WHERE HAS THE YEAR GONE???

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

LOTS GOING ON....

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

Company's Coming!

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

FALL IS COMING!

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

MYSTERY TRIP!

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

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

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

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

WHERE WERE YOU.......

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

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

Remember, Life is Good! and God is Awesome!

Road Trip!

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

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

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

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