cuss at us or flip us the "bird" because it wasn't obvious to them that he had a handicap? Don't judge others, but please don't park where you don't belong....not even just for a few minutes!
So keep your ears open for the "good news" and try not to let the bad junk get you down. There is always good in our world, we just have to look to find it at times. So for now I leave you, I am on a mission to get the good people of Cleveland to help the poor homeless man that I take food to whenever we go to Cleveland. Surely someone could help this guy. He looks pleasant and always says "thank you and God bless you" when I give him a bag of food. There is a story that I think could have a very happy ending!

ADVENTURES IN CLEVELAND

2010-04-08T18:40:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was D day, the day I was supposed to call the Pain Management Dr.'s office to see how soon we could get Scott in for another RFA treatment. The Dr. had been out of town and was to return yesterday, so when I called the secretary tells me...he was stuck in the New Jersey airport overnight! Just got in to Cleveland this morning, has been behind all day, but said to put Scott on the schedule ASAP. When she checked, she asked if today would suit!!!!????? Today???? Of course! I was shocked! Worked this morning for a couple hours, then ran to Hershey's bakery for 2 dozen fry pies to butter up the nurses (oh yeah, I baked brownies last night for the awesome secretary) then headed up the highway! Procedure went well, pain is greatly reduced...still having some, but that may be due to the wicked weather in the area....time will tell.
Next we headed to Aultman to visit my uncle! He was doing a LOT better today and we had a great visit. I had put Scott in a wheelchair, just to be on the safe side. When we left, 2 nice gentlemen held the elevator doors open for us. As we got in, I smelled something kind of funny? When we left and started down the hall, I asked Scott, did you cause that smell????? He said, NO, I wondered which one did it! :) So if you are nice enough to hold open an elevator door for someone.....please keep your smells to yourself...I'm just sayin'!
On one last note, please keep my mother in your prayers...she will be having back surgery on July 1st.

LOVE THE THEATER!!!

2010-03-28T19:52:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I traveled to Cleveland for pleasure! I took Erica and my cousin and her daughter and we enjoyed the Trans Siberian Orchestra presenting "Beethoven's Last Night"! Seats were awesome, 4 rows from the front and the entire performance was amazing! We have been going to the Quiken Loans arena the past 3 years at Christmas time to see their show and this is the first time they did the Beethoven show and this time it was at the Palace Theater at Playhouse Square in Cleveland. The atmosphere and beauty of the building is so wonderful. It's like stepping back in time! We are checking into the backstage tours to enjoy even more of the theater. If anyone is interested in going along, please let me know. I also bought tickets for Phantom of the Opera while we were there. That show is in late July and early August, but the tickets will sell out fast! Glad I grabbed 'em while I could!

Crazy Cows and Red Jammies

2010-03-23T19:13:00.002-04:00

What a crazy night...but then aren't they all at the Beck house??? Anyway, last night I was really tired, so I put my jammies on around 6:30 p.m. Ready to relax the evening away. Then came a knock at the door and it was the neighbor who told me to grab my keys she needs help...there were cows all over our yard. Earlier I had heard our little dog yapping up a storm...nothing new there! Chris had put the dogs in their kennel early, as it was starting to rain, and Sobe likes to bark at everything in the free world. Well, this time, she had good reason. There was a stampede in our yard and I had no clue! So we took off for the farmer who owns them (my brother-in-law) would say he's not really a neighbor, and told him his cows were loose and were aerating our lawn! Now this wasn't all bad, as Chris has it pretty well packed down from riding the 4 wheeler. Anyway, the neighbor who sounded the alarm had to go to a baby shower, so I stayed out with her son (in my red jammies) to try to keep the cows at bay! At one point he said, "sure hope there's not a bull in there", and said, "hey, I'm wearing red!" Then I asked him what he would do if there was a bull and he calmly told me "RUN"! :0 Well, no bull was there, and soon the farmer showed up to calmly whistle at the cows to get them to cooperate. I was mooing, to no avail, and all he did was whistle! I made a mental note to grab a coat to cover the red jammies next time.....it was a bit chilly last night!

Oh yeah, in the previous post I said Erica had a virus....well, she did, but then Saturday night/early Sunday morning she woke me saying she had barfed!!! Well, that continued for quite a few hours....and if you remember my new meds are causing nausea....and that is NOT a good combination! But we survived! :)

2010-03-18T15:44:00.001-04:00

LIFE IN A BLENDER!!!

2010-03-18T15:25:00.005-04:00

As usual, life at the Beck house has been full of adventure! Since the beginning of February, I have had constant jaw pain. First I was to the Dr. who thought maybe a sinus infection...took those meds, not better...then to the dentist...panoramic x-ray, no problems there...maybe you are grinding your teeth in your sleep, try a bite thing to wear at night....that didn't help either...back to the Dr. who is my regular Dr. (couldn't see her the first time, as she was out that day)! She questioned me a LOT, then told me she had a couple thoughts and would research it and call me with her idea. When she called me (at 6 pm) she said she felt it was inflammation of the nerves in the side of my face. At times the pain shoots up into my ear and down my neck. She felt I needed to see my neurologist in Cleveland, who treated an eye problem I had a few years ago. When I saw the neruo, they agreed with my Dr. and started me on some medicine that will hopefully resolve the problem. The biggest problem is....it makes me horrible tired and nauseous!!! It has gotten somewhat better since I started taking it, but what a mess! As for the rest of the family, Chris just had his 4 wisdom teeth taken out and is very sore. He's not complaining about anything except the fact that he can't eat non-stop like he's used to....and, he has to be rather selective in what he eats. Erica has had an on-going virus issue and is finally starting to feel a little better.

Scott is another chapter in this story! He has had horrible pain for the past 3 months. We have gotten out very little, as it just hurts too much. This past Monday we were to Cleveland where he had radio frequency ablation. Success at last! His pain was so high when we went in, he was using 2 crutches to get around. When we left, he was walking with very little pain and no crutches! Alas, the success was short lived. Last night Scott was working in his workshop....when he finished and started to clean things up, something hit his leg very hard which caused him to fall to the floor. He hollered for help and our neighbor boy heard him, checked on him and immediately got his Dad. I was resting in the living room and the kids were at church....and Scott didn't want to bother me, as I've been feeling so bad lately. Long story short, the neighbor helped him up, onto his scooter and then he came into the house, where I found out what happened! Poor guy! Just can't seem to catch a break around this house. So needless to say, we have not been having the happiest days! Thankfully our church family has been bringing some meals in to help allow me to rest. This too shall pass,...just wish it would hurry the heck up!

To the Mall!

2010-02-20T08:06:00.003-05:00

Yesterday when the kids got home, we decided to hit the road for a trip to the mall. Loaded up Scott's scooter, 4 kids, me and off we went. The main goal was to look at Prom dresses, but we didn't find many at Belden Village. Ate at the food court, shopped in a couple other stores and headed home. Pain level went up a LOT for Scott, but it was nice to get out for something other than the Dr.!

As for his pain issue, we met with the Dr. after his nerve block on Monday. He told us that we will not be able to continue doing the blocks, as this particular nerve is very resilient and it will start breaking thru the block! Sad day....anyway, the Dr. suggested we try RFA (radio frequency ablation). In this treatment, they go into the same area and find the nerve that is causing so much pain, then heat it to try to stop the pain signals. This may last for a couple months at a time. We will have to wait until his pain is pretty regular again (which may not be much longer) and then go in for this procedure. He has to be able to feel the pain so he knows if they are hitting the right nerve. I asked the Dr. about the pain he has been having in his left knee. He said that is the same nerve looking for a new place to cause pain!!!! Really a pain in the butt, if you ask me! But the Dr. isn't giving up hope and we will continue to try to keep Scott comfortable. Trips to Cleveland at least get us out of the house.

On the plus side, we have been blessed with TONS of snow! It's sooooo beautiful around here right now. Forecast says we may be getting more by the beginning of the week! :)

PAIN IS A PAIN!!!

2010-01-29T08:47:00.002-05:00

Chronic pain is a pain....just as simple as that sounds, it can change everything you do and how you view life! It's hard to stay focused and to be in a good mood when you live in constat pain, and when that pain level escalates, it's even harder. That's what we've been dealing with at the Beck house, as the baramator just soots up and down! That causes the most pain, not the bitter cold, or the dampness. The barametric pressure is what is the cause and effect of all! Scott has been doing pretty good and not getting too blue, but it's tough when you are stuck in the house all the time and the pain keeps you from laughing at a funny movie! We try to look on the bright side, but these last days have been a challenge.

As for other things, Erica had an run in with icy roads on Monday night. She is fine, was a bit stiff and sore for a few days, but her car is another story. It will be at the "Dr." till Feb. 10th. Still just thankful she wasn't hurt and no one else was involved.

I have been cooking up a storm. Love when I'm in that kind of a mood, which seems to be a lot of the time. The kids are going to a movie night at the youth pastor's tonight and are taking along hot artichoke dip! Yum! We had this at Christmas in Virginia and loved it!

HAITI RELIEF.....

2010-01-20T16:09:00.007-05:00

Are you looking for a way to help those in Haiti? I have the answer! Clean out your closets, cupboards, basements and attics....call me or leave me a message and I will pick up stuff to take to Cleveland. I need to back up a bit. I have been taking lots of medical supplies to Cleveland to medWish who then ships it to places in need. Right now their focus is on Haiti! They will take any type of medical equipment, new or used. I am including a list below of the most needed items at this time. Thanks in advance for any and all donations! I will be going this Friday, the 29th and again on Feb. 5th. Hopefully I will have enough stuff for a couple more trips! So get busy and help those suffering in Haiti.

*blankets
*sleeping bags
*sheets
*tents
*flashlights and batteries
*antibiotic ointment such as Neosporin and other brands
*bandages
*rolled gauze
*white medical tape
*alcohol pads
*hydrogen peroxide
*iodine (wipes/bottles)
*cotton swabs
*cotton balls
*masks
*gloves
*bottled water
*infant formula - powdered preferred. Must NOT be opened or expired.
* nutritional supplements such as Ensure and Pedialyte
*diapers

I will try to answer any questions you might have! Thanks again!

Crusin' thru the month of January!

2010-01-14T20:41:00.003-05:00

Can't believe it's already 1/2 way thru January? Where is time going? Oh yeah, it's been going to Cleveland and back for us!!! What else is new. On the plus side, Scott got another nerve block today and is feeling much better. He is totally wiped out from this crazy week, as we were to Cleveland 2 days! It was worth it, but just takes a lot out of him. As for me, I seem to thrive on crazy weeks, and it's a good thing, cause we sure do have a lot of them.

Tonight I worked on the church newsletter and had a lot of laughs. That always makes the world seem like a better place. Got word last night that an uncle from IL was in surgery and having a rough time. He did well and got his spleen removed and an aneurysm repaired! Very lucky man. Prayers are still needed for him and the family. Many things to be thankful for. Mom is doing a lot better from her foot surgery, but still has a terrible cough that is wearing her down. Keep her in your prayers too!

Not sure what all this next few days will bring. Looking forward to catching up on "stuff" and hauling a big load of stuff to Save 'n Serve. Been cleaning out all the nooks and crannies and it feels great! Cousin is coming to town for the huge basketball weekend, so we'll have to stop and Mom's and visit for a bit. Love spending time with family!

Table Favor!!!

2010-01-03T08:16:00.002-05:00

This is just one of the many reindeer I made for table favors! Delicious!

DELICIOUS!

2010-01-02T21:54:00.003-05:00

So much food, yet so much left!!! We have an awesome bunch of cooks in this family and today was no different! Today was the Maxwell/Troyer Christmas and there was almost too many things to taste! Lots of fun, lots of laughter and good memories shared. Wishing the day was just starting as it always seems to end too soon!

Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2010-01-01T21:03:00.002-05:00

Are you wondering where 2009 went? So am I! Seems like just a year ago it started, now it's gone....but anyway, Happy New Year to all. We traveled to Virginia for a wonderful Christmas with my brother and his wife. They had 20" of snow!!!! That made the trip awesome in our thoughts! We spent some extra time there, so we could relax and enjoy some of the "local stuff" instead of just running down, opening gifts, then heading home again! We spent Christmas day with my sister in law's extended family up the mountain at her parents. This included a rowdy grab bag exchange and a delicious new dip that we loved! It was a hot artichoke dip that we plan on making at home soon. Christmas Eve was a delicious night spent at Red Lobster, as this is our yearly tradition and gift from my dad! Yum!
Since we are home, I have been gearing up for my Mom's family to arrive on Saturday for our Christmas in Ohio! 23 people and lots of yummy foods. I always make table favors, even if it's not at our house, and this year was no different. Can't put a picture on here yet, or tell you what it is, but check back after tomorrow and I'll try to show you the cute, edible favors I made. I think everything is in place, including the ice on the driveway! Not much I can do about that, but the kids assured me they will help to carry in the food and gifts, as well as help people maneuver the tricky steps over the ice cruchies!
May you all have a happy and blessed New Year!

Black Friday and "Wicked"!

2009-11-29T05:56:00.002-05:00

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???

2009-11-16T13:55:00.002-05:00

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....

2009-10-31T13:24:00.002-04:00

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!

2009-10-10T06:05:00.002-04:00

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!

2009-09-22T05:24:00.003-04:00

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!

2009-09-08T06:22:00.003-04:00

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.......

2009-09-02T20:02:00.002-04:00

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!

2009-08-23T22:56:00.002-04:00

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!

2009-08-11T21:30:00.002-04:00

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!

2009-07-25T20:10:00.002-04:00

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!

2009-07-16T19:02:00.002-04:00

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????!!!!

2009-06-29T19:06:00.003-04:00

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!!!

2009-06-21T13:33:00.002-04:00

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!

2009-06-14T12:59:00.002-04:00

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

2009-06-08T19:40:00.002-04:00

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!!!

2009-05-22T21:30:00.002-04:00

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!

2009-05-15T15:11:00.002-04:00

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???

2009-05-12T06:26:00.002-04:00

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!

2009-05-06T18:27:00.002-04:00

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!!!

2009-04-25T18:43:00.002-04:00

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

2009-04-19T12:43:00.002-04:00

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

2009-04-11T17:05:00.003-04:00

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!

2009-04-05T19:48:00.002-04:00

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!!!

2009-03-22T09:41:00.002-04:00

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!

2009-03-15T18:29:00.002-04:00

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!!!

2009-03-09T18:53:00.002-04:00

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!

2009-03-02T07:08:00.002-05:00

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

2009-02-21T07:41:00.003-05:00

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!

2009-02-16T10:19:00.002-05:00

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!

2009-02-13T10:47:00.003-05:00

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!

2009-02-06T07:09:00.002-05:00

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!!!

2009-02-01T16:33:00.000-05:00

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!!!!

2009-01-29T18:06:00.001-05:00

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!!!

2009-01-26T08:20:00.000-05:00

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! :)

2009-01-23T13:59:00.000-05:00

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!

2009-01-17T18:40:00.000-05:00

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!!!

2009-01-12T06:11:00.000-05:00

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.

2009-01-04T16:25:00.000-05:00

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!

2009-01-02T16:42:00.000-05:00

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!