Wonderful Wednesday!!

I love months that have five Wednesday nights. On these nights, instead of having Bible class and then a devotional we just have singing and a short devo. Tonight we sang lots of great songs and some of the songleaders were our young men. When I say young I mean elementary school age and intermediate school age. They did an awesome job. All of our songleaders did an awesome job. I thought of Mom during the entire service because she loved to sing and had such a beautiful voice. It was all I could do to keep from crying because I knew if I started I wouldn't be able to stop and if my Dad saw me he would have a hard time leading his songs. I wish you all could have heard the song service.

Hope you are having a great week.

Cooler

We had a cool front come through yesterday and the weather was wonderful today. My hubby was home due to a hurting back, neck and headache so he slept the beautiful day away. I finally mowed, my yard was beginning to look pretty bad. I didn't finish because my push mower died so I will have to go get my Dad's tomorrow.

We had a pretty busy weekend. Friday the hubby, my Dad, LEH and I headed out of town to watch my sister's volleyball team. They won! We stopped and ate at Cracker Barrel. Yum!! Saturday we went to the Devil with my inlaws. It was a pretty good movie and was not scary like I thought it would be. Saturday evening we met my Dad for our weekly ice cream trip to DQ. Sunday we went to the Peddler Show after church and then went home and took a quick nap before heading back to church.

Hopefully I will have more interesting things to blog about. Until then, I will bore you as little as possible!! Have a good week.

Show Us Your Life - Master Bedrooms

I decided to join Kelly's show us your life mater bedrooms. Our master bedroom is very small and our furniture is early garage sale motif. This is looking into the room from the doorway. The shelf on the wall holds the unity candle from our wedding, our cake topper, my garter, some misc. pictures, my diploma tube, my tassel and a strand of mardi gras beads. My granddad made the shelf for me when I got ready to go to college the first time!! We used to have a king sized bed but the mattress was horrible and we couldn't afford to replace it so we downsized to a queen. I am ready for a bigger bed but our room really can't hold it. The quilt is one my Mom and Dad gave us for Christmas a couple of years ago. I love quilts and will always pick one over a comforter.

This is also looking from the doorway. Please don't pay attention to the stuff on top of the wardrobe. My chest of drawers belongs to a set that was my great grandmothers. The wardrobe is something my hubby had before we got married. We are still using it because there are no closets in this house.

This is looking towards the door (please excuse the dust). The hubby's chest of drawers is something he had as a bachelor. It needs to be replaced but then so does everything else in this room and we can't afford it right now with just one salary. The sign on the wall above the hamper says "Always kiss me goodnight". I picked it up for 1/2 price at Hobby Lobby. Please excuse the mess in the livingroom. I did not intend for anyone to see it!!

This is the other direction towards the door. Again, you see that we have to improvise because of lack of closet space. The hubsters clothes have never seen the inside of real closet!! Sad I know. Thank goodness for storage crates. His nightstand is actually an end table he had while living as a bachelor. My nightstand is a small chest of drawers I got from my Grandmother.

Here is the only closet in the room. The stack of clothes is up against the wall so you can see that it is not very deep. No, there is no organization at all. The closet is so small that my shoes don't fit on the floor. Yes, those are pretty much all of my shoes with the exception of three pairs of tennis shoes which are lined up under the edge of my chest of drawers. There is a rod on each side and if you were to take my clothes off of the hangers they would stay in place because everything is packed in. There is a long rod up high that runs from one side to the other but I can not reach it. Currently there are two jackets hanging up there and when I need them, I will have to ask my hubby to get them down.

So, this is what the master bedroom looks like in an old house. Our house was built over 60 years ago. My grandparents were married in this house and my granddad grew up here. It was build by my great grandfather. When they lived in the home there was only one closet and that was not added until the bathroom was added on. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the tour of our master bedroom. I can't wait to take a peek at yours!!

Wordless Wednesday

Ready for cooler weather

Respect

from the Merriam-Webster dictionary: high or special regard



This morning as I was driving to the bank, I came upon a funeral procession and it took me back to my Mom's funeral procession and that of my Granddad's. Both of their processions were so long because they both meant so much to so many people. During Mom's procession it was so humbling (I guess for lack of a better word) to see the road construction crews stop what they were doing, take off their hardhats and show respect as we drove by. Unfortunately today not many people take the time to pull over and show respect for others.

Crazy

Well, not much is going on here. The last three weekends have had home football games so we have tried to stay away from the crazy weekend traffic (I don't know what it is like in other college towns but the students who can't drive and the parents who come to visit and can't drive make traffic bad). The last two weekends we have gone to Mr. Giggles school (about 20 miles away) to move his old office to his new office. I told him that I was not going back this Saturday!! Other than that we are just stumbling around trying to keep up with life. Oh, I did get my hair cut. I like it but I need to go back and get it straightened up a bit. One side is a little longer than the other and it will drive me crazy!

Hope you have a great week.
Hi Mrs. H's mom! Hope to see you soon.

Leukemia & Lymphoma Awareness Month

Every 4 minutes one person is diagnosed with a blood cancer.

Every ten minutes, someone dies from a blood cancer. This statistic represents nearly 148 people each day, or more than six people every hour. An estimated 52,310 will die from one this year. This month is Leukemia and Lymphoma Awareness month. My mom was one of the 52,310 this year.

What can we do to help find a cure?

Thankful Thursday and Other Things

Last night I took the arrangements I made to the cemetery and put them at Mom and Baby Giggles graves. They looked nice out there but I so wish that I didn't need to take flowers out there. Now I need get with my Grandmother and work on an arrangement for my Granddad's grave. It was so much easier when I just went with Mom to pick out the flowers and then she made the arrangements instead of having to do them myself and making them look good (she was so much better at making them than I am). I miss my Mom for so many other reasons. I miss my baby because he was ours and we were only able to hold him for a short time.

Today I am thankful for:

My husband, my dad, my sisters and everyone else in my family.

I just thought I would share some pictures from Oklahoma and Arkansas from our vacation last year.

Today

Today I was finally able to go to Michael's and buy some flowers (50% off) to make floral arrangements to take to the cemetery for Baby Giggles and my Mom. I loved all the fall colors they had and had a hard time making decisions on what to get. Here is what the finished project look like. (Please excuse the clutter in the bacground. I was using my freezer and a coffee mug to assist me!)

Arrangement for Baby Giggles

Again

Arrangement for Mom
Again

And again.

Well, that is it for today. I hope everyone is having a great week. It has been hot as blazes here again. I am so ready for fall!

Remember

Home of the free because of the brave.

Thank you so much to the people who fight to keep us free and to their families.

May we never forget.

allposters.com

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for the beauty of God's creations and the different ways he shows them to us.

What Is On My Mind

Today the Pioneer Woman wrote a post about being real on your website. I just want you to know that what you read about on my blog(s) is me 100 %. Do I talk about everything that pops into my noggin? No for several reasons the first being Mr. Giggles is not all that excited about me being on facebook or blogging. You see, he is very private so there are some things I just won't talk about (that is why you will never see a picture of him on here). Secondly, my family reads my blog and I don't want to say anything on here that may hurt them in any way (somedays I want to rant and rave but I don't). And lastly, I don't think that my life is that interesting that everyone wants to read about every single thing I do (one of many reasons I don't do twitter). I mean I am an almost middle aged, unemployed, childless, educated, Christian woman, in mourning over losing a child and my mother and who leads a pretty boring life. But, I want you to know that if you are reading this. . . . .it is real. . . .all too real!

This afternoon I went BACK to the doctor for the fourth time in less than a month (the first three times were for my leg/foot issue). I have felt absolutely awful today so instead of putting of going and then becoming more ill, I went. I was willing to bet that it was either bronchitis (I get this a lot) or a sinus infection and it turned out to be neither. It is just your plain old run of the mill allergies. So why do I feel like I got hit by a mack truck? I don't know. Hoping to start feeling a little better after taking some Walzer D (yes, he just prescribed Allegra D but it was way expensive even with insurance). It has put a damper on my productivity this week.

Rain - what a blessing the last two days of rain has been. Yesterday we got over two inches and would you believe that when I went out this morning there were no puddles in my drive way. That just goes to show you how insanely dry it has been around these parts. It appears that the rain is now gone and our temps will be heading back to the mid ninety's or so. Can't wait for fall.

Do you ever feel like you are just drifting along in life and can't seem to get your feet back on the ground and your life back in some semblance of order? I have felt like that for such a long time. When we lost our baby I had just finished up a very structured time in my life. When you are a full-time commuting (2 hours round trip) and part-time employee you have to be structured. After graduation and losing our baby, my world just fell apart. I wasn't working, I wasn't going to school, I wasn't getting ready to be a Mommy, I just was. My Mom was by my side the entire time and helped me more than I realized. Was I 100% back to being me? No but I was so much closer. While my Mom was sick I had a pretty structured schedule again, I was at the hospital with her every other week and when I was home I had to get a lot of things done plus try to work to bring in some extra money. Then Mom was gone and now I just can't seem to get myself back together. I have no motivation, my house is a wreck and I don't care, I just don't invite anyone over. I have a hard time being motivated to do any subwork although we need the money badly. I only leave my house if I have to or if Mr. Giggles is with me. I tell you this so that I can ask for your prayers. I miss my Mom so very much. It has been six months and the pain is not any less. I am still angry that God took her (I don't think that I am mad at God just the fact that she was taken away from us). I know that she is no longer in pain and that she is in a much better place but the selfish part of me says WHAT ABOUT ME? WHAT ABOUT MY DAD? WHAT ABOUT MY SISTERS, MY NEPHEW, MY NIECE, MY HUSBAND AND BROTHER-IN-LAW? What about all the other people who miss her? What about the people that she was always ministering to? I know that sounds awful and selfish but I am being real here. So, please pray for me, for whatever you think will help. I would really appreciate it.

And the Pioneer Woman said to thank your readers so I want to say thank you to those of you who take the time to stop by to see what is going on in my lane.

So there you have it, me being real. Probably more real than you really wanted read. I hope you have a great rest of the week.

Answered Prayers

We finally got some very much needed rain and much cooler temps today. At least 2 inches at our house. It has been beautifully overcast and raining all day long. It was a beautiful sight. I hope we get some more tomorrow. I had planned on taking some pictures but never got around to it.
Well, I was supposed to start my fall cleaning this week and do some subbing but guess what. I am sick. Can you say frustrating? First I had to spend two weeks in my recliner because of my stupid food and now I feel like my head is going to explode, I keep sneezing and coughing and kind of feel like a small truck has hit me. I hate trying to sleep when my head is all stopped up because I usually don't get much sleep. I hope I get over this yuck quickly because I really, really, really need to be working because we really need the money.
Well, I don't really have much else to write about today. Hopefully I will have something more interesting to write about later in the week.

Busy Weekend

Ok, so it wasn't too busy but busy enough. Here is the wrap up from the exciting beyond belief life of the Giggles family.
Friday: I subbed at one of the elementary schools in art. I enjoy subbing in art at the school I attended. This was at another school in the district and I had to watch videos with the kids. Kinda boring but that is what you get when you are just a sub. Friday evening we went to Casa Ole (I am a mexican food addict) with my honey, my Dad and my G-mom P. After dinner we went to First Friday 42 at the home of a couple from church. I do not play 42 but my hubby does and so do Dad and G-mom. While they played I visited, was the official photographer and eventually read some of the book I took with me. We headed home around 10:45. It was a fun evening and the hubby and I were the youngest people there!!
Saturday: We slept late (I was pooped because I haven't been sleeping very well lately. I have a difficult time going to sleep and then staying asleep), got up and did some housework and then got ready to go to town. During football season we try to stay as far away from the university as possible, especially on home game days. We needed to go to Big Lots (a favorite place to shop) for one item and left with many more. . . . .but traffic going over there was not good. It was very obvious that students and parents who are not familiar with the area were back with a vengeance. After doing our shopping we headed to my inlaws home to eat and visit with them. My hubbies sister and brother-in-law were there also and our visit was nice. Stopped at Kroger for milk and a few other items (again we ended up with more than what we went in for!) and then headed to Whataburger for shakes before heading home. I ordered a strawberry shake and got a chocolate one and I was toooooo tired to go in and hassle with getting it changed. It was good but no strawberry good! Got home and finished up church work and hit the hay. It was once again a night of little sleep.
Sunday: got up after a short nights sleep with a headache and a sore throat. I am hoping it is just because of the "cool" (hahahaha) from that came in Friday. Went to church, came home and quickly changed clothes and headed to my G-mom W's home (well the clubhouse where she lives) to celebrate her 86th birthday with a surprise party and lunch. We had a very good time, enjoyed some cousins time and got to see the nephew and niece (I didn't know we were going to see them until we were on our way) and my middle sister. Now we are at home relaxing and watching a movie. Updated all three of my blogs! And that concludes the exciting weekend wrap up of the Giggles family.
Even though tomorrow is a holiday for a lot of people, my hubby and my Dad both have to work. So far there are no sub jobs so I will probably spend the day at home beginning my fall house cleaning since I missed the spring one!

Summer 2010 Recap

Well, this summer was a bit. . . .no much different than most summers for us. This was our first summer without Mom. We knew it was going to be hard on us but we also knew that it would be especially hard for my Dad. We have spent as much time with him as we have been able to. As I began to get pictures I realized that we did more this summer than I had originally thought. Here goes. . . . . . .Mr. Giggles and I headed here for his cousins wedding. Beautiful wedding but man it was hot!

The next week we headed here.

While here we met up with my Dad and my little sis. We got to play in this.

After Dad and little sis headed home, Mr. Giggles and I drove up Pikes Peak. If you haven't ever driven up there, it is absolutely breath taking. We had a wonderful day except for the lack of oxygen!!

We also went to Garden of the Gods and Cave of the Winds.

Once we got back home, we spent time with the nephew and the niece. I went to see the musical Wicked with my sisters and took a trip to my middle sister's house. The rest of the summer was spent doing this. . .

and this. . . . . .

and some more of this. . . .


and watched the ponds do this. . . . .

and watched these hoping for some rain (we are still waiting for this). We are over 5 inches behind on rainfall this year and August was one of the hottest months on record.

Now we are all getting back into the swing of things. Mr. Giggles, Dad and little sis are back at
school as are the nephew and niece. Middle sis and I are back to subbing and life continues to march on.

Mr. Giggles and I hope to be able to do some more of this in the fall.



I hope that you have enjoyed my summer recap. If you want to read more summer recaps, head on over to Jennifer's blog for Friday with Friends.

Wordless Wednesday