Friday, December 16, 2011

Have yourself a Merry little Christmas....

Good Morning Company Girls!

Well, How are you all doin'? Things are just peachy around here...I'm waiting for my grand girlies to arrive for the day....eldest daughter called last night to see if I could take them while she took eldest grandson to Toronto for his special therapy. The lady that she had lined up to babysit wasn't able to do it....her kids were busy being sick....so, it should be an interesting day...Honour is 8, Verity is 6 and Afton is 3. They keep ya goin'!

Hubby and I have been working our fingers to the bone the last few weeks. Emma's old bedroom, is significantly larger than Maya's 8 x 9 space, so when Emma moved out we decided to move Maya down to that bedroom. First of all, we had to pack up Emma's remaining stuff....then we had to assess the damage...yes, you read correctly....it would seem that whenever Emma was angry, she took it out on the walls.....several holes from kicking and punching needed to be repaired. I got the inspiration that putting some nice white wainscoting around the perimeter of the room would look nice as well as cover up at least 3 of the holes...hubby agreed....so that's what we did. Since hubby has a very busy schedule, most of the work was done on the weekends. We repainted, put up the wainscoting, new trim and baseboard, a new door (ya, that was kinda wrecked up too)..and last night Maya spent her first night in the 'new' room. We'll see how her night was when she finally decides to roll out of bed this morning. Today her work shift is 2pm-10pm, so I'll let her sleep awhile. Now, Maya's old room will be turned into an office. Hubby is in sore need of one....teaching between 2-3 classes per semester and doing the church books, and our books...he has so many different binders and cases around here..all spread out in different locations...it will be good when they're all contained in one room! This little makeover....new paint and moving the desk from the family area..oh and the printer in there wont take place for a few weeks cause Paul is coming home! He needs a place to sleep while on leave, so he'll be in Maya's old room....it's kind of a good thing that we get this break cause hubby and I are a little weary .......

How is your Christmas shopping coming along? I have one son that I still have to buy for and stocking stuff...oh, and order a plant arrangement for my mother-in-law.....we have to remember to get a turkey this weekend..we tried at our grocery shopping last weekend but they didn't have the size we needed....we don't need as big a one cause there will be less people this Christmas..Emma says that she'll come for dinner but I'm not holding my breath....haven't heard anything from Corey, so I doubt he'll come...daughter Lauren and her boyfriend will be attending his family Christmas dinner...and my mom, who has been at my place the last few Christmases will be at my brother's house. I figure a 15 pounder should do.....hope somebody has that size tomorrow.......

Hubby has next week off and the kids go to school all week, til Friday, so I'm really looking forward to having some time with him next week....and we wont have to paint anything, or nail anything...yay! Now,..if we just had the money to go away for a few days.....oh, well.....I'm just grateful that the room is done...maybe we'll even have some time to decorate our tree! Poor tree...sat for two weeks without anything on it...absolutely bare....last Sunday hubby got the lights on, so it doesn't look dark and quite so forlorn....maybe this weekend we'll get the 10 or so rubbermaid tubs upstairs and get some decorations on it....although just the lights do look pretty.....:0)

I doubt I'll have time to be on next week but....in case that I'm not, I would like to wish all the other Company girls a wonderful Christmas...I want to thank all that read my blog throughout the year, who left lovely encouraging comments,..who prayed for me and my family, please don't stop...I'm afraid that Emma is on a slippery downward slope. Thank you so much.

Merry Christmas!


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Friday, December 2, 2011

A Week in the life of.....

Good Morning Company Girls! It really is morning...the wee hours of....it's 2:57a.m. as I type...I can't sleep...too many things running around in my mind...have you had that happen? You wake up just for a quick run to the bathroom and before you can drift back off to sleep, your brain turns on and dong! ..you're awake...I first saw the time at 1:38 and have been tossing and turning ever since....I struggled with what to do...obviously try to go back to sleep....tried that for about an hour..obviously didn't work....thot about what I could do if I got up....I could work on the hand quilting of a quilt I'm doing...or I could finish cutting out the pieces of a new quilt....it's a big one...12 different materials...all cut in 1-3/4" strips before you cut them into the various lengths that you want....I've already been working on them a total of about 8 hours and still have 4 lengths of material left....or...could watch something on my ipad...with earphones as not to wake someone...or...I could come out to the living room and write this post...as I'm doing....

Last Saturday, I received a call from my quilting friend Carol....her husband has been in the hospital for the last month battling another form of his cancer...poor Dave has been battling it on and off for the last 8 years....they thot he was getting better..even talked about doing rehab with him, but his body couldn't take anymore and he passed away early that morning. Today I attended a memorial service for him....it was very hard...not only seeing my friend go thru this horrible time, but I will admit to feeling a strong emotional impact because this is the first funeral I've attended since my dad died. This service was also held at our church and they even closed with the song 'How Great ThouArt'...which was sung at dad's funeral. By the end I was a blubbering mess.

Earlier in the week, I went to the dentist...I was suppose to go on Thursday but because of the service I changed it to Tuesday. I was on my way there when the traffic slowed to a crawl, it continued on for awhile and then finally cleared. As I left the highway and got on the streets of the city, it slowed again...everyone was trying to get somewhere at the same time....I started to fuss..it was raining and I was concerned about being late and then being even later for quilt class after that. I pulled out my cell phone as we were crawling (I know...against the law around here) and called the dentist office to tell them that I was coming but delayed because of traffic. By the time I got there, I was a good 15 minutes late....I hate being late...I quickly parked on a main thoroughfare, hopped out of the van, ran across the street and into the dentist office....leaving my cell phone in the cup holder on the console in the van. Normally I always have it in my purse. Well, when I came out an hour later I was shocked to see that someone had smashed the divers side window in on my van and reached in an stolen my cell phone....there I stood, in the rain..disbelief allover my face. I reached for my cell in my purse and that's when I realized...'oh no, they not only destroyed my window, they took my phone and I couldn't even call hubby to come and save me.' I went into a nearby building and asked to use there phone...they were very kind and helpful as I was an emotional mess. Hubby came but it took close to an hour...he works a good distance away...I couldn't even drive the van as the drivers' seat was filled with shattered glass and I could only sit there and watch the rain come down, getting the interior all wet and listening to little bits of glass as they sporadically tinkled down from what was left of my window.

Hubby cleaned it up as best as he could and then he drove it home while I took his car. On the way home I stopped at my cell phone provider and was quite dismayed when I found out that they no longer make my phone...good grief I only got it 18 months ago...all they had were models that I find difficult to use (with my handicapped hands)..plus they said that I wasn't eligible for an upgrade yet so that would cost $80 plus the cost of a new phone. I've never paid separately for a new phone..they've always come with the plan...good grief, phones on their own are expensive! So, my mood was even worse by the time I got home...good grief....

I started checking everywhere to find a copy of the same phone that I had but to no avail. Then I was talking to daughter Lauren...she suggested Ebay...so I did...lo and behold they did have some....hubby agreed to me ordering it and now I just have to wait for it to come in the mail. The next day hubby took the van to work, he had already arranged with a car glass place to have a replacement window ready and during his lunch hour he took it in and got it all fixed up.

So...the bottom line is....$300 deductible that we had to pay to get the window fixed thru insurance and $100 for a new phone, (that I hope comes in the mail real soon)...that means $400 that we have to try and find this close to Christmas...not a pretty picture is it....tell me...why do people in our society of today have so little respect and regard for other people's belongings? Just because this person was walking by my van, obviously looking for stuff to steal (and my phone isn't even one of those expensive kind...not a blackberry or an iphone)....it wasn't random, obviously most people don't carry around instruments to break peoples windows with as a matter of course.....but...this person did...not only destroying my window and leaving the interior to get wrecked in the rain but taking my cell..with all my contacts, my calendar with all my appointments and pictures and videos that can't be replaced......why do people think it's alright to do this...what has our society become...very sad....after Joyces' comment on Facebook I realized that I was fortunate that they didn't take my van and destroyed it...I just know that our insurance wouldn't have covered the cost of a new van as nice as the one I have...and I had also been planning to take my Ipad into quilting to show the girls some pictures but at the last minute I didn't...so thankful cause they would have taken that too....

but...as I think of my friend Carol...all that she's been thru in the last month...heck in the last 8 years....and now what she has to look forward to in the coming time...her and her husband had just celebrated their 40th anniversary...I realize that I am blessed......after all...van windows and cell phones..they're just things...material possessions that will some day be a pile of rubble....but family.... relationships with those special people in your life...those can't be replaced.....they are what is important.....

...as we prepare for this Christmas season I hope that I will remember that it's not all the 'stuff' that goes on that is important but it is those relationships, especially with your family that really counts. I always told my kids as they were growing up...look at your brothers and sisters...they'll always be here for you...ya you may bicker and fight from time to time...and from time to time they may let you down, they may disappoint you, they may even anger you...but they are still your family, they'll always be here...friends come and go but family is always there....don't you forget it. As I think of the coming Christmas season, I think in particular of two of my kids who right now are wandering in the wilderness...Corey and Emma...both doing the life that they think they want...both systematically destroying their lives....please pray for my kids...especially those two.....one day I pray that they will also remember that family matters, that family is aways there...no matter what.


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