Tucker the Wonder Dog...and of course Baby Afton....

Of course, no post would be complete without a picture of baby Afton...what a cutie!

Reilly....one of the few pictures of him actually lying still...he's still a pup at heart!

Tucker and his diaper......poor guy.....not very dignified....

That fur is so silky.....a very majestic head...

The other off white cloth at the end of his body is the sock we have to keep duct taped to his tail....his tail still hasn't healed from his last 'happy tail' episode...

Tucker the Wonder dog is still hangin' on......although we're not sure for how long. I took some pictures of him....just in case.....one of them isn't a real good shot of him but shows the diaper that he's forced to wear....the poor guy continually tries to relieve himself, a number of times...wherever he is in the house where the urge hits him. He finished the pills that helped his bladder to contract yesterday so now it's a waiting game to see if it'll work on it's own or shut down again. I've been on a couple of forums...they kind of make you feel guilty that you're not doing more....taking him to a teaching hospital....taking him to a behaviourist....I can't even afford a behaviourist for my kids!

Yesterday, everybody but myself went to the Christmas celebration for my husband's side of the family. I stayed home with Tucker.....part of me didn't mind,...I knew it would be too much stress on him to leave him at home .....but part of me was quite bitter....I was in pain...the chiropractor says I've put out a couple of discs....I wasn't pleased with being left with two large dogs to take care of...one being sick...on my own....it was a quiet day......nobody fighting over who's turn it was to play the WII......that's what the kids got for Christmas...they agreed to a joint gift. Praise the Lord it wasn't like the kids over at Home Sanctuary...they did a skit about asking for a baby brother or sister....Rachel has found herself to be with child at the age of 45...you go girl....not for me! Putting diapers on Tucker, by myself was enough, thank you very much!

A very Happy New Year to you all!

So, I guess we'll just have to see how the next day or two go..........

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve Day......a busy day to be sure......house to clean, food to prepare, gifts to finish wrapping, seating plan and making sure there's enough cutlery and china for 19....going to the Christmas Eve service....filling 7 stockings.....getting everything under the tree and falling into bed to get a few hours of sleep before the real work begins tomorrow! It's a good thing that Christmas comes but once a year!

Our dog Tucker is still with us...the new medication, although still not allowing him to relieve himself properly, it must be helping some because he doesn't seem to be as stressed and in pain about it all.....poor dog has to wear adult diapers though...not very dignified....

We went to the funeral of eldest daughter and my friend's mom......even though there was sadness, it was a beautiful time of praising the Lord....I have to admit that of all the Christmas things that we've been doing the last few weeks...even at church, that the funeral service was the closest that I've felt to having joy and praise in my heart that I've felt for a very long time. The people at this church spent most of the 2-1/2 hours praising the Lord as well as doing the usual tributes to a fine lady. It did one's soul good to be privileged to be a part of it all.

Praise God from Whom ALL blessings flow......

Merry Christmas to one and all.....

The Sunday before Christmas......

Afton was patiently waiting for the kids musical program tonight at church. Poor Afton, she inherited my nose......poor kid...

Verity decided that she would try out the controls at the sound board.......

....and of course, Jairus would also have a try......

Honour was in the musical play.....her first time at singing and some acting...she did pretty good for only five years old.....plus she had a nasty cold that was dragging her down....I tell ya...my sweet grandbabies were the only thing that would have got me out tonight....it's very blowy and cold with lot's of snow in our area today....not my idea of a good time! You'd think with being a Canadian all my live long days that I'd be used to it....but, I'm not!

Poor Tucker! So far the medication that the vet gave him to break down the crystals and allow him to relieve himself properly don't seem to be working. I'm afraid that we are just putting off the inevitable. I feel badly that my old friend is ending his life this way.

Tomorrow eldest daughter and I are suppose to attend the funeral of a good friend's mom. Not a good way to start off the Christmas week but it must be tons worse for the family that has to face Christmas in a few short days without their beloved mom.....Life goes on.....whether it be Christmas musicals, doggies dying, loved ones last good byes, putting the turkey into the fridge to start the big thaw...hoping you have all the stocking stuff purchased and that everyone has equal amounts,cleaning the house for company, doing laundry...there's always laundry.....wrapping the gifts...it doesn't stop...sometimes you wish it would...and other times you're quite happy for it to be put on a fast speed........anything to get out of the pain you're in....anything to get the joy back in your heart......

My poor doggie

I've posted a picture before of my dog Tucker...the black lab that likes to carry his metal dish around in his mouth....well, poor Tucker is sick....we even thought we were going to have to put him down today, I really didn't want to do that, especially this close to Christmas. It reminded me of another dog I had many years ago. His name was Tippy....Tippy was a little on the wild side. He was an outdoor dog and he used to always try to dig out of his pen....he used to peel back the corner of the fencing with his very strong jaws and get loose! So, because it was in December, and very difficult to fix....my dad attached a long chain to his house inside the pen and hooked Tippy up to it. Well, three days before Christmas my younger brother went out to take him his food and found that Tippy had hung himself trying to get back into the pen after he had gone through the opening he had created....I know, pretty gross......I was devastated....he was my very first dog.
Now Tucker, my black lab was a birthday gift to me nine years ago. He's also a very strong dog...we had to attach airline cable to the framework of our fridge to attach Tucker to whenever we left the house. There were many times that we would come home and find the fridge moved!
Well, about a week ago we noticed that Tucker was having difficulty relieving himself...we already had a vet appointment set up for the next day because Tucker had happy tail again. Happy Tail is when a lab whacks their tail so hard on furniture and appliances , when they're excited, that they split their tail at the tip and you have blood everywhere. Tucker's tail had been split for a month and wasn't healing. We always put a sock on it and attached it with duck tape to keep it on. It usually heals in a week to ten days, but this time it wasn't. When he went to the vet the vet thought he had a kidney infection and put him on an antibiotic. A week later he was worse...last night he spent the whole night, just pacing and groaning. So back to the vet we went to today. The vet was at a loss to know what was wrong...he exrayed him and saw that his bladder was huge! The sedated him and put in a catheter and took off a lot of urine.....they sent him home with more meds. The vet kind of indicated that it the new medication didn't work that we should consider euthanizing him.

Poor Tucker......

Christmas Party

When we were at the party a man that my hubby works with asked if he could take our picture...so here it is! It was an enjoyable evening..the food was good. Although, it wasn't until we were on our way home that my husband said that the other three husbands of the three couples at the table were all vice presidents! Good grief...and there I was, asking the man beside me...he was quite young....'and what is your work with the company?'....groan......if I'd only known.

My hubby looks quite handsome in his suit doesn't he? It used to be that he always had to wear a tie and jacket but once they went to dress casual he rarely wears a suit and tie anymore. It was a nice occasion to get dressed up!

Despair!

Well, I was going to write about a much nicer subject.....the Christmas Dinner/Party hubby and I went to....but....I have to get second eldest daughter to show me how to get the picture from another site....for some reason when it was put on my computer by said daughter, which I very much appreciated, it didn't show up in the place where I access pictures for my blog! And I think that's the longest sentence that I've ever written! Anyways, it's 'the girl's' day off so maybe when she arises from her slumber she'll show me!

No, the subject that has been the bane of my existence the past week (at least) is fruit flies! You know, those pesky little things that swarm fruit gone bad? Well, I have them in the house and can't seem to get rid of them. We have tried many things.....containers of apple cider vinegar with some soap in it....that just seems to multiply them! We've searched everywhere for the source....thrown out every bit of garbage....cleaned every moist area......like around the edges of windows where the condensation collects.....every damp face cloth, dish cloth goes into the wash. Yesterday, I went around the house like some maniacal idiot spraying soapy water on every fly that I saw and wiping up the effect (dead fly). I am in despair!!!!!! In two weeks, I'm suppose to have eighteen people sitting down to Christmas dinner and I don't think they'll enjoy fighting for the food with the fruit flies!

If anyone out there has any solution, I would be eternally grateful!

Mom, New Clothes and Christmas Trees!

On Wednesday afternoon they did an angiogram on my mom....during the procedure they determined that one of her arteries was 99 percent blocked! We were very thankful that she didn't require more extensive surgery. Late Thursday afternoon the hospital discharged her, and after six days of her continuously saying that she wanted to go home...this morning she was saying that maybe she should have stayed! Mom was having some anxiety over being home....after some nitro and some gravol she seemed to calm down. I'm sure that her anxiety was pretty normal, considering the surprise she had at having a heart attack!

We are all hoping that after awhile she'll be able to relax and her and dad will be able to get some rest. Poor dad hardly slept at all last week and now is quite exhausted.

Tonight, all four of my youngest kids went to the Christmas formal at our church...they were all dressed up and looked very grown up! Good grief...I felt old.....but I made up for it because while they were at the church, I went out and bought myself some new dressy clothes for hubby's company dinner tomorrow night...It's been about six years since I bought myself anything dressy so I must admit I felt a little guilty! My sister says that I deserve it though and that's good enough for me!

Tomorrow morning is Christmas Tree Hunt at the Christmas Tree Farm......it's to be about a kajillion degrees below zero....I'd better dig out the long johns!

For Better or For Worse...

It has been an exhausting week so far and it's only Tuesday! My mom is still in the hospital...They finally found a room for her! Praise the Lord! Poor mom even spent the afternoon and part of the evening in the hallway because they needed her spot in the cardiac unit of the ER. She did have a heart attack and so, in the next few days they'll be doing an angiogram and an echo to assess the damage.

My dad is finding it hard to be on his own but he's getting through it.....my sister and my brother have been doing a lot....my sister is the eldest in the family so naturally takes on the most......it's her nature and that's fine since I still have kids at home...she has a little more freedom then me. Our other brother has been sick with a respiratory infection, so we want him to stay at home, thank you very much!

Once again you assess your life.....with and without your parents.....you know it's life, it's reality....but you don't like it. You don't like seeing your mom...the one that took care of you all those years, struggling to understand what's going on......confused as to why she can't go home. You're heart breaks at seeing your dad having to leave his wife at the hospital, to go home,...by himself.

Next March, they'll have been married 65 years!.....that's a long time....for better, for worse...in sickness and in health.......

My Mom

This is my mom.....she's in her mid eighties, in this picture she's comforting Verity cause Verity didn't get a present at her sister's birthday party. Poor Verity, she didn't understand.

This afternoon, my sister called. She was at my parents house...my mom was having severe chest pains and the ambulance was there to take her to the hospital. Hubby and I rushed over in time to see her being wheeled out, an oxygen mask on her face. Scary stuff.

The nitroglycerin that they gave her at the hospital helped to relieve the pain, but the blood work has yet to determine whether it was a very bad angina attack or a heart attack. Her father and her sister and her brother, all died from heart attacks. (Well, her brother died from an angina attack). They admitted her...she wasn't pleased with that cause she'll miss church..she doesn't like to miss.

Then there's my dad...all by himself at home tonight...a first for him since mom had her last baby 51 years ago.....

Please pray for them.

For you Lovey

This is for lovey ~

I will change your name
You shall no longer be called
Wounded, Outcast, Lonely or Afraid
I will change your name

Your new name shall be
Confidence, Joyfulness,
Overcoming one,
Faithfulness, friend of God,
One who seeks my face.~D.J. Butler

Hayden Jack

Two years ago today, our little grandson Hayden Jack Kent was born. He was very tiny...he could have fit in my hand.....unfortunately he was already in Heaven. Now that's a good thing and a bad thing.......good, because it was obvious to the nurse and midwife that he had some pretty serious problems and he's probably a lot happier dancing in Heaven.....but bad because we miss him...especially at Christmas when you know that should be another grandbaby at the table.
More than 20 years ago my hubby and I experienced the same heartache...the same nightmare....we named her Leah, and when Leslie had Afton in May, she gave her the middle name of Leah, after her sister...

I like to picture Leah and Hayden together in Heaven....it comforts me.

We celebrate the day of your birth today Hayden......we validate your life....it was, and still is important.

Weight Loss and Fire!

So, I went to the chiropractor today.....and as I was standing there and she was checking my back...she said 'you've lost weight!'......I said....well, a couple of pounds...actually almost five..but who's counting ...besides ME!! Anyways, she says...'ya, I can tell, on your back'....okay, so if anyone asks me where I most want to lose weight, I'm sorry but my back just doesn't seem to pop into my mind,..like, is this an old age thing or something? Geesh!

Yesterday, I hand washed a lot of pots, pans, cookie sheets etc. that had accumulated over the weekend and I was ever so pleased to have it done when hubby got home after a long day at his two jobs.....until he opened the oven door...which was crammed with more things....'good grief', I said...'who the pete put those in there?'...well, it turned out that it was Emma...so tonight she helped me 'unload the oven' before I could turn it on to cook supper. Unfortunately, she left a black, plastic flipper,lifter, turn over thingy in the stove and I had no idea til I got a whiff of a very acrid smell. I quickly opened the oven door and smoke billowed out...the lifter thingy was on fire and melting! I quickly closed the door, but not before Emma, Maya and I inhaled surely toxic fumes that hit you in the back of the throat. I shut the oven off and opened the windows. Emma did open the oven door and removed the black thingy and threw it outside....but the stench....oh my goodness! I lit every scented candle I owned. A little while ago ,the oven had cooled enough to let me inspect the damage....black plastic has melted all on the oven element and now it is hardened on! No chance of getting it off...I'd have to melt it off and the stench would be too much. So, hubby is going to try to get a new element tomorrow...we figure it'll be pretty pricey.....geesh, just in time for Christmas!

Always something in our house!

We named him Ryan....

Ryan and his wife Jennifer at Thanksgiving this year.

It was a snowy morning and I was wide awake at 5 a.m., sitting up in bed, absolutely petrified. I watch out the window as great big, fat snowflakes came down but my mind was going even faster then the snowflakes, for this was the day...this was the day my baby was to be born!

As I sat there waiting, in the dark, all by myself...all of a sudden a person appeared in the doorway....covered in snow! It was my hubby, he too had been awake early and had kissed our little girl goodbye (they had stayed overnight at his brother's house) and had driven through the city, slipping and sliding to get to the hospital...the next couple of hours were a blur as the hospital woke up and they prepared to do my c-section.

Thirty-two years ago in London, Ontario, Canada they didn't allow husbands to be in the room when they delivered babies by 'section' so poor hubby had to wait in the hallway. Two years earlier when I had birthed our daughter, it had been after lengthy labour that had stalled at 7cms dilated....the contractions kept going but not the dilation so they decided to do a section...the next day my OB said that it was a good thing that they had since the baby's head hadn't come down,...there was a bone in the way, and he would have had to pull so hard that she surely would have had brain damage...I was grateful. So, second baby was a 'planned' section but this time I didn't want to be put out as I had for the first, so an epidural was planned. Now with the first baby, I had two epidurals...the first didn't take.....so when they put the epidural in for this baby, I lay there and mused.....that poke was a lot higher than I remember the other two. Sure enough, when my OB did the incision...the traditional 6" navel to pubic bone...I felt this hot searing pain when the cut got to the bottom...I let out a gasp! Immediately, my OB said, 'did you feel that' ...'Yes', I said. I felt some local freezing going in.

Within minutes, my OB was leaning his face over the drape and telling me....".it's a boy",...I said.."What"...."it's a boy!"......I was shocked,...I was sure I was having another girl...a boy...wow!

O my goodness.....I didn't have one piece of blue baby clothing...good grief!

My mom came by later that day and brought me a whole layette of blue clothing and my grandmother gave our new baby boy a small little blue teddy bear...almost the same size as the baby. I think he still has that little teddy bear!

He was a tiny little guy...6lbs, 7 oz......all he wanted to do was sleep....and ironically enough...he still loves to sleep! Now he's much bigger.....he grew to be 5'10''...and well, I'm not sure how much he weighs..:0)

We named him Ryan...which means 'little king'......I never wanted to tell him the meaning...I was afraid he'd use it against us...hehe....it was not a popular name back then....people kept saying...'you mean..Bryan'...'no, I mean Ryan....no B'......and they'd give me weird looks....

Today, even though Ryan still loves to sleep, he's a very hard worker and what some people call a professional student.....it seems like he's been in school forever...but he's coming to the tail end of achieving his Ph.D in Theology and on the side working for contractors, refinishing wood...doors, floors etc. He's a good kid and we love him.....even if he forgets his mother's birthday! :0)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYAN!

Bethlehem Walk...etc.

Well, last night we went to see the Bethlehem Walk. It was extremely good....but unbearably cold....it was about 26 degrees Fahrenheit, which is not bad if you're just running from the vehicle to a building....BUT...when you stand in line for 45 minutes waiting for it to start and then it takes 45 minutes to 'do the Walk'...well, I couldn't feel my toes by the time we were starting the walk and by the end , my fingers that I had clenched in a ball inside my hand , inside my mitts were in extreme pain! BUT....the stations that we went through were so good, the costumes and the acting...I don't know how they could do it out in the cold all evening.

I've been reading a lot lately about obedience....I think the Lord is trying to tell me something....things I've been 'just happening' to hear on the radio....like this woman on Focus on the Family named Lisa....she talked about being obedient and following God when she ended up adopting two orphan boys from Liberia..(don't worry family, I'm not getting any ideas!).....then the Sunday school lesson I was preparing for talked about obedience and then another blog was talking about it...everywhere I was turning.......there it was -obedience.......I'll keep you posted if I find out what the pete is going on. :0)

Life.....Our Life....

Ah....Fridays! I just realized how significant in my life the beginning and the ends of the weeks are to me! Of course, my oldest son would probably argue with me on what days were actually the beginnings and the end...but.....as a mom that has had kids going to school, and still does for the last 29 years, the week always starts with Monday and ends with Friday! Saturday and Sunday are bonus!
I have always looked forward to Fridays ever since my husband and I were 'going together' 38 years ago because that's when he would drive for and hour and a half to come to see me, or I would hitch a ride with someone to go and see him...we only ever saw each other on weekends! I remember when we did our pre-marriage counselling that the minister asked us what we figured would be our greatest obstacle after we were married....my ever practical accountant husband said finances.....I said seeing him on weekdays and getting used to having him around everyday! Well, the finances, with nine kids have always been a problem but thankfully being together has not...well, except that now we are looking forward to retirement so that he can be home all the time!
So, this weekend brings the usual Youth Group for the kids on Friday evening and then tomorrow we're suppose to drive for a couple of hours and go to a 'Bethlehem Walk' that my hubby's brother's church is doing. I think the kids will really enjoy it...and then Sunday brings church , that includes the children's ministry eldest daughter and I do. So, as you can see, the weekend doesn't bring a lot of hoopla or partying, but I usually look forward to it just because hubby is home and we can spend some time recharging our batteries to be ready to tackle the following week of going our separate ways!
Come to think of it.....our weekday life these days isn't a lot different from our pre-married life.....good grief!

Too many of these days are happening!

Yesterday was a difficult day.

Normally, on Tuesdays I go to a Bible study at a local church. When I started homeschooling Megan, I had naively thought that...no problem, she'll just go with me.....well, it didn't turn out as 'no problem' as I had thought. The first time, she just sat and watched the Beth Moore video with us....but she constantly fidgeted. The second time and the third.....she took school books with her....but she was constantly asking for help and I would, as quietly as possible try to do so but I was conscious of disturbing the other ladies. So, yesterday I decided not to go.

Three times after she got up Megan asked if we were going anywhere...three times I said that we weren't.

She did her school work....had a difficult page in math...difficult for her....to try to explain it required abstract reasoning and FAS kids don't get abstract...they are very literal. So, I gave up trying to explain, reasoning to myself 'When will she ever learn that?'.......

The resource teacher, from the elementary school, sent some reading books home for her along with some 'book report' sheets. She came close to tears when she saw them...not that they were difficult but she had seen me bring out the Christmas DVD's and she was excited to watch Rudolph. I told her she had to do one book(let) first....her bottom lip was dragging on the kitchen table.

After her lunch she wanted to work on a puzzle that Maya had done a few days ago....I told her she'd have to wash her hands first....'why, are we going somewhere?'....'no, you just have to have clean hands to do a puzzle'...'why, would you ask....haven't I told you several times that we weren't?'..'where would we go?'....she says..'maybe to get my glasses tightened,..they're loose'...'not today', I replied.

I was feeling very down, very depressed.....I had hoped that one of the benefits of homeschooling Megan would be getting to know her better....becoming closer to her.....I realized that wasn't happening...I realized that the Megan that I had come to know in the last three years since she came to live with us,...was Megan.....all of her....

I emailed hubby and he encouraged me to set up my Christmas village...so, I did...didn't really want to but forced myself.....put on some nice Christmas music and partly through I was feeling not too bad.....although,.... poor Tucker....I always put on the CD player when I go out...hoping that the music will drown out outside noises and Tucker wont bark so much and be nervous. As soon as he heard the player go on he was up to his feet and he started pacing and breathing heavily....and Megan said...'where are we going?'

It was time for the older ones to come home from highschool. It wasn't long after they did that the bickering started and I was hearing 'leave me alone, Emma' from Ben...he was becoming very insistent and very loud..it was quickly going to become physical...I could tell, so I told him he needed to go to his room...he did go because he realized that he needed to calm down. Ben is extremely paranoid...another FAS trait....anything that anyone does is 'copying him' and he demands that they stop...at supper I had to move him from sitting across from Maya because it wasn't the first time he has accused her of copying him in eating!

I wanted to run away, but the realization hit me that I couldn't...Don was teaching and wouldn't be home til later and I couldn't leave Ben at home with the girls and taking him with me would defeat the purpose of running away. augh!!!

After a nutritional supper of 'Kraft dinner', I took Maya to the church for band practice (of, course, taking Ben with me) and then came home to wait for hubby to return....the highlight of my day....10 more years til he retires says he......just around the corner, right?

A Long Day

Oh my...it's Monday...actually, it's Monday evening and that means Monday is almost over....yea!

I'm still not a fan of Mondays, and especially since eldest daughter and I share responsibilities (well, actually I'm like the silent partner.....it's complicated) on Sunday mornings with the children's program at our church,...anyways....by Monday I'm still feeling a little worn around the edges. It has been nice though that I've been able to attend Quilting class by myself these last few Mondays...I tried taking Megan but really, it was quite a chore and I was getting to the point of not wanting to go.....thankfully eldest daughter offered to let her go to her house and do homeschooling with them...Megan is thrilled..she loves being with her nieces and I get to enjoy the fellowship of the quilting ladies!

Then, my highschoolers had 'early dismissal' today...that means they only went for half a day. In the afternoon I had scheduled a doctor's appointment for Maya to get her booster shot (which she should have gotten last year but I kept putting it off.) So, off we went to the doctor......he does a 'well child' check up...went through a myriad of questions...Maya is rarely ill so he was trying to catch up on her life! Then he left, and the nurse was to bring in the 'shot'.....Maya doesn't like needles...(I don't either but try to fake it in front of my kids.. :0) .....) Maya says..'mom, do you remember when we were little and we'd get our needles how you use to cuddle us on your lap?'....I looked at her and knew just where she was coming from.......'uh, Maya....that's not going to happen....you're going to have to handle this one on your own!'....and we both killed ourselves laughing.....Maya is easily 3" taller and 50 lbs heavier than me!

So, now I'm waiting for my hubby to come home...it's been a long day and even longer for him 'cause it's a teaching day....which means he leaves at 7:30 am ,...does his day job and then goes to his teaching job at one of the colleges and gets home between 10 and 11 in the evening....a very long day. He does this on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday......he enjoys it but I miss him.

Do you like Mondays?

Tucker, the black beast....

This is the beast that put the icing on the birthday cake that I didn't have yesterday! Yes, that's his water/food bowl in his mouth.....the 'experts' said that if dogs have metal bowls that they don't like the 'feel' of it in their mouths so they wont carry them around.....somebody forgot to tell my dog! So, back to how he finished off my birthday yesterday...well....

let's go back to the beginning ....it was a day not unlike any other day in my life....the trouble with that is...it was my birthday...now, at my age you usually don't expect too much cause you've learned over the years that if you hope for something, anything different, you'll usually be disappointed...I know, I know..sounds kind of cynical...but....true!

Well yesterday was no exception......there were a couple of nice points ...cards and gifts...second oldest daughter had a day off so agreed to stay with Megan so I could go and meet hubby for lunch...trouble is during the morning I started to feel a little unwell....tried to ignore it and went and met hubby anyways, after having some Pepto....then during lunch, really started feeling worse. So,...hurried and finished and drove quickly back home. Spent the rest of the afternoon resting. By the time that birthday supper came around...well, all I had was some soup....the kids were disappointed..they know their dad usually springs for Chinese food on my birthday. My hubby decided that he wouldn't get a birthday cake that day...that he'd wait til Sunday when the grandkids were here........by that time my mood was lower than snakes belly so I agreed.

Then hubby and three kids deserted the area for the evening and hubby was going to stop at my sister's house on his way home because once a week we are suppose to water her plants while she's enjoying sunny Florida. When hubby returns he says...'I didn't stop, do you want to go over with me'.....I said 'sure, why not'....I grabbed my jacket but left my purse on the floor in the livingroom. Well, when we returned...some of my credit cards were on the floor....some had puncture holes in them....looking further I found the remains of the lovely soft leather billfold that I kept all my plastic cards in....without the soft leather!!!!! All gone, completely gone....no trace....the lovely leather is now in the stomach of that black beast in the picture.....I almost cried....a perfect ending to the day......I went to bed.

His name is Tucker....and if you see this black beast running around your neighborhood, with his metal dish (that he's not suppose to like) in his mouth....then don't naturally assume that he's escaped.....he just might have had a little help.......

A Friend indeed...

Yesterday was a no good, terrible, horrible day....you know those kind that 'you think that it couldn't get any worse....but it does'........
I've been dealing, well not really dealing...as my body will attest to.......let's say,..being lambasted by stress from every corner of my life for the last few weeks....or months.....my husband insisted that I get myself back to the chiropractor yesterday because the pain in my neck going up into my head was so severe that I couldn't lift my head off the pillow without aid.

Before I could get out the door, Ben's teacher called. Now, you may remember Ben's story a couple of posts ago. Ben's class is going bowling this week....every month they go bowling.....and Ben feels that it's his right to go. Well, in light of his aggression with his sisters the other Saturday, I've been curtailing his extra activities....they're privileges..which he made the choice to lose for awhile. Well, teacher wants to know why this should be impacting school stuff since this is a home restriction. I try to explain that in Ben's mind there is no separation and I have to take every opportunity to get through to his damaged brain that what he did was very wrong.

Teacher was supportive but wasn't getting it really...so, stupid me...opened my big mouth and told her exactly what he did to his sisters...then she fully understood and everything was fine.

Until I got a call from hubby as I was leaving the chiropractor....the chiropractor who had just given me an expensivethatwecan'tafford adjustment plus some homeopathic little pills to help with the nerve pain caused by the stress!!!!!!!!! When your hubby asks if you're in a public place and he's got a strain to his voice, you kind of know that he's not about to whisper sweet nothings in your ear! Apparently, Ben's teacher called him, since she couldn't get me....she had been giving a lot of thought to what her and I had chatted about and in talking to the vice principal they decided that they should inform the Childrens Aid Society !!!!!

To say that I was 'blown away' was an understatement! As I was driving I put a call into the CAS to talk to our adoption worker. She's been in charge of our last four adoptions and knows our family really well....she's become more of a friend then a social worker to me.....halfway home, I decided to stop at the 'Agency' and talk to her...thankfully she was in.
We talked for almost an hour. She told me that Ben was too old for them to remove him from the home but that the worst case scenario was that he could be reported to the police and charged with assault! That would be like charging a 6 year old! My friend said that she would go to the 'intake' department and talk with the worker on call and explain the situation for when the call came in.
I left there with anxiety in my heart....wondering what the outcome of the day would be ....wishing my hubby was there to hold me.....
Later, in the afternoon, the teacher called and told me that they had called CAS, and they had called her back and told her that the parents had things under control and that they would just be offering any services that they could...although my friend and I determined that there weren't any.

Then my friend called me...she said 'all was clear, not to worry, everything would be alright'...well, as far as CAS was concerned. Never as far as Ben is concerned.

Yesterday morning I was feeling quite down and in despair and I asked the Lord to give me a friend that I could talk to.......my sister is in Florida for several weeks, I couldn't talk to her...I tried to look up on the Internet to see when another friend was working,..she works at the library at a town about 45 minutes away...couldn't find the times.......I tried calling another friend who lives a couple of hours away...but just got her machine......
.... but after I left the agency and I was sitting at home with a cup of tea and resting....I realized that the Lord had indeed given me a friend yesterday....just when I needed her (anyone that deals with these kinds of children agencies knows how difficult it is to get to talk to a worker when you need one)......this friend listened to me talk for an hour, she helped me, she encouraged me and before we parted she gave me a big hug.

As I sat there, remunerating about the whole afternoon...I realized that God had indeed sent me a friend. Pretty neat eh?

Donovan

Here he is....I finally got daughter Lauren to send me his picture....This is Donovan....he was 4 years old last Sunday.

I think I have just the cutest grandchildren....of course, I'm not partial or anything!

Birthday Weekend!

Well, this weekend was just full of birthdays! On Saturday, our Emma turned 15 years old. Tomorrow, on the tenth, it will be eight years since she came to live with us and we adopted her. It's been quite a ride! Emma has a lot of allergies and asthma...I'd never encountered asthma before, in all the years that we fostered...it was a little scary at first...#1 because I really didn't know what it was and what kind of damage was going on when she had difficulty breathing and #2...going into a panic attack when we would go away to someone's house or to our trailer and the inhaler was left at home! She also has a lot of allergies and new ones seem to crop up all the time...one day I got an urgent call from my husband because the highschool called him ...Emma had an allergic reaction to some food she had eaten that wasn't on the list of the things she had been tested for...by the time hubby got to the school, the ambulance was transporting her to the hospital! She was okay but it did give us a little pause for concern. About four years ago, Emma started to have some difficulties with a persistent cough. After a trip to the doctor, a virus (you know, what doctor's usually say when they don't know what to say). A few weeks later, another doctor visit..this time they said it was bronchitis...a few weeks later they said the cough was pneumonia! For the next 9 months they said she had pneumonia 4 times! Finally, another doctor....this was at least 5 different doctors later...said she needed a cat scan....a month later they were removing 2/3 of her right lung along with a rare benign tumour! Nine Months People!!!!!!!

So, Emma is fine physically...goes for regular annual check ups...the surgeon doesn't have any idea how she got the tumour so they monitor it to make sure it's not coming back. So, that's Emma......

The other birthday is for my grandson that I don't have a picture of yet...that sounds a little weird I know and as soon as I get a picture I'll post it cause he is a cutie. The reason I don't have many pictures is because we don't see him very often, and the pictures I have were taken with my non digital camera...our second oldest son and his girlfriend had a little boy four years ago today...his name is Donovan. My son and Donovan's mom are no longer together but usually every other Sunday our son has visits with Donovan at our house. Last Sunday we had a birthday cake for Donovan and tonight hubby and I were able to go to Donovan's other grandparents house to give him his birthday gift. I hummed and hawed at the store trying to get him a toy that he didn't already have ...I chose a Tonka tow truck with sounds and flashing lights.....he loved it! I was so pleased.

In a couple of weeks my oldest son will celebrate his 32nd birthday! When my oldest kids were younger, my side of the family used to get together to celebrate the November birthdays....between the ones in our house and and nieces and a brother.....there was at least six! November was a very expensive month! Well, now everyone has gone and grown up and we don't have those big get togethers anymore, which is too bad, in a way...it's always nice when family members can get together and celebrate a good thing!

Ben

The young man with the baseball glove is our son Ben. He was thrilled when this picture was taken because he was sitting in the Blue Jay's baseball team's dugout. The Blue Jays are Ben's absolute favourite sports team.

Ben came to live with us when he was three years old....his older brother and his younger sister already lived with us as foster children. We knew that Ben had some delays...developmentally and verbally, but we didn't know and nobody could tell us what effect this would have on his development growing up. Over the last fifteen years, Ben's body has grown but his mind has not. Ben will be 18 next March but developmentally he'll be always be six years old. Although he was always tiny in stature in the last few years he's grown to 5'8"...much taller than we ever thought he'd get..and because we believe that he does have some effects of Fetal Alcohol , he is extremely strong.

People that know Ben think that he is very sweet and gentle...but unfortunately Ben has another side.....if you cross him he reacts with a rage that is becoming alarming. Ben has been seeing an anger management therapist since the summer....so far, it's not helping and I'm not sure it ever will. When Ben is crossed he reacts like any kindergarten kid when he gets his tower of blocks knocked over.....he physically attacks,...but because he's the size of a grown man, because he has unbelievable strength, things have changed in our house.

Last Saturday, when my hubby and I went out to get some groceries, one of our daughters crossed Ben...he reacted....he pulled them to the ground, he punched them, he tried to strangle them....they were very scared. I say them because when one sister tried to aid the other then he also turned on her.

Now, we can no longer leave our son at home without an adult present....if I go out, he has to go along. If, both hubby and I go out, then Ben has to go elsewhere...to someone else's house...where my daughters will be safe....where Ben will be safe, because Ben doesn't know how to keep his environment safe.....safe from him losing control and one day really, really hurting someone..........really hurt.

They didn't tell us that it would be like this.

Dorothy and the happy elephant and the sad lion....

Well, everyone has posted pics of the kids in their costumes, so I decided to join the ranks...not that I'm a big halloween fan.....but...don't they just look the cutest! Jairus, the sad lion.....

Verity, the happy elephant.....

Dorothy, from Oz.....in reality, Honour with her little sister Afton.

There they are....all ready to go out and get some loot!

Youngest grandbaby....

This is cutie baby Afton. She will be 6 months old on November 6th......and she has cut her very first tooth !!!!!...her mom just discovered it yesterday....

.....and just look at those long eyelashes......can you see her charming some poor unsuspecting soul with those in a few years?

oh my....

One Hundred Posts!!!!!!

Good Grief! I didn't realize I had written so many posts! I've kind of enjoyed doing the posts....I find it to be somewhat of an outlet....especially when my life goes a little crazy, which is usually 3-4 times a day!

Last night my 13 year old homeschooled daughter Megan asked, 'Are we going anywhere tomorrow?'
I replied, 'No, tomorrow is a home day'
'Yay', she says, 'I like being home!'

Wonderful, I thought.

This morning, when she came into my bedroom, it was 'Good morning, mommy, are we going anywhere today?'

'No, Megan, we're not.'

After her breakfast, I told her to go and get her face washed and teeth brushed.

'Why, are we going somewhere?' 'No, we aren't, you always wash your face and brush your teeth in the morning.'

She gets dressed but doesn't put socks on. 'Megan, go and put some socks on.' 'Why, am I going somewhere?' 'No, you just need socks on your feet or they'll get cold'

As I come out of my bedroom after Igot dressed, she looks at me and ....you guessed it....'Are we going anywhere?'....'No, we aren't.'

A half an hour later, Megan comes to me and says, 'Are we taking grandma to an appointment today?'
'Megan, have you asked me before if we are going out today?' 'Yes' , 'and what did I say?' 'We're not'. 'That's right, so why are you asking me?' 'I don't know'.

See what I mean,....you thought I was exaggerating when I said 3-4 times a day didn't you?

Or, one more example....

Megan was watching her favourite episode of Little House on the Prairie...the one where Laura sells her pony to Nellie so she can buy ma a stove for Christmas...she's watched it at least 5 times in the last three weeks. She turned to me at one point and said, 'Is Laura going to sell her horse to Nellie?'....I said, 'yes, I think she will this time'.

sigh.....

Motherhood

My eldest son Ryan is always blaming me for something....now there are some days that I laugh at his accusations...like it's all my fault that he can't dance because I didn't let them attend school dances while growing up...or because my father has a balding head and my husband also has one, that it's my fault that he has a bald head...well, getting there.......

there are somedays that they get me quite down...you know those days when your parenting skills seem absolutely nil and I either get quite angry at his 'accusation' or just feel like crying....

I hope that all his accusations are in jest...if they're not them I'm in huge trouble...usually I'll tell him to 'put it on the list and make sure it gets on my tombstone'....so...I found this thru a blog today...I thought it would just about cover it!

Miranderings (again)

It's the start of a new week......and I'm afraid it feels tedious already. Homeschooling Megan was difficult today...because of her intellectual delays, some days are good and some days are very frustrating. We went to quilt class and because I ended up helping her a lot of the time, I got very little done on my quilt....I'm very disappointed because I had hoped to have the grandgirls quilts done by Christmas but it isn't going to happen. Then after school Maya had a basketball game which they were tying with the other team until the last quarter and then the other team shot ahead. Then my hubby called on the way to his teaching class from his day job and I was making Kraft dinner for supper...Kraft dinner!!! We eat so well when hubby doesn't come home!

Maybe it's fall...which okay, contrary to popular blogging community opinion, is not my favourite season...oh, I love the colours but it stops there...I dislike seeing everything dying, the trees going bare...and fall is the precursor to winter...which...well...the only good thing for me about winter is that Christmas is in there. I love Christmas! Once winter sets in I seem to just endure til April.....do I sound old or what!!!

I spoke with a good friend of mine who is hurting terribly right now...her teenage daughter doesn't agree with her and has left home. My friend, who just became a widow last January is devastated. Maybe, those of you who take things to the Lord could remember my friend in your prayers.

On a good note, hubby and I got more of the basement cleaned and sorted on Saturday...and.....second eldest daughter decided to give us an early Christmas present and is redecorating the downstairs bathroom! I should have taken some before pictures so I could do the before and after but daughter did point out that it was quite disgusting so maybe you wouldn't want to see it anyways. It's only disgusting because I've left it the responsibility of the teenagers that live downstairs to clean it and they never did so.....well, maybe never is a little strong...how about not very often....anyways you get the idea......I took the attitude that it's like their bedrooms...I just keep walking on by and when they finally move out I'll gut the vacated room and start over! Sounds like a plan to me!..I'm too old to nag......life is too short.....I want to still be alive when retirement comes along to enjoy it...and so on!

So that's the start of the week...although we are suppose to go up north and visit our friends on Friday...the ones that we were suppose to see last month but hubby became ill and we couldn't make the trek. Plus Saturday is the first day of November...and Hallowe'en will be done ! I know, I sound like a party pooper...no fall enjoyment, no nagging the kids,...I'm just in one of those moods...but....I always look forward to waking up the morning after Hallowe'en because it's like a bright fresh morning....I know,....I've seen the blogs...everyone loves Hallowe'en, all the decorations and parties.....sorry, I'm just glad when it's done. In fact, my kids know me, they know that mom 'doesn't do' Hallowe'en! Don't worry...I really do like all the other festivities! Okay, okay...I'm weird.....

My Hero

This is my dad.....he is 86 years old and he's my hero ....... and this week I thought he was going to die.......and it really scared me....really scared me.

I know that this should be expected and in a sense you should be ready for it...but...are you really ever ready to let your parent go off to heaven and not see them again for awhile? Not that you have a choice, mind you.....

My dad is a diabetic and his kidneys stopped functioning so he has dialysis three times a week...plus this past summer, after many trips to the hospital because of hemorrhaging, they diagnosed that he had ulcerated colitis and he had a mild heart attack..........

For the last few weeks his sugar levels have had times of being quite low and this past Wednesday he had one that went extremely low.....my mom called me and said....can you come over....dad is just sitting there...he's not acting right.....I hurried over after calling my older sister...fortunately she was closer than I and by the time I got there she was already on the phone to the emergency people......all the way over there, as I was driving...I was wondering ..is he dead? please Lord...don't let him be dead.....I'm not ready.....

Dad was in a semi-conscious state...barely able, at times to give a verbal response,....the paramedics arrived and assessed the situation..did some tests and gave him an injection through an I.V. to bring his sugar level up......slowly he came around...slowly he started talking, and smiling and wondering what all the fuss was about.

My dad is a war veteran of World War 2,...ten days after he and my mom married he went overseas for three years!! When he came home they started having babies...4 of them, each 3-4 years apart...2 girls, 2 boys. Before they got pregnant with me my dad was doing some welding, on a bridge, 30 ft up in the air when he fell,..broke his back in 3 places...was in a body cast for 6 months......but it didn't stop him....my dad was a hard worker........always working, always fixing something......we were a family that never had a lot of material things and we never expected it either....but when he brought home a surprise of a chocolate bar for each of us, we were excited and the day that he opened his coat and there was a little kitten.....well, we though we had touched the moon!

My dad could fix anything and one of my brothers just commented not long ago about the wealth of knowledge that my dad had in his brain...he wished he could tap it all before my dad wasn't around anymore. One year, my dad only got one week of holiday and I had to have one of my surgeries. The surgery took place in a hospital about an hours drive from our house and I was going to be there for ten days. My dad decided to stretch out his holiday week to two by working every morning and then him and my mom would drive every afternoon to the hospital to see me. Some holiday!

The day that I got married I didn't realize that my dad was in pain....apparently his gal bladder had been acting up and unbeknown to me, while I was on my honeymoon, he was getting it removed....I never knew til I called home...he didn't want to spoil 'my big day'...what a guy!

My dad has become very vocal about his belief in God the older he has become......he was always a fine example of a strong moral man as we were growing up but since we've all become adults and parents, we have seen what a godly man he has become, very strong in his faith.

I thought it would be easier, the older I get, to let my parents go...but it has turned out the opposite.....but the reality is that they wont be here forever.....and as I was saying to the Lord on my frantic drive to their house this week....I'm not ready yet....but afterwards the realization hit quite strongly......are we ever ready?

My Long Weekend.....

So, it was a very busy weekend...on Friday night the kids had youth group at the church and at supper I accidently broke a piece off one of my molars...annoying...but the dentist was closed.... so we dropped them off at the church and then hubby and I went for a stroll through the local mall...I usually avoid malls but I'll spend time with my hubby anywhere, especially without the kids....malls aren't too bad when you don't have someone whining for something that you can't afford! On Saturday morning we just had to get to the grocery store...payday was the previous day and by the time that day rolls around the pantry is fairly bare! Then in the afternoon we worked on my hubby's latest project...the basement...about a month ago hubby declared that he'd like to have all the excess out of the basement by the end of October....well, it's coming up and so far we hadn't got to it.....so, for the afternoon, we sorted and threw out and made a pretty good dent! The part I like is around the laundry area.....I don't have one of those lovely laundry rooms that you see in the magazines, our laundry 'area' is in the basement and when the piles of dirty laundry pile up..well, it isn't pretty....you don't even want to do the laundry...in fact I can usually find any excuse not to go down there! Well....you should see the 'area' now since we got rid of a lot of 'stuff'...you can actually walk around it, without stepping on laundry spread everywhere! I could even feel encouraged to do more laundry......well, let's not get too carried away.......I had to keep reminding hubby that we were going out in the evening..we had been invited to go to a coffee house at the church and they were going to have a ton of yummy desserts..now that point is very important....because while we were having a bite to eat before we left......part of one of my other molar's broke off!!! Unfortunately this is an annoying recurrence for me.....in fact it occurs much more than I want it too. You see, when I was a young kid there wasn't a high priority on brushing your teeth....now, I know that sounds just gross...also.... there wasn't fluoride in the tap water.....so that resulted in a lot of cavities and a lot of fillings....a lot of fillings.....and now I'm paying the price of my reckless youth....broken teeth! This molar, though had a very sharp edge that keeps cutting my tongue! It hurts to swallow, eat, talk and drink!
I left a frantic message(s) on my dentist's answering machine and then I called this morning, just begging to be fit in.

Meanwhile, this morning I had to go with eldest daughter and her four kiddies to the hospital to meet with a doctor in regards to some genetic research. (You see, both myself and my oldest grandchild were born with a disability that comes under a similar umbrella, so...they want to do a study on us and all of the grandchildren so that they could see why oldest grandson and not the other grandaughters). When it was my turn to meet with the doctor she casually mentioned about everyone getting blood work done! WHAT! Bloodwork!!!!! Bloodwork for me is a very painful process..over the years they've exhausted all the veins in my arms and now the always have to get it from my foot! I wasn't impressed and the doctor knew it but I dutifully complied....and then we got to the blood lab.........I say to the lab tech.....you have to take it from my foot and please use a butterfly needle...she says...we can't take it from the foot without a note from the doctor...I said..well, there's the requisition.......she says...no, a separate note...so, she says...look, we're professionals, I take blood from little newborns with tiny veins...I'm sure I can get it from you.....well , yes, she did....but, it came out so slowly and so sporadically that after one tube, she was suppose to get three...she gave up and said...well, that's all they're going to get!
Later on in the afternoon I took Maya to her after school basketball game(they lost..). I came home and Emma had made some brownies...nice, soft brownies......well, you guessed it ..more of the first molar broke off......I had soup for supper.....
The dentist can finally see me tomorrow afternoon........I just hope he can fix it (them) this time.....good grief!

Thanksgiving.......family and food...

Thanksgiving was at eldest daughter's house this year and I got hubby to put the pictures on last night so I thought I'd post a sampling. The pic above is part of the table...there were 18 of us...the food was good....always tastes better when you don't have to cook it...right?

This is Honour, 5 years old and eldest grandaughter......

This is Jairus, eldest grandson...he's seven...we weren't sure just how much turkey he'd eat since he ate most of the yummy appetizers....
This is Baby Afton, just 5 months...too little for turkey yet...but I'm positive it wont be long til she's copying her big sister Verity....you'll see her down below...
This is second eldest daughter, Lauren and her beau Ryan, along with Verity, Corey and Megan in the background....

This is how my hubby finished off the day.....in fact, you'll often see him like this.....he works hard providing for us all.......

and this is sweet little Verity, she's three...and she decided to try the drumstick this year....don't let that charming smile fool you.....she's a going concern......I think Afton will be just like her...oh my!

The Budget

So, a few weeks ago I decided to get involved with our budget...I've tried to do this before..but haven't really persevered. You see, with having so many kids my hubby and I have kind of divided up things....kind of traditionalist, but never the less...he looks after the financial end and I look after the kids....I do the inside and he does the outside of the house...but I'm afraid that over the years that has changed somewhat....my hubby does a lot in the house, I am very fortunate. Since a few friends have died over this last year and left spouses floundering in not knowing how to handle the areas in the household and family that they weren't accustomed to....I decided that I needed to get a little more involved in the finances. Now there are good things about that and there are bad things.....very bad things.....like finding out that just running to the grocery store for a little something to go with supper, after you've already done the grocery shopping for the next two weeks..really cuts into you next pays grocery budget.....or when you have Thanksgiving dinner, and it comes out of your regular grocery shopping budget that it takes a huge chunk! Or when you all of a sudden have a birthday spring up or a shower gift to buy...where does that money come from when you have an extremely tight budget with no room for extras like that.....I think they call it robbing Peter to pay Paul.......
So the good things are that I really get to see where the money is going, I get to know what bills have to be paid and when, I have become more conscious of impulse spending....especially when I realize there isn't any impulse spending category and I become more responsible in the regular, necessary spending that I have to do.
The bad side is that it stresses me out...when it's three days til payday, and laundry to be done and I have no fabric softener left, when my son says that the one dog we have is almost out of dog food, which is $50, three days before pay...when all my eggs were used up at Thanksgiving and I have none for the week.....before, I just let hubby carry the load...I'd just go out and get the stuff, cause after all, I needed them and let him figure out how the money was going to cover it...I really did him an injustice, that was very wrong of me.
So, for the good and bad.....hopefully this was a good move for me, I think it was...even though I've always told my hubby that he has to die first cause I don't want to bury him......we really have no control over that....but God is in control and that is reassuring...and after all He looks after the lilies so Iknow he looks after us......if you need something to read that puts it better than go to www.cindybeall.com. She does have a way with words.

The Quiet

It's nine o'clock and the church bells are ringing...yes church bells....I live in a very small community and the local Anglican church has church bells set to go off at 9 and 3 and 6........I love hearing the bells....I'm really quite surprised that someone hasn't complained.....you know...infringing on their religious rights or something......I promised myself that I'd get up at nine....I've been awake...the kids left for school over an hour ago....I've been savouring the quiet...reading blogs......you see Megan has one day per week at school...and Friday is the day.....Hallelujah and Praise the Lord! It's been an interesting week...a week where I found myself Wednesday evening saying....no, I will not take you with me to the drug store...I want to go kidless, somewhere...anywhere.....but come on now..the drugstore!!! Do you hear desperation here???......So here it is Friday....it's a gorgeous day...promises to be a gorgeous weekend...we're finally suppose to get to the trailer tomorrow to do the final closing before winter sets in...a lot of people will be there doing the same thing and celebrating Thanksgiving!
It makes me think...well, what am I thankful for......great husband, kids (that drive me insane) but something has to....anyways,grandkids....family, God and having him in my life.....and the quiet....I love the quiet......

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

A Friend

For over thirty years I have had this particular friend....in the early years it was on and off but in the last fifteen our relationship has been pretty good. We would visit when we could and talk on the phone everyday. Until this past summer.......a really terrible thing happened to my friend, nothing that I can blog about but it has had a very negative effect on our relationship. At first, we communicated several times a day...my friend was devastated and I did what I could to help. After a few weeks, out of the blue my friend hurled an accusation at me.....you see, in one of those degrees of separation situations, I had been affected by what happened to her also. My friend had started the healing process in her situation but I had not......I had been so busy helping her and being concerned about her that I had not stopped to consider doing anything about my feelings.
Our relationship is strained and I am in despair.

I have been working on my feelings, praying, discussing with my hubby and friends. I have come quite a ways ....... but the damage has been done to our friendship and I really am saddened that it will never be the same. It was a good friendship......and I miss it.

Or.......was it really a good relationship/friendship in the first place.......or was it just in my imagination.........I feel such a terrible weight on me.......

Just call me stupid!

Two days into homeschooling Megan.......yesterday she went to quilt class with me...I decided to draw a simple picture on a piece of felt and then I spent an hour teaching her how to sew buttons on the outline. It was rather tiring....for both of us......then she did some colouring and looking at books til the end of class. She was very excited and keeps calling her piece of felt 'a quilt'. By the time we returned home, after having lunch with my sister and her husband, it was time for the highschoolers to come home. Maya had a game at the school and Megan wanted to join me but I told her she needed to spend some time on other activities.....(I didn't tell her that I needed a break too).....it's tiring always working (and living) with a teenager that has the comprehension level of a four year old!
Today, I had my weekly bible study at a local church....we're doing a Beth Moore study (by video) and I thought she'd at least be able to find it easy to watch the video......and she did, but she also sat there and fidgeted constantly, so lesson learned...next week I'll take some quiet work for her to do......
After Lunch, at home...I got out all the workbooks I have that has reading comprehension and math facts and she spent about an hour doing a page or two in each. Then it was story time....and before you knew it the highschoolers were walking in the door again. They aren't too thrilled with me homeschooling Megan....they think it's a royal ripoff......they think that I should be homeschooling them too......well, just open up the door to the loony bin and reserve me a bed!

The Weekend...

Well, it was a lovely fall (autumn) weekend here in our neck of the woods. Hubby and I were suppose to go up north on Friday but he had been feeling under the weather all week and unfortunately it came to a head Friday morning and we were both very disappointed. We had been looking forward to a good visit with friends of ours for months, they used to be the ministers at our church and when they retired they moved about four hours away from here. All day long we were lamenting that it would have been a beautiful day for a drive. Praise the Lord though, hubby is finally feeling better...I was starting to get concerned....my husband is one of those that hardly ever gets sick and when he does he doesn't get his shirt in a knot over it....I teased him that he is the most self sufficient sick person that I know.
Yesterday. we had a church shower for a young couple who are leading our teen class in Sunday school...it was a brunch....how lovely is that! Then I took Emma and Maya to the mall....me at the mall is not a good thing!...I hate shopping (and the Christmas season is coming up very quickly).......sigh...anyways,...Maya needed dress shoes for church.....she was convinced if she got black running shoes that they could pass as dress shoes....it took some convincing and then Emma started in...she just had to have new shoes...which was kind of true cause she was still wearing flip flops...which would be fine if we lived in San Antonio, where it's 79 degrees, right now, 10:13 pm....but hey, we're in Canada, eh......cold, you know...not freezing but definitely not flip flop weather...but I was standing firm....only one pair of shoes could be afforded! It was her lucky day because PayLess had buy one, second half off...so, I relented and Emma lucked out!
When I finally got home...hubby was feeling better finally and we were foodless.....so off to the grocery store.......oh joy, what bliss!

On to Sunday....busy, busy morning.....Leslie and I are leading the Sunday school program and it's very high energy non-stop from the time I get there at 9:30am till it ends at 12:30pm....I know 3 hours doesn't seem very long....but have I mentioned lately just how old I am!!!!!??

Then we came home and all I wanted was to rest ...but....you see, I started a stew yesterday and the vegetables had to be prepared and put in with the meat and broth that I started cooking yesterday. .....So, supper is done, the kids are in bed.....another weekend is done......and in a few hours it will be Monday.....and it starts all over again.......

Maya's Sports(wo)manship!

My daughter Maya plays basketball. My daughter Maya plays a lot of sports and is usually pretty good at anything she tries her hand to...but it's not just that....I've always admired Maya's attitude about playing.....and that came out in her basketball game yesterday. Her school basketball team played a school from 'the city'.....our highschool is considered in the suburbs.....gee, when I moved into this area 50 years ago they called it the country....hehe....but anyways...the team they were playing was having a difficult time catching up but the worst part was the unsportsmanlike behaviour. Not only did the coach of the other team get a technical for throwing his clip board, with force, to the floor...one of his players got a technical for swearing on the court...and then the junior team who were observing, started pounding their feet on the bleachers every time one of our girls was doing a foul shot. Unfortunately some of the spectators weren't much better......a parent from the opposing team was quite vocal when her team was penalized in any way and when one of the girls from our team accidentally fell on the court...she just killed herself laughing and kept going on about how funny that was. I was appalled.....how are our kids going to learn good sportsmanship when they have that kind of example?

Maya started playing basketball competitively when she was nine years old and she's always had this really neat attitude......she chats to the refs...she even chats with the girls on the opposing team....I observed her talking to one of the girls on the other team yesterday and the other girl was looking quite serious and determined but before long she was smiling and chatting back..but when the play started they both were all business...I thought it was kind of neat...yesterday one of her coaches told her that she needed to be more aggressive on the court...Maya asked what he meant...she said she didn't like getting fouls and he said just go after the ball more.....be more aggressive......I suggested that maybe he meant more assertive...Maya does have long arms and she does get in there and get the ball from the other teams and she's there for the rebounds and you often see her grab the ball and start down the court...but she'll usually pass it to one of her team members that can zig zag through the masses to get to the net. While they're doing that Maya gets into position off to the side and quite often she does what she's known for the best....the three pointers......and all with a fantastic smile on her face....I like that...she's a team player and she enjoys herself,...she never has a temper tantrum on the court...and like I've always told her since she was nine...just go out and have fun...and she does!

A Great Lady

Today we had a rare Sunday 'off' from our commitments at the church so we decided to drive a couple of hours to visit my mother-in-law. This coming Friday is her 82nd birthday and we brought a birthday cake with us to help celebrate the occasion. Bessie has always been a wonderful mother-in-law and I admire her tremendously. When I came on the scene way back in 1970 she seemed totally accepting of me which is something considering her son was only 16 at the time! For the last 21 years Bessie has been on her own, her husband died of cancer and I have truly been amazed over some of the things she has done...like flying to Australia by herself...not once but twice!...like driving across Canada all by herself and last year she decided to sell her family home that she's been in for the last 40 some odd years and move into an apartment....talk about your downsizing! Yes, she's a great lady!
Happy Birthday, Bess! I hope you have many more!