Wordless Wednesday

Tough Day

Today has been a tough day. This morning my Dad and I went down to the cemetery to put flowers and a birthday balloon on Mom's grave. Dad picked out beautiful yellow roses and I picked out a froggy balloon (Mom would have loved both). How do you comfort your parent when you yourself needs comfort? It absolutely breaks my heart to see my Dad so broken hearted. As I have said before, he and my Mom were soul mates. When they married, they truly became one.
After spending some time at the cemetery, Dad and I parted ways. He went to his house and worked on his bathroom putting up beadboard and baseboards. I went home, made us lunch and then baked cupcakes. He came and ate then went back to work.
This evening Dad, RAW, LEH, Mr. Giggles, G-mom P and I went to dinner to celebrate Mom's birthday. We went to Outback and had a great meal and then celebrated with cupcakes (we even shared one with our waiter).
Tomorrow I will try to remember to take my camera with me to the cemetery and take pics of the beautiful yellow roses, the happy birthday balloon and the pink roses my G-mom took out there. (I also took a beautiful red rose and put it on our baby's grave. Someone had taken a little chick figurine and put it on his tombstone)

Happy Birthday

Today would have been my Mom's 59th birthday.

Happy Birthday Mom!

We love you and miss you so much!

The Weekend

was a nice change of pace for us. We went camping out in the middle of a national forest (ok, not right in the middle but very near the national forest). Yes we roughed it (in our camping trailer), there was cell phone reception but I only talked on the phone twice (my Dad & sister), we had wi-fi but didn't spend much time on the computer (except to do some church work) and we had no television. Friday and Saturday we did a little shopping but mainly just enjoyed being together. Today we got up and went to a very friendly small congregation for church and then out to lunch. The parks checkout time was 12 (we didn't get out of church until then) but when we ask the camp ground owners if we could stay a little longer, they told us that we could leave whenever. So, we got back to camp, lazed around and then packed up and headed home. Now we are home, unpacked and gearing up for the week.

Hope you had a good weekend.

Nothing

Well, I sat down at the computer and really wanted to have a great post but I have nothing. I just finished up the gifts for Administrative Professionals Day for Mr. G. I took pictures of what I made but I am in one room and the camera is in the other and I don't feel like getting up. Yes, laziness has invaded my body and I can't get rid of it.

I went to a meeting tonight for our Ladies Ministries at church and I am in charge of showers. I have a question for you ladies. . . .how do you handle showers for 2nd, 3rd, etc babies? Is it different for members who you already gave a shower to than what you do for new members who already have one? Please let me know. I really want to come up with something that will help Mom's but hopefully not hurt anyones feelings.

I am not sure what this is a picture of. It may be the international space station but it came off of my Mom's camera and was on my hubbies computer. I just like the picture.

Well, that is all for tonight. If you have baby shower ideas, please share.

Weekend Wrap and Other Less Important Stuff

Have you heard the Carrie Underwood song Temporary Home? Well, since Thursday, I have heard this song everytime I have turned on my radio in my car. I have to say that there have been a couple of times when I haven't turned it on because I did not want to hear it again. Here is the last stanza and the chorus:
Old man, hospital bed The room is filled with people he loves And he whispers don't cry for me I'll see you all someday He looks up and says "I can see God's face." "This is my temporary Home It's not where I belong Windows and rooms that I'm passin' through This was just a stop,on the way to where I'm going I'm not afraid because I know this was My temporary home." This is our temporary home.
Of course it makes me think of Mom and then it makes me cry. It can be hard to drive when your eyes are leaking. Tonight I had one of those moments that just really kick you in the gut. If you want to read about it, go here. It has made me sad this evening.
On the lighter side, I got to eat lunch with my Dad's mom twice this week. She only lives about an hour away but I don't get to see her often. Wednesday when I subbed at my Dad's school she and my Dad's brother came to see us and brought us lunch. Lucky for me I had the same lunch/conference as Dad and got to spend some time with them. Then Friday she was back in town and called me to see if I wanted to meet her. I did and we had an enjoyable afternoon. She and my Mom used to meet about once every couple of months and eat lunch and then go shopping. I think Grandmom had been missing that so we did the same thing.
This weekend the traffic was crazy bad. It was parents weekend and I think that all 40,000 + students had both of their parents in town. Thank heavens that is over, the parents are gone and we are closing in on summer when the students will also be gone.
Last week I subbed in a 4th grade science class and then junior high choir. The boys choir told their teacher that I was mean. . . . .made me happy! That was the only class we actually sang in. I loved it. I don't really miss much from school but I do miss choir. I love, love, love to sing. As a matter of fact my whole family loves to sing. Many times on vacation, we would sing all the way to Colorado and back. We could even sing 4 part harmony. Anyway, back to subbing. So far this week all I have scheduled is 1/2 a day in choir but I hope to find more.
Well, I guess I had better go. I didn't get a nap today and I always get to bed late on Saturday night and have to get up early on Sunday. Especially this month because Mr. G and I are in charge of setting up everything for church. So, I will wish you all good night and sweet dreams.


Weekly Menu:
Monday: taco salad
Tuesday: leftovers
Wednesday: fend for yourself
Thursday: no idea
Friday: out to dinner
Saturday: fend for yourself

Today

Today made me wonder why things can be going along ok and then everything turns upside down. This morning I woke up feeling good and thinking that since the beginning of the week had been good that maybe the rest of the week would be too. Well, that was not meant to be. Today was a very rough day for me and I don't know why. It just was. I hope tomorrow is better.

Wordless Wednesday

Mom and me

Another Great Lesson

We had another wonderful night at our gospel meeting. I would love to share it with you but I am too tired. Maybe more tomorrow!

Hi Mrs. H's mom!

Gospel Meeting

Our 4th annual Gospel meeting began yesterday and it has been incredible. Our speaker has such a wonderful delivery of God's word. I wish you could all be there. Tonight's lesson was on integrity and what you do when no one is looking.
Tonight I sat down and visited with the preacher and his wife and he was asking me who my Dad was and we talked about my Mom. I told him that she had only been gone for one month and 11 days. Mr. J said that he could see the weariness in my Dad's face. I think we all shed some tears yesterday during the sermon titled Playing While You Are Hurt. My mom loved meetings like this and she loved our church.
Well, I hope you are all having a good week. I am teaching 3rd grade tomorrow and junior high choir on Wednesday.

Time Out

What do you do when you feel like you need to put yourself in time out because your attitude stinks? That is how today has been. Makes me want to scream, bang my fists and stomp my feet. I know I need an attitude adjustment but I am having problems adjusting it. So, that is all for tonight. I am going to put it to bed and hope that it wakes up in a better mood tomorrow!

Remember

If you read my other blog, some of this is the same. You have been warned!

Last night I dreamed about Mom. In my dream she was still with us. I don’t remember what all happened in the dream but it was so good to get to talk to her and hold her. I haven’t dreamed about Mom in a long time. I woke up really missing her and as the day went on, the missing her stayed with me. And then the rest of the day was filled with memories. Isn’t it interesting what things trigger memories? Today was one of those days that several little things made me think about Mom. Some made me cry and some made me smile. The first was when I was mowing the lawn. Mom told me after we bought our new lawn mower that she would give up dessert if she had to so that she could have a self-propelled (she had a wicked sweet tooth and our lawn mower is not self-propelled). I thought about that as I was mowing and wishing that I had one and knowing what she would have said when she picked me for lunch with Dad. Well, she didn’t pick me up but I did meet Dad and had a coke while he ate lunch. The second was when I took Mom’s camera to Walgreens to have a cd of the pictures made. Mom and I did that so many times. She always had so many pictures on her camera and today was no exception. There were 706 pictures on there and it took two cds. I cried as I looked through pictures that had been taken over the last year and thought about the fun Mom and I had while picking out pictures to print or waiting for them to download. This afternoon after Rae’s game, I went down to Mom and Dad’s house and when I drove up I was so sad knowing that the yard and house will never have Mom’s touch again. As I was watering Mom’s plants, I cried because she loved plants so much and I am having such a hard time keeping them alive. I wish that I had the ability and the patience to have a beautiful yard and flowerbeds. Maybe one day.


Well, I never could find the recipe for Shrimp Newport, which was on the menu tonight so I created my own dish. I basically used my Chicken & Swiss recipe but this was even easier. Here is the recipe; if you try it please let me know what you think.
Giggles Shrimp
1 package cooked shrimp (40-60 pieces) take off tails
1 5 oz package of Italian seasoned croutons
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 jar mushrooms
1 package of Italian mix cheese
Old Bay seasoning to taste
Garlic powder to taste

Put shrimp, mushrooms and seasoning in a pan and warm through, add spaghetti sauce. Once warm, add bag of croutons and ¾ bag of cheese and mix well. Put in casserole dish and top with remaining cheese. Cook at 350 degrees until warmed through and cheese is melted.

My husband really enjoyed it and I thought it was pretty good too.
Well, that is all for tonight. I am exhausted both emotionally and physically.

It's That Time Again. . . . .

well, actually it is probably past time but I am working on it anyway. I am sure that you are wondering what in the world I am yammering about. Well, it is job seeking time again. I hope that this year I am finally able to put my degree to use and find a teaching job (Mr. Giggles hopes so too!). Wish me luck.

I can not believe that it is already April. The last month went by so quickly. As you can see, my monthly goals list have already fallen by the wayside. Maybe next month I will start over with those each month. We shall see. The 27th of this month would have been Mom's 59th birthday. This time last year we were a carefree happy family. Isn't it sad how quickly things can change?

I was going through pictures this evening to put on a digital keychain I got for christmas. I am going to share one of them with you. This is the last "family" picture we took. This was taken on the day of Mom's transplant. We were scared but just knew that she would be home in 100 days.

Easter Sunday

I have to say that I was not really looking forward to this weekend. It was as hard as I thought it was but not as bad as I was afraid it would be. We had lunch with my "adopted" sister and her family. We had a great meal and had a nice day. We did the usual egg hunt and this year Rae and I tied for the most eggs.

Our lunch menu:

Sourcream chicken enchiladas

Refried beans

Spanish rice

Queso & chips & hot sauce

Bananaless banana pudding

Buttermilk pie

Tea

Thank you LEH for having us over for lunch, for the Easter eggs to hunt and for being such a wonderful addition to our family. Love you! :)

I really missed my Mom today. She always made the holidays special. Please continue to pray for us.

Weekly Menu:

Monday: salad for the Mr. and steak and baked potato for me

Tuesday: shrimp newburg

Wednesday: fend for yourself

Thursday: leftovers

Friday: out to dinner

Saturday: fend for yourself

Have a good week.

Mrs. H's Mom, it was so good to see you today. Wish we could have visited longer.

Roller Coasters

Roller coasters are not something I really like whether they be wooden, steel or emotional. Right now the roller coaster ride I am on is an emotional one and I don't really like it but I don't see the end of the ride and I don't know how to get off.
One month ago I lost my best friend and you know what? It still hurts so bad. In talking with friends the last two days helped me realize how much she impacted other people's lives. Last night a young lady at church commented to me about how she is amazed that when she sees us (us being myself, my hubby, my Dad and my sister Rae cause B doesn't live here), she sees that although she knows we miss Mom terribly, we can still smile, be friendly, and can do it without tears. She said that she would be crying. Well, I assured her that we all did a lot of that and sometimes even at church, you just don't see it. A couple of weeks ago, I cried through the entire service.
Although today was a hard day, the middle part of the day was good. Today I went to Mrs. H's house for lunch. Oh my it was good. We had homemade chicken salad sandwiches (yummy), pickles, pretzels, fruit salad and homemade lemonade. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Then, Mr and Mrs. H and I went on an adventure. My oh my what fun we had. Sorry, can't tell you about it. Maybe Mrs. H will! Then we went back to their lovely home and had lemon mousse. Again, very yummy. Then we just sat and talked for a while. Very nice, very relaxing, very enjoyable. Thank you Mrs. H. I really enjoyed today.
As you can see, I have not blogged in a couple of days and I had to catch up both blogs. I had a really hard time with Mom's tonight. I have so much to say but I don't know how to get it put on "paper". And sometimes I am not sure if people really want to hear what I have to say.
Anyway, Mr. Giggles is off tomorrow and we will be working on getting fliers out for our upcoming Gospel Meeting. Once that is done, we will just enjoy being together and running errands. I really enjoy the days he is off and we can spend it together.
Well, that is all for tonight. I am ready for some shut eye!

Hi Mrs. H's mom :)