HORSESHOE BEND

DEAR FRIENDS AND FAMILY:

2008-10-15T16:05:00.000-07:00

UNTIL I FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO HERE ON THIS JOURNAL...

I WILL BE POSTING ONLY AT :

http://horseshoebend2.blogspot.com/

WHICH IS THE NEW BLOG I CREATED...

( ACTUALLY IS JUST A CONTINUATION OF THIS ONE)

I MAY DECIDE LATER TO MAKE THIS ONE DO...

BUT UNTIL THEN:

PLEASE...WILL YOU JOIN ME OVER AT :

http://horseshoebend2.blogspot.com/

FOR THE TIME BEING?

THANK YALL SO MUCH FOR HANGING IN THERE WITH ME...

AND

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

THE DEAD ZONE

2008-10-04T22:26:00.000-07:00

Is it just me or has everyone else abandoned ship????

I feel so strange not getting any alerts, except for Paula's and Dad's ...are yall writing????

Has anyone gotten any alerts for Magic Smoke????

Anyone?????........anyone there????????

Geeeeesh.....feels like the twilight zone around here...

Or the commercial that has been running on TV about the :

~-~ DEAD ZONE ~-~

IF ANYBODY IS HERE...........

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

Tags: http://sayit-baldy.blogspot.com/

NEW BLOG UPDATED URL

2008-10-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

JUST A QUICK NOTE TO SAY THAT MY NEW BLOG'S URL HAS CHANGED .........

IT IS.........

http://horseshoebend2.blogspot.com/

I HAVE POSTED AN ENTRY...PLEASE VISIT ME THERE ALRIGHT ?

IF ANYONE HEARS ANYMORE ABOUT THE 'TRANSFER' PLEASE LET ME KNOW OK?

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

Tags: http://horseshoebend2.blogspot.com/

THE DEATH OF US

2008-09-30T21:35:00.000-07:00

I have dragged my feet coming here....I feel like someone is pulling me by the hand and forcing me to come here...I AM SADDENED...because I do not like to see anything die...I have already seen too much death in my life.

When I use to head here for safety...for companionship....for understanding...for help in times of trouble and for a pat on the back when I did good....I knew I would be in my safe place...A place away from the pain of the world...See, this is/was my life.

I have met so many many beautiful souls here....far too many loved ones to even think about listing...

Some though, are not even here among the living anymore.

I found true hero's here...like Kim and Lahoma....who went through breast cancer and kept their journals to the very end of their life...never complaining or asking 'why me'...Matter of fact; I remember that Kim once wrote me that she always thanked God that it was her...and not one of her loved ones...

And then there is Pennie.....who still lives...because she didn't let a fight with Polio, nor even a brutal brain aneurysm stop her love and wit when dealing with Bosox.

There is 90 plus year old "DAD" of DAD'S TOMATO JOURNAL...One of the oldest journalers in the world...whose very entry names are the numbers of all the entries from the very first time he wrote. I wonder if he has heard about this death of our community??? God Bless his heart...I hope to God he doesn't lose his entries...and I truly hope that I will see him again.

And then there are the angels like Sam and others who came to my rescue... when I was down and out for the count...like a knight in shining Armour...

I have been in bed since last week...except for the trip to the doctor last Tuesday and then the one late Friday night to the ER...I have been on more medication than I have ever before had to take...Right now they seem to think it is kidney stones and a severe kidney infection...among other things.....I have not been to work since week before last and will not be there this week either......and yes...I knew this could happen when I let my health insurance go.

Times are rough here in my home right now...very bad...emotionally and physically...Then today I hear that AOL will kill off our entire community of J-Land...we all have to move to blogger ...I already went and started one...but I will not lie and say I like it...and in the back of my mind I wonder...how long before it goes too?

I started this journal on August 28, 2004....over 4 years ago... Nearly two years of my life before Danny died on Jan 29, 2006 is in here ....I feel like I am dangling at the end of the preverbal rope...

Please keep me in your prayers.

I thank God I had you all here by my side during these 4 years...I thank God for providing this portal for each of us to meet the other and come to know and love one another.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL

PAIN

2008-09-24T19:51:00.000-07:00

I went to the doctor today. I have been in some bad pain for the last few days...and was up all night last night...

Just wanted to let you know , in case I am not on for a while....that I am ok.
Oh yeah..of course this would come about right after I dropped my health insurance.....but then I knew it would happen....But then again, if you can't afford the paymens...what else can you do?

I leave you with this quote:

"All the adversity I’ve had in my life, has strengthened me. You may not realize
it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world
for you.”

Walt Disney

(1901-1966)

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

CAYLEE ANTHONY

2008-09-22T10:45:00.000-07:00

I try my best not to let TV news get to me....but when it comes to little children...

Well....you all know where my heart lies.

This case has caused so many conflicting emotions in me...anger mostly...then fear, hopelessness, sadness...and on and on.

There is a little bitty three year old child missing...the last person to have seen her was her mama....

And this mama waits three damn weeks to report her missing....

Hell, I would have reported my Chihuahuas missing within the first 5 minutes of them being gone....and this idiot for a mother does nothing....nothing at all to find her baby....

On the contrary; she lies and bullshit's the police so much that they don't know what is truth and what is fiction....hell I don't even think she knows.

Not many cases have made me as mad as this one...

Maybe it is because this is a MOTHER that is doing absolutely nothing to help find her baby....

MOTHERS are suppose to protect and defend their children from harm aren't they??? Hell even animals ( that are supposedly dumber than we ) know that....

I don't even know HOW to feel about the grandparents anymore...As I watch them on the news trying to shoo the protesters outside their home away...I feel sort of sorry for them...I honestly believe that the grandmother loved her grandchild.....but what gets me is...

WHY THE HELL AREN'T THEY OUT AND LOOKING FOR THEIR GRANDCHILD????

Do you think for one moment that I would be holed up in my house if my grand baby was missing? I would be out there on the streets walking and looking and organizing search parties and getting everyone that I could involved...

Until the day I died if need be.

Something is very wrong here...For the mother, the uncle, and even the grandparents not to make just one tiny move to look for this baby says something....

My dear friend Estell says it best...

" SOMETHING IN THE MILK AIN"T CLEAN."

Here is a picture and some information .....if you see little Caylee or know ANYTHING.......

PLEASE call someone....DO SOMETHING.

CAYLEE MARIE ANTHONY
Case Type: Lost, Injured, Missing
DOB: Aug 9, 2005	Sex: Female
Missing Date: Jun 9, 2008	Race: White
Age Now: 3	Height: 3'1" (94 cm)
Missing City: ORLANDO	Weight: 35 lbs (16 kg)
Missing State : FL	Hair Color: Brown
Missing Country: United States	Eye Color: Hazel
Case Number: NCMC1100742
Circumstances: She was last seen on June 9, 2008 in the Orlando, Florida area. Caylee was last seen wearing a pink shirt, jean shorts and white sneakers.

I pray to God that I am wrong about the mother and the granparents..I pray that the only reason that they are at a standstill is that someone is threatening them or the safety of Caylee.....I pray that with all my heart.....I do not want to even think that they, the people who should protect her .......harmed her in any way....BUT WITH THE INFORMATION WE ARE GETTING FROM THE NEWS...well ......it doesn't bode well.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

Tags: CAYLEE, CAYLEE ANTHONY, MISSING CHILDREN, HELP FIND CAYLEE

HELEN GA.

2008-09-21T19:53:00.000-07:00

My daughter convinced me to ride up to Helen with them today....

I wanted to go to the flea market in Athens, but since I was the only one who did....

Guess where we ended up?

Yep....

in Helen.........

It was so cool up there...

Uncle Dan had a blast holding

Wyatt and letting him see

the mountain streams.

Wyatt got close up and personal

with the huge horses that pull

the carriages up there...

He also got close up and personal

with an all day sucker that his

mommie bought him at Hanzel's

and

Gretal's Candy Shoppe!

And no, he wasn't sharing!

In other news......

Look how the sky looked

yesterday morning around

7:00 am as I was walking the pups

before I went to work.

And how it looked yesterday

evening when I got home;

around 7:30pm......

God's an Artist!

Look what we came upon while out

and about last week...

I love old barns and such.

And I love this little

guy even more....

Thank you Heavenly Father.....

for my many blessings....

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

3 MONTHS

2008-09-18T18:57:00.000-07:00

Today Wyatt turned 3 MONTHS OLD!

It is so hard to get this little bugger to smile...but when he does, you know it was well worth the wait...

And it will melt the coldest heart!

The day he was born he stole my heart.

Look below at how he is holding his blanket!

He seemed to love being wrapped like a little mummy!

He has his Uncle Dan wrapped too...

right around that little finger of his.

He loves riding outside in his stroller that his Aunt Kandy bought him....

I just know that Danny would have loved this child soooo much...and would have been the best grandpa in the world....

Call me crazy, but I can't help but feel that Danny has known this child before we ever saw him here on earth....

Sometimes when I close my eyes; it is not hard at all for me to see Wyatt tagging along with his Poppa, his little hand snug in Danny's as they walked those streets of Gold....and Danny telling him all about his Mommy, and his Uncle Dan and his grandma that he will meet when he is born....

I cleaned off his grave and placed this wreath on it...Can you see the two little scarecrows I put in the middle of it?

I will not ever get over losing him...but through it all...when I was alone....when family and all had left....

I had yall helping me....holding me up....

as you still do....

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

MARGARET SEELIGER

2008-09-11T19:12:00.000-07:00

NEVER FORGET

REMEMBERING MARGARET SEELIGER

It was a beautiful morning as Margaret Seeliger and her husband Bruce Seeliger left their Manhattan apartment and stood in line to vote in New York's primary election. Bright clear blue sky and sunny; all airports were reporting 100% visibility.

After voting, they would have gone on toward work together as usual, but Bruce had a doctor's appointment. They kissed goodbye at the corner of 76th Street and Third Avenue.... Bruce watching as Margaret boarded the train that would take her to her job and unknowingly; to her fate.

Only thirty-four years old, Margaret Seeliger was employed as Head of the Student Health Division of Anon Insurance .

Which was located on the 100th floor at 2 World Trade Center in New York.

Margaret had boundless energy, living her life to the fullest, because she felt and often stated that "you never know how long you have here on this earth". .

She was always busy, and many of her weekends were spent in Buffalo visiting with her mom ,who had fallen victim to Alzheimers; a disease that robs you of your memories and of the ability to function in day to day life. Margaret was a very important part of her mom's care, attending to even the smallest details.

Since her mother was no longer able to do so, Margaret took over the role of being "Grandma" to her 11 nieces and nephews. She and her husband Bruce were constantly traveling to soccer games, or school plays in Rochester, California, Philladephia and Atlanta. Looking so much like her own mom, the children had even started calling her "Grandma".

On some weekends, she and Bruce would catch a flight to Atlanta to visit with her sister Beth and her three children. It was on one of those last visits that Margaret asked Beth to hold on to the crib and baby clothes that she had in her basement... secretly confiding that she wanted to start trying to get pregnant that November.

November never came for Margaret....

On that bright beautiful morning of September 11, 2001, Bin Laden ordered an attack on AMERICA...killing thousands of innocent people as planes crashed into the the Pentagon, an open field and The World Trade Center Towers...

Where Margaret worked.

Margaret Seeliger died a HERO... giving up her place on the last over-crowded elevator to leave the 100th floor of 2 World Trade Center; to two of her colleagues.

God bless you Margaret Seeliger...May Almighty God rest your soul.... and May His Holy Spirit bring comfort to your family and friends.

WE WILL NEVER FORGET

THE DAY AFTER

2008-09-10T22:09:00.000-07:00

" MAW-MAW'S BABY "

I went to the doctor yesterday.......Do you know that they told me that they had not seen me since 2006? My goodness, I did not realize that it had been that long!

My appointment was for 3:30PM and I arrived there at 3:25....I got to go back into an exam room at 8:30 PM.....Yes, you read that right...8:30 pm. If I wasn't hurting when I got there, I was when I left....My doctor is in his seventies.....but last time I was there ( in 2006) I only had to wait 30 minutes.

Look what was on the roof of my bank when I had to

go there yesterday...Yes; those ARE buzzards!

What with all the banks closings..it sure didn't

give me a good feelin'; let me tell ya!

The good thing is: Even though I was so embarrassed to do so........I told the doctor that I had to let my insurance cancel, because I could no longer afford it... I took the drug list from Wal-Mart in and got him to look at it...and now ALL my meds will come form Wal-Mart...

I just went today and picked them up.....I got 90 day supplies on all four prescriptions and it came to only $38.00 !!!! Oh I was soooooooo happy! This is medicine that I would have to have paid over three hundred for only a ONE MONTH SUPPLY..and I got three month's supply!!!

"Wyatt's sleepy!"

You can get your generic medicines at Wal-mart for $4.00 or get the same meds in a 90 day supply for 10.00 a prescription if they are on the list!!!

My blood pressure was up....and I have an allergy/infection in my eyes...and my bones have been aching...so he gave me a cortisone / B 12 shot and some antibiotics samples in the office and he only charged me $60.00 for the office visit...and I even had a shot! I use to pay $40.00 when I had insurance; so I was happy .

"Laying on mama's leg...Sleepy time"

Then I came home around 10:00PM...made some manwiches and went to bed....I don't know if it was the supper or something else but I woke up sick as a dog at 4:30 am. Had it coming from bothends.This went on and on.......I went back to bed around 8:00 am and slept till 12:00 noon....something I have not done in ages.

I dragged myself out of bed and went to Wal-Mart's to get my meds and come home and laid down again. I still don't feel too swift....so please keep me in your prayers.

If you want a real good laugh, go over to Bosox's journal and read his entry for today! He had me laughing and I was sick!

" nite nite "

Thank yall so much for caring about me...and putting up with my "granny" pictures of little Wyatt. yall are the best.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

THE DAYS ARE GETTING SHORTER

2008-09-07T17:26:00.000-07:00

One morning last week * right before sun-up

Can you believe it is September already??? Time goes so fast...no wonder we all are in such a hurry all the time....lol....What's that old saying? Time waits on no one...or something like that? It sure doesn't wait on me...The older I get, the slower I get and the faster time goes.

I got up last Sunday morning and cut my grass...I gave myself an hour to get it cut before I had to come in and take a shower and get ready to go to Church. Should have gave myself TWO hours....

What use to take me and hour to do, now takes me an hour and a half to do...I just did have time to take my shower and get in the Church door...and I was still sweating when I went in.

Wyatt......getting ready to ride!

After Church I watched Wyatt the rest of the afternoon. Took him with me to go get my groceries. I had so much fun having him with me.

The next day, Monday, I finally decided to paint the old wooden floor in my bedroom...Took me half a day...I had to paint around some furniture and then the next day, I moved it all over and painted what I missed.

There was a time when Danny and I first married that we painted every dang little Mill House we lived in...Back then Icould paint and trim a room out all in one day...by myself....and then still have the energy to go pick up 7 huge grocery bags of pecans outside.....

After cutting the grass Sunday and then painting the floor Monday and Tuesday; well, by Tuesday evening I could hardly move. I could not sit down, nor stand back up without severe pain all over....

I tried calling the doctor's office to get some pain med's, but of course he wanted me to come in...because I have not been to him in so many months....

Uncle Dan and Wyatt watching TV.

Soooooo, I've got to go to him this coming Tuesday to see if he has anything in his little black bag for... old age pain...and while I am there I will get him to check out my blood pressure; that has been climbing up a little.

Here we are again!

Oh, how I wish I still had the energy and stamina I had when I was 18 years old! It is so aggravating when your mind tells you that you can still do it...and your body proves that you can't. Anyway, the grass is cut and the floor is painted now....(Though I walked outside this afternoon and saw that the grass is already growing like a weed...dang it.)

" nite-nite! "

The little onesie that he has on says:

"what happens at Grandma's...Stays at Grandma's! "

Having a grandchild is one of the best things that has ever happened to me....I have found out that you can love a grandchild just as much as your very own child....

The only thing better would be:

A way to have your grandchildren first and your children last ! he he he

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

WARNING>>PLEASE, PLEASE PASS THIS ON

2008-08-28T20:41:00.000-07:00

PLEASE LOOK CLOSELY AT THIS AND SEND IT TO ALL THAT HAVE BABIES....JUST ONE BABY'S DEATH IS ONE TOO MANY....TWO BABIES HAVE ALREADY DIED. NEWS from CPSC U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

(800) 638-2772 CPSC Recall Hotline:
August 27, 2008
Release #08-378

Infants Strangled to Death in Simplicity Bassinets: CPSC Urges Consumers To Stop Using Simplicity 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 Convertible “Close-Sleeper” Models

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is urging parents and caregivers to stop using convertible “close-sleeper/bedside sleeper” bassinets manufactured by Simplicity Inc., of Reading, Pa. CPSC has learned that on August 21, 2008, a 5-month-old girl from Shawnee, Kan. was strangled to death when she became entrapped between the bassinet’s metal bars. This is the second strangulation death CPSC has learned of in the co-sleeper bassinets. On September 29, 2007, a 4-month-old girl from Noel, Mo. became entrapped in the metal bars of the bassinet and died.

CPSC is issuing this safety alert because SFCA Inc., the company which purchased all of Simplicity Inc.’s assets at public auction in April 2008, has refused to cooperate with the government and recall the products. SFCA maintains that it is not responsible for products previously manufactured by Simplicity Inc.

The Simplicity 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 convertible bassinets contain metal bars spaced farther apart than 2 3/8 inches, which is the maximum distance allowed under the federal crib safety standard. The metal bars are covered by an adjustable fabric flap which is attached by velcro. The fabric is folded down whenthe bassinet is converted into a bed-side co-sleeping position. If the velcro is not properly re-secured when the flap is adjusted, an infant can slip through the opening and become entrapped in the metal bars and suffocate. This warning does not cover bassinets produced in recent months that have fabric permanently attached over the lower bar.

Due to the serious hazard these bassinets pose to babies, CPSC urges all consumers to share this safety warning with day care centers, consignment stores, family and friends to ensure that no child is placed to sleep in a Simplicity convertible bassinet covered by this warning.

The Commission voted, using its new authorities in the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, to release this warning upon making a finding that the health and safety of the public require immediate notice.

Tags: U.S.CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION, CONVERTABLE CRIBS, CLOSE SLEEPER/BEDSIDE SLEEPER CRIBS AND BASSINETS, SIMPLICITY BASSENETS, INFANT DEATHS, RECENT RECALLS, CPSC

I CRIED TODAY

2008-08-27T19:10:00.000-07:00

I cried today.....

Amanda came over with Wyatt this morning. She came walking through my bedroom door and said, "Mama, I have something to show you..."

She set the baby car seat on my blanket chest and began wrestling little 'Y' out of it. She got all the safety latches undone, picked Wyatt up and turned him around to face me....and said, "Mama, talk to him"....and what came next is something I will never forget ....never til my dying day.

I looked at my little grandson there with his mama and he gazed up at me with those beautiful little blue eyes....He was so quiet... as if he knew a secret and he was preparing himself to tell me...

I leaned close to him and laughingly said, "Y, did you come to see your old Granny??" and as soon as the words were out of my mouth....

My little grandson smiled at me...and actually LAUGHED out loud!!!!

I am crying as I write this...

Do you know how beautiful those little giggles sounded to me??? Do you know how deeply that baby's little smile is burned into my memory now? I grabbed my little grandchild and hugged him so tightly...and as I was crying these tears of great joy and gratitude for this precious little miracle from God.....he looked up at me and giggled again!

Amanda was alarmed and asked me why I was crying so...and I tried to explain that for soooooooo many years...

I had made peace with the fact that I would never have a grandchild to hold, or love....and here, right here before my very eyes was my grandchild...

and he was smiling and laughing at this crazy Granny....

All I could think of was that my sweet Danny left this world not ever knowing, and not being able to share this special moment....

I too never thought I would live to see this day....

But I felt Danny's presence so strongly as I held my little "Y" that he may as well have been right there with me....

Thank You God....Thank YOU.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

TUESDAY

2008-08-26T22:31:00.000-07:00

Is anyone else as tired of all this election bull as I am? It seems like November will never get here....and I feel burned out already.

I finally made the decision to drop my health insurance....well I say I made the decision, but actually my finances made it for me. Oh sure there were ways I could have saved a few dollars here and there but cutting out and cutting down, but not near enough to pay the huge increase of the monthly premium. I am not going to lie and say that I am not scared, but I do still feel like God will take care of me....He always has.

Look who came over to see me today!

Now isn't that the sweetest little fellow ?

I will be so glad when the surgeon removes the hernias ...the one on his stomach is growing bigger....I worry so much about it...He's got a good appetite though....

See?

He loves sweet potatoes!He loves blowing bubbles with them too! lol

I went to the Good Will store and found these cute little Ginger Bread babies!

I only gave a dollar for them!

I had went trying to find a baby swing for Wyatt to use at my house. The lady there said they had just sold one the day before for $4.00! (They are $89.00 new in the stores.)

I did find this neat little bouncer seat that I only gave $4.00 for. It vibrates and when he kicks the seat, the top part lights up and blinks and even plays music!!! I took the seat cover off and washed it... and also washed and sanitized the whole seat.

You know I never thought I could love Wyatt as much as I do.

That is so sad about that little girl missing in Fla. Something is terribly wrong when a Mother waits over a month to report her baby missing.

My headache has returned so I will leave for now.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

2008-08-19T19:15:00.000-07:00

Today is my birthday. I was born on August 19, 1953...which means that in the heat of summer my mama was in hard labor....giving birth to my fat little 8 lb. 8 oz. self....My mama would tell me all during my childhood that when I was born, the doctor said I was by far the prettiest baby in the hospital...and bless my little heart, I always believed her! lol

My siblings always told me how; while mama was yet still in the hospital with me, they sat out under the mulberry tree plotting a way to get rid of me...They did not want another baby around...there were already enough little hungry mouths sitting around their table...they did not want another one to have to share their food with.

I can remember way back...a lot farther back in years than what I can remember of even yesterday...One of my first memories is, believe it or not...is mama giving me a baby bottle and the milk being sour...Keep in mind that back then I think some babies stayed on the bottle longer than they do today...but I was small enough that I did not have the words to tell her that the milk was sour....so I only cried and would hold the bottle back to her......she, being mama...figured it out by tasting the milk and opening up a new can of evaporated milk...

I can remember way before I was old enough to start first grade, mama making me take a nap in the middle of the day...and me fussing that I did not want to...but as soon as I would lay across the bed and mama put that old worn blanket across me, I would be falling asleep.

I can remember how cool those old wooden floors in that small house on Horseshoe Bend always felt to my little bare feet...even in the summer time. The walls there were huge wood planks and I would prop my feet on them at night to cool them. At night when we were in bed, we could see the shadows of the light bulbs that hung down from the ceiling. Their shadows would be swinging gently back and forth across the wooden walls from the breeze that came through the open door. Yeah, back then you could even keep your door open at night...leaving just the screen door closed....and you didn't worry about someone breaking in and you could hear the crickets and the frogs and all the night noises of the country.

I can still smell the odor that the old iron gave off while mama ironed our clothes at night...hear the hissing as she shook water from a bottle onto them....hear the metal ironing board creaking with each swipe of the iron.

Anytime I look back on my life...I always see my mama....I use to think it was my daddy who was the strong one...but as I have grown older, I have come to realize that it was actually my mama who was the strong one...Don't get me wrong...My daddy worked two and three jobs all his life...working with two huge hernias hanging from his lower sides...He had one day off a week...and on that day he worked the garden and cut our grass with a swing blade...

but Mama...

My mama worked day in and day out...from before sun-up to way past midnight...without any pay...and most times without any gratitude either...For we, like most kids, always took for granted what all she did for us . You just don't know what all this lady that is our mama, did without and put up with for the sake of her children...We were so very poor...and yet I can not remember ever a time that my mama gave up.

My life has not been an easy one. From the very beginning I have had to overcome a lot of physical handicaps. My life is far from easy now...and the day that Danny died, well, I wanted to die too....but my Mama taught me a long time ago...not in words... but by her very actions...

We don't give up...We keep going.

Thank you God for my mama...the best Birthday gift of all.

Happy Birthday to me!

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

SUNDAY HAPPENINGS

2008-08-17T19:52:00.000-07:00

Wyatt in his overalls!

We have been having some cooler weather here lately and I love it! We have been in the high 80's and low 90's ... Now to some that may still be hot, but when you have been having 105 degree temps, then this actually feels like spring to me.

This year's tomatoes

This year I have not had as many tomatoes off my tomato plants as in years before, I am still getting a few tomatoes and actually have some more blooms coming on. What with the scare about tomatoes that you buy at the grocery store, I am glad I did plant some for us.

I have been having a few health issues that I am going to have to get checked out...I am bad about putting off going to the doctor . My regular doctor had health problems and had to go on an early retirement, so I really don't have a doctor now. Anyone have any ideas about how to find a good doctor ???

Wyatt looking at my computer!

Amanda, Wyatt and I went to church again today. Wyatt did really good and as before all who attended had to hold him! This is usually a small church congregation, but today we had a celebration for the Preacher's 25th anniversary with the church, so there were a few more attending. There was a man sitting right in front of me that had a shirt on just like the green plaid one Danny use to wear...and I really had to concentrate on not crying...

We had a covered dish down stairs afterwards. I took fried ham slices, homemade macaroni and cheese, broccoli casserole, fresh cut corn, and also corn on the cob. We had good fellowship, good times with friends and family, and good food...Little Wyatt loved hearing the special music and being held and loved on! He goes back to the doctor Tuesday and Wednesday this week. One is the pediatrician and the other is the baby surgeon to check on his hernias.

Know anyone that drinks that energy drink called RED BULL? You may want to ask your teens if they do...It was on the news tonight, that scientists have found out that directly after drinking just one can, a person's blood gets "sticky" and they are in danger of having a heart attack or a stroke. The company says that they are going to start investigations on it.

Well, I am sitting here nodding my head off, so I am going to close this out...Funny....back in my younger days, I use to laugh to see my mama nodding off at the supper table or while she sat in her recliner...

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

SUNDAY RAMBLINGS

2008-08-03T10:17:00.000-07:00

Thanks Missie for this graphic..wish I were there!

This Georgia heat is taking it's toll on me. I can not take this humidity and heat like I use to. I will be so glad to see the fall of the year come in!

My boss lady's husband came up to the BBQ yesterday and guess what he brought? Some homemade peach ice cream!!!He found time in his busy work day to stop and make us some from the fresh peaches they had... I had not had peach ice cream since I was a little bitty girl sitting on Aunt Maggie's front porch waiting on Uncle Rob to churn it! Being in Georgia, nearly every home seem to have a peach tree back then.

Lord, that first taste of ice cream yesterday, brought back sooooo many memories ... Their house is still right down the street from me, but Aunt Maggie and Uncle Rob have been gone to Heaven for many years ...'Others' live there now...'others' who don't care about the house, or the flowers, nor about making ice cream for the neighborhood children....so sad.

Most afternoons when we kids walked down the street, Aunt Maggie would be through doing the supper dishes and was sitting on her front porch swing... singing; "I'll Fly Away" ....I can close my eyes and still see her...and actually hear her sweet voice singing..."Some glad morning when this life is over...I'll fly away...to a land on God's celestial shore....I'll fly away...."

I can see all of us little children....Kat, Danny, me , Beth, and Connie...Denise and Jane...Sonny and Dennis...all of us little Mill Town kids, watching Uncle Rob intensely and waiting for that first taste of heaven....Wonder how many times we would ask..."Is it done yet??" and he would patiently explain over and over why it took so long....never scolding us for bugging him. This neighborhood was so different then....back when we were small....

Even though I lived on Horseshoe Bend until I was nearly a teen, I spent many a day on this street with my Aunt Chet and my "friends in town". I always use to think they were "rich kids"...cause they had an inside bathroom and real paint on their walls...a pretty kitchen sink with running water...

Right today when I smell IVORY DISH LIQUID, I automatically think of Aunt Chet. Her house smelled like it because that is all she ever used to do dishes...sometimes I will pick a bottle up in the grocery store, pop the top up and sniff it; just to bring back the memories.

Wyatt weighs 9 pounds! Now, if we could just get the hernias taken care of, get him to poop on his own, and lose the gas, we will be home free.

I know I have got to get up from here and start making out the checks to pay my bills, but Lord, I don't want to give my money away yet, I just got paid yesterday! The first of the month comes so quick, doesn't it? lol

Before I go, I want to share this real cute joke I found in my email box from Sue today...Sue , you got me laughing ...and I thank you!

'Three Grandmas'
Three old mischievous Grandmas were sitting on a bench outside a nursing home.
About then an old Grandpa walked by, and one of the old Grandmas yelled out saying, 'We bet we can tell exactly how old you are.'
The old man said, 'There ain't no way you can guess it,you old
fools.'
One of the old Grandmas said, 'Sure we can! Just drop your pants and
undershorts and we can tell your exact age.'
Embarrassed just a little, but anxious to prove they couldn't do it, he dropped his drawers.
The Grandmas asked him to first turn around a couple of times and to jump up and down several times.
Then they all piped up and said, 'You're 87 years old!'
Standing with his pants down around his ankles, the old gent asked,
'How in the world did you guess?'
Slapping their knees & grinning from ear to ear, all 3 old ladies
happily yelled in unison--------

'We were at your birthday party yesterday!'

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

GOD IS STILL IN CHARGE

2008-07-23T20:00:00.000-07:00

Wyatt had to go to the doctor today for a checkup. He has gained up to 8 pounds and 1 ounce! The doctor was pleased with his weight gain and took him off the neo-sure formula for preemies and put him on regular formula. Amanda is so disappointed that she could not produce enough milk for him herself, but like I told her, at least she tried, right?

After the doctor visit, Amanda and I took Wyatt to see his great Aunt Dorris.

She had such a good time holding him and you know what? The little bugger would not wake up for nothing while we were there to let Aunt Dorris see his eyes! lol

Amanda took Wyatt to see my mama Monday.

I had to run out there to sign some papers for the treatment plan for mama's legs, which I have to do ever so often...

Everytime he sees his great-grandma, he will get real quiet and wide eyed...I love the way he looks right at her and seems to listen so intently to her.

I cooked supper tonight. I had BBQ chicken, fresh turnip greens, fresh squash, and thickning potatoes with cornbread, biscuits and sweet tea. I took Dorris a huge plate for her supper too.

I was shocked at the price of potatoes yesterday at the grocery store...They were $4.98 for 5 pounds...Thank goodness they had a 10 pound bag on sale for $5.98! Everywhere I looked in the store, all the prices had went up, way up...

Everything had gotten higher...I don't know how much longer the working poor will be able to meet all their expenses. The way things are going...We will have to be cutting back, that is for sure.

Speaking ofthe working poor...I am almost sure that I will be dropping my health insurance ...I have did the math over and over and I keep coming up with more money going out for the insurance than what I am getting out of it...I have not been feeling too good lately and it worries me to death to have to let it go...But Half my check a month is just too much for me right now...and if I did get sick and have to use it, I would not be able to work, so I would not be able to pay the premium.

Don't get me wrong.........I still know that God is watching over me, so I will not give up hope.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL

WEDNESDAY

2008-07-16T20:34:00.000-07:00

Yay!! My little grandbaby Wyatt has gained weight! He now weighs 7 lbs. and 10 oz.!!! And he is 19 inches long ! Don't you just love his expression in this picture? lol

I am watching Prime Time Crime as I type and I shocked beyond words from what I am seeing....I never thought I would live to see the day that young girls would be kidnapped and sold into sex slavery in the United States...at truck stops yet. How can this be going on without someone seeing it ?

I worked in a cafe that was open 24/7 when I was 14 years old. Back then the interstate had yet to come through our little town, so we got all the truck drivers going from Atlanta to Augusta and beyond....and of course there were some truckers that flirted, but nothing like the evil things that are going on now... Most all were very decent people with hearts of gold. Maybe I am naive, but this really shocked and saddened me.

The BBQ had to raise all it's prices today. Although I didn't work, I got the prices from my boss and typed up new 'to go' menus. The price of cabbage ( used for slaw) has more than doubled...matter of fact just about everything has...Oil rules the world...and it is hurting everyone. The thing is tomorrow when I go into work I am going to hear people fussing over and over about the price hike....Knowing the wholesale price of all that they buy, actually I feel like my boss and her family are cutting themselves shorter than they should...

My Blue cross and Blue Shield Health ins. raised it's premium on me in April as they do every year...and then I get a letter today saying they wereraising it again in Sept. over $50.00 more because I went into a new 'age bracket'.....I am mighty afraid this time I can not keep it...because now it will be over half my monthly income...I can not do it...and I am so scared that just as soon as I drop it, I will need it....God help me. I truly don't know what the working poor will do if something does not turn this country around very soon.

On a brighter note...I have little Wyatt...and I got to baby sit him last night so that Amanda and his daddy could go out and eat alone for the first time since he was born! They did not stay gone long enough~! SO when they come back, they said I could keep him a couple more hours! I was so happy. He smiled at me...and my heart just melted....I love him so much.

Wyatt and Mommie 07/14/08

Monday was Danny's birthday. He would have been 54 years old. He should be here to enjoy his grandbaby...I miss him so much...Not a day goes by that I don't think of him. Whenever I go somewhere, I still to this day, find myself wanting to hurry and get home so I can fix his supper...He loved my homemade biscuits..and I tried to make them on the days I was off work...Maybe it sounds crazy, but I loved to watch him eat! I loved cooking for him and doing little things for him. He not only was the love of my life, and my husband...but he was also my best friend...a very real part of me is missing....

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

BLESSINGS

2008-07-11T18:33:00.000-07:00

I finally got my replacement phone fixed...Seems it had not been programmed at all before it was shipped. I even got all my pictures and contacts back !!! yay!

I also got the photos of my grand baby and my mama uploaded or downloaded ( I always confuse my self about this!) into my computer.

I was hungry when my great - grandma first saw me!!!

Wyatt seems to be clapping here!

Mama kept asking if he was a little girl and could not remember for long when we would tell her his name... but it didn't matter to Wyatt one bit!

My mama, my daughter and my grand baby....

I never thought that I would live to see this day....

Thank You, thank You....Dear Lord, from the bottom of my heart ...

Thank You for this sweet little miracle.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

THIS AND THAT

2008-07-10T17:43:00.000-07:00

I noticed that I mistakenly printed "great-grandmother" under the picture of her and Wyatt in the last entry...I had to go back and edit that, because she is actually his great-great grandmother!

This is one of Wyatt's great-grandmothers! This is Danny's mama holding him the day he came home! This picture is priceless!!

I also have a picture of my mama holding him but I am having trouble putting it in here and also on the computer~! She held him the whole time we were there and he was wide awake...and never once even grunted! Just kept staring at his great grandma! I honestly believe that little babies sense things. As soon as I can get the pictures uploaded I will put them in here.

Little Wyatt with a Tye Baby Tiger that a good friend here in J-LAnd sent to him the other day!!! It is sooooooo soft and cudly and ust about bigger than him!!! lol lol

Even that little 4 oz bottle looks bigger than he does! lol

I had to call Verizon about my cell phone...It had started acting up, but I really liked the style phone, so they sent me one just like it today. ...The only bad thing is...So far I can not get it to do anything....It keeps showing"Initial programming needed"...I don't know what the heck that is...so looks like I will be calling them again...

:-(

So I might as well let this be a short entry and try to get the phone going before tomorrow.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

THE CIRCLE OF LIFE

2008-07-06T13:29:00.000-07:00

Wyatt and his great - great- grandmother-Danny's grandmother.

We have a roaring thunderstorm going on right now, so I may get knocked off line before I get this entry in; but I am going to try anyway. :-)

I have just gotten back from seeing Wyatt! ( You knew this was going to be about Wyatt didn't you??? lol )

I hope you know that for a while this journal will, more than likely, gravitate toward him....Some may say; 'good gosh......everyone has grandchildren that they love...yours is no more special than mine'...and that is rightfully so...

But you know, my feelings have always seemed to run so much deeper than the norm....

I will never be able to explain here, nor on paper, the feelings that flood my heart and soul when I look at this child...It is the type feelings that only one's heart can communicate to another heart....

For when I look down on this tiny little baby that is the child of my child....I am overwhelmed with a love that I have never experienced before...

In his face I can see, not only his daddy and his mama....but also his grandma, his granddaddy, his uncles, and his aunts....

I have learned so many lessons from this wee little babe that is only two weeks old...

Like how, no matter how dark the night may seem...the sun will shine again someday...Maybe not tomorrow or the day after...but someday.

I have learned that even though you have lost the love of your life and you think that life itself is 'not worth a damn anymore'; one day, when you least expect it, God will find a way to prove you wrong.

I have learned that just because you think that there are no more miracles for you in God's plans....that doesn't mean that that is what God thinks.

I look at my grandchild and I see the very continuance of life...I see hope renewed...because although death may have laid claim to my beloved husband's body...

It could not break the circle of life that God saw fit to continue.

Because God in His mercy has given to us, as living proof ....this tiny little person named Wyatt Kelvin Daniel Kitchens....

I have come to know and come to believe what I have seen for myself...

What God had been trying to tell me all along...

It is not ever over....

Life does go on.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

WYATT

2008-07-01T22:19:00.000-07:00

Wyatt, who was born weighing 5 pounds, has now gained 6 ounces ! He is currently having a little trouble with his bowel movements...For the last 4 days, he has only had one movement per day and would be grunting all day, trying to go potty. So we took him to the pediatrician, who ordered an X-ray...

Although they found no cause for his irregular bowel movements, except for gas, they did find a hernia near his groin. They seem to think it has nothing to do with his stool problem, but he is being set up with a neo-surgeon. We will know more later and are not letting this worry us much, for we KNOW that the Good Lord has him in His hands.

He is the sweetest little baby...hardly ever crying ... already looking around and lifting his little head. Amanda is doing a wonderful job as a new mama...I am so proud of her. She has had some pain from the c-section of course but otherwise she is fine.

When I look at little Wyatt, and he scrunches his forehead up and squints at me; I can honestly see his granddaddy Danny looking back at me and I marvel at this absolute miracle that God granted us...

Danny and I would often lay in our bed at night and wish we could be grandma and grandaddy...would even tell each other what we thought that our grandchildren would look like and be like...what we would do for them...but mainly how we would love them.

Danny went to his grave believing we would never know the joy of being grandparents....He knew how badly I longed for grandchildren and while I know it seems crazy...I can not help but believe that he had a helping hand in all this...

Yes, truly, God has been so good to us.....Just think of it all...Amanda having the baby that she has wanted with all her heart for years....even though specialists said there was hardly any chance...

Amanda having not even one tiny labor pain ....( I have never known anyone that did not at least have one little pain especially while receiving drugs to help speed up things ) ....

And Dan.....oh my goodness...

When my son Dan holds little Wyatt, you can literally see love radiating all about him...I came into the room today and heard Dan singing " Jesus loves me" to our little fellow, as he sat rocking him in the same rocker that my daddy gave me to rock my children in.....

When we sat down to eat our supper last night, for the first time in his life Dan actually asked to say the blessing. After he thanked the Lord for our food...he also thanked Him for giving us little Wyatt...

I thanked Him too........

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

INTRODUCING:

2008-06-19T21:43:00.000-07:00

WYATT KELVIN DANIEL KITCHENS

Born 06/18/200

10:53 pm

5 lbs.

17 and 1/2 inches long

THANK YOU HEAVENLY FATHER.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

IT'S OVER

2008-06-19T21:32:00.000-07:00

First I want to thank each of you who prayed, left a kind word, emailed me, and were there to once again support me and my family, and hold me up at my weakest point......

All I can say is; Thank God for people like you all....Thank God.

I am so glad it is all over...I am so glad to be here tonight....and I am so glad that things turned out the way they did.

When I took Amanda to the fetal specialist Wednesday morning at 8:30, it was with the hope that all would go well and I could get back home. It was not to be.

The sonogram showed that Wyatt had gained 6 oz. but his stomach had gotten smaller. Also, he had dropped further down. Amanda had began to dilate and was further thinned out. The specialist walked us over to her OBGYN and admission papers were printed up and we left the office headed to the hospital across the street.

Amanda was admitted and taken to a beautiful labor/ delivery room there...It had a comfortable bed with huge oil paintings on the wall behind it. The nurses soon came in and started a drip to bring her on into labor. A few hours later, after having no pains and not dilating, they increased the drip.

After lunch, and still not having any pains...they again increased the drip. During all this time, the monitor belt had kept acting up....slipping off and such. (It timed and measured the strength of her contractions) The monitor was showing very small contractions that were erratic.

Well, after still having no pain...and not dilating past 3 cm....they once again upped the iv drip. They also finally took the stupid monitor belt off and placed an electronic probe in Amanda to measure her contractions.

It was then they found out that Amanda was indeed having contractions..huge ones...and they were coming every minute...On the scale from 0-100...they were measuring 85 to 100. For some unknown reason; she just did not feel them....

ALL THIS TIME IN LABOR AND SHE HAD NOT FELT ANY OF THEM.

The nurses all spoke of how lucky Amanda was to not be able to feel the pain associated with childbirth and once again they upped the drip.

I had been watching the monitor screen ALL DAY....to watch not only the contractions, but also little Wyatt's heart beat...which had been holding steady at normal which is @ 135-150 per minute......It was while I was watching the monitor that I noticed shortly after they increased the drip the last time; that Wyatt's heart rate had suddenly dropped to 66...

I spoke to Kelvin's mom and asked her to step outside and call a nurse. When she stepped out, I again looked at the monitor and his heart rate had dropped to 60...and then to nothing....Before I could say a word, the door burst open and four doctors and nurses ran in...

They came running in...One took over the monitor, one stopped the drip, and then.... this blew me away...One of them ran to the painting behind the bed and threw it up the wall...and an oxygen mask dropped down! The painting had been on a hidden track of sorts and was there to hide the oxygen equipment!

They threw the mask on Amanda's face and began saying..."BREATH>>>BREATH>>>BREATH FAST>>>BREATH DEEP" All of this had terrified Amanda and she began hysterically crying...I hushed her and quietly told her that she HAD to breathe...for Wyatt....and she did.

The rest was as if in slow motion....Doctors coming in and explaining that they were going to do an emergency c section right now...Kelvin putting on doctor scrubs....nurses throwing the blanket back and prepping Amanda and then wheeling her out and heading to the operating room....

I was left in a fog of terror and heartache....as we were led to the labor/delivery waiting room....to wait.

Danny's sis, Kat was with me and she convinced me to take a look at the babies in the nursery window...There were around 14 babies there...guess it was the full moon thing going on...While standing there watching the nurses clean up a newly born infant; I was wondering how my daughter was and if they had saved my little grandchild...

I kept looking at the tiny baby that they were turning every which way but loose, checking it for everything....and finally they turned the baby to where we could all see the face....It had so much hair...and I swear it looked just like Kelvin. I even told Kelvin's mom this and after looking at the baby, she agreed...It was then that Kat said that she had seen them place a pink bracelet on it's tiny arm.....meaning it was a little girl....With that info, I left to go to the restroom .

As I was coming out of the restroom, my niece came running up and said," Aunt Carlene......your grand baby is in the nursery!!!' I said excitedly..."really...he is??" and she said; "yeah...it was the baby you were looking at!!!" I was thoroughly confused by then...my grand baby was suppose to be a boy! She saw my confusion and said..."Aunt Lene...the baby you saw...it was a boy...It was Wyatt!!!"

OMG...I have felt this elation only twice...Both times when my own two children were born...alive... healthy....and kickin' and screamin'. I looked up and saw Kelvin standing there in his doctor scrubs...and he said..."yes...Amanda is okay!" I broke down right then and there...I felt as if I had been holding my breath the entire time and had just now gotten my first good breath of fresh air.

Kelvin told me after it was all over; that once inside the operating room....and after cutting Amanda open, the doctors found that not only was the cord wrapped around little Wyatt's neck, but his little arm was wedged..pressing up against and pinching the cord in one spot....no wonder he wasn't getting enough blood and nutrients. They also found out that Amanda's cervix was too small to have delivered him anyway.

They did not find out why she never felt any of the pains....I choose to believe that the good Lord, your prayers, and maybe even Danny had a little to do with that.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

AMANDA

2008-06-18T16:40:00.000-07:00

AMANDA IS IN LABOR. WILL LET YALL KNOW MORE WHEN I DO. PRAY OKAY? I AM AT THE HOSPITAL RIGHT NOW IN LABOR ROOM.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

TIME GOES BY

2008-06-16T19:43:00.000-07:00

( this cute tag by D! )

I went over yesterday and helped Amanda do some chores around the house. Kelvin built the sink base doors and put them on...Also he made a desk and cabinet for the kitchen...He is very good at building things.

Amanda is having twinges and a little back pain....She has dilated a little over 1 cm and her cervix has thinned out over 70 %... She goes back to the fetal specialist Wednesday...He will do another sonogram and if the baby has gained enough weight, he will let nature take it's course...If not...he will do the amnio* and we will go from there. Please keep her and the baby on your prayer list.

Amanda on June 15, 2008

I have not been feeling well at all....I had to stop in at the out patient Oconee Regional doctor's office while in Athens with Amanda the other day. My blood pressure has been running on the high side...and I have been having a severe headache and feeling nauseous...Don't know what is going on but I hope it stops...I am trying to find a doctor around here.

Dan went to Myrtle Beach, SC with his Aunt Kat and his cousin Troy ...Seems like he had a ball down there . lol....All I have heard is "Myrtle Beach" since he got back home! I am so glad that Troy let him go with them....Dan very seldom goes anywhere, and I missed him so much while he was gone.

He always loved going to MB with me and Danny. I can not go this year since Amanda is due most any day....so it was a God send when Troy and Wendy invited Dan to go along with them. He had some pictures on a throw-a-way camera that I bought him, but he left it at the motel...He was so disappointed, bless his heart.

Happier times...Me and Danny at MB

You know; when you lose a loved one...

Well, let me back up and rephrase that and say ; since I loss Danny; I can think of soooo many things that I didn't do, that I should have done.....and I can think of sooo many things that I did do, that I shouldn't have done, both while we were courting and married...Know what I mean?

I think daily of how I could have done things differently...little things and big things...Oh sure...I know he would have thought the same thing had it been me to go first...

But the awful thing about death is.....

You get no second chances...

You don't get to right your wrongs...

You have to live with all the 'should haves', and 'could haves' for the rest of your life.

You find yourself praying that your loved one knew that you were only human...and though you may not have shown it all the time...

The true depth of your love for him was deeper than even you realized...

I sure hope Danny knew.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

GONE TOO SOON

2008-06-08T20:33:00.000-07:00

I had to pick up a few items from town today, so I did a little lookin' around while I was there....I got a gown for Amanda and a cute little baby blue onesie for her baby that says...."Yes I am handsome; I take after my daddy!"

I took her the gown and baby outfit later on when I went to the cookout Kelvin threw. He does a great job cooking on the grill and I know Amanda was glad to be able to sit for a change!

I have to tell yall something....

Earlier, while I was shopping, I came across a man's cap.........and the more I looked at it...the more I knew, crazy or not...I could not leave that cap for someone else to buy...because I only knew two people in my lifetime that it described...and both of them are gone...

I argued with myself for the longest time...I know that you do NOT buy a cap for a dead man...

But in the end....

I brought it home and I fixed it up with some flowers for Father's Day....

yeah...I know.......crazy....

They say a picture is worth a thousand words...

Danny may not have lived long enough to prove this true to anyone else......but I know with all my heart and soul that had he had just a few more years here with us...

He would have been:

THE WORLD's GREATEST GRANDPA .

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

AMANDA

2008-05-31T20:22:00.000-07:00

Where is everybody???? Are my alerts working??? If you did not get my entry alert, will you please let me know??? lol

Amanda didn't get to work this week ... Her feet have been swollen so bad and she has been having some pain...I guess it is braxton- hicks.

I have not mentioned this before now, because this journal is public and I do not want Amanda to know I am worried, nor do I want to get her upset....but I feel I must get this off my mind.

They are talking of taking Amanda's baby early....She has been placed with a high risk pregnancy doctor. They say her baby has IURG...Which means Intra-Uterine Restrictive Growth. Which basically means that the baby is not measuring up to the weeks that she is pregnant...that he will thrive better outside...among other things.

She has to have another sono-gram this coming Tuesday and the fetal specialist will look at it. She will be 35 weeks then.

They want to do an amnio- ? ( needle into the womb) at 37 weeks and if they find out that the baby's lungs have formed and can sustain life, Amanda will be induced into labor that day. If the lungs are not ready...they will wait one more week. Please, will you keep her and the baby in your prayers?

At work today, I waited on around 7 women that had either had a baby in the last couple of months or were expecting a baby within a month, and everyone of them said they were either going to be induced or had already been induced..not one of them had their baby the old fashioned way ...( when the baby and God said it was time...not the doctor)..

Why is that ??? Why are the OBGYN's inducing labor, on the average, two weeks early now??? Is it a normal thing to do now? Please, if you ahve time, will you vote on this?

If you know of anyone else, please share my journal url with them so they can vote also....

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

WORTH THE WAIT

2008-05-27T21:47:00.000-07:00

I had my entry all written out and ready to save and I do not know what I hit on this key board, but it wiped the entire entry out.....I want to cry, spit nails and pull my hair out....grrrrrrrrr

Amanda went to a physical therapist today for her hand and wrist. The specialist said that she indeed has carpal tunnel in both wrists and also something else going on with her right wrist and thumb...all from being pregnant. I told the therapist that I never had such problems and she said that alot of women don't, but a few do...and poor Amanda is one of those few.

I wake up at three in the morning and when I go to the bathroom, there she sits, crying softly so as to not wake the rest of us. They molded her some special hand splints today and so far she says that they help the pain...I hope she sleeps well tonight. She will go back next week . She goes to her OBGYN tomorrow.....I hope we get a good report.

This is the price of gas here on May 22....it may be higher by now...as it is I paid $50.00 to fill up then and I already had over a fourth of a tank. That price on the diesel is $4.69 a gallon! No wonder the oil companies are making mega profits here lately...whew...I am working to pay for only groceries and gas. I may have to get a second job if this keeps up much longer.

Amanda's Aunt Kat and Kat's daughter-in-law Wendy gave Amanda a baby shower party Sunday and invited all her friends and co-workers! Even my boss was there and when I talked to her today, she said she had the best time ever!!! This being Amanda's first baby, she needs EVERYTHING! So she was thrilled at all the gifts she received for little Wyatt! Kelvins mom brought a very special gift......it was Kelvins own little rockin horse that he had as a tot! She had refinished the wood and gave it a brand new yarn mane and tail. It was beautiful and I just can not wait to see my little grandson riding it for the first time!

This little onesie she is holding up says;

" I was worth the wait" !!!

I know there was a lot of hard work and preparations done for this party and I am so grateful to Kat and Wendy for doing this. To see Amanda so happy after she has had such a hard time of it lately, just made my day...Mere words are not enough, I know...What can I say but: God bless you Kat and Wendy....You both know that I love yall.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

WEEKEND WORK

2008-05-19T07:10:00.000-07:00

Amanda and I went to Church Sunday. There was hardly anyone there....I think it may have been 14 people. I told the preacher that I decide to come to church and the others stay away! He said he noticed that too! lol ( I hope he was joking! ;)

She has been having trouble sleeping lately, so she got up early Sunday morning and crawled into my bed with me....like old times when she was a little girl and couldn't sleep. She use to have nightmares every once in a while and would could running and leap into the bed with me and Danny...wiggling like a little worm until she got in between the middle of us! lol That was her "safe spot"!

Amanda has been having a lot of trouble with carpal tunnel (SP?) lately. Both her hands and wrists ache really bad. Her OBGYN says it is natural for pregnant women.....but I swear I do not remember having it. But then, maybe that is something I chose to forget! She goes back to the doctor tomorrow.

After Church, we painted some of the rooms of the house that they are going to move into. We got the baby's room and the living room painted with two coats each and now have to trim them out. Kelvin stippled (sp?) the ceilings and they look so nice! He and his dad did them while Amanda and I were at Church.

living room

His mom and dad have really worked hard helping to fix the house up...His mama came over while Amanda and I were at work and helped Kelvin all day one Saturday....She is a very hard worker and I believe she can outwork most men! She also helped us paint the underside of the house and the porch.

the nursery...it will have baby looney tunes border, etc.

Kelvin gets his skills from his dad, who is an excellent carpenter by trade. His Dad even got on the roof with Kelvin helping to replace the shingles and re-placing several parts of the roof. The house had leaks in every room ....so they also had to replace the ceiling sheet rock and re-sand it and also some of the walls inside. It is a lot more work than we ever imagined...seems like a house just dies when no one lives in it...We are keeping our fingers crossed that everything is ready before little Wyatt gets here. They still have to get a queen size mattress set and living room furniture...not to mention a crib etc!

My rhododendron finally bloomed! I have had it since before Danny died and it would not bloom though it would have leaves on it...So I was so surprised and happy to see some blooms on it this morning! It had been so long that I had forgotten what color it was! (white) lol

Whew! This was a long entry....

GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

IT'S THE SIMPLE THINGS

2008-05-15T20:01:00.000-07:00

You know; when you lose someone you love...sometimes it is the simple everyday things that you miss the most....like hugs. Danny was a good hugger......

Once he had his arms around me, I felt safe....nothing nor no one scared me....no problem was too big for me to handle....because no matter what; I knew he had my back. I knew he would be there to catch me if I fell. I trusted him completely.

I miss him so much.

Whenever I thought about our future; I always saw me and him growing old together....sitting side by side....holding hands....and I use to worry about if , when the time came that we had to go into a nursing home, if they would separate us...and I would vow to myself, that as long as I had breath in my body that they would not because we had never been separated.

Ah...but life had other plans for us....we would not make it to the "growing old together" part....and we were, after all, in the end.....

Separated from one another.

It has been over two years since he died and not a day has gone by that he did not occupy a large part of my mind....and all of my heart. Because of this, it is still very hard for me to concentrate on anything else for any length of time....But with the Lord's help, I am trying ...

I am trying.

Hug that special someone you love tonight...and let them know that they are loved.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

A MOTHER'S LOVE KNOWS NO BOUNDS

2008-05-11T20:58:00.000-07:00

My mama and Danny

This being Mother's Day, of course Dorris and I made a trip out to the nursing home to see mama.

We found her bent over, intently looking through her small bedside table drawer...The room was dark, but she didn't seem to notice or care....

She was 'busy'... searching for something.

Don't ask me what she was looking for, because I don't know...

She didn't either, when we asked.

We turned the light on in her room and led her back to her recliner, so she could sit down and look at all the cards and gifts we had brought to her.

Mama's short term memory is fading fast....We can tell her something and five minutes later she has forgotten.

It was same way with the gifts.

The conversation went like this.....

"Who gave me this necklace?"...."Dorris did mama."

"Who brought those flowers?"... "We both brought you some mama."

"Who brought me this drink?"..."Carlene did mama."

"Who brought me these hair bows?"..."Dorris did mama."

"Who put the feed in the bird feeder?",..."Carlene did mama."

And so it went....over and over......and over again.

Time after time we patiently answered her questions.....

Time after time, she forgot.

But you know what the first thing was that she said to us, when we went into her room?

" Well, I am so happy to see you both.......

"My first born girl and my baby"

I will always be "her baby"

You see......

A MOTHER'S LOVE KNOWS NO BOUNDS.

I THANK YOU LORD FOR MY MAMA.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

MY DAUGHTER

2008-05-06T20:47:00.000-07:00

The repairman came today. He had to order a part for the refrigerator which will put him having to come back next Tuesday...if the part comes in.

Amanda had her sonogram and I got to see my grandson make a fist and kick his mama with his little foot while they were doing it! Everything was fine with mama and baby.

Afterwards we both had to get some lunch since it was already 1:00pm and neither one of us had breakfast.

NOW GUESS WHAT AMANDA DID?

Today; after the sonogram, and after we ate lunch.....she went to have her hair cut off so she could donate it to Locks For Love.......where they make wigs for people undergoing chemo and radiation!

They got two locks that were over 13 inches each!!! I am so proud of her.....You have to know Amanda.....she LOVES her hair.....but was willing to give it away for a good cause.

That's my little girl!

GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

JUST GET ME A PADDED ROOM

2008-05-05T21:37:00.000-07:00

Look at the clouds Sunday

I am so disgusted.... My refrigerator is not working....AGAIN. It has ruined a gallon of milk...and we all know how much that costs now....not to mention other foods that are in there.

When the repair man came the other day, he replaced the ice maker with another one. Now my refrigerator has stopped cooling. I have been through this two or three times now....the ice maker dies and then the refrigerator. I just bought this refrigerator new in June of 2006. I feel like crying....

I am so tired of this. I just got off the phone with service repair and they can come tomorrow sometime between 8:30 and 5:00...and of course I have to take Amanda to the doctor tomorrow.....( please pray we get a good report)

Get this...the service people only come on TUESDAYS....so if I am not here tomorrow...it will be another week.

I just wrote Sears an e-mail...I am hoping I will get some help on this.

Why can't we get good quality items anymore??? My last refrigerator lasted for many, many years....not giving a bit of trouble....except for a little rust.

That's Kelvin on the other side.

We all went fishing Sunday at this local pond...I didn't catch anything...but I sure enjoyed myself.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

AND LIFE GOES ON...

2008-04-30T20:44:00.000-07:00

My 'Peace' rose (taken today)

I got a birthday alert today in my emails....It came from Birthday Alarm and was sent to remind me that Lahoma's birthday is May 6........

Lahoma had a journal here in J-Land and I came to know and love her...just as I have so many here. I cried when I read that it would be her 40th birthday....

You see Lahoma died last Christmas from cancer .....she never got to reach her 40th birthday. I went up to my bank and bought some Relay for Life footprints in memory of her and Kim.....not much I know...but I felt truly honored to print their names on those footprint cards....

Honored just to have met two brave women that helped me to go on with my life at a time when I thought I couldn't; when they were fighting for their own....They were so courageous....so loving....We can not forget them.

Me, Amanda, Kelvin and Dorris went to see my mama tonight. She was doing okay and we stayed a good while talking to her. She is getting more and more forgetful...She was trying to remember the birth order of her children and couldn't without help....and her short term memory is just that; short term.

We had to keep telling her that Amanda was pregnant. Every time she saw Amanda's stomach, she would ask if she was pregnant! lol Dorris gave her a little flashlight that she loved and I took her homemade cookies and magazines...We always try to take her treats when we go.

I had to have the repairman again for my refrigerator ice maker. He took the old one out and replaced it...and It is still not working right... I am going to have to call them back it seems.

I will give it a couple of days and see if it gets cranked up right...but right now it is only dropping a few cubes at a time and not nearly as often as it should...I am so disgusted about it all.

Well tomorrow is another work day, so I best get to bed...Hope you all have a great day tomorrow...THANK YALL SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE FOR ME...

GOD BLESS YOU ALL

Tags: LAHOMA, KIM, BREAST CANCER, MAMA

Monday

2008-04-28T19:50:00.000-07:00

My Lantana last year.

I just planted my tomato plants a week or so ago and look what Amanda found on one of them last week!!!

The name of it is "Bush Goliath".

Amanda and I went up to the house and started cleaning some of the stuff up around it and in it. Whew....you would not believe all the trash that we got up...Amanda got tired quickly, so I told her to go sit down while I finished up.

After I got through with the inside rooms, I went outside and got up allot of the old sheet rock that had been thrown out...I threw a lot of stuff in the garbage can outside....and when I got through filling it up...the lady next door who runs the children's nursery brought me their outside trash can! She even helped me fill it up, bless her heart!

Needless to say...I wore myself out up there.

Kelvin has started painting the railings on the front porch and they are going to look so good when he gets finished. He has redone all the plumbing and pipes...replaced the kitchen sink faucet...built a hallway to the (only) bathroom so you don't have to go through the bedrooms to reach it...just to mention a few of the things that he and his dad has done so far. Next he has to find the leak on the roof and then we will hopefully start the inside painting.

Here are the railings:

Amanda is doing okay....still being sick to her stomach allot...but otherwise okay...The baby is moving more and more, and she has finally started getting a noticeable pooch in her stomach!

Bless her heart she is also swelling in her feet, legs, face...Thank goodness she only has May and June left...I am trying to talk her into getting her hair cut before she goes into labor! lol Yall please keep praying for her and the baby, okay?

Well..I think I am getting off here and going to bed.....my legs and feet are swollen and I need to put them up a while.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

SPRING CLEANING

2008-04-23T20:52:00.000-07:00

Thank You Lord for was another beautiful day. A wonderful breeze had the white puffy clouds floating across the morning sky as I walked the pups....And with the sun shining so brightly, it was easy to see that spring has finally come to Georgia.

I have been working all day....First thing this morning, I stripped all the beds and began washing all the bed cover..Then in between all the washing and drying, I took the curtains down in both mine and Dan's bedrooms. I cleaned the windows and dusted the blinds before I put new curtains back up.

Next, I vacuumed and steam cleaned the carpet in Dan's room....and got him to put some of the stuff he doesn't use out into the shed (that we can finally get in to! ) lol

I washed and dried 8 loads of cover and clothes! Whew! Afterwards, I took Dan to Wal-Mart with me to get a few items...While there, I also had to have my oil changed, a new air filter put on and new windshield wiper blades installed....Man, I sure miss Danny doing this for me.

When we got back home, I decided to give all the pups a bath.....

Afterwards I had to hop into the shower because they soaked me through and through! lol

So here I am right now writing as I have finally stopped working......

Oh there is plenty left to do.....but it will have to wait....

'cause I am going to bed!

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

DOG TIRED

2008-04-21T20:51:00.000-07:00

My azalea in the front yard.

I am so sore and tired I can hardly lift and move my fingers to type this.......Yesterday I helped Kelvin,and his mom, paint the underside of the house and also part of the front porch...My niece Charity and her husband Chris came over after church and helped also....

This is me and my shadow looking at the front porch I finished for Amanda. The temperature was in the 80's and there is no shade on the porch yet, so it was really hot out there on her.....She did 98 % of it before her feet started swelling so bad, that I made her go sit down and prop her feet up.

We worked up there from lunch til nightfall.....and at the end; Chris cooked us some hamburgers and hotdogs on a homemade grill...( Some concrete blocks, a wire oven rack with tin foil on it and ready to lite charcoal!) Boy that was a good supper...we were all starving by the time it was ready too.

So I was already tired from yesterday....but today I am truly worn out.....You see I did something today that I have put off for over two years....I cleaned out the old wood shed in my back yard.....The shed that Danny had so filled with stuff that I had to take the door off to get in there.

Danny was a " Let's keep it; we may need it someday " kind of person....He kept everything...

And after today; I sincerely believe that the man kept every nail, bolt and screw he had ever had since we married...and the squirrels WERE KIND ENOUGH TO SCATTER EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM ONTO THE FLOOR!

Once; about ten years ago.....he let me get in that shed and clean it out for him....I had it so neat and organized....A year or so later, I kinda knew that he was cluttering it up again...and even offered to clean it out again for him..but he refused....and just kept saying "maybe next month....".well we never did get to "next month"...so I just stopped mentioning it.

Well......I got up this morning finally with the determination to tackle that shed....If I had known what I was getting into...I probably would have just burned it down. I started around 10:00 am and I finished around 8:00 pm. I still have some stuff laying in my yard that I will have to get rid of tomorrow. I made one trip to the recycle center today.

I had the intention to rent a dumpster from our trash collectors, but after I found out it would be 395.00 plus a delivery fee and a pickup fee.....I decided "No Can Do".

The rats and squirrels had been in the shed before me and they left thousands of eaten pecan hulls behind. The floor was covered with them and every time I made a step, it crunched loudly. I was so scared that I would run up on a rat. Dan got out there and helped me...if he hadn't I would still be out there.

I have been buying hoes, shovels, paint brushes,pans, rollers...and I found three hoes, three shovels, 4 new paint roller paint rolls, four paint rollers,and numerous other things that Danny never could find.

At one point, I broke down and just cried....I was so tired and every little thing reminded me of him...I have one more shed to go through...It won't be tomorrow because I have to take Amanda to her OBGYN....

I am hoping that this shed will not be as bad as this one was......

I am just glad that I finally got it done and it is over for the time being.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

ONLY THE LONELY

2008-04-17T21:50:00.000-07:00

Have you ever gone back and re-read some of your first entries in your journal? I did tonight...and there's a lot of stuff that I had forgotten...until tonight.

One of the entries was about me and Danny going to the High School football game after I got off work....I read that I was very tired, but in the end was glad that I had went; because of all the good memories it brought back......

I also read that Danny was still holding my hand at the football game after over thirty years of marriage. I am so glad that I went with him.

I find myself being so lonesome for his company.....just to hear him talk to me, to be able to hug him, and have him hug me back...I miss that so much.

I picked Dorris up and went to see Mama Wednesday. She was about the same...She never fails to ask me when I am coming back. I took her some snacks and a small bottled coke....which she loves. I filled up the bird feeder that I placed outside her window way back when she first entered there. She loves watching the little birds eat and is always so happy to see me fill the feeder up for them....Reminds me of how she use to beg people to eat when they came to her house....she was always so happiest when folks would eat!

Amanda is doing okay so far....still getting sick after meals but not as often. I know I have to wait for this grandchild of mine to get here..but I am not being patient about it! lol I can not wait to HOLD him and SEE him...I already LOVE him.

Well...I need to go to bed, if I am to get up in the morning to go to work...

So I will have to see yall later.....

Yall stay safe

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

HAPPENINGS

2008-04-15T17:31:00.000-07:00

Dogwood blossoms from trees that Kelvin planted!

It has been a beautiful day today...a little windy, a little chilly ...but beautiful none the less. I planted my flowers in my hanging baskets and when I was done with that... I went ahead and planted my tomatoes in my big containers...I have three plants...a bush goliath, a big boy and a beef master....Now I find out that it is suppose to freeze tonight...:-( Guess I will have to bring them in or something.

Kelvin finished my closet and it looks so good! We were able to go to Home Depot and have the paint matched up to the original color of the walls...which was amazing....So I spent most the day painting it and today I did a few touch ups and it is now finished!

I love the doors!!

I took this side picture to show you how he blended it in with the back wall...Didn't the paint match good??? Doesn't it look like it was always there???!

My ceilings are tall, so he even put me a place to put my blankets, bedspreads, etc...something I have never had before! YAY!!!

Well, I best get off here and go get my tomato plants and bring them in!

Thank yall so much for wishing my brother a happy birthday...he will be having some surgery this coming week....so please keep him in your prayers...Yall have been so good to me.....I love yall.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY FRANK!

2008-04-13T22:55:00.000-07:00

My Big Brother Frank holding my Chihuahua; Coco

Today is my brother's birthday....He is 65 years old....I know this because he is right at 10 years older than I...he having been born in 1943 and I in 1953....So it is easy to keep up with his age... as long as I can remember mine! He is my oldest brother ( besides Buddy...who is older than he, but is a half brother by law... but a whole brother in my heart! ).

I love my big brother sooooooooo much.........He has been there for me when no one else has....When Danny died; he stood right there with me....staying at my house for days, until he was sure I would be okay.....He lives over 500 miles away from me...so I am sure it was hard for him and his wife to be here that long, but he did it.

And when it came time to go to the funeral home and pick out the casket and plot and such; he was right there with me....guiding me...advising me...but not pushing me....

When it came time to go into our church for the funeral....during the commotion and confusion; I somehow lost sight of him...I remember that it was pouring down rain....lightning and thundering.....and I remember standing on the front steps of the church with the funeral director.....and he saying;..."Carlene...we have got to go in now"..and me not budging until they found my brother......

You see.......he is my back...I know if I fall; he will be there to catch me......and I knew I would not be able to hold up through that funeral if he was not in there with me....so the director sent everyone to hunt him ...and of all things; they found him trying to get his van windows up...they had mysteriously quit working! As soon as he was by my side..I told them...."I am ready now." Looking back I guess the funeral director was as relieved as I was that they found my brother...considering that we were right in the mist of terrible rain and lightning!

My brother has worked hard all his life......as a young boy, he worked at a dairy milking cows. Then later, as a teenager, he joined the army and served over in Korea. After his tour of duty in Korea, he got stationed at Fort Knox where he met his wife....(she was the best thing to ever happen to him.)

So he ended up living in KY. and working for the Post Office until he retired. ( He was given many, many awards while working at the Post Office. )

You know.....I may feel so sad and depressed and down and out......and I may worry about everything and anything.....but there is one thing I do not have to worry about....I know without a shadow of a doubt that my big brother loves me...and will be there for me....I know that he will never hurt me...I know that what he tells me is the truth, I do not have to worry about him lying to me or on me........

He was raised right along with me...on HORSESHOE BEND ROAD...Just a poor little rag-tag barefooted boy from the country....

I love him so much and respect him for all that he has accomplished in his life... He fought and worked hard so many years for the life he has now...a life that proves he was not only a success, but also an honorable and decent man.

Just goes to show....no matter how you are raised...or what life throws in your way......in the end; it is all up to you.

My big brother proves it!

HAPPY 65th BIRTHDAY MY BIG BROTHER!!!

I LOVE YOU!

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

TAGGED !

2008-04-08T20:53:00.000-07:00

I have been tagged by Linda over at : Starting Life Over at 40

I had already wrote it one time but Windows installed some updates and shut down before I could save it......grrrrrr!!!

The rules of the game

1. Each player answers questions about themselves.

2. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people, and posts their names, goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment letting them know they've been tagged.

Questions

WHAT WHERE YOU DOING TEN YEARS AGO?

I was working at the BBQ, and going out to play bingo or shoot pool with Danny on the weekends

WHAT ARE 5 THINGS ON MY TO-DO LIST TODAY?

1. Get latch for chiffarobe that I put in Dan's room...he has already messed up the lock. :-(

2. Wash, Dry, Fold and Put up clothes.

3. Shampoo Dan's room's carpet.

4. Buy coat hangers.

5. REST!

I did #'s 1, 2, 4 and 5...... :-)

SNACKS I ENJOY:

peanuts, popcorn, pork skins, boiled peanuts, snickers, Mr.Goodbars, M&M's

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WERE A BILLIONAIRE?

I would move to the country, buy or build a home with three bathrooms, 4 bedrooms, kitchen cabinets ( I have none) and closets in every room. I would set up trust funds for my kids and future grandchild. I would donate to charity. I would love to be a secret Santa just once and give to someone who works hard but is down on htheir luck...someone who needed soemthing badly...such as medicine, etc...

5 BAD HABITS

1. I am stuborn as a mule.

2. I do not go to Church as often as I should.

3. Sometimes when listening to someone's troubles, my mind will skip ahead trying to come up with a solution, only to find that I have missed part of the conversation.

4. I drink too many Cokes and not enough water.

5. I procrastinate too much.

5 PLACES I HAVE LIVED

1. HORSESHOE BEND

2. SPRING STREET

3. NEAR THE UNDERHEAD PATH

4. MILL STREET

5. LAUREL AVENUE

5 JOBS I'VE HAD

1. WAITRESS

2. SEWING PLANT

3. BABY SITTER

4. POULTRY PLANT

5. QUAIL PLANT

5 people I want to know about:

1. Lisa Jo

2. Lori

3. Bosox

4. Celeste

5. Mosie

Ok...Here it is Linda.....

NOW LET ME SAVE THIS BEFORE I LOSE IT AGAIN!!!

:-)

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

DOGWOOD TREES

2008-04-08T13:31:00.000-07:00

Kelvin planted 2 dogwood trees ! One on each side of the house that he is fixing up.....My daddy had two there once, but they both died one month after he did....

I got out and cut my grass the other day. I ran over a log chain that I had out there and heard a huge clank..but I kept on cutting...Looking back, I think I may have broke the blade because my grass is sort of choppy looking..Oh well.....it got cut anyway.

Kelvin fussed because I did not ask him to do it; but he does too much all ready. I did not want to ask him to do that too. I still haven't weed-eated yet.

I think my sinus's are acting up...I have had a headache for a week now...:-(

I so hate to buy sudafed now....I get the 12 hour Wal-Mart brand and to get it, you have to go to the pharmacist and show your driver's license, sign for it, and then even pay for it in the pharmacy.....grrrrrrr....

It is crazy that you can get high powered pain med's easier than a decongestant! All because of METH and the fools that make it.

I want to let yall know that I made my other journal, "Dear Danny" private.....and no one will be able to read it anymore...I have a lot of personal stuff on my mind lately....things that I do not wantpublic....and so..... well I hope yall understand...You know that I did not do it to hurt anyone's feelings.

Kelvin is hoping to start on the house again by next week....he has already spent hundreds on it, and has to save up before he can restart.

Been sort of down in the dumps lately......mostly just missing Danny something awful.....You know; I still catch myself searching through the crowd for him??? Don't even realize that I am doing it; til I catch myself......it hurts.

Well that's about all for the day....I think I am going to lie down and take a little nap....

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

MY GRAND CHILD

2008-04-01T18:36:00.000-07:00

Sitting here, watching American Idol and hearing Kristy sing; "Coat of Many Colors" by Dolly Pardon...She did very good, but I don't think anyone can sing it like Dolly! Every time, without fail, that I hear that song, I think about the little skirt and vest my mama made me when I was a little bitty child on Horseshoe Bend....

She cut the cloth from clothes given to us that were way too big. I loved that little skirt set. I can still remember that it was red plaid and seems like it was made from wool. Oh yeah...the rich kids at school snickered when I wore it too....just like the song....but I didn't care. Like Dolly, I already knew "the love my mama sewed in every stitch" and it was worth "more than all their gold."

I took Amanda back to the doctor today and they did another sonogram....Let me introduce you to my grand baby:

Can you see him???!!! Awwwwww.....I just can not wait!!! Everything seems to be okay....thank You God.

It is so hot here tonight...75 degrees at 9:00pm....Guess we are fixin' to get some rain or something.

We have not did anymore on the house up the street yet. We are saving up some more money...and then we will start again.

Guess what? For the longest I have lived in a house with only one closet. Yes.......ONE CLOSET.........in the whole dang house!

Well, thanks to Kelvin.... I now have TWO!!!!!!! He is so good to us...He is always finding ways to help out! This old house was built when the mill people lived in this village...and back then they did not have a lot of clothes...so they only needed one closet....

Do you know how hard it is now to try to make do with only 1 closet for a whole family? I have done it for 22 years now. Now, don't get me wrong...I know I have been blessed to have that one closet..to even have this roof over mine and the young-uns heads...and I praise God for it...There are many others who do not have even that much in this world of ours...so yes; I am grateful Lord...and doubly grateful to have two closets..........YIPPEE!

I will post a picture in a later entry; as it is not finished yet... But it soon will be.....It has to be painted, etc....

I have already put all my clothes in it though! lol

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR MANY PRAYERS AND GOOD WISHES FOR AMANDA AND THE BABY...

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

AMANDA

2008-03-29T20:04:00.000-07:00

Got up at 7:00 am, walked my pups, and took a shower...put my makeup on, got dressed , and went to the kitchen to take my medicine...looked out the kitchen window and since I did not see Kelvin's truck that was there a minute ago;...I figured she had already caught a ride with him to work....which she has done numerous times before....so I hurried up and left...

I got almost to my job and then my cell phone rang...It was Amanda....I had left her!!! She had been out back giving Kelvin's dog some medicine! She did not have a key to the house, so she was on the front porch when I pulled up....One look at her face told me I better not laugh.....It was so hard not to though....lol....soooooooo hard!

Later on, after we had been at work a while...about 2:30....she started having pains in her lower back and left side....they kept coming and getting harder...I finally told her to get in the car; that I was taking her to the hospital...

I took her to her hospital which is about a 45 minute drive...On the way I called her OBGYN and told him what was going on...by the time we got to the hospital; her doctor had already alerted labor and delivery that she was coming into the ER. SO we did not have to wait very long and they had her in the labor room.

They did an internal exam and then put her on a fetal monitor...monitoring the baby's heartbeat and any contractions she may be having...she is not dilated, thank God....and they don't think she has another kidney stone...

What they do think is that she has pulled and stretched the ligaments and muscles thathold your uterus up. Yesterday morning before work; Amanda took Kelvin's dog to the vet for him and they wrapped it's front leg because he had to have stitches...Well, when she came back the dog JUMPED out of the back of her jeep and to save the dog's leg...Amanda caught him in mid air ...The dog weighs over 69 pounds!

She seems to be a little better tonight after she has laid down for a while...The nurse at the hospital told her to get her OBGWYN to give her a maternity belt...like a back brace to wear at work..to take the stress off her stomach.

She has to go Tuesday to get another sonogram...so we will know more then.

YALL TAKE CARE

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

I'm Back

2008-03-25T20:33:00.000-07:00

I wanted to go to Athens today to look for a few things I needed...so Me , Amanda, and Dan all piled into the car and off we went. First though, we had to go by the movie rental place so Amanda could return some movies....

After that we were on our way to shop....or so we thought.

It is a 45 minute trip and by the time we got there we were all wanting lunch. So we went through our usual ..."what do you want to eat?" ..."I don't care, what do you want?" It never fails...we go around and around...nobody caring... until the other one names a place and then all of a sudden they do care! lol

Well, we finally decided on Larry's Subs....and so I pulled into the parking lot and parked. Amanda was sitting up front in the passenger seat, so I asked her to hand me my purse that sits on the floorboard over there with her...

And that is when we discovered that I had run off and left my purse....

at home.

I had no check, no money, no driver's license......everything that I needed was in my purse..at home . So we headed back down the by-pass.......45 minutes home and then 45 more minutes back.......

And I don't even want to think about the gas I had to use...which cost me $42.20 to fill the car up with....

AND....

AFTER ALL THAT...

I STILL DID NOT FIND WHAT I WENT THERE LOOKING FOR.

We are still working on the house. Doing major cleaning inside.The outside is painted except for the porch and the blocks under it. After this, we will have to go in and fix the bathroom ceiling which has fell in and also the kitchen ceiling. The roof will need repairing also....Lots more to do.... we are having to do a little each week, when we have money left over to spend...

Can you see how bad the paint had peeled? Here Kelvin is pressure washing it.

And here too....

Below is where he fixed a huge place around back that had rotted.

Below he is painting the front side of the house.

I could never get on a ladder like this...too scared of heights...but my Danny did...anytime the house was painted; me and Danny did it by ourselves. He would do the high parts and I would do the low parts, the inside part of the windows and the front...and he would paint the inside ceilings and I would paint the walls and the trim.

It may take us a while this time,

for I no longer have Danny...

but it will get done...

We are determined.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

DOWN AND OUT

2008-03-17T21:11:00.000-07:00

My friends...... I am tired...about as tired as I have been in a long, long time.

I have been doing something that I have put off for years....and that is clearing out the house my mama use to live in before she went to the nursing home.

I had planned on doing this before now.but then Danny up and died and well..... I have not had any energy for anything, but to just get by day by day...doing good to do that.

The house needs repairing badly. Why is it that a house will go to down when people move out? It seems as if the life force of the house left too...and it dies. I felt so sad while doing this and I am depressed.

It is a small wood frame mill house. When I walked into it Sunday, I wanted to turn around and run...there was rat 'pills' everywhere....lots and lots of rat pills....they had made beds in all the mattresses, and all the chairs and the sofa...

What my mama had wasn't much good to start with and the rats finished them off. We have made 3 trips to the recycling place with mattresses and bags of nothing but trash. The last few months that mama was at home by herself, she had obviously started hoarding things...which I have been told by doctors is the norm for people of her generation and Alzheimer patients.

I found so many plastic coca-cola bottles,extra coke tops, rubber bands,glass jars, tin cans, cardboard paper towel tubes, toilet tissue tubes, plastic bottles, and rubber bands...So many rubber bands in so many different places; that most had melted during the hot summertime heat on to whatever they were laying on.

My mama had a habit of using baby powder and it was everywhere...on the floors, walls, furniture....She had several boxes full of stuffed animals. Being the prankster that she use to be,...I was constantly screaming, because I kept pulling out fake rats, roaches, spiders and snakes wherever I put my hands.

The outside of the house has needed painting since before my daddy died...and today it was painted! Kelvin made me a good deal and then did it for me...scraping the old peeling paint off and pressure washing it Sunday, and then painting it today...all by himself. God bless his kind heart...He knew how I have been worrying so much about it....and could not do anything about it because I have not got the money. I do good to get up the money for the insurance on it and the tax money every year....and still have to pay mine too.

I will write more later...I think I have about had it for tonight.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

A HARD DAY'S NIGHT.

2008-03-15T20:56:00.000-07:00

Thank you God;

It is Saturday night......we came through the storms...and my work day is over

We had a very hard day at work...we had one of every kind in today ...not to mention that over half the day was spent working during tornado warnings and watches...hail, lightening and wind.

You know what?.... Have you ever did something nice for someone...like maybe stepped over and beyond and went that extra mile?

Well, have you did that and gotten not even a glimmer of gratitude?

I have a good boss lady....one who is so giving and so trusting.

We are a BBQ place. We sell homemade fried pork skins. They are not like the ones you get in the grocery stores...they are thicker and sometimes even harder...but you should see how the people line up for them...They are gone before we even have a chance to realize it.

We use to hold them for folks...In other words..if they call and request X amount of them to be put back to be paid for and picked up later...then we would do it.

We don't hold them anymore...because it got to the point that some folks would forget to pick them up, and the person that got out of bed and came early would not get any because we held so many.

So we had to stop.

Last week, my boss had someone ask her to hold the pork skins for them. So...being nice...my boss broke her own rule and held them. The day they were suppose to come pick them up...they were late... so my boss went on to town.

When these people finally showed up...they were; as my daddy use to say...drunk as a skunk and they stunk to high heaven . They hung around for a bit after picking up their skins, wanting to see the boss, but left when she didn't show up soon.

Today...over a week later....they were parked in our parking lot, layed back in their car seats when my boss got there. After we got set up where we could take orders, they came in....The whole time she is waiting in line to be waited on, her companion keeps nudging her.

Well, my boss takes her order...and when she gives it to her...her companion steps up in front of all the people there and says..."I just want you to know....********'s BBQ is BETTER!

It got so quiet you could hear a pin drop...

Well , needless to say; it floored my boss. When she finally got her wits about her...she told him..."well you should have went there then!"

They were in the parking lot long before we officially opened...and had came over 30 miles to get their order....Why this person felt the need to act so ugly, I will never know...and to do this after my boss had did them a favor the week before was inexcusable.

After they left, two little liquor bottles were found in the parking lot right where they were parked.

People like them make me so glad to be home with my puppies.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

THIS AND THAT

2008-03-12T09:27:00.000-07:00

This is starting out to be a beautiful day...I have not listened to the weatherman, so I am glad to be just living in the moment. I noticed as I walked my pups that my grass will need cutting soon...and that my daffodils and the little dandelions are back...

When you stop to think about it...isn't it amazing how everything that has appeared to be completely dead during the winter, comes bursting back to life in spring? Sort of gives you hope for the future, you know?

Amanda and Kelvin went walking yesterday evening after supper and came across these little flowers. Can anyone tell us what they are??

She also came home with these that grew on a bush.....

These smell sooooooooo good! anyone know what they are called? I know that they are not honeysuckle...

When we were kids we would raid the honeysuckle vines and suck the sweet out of them! We were so happy to find them , that you would have thought we had found liquid gold ! lol

You know something I haven't saw in ages??? MAY POPS! Anyone know what I am talking about? We use to see them all the time, but I don't think I have seen one since childhood.

I made some homemade Brunswick stew yesterday. Dan loves it, so I make it and freeze it in pints so he can have it whenever. I told my kids that this will probably be the last time I make it...It takes so long to make..about all day....Your arms feel like they are going to fall off, because you have to stand there and stir, stir, stir,to keep it from scorching... You can not leave it...so you best have someone to take over if you have to leave the room.

By the time it was finished; I was too! lol

Yall take care

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

REMEMBERING part3

2008-03-07T20:39:00.000-08:00

My Mama and my Danny

Long before me and my sister grew too old to be sleeping at the foot of the bed with mama and daddy....We would be laying at the foot of the bed together, snuggling closely under the cover, talking as quiet as we could, nearly whispering....so as not to get scolded...nor to wake daddy up.The only light in the room would be the soft flickering glow of the wood heater in the middle of the room.

Daddy, who had worked so hard all day and most of the evening, would have long ago went to sleep at the top of the bedand would not take too kindly to being woke up. ( Back then you went to bed with the chickens and woke up by the rooster.)

Anyway...long after all us kids and daddy had gone to bed, mama would still be on the other side of the house, in the little kitchen working...washing clothes in an iron wash tub, wringing them out by hand, hanging them outside, starching and ironing....all the things that we modern ladies no longer have to worry about.

Sometimes,I think she got lonely, or missed her childhood while she was in that kitchen all by herself. Who knows what thoughts played through her mind?Whatever it was; some nights, she would cut the old radio on low...and we could hear it.

In my mind, I can still hear the static and those weird noises that those old radios made, as she turned the dial trying to tune in on the country and western stations such as the Grand Ole Opry....I can still hear the voices of country greats like Hank Williams Sr., Pasty Cline, Roy Acub, Brenda Lee, and Tex Ritter to name only a few...

But mostly? I remember my mama singing along with them...

She had a beautiful voice...and I loved hearing her sing...She knew most of the songs by heart....and what she didn't know, she learned. She loved music. My grandmother, (her mother), had an old upright piano and mama taught herself to play it as a child..

Later she would play for our little church that we attended every Sunday....Teaching herself the old hymns such as; "Softly and Tenderly", "Love Lifted Me", "The Old Rugged Cross" and others...by ear.

She told me and my sisters that when she was little; she and her older sister were always called on to sing at church and such...They were actually quite good....and as word got around, they were called to sing once on the radio and the man there offered them a contract on a radio show, but being scared of the unknown, my grandmother refused to let them do it.

I was a little bitty child, but even I was able to catch the deep regret and sadness in my mama's voice each time she told us about it....and I would feel sad right along with her....and I would get my little Irish temper stirred all up and I can remember saying things like..."Granny should have let yall go mama" and such...and she would always, always .....say: "Why...'Tender', think about it...if my mama had let me go , I may not have had you!" and that would never fail to shut me up real quick...cause I couldn't picture my life without my mama.

I can remember mama saying over and over throughout the years how she wished Granny had gave her that old piano....Many, many years later, when my mama was around 58 or 60.....my sister found an old upright piano at a yard sale and brought it all the way from Kentucky down to Georgia. Mama was soooooo happy! she was like a kid at Christmas...but she was scared too...scared she had forgotten how to play.But it must be like riding a bike,....cause she got right back on it and away she went! lol danny's aunt, who still lives on that street...often told me of the times she would hear mama playing that piano late at night when no one was there with her.

The last time I heard my mama sing and play that old upright piano in her bedroom, was maybe a year or less before she had to go into the nursing home because of her Alzheimers........

I can see it as if it was just yesterday....We had talked her into playing it because she had not played for a while...She's sitting at the piano...and I am sitting there on the bench with her...just like she use to let me sit with her on the piano bench in church when I was little...( except this time I kept my fingers off the keys...)

My mama, my daughter, my son....and my Danny.... and I are all singing along together...

"WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN"....

AND

She ended it up by playing ..........

"OH, DANNY BOY " .

And come to think of it...on that day... which would be the last time I heard my mama play and sing... I had come full circle......and was back on the piano bench once more with my mama....

Got go now my friends........

Too many memories.....

for one night.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

REMEMBERING: part2

2008-03-05T17:05:00.000-08:00

Memories

Where was I... ? ....

Oh yeah.... back on Horseshoe Bend.

We had an old wooden table to eat off of. It was real old with claw feet...probably an antique; but we didn't know anything about antiques or such back then...To us it was just something to come sit at when mama hollered for us.

I remember there was always an 'oilcloth' on it...it may had been worn out, but it was always one on it. I know Mama bought them at the old dime store in town, because I had the good fortune of going with her once and watching the lady that worked there, pull it off this huge roller thing and cut it to the size mama wanted.

Funny how certain things stick in a child's mind...The main thing I remember about living out there on Horseshoe Bend is the cold....Seems like winter was a lot dang colder than it gets now.......or maybe I just remember it that way, because of the lack of warmth.

We only had one small wood burning heater in the house and when the fire went out...well, it got cold fast. My gosh, we had holes and cracks in those old wooden floors where you could see the ground underneath the house, so cold air was always finding a way in. We had very few blankets....not near enough to cover everybody. Mama threw everything on top of us trying to keep all of us warm at night...it was not unusual to find old heavy wool coats on top of the thread bare blankets when you woke up...

And you may not believe what I am about to tell you...my children choose not to....lol,...but the good Lord knows I am telling the truth...

One particular winter, it was cold as the dickens...and me and my sister felt we were too old to sleep with mama and daddyanymore...me being around 8 and she around 11....so we had began to sleep in the 'back room' where there was no heat at all....One night of that winter I remember especially...

We had jumped into our bed that we shared together in that back room.....and Mama had put what little bit of cover she could find on us...and we were still shivering....so then she got some coats and threw on us...but we were still soooooooo cold....We were wrapped up together like a pretzel...little skinny legs and arms intertwined just trying to keep each other warm...I can remember seeing our breath coming out of our mouths when we talked...We called all our cats and got them to lay on top of the coats to try to share some of their body heat...and yet we were still cold.

Have you ever been so cold that you were just miserable??? That is how bad it was...I had started to cry silently so as not to worry mama and I am sure my sis was trying so hard to be brave for my sake...when the next thing we knew; mama had dragged one of the old worn out cotton mattresses off her bed and put it on top of us....

At first we protested....that old mattress 'smelled musty' and who ever heard of sleeping under a mattress... but Hey; we were little...my big sis and I....so it wasn't long before we were giggling our butts off... laughing and saying things like we felt just like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich...and that old musty mattress stopped our little bodies from shivering and dried my tears...

Like I said..my children say they do not believe me when I tell them this...Maybe they choose not to because they are embarrassed that their mama had to sleep under a mattress...

Lord knows they never suffered poverty as we did back then...Now don't get me wrong...my kids never did have the best of anything...and I am still poor....but not like back then....nothing like back then....guess that's why I appreciate all that I do have.

I often wonder how many nights my mama was cold in order to keep us warm...God bless my mama...God bless her heart.

If I am not too tired after work tomorrow, I may be back here.......

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

FOOD RECALL ALERT!

2008-03-05T15:46:00.000-08:00

Contact:
Jamie Stein, Quaker Oats
312-821-2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- March 4, 2008 – The Quaker Oats Co. announced the products in the recall are a small quantity of Aunt Jemima Pancake & Waffle Mix: Original, Original Complete and Buttermilk Complete, which may have potential salmonella contamination. No other Aunt Jemima, frozen Aunt Jemima or Quaker products are affected.

The products, sold in 2 pound and 5 pound boxes with Best Before dates of FEB 08 09 H through FEB 16 09 H stamped on the top, contain the following UPC codes:

30000 43272: Aunt Jemima Buttermilk Complete, 5 lb.
30000 05040: Aunt Jemima Original, 2 lb.
30000 05070: Aunt Jemima Original Complete, 2 lb.
30000 05300: Aunt Jemima Buttermilk Complete, 2 lb.

Salmonella is a food borne illness that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

No illnesses have been reported in connection with this issue to date. There is very low risk of illness when preparation directions on box are followed and product is not consumed raw or undercooked. Salmonella bacteria is killed at a temperature of 160° F.

If consumers have this product with the indicated UPC codes and Best Before dates, they should return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact the company by calling the toll-free hotline at 1-800-407-2247 or by logging onto www.auntjemima.com.

Quaker is in the process of recovering the product involved. Quaker knows specifically to which customer warehouses the product was shipped. Approximately 98% of the product is within Quaker's control. The 2% of product which is outside of Quaker's control was shipped to a limited number of retail and mass merchandiser stores (no direct distribution to West Coast). Of that small quantity, the vast majority likely has not been placed on store shelves. Product was shipped to 17 states including Texas, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Illinois, Florida, Missouri, Minnesota, Colorado, Wisconsin, Ohio, New York, New Mexico, Kansas and Utah.

REMEMBERING

2008-03-04T18:23:00.000-08:00

I was born and raised in a little bitty rural town of North East Georgia. I came into this world one hot muggy day in August of 1953 weighing 8 lbs. and 8 ounces. My mama always told me that the doctor said that she had the prettiest baby in the nursery! lol

My four older brothers and sisters always told me that on that day, they were all gathered together at home plotting my death...(As you all know; I am still here ... to most of their dismay...so evidently their little plot did not work.)

I have no hard feelings toward them for plotting to get rid of me...they were ragged and hungry...I was just another little mouth to feed and body to clothe....can't blame them for not wanting that.

For nearly 15 years, the little house on Horseshoe Bend was my home. My brother called it a shack, but I prefer to call it a cabin....sounds more tolerable. It had wooden floors, and wood plank walls...Neither having ever tasted a coat of paint...being instead like us little children...plain and bare.

The kitchen was a little narrow room just big enough for an old short rounded refrigerator, and an old cook stove. There was no sink... because there was no water. There was a wide wooden plank about 4 foot long that was nailed to the wall about waist high...making a kind of homemade shelf. It held a tin water bucket with the metal dipper hanging in it.

There was also a metal basin to wash our hands in with a flour bag near by to dry them on. Underneath the 'shelf' were two silver metal milk cans which held our water for the day. ( I still have one of them that I painted black... I often look at it and wonder how in the heck did my mama managed on just that little bit of water a day?)

My daddy had to haul our water in those milk cans everyday from Mr.Paul's dairy about a mile away since our well went dry..no wonder he had a huge hernia protruding from both sides of his lower abdomen.

We had no curtains, nor bedspreads....No sheets....because these things were considered luxuries not afforded back then. ....

This is all for now...more tomorrow...

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

FOOD RECALL ALERT!

2008-03-03T12:02:00.000-08:00

Recall -- Firm Press Release Gorton's Seafood Recalls 6 Crispy Battered Fish Fillets Due to Possible Adulteration

Contact:
Judson Reis
978-281-8264

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- GLOUCESTER, Mass., February 29, 2008 -- Gorton's Seafood, based in Gloucester, Mass., is voluntarily recalling one frozen seafood product with a specific date code because the product may have been adulterated with pills. While there has been only one isolated case of adulteration and no reports of illness from the product, the company is taking this action as a precautionary measure.

The following product is subject to recall:

Gorton's 6 Crispy Battered Fish Fillets
- 11.4 oz -- UPC #4440015770
- Date code: 7289G1
- Best if used by date: April 2009

The product included in this recall was produced on October 16, 2007 and distributed to retail outlets in Alabama, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. The product is being removed from retail outlets, and consumers are urged to look in their freezers for products bearing this particular code.

Gorton's is conducting an investigation into the source of the problem and working with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and the Food & Drug Administration. There have been no reported illnesses from consumers.

Consumers who have the product may return it to Gorton's for a refund by calling 800-896-9479.

Consumers may report any complaints to FDA's local district complaint coordinators located on the FDA website at http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/complain.html.

CHECK OUT NEW WALMART $4.00 DRUG LIST

2008-03-02T10:44:00.000-08:00

JUST A QUICK UPDATE.....

WHAT WITH THE RISING COST OF HEALTHCARE AND MEDICINE.....(I JUST HAD TO PAY OVER $139.00 FOR MY REFILL) I THOUGHT I WOULD POST THE NEW WALMART $4.00 PRESCRIPTION LIST......

THERE HAVE BEEN SOME NEW ONES ADDED!

CLICKING RIGHT HERE WILL TAKE YOU TO THE WALMART PAGE...SCROLL DOWN TO THE MEDICINE LIST TO SEE IF YOURS IS INCLUDED.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/catalog.gsp?cat=546834

NO.....UNFORTUNATELY MINE WAS NOT ON IT....BUT YOURS MAY BE.....IT WOULD BE WORTH IT TO CHECK IT OUT...IF YOU DO NOT KNOW YOUR DRUG'S GENERIC NAME...CLICK ON THIS LINK TO THEIR DRUG FINDER..AND WRITE IN YOUR DRUG'S NAME.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL

FEELS LIKE SPRING

2008-03-02T07:02:00.000-08:00

We had the nicest weather yesterday. It was warm, the sun was out, and it felt like late spring or early summer. With Saturday being a normal work day for me; every time I went to the take out window for orders, I found myself wishing that I was home and doing yard work!

Isn't it funny how when you are at work, you think of all the many things that you could be doing at home? Then when you finally get a day off, you don't get to do half of what you wanted to do!

Some of the bikes that were at the BBQ.

I think bikers from all over must have decided to take advantage of the good weather . When I dropped by Mosie's Journal, I saw where she and Cliff finally got to go for a nice ride enjoying the weather too!

We had a party of 15 bikers come into the BBQ all at once...They were very nice folks...all out enjoying themselves and just having the best time together. You know; I have noticed something...Nearly every time that a bunch of them have come to the BBQ...I have noticed that when theypark their bikes....there is always going to be a few who will rev their motors up real loud ....Maybe they are having some sort of trouble???

I ordered Dan a new mattress and box springs for his bed. I had put it off as long as I could...not wanting to have another expense....but bless his heart, he has been sleeping in a hole! I kid you not......where he sleeps in the middle of his full size bed, there is a huge wallowed out hole with springs sticking through. I had been putting old blankets on top of it, so the springs wouldn't cut into him. The people who are delivering it, called me yesterday while I was at work,and left a message on my answering machine, wanting to set up a time to be here with it. I told Dan that he won't know how to sleep right without being in a hole. lol I am still looking for a cheap chiffarobe to put in his room for his clothes.

My nephew Troy came over while I was at work and fixed my kitchen ceiling fan light. The switch had messed up in it. I had not been able to pull the light on. Sure is nice to hvae a working light switch now! God bless his heart, he never fails to help me out.

Well...I guess I need to get myself up from here and start doing something productive...... :-)

Yall take care ; and be sure to just enjoy this day that God has been kind enough to give us....

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

LITTLE CHILDREN

2008-02-27T18:47:00.000-08:00

These are the johnquils (daffodils, buttercups, etc.) that me and Danny planted a few years ago... Or rather what is left of them. lol I looked out my kitchen window yesterday and saw a little hispanic child of about 3 years old picking them...I knocked on the window pane and just shook my finger a little bit and he ran away; still clutching the flowers!

I figured that was that...Nope. About 1 minute later I looked and there was a little boy about 4 picking them. Again I shook my finger and he too ran away with the flowers.

In about another minute a little girl about 5 was in them...So again, I shook my finger and she ran off with hers. This time I stood a little back from my window, so as not to be seen, but kept watch.....Sure enough, there was a gang of about 5 or 6 little children next door and they were lining up...pushing the first one to go into my yard to get another flower! lol

Well they had gotten to the oldest girls; about 6 or 7 years old. I giggled as I watched one creep around my old wooden shed...and she was sooooooo sneaky at it too! I couldn't help but laugh...anyway, she gets right up to the flowers and picks two more..and I knock on the glass and shake my finger...lol....bless her heart...there she was with the flowers in her hand; when she looked up and saw me....She didn't run off with them though....she stuck them back into the ground and then flew back into her yard! lol That was the end of their little game...and dang it; it made me feel so guilty about not letting them just have them all....lol..

I just got back from taking Dorris home. I took her out there with me to see Mama....who was sitting in the lobby when we got there, asleep. She was so happy to see us....she always is. So many of nursing home patients have no one to come see them...and are so starved for attention...

I could not forget about calling, writing, and /or going to see my mama...not after all she gave up for us... oh Lord no...I would rather be horse whipped. ...and I don't see how anyone else could. If you are not close enough to visit, you could send a card once in a while or call....

My AOL is acting insane. I try to log on, and after I put in my name and password..it will get all the way to the 'checking password'...then it will hang up for ever and after a long time it will close. I have tried everything. SO... I am having to come here from a different Internet source ...and I hate it. It will let me sign on this way, but I don't have my stuff that I am use to....---Anybody got any ideas? I thought about downloading AOL again....?

After calling City Hall about 5 times...one of the nice lady's there, lowered my bill by around $80.00...which is a lot better than nothing. It was $360.03 and now it is $276.67...so thank you all for praying for me! I need all the help I can get.

It has been so cold and windy today! And they said it is suppose to be 25 degrees or less in the morning when I go to work....The Chihuahuas will freeze their little hinies off when I take them for their morning walk tomorrow before I go to work! They tickle me...every morning in the winter time, when they go out,....they will nearly drag me back in and as soon as they walk into the house, they line up in a perfect row, all of them facing the front of the little space heater that I heat my house with in the living room! lol

The baby started kicking today......Amanda was soooooooo happy to feel it! She would laugh and hold her stomach and her eyes reminded me of when she was a little girl at Christmas! Each time that baby kicked...she would have the happiest expression on her face...this is truly a miracle for her and for me....for our entire family.

Thank You God.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL

FORGIVE ME LORD

2008-02-24T20:06:00.000-08:00

I thank you my friends, for once again standing behind me...and holding me up when I felt like crumbling to the ground.

But I am so ashamed for my whining in the last entry. I really am and I will tell you why...

You see; after begging God for help me out with my own problems; which seemed so huge at the time...

I started praying for a few of my friends....

This man and his wife came into the BBQ every week...and every week I waited on them...This man's wife woke up one morning a couple of weeks ago and said,"you need to take me somewhere...I can't seem to get my breath"...At the hospital, they sent her to be checked out..she had blood clots in her lungs...so they put her on meds...and while doing a check of her heart they found out that the lower portion was only working at 20%....so in she went to intensive care , where one by one her organs started failing. She died yesterday at noon.

She was the picture of health...a beautiful woman. At 61 she looked no more than 35...Always...always, had a smile on her face and a sweet word for everyone. She attended my old high school, graduating a couple of years after my brother...so it seems that I have always known her .

It is so hard to believe that she is gone; when she was just in the BBQ a day or so before she went to the hospital. I know so well what her husband of many years is going through...I know how his heart is breaking into pieces right now and will be for years to come.

While I was hearing this sad news at lunch...two women I have known for years walked in almost at the same time. One with her mother and the other with her husband ; a state trooper who was a pallbearer at Danny's funeral.

Both women have CANCER. The one with her mom has had breast cancer for about a year and has had at least one mastectomy....complete with radiation and chemo...Her hair has just now started growing back...beautifully curly; where once it was only straight.

The one with her husband was diagnosed with lymphoma at Christmas....She too has already began radiation and chemo.... Her beautiful dark long thick hair just fell completely out a couple of weeks ago.......and her husband secretly told us that she has been ashamed to go anywhere; because she had on a wig.

She was beautiful in that wig.

Both are wonderful, loving people and although they both are regulars at the BBQ, they had not ever been in at the same time...I found out yesterday, when they saw each other there at lunch; that they both just met each other in a cancer group around two weeks ago!

Last night while talking to God...I thought of all these good people and all the pain and suffering that they are all going through and I learned a very important lesson.....

I realized that I was thinking too much of myself and my own problems ...and when you do that; you tend to forget all about other folks and their problems...

PLEASE FORGIVE ME LORD.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL

LORD HAVE MERCY

2008-02-23T19:42:00.000-08:00

My Johnquils are blooming.

AND I THINK I'M GOING TO LIVE AFTER ALL...

There for a while I was beginning to wonder....I have been so sick...This virus/flu stuff that is going around here is so bad.....The private school has shut completely down because of it...

I have been in bed since Wednesday. I was out of work Thursday and Friday. Today, I was able to work 3/4 of a day...thank God...and I still didn't really feel like it...but my fever was gone so, I figured I better try to make a little bit of money...so I was grateful to get just 8 hours in for the week.

When I came home...I got my mail and sat down here to look at it...and Lord I am so glad I sat down...

I got my water/gas/sewage ( it all comes on one statement) bill today from the City.

And I nearly had a heart attack when I saw it..

My total bill is $360.03 ...and if I don't pay it by the 10th, it will be $396.03. I have never had a utility bill this high in all my life...(Last month the total bill was only $123.00)

Just the gas portion of the bill was $260.00; this compared to $25.00 last month....

I only have one small gas space heater for the whole house...and it has a thermostat that is kept on low....I do not have a furnace...Me and Dan have been freezing in our bedrooms, because you can't feel the heat in them......so it is not like we used so much.

Danny always handled things like this....I think I sort of know now how Scarlett O'Hara must have felt ...I don't know what to do...but I will have to do something. I guess first thing Monday morning...I am going to have to check my gas meter....then I am going to check around and see if anyone else's bill went up like mine and then I am going to City Hall and see what gives.

You know.....it is times like these that make you just want to give up.

But I will not let this make me lose my faith...oh no...

I am already talking to the Man upstairs ( My Lord) ...

And if yall could say a few words to Him on my behalf;

I sure would be grateful.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

Tuesday Happenings

2008-02-19T18:32:00.000-08:00

Sunrise over the old Mary Leila Cotton Mill

I am not feeling too good. I think I am trying to catch whatever Amanda had...My throat is scratchy and my nose can not make it's mind up if it wants to drip or be stuffed up. My head hurts and I am starting to feel yucky...I am taking Airborne and I hope it will help a bit. Ok, that's enough....got to get my big girl panties on here....

Have yall heard that there is a satellite falling to Earth? Oh,yeah...'Chicken Little' may have very well had ESP back in the day!

The government's suppose to try to shoot it down tonight or tomorrow...but get this; they have got to hit the fuel tank....and this thing is not even in our atmosphere yet!

I hope whoever is pulling the trigger can shoot straight! GOSH....Have you ever seen "Armageddon"??? With Bruce Willis? This reminds me of that movie.

As if we don't have enough to worry about with the dang "lets go to the mall and go on a shooting spree idiots" or the "lets see how many Americans we can kill terrorists"!

I finally cooked a whole meal with vegetables...I can eat hot dogs just so many times...I like them; but they don't like me. I put some frozen meat balls in the crock pot this morning and poured two cans of cream of mushroom soup over them...Then this evening, I stirred in a half a cup of sour cream into the meat balls and added some cooked wide egg noodles.... and man it was good! I also had green peas with carrots, navy beans, candied sweet potatoes, and baked pork chops. Oh and of course; homemade biscuits and sweet ice tea.

Sure beat hot dogs.

Amanda is finally getting that pooch in the front! lol

Oh......I can not wait til she feels that first big kick from my little grandson...We could see him already moving in the sono-gram; so it should be any day now! ...I hope I am there when she does. :-) Please keep praying for her and the baby.

Look what Kelvin found in my front yard!!! He walked right up to it and picked it up......

I think it belongs to the Mexicans next door! I just hope it is a pet...not supper.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

PAULA'S REDNECKS

2008-02-17T12:45:00.000-08:00

This is Danny and his nephew Jamie after one of their many fishing trips.....

I was over at Paula's Journal today and read her post about REDNECKS..and almost fell out of my chair laughing!!

Do you know how good you feel to be able to laugh when you so very seldom do it anymore??? Well..God Bless Paula's heart..she gave me a good laugh today..........God bless her.

You see...she wrote about seeing a fellow with some strange door locks on his vehicle....Go read this entry and you will see why it brought back this memory about Danny....

You see...Danny's old 1986 GMC JIMMY ( which looks like a Chevy blazer) doors got where they wouldn't shut without much slamming and if they did shut...nine times out of ten,they would not stay shut...

I kept telling him to get it fixed, because I was scared that one of our nephews was going to fall out one day...

Well, one day Danny had it checked out at the local body shop and they said that something was worn completely out, so they would have to put 2 new doors and all the hinges and etc. welded back on it.... and it would cost a bundle.

Of course, Danny being the penny pincher he was, would not go for it....and soon forgot all about it.

WELL...the next day or so he and his little nephew was coming home from a fishing trip, when the nephew's door flew open around a dangerous curve...Thank God the nephew was buckled in!!!

Now, Danny wasn't going to tell me...but Jamie did!

I was so mad I could have spit nails!...I went the very next day and got a hook and eye set at the hardware store (like you use to see on the old wooden screen house doors) and made him SCREW them into the inside rim of each door!!! lol

Danny had a state patrol friend that was like a brother to him... that went fishing with him all the time... and Danny told me that he nearly died laughing when he first saw Danny's new door locks!!!

He said to Danny; " Man if I wasn't your fishing buddie, and I had my uniform on; I 'd have to write your ass up for this!!!" then he turned around and hooked the door shut! lol

Hey.... whatever works! lmao lmao

Thank you so much Paula for helping me remember this!!!

GOD BLESS YOU ALL

ROSES

2008-02-15T22:54:00.000-08:00

Amanda went into work Thursday, but after having a bad coughing spell, my boss lady sent her home....

But not before she had a chance to see what Kelvin had sent her for Valentines Day!..........

Aren't they beautiful??? Do you know that in all my 54 years...I have never had a dozen roses given to me? I have always been so envious of all the other ladies I know that would get them delivered to them at work.

I was at Danny' grave placing a single red rose in floral arrangement already in the vase there, when I got a call from Kelvin. He asked me if I was at home...and when I told him no, he asked if I could meet him at the BBQ, so he could have the roses waiting on Amanda when she got to work Thursday...and of course I said yes!

What we didn't realize was that Amanda would be sicker the next day...but being the trooper that she is, she bravely got up and tried to work...Bless her heart... she only lasted about 20 minutes before she was sent home! She had to call her ob today and he ordered her some med's to take. If she is no better by Monday, she has to go to the doctor and be checked again. I am hoping that this stuff goes away...

Wasn't that so sad about what happened at that university? I can't imagine how scared the students were...not to mention their parents. So many people are grieving right now for the loss of their loved ones...so many are worrying about if their loved ones are even going to make it...

What in the world is happening to make people act so crazy like they do now? The news is full of people killing and hurtingothers....I know this happened in the past....but I don't believe it happened as often.

I believe some people have way too much time on their hands...Ones that have no job, no direction in life, and are only thinking of themselves...seem to cause the most trouble for everyone else...They spend all their time gossiping, telling lies, being ate up with jealousy and only thinking up ways to hurt others....when they could be using the short time that they have here on this earth thinking of ways to help others.

Don't they know that by helping someone else, it makes you feel better?

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

FISHIN'

2008-02-12T13:28:00.000-08:00

I WENT FISHIN' !!!

For the first time in a long , long time.....

Amanda, Kelvin, Dan and I went to a pond which belongs to a friend. We went Sunday afternoon and the wind was blowing like crazy...22 mph gusts in fact! I thought that surely we would not catch anything but a cold...but surprisingly, we did catch fish! Everyone of us did...We caught 18 big nice size catfish! Amanda took mine off the hook for me, bless her heart...(a job Danny always did for me)...I can take off any fish but a catfish...lol... and yes; I do bait my own hook! We all had a great time.

We came home and while Kelvin and Dan were cleaning them, I was heating up the oil and making Cole slaw! After I fried the fish, I dropped in the hush puppies ........Ummm-ummm....you talking 'bout gooooooood!!!! Add the sweet ice tea and we were all smackin' our lips!

Amanda has a cold...We were able to get her into the doctor without an appointment; so off we ran to her primary physician...It was only after I walked into the office that I discovered that I had forgotten to put in my bottom teeth! I have a partial bridge right in the lower front...and it wasn't until I looked down at the young lady at the office window and spoke to her that I knew I did not have my dang teeth in! Man... I was so embarrassed... :-( lol lol.....but it was too late to do anything about it by then!!!

( She is okay...just needs to cough and wait it out...)

Me and Dan and Amanda went shopping yesterday and I bought the baby some little t-shirts and sleepers...I can not wait to hold this little grandson of mine...

Well, that is all for now...

Yall take care,

and......

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

DANGER!

2008-02-07T21:25:00.000-08:00

I went to see my mama...I called and asked Dorris to go but she was tired and said she would see her next week.......So I sit out there with mama for about two hours...then I came home...Thank goodness that Amanda had cooked our supper!!! We had tacos and they were so good for this old lady's hunger...

It is late and I am tired after having worked all day for 11 hours and sitting out at the nursing home for another 2 ... But I could not go to bed without posting these recalls, because some of them are life threatening........I would have worried all night if I had not done so...AND I HAVE TO WORK IN THE MORNING!

So without further ado......Here is the link to the recalls:

just click on>>> CANNING COMPANY

A VARIETY OF vegetables and such in size 10 cans...which generally hold 6-7 lbs. Sold at retail and wholesale...

because of : deadly botulism...

Customers with questions may contact

New Era Canning at 1-800-282-9007 Ext. 111.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. Trek Recalls Girls Bicycles Due To Frame Failure

2. Pendants and Candle Charms Recalled Due to Risk of Lead Exposure

3. West Music Recalls Egg-Shaker Toy Instruments Due to Choking and Aspiration Hazards
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. Children's Sketchbooks Recalled by eeBoo Corp. Due to Violation of Lead Paint Standard

2. Children's Hooded Sweatshirts Recalled by Seventy Two Inc. Due to Strangulation Hazard; Sold Exclusively at Nordstrom Stores

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There......

Now I can go to sleep!

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

VOTING RESULTS

2008-02-06T18:55:00.000-08:00

They sure are looking at that baby there...

WONDER IF THEY SEE

A GIRL

A BOY???

It dawned on me last night after I posted my entry...that the democrats and the republicans were not the only ones to get votes yesterday...We had our own little "SUPER TUESDAY" right here at HORSESHOE BEND last night didn't we??? lol

Oh.......I am so happy!!! So many of you voted!!! Thank you all SO MUCH for playing along with me...It means the world to me to have yall to talk to and share my UPS AND DOWNS , AND HAPPINESS with!!!

AS FAR AS THE VOTING WENT........

58% of you were correct!

...............

.........

......

WHICH MEANS............

IT'S A BOY!!!

Amanda has not quite decided on the full name of him yet...but so far, they are saying that one of the names will definitely be Daniel !

I am crying here........so I need to stop.........

Please keep praying for a good pregnancy, an easy normal birth, and a healthy baby.....

THANK YOU LORD, FOR MY FRIENDS.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

Carlene

I AM SOOOOOOO HAPPY!!!

2008-02-05T18:59:00.000-08:00

( one of the "cake" babies!)

Hello my friends....

I tagged along with Amanda to the sonogram test this morning and I was able to see my grandbaby move; kicking little feet up, raising tiny hands above the head, and even sitting !!!

I so wish that we could have had this technology when I was pregnant...It is awesome to watch...let me tell you!!! I am soooooooo happy!!!! I can not wait to hold this tiny child.

I know what it is going to be.....and I am so thrilled!

I have never did this before, but if I can get it to turn out right ...I am going to put a poll on here and see how many of yall can guess the baby's sex! (All my Family: please keep mum until it is over, okay?)

Here is the poll.......please be a sport and guess for me!!!

I just thought it would be a bit of fun for a change!!!

I will leave it up all night tonight and all day tomorrow...and then I will tell yall tomorrow night who is right!!!

GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

NICE MATTERS

2008-02-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

GOOD MORNING!

I was so surprised and deeply honored to have received this "Nice Matters" award from my friends; Terri, Lori, and Joyce!

Thank you all so very much for thinking of me as nice! (If you ever saw me in one of my "moods" you may change your mind!!! lol lol)

I have thought and thought of who to pass this on to...and of course I can't give it back to the ones who were kind enough to give it to me...so here goes....

1. Sam.......a dear friend who has helped me to know that friendship, and Godliness has no bounds...that there are still people that reach out and help someone with their love and their compassion leading them.

2.Celeste.....A friend from the start that helped me learn how to work this computer when I didn't even know how to turn it on and off right! She took the time helping me, staying with me until I finally got it right....She has a little grandaughter that she loves dearly, and is in the process of earning her black belt in ti quon do!

3. Linda.....A friend that has all kinds of courage and compassion for all...and on her own for the first time in years...

4.Pennie......A lady that has been through so much...having had polio as a small child and then Again as an adult ...suffering a brain aneurism in the past year and surviving it to come out still smiling!

5.Jimmy........Another great friend that has reached out with love and kindness to all...He is always there to help you with encouraging comments and wise advise.

6.Helen.......She too has been here and although she has severe back pain, she manages to keep going and smiling as she takes those beautiful photos for us to share!!!

7. DAD......I have been reading his journal for a long time now and I don't think I have ever read an entry where he didn't offer us a nice ot cup of coffee and tea every morning. He will also remind you every day to "SMILE" and I tell you, this has helped me to realise that it costs nothing to give someone a smile.

I don't know how many I was suppose to choose .....

and......

There are so many many more here that I love, but I know that I have to leave some for the others to pick

I think you all know that without you all pulling me up and leading me on...that I would be lost...

Thank you all so much.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

BECAUSE HE LIVES

2008-02-03T11:44:00.000-08:00

"The Old Rugged Cross"

(beside my church)

With a lot of help from my friends and family I made it through the hard months of December , January, and the first week in Feb....

So...Now it is time to start over....Although this year too has started out sort of rough and shaky, with a lot of grieving... with the help of the Father we will make it through.

Amanda, Kelvin and I, went to church this morning. We watched my niece, her husband and their three children get baptized and become members. Oh happy day! During the time that they were changing back into their clothes afterwards...we; the congregation, sang, "Because He Lives" .

Here are the lyrics.........

BECAUSE HE LIVES

God sent His son, they called Him Jesus
He came to love, heal, and forgive.
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he gives.
But greater still the calm assurance,
This child can face uncertain days because He lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.

And then one day I'll cross the river,
I'll fight life's final war with pain.
And then as death gives way to victory,
I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone!
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living just because He lives!
Lyrics: William and Gloria Gaither

As I was singing the verse about the newborn baby with Amanda by my side, I looked down at the small bulge of her stomach... And I thought of mine and Danny's little grandbaby growing there and I became so emotional that I choked up and could barely sing...

Don't get me wrong...It was not a sad feeling I had...but rather one of gratefulness and worship...for my Savior....For Without him I would be nothing....Another hymn we sang that is so true.

I thank you God for standing by me...For literally holding me up, when I was sure that I would drown in grief...I thank You for all that You have done for me and mine....for all the many, many blessings... For all my family here and for all my friends here, who have stood by me, giving me the comfort of knowing that I am not alone......Lord I am so grateful for everything that You have chosen to give me...But most of all, I am grateful for YOU....In Jesus name I pray...Amen.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL

AND LIFE GOES ON...

2008-01-30T19:16:00.000-08:00

The Sky...Taken yesterday afternoon 01/29/08

I got up and fixed me some good old oatmeal for breakfast this morning...along with it I made some biscuit toast...and you talking about gooooood!!! That use to be one of Danny's favorite breakfast...I use to hate oatmeal until I married Danny...Mama use to make us eat it sometimes before school and she would make it thick as set concrete and put sugar in it....

When I married Danny, he taught me how his sister Kat made it for them...(not so thick)...and when you get your bowl full, you add milk and butter in it and then you put a little salt and pepper on top of it! Then you eat it with your biscuit toast...(day old biscuits cut in half with butter on top and toasted in the oven)I found that I liked it that way and have been eating it "DANNY"S WAY" ever since! lol

I washed three more loads of clothes and then also strung up another clothes line today. So now I have two short ones and one long one out back. This will do me, until the catawba trees start getting their leaves and those old green worms that I hate. yuck.Then I won't be able to get any sunlight there....But by summer it will be hot as hades anyway without the sun! lol I plan on using my clothes line alot even when the dryer gets fixed.Today I got my electric bill and it went up $50.00 this month! :-(

I went to see my mama this evening. I filled her bird feeder as usual and went in to sit with her a spell. She was so happy that I had brought her a coke-a-cola. I also took her some cheese crackers, a twinkie, and a couple of hot out of the oven yeast rolls. She really enjoys her treats that I bring her and it makes me so happy.

She kept telling me over and over and over tonight that I was her baby and for me not to ever forget it...It was all I could do to keep from crying...She may have Alzheimers, but she remembers that she loves me...and that I am her 'baby'....I hate leaving her....but I have to work...believe me, I have to even though it tears me up to leave her there.

Life is so hard sometimes....

But then; I guess you all know that.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

TWO YEARS LATER

2008-01-29T20:00:00.000-08:00

LOVE NEVER DIES

I want to thank all my friends here that have sent me e-cards and notes letting me know that they would be thinking of and praying for me today. I honestly think that it was your love and prayers that helped me...

I put a big beautiful pot of flowers on Danny's grave today...Kat, me and Amanda rode up there together...I had held it in all day..but I lost it there... I was crying and saying the craziest things..like ..."dang it Danny, you left me here with no one to put my feet on when they are cold at night....no one to scrooch up to...no one to help me put a clothes line up...no one to even scratch my back" ...Man I was letting it go and it was all such crazy nonsense...no where near what I really wanted to say... Kat and Amanda was crying with me too...

That was this evening...so I am getting ahead of myself... let me back up to today around noon...

My sister-in-laws took me, Amanda, Dan, and Danny's Mama out to eat for lunch. Danny's Mama has been so depressed since Danny died...he was her only son....God bless her...I don't think a day has went by since his death that she has not cried. She did not know that she was going to be taken out for lunch, nor that all her daughters were coming from various places and out of town to be with her...

She had been crying all morning...but when all four of her daughters showed up and convinced her to go out for lunch; where even our nephews showed up during their lunch break ...she cheered up considerably...Our nephews can make even the grouchiest grouch laugh... Three brothers that work together laying flooring and such...The youngest being the boss...Just listening to their antics while on the job will make you laugh!

While at the restaurant,right after we had finished eating, the dryer service man called me telling me that he was on the way to my house to fix my dryer and stove...So I got Kat to bring me and my "kids" home to meet him...This service man did not look a day over 18....I asked him how long he had been working there and he said 6 months. He took the back off the dryer, left it laying in the floor, then walked into the kitchen and looked at the electric eyes on my stove.."LOOKED" being the key word..he did not touch it at all...He then went out and sat in his van...made some calls and after an hour came back in and said "They said they would pay to have it fixed" which sort of irked me a little since I had paid through my nose for the extended warranties...

Then he said, " but I won't be here til next Tuesday to fix it"...Can we say disappointed??? It was later on tonight when I discovered that next Tuesday is the day that I go with Amanda to find out my grand baby's sex....SO... I will have to call them back in the morning...Before he left today, he told me that they only come to my town on Tuesdays...so I guess that means another week...

Let me tell you what I did after he left...I went and got my small plastic bag of supplies that I had bought at Wal-Mart yesterday...Then I went outside and put me up two small clothes lines!!! I had bought a pack of three big metal hooks that screw into wood...so I got them out and tried to screw them into my old wood shed out back...Now that shed is around 100 years old and the wood has petrified so that I could not get the screw to make a dent in it, even when I hit it with the hammer...I was about to cry when I swear I heard Danny telling me to go get a big nail and start the hole! lol Which I did and got two of the hooks in...I then put my plastic coated wire clothes line into the little line tighteners I had bought and hooked them onto the hooks. I took the other ends and tied one around the post where the old dilapidated bird houses sit and the other one around the tree limb! Tomorrow I plan on adding one more....Dang if I am going to spend anymore of my check at the laundromat....we have to have groceries! Oh...I also hung out a load of clothes and got them dry too!

Can you tell that I am proud of me self? lol

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.