How Time Flies!!

It's been a fun filled summer here in Kansas! Trips to OKC, and to the D.C. area......spending time with dear loved ones. Seems as though I'm always busy, but haven't accomplished much at all! We are all doing well, taking one day at a time. James is growing so fast I can't keep up, and is quite the little comedian now. He keeps us in stitches most all the time. Heather is still at home after being laid off in June, and loves being at home with James! They just enjoyed his first trip to the Wichita zoo together this week, and he's still talking about it.....he loved it! Mom still comes over every Thursday to spend the day with James, and they are still quite the pair! We will get together to celebrate Mom's birthday tomorrow, and she is doing great. She STILL gets down on the floor to wrestle and tumble with James.......she amazes me! I hope and pray I'm still that active at her age. My sister Vonita is still slowly recovering from her toxic lithium levels.....she has good days and bad days, but we are hoping for the best. My sister Harelda is looking into going back to school after being laid off from Hawker-Beechcraft.......one day shy of 20 years! She is considering being a radiologist, and she would be good at it! We are all beside ourselves happy for my sister Terra, who will become a Grandma for the first time in December! Her daughter, Kourtney will bless our family with a precious new life......and we are still waiting to find out if we should buy pink or blue. My sister Cindy is still a work-aholic, and on the go ALL the time. We practically have to tie her down to get to see her! LOL. She gets to fly with her husband, Craig once in a while, so she has seen some beautiful parts of the world.
I guess that just leaves me and Beryl, and we are still enjoying life as it comes......seems like a roller coaster at times, but at least we have each other to share the ride with! He still works in the oil fields, and I go with him on the weekends, and I LOVE it! For being such a girly-girl, I just love to don the grubbies, put on the greasy gloves, and gauge the tanks, and tighten the stuffing boxes and such.......we always seem to have a blast at it, anyway.
So, I think that brings you up to speed for now.......I'll try to do better at updating more often....
I got some ribbing the other day about it, so here you go, Elizabeth......just for you!! I'll post some pictures soon, and hopefully some videos, also. You all take care, and remember to hug the ones you love! Thanks for sharing my corner of the world with me! God Bless You!!

The Dog Days of Summer

Sleepy, but handsome in his summer haircut......eating lunch

Such a BIG boy on his new play gym...(just tonight he learned he can slide down
on his tummy!!)

As the days grow longer and hotter, we are all adjusting to a new "normal", as, sadly, my
daughter, H, got laid off last week. My heart just breaks for her.....but we are praying that the unemployment benefits will allow her to stay at home for a few months with James. She is still waiting on the paperwork to "crunch the numbers", and see where they stand. The main concern is that she carried the family insurance through her job, and COBRA payments are so outrageous! All I can do is put it all in God's hands, and have faith that He has a reason for it. In the meantime, my days are suddenly quite long, and VERY quiet! Even his toys and stuffed animals seem sad and lonely, and I miss the sound of little feet running amuck through the house, and the sweet sound of his little voice,......(he had JUST started saying "I luff my Mammo"). And there are times that I swear my ears literally ache to hear his contagious laugh!
His vocabulary is absolutely exploding right now, and I long to hear his chatter. I still get to see him most anytime I want.....but I am trying to let them settle into their own new routine without my interrupting every day. If I had MY way, I would be over there every day at the crack of dawn and spend the whole day with him! LOL. The good stress is that I am getting motivated to get some things done around the house that seem to have been put on hold for the last two years, so that will keep me very busy, and I am actually starting to look forward to it. It has taken me a few days to wrap my head around it, and I'm sure my poor daughter thought I was some sort of whack job the first day or two. I cried a river of tears, and you'd have thought he was moving across the country!! I had to give myself an attitude adjustment, and did ALOT of praying about it, and I am in a much better frame of mind now. I still (and always will) worry about how they will make it, but H is a strong woman, and a force to be reckoned with when she needs to be, and I am sure she will be just fine. But as many of you know, they are ALWAYS your babies, no matter HOW old the are, and it's just my maternal perogative to worry. LOL.
Honestly, I am thrilled that she finally gets to be at home with James.......just as she always wanted.
On a lighter note, I am happy to tell you that our little friend in Florida, "Bella Bean", got to go home last week after MONTHS in the hospital in Ohio. She has a disease called Hurlers, and has been through the horrendous ordeal of a bone marrow transplant, and is on the road to a happy, healthy life. And she will be welcoming a new baby brother to the family in just about a month now. We are thrilled for them, and praise God for his blessing of restored health. I love you, sweet girl, and am so proud of your strength and courage. God Bless You!!
My sister Vonita gave us quite the scare a couple of weeks ago......and again, we are thanking God for his blessings. She was found at home by her best friend....breathing but unresponsive.
After countless tests, it was discovered that she had TOXIC levels of lithium in her system. She had been prescribed lithium quite some time ago, but the (so called) doctor that she switched to about a year ago kept increasing the dosage without any blood work, and it finally reached the critical point. Another few hours, and she wouldn't have made it! She was in the hospital for a week, and is continuing to recover at home now. It will just take time to get it out of her system, and then we will start from scratch again. Needless to say she has a NEW doctor now, and i have every confidence that he will stay on top of things. I love you, sister.....more than you will ever know. God Bless You!!
My dear friend Lora has also been through the ringer the past month or so. She had gastric bypass surgery, and had complications which led to a second emergency surgery, and between the two operations, she was so weak and so sick, and it has taken a few weeks to even begin to feel any better at all. On top of all her other medical problems this was just too much for her body to take, and I was scared to death for her for quite some time. AGAIN, we are thanking God for his blessings! I love you, Lora, to the moon and back, and that's just for starters! God Bless You!!
Mom is doing very well after her eyelid surgery, and looks cute as a button! Her face just looks so much brighter, and you can't even see any scarring......it's amazing! She is on the go again, and looking forward to going to see Lora with me this weekend. We can hardly wait.....we have so much fun together on our little road trips! I love you, sweet Momma, more than there are words to express it. God Bless You!!
So, that's my summer vacation thus far......the typical roller coaster! I'll be back soon with some pics of our trip to Lora's. Till then, hug your loved ones, and TELL them how much they mean to you......never let that opportunity slip past you. Thank you for sharing your time with me, and......God Bless You!!

OK, OK, OK, .........

His favorite meal....pancakes.....on his birthday.

Playing with his new "farm".

Discovering the wonders of a flower with his beloved Grams.

Third day after surgery........looking good!! I just adore that smile.

Sorry I've been gone so long......it seems as if my life has just been a whirlwind of activity! But I have to ask myself......"if you've been so busy, why haven't you got anything DONE?" LOL. I'm finding out that the older I get, the faster time flies, and the slower I get. And the two just don't mix well! I am still thrilled to be keeping my little lovebug during the week, and by the time he goes home in the evening, I am just whooped, which does NOTHING for my "to do" list. But I don't stress over it so much anymore......I am learning to accept it, and not beat myself up over it. As fast as his Mommy grew up, I think he is growing up ten times faster! We celebrated his second birthday this last week, and was such a double edged sword for me. I am in such awe of his milestones and accomplishments, and eagerly anticipate his daily discoveries, and yet, I find myself longing for the "baby days". To sit and hold him and rock and sing to him for hours while he looks at me with wonder......those days are long gone. He is perpetual motion at all times now, unless he is sleeping. ALL boy, this one! And at the same time, so sweet and tender-hearted.
(reminds me of my Daddy that way). His vocabulary has blossomed the past few weeks, and is quite the little "repeater". Which gives me a daily lesson to watch my tongue AND my attitude with which I speak! He continues to be consumed with anything with wheels, be it a truck, a car, a train, it doesn't matter.....if it has wheels, it's COOL! And he LOVES the farm......farm animals, farm pictures, farm books, but being ON the farm is by far the greatest. Today while we were at Mom's, he just took off up the driveway......on his own......(with his Mother not far behind him, of course) and walked all the way up to the neighbors to see the cows, and the barn with the hay,
and then all the way back again. And then ran all over the yard to boot. He was still going strong, but his Mother was pooped, and alas, we had to go inside to keep him from taking off again. His curiosity of the world fascinates me, and I hope and pray he never looses it.

My precious little Momma had eyelid surgery this past Tuesday, to remove the "droopy" that has been hindering her vision. Let's just say that I'm thankful it's over, and I pray she NEVER has to go through it again! The surgery itself wasn't TOO bad, although they had a slight problem getting her to stay deadened enough to be absolutely pain free. The mere thought of my Momma being in any pain just sickens me to the core, and she assures me it wasn't that bad.
(But I STILL hate it!) Then afterwards, we were in the post-op room, getting our instructions on home care, and she had a "vagus" episode that scared the goose liver right out of us! It looked like a cross between a stroke and a seizure.......and come to find out they are somewhat
frequent in these situations, but we had never heard of it. She came right out of it as quickly as she went into it, but it still haunts me at times. I called her primary doctor before we took her home just to double check with him about it, and we have stayed in touch the rest of the week.
I did some research on it, and these "episodes" have a varying range of degree from very mild, (like Mom's) to,......well......let's just thank God that hers was so mild, and leave it at that. I then stayed with her until Sat. evening, and she is doing remarkably well. She never bruised as badly as I had expected, and the swelling has gone down extremely. She itches something awful, though, which we were told to expect. All in all, I guess I can say it went well......and once again she amazes me with her strength and fortitude. What a blessing she is, and I am the luckiest daughter in the world to have her for my Momma!!

Oh, my! It's getting late, and I need my rest to be able to keep up with my little toddler tornado in the morning, so I will sign off for now. Thank you for checking in on me, and I will be back soon to do some more catching up. God Bless You!

I'm Baaaack!

"Hello, Danny, are you busy right now?"............

STILL trying to get out......even after calling for help!

What a photo op!!!! I was laughing by butt off!!!

O.K., sorry about that. Heather was having trouble posting a picture on HER blog, and wanted me to try on mine. Mine worked fine, and I fully intended to get right back to it, but James had other plans for me, and the very next day I really started feeling like crud, and, well, time just has a way of going by so fast, and I really HAVE been quite sick. Yesterday morning I woke up with very swollen, painful glands, along with all the other signs and symptoms I'd been fighting, so I finally admitted defeat and made an appointment with the doctor. You KNOW something is wrong when the doctor uses that light to look up your nose at your sinuses and says "Oh, my God"!! LOL. After a good going over, it was determined that I have quite a raging sinus infection, and a double ear infection. WOO-HOO!!! So I now have a steroid nose spray to help with the swelling, and an antibiotic. I am finally starting to feel a bit better this evening. At least I can breathe somewhat easier, and the horrendous headache is easing up. Thank you to Mom for watching James yesterday so I could go to the doctor, and for coming over today to help with James. You are the BEST, Mom!!!
Last weekend we had a rather large spring snowstorm that dumped anywhere from around 4 inches of snow (over by Mom's house) to around 10 inches here at my house, to a whopping 26 to 30 inches over at Beryl's house!! It was CRAZY!!! And VERY windy with it, so the drifts were increadable!! On Saturday, Beryl got the crazy notion to try to get to work before the snowplow had come down his road.......(he lives in the country).......and got a whole half mile from home before he was hopelessly stuck. (Grrrrr!!!!) After waiting for 2 1/2 hours for a tractor to pull him out, he went home and stayed there...... The snowplow finally came through about 5:00 that evening, so he was able to get out with no problem on Sunday morning. Now, I was SO ready to go with him, and take my camera and get some great pics of what mother nature had dealt us, so I bundled up good and got out the snow boots, and away we went. Low and behold, we got STUCK......and had to call a friend of ours to come and give us a pull. While we were waiting for Danny to arrive to help us, I happened to notice the headline on the local newspaper that morning, and HAD to get a pic of Beryl holding the paper in front of him......
PRICELESS!!!!! LOL! We got out of our "dilema" and finished our rounds with no more problems, but I used up my memory card in my camera taking video of the whole thing, so no pics of the snowdrifts.......phooey! That's OK, tho, what I DID get was worth it!! Ahhhhh, the
memories........ We have so much fun in the fields together, and I miss going with him every day, but very soon now, I think both James and I will be joining him once in a while. I can hardly wait to take James.......He LOVES watching the videos that I've taken of his "papa" at work.

So that's the latest from my humble little home in Kansas......thank you for checking in on us, and I promise to do my best to do a better job of keeping things more up to date on here. Gods Blessings to each of you, and I should be back soon.

This is a test.......

Of the blogging system. Will I be able to post a picture? We are about to find out......
Well, what do you know, it's working now!! I'll be back in a jiff!!

Now I know my ABC's......

Well,.....timing, as they say, is everything!! Just as I was going to post on here tonight, I received an instant message from by dearest Lora, so I just closed out to visit with her. THEN, while "talking" with Lora, my sweet daughter called me,......and was in tears. But, they were happy ones!! Our precious James was singing his ABC's!!!!!! We were bawling together, and so elated at this huge milestone.......and I can't thank Heather enough for calling me right away so I could hear him. I told Lora about it, and she started saying "VIDEO, VIDEO"!! So heather and I hung up so she could get the video camera out, and she called me back a few minutes later......as soon as she got the camera out, he quit, and just wanted to play with it. Isn't THAT just the typical toddler for ya?? LOL. But now that I know about it, you can bet that I'll have my camera ready to go at a moments notice tomorrow. Wish me luck!! In the meantime, I need to go and get my house in order.......I've been busy taking Beryl's mom to the doctor for the past TWO days. She has bronchitis, and we have to keep going in for antibiotic shots.......hopefully tomorrow she will be feeling better, and won't have to get another one. I guess these shots are quite painful to get, and she's had to have two of them now, and so BOTH hips are sore already. YIKES! We will see.
If she needs it, then I will be happy to take her in again, but I just hope she can get some rest tomorrow, and not have to get out again. And I can finish getting caught up around here!
So, until next time....God Bless You and Keep You....

Where does the time go?

Yes, yes, I know.......it's about darn time!! I'm sorry for not posting for so long! I won't go into detail, but let's just say that the holidays these past few months were very hard to get through, and my head just wasn't into merriment OR blogging! And now, it's been so long that I'm not even gonna try to remember everything, let's just fast forward to the last few days, shall we?
James came down with a NASTY cold/virus a week ago, and is just now getting back on his feet good. And now Mammo and Papa are fighting it! LOL. (yes, he has switched my name to Mammo now....and that's just fine with me.....he did it all on his own.) He continues to captivate my heart, and break it at the same time. He is growing SO fast, and learning new things so quickly that I can hardly keep up anymore! He is speaking so well, most of it is still "James-speak", but we understand each other just fine, thank you! He is saying complete sentences now, and is learning his alphabet and his numbers. He is a very quick study, and has learned quite a bit without us even realizing it!! He still holds court in a crowd, and is capable of charming the rattles off a snake! He is still, of course, the most beautiful little boy I've ever laid my eyes on, and I am still amazed at how much love and pure joy he brings into my life. I am so blessed........
"Papa" is doing well, except for the cold that James gave him, LOL. I tried to keep them apart when James was so sick, but that's like asking the sun not to rise! They are the best of buddies, and I honestly can't tell who adores whom the most. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
Mom is doing well, also, except for a nagging skin rash around her eyes that has forced us to postpone her eyelid surgery till this spring. She was somewhat disappointed about it, but knows that it is for the best. She still struggles emotionally, which is to be expected, and I ache so badly for her sometimes.......it was 10 months ago today that we lost Daddy, and the pain and the longing is still so evident in her face, even through her smile. I feel so helpless at times, and yet I know that it is something she has to work through on her own. We spend alot of time talking about Daddy, and I know it helps me........I just hope it helps her too.
My precious Heather is still the brightest star in the night sky.......I am in awe of her every day.
I know it pains her to have to work, but that is the way it is, and she makes it look so easy to work full time, and yet still be an amazing wife and Mommy. I know she must get bone tired, but she ALWAYS has a smile and a hug for James, and tells him how much she misses him. He just eats it up.......LOL. I could just sit and watch them play together for hours. Too sweet!!
Which just leaves me.......and as you can tell, I am happy and content to just be around my loved ones, and try to be there for anyone who needs me. There are so many things that I am so grateful for, and the Lord has truely blessed me with the best!
I guess that brings you up to speed........there are more stories to tell, but I will leave them till next time, as my fingers are starting to ask for a break!! I am happy that you stopped by to check in on me, and come back soon, please! God Bless each of you, and remember to hug your loved ones, and TELL them what they mean to you........
Till next time..........

SURPRISE!!!!!!

What an amazing group of women.........I am SO blessed!!!!! On the back row: Jackie, Judy, Mom, Me, (holding a picture of Lora, who couldn't be there), my sister Harelda, Cheryl, Katie, and in front is Heather, my sister Cindy, and Kathy.

Jackie and I have known each other LITERALLY all our lives.......from the day I was born..She had us cracking up with her story telling. Love you, girl!!!

Opening gifts...................

And PILES of cards..................

Well, knock me over with a feather.........my precious daughter and my precious baby sister put their heads together and threw me a surprise party for my 50th birthday on Saturday. And a good, old fashioned SLUMBER party at that!! And to top it off, the house was full of my girlfriends that I went to school with. We are still a very close group of girls, and we get together once in a while to catch up on each other, and laugh and act silly. I am blessed beyond measure to have these adorable girls to go through life with. We've seen each other through everything you can imagine, and we are always there for each other at a moments notice. It is a very rare and precious gift that I treasure in my heart, and each passing year just gets even sweeter.
That being said, let me tell you about the wonderful evening we had........I arrived at Heather's house shortly before 7:00, and of course, everyone was already there, huddled in the kitchen , and when I came around the corner, there they were, and I was (almost) speechless! They wasted no time in getting the party started, and we ate pizza, drank soda's, and I had TWO cakes!! Angel food, of course, one was a confetti cake, and the other a strawberry flavored with pink frosting, and a tiara on top!! There was a GIANT tiara shaped helium balloon, all set out on a pink tablecloth, with pink plates, glasses, napkins,.......everything!!!! I was in my little pink happy world!!!! It was beautiful!!! After eating our pizza and visiting, we all gathered in the living room to open my gifts, and cards galore!! Each one was so special, and so personal, and I will keep them all forever!!! Some were tear-jerkers, (which I made Jackie read for me, 'cause I couldn't read them through my tears), and some were hysterically funny, and we laughed till our sides ached! Heather even gave me some cute new jammies to wear that night, since she couldn't tell me ahead of time to bring mine! LOL. She thought of everything!!! So then we snacked, and got to telling stories from our school days, and sharing memories that had the whole room just rolling!! Then, alas, the ones who couldn't stay all night started getting ready to leave, and the crowd thinned out a bit.........but not the fun and laughter!! Heather, Mom, Jackie, Kathy and I put our jammies on, and got our second wind, and got out the Wii, and laughed till we could hardly breathe!!!! I couldn't BELIEVE that James slept through the gales of laughter and whooping and hollering that was going on!!! Finally, around 2:00, we decided we better get some sleep, since James would be up early to wake us up. But then he slept in till almost 7:30, so it wasn't so bad. Breakfast was served........banana nut muffins, apple danish, and we needed the coffee!! I took my first sip of coffee, and my eyes bugged out..........come to find out, Jackie made the coffee, and as she puts it, she likes her coffee to "snap her head up", and lemme tell ya........IT DOES!!!!!! But we drank it, and then made yet another pot, this time flavored........I don't remember what it was, but it was YUMMY!!!! All good things must come to an end, and this was no exception. People started leaving around mid-morning, and I got home about 11:00.
My mind is still reeling.........and I have so many sweet, new memories to recall at any time, and trust me, it will be OFTEN!!! I have no words to express my love and gratitude to Heather, Cindy, Mom, Harelda, Susan, Cheryl, Katie, Judy, Kathy, Jackie, and sweet baby James. And I can't tell this story without telling you what my son-in-law did.........he actually went out and slept in his semi-truck in the driveway, so "the girls" could have the house to ourselves!!!! Have you ever heard of such???? Thank you, Rick!!! Yur a sweetie!!!!
On a side note........I knew at the party that Cindy wasn't being "cindy", but little did we know at the time how sick she was, and how much pain she was in. She wound up in the E.R. the next morning with a RAGING bladder infection!!!! Thankfully, she is feeling better today, and should be just fine by Thanksgiving. I love you, baby sister, more than you'll ever know!!!

Not a baby anymore.......

It breaks my heart to say it, but I believe we have officially left the baby era. My little lovebug is growing so fast, and I can hardly keep up! We have made several changes around the house to accomodate a little boy, and removed the baby items. Exciting and sad all in one breath. This past weekend we bought a booster seat that straps to the dining room chair, and he is happily sitting right at the table with us now. He is in a phase of not eating much right now, and I'm hoping this will improve now that he is at the table. We have several different typs of toddler silverware, but yesterday he made it perfectly clear that he wants to use the "big people" fork, thank you!! After I gave him a fork like ours, he ate much better. And we now have little chairs and rockers for him to sit in, and he is SO proud when he sits in them! The little wooden chair was actually mine when I was little, and it has held many, many babies in our family. It has been repaired more than once, and my Mom even strung a new rope seat in it years ago. If that little chair could talk,........oh, the stories it could tell!!! And, of course, he is big enough now to climb right up onto the furniture, and I'm pretty sure we have learned the "sit, don't stand" rule. It's been a long time since he last tried it, anyway. (crossing fingers). He went in for a check-up yesterday, and he weighs 28 1/2 pounds, and is 33 1/2 inches tall. So, that's what is going on in my little corner of the world right now. Thanks be to God for new blessings with each sunrise.
Love to all................

Conversations with Elmo

We received a package in the mail yesterday from our beloved Lora, aka Big Bird. She has been up to her usual.........spoiling our James! She is far too generous, but then, that's just who she is,........and we all love her to bits and pieces!! Thank you, dear one, for loving us the way you do!
Anyway, she sent James the newest Elmo, and he fell in love with it! He's CRAZY about Elmo, and has several different ones, but this one quickly became his new favorite.......and he just had Heather and I cracking up when he began to have a conversation! Enjoy!!!

"They call me the fireman"........

While in town this past weekend, Pa-Pa and I met up with my precious daughter and her precious son at Wal-Mart. WELL, that meant we just HAD to go check out the toy department!
Pa-pa and James had the best time trying on all kinds of hats, but the fireman hat seemed to be the favorite. Being the crazy in love Gammo that I am, I just happened to have my camera in my purse, and captured the moment! LOL. I'm so glad I did......

Problem Solving

When James started playing with his new "kitchen", I got out some dishes, etc., for him to play with. One of them was a blue enamel cup, which he loves. But he got rather put out with me when I wouldn't just pour his milk in the cup for him to drink.......so he came up with his own resolution. He got his sippy cup out of the fridge, and put it IN the blue cup, and was pleased as punch with himself when he could drink from it that way. I just adore watching his little wheels turn as he problem solves!! GO, COOTER, GO!!!

Toddler Mania!!

Sharing his "pretend" juice with Barney.

"James, are you a goofy boy?" This is his reply.........

Somehow, wrestling with Grams turned into singing and finger-plays.

Gammo makes GOOD chile, but it's even better when I get to feed myself.....

The first order of business after getting his new stove and refridgerator? Putting his
cup of milk in the fridge, silly!!!!

Oh, how I wish you could hear the goings-on at my house on Thursdays!! The walls just
reverberate with peals of laughter and mayhem!! And I love every sweet, crazy, NOISY
second of it!! Sometimes I don't know who eggs whom on the most.....LOL. My little Mom
is SUCH a kid at heart, and when you mix that with an overactive toddler, you never
know WHAT the day will bring! James has enjoyed "cooking" for quite a while now, and
I've been wanting to get a kitchen set for him, but they are always pink, and while pink
happens to be MY favorite color, I'm not about to push it on James. LOL. So, when I
found this little set last weekend at an auction, I nabbed it up! I do believe it's one of
the best dollars I've ever spent on him. That's right.......a WHOLE dollar! Woo-Hoo!!!!
Gotta love a bargain!!! There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with it, all I had to do was
wash it up and Lysol it, and we were good to go. To be honest, we get alot of razzing about
all the "stuff" James has, but the truth is, at least 95% of it has come from auctions and
garage sales and such. Hey, I've EARNED the right to spoil him, and we ARE teaching him
to take care of his things, even if they ARE cheap. He will still learn to appreciate what he
has, and at the same time, learn that used can be just as good as brand new. And in the
meantime, "Pa-pa" and I are having a ball! No harm, no foul, is how I look at it.

O.K., it's getting late, and I need to re-charge for another big day tomorrow. Thank you
for spending a few minutes with us. God Bless!!!!

For the love of Bella......

Our sweet Cheryl, manning the money table.

I just adore that smile.....Grams helping in the kitchen during J's nap.

My darling daughter, SO excited, getting the trailers ready the night before the sale.

YUM!!!! The house smelled SO good all day Friday while these baked!

And here is the princess of our hearts......isn't she just beautiful? We love you, sweet girl!

Wow! The past 2 weeks have just flown by! We had a big yard sale/bake sale in honor of our precious little Bella, who is facing a bone marrow transplant in about 6 weeks. First of all, I have a list of people to thank:
Mom............without you here to care for James, we never could have pulled this off. I know we wore you out, but as usual, you just kept smiling, and helping wherever you could. I LOVE YOU!

Cheryl...........The fact that you have taken Bella into your heart just melts mine! You have been a tremendous help, and a simple thank you doesn't begin to express my gratitude. I LOVE YOU!

Beryl............Honey, you always support me in whatever I want to do, and you will never know how much that means to me. You are always there for me, and just roll with the flow, and I don't know what I would do without you. I LOVE YOU!

Phil...............Bubba, you have so little time to be with your family, and yet you always have the time to help out whenever the need presents itself. You not only helped with the sale, but you also found the time to go over and help my Mom, and we are so grateful for that. You have a huge, loving, generous heart, and I'm so thankful to have you and your family living near us again. I LOVE YOU!

Heather...............Heather, Heather, Heather,........you simply amaze me! How in the world did I get so lucky as to have the best daughter in the whole world? Your love and generosity for others simply shines in your beautiful eyes, and is a wonderful example for your son to witness as he grows up. Oh, the lessons we learn from our children! Not every Mother can claim to be able to look UP to her child, and I am one of the lucky few. You continue to be the brightest beacon of light in my life, and I am so proud to be your Mom. I LOVE YOU!

And to the countless people who came to the sale, and gave so generously, and showed such concern for a little girl that you don't even know.........God Bless You!

With that being said, the sale went well overall. The Kansas wind reared it's ugly head and gave us quite a challenge! But the GOOD stress is that because of the cold wind, we were selling chile by 10:00, and even had to go back to the kitchen to make more! The baked goods sold out, and made me wish I had made even more. We sold 4 dozen cinnamon rolls, 8 pans of brownies, and 6 cakes, and I never got a nibble of any of it! I was proud of myself for not even licking the spoons while I was baking! LOL. That is HUGE for me! And here it is, 2 days post sale, and I'm still tired and sore. But it was worth every minute of it for our little princess! Please keep Bella and her family in your prayers, as they are battling the insurance company now to get Bella to the University of Minnesota for her transplant. Corporate red tape and greed just makes me furious!! Don't get me started!! GGRRRRRRRR!!!!!

O.K., my friends, I really need to go do some more cleaning, and get ready for another day of James mania tomorrow. He is such a little love, and a joy to my heart that grows and grows with each new day. Thank you for checking in on my little corner of the world. God Bless You All!!

New member of the family!!

Hello to all.....
Meet Gypsy!! She "found" Beryl out in the oilfields this morning, and followed him all around.
He told me all about her at lunch, and so I sent our scraps and even a nice juicy pork chop with him this afternoon in case she was still there.......and she was! He gave her some water, and then fed her the food I sent, and, of course, they became instant pals!! When he got ready to leave, she tried to get in the truck with him, and he wouldn't let her, but then she followed him for so long, he finally caved in and went back and opened the truck door, and she just hopped right in, and settled into the passenger seat like she was born there. She laid in the seat with her head on the armrest and just loooooked at him, and he melted. LOL. So he brought her to my house to meet me, and she is SUCH a sweetie! She even sits already when she's told. So, Gypsy has a new home now, at the farm, with a huge pen, and a fancy dog house with windows and a porch, that Beryl built for his last dog, Rex, (which he found in the fields). Rex has been gone for almost 2 years now, and we were all heartbroken when he died.
He was HUGE, and the best guard dog I've ever seen! I'm so glad that Beryl found her before something happened to her! I just will never understand how people can dump these poor animals out in the country and leave them. SO, next week will be busy with getting her into a vet, to make sure she is O.K., and get her shots before we introduce her to James. I hope and pray all goes well, as Beryl is already so taken with her!

It's about time!!!

Wow, has it really been a month since my last entry?? Hard to believe! Obviously, I've been busy, but I don't even know where to begin to bring you up to date! Suffice it to say there have been alot of us sick with various illnesses, and some very dear friends of ours moved to our little town, actually found a house just 2 doors from me!! I've been working on the house again, making it more toddler friendly for my little man. He has really enjoyed the new set-up, with much more space to run and explore. And we are trying to get ready for the annual city-wide garage sale coming up. Along with a 4 family sale here in my yard, we are also planning a bake sale that day with 100% of the proceeds to go to my daughters best friend and her family in Florida. They have a beautiful daughter named Isabella who is the same age as our James, and has recently been diagnosed with Hurlers Disease. This is a devastating illness that is actually an enzyme disorder, and treatment is hard in and of itself, beginning with enzyme replacement therapy, (which begins tomorrow), and will eventually lead to a bone marrow transplant. Please keep our precious "Bella Bean" in your fervent prayers, as well as her parents.......they have a very long and scarey road ahead of them. We love you, Bella!

My very dear and precious friend, Lora and her husband, "sweet Charlie" were here for a visit, and as usual, we enjoyed and treasured the time spent with them. We just love to shower them with love, and no matter how hard we try, they always seem to shower us in return, only much bigger!! The trip was very hard on her this time, and I am certain I will be going back to Ok. to see HER the next time. I am hoping for some good weather in October, and take Mom back again, we really love our "road trips" together!! Please remember Lora in your prayers as well, as she is in constant pain now, and relief, if any is only fleeting. I would give anything to endure this for her, and I love and miss her so much.

O.K., my friends, I think that is enough for tonight......I still have some housework to do, and need to get ready for another day of "toddler mania" tomorrow. He is growing so fast, and really keeps me on the run now! But I love and cherish every day with him, and we continue to have so darn much fun together! He is still such a little love, full of hugs and kisses, and I just soak it up like a sponge!! Thank you for checking in on me, and God Bless You All...

I was gone that day.....

Cooter's new workbench........

Actually, it's 2 separate ones, the one
on top that opens up is a unit to be used
while sitting on the floor.

Paw-paw thought it was just the ticket!!!

This is the big one, and the table turns over to
be able to work on the car engine.

It's no secret that we are addicted to going to auctions, and sometimes
we hit the jackpot..........or rather,.........James does! LOL. We used to tease my Daddy about his dog being so spoiled, and he would tell us that he was gone the day it happened.
That's what I tell everyone now about James..........and the truth is, Paw-paw is the big hearted
pushover when it comes to his little buddy. He HAD to get this set up tonight so that James could see it first thing in the morning. And I happen to know that Paw-paw can hardly wait to
spend time with his Cooter playing with it. And I can hardly wait to watch them........(and get
pictures, of course.) We are so blessed to be loved by a man who genuinely adores us, and has fun spoiling us!!! I thank God for him every single day!!

My grown up wuss......

Isn't she just gorgeous??!!

Have a GREAT year, "Miss Meyers"!

Mom, April and I in her classroom.

Oh, how I'd LOVE to sit in on her class one day!!

I was unexpectedly and suddenly so overcome with emotion and genuine pride for her,
and really NEEDED this hug!! Where HAVE the years gone?????


I've still more pics and stories to share, but for tonight, I think I need to go and get ready
for another busy day tomorrow. Thank you for sharing my little corner of the world, and
know that I love you all............God Bless!!!

My Favorite Wuss....

I'd like you to meet my friend April. She is the daughter of my very dear friend, Lora. I've known April literally ALL her life........and I just love her to pieces. It is a thrill to get to know her as an adult, all grown up, and teaching school. I had the priveledge of going to see her new classroom for this year while we were in Ok. last weekend. This is her first year to teach the fourth grade, and she is so excited! I just know in my heart that she will be an excellent example to her young charges, and years from now, there will be students of hers getting their own teaching degrees because of her influence on their lives. Little do they know right now just how lucky they are. I'm so very proud of you, April, but I want you to know that in MY heart, you will always and forever be my tiny little ballerina, dancing all in pink, with the most precious smile on your face, and "angel kisses" sprinkeled across your cute little nose. I can still hear your little girl voice in my head, calling me your "favorite wuss". And you will always be mine, also.