Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS wishes from our blog to yours. Enjoy the real reason we celebrate this holiday season and hug the ones you love.

Merry Christmas from the Giggles family.

Christmas Eve

Today we spent the day with my sisters, brother-in-law, nephew and niece at my middle sister's home. It was nice to be together but we sure were missing my Mom and Dad. The holidays this year are lacking because we can't be together. My family loves doing things together especially the holidays. My mom always makes things so special for us and because of her still being in the hospital we can't do that for her in return. It is very frustrating. Tonight on the way home (we never travel on Christmas Eve) we stopped at McDonalds to grab a bite to eat and my husband said that we should make it a new tradition. I told him no way. McDonalds is not where I want to spend Christmas Eve!

On the bright side, it snowed 4 inches at my sister's house and although it made for a LONG trip home, it was beautiful (even if we had to cut our visit short). Sure do wish Mom and Dad could have seen it too. Well, that is all for now. Gotta hit the hay so Santa can come visit.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to our precious Baby Giggles who was born asleep December 21, 2007. Today we went to the cemetery to visit your grave and the sunset was very beautiful. We just stood there and thought about our sweet little boy. We love you so much, we miss you terribly and we think about you everyday. When you left us, you took a very big piece of our hearts that will never be filled.
When we got to the cemetery, we found a beautiful poinsettia from Memom, Gran, Aunt B, Uncle S, Tator Tot, Mad Cow, Aunt Rae, Aunt LEH, Great grandmom, and Great memom. We were very surprised. We brought it home so that the cold weather wouldn't hurt it.

I'll Hold You in Heaven

From the very beginning I loved you,

As I made plans to hold you and rock you:

You were tiny and helpless as you lay in my womb,

But something went wrong and soon you were gone;

My young heart was broken, my tears fell like rain,

I'd never known such heartache and pain.

I wonder who you look like, me or your dad,

Do you have my smile and his eyes?

Would you have been big and tall or tiny and small?

We had dreams for you that reached to the skies.

It was long, long ago and I still miss you so,

Thanks to Jesus, I'll see you in heaven.

I'll hold you in heaven someday,

When my trials on earth pass away;

The angels have rocked you, the Father watches over you,

I know you're waiting for me;

I never could hold you or tell you "Goodbye",

But I'll hold you in heaven someday.

by Joann Taylor

Today in History

Two years ago today I finally got my college diploma. We were so excited, I was done with school and we were expecting our first child. So much has changed since that day and so far nothing has gone as we expected. I hope that the next year will bring me a job so that I can finally put my degree to use. But back to my schooling. . . .when I first went to college, I did not get good grades which caused some problems later on but it all worked out. By the time I finished I had made the Dean's list several times and even made the President's list once. I was and still am proud of the grades I made because I didn't think I could do it (my parents were proud too and they knew I could do it. My husband was also proud!). Anyway. . . . .that is what I was doing two years ago today!

Well, I have decided to be a minimalist this year with my Christmas decorations. My husband will be surprised when he comes home and all of the boxes are put back up and not much is out. I got my three little trees decorated yesterday and they look pretty good. Each one is semi-themed but only because of the kinds of ornaments I have for them. I will take some pictures so you can see what else I have done.
I got a lot of shopping done yesterday but Mr. Giggles told me I had to wait to finish because we have run out of money. He gets paid next week so we will finish when I get back from spending the week with my Mom.
I don't know about where you live but it has been rather cool around here. It hasn't been over 62 degrees in our house for at least a week. Not gonna complain too much because it sure beats the summer we had!
Well, that is all for now. Got so much to do and so little time.

Christmas Spirit

Ok, we are 9 days into December and I am so not in the Christmas spirit. Today I finally dragged out the trees I am using this year and some of my decorations but the only thing that has happened is getting the trees put on the table. Usually we have a real tree but with me being gone as much as I will be for the rest of the month, we opted out and I am so sad. I love real trees, they smell so good and look so pretty. I hope to get some more work done tonight when we get home from church.
I am not sure what I am going to do about presents. I can't think of anything cool for anyone this year. We went shopping with my Dad last night and helped him get Tatortot and Madcow's shopping finished. We also bought some decorations for the tree we put up at the apartment so I will try to get that taken care of while at MDA.
Well, I had better go so I can get ready for church. Any suggestions on getting into the spirit, please let me know.

Ladies Christmas Party

Tonight was our Ladies Christmas party with the lovely ladies from my church. This year I wasn't hosting so I got to sit back and relax. Well, except for the performance I had to do which turned out ok. I sang The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) and then I did Santa Baby with the group. The theme of the party was Little House on the Prairie and the food was to be from that time. We had soups (I had baked potato and broccoli cheese soup. . .yummy), bread (I took sourdough but didn't get to try any myself) and desserts. We were also supposed to make a gift or something inexpensive because money was tight during that era. I made a picture from and wrapped it in green and white gingham. The gift I received was wrapped in an oatmeal tube and the gift was an apron made out of a man's shirt. It is really cute and I will try to get a picture posted soon. Mrs. H from Heritage Schoolhouse got a very cute HOME SWEET HOME sampler. So cute. Well, I had better get off of here so goodnight to you all.

Busy Week

Wow, this is going to be a super busy week for me because the week after, I will be back at the hospital with Mom. I will be decorating my house, then my parents house and then I need to see what needs to be done with my grandmothers house. Decorating will not be what it usually is but I am accepting that. I just want my Mom to be out of the hospital so we can all be together. Please pray that she gets out of the hospital in the 2 weeks the doctor said he thinks she might. Also, please pray for my friend Mel. She is pregnant with triplets and she is having some problems with her cervix that could cause her to lose the babies (she has already lost a baby girl named Emma almost 2 years ago). She and her husband are going through so many emotions right now and need prayers for peace.

Christmas Candy

What is your favorite Christmas candy? I have two that I really enjoy but one of them I won't get to eat this year. One is Martha Washington candy that my mom makes. It is so yummy with coconut and chocolate. MMMM. The second are the peanut patties my friend LEH makes which are also very yummy. I am sure there are others but these are the only two that come to mind!

Leave a comment telling me what your favorite is.

Hi Mrs. H's mom!

Couldn't Wait

I had planned on waiting until tomorrow to change my background but I just couldn't. I found this one and really liked it and I just had to change it.

Since I need help getting into the holiday spirit, I thought I would ask you to share with me your favorite memory, tradition, present, food or whatever else you would like to share. I can't wait to read them! Please leave a comment with your favorite!

Well, that is all for now. Gotta run!

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

except at my house and I am already stressed. I am not even close to having my shopping done and I haven't done any decorating (and I will be gone this week and the week after next). We aren't even sure how Christmas is going to work since Mom still won't be home. We hope that she will be out of the hospital by then so maybe we can do a little something at the apartment with her instead of all the family doing something without her. I got a Christmas tree to put up in the apartment and some decorations for her room here at the hospital. I hope to be able to get down the fall decor and get the Christmas ones up (hopefully they won't have to be up for long!).
Do you ever have those days when you really feel like you have so much to say but you can't get it out? Or that you can't think of the words to put down so as not to upset anyone who may read your blog even if it is yours and you can say whatever you want to? And you don't want to sound whiney? GGGRRRRR. Well, that is all for tonight. I apologize for the incoherency of this post. Maybe I am just tired. I just don't know any more!

Hi Mrs. H's mom!

Happy Thanksgiving

Give thanks with a grateful heart for all of the blessings you have received.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EACH OF YOU.

Clipart courtesy of www.hubpages.com

Thanksgiving Day 16

Today I am thankful for the time I am spending with my family as we celebrate the Thanksgiving in an unusual way.



We went as a family minus one to the Black-eyed Pea and ate lunch. We were able to convince my Dad to leave my Mom (she said it was ok) and go with us. We had a good time but we really missed Mom. Unfortunately before we were able to get back, she woke up and panicked because she was by herself. The nurses heard her yell so they checked on her and ended up putting a sign on her door to keep it open. She is really struggling right now. She now has graft vs. host disease (gvhd) which makes her look like a burn victim. She has huge blisters on her back, back of legs, sides and stomach. She is in terrible pain with the blisters. They will begin a new treatment to fight the gvhd. It will take at least a week for this to begin clearing up. Please keep her and my dad in your prayers. They are very weary right now because we keep hitting major bumps in the road. She has now been in the hospital for 53 days. My sisters children really wanted to get to see her (it has been several months since they last saw her) but all children (unless they are patients) are banned from entering the hospital at this time. We made a sign so we could stand on the parking garage right outside her window and she could see the message we wrote but she was unable to get out of bed.

Day 15

Today I am thankful for my home. It may not always keep the wind, rain, bugs or animals out but it is "home" (13 years for me and 12 for Mr. Giggles) to us and we are always ready to come back to it.



Well, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving with my family tomorrow. This will be a year of firsts for our celebration. We are not at home (in the past if we haven't been at home, we have been camping), we are not going to all be together at one place because Mom can only have 2 visitors in her room at a time and the two munchkins can not even enter the hospital (no one under 12 yoa), we are celebrating a day early, and we are eating at a restaurant (not sure which one yet). We are hoping that Christmas will be better because Mom should be out of the hospital and we can all get together at the apartment. Well, that is all for now. I will let you know how tomorrow goes. Until then. . . . .

Hi Mrs. H's mom! :)

Day 14

Today I am thankful that it is Monday. That means that I get another chance to do what needs to be done.

Day 13

Today I am thankful for the talents and abilities God has blessed me with.

Thanksgiving Days 11 and 12

Friday: Today I am thankful for my Aunt Diane who was my mom's stem cell donor and to my uncle who was also a match.

Saturday: Today I am thankful for my grandparents and great grandparents. They have helped make me the person I am today. I was lucky enough to grow up knowing all 4 grandparents and 5 great grandparents.

Day 10

Today I am thankful for my sisters. We don't always get a long (some think we never do) but when the going gets tough, we know who will be there with us to give a hand up, a shoulder to cry or lean on and whatever other support might be needed.

Thanksgiving Day 9

Today I am thankful for my Mom and Dad because they have never thought that I would be anything less that what I set my goals for.

Today has been a much happier day for me. I got to make a quick trip home (yes, I know I have only been gone since Sunday but I miss Mr. Giggles and my bed!), see my honey, see both of my Grandmothers and my uncle, found the prettiest creamer (I think) at the thrift store (fine china from Germany), drive my dad's truck and spend three hours on the road instead of the regular two hours because of traffic (ok, so that didn't really make me happy). Now I am getting finished with my computer "work" (haha) so I can head to my skinny little bed that is missing my pillow!!!

Good night y'all.

Good News!

Please go check out mom's blog!

Thanksgiving Day 8

Today I am thankful for my suburban that got me to the hospital last night. I don't really like parking it in the parking garage because it can be difficult to park but that is ok because yesterday I got a great spot!!

Thanksgiving Day 7

Today I am thankful for beautiful fall weather. We are supposed to get some cooler weather this week and I am excited except that I won't get to enjoy much of it because I am back at the hospital. I am afraid that this is going to be a difficult week for me. My mom is doing better but she has a long way to go. She is trying so hard to communicate with us. I can't wait for this to be over.

Thanksgiving Day 6

Today I am thankful for my church family and those who have been my church family is years past.


Today has been a busy day for us. Mr. Giggles changed out the insides of our potty so we don't have to keep the water turned off. Yippee!! Then Mr. G got the electrical plug changed out on our "new" dryer, we organized and threw away old stuff from our pantry and then got the dryer moved into its new home.
I have been working on getting my stuff together because I will be going down to stay with my Mom. I can not wait until she is better, she hasn't been able to talk now for about a week. I want her out of the hospital as soon as possible. We thought that we would be having Thanksgiving at the apartment because we thought that Mom would be there. Well, it doesn't look like she will be there and Dad won't leave the hospital so that pretty much leaves the three of us to try and figure out how we are going to spend the dad. Either down there without either parent or up here with my Grandmother.
I am really missing my Mom as the holidays approach. We were supposed to make an arrangement for the cemetery to put on Baby Giggles grave but it doesn't look like that is going to happen. I am hoping that I can find last year's Christmas arrangement and change a few things in it and use it.
Well, that's all I have today.

Day 5

Today I am thankful that I am an American.

Thanksgiving Day 4

Today I am thankful for my extended family and friends. When you have turmoil in your life, you find that there are so many there to help you.

Today is my 200th post. WOW. Hard to believe. Thanks to my blogger friends who come by to visit me and see what I have to say. I have enjoyed meeting you all and hope to get to know you better.

Thanksgiving Day 3

Today I am thankful for my family who like my husband, love me no matter what. I want to thank all the men and woman who have and are serving our country.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Today I taught junior high kids. I enjoy my dad's classes and I think they enjoy having me there when he can't be there. Tomorrow and Friday I will be with the kids at my old elementary school teaching art. I enjoy the art classes (well, the Kindergarten and 1st graders are a little nerve racking!) and love the teachers in the building. But I am ready for the weekend so I can rest a little bit before I head back to spend time with my Mom. Go here to see how she is doing.

Have a great rest of the week.

Thanksgiving Day 2

Today I am thankful for my husband. He has supported me in going back to school to finish my degree, held my hand when we dealt with terrible loss, understands that my parents need my help right now, deals with the fact that I am not a good housekeeper and just shakes his head when I start acting goofy!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Today was my day off this week and I did not get everything accomplished that needed to be done. I feel like I am spinning my wheels with everything I try to do lately. It is really frustrating. I am so grumpy and out of sorts that I think I am getting ready to put myself to bed so goodnight y'all.

Thanksgiving

Every day until Thanksgiving think of one thing that you are thankful for. The longer you do it, the easier it gets! Now, if you think you can do it then repost this as your status to invite others to take the challenge, then post what YOU are thankful for today.

I got this off of Facebook and thought that it would be a good carry over to my blog so I am going to start every blog between now and Thanksgiving with what I am thankful for. Please tell me what you are thankful for in the form of a comment.

I am thankful for my relationship with God. I will never know how people who don't believe are able to make it day after day.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I am asking for prayers for my family. My mom is having a very difficult time with her recovery and we are all very concerned.

WOW!

I was looking back at old post and realized that it has been over a year since I started my blog. I can't believe it has been that long! I am also just a few posts away from reaching 200. Wow, time sure does fly when you are having fun! I have enjoyed making blogger friends and finding new blogs to read.

Well, that is all for tonight. This is going to be a very busy week. I am teaching three days; one day of robotics and industrial tech at the junior high and two days of art at the elementary school. That leaves me two days to get things cleaned up my house before I head back down to spend a week with my Mom. I am really hoping that things start looking up for my Mom. These last three weeks have been really hard for her, my Dad and the rest of my family. We are so ready for January to get here so she can come home.

Well, I hope to have more interesting posts this week but I can't make any promises. I don't even have an interesting menu, we are eating spaghetti tomorrow and that is as far as I have gotten!

Have a great week.

Hi Mrs. H's mom!!

Nothing. . . . . .

I have got absolutely nothing to talk about. I guess everything I have to say goes into Mom's blog. If you want to catch up, go here.

Life at our house has been busy. This week was no exception. Monday I taught school, moved cows, helped feed cows, cooked dinner and fed my hubby and Dad and it just goes on from there. This next week I will be teaching three days, the other two days I will be trying to get my house in order because I will be back with my Mom the week after and then. . . .it is the week of Thanksgiving (insert a little bit of panic here). I have got to get with both of my sisters so we can figure out what our menu will be and hope that Mom will be out of the hospital.

Uugghhh. . . I am going to bed.

Goodnight y'all.

Need your suggestions

I am trying to figure out what to do for Mr. Giggles co-workers for Christmas. If you have any cool ideas (can be homemade) please leave me a comment. I am trying to get an early start!!)

Thanks!

Cooking and Other Stuff

After eating at the hospital for two weeks, I told Mr. Giggles that I was going to be cooking more this week than I usually do. Last night I made a new recipe that was easy but I am not sure how much I liked it. Mr. Giggles said it was good but he would add mushrooms (he thinks that everything needs mushrooms), dad liked it and so did my sister. It was called cheeseburger french loaf. I think it needed something else but can't figure out what. Tonight was chicken fettuccine alfredo and it was pretty good.

Today I had planned on staying home and getting housework done since I had been gone. Well, Mr. Giggles called (he was in town for a meeting and I didn't realize it) and ask if I would like to meet him for lunch and of course I said yes. Since I was heading to town, I decided to get some errands taken care of. We ate at Wendy's, then I went to Office Max to buy church office supplies, Sam's for gas and then inside to get Christmas present for MadCow that my Mom ask me to pick up, then to Wal-Mart (which is a pain because our store is being remodeled and made into a super center), next to the library to pick up some books (3 novels, a craft book and an organization book) and then to Sonic for a coke. This evening I helped my dad put out hay for the cows (last night we moved cows back to the pasture around our house), cooked dinner and cleaned the kitchen. . . . .I am so ready for bed!! It feels great to be accomplishing something after sitting on my rear for so long. I am hoping that the book on organization will help me to continue accomplish house cleaning chores and keep things more organized for the holiday season (yes I have high hopes!). AND hopefully tomorrow I will get to stay home!

Hi Mrs. H's mom!

So Far Behind

As you can tell, I am really behind on my blogging. I can't seem to find time to do both my blog and the blog on my Mom but since I am now back home for a while, I hope to catch up.


We are now into my favorite season. I love fall colors (reds, golds & browns), fall smells (cinnamon, pumpkin, burning fireplaces, burning leaves), fall holidays (Halloween & Thanksgiving), fall weather (when we are fortunate enough to have it!), fall camping (cool crisp morning air and fog), fall drinks (hot chocolate, hot apple cider) and pumpkins (I just think that pumpkins are cute). Soon I will have to decide, am I going to mow the leaves or rake the leaves. I will have to move the winter clothes out (no, I do not like doing this at all) and start thinking about what I am going to cook for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is going to be very different this year but I can't wait until we are all together again.

Are you there God? It's me, Giggles.

So far, I can not come up with a title for today's blog. I don't even know if I can express what I am feeling right now. I am back at the hospital with my Mom and things are the same but different from when I left on Friday. They took her off of the pain meds today and I had hoped that by the time I got here she would be a little more alert. Well, she is but she isn't. She is having tummy problems which makes it harder. I had hoped that she would be on the up side of all of this. That she would be the one who just bounced back but that isn't happening and it scares me. I am so not used to my Mom being sick. I am not sure how my Dad is handling all of this. I don't hardly get to see him except in passing. Not sure how my sister's handle it either. This ordeal for the lack of a better term has taught me some valuable lessons. 1. I could never be a nurse. 2. I don't do well when people throw up. 3. I need to have more faith in God and his plans for me and my family. 4. We have some of the most awesome friends in the world. 5. My family is the best there is. That includes aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.

Please continue to pray for my family. I am so worried about my parents.

I finally came up with a title.

Game Day

Ok, so if you know me, you know that I am not a big sports fan but. . . . . . . .

GIG 'EM AGGIES! Way to beat Texas Tech. . . .WHOOP!

I Learned Something New Today!!

I have finally figured out how to do this cool thing! When I have updated my Mom's blog now all I need to do is type go here do some magic and now you can! I have wanted to learn how to do this for a while and now I know!
That is about the most exciting thing I have done today. I have spent a lot of time on the computer, did some church work and wondered how you can get so tired just sitting in a chair.
I hope that everyone is having a good week.

Hello Mrs. H's Mom!

I Wonder

I have wondered if I should write this post but this has been weighing on my mind a lot lately so I thought I would go ahead and do it.
As most of you know, we lost a baby boy in December of 2007. I realized the other day that our baby would be 18 months old now and I began to wonder several things. One, did God take our baby so that my Mom could live? Did he take our baby because he knew that I would be helping my Mom and that it would be difficult to have a baby that young and having to be gone? What about the baby that we lost in March of this year? My due date was in October. . .did he take the baby so that my Mom wouldn't miss being there to see the baby when it was born? Or again so that I would be able to give my full attention to my Mom? Somedays I really wish that I could have an answer as to the why so I will have an idea about what the future may hold. I pray for children, I want so badly to be a Mom. Will I ever have that chance?

I am with my Mom this week and forgot to bring my Bible study book that I started during the summer. Does anyone know of a good on-line Bible study?

I finally got my outside Halloween decorations plugged in and the timer set to turn them on. Hopefully they all work. I was so excited about decorating for Halloween but I ended up hardly doing anything.

Well, that is it for tonight. Sorry for having such a gloomy post. Sometimes that is just where my brain goes.

I hope you all have a good week.

Busy Week

It has been very busy around here lately and that along with the fact that I haven't really had a lot to say lately is why I haven't blogged much but I will try to catch you up!

Monday was a holiday for the schools so I didn't have to sub any where. I went to Sam's for lunch and to get a couple of things we needed and when I got back to my car it wouldn't start. I called my sister to see if she would come pick me up and she said that she would after she finished folding the load of laundry she was working on. While I waited I moved the battery cables around and it started. So I caught her before she left the house to tell her never mind. I needed gas but I decided to skip that and go on to Michael's. I really wanted to get there because they had a few things I needed on sale on Monday only. I got to there and did my shopping which included flowers so that my Mom and I could make a fall arrangement for Raymond's grave site. I lucked out and got each stem for $0.99 each. I got some beautiful gerber daisies in fall colors along with some winter oats and berries in the same color family. I will post a picture when we are finished with it (if I remember). When I got outside guess what. . . .my car wouldn't start so I called my Dad and he came over, jumped me off and we took it to the shop. They couldn't really find anything wrong. Lucky me! Finally got home.

Tuesday I met my Grandmother at a local mexican restaurant and had lunch. After lunch we went to the $1.00 store and did a little shopping. Went home and don't remember what else I did.

Wednesday my Dad, my sister and I headed to MDA to spend the day with my Mom and other sister while Mom had her stemcell transplant. It was a long day but it went well.

Thursday I visited with my Uncle D and his friend T, went to the Co-op and bought feed and did a little birthday shopping, went home and unloaded 600 pounds of feed, did a little more visiting and then went home and cleaned house. We met my Dad, Grandmother (not the same one I ate lunch with on Tuesday), sister Rae, adopted sister LEH for dinner to celebrate my Grandmother's 86th birthday. I found her the cutest nightlight and ceramic bird at the co-op.

Today I finally gassed up my car, chased cows back into one of our pastures (stupid cows), cleaned house, went out to dinner with my hubby and went grocery shopping. Now we are home relaxing and watching the tv shows we taped last night.

We hope to have a peaceful weekend together before I have to head to MDA for the week. I will be staying with my Mom. The next two weeks are very critical because anything bad that can happen will during this time so we are not out of the woods yet.

I hope you are all having a great fall.

Tomorrow. . . . .is

stemcell transplant day. Please keep my mom in your prayers. Check out her blog tomorrow as I will be updating on it. www.ourmomsjourney.blogspot.com

Hope you are having a great week.

We have gone from drought to flood here on the farm! There is now water everywhere!! Another 2 inches today. Not complaining, just seeing what a difference a couple of weeks can make!

Hi Mrs. H's mom!

It Still Feels Like Fall Y'all!

Today we went to a craft show called the Scarecrow festival. Didn't end up buying anything but I always enjoy just looking at the goodies (and some of the awful outfits adults wear out in public!) but not so sure how Mr. Giggles feels about it all. He is a good sport though and usually goes with me. The weather for today was wonderful. I actually wore a sweatshirt!! The current temp. is 58 wonderful degrees.
After the craft show, we went to DQ and got pumpkin pie blizzards. Yummy!!!
Well, that is all for tonight. I am so tired!
Updated Mom's blog. . . .stemcell transplant on Wednesday.

www.ourmomsjourney.blogspot.com

Friday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Today is my birthday and it turned out much better than I thought it was going to. I have to be honest, I wasn't looking forward to today because I thought that it may go by and people wouldn't remember because our lives are in such chaos (I know it sounds childish but birthdays and holidays are a big thing to me and unfortunately the last time my Mom had cancer, she was in the hospital on my b-day). Thanks to my little sister and my "adopted" sister, I had a good one. Those two got together and had a surprise party for me at Rae's house last night. LEH made my favorite cake - homemade strawberry icing and strawberry cake. YUMMY! My honey, Dad and Grandmother and one of my oldest friends and her son were there and then a few friends from church. It was different without my Mom and I really missed her. I got to talk to her last night and then she called me this morning and sang Happy Birthday to me. My middle sister and her family weren't able to be here either because they don't live close enough to come.
Today Mr. Giggles left work early and took me to lunch at Outback Steakhouse. It was good and of course we ate too much! Then we went to my sister's volleyball game (thinking we should have stayed away - they lost). Now we are home relaxing and watching shows we taped last night. Tomorrow we are going to the Scarecrow Festival and we will do some birthday shopping while there!
Today we had a cold front come through. We have gotten a lot of rain and some wonderfully cool weather. I had to find a jacket this afternoon before we left! I know it won't last long but it is so awesome while it is here.

Emotions

I have way to many going on these days. So many that I can't even begin to list them. My Mom went to MDA and was admitted for the last round of chemo and then the stemcell transplant. I can't believe that she won't be home until next year. That is such a long time and so much happens between now and then; my birthday, Halloween, Christmas, and New Year's. I am so ready to be able to write something funny and witty but right now I can't seem to think of anything.

Have a good week.

Hi Mrs. H's mom!

I Love This Month!!

I am so glad that October is finally here! I love the end of the year. This time of the year has cooler weather, beautiful colors and good food! I enjoy decoration for Halloween, Thanksgiving and especially Christmas. I haven't gotten any of my fall decorations out yet. My plan had been to do that tomorrow but I have to sub tomorrow for my Dad. If I can't get it done this weekend, I won't be able to do it until the end of next week so I am shooting for Saturday!! We shall see what happens!

Today :)

We got more rain this morning! My yard is so green (and so needs to be mowed!). Hopefully I will get to mow on Thursday or Friday because as of right this minute, we don't have to be at the hospital. There is an update on what is going on with my Mom at www.ourmomsjourney.blogspot.com.

I don't have much to write about tonight and I am so tired but I tried a new recipe on Sunday and I will share it along with soon along with my tweaks.

I hope to do some fall decorating this weekend as long as the above schedule doesn't change again!!

Sorry so short and rambly! I promise to one day get back to more creative (and interesting)
writing!

Hi Mrs. H's mom!

Ooops!

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF FALL Y'ALL!

Yes, I know that I am one day late but I was busy yesterday and forgot!

Prayers

I don't really have much to talk about tonight so I am just going to ask for prayers. Please pray for my Mom. She is in the ER tonight with dehydration. We are really having a hard time getting her to eat or drink so this is what happens. She will be spending the night and then we will start the day at 7:00 am with appointments.
The next request is for my hubby's cousin Deanna who has been diagnosed with an aggressive breast cancer that is at stage 3. She has 4 children who are under 10 years old. She will begin chemo treatments on Wednesday at the same hospital my Mom is at.
The last is for a friends daughter, Rachel, who has been diagnosed with breast cancer and they just found tumors in her liver. She began her treatments last Friday.
Please pray for strength, peace and comfort for these ladies. I really appreciate it.

Have a great week.

Frustrated and Tired

I don't really have much to talk about tonight. . . .I am really tired and so frustrated. Tired because I drove to the hospital three days last week and frustrated because my Mom is so stinking weak. She sleeps 12 hours at a time and when she wakes up, she is ready to go back to sleep. She is not eating which doesn't help. Today I got dirty looks when I ask her what she had eaten. Please pray that she begins feeling better soon. Please pray that I can be more patient and understanding.

Wednesday

Wow, this has been a crazy busy week. Monday the Mr. and I went to MDA because my Mom and Aunt had appointments. Tuesday was grocery shopping for the Giggles family and for my parents. Wednesday another trip to MDA for some more appointments for my Aunt. Thursday will be another trip to MDA for me and Mom and Friday I will be subbing for my Dad.
Both my Mom and my Aunt are ill so the stemcell transplant has been pushed back one week. My Aunt can't go back to work because they don't want her around sick kids so she is going to miss more work than what she had planned on. I am so thankful that she and my Uncle were both matches and that they were both willing to help Mom.
I got to see Mrs. H's parents this past weekend. I enjoy getting to see her and catch up.

Have a great rest of the week.

I LOVE Rain!

We got 4 inches of rain. So happy!

Rain!

We have finally gotten some rain. This afternoon we had received over 2 inches. Thank you God for answered prayers.

On another note, Mom will be undergoing stemcell transplant in a few weeks. Read more about it at www.ourmomsjourney.blogspot.com.

Have a great weekend!

Remembering

We will NEVER forget

September 11, 2001

song by: Darryl Worley

Have You Forgotten?

I hear people saying we don't need this war

I say there's some things worth fighting for

What about our freedom and this piece of ground

We didn't get to keep 'em by backing down

They say we don't realize the mess we're getting in

Before you start your preaching let me ask you this my friend

Have you forgotten how it felt that day?

To see your homeland under fire

And her people blown away

Have you forgotten when those towers fell?

We had neighbors still inside going thru a living hell

And you say we shouldn't worry 'bout bin Laden

Have you forgotten?

They took all the footage off my T.V.

Said it's too disturbing for you and me

It'll just breed anger that's what the experts say

If it was up to me I'd show it everyday

Some say this country's just out looking for a fight

After 9/11 man I'd have to say that's right

Have you forgotten how it felt that day?

To see your homeland under fire

And her people blown away

Have you forgotten when those towers fell?

We had neighbors still inside going thru a living hell

And you say we shouldn't worry 'bout bin Laden

Have you forgotten?

I've been there with the soldiers

Who've gone away to war

And you can bet that they remember

Just what they're fighting for

Have you forgotten how it felt that day?

To see your homeland under fire

And her people blown away

Have you forgotten when those towers fell?

We had neighbors still inside going thru a living hell

And you say we shouldn't worry 'bout bin Laden

Have you forgotten?

Have you forgotten all the people killed?

Some went down like heros in that Pennsylvania field

Have you forgotten about our Pentagon?

All the loved ones that we lost and those left to carry on

Don't you tell me not to worry about bin Laden

Have you forgotten?

Have you forgotten?

Have you forgotten?

Do you remember what you were doing on September 11th, 2001? Do you pray for those who lost their lives on that day? Do you pray everyday for the men and woman who are fighting for our freedom? Always remember. . . .Never forget.

Drought of 2009

I just wanted to share with you how dry it is around here. I can not remember when the last time any "significant" amount of rain fell on our place. It has been a long time.

The first two pictures are of one of our tanks. It is very low. It has an island and soon you

will be able to walk across dry land to get to it.

The last three are of one of the pastures. As you can see, there is no grass. We are very dry here. We have already started feeding and haying which we never start this early. Last weekend the hay my grandmother had to buy was delivered. Thank goodness for good rains in the northern part of the state.
I have a few more pictures that I will try to post later. Some of them are of the cute babies we have in the pasture!

Hope everyone is having a good week.

Hi Mrs. H's mom!

Children's Literature

I have intended to write about 10 timeless books from a generation after reading an article in American Profile last week about the 10 timeless books and even though I didn't grow up in that generation, I have enjoyed (and still do) most of the books. These books were published between 1946 and 1964.

THE LITTLEST ANGEL by Charles Tazewell: I had this book and loved it so much. Once my Mom starts feeling better, I am going to see if she can help me find my copy of this book.

GOODNIGHT MOON by Margaret Wise Brown: while finishing my degree, I worked with a group of 2nd graders doing guided reading and this was one of the books we used. I don't really care for the book but the kids loved it.

MISTY OF CHINCOTEAGUE by Marguerite Henry: I loved this book growing up. I was (and still am) very much a horse lover. I read so many books on horses. I miss owning horses.

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE by Maurice Sendak: I like this book but I don't think I ever really read it until I was an adult.

THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE by C.S. Lewis: I read this book but I honestly don't remember much about it.

ELOISE by Kay Thompson: I fell in love with Eloise as an adult. I so wanted to get my niece to get hooked on these books but I didn't find until Mad Cow was really too old.

CHARLOTTE'S WEB by EB White: I really liked this book and have read it several times.

THE CAT IN THE HAT by Dr. Suess: I really enjoy Dr. Suess books. When I find them, I buy them!

ARE YOU MY MOTHER? by PD Eastman: I haven't read this book but I will get it the next time I go to the library.

THE GIVING TREE by Shel Silverstein: I love this book! I love Shel Silverstein! Hope to eventually add his books to my collection.

I love books and love to read. Mr. Giggles calls me a bookworm but I don't mind. I just wish I had my own library. I got a very special gift a couple of weeks ago that I will always treasure. My Aunt K was a teacher for many years so she had many, many books. My Uncle brought me some of her books to use when I get my own classroom. I am thankful to have something that meant a lot to my aunt; she was very passionate about her students and I hope that once I begin to teach, I will have that same passion for teaching and for my students.

That is all for now. I hope you all had a great Labor Day. I had to labor (subbed for my dad) but I guess it wasn't too bad!

Weekend Wrap Up

I am going through a writing dry spell. I am really having a hard time coming up with something interesting to bore you with. I am not sure what it wrong but hopefully it will end soon. I miss being able to just ramble on about things!

As far as I know, I should be home most if not all of the week so that is kind of exciting. Mr. Giggles is taking off Friday and Monday which is awesome because he has been working a lot. Don't know what we are going to do besides a few errands (left over from the last time he was off a month or so ago) and just being together.

Well, that is it for tonight. I am subbing for my Dad tomorrow and we are watching a video on roller coasters. I have already seen it six times but I like it so I don't mind!

Hello!

Not much to report about my life. I have been at the hospital with Mom for the last two days. I will be heading home tomorrow. Dad will be coming down after he gets hay unloaded.

Yes, I said unloading hay. This is the first time in a looooonnnnngggg time that we have had to buy hay. We still haven't had rain. Every time it rains in the area, it is to our east and just passes us by. At least we aren't still having 100+ days every day. I will have to take my camera with me next time I am walking the pastures checking on cows so I can show the dirt that is growing out there.

Well, that is all for tonight. I am tired (yes, I know that all I did was sit in a chair ALL DAY long but really tires you out) and I am gonna hit the sack soon.

If you have a minute, please go check out Mom's blog at http://ourmomsjourney.blogspot.com/

Happy September

I can't believe that I missed blogging about the first day of September but to be honest, my days are crazy and I can't remember much!

Hope you all are ready for fall. I know I am!

Sunday Night

Not much to say. Just wanted to let you all know that I am still alive and kicking. It has just been very busy trying to keep up with everything and everybody! Mom head back to the hospital on Wednesday for round 3 which is supposed to have the "bad" stuff in it. I am worried about her treatment this time because it knocks her down so badly. She is already so weak that at times it barely recognize her. My mom is such a strong woman. I aspire to be at least 1/4 of the woman that she is. I know that I will never be able to do all that she does. Anyway, I am going to stop now before the tears start. Some days are easier than others. Please continue to pray for Mom and that she is able to keep her spirits up and that we are able to be there for her with whatever she needs.

Hi Mrs. H's mom. I hope you all have a great week.

When It Rains, It Pours

But it still hasn't rained the liquid kind at our place! Yesterday my Dad, Uncle D and I were trying to load cows and a heifer to take to the auction. Oh, let me set the scene. . . .it is a balmy 95+ degrees (I have no idea what it really was, it was just stinkin hot), dust clouds floating around your feet as you walk, rain clouds to the east. I get the cows into the pen by myself so I am thinking (this should have been my warning that it wasn't going to work) WOW, this should only take 15 - 20 minutes and then we will be on our way. So, we get the heifer and the big bossy cow into the front part of the trailer and shut the middle door. Next we bring big bag and bad eye into the chute and get big bag into the trailer. . .well, there isn't room for bad eye so we try to figure out what to do. Long story short, we had a cow traffic jam with one cow sitting (yes, she was sitting) on a post we had put behind her so she couldn't get out and one cow being a pain in the neck who was pushing the other cows into the one on the post. We finally got the traffic jam cleared and everyone turned around and then we could not get them back into the chute. Feed could not even coax them in. Well, we decided to just take a break to see if they would work for us later so I came to the house to get my purse and lock up the house (we were going to pick up my car from the mechanic after dropping off the cows). I picked up some waters for everyone and headed back to the working pens. As we were standing around drinking our water, my dad commented that he was cold. . . .remember our temp was in the upper 90's. I just thought he had gotten a chill because the wind had picked up, it was thundering and there was a big dark cloud over us. He went and opened the door to the truck and stood behind it to get out of the wind. I went to open the gates to let the cows back out into the pasture because we were done, in more ways than one! When I got back he was sitting in the truck and my uncle was cleaning the feed out of the trailer. Uncle D went to check on him and told me that I needed to get him home so I had Uncle D unhook the trailer (I may be a country girl but I have very limited experience with pulling trailers and I can not back one to save my life!) so I could take him to my sisters house where he and my mom are staying. By this time, had put on a jacket and was shaking really bad; thinking that maybe it was his blood sugar, he started chewing some gum and we headed to the house. He had to stop because he got sick so I called my sister (she is a coach and is better prepared for things like this) to see what she thought I needed to do. She called their trainer and he said heat exhaustion. At first Dad said that he wasn't going to the doctor but Mom convinced him otherwise. My sis and Mom were going to meet us at urgent care but when they got their, they were told to take Dad to the med since he'd had heart surgery. Got him to the ER, waiting with Mom and then took her home while sis and Dad stayed for blood test and some other tests. They got home around midnight with the diagnosis of heat exhaustion and a virus. And if you can believe it, we had a huge black cloud over our place with thunder and lightening and not one measly drop of rain. So, if you don't mind, please pray for Mom, Dad and some much needed rain. We have beat the record for days over 100 and we are feeling it.

Hope everyone has a great week!

A New School Year

Well, another school year begins tomorrow and guess what. . . .I still am not teaching. Right now I will be subbing so I can be available for my parents if/when they need me. There are a lot of exciting things going on for family and friends with the new school year. My nephew is in junior high (6th grade) and my niece is in 3rd. A couple of my friends are not homeschooling this year so their kids will all be going to new schools tomorrow. Although the moms are wondering what they will do with all the time they will have on their hands, I know they will all do great! Well, I hope everyone had a good weekend. I am short on words tonight!

Happy Sunday!

I Don't Wednesday (one day late)

I can not believe that I forgot about this yesterday. I guess since we were busy at the hospital it just slipped my mind!

~ I don't mind thunderstorms; I really like watching lightening.

~ I don't like washing dishes (dream of owning a dishwasher!)

~ I don't like bugs, snakes or skunks.

~ I don't like watching many sports on tv; I usually only watch equestrian events.

~ I don't like hearing people cuss, especially kids.

~ I don't like getting up really early (like while it is still very dark).

~ I don't have a lot of room or storage in my house.

~ I don't like losing friends.

I hope everyone is having a good week. Mine has been busy but I have spent a lot of time with my mom and middle sister. The Mr. is very busy with work so I haven't seen much of him and it doesn't look like that will be over anytime soon. Can't wait til he is caught up so we can see each other!

Hi Mrs. H's mom!

Home Sweet Home

We made it home safely and had a much better day today. Mom is down to 6 more treatments!

Long day. . .

you can read about it here. . . www.ourmomsjourney.blogspot.com.

Goodnight.

It is a new week!

And I am thankful to get to start a new week. Today was a busy day for me, had a ton of errands to run and got most of them done. Don't have anything much else to say except that I hope you all had a great day!

School. . . .

is just around the corner! Are you ready yet?

Friday

I don't really have much to say today. I spent time with Mom so Dad could go to work. I got caught up in slow traffic going and coming so my 1.5 hour trip took about the right amount of time going but coming home it was over 2 hours. Anyway, I have updated Mom's blog so head over and see what is happening on Mom's journey www.ourmomsjourney.blogspot.com.

Have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by. Leave a comment if you have a chance so I will know who is visiting!

Hi Mrs. H's mom!!

I Don't Wednesday part II

I can't believe that it is time for I Don't Wednesday already!! Jenna gave us a choice this week; the special edition or the regular. I chose the regular one!!

~ I don't like coffee.

~ I don't like 100 degree days.

~ I don't like people who think they know it all (they really get on my nerves!)

~ I don't like it when people can't follow the rules.

~ I don't watch a movie after reading the book.

~ I don't read a book after watching the movie.

~ I don't have pets that live in the house (at this time we are pet less).

~ I don't like bugs (especially the ones that come into my house).

Well, that is it for this week. This is so much harder than I thought it would be!!

Forty four (44)

what is that you ask yourself. . . .is it her age? NO, husbands age? No, amount of money in her wallet? hahahahaha (no, I think I have $3). Is the suspense killing you yet? Is it? Huh? Well, I will tell you. . . .44 is the number of days it has been 100 degrees or higher. In 7 short days we will be at the record number of days over 100 degrees set in 1951 (I think that is correct). This afternoon as my sister Rae and I were leaving my parents house, it was very dark, the wind was blowing like mad and it smelled like rain. Well, it only rained about 5 minutes. We got 1/100 of an inch of rain. I guess it is safe to say that I am officially over summer. . . .bring on fall (even if that brings 45 thousand + students and their parents who can't drive and too many football fans. Incase you were wondering, I am not a big fan of football unless it is an out of town game!)!

It was Monday all day long!

The two good parts of the day were Mom's update (see her website) and shopping with my mother-in-law. Hope that tomorrow is a much better day.

Update

New post on Mom's blog. Can you tell that I am being lazy these days? I will only update one or the other!!

Have a great week.

Hi Mrs. H's mom!

The Secret Is Out. . . . .finally!

Ok, so a while back I wrote about spring cleaning gone wild. If you remember, my parents were having to pack up their entire house and move out to have their foundation fixed. The foundation work was completed the week before Mom was diagnosed with leukemia. Mom and Dad had planned on doing a lot of work on the inside of the house to fix what had been messed up by the cracked foundation. The list of things needing to be done was not necessarily long but extensive; some of the work needing to be done was sheetrock repair, ceiling repair, wallpaper repair, taking out the popcorn ceiling, painting, restretching the carpet and repairing the linoleum. This is something that they have worried about along with the cancer, cost of living away from home, medical cost and so on and so forth. To help ease some of their burden, members from our church donated money, a contractor from our old church offered to do the work for the cost of the labor, their neighbor who has a hardware store supplied the paint and this is what they did. The sheetrock work ~ done (and looks great), painting ~ done (and looks beautiful), kitchen ~ reorganized and cleaned from top to bottom and a new beautiful tile backsplash, outside of house~all signs of construction being done cleaned up. AND we were able to keep this a secret from my parents. Tonight we were able to get some of the folks from church to gather at their house so we could surprise them. And surprised they were. Mom didn't notice the house at first because she was so excited about seeing all of their friends. Dad stopped in the entry hall and immediately noticed the new paint. We told Mom to look up at the ceiling and the waterworks turned on even harder! They could not believe that their friends would do something like that for them (note: my parents are doers and never expect anything in return and don't ever ask for anything from others) because even with professions doing most of the work it is a big job to tackle. The goal had been to have everything completed before they got home but the man who was to do the carpet has been very ill (poison ivy in his lungs) and has not been able to work. Once the carpet and flooring are redone those same friends will help get the furniture and everything else moved back into the house so Mom and Dad don't have to worry about it. I get tears in my eyes every time I think about all of the love that has been shown to our family since we began been worshiping with these Christians; they were so quick to do what they could when we lost our baby, they came to see Mom and Dad before they headed to the hospital when we got the leukemia diagnosis and they gathered again tonight to show their love and support to my parents. They will never know how much we appreciate and love them. Well, I had better go. I hope this reads ok, I am too tired to reread and edit. I am so happy that my parents have had this huge weight removed from their shoulders. I promise to try and get some pics up soon.

Mom Update

today we found out. . . . .I'm not going to tell you here, you have to go to here http://www.ourmomsjourney.blogspot.com/ to see! (One of these days I will learn how to link this without the link spelled out like all the cool kids do!)

I Don't Wednesday

Ok, I read this blog daily and thought that I would participate in I Don't Wednesday because I feel like I have a lot of I Don'ts so here goes. . .

~ I don't like the fact that my mom is dealing with cancer for a second time

~I don't eat tomatoes, black-eyed peas or spinach

~I don't like not being a mother

~I don't like that I don't have my dream job (or any job for that matter)

~I don't like thinking about something happening to my family

~I don't like confrontation

~I don't like rude people

~I don't keep a very neat house (I wish I could but I can't!)

Sunday Sermon

Today we had church services with my parents at the hotel. We heard an incredible sermon we downloaded from the Bellaire Church of Christ. It was nice to worship together. Some good friends from church came down to visit for a little while.
Mom still isn't feeling very strong but she has been able to keep her food down. We still ask for your prayers. She has a long road. Please feel free to go to her blog and leave her a message of encouragement.

August Already?

I think I have said this every month but goodness aren't they flying by? School starts in 24 days (for the kids that is) and my Dad starts back on the 15th.

Update for Mom on her blog. She had a rough day. We are spending the rest of the weekend down here with them. We are looking for a hotel that is a little less expensive for Mom and Dad to stay in, especially since we don't know for sure how long they will be here.

Oh, we did finally get some rain. Over the course of several days, got a little over an inch. It was nice to wash some of the dust off!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. We are getting a new neighbor this weekend. Hope she is nice!

Update

well, nothing here but an update on Mom's blog. She had a rough day.

Tuesday

Not much to say tonight. I didn't get much accomplished today, I was too tired and too sore from yesterday! I go shopping at Sam's and WalMart with my little sis this afternoon. We had a good time.
One thing I forgot to mention yesterday was that one of the young heifers we kept got a bucket stuck on her head! It was funny to see her swinging her head around to get it off. I wish I had taken my camera with me but I figured that if I did, it would get broken so you will have to use your imagination!! Thankfully we didn't have too much of a moo-allujah chorus last night from the mammas.
Well, it was 102 degrees today and still no rain. Our low temp overnight as 80. We are at 34 days of 100+ temps. I am so ready for winter!
That is all for tonight. I am hoping for sleep tonight. I am really, really tired.
One more thing: Mom update. . . Mom had a good day. She went shopping at Marshall's and ate some Panda Express and then took a nap!! She has an appointment tomorrow with her doctor (that would be the 6 ft 7 in doctor from Germany!) and we hope to get a "schedule" so we will know what will be happening next.

Monday

What a day I have had! It started at 7:00 am as we went to work gathering the cows (please note that we do this on foot, not horseback or 4-wheeler. we don't even have any horses anymore!). Although my grandmothers cows didn't want to cooperate, the 4 calves that we needed miraculously ended up in the pasture where we needed them. We then went and gathered my mom's cows which includes Stormy, the baby we raised on a bottle. Stormy was a brat and I kept having to push her out of my way! We got them out of the gate and started across the oil pad except for our newest little guy who couldn't seem to find the gate and his momma wouldn't call him. My aunt and I kept the cows going towards the barn and Mr. I went back for the baby. Well, the baby's mom finally realized that she was missing something and took off back to the other pasture. Mr I. got those two back where they needed to be. Well, I was really worried about making sure that the young heifers that we were supposed to keep (which includes Stormy but I can pick her out, no problem) so we had all the big cows out and we were looking at the babies when I realized that last year we had tags but in their ears. . . .no worries!! So we got everyone separated and loaded into the trailer. Had four low tires so we went and put air in them and headed out to the auction barn. This was by about 10:20, we were making great time. Dropped off the cows, went to Mickey D's for a coke and ended up eating lunch. Big Mac. . . .yummmm! Headed to Coop to buy some mineral tubs and salt blocks and then headed home to put up the trailer and pick up my truck to head home.
I made it to my house by 12:09 and the appliance repair man (who gave me an I'll be there between 12 and 2 time frame) got there at 12:20. Took him a whole 20 minutes and $73.00 later, my washing machine is fixed!!
My aunt calls me to hurry out and open the gate because she had the escapee cows that we needed to look at and see about taking to auction close by. Well, I got the gate open, headed out to help her and the cows headed out to the back 40. OK, it is so hot but lets see if we can get them back. Well. . . .long story short, the cows are still in the pasture and I will see if I can trick them into the pastures I need them in sometime this week!! We finished up again, headed to grandmom's house for WATER. We had splashed water on ourselves at our lake to try to cool off (we laughed about having our own wet t-shirt contest!) so we smelled like lake water, cows and sweat. Not a good combo!! I then headed home at about 2:30 and finally got to shower all of the stink and dirt (lots and lots of dirt and stink!). I finally headed out again about 4:45 and only made it as far as grandmom's house. I ate dinner with them, cleaned up the kitchen, went to my parents house and put up their cats, came home and ironed a shirt for my honey, started a load of laundry (after I finally got the stupid bleach bottle open) and changed the sheets on the bed. Oh, and wrote a blog entry. Folks, I did this all on just two hours of sleep!! I am ready to hit the sack so until later. Goodnight!

I don't think I am going to be able to move tomorrow!!!