Rain, rain go away . . .

It has been raining all week. My flower beds are flooded! Sure hope they survive.

DH is working nights this week & hasn't made it to bed before noon each day. He's really tired.

I was expecting to be alone on the 4th of July as DH would be sleeping & all the kids would be at work. But, one of the water lines broke & all day was spent trying to find & fix it. DH never got to bed & 2 of the 3 kids never made it to work. We finally got the water back on yesterday afternoon. There are 3 big holes (now full of water) & busted concrete where our grill sat. What a mess!

Just when I think things are going well & we can start remodeling, another problem pops up that moves to the top of the priority list. The house needs to be replumbed! Some of the water lines were run back in the 1950's before you had to map out where they were laid. Therefore, we don't know where they are! Hence all the holes in the yard. DH thinks it'll be best to run the lines through the attic & down the walls into the house. Not a warm weather job.

I spent last week visiting my mom & sister. We had a good time together. The weather was nice & we were able to get in the pool every day.

My sister & her husband are raising 2 baby deer. They are so cute! Each fawn drinks 5 bottles of goat's milk per day. I got to feed them a couple of times. When they finish eating, they run, jump & play. It's so funny! You can hear the milk sloshing in their stomachs as they run by you.

We went to a couple of flea markets & I bought a brand new living room suite! When we went in I remarked that this was the kind of sofa I wanted. The owner told me it was a brand new set handmade by a local man especially to sell in this flea market. It's Queen Anne style, burgundy sofa, love seat, wingback chair, 2 pillows, & ottoman. All for $750. I'm so happy with it. It looks just like I had it pictured in my mind.

Now I'm waiting a nephew to come claim the old sofa. He's moving to Texas to go to graduate school & needs furniture. Hopefully he'll come this weekend as it's really in the way.

My niece lost her baby last week. My brother said she's doing good & her husband was being very supportive. My SIL told him that she'd had 2 miscarriages 25 years ago! She never told him about it. I don't believe she did. We had the same friends back then & went everywhere together. All of us either getting pregnant or trying to get pregnant & discussing it all with each other. She never mentioned miscarriage. I had 1 during that time & a mutual friend did to. She has lied to him so much over the last 30 years that I don't think she even remembers what she's told him. I did send a note to my niece. She came to DS's wedding in April but never said anything to any of us, as usual.

That's all for now.

Family Reunions

Yesterday our entire family took a day trip to my in-laws for the annual family reunion. We used to go every year, but as DH got busier with his medical practice we didn't make it very often. The years that we did go, DH's sisters or their spouses didn't go. We were all there at the same time, all 23 of us! The first time since 2003. In the 4 year span, our daughter-in-law was added to the family as well as the births of a nephew's 2 little girls. Yesterday was the first time I'd seen the youngest one. She turned 1 in March & she's a cutie pie! His older one is 3 1/2, also cute as a buton. My, they do grow up fast.

My mother told me today that my niece is pregnant. That'll be the 2nd grandchild for my younger brother. It's happening the same with grandchildren as it did with having children. The younger ones have them before I do when I want them so bad. But God's timing is perfect!

Tomorrow I'm leaving to go visit my mother & sister for a few days. I haven't been to visit them since Christmas. Although I did see them when they came down for the wedding.

That's all till next month.

This & That

Last Sunday my youngest son set out on a "road trip" with 3 of his friends. They made it to their destination with no mishaps. They should be returning on Sat. night or sometime Sunday after spending the week as alumni judges at the NCFCA national tournament in Belton, TX. I'm sure they've had a good time!!

Then on Wed. I took my oldest daughter to the airport for her trip to Pasadena, CA for a Nancy Drew convention. This will make the 3rd convention she's been to. She'll be returning on Sunday night. The sleuths will be enjoying a tour of Warner Brothers Studios, a special showing of the new Nancy Drew movie, & a tour of 2 different libraries. She did call earlier today & it sounds like she's having a wonderful time.

DH is off this week. The first part of the week was spent recovering from his 2 week work shift. Wed. night we were alone for dinner so he went & picked up Chinese food. Then we watched The Fantastic Four on DVD. Yesterday we got the yard work done. With all the rain it was looking pretty bad. After cleaning up we went out to see Spiderman 3. Thoroughly enjoyed the movie!

Today has been spent working on homework for the Characterization online course I'm doing through ACFW. I'm learning a lot with this course. I've had to give considerable thought to my main character, Mona, & have fleshed her out some. The bonus to that is I've also got the main outline of the story!

Zoe misses her "mommy"! She's still housebound because of her injury from the vicious Siamese. She pulled her stitches out so the "hole" has not closed up at all. It looks fine though & doesn't seem to bother her at all. She gets lonely & searches me out. Sometimes she wants to play & sometimes she just wants to be loved on. It's amazing how sweet she can be then quickly changes into a little demon. I'm really getting attached to her though, she's a lot of company.

Next weenkend we have a family reunion to go to on DH's side of the family. It'll be at his parents house with both of his siblings, their spouses & all their children in attendance. This is a yearly event, but it'll be the first time we've all been in attendance since I can remember. I went to my first one just 2 weeks after marrying into this family. Hopefully son #1 who got married 2 months ago will change his mind & attend. Everyone wants to meet his new wife & congratulate him on his marriage. I'm not sure all of the great-aunts even know about his marriage since invitations were only sent to the immediate family.

I think I'll go to Arkansas to visit my mother & sister when DH goes back to work on the 24th. I haven't been up there since Christmas.

That's it for now.

Where did May go?

I truly meant to update this blog more often than once a month. But, May simply flew by me!

We've been getting some yard work done finally. Bought a new mower that can handle our huge yard & will help with clearing out some of the brush in parts of the yard that we want to reclaim. It will be slow going though.

DH & I celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary. He was working so I took him lunch. Then I met my 2 daughters at the theater to see the new Pirates movie. It was a good movie & we had a good time. We've spent many anniversaries this way. But, I knew it would be that way when I married him. A successful marriage to a busy doctor who really cares about giving his patients the best care possible is not always easy. Yet, knowing that I'm married to the man God made for me & knowing how much he loves me makes all of it worth it. The times he couldn't be here for special occasions such as Christmas with the kids, the times he had to leave me in labor to go see a patient in the ER, the times we didn't get to go out to eat for our anniversary, etc. it's all OK. Why? Because our marriage was God's will for our lives & I knew from the beginning that he would not be able to give me & our children 100% of his attention.

When I hear women complaining because their husbands weren't home by 5:30 or he was off playing with the kids & not with her, I don't understand what they're complaining about. Having to handle crises & 4 children on my own has made me a stronger person. When there's no one to call on for help you learn to handle more than you thought possible. God used the verse "you can do all things through Christ" to remind me that He was looking out for me & I could handle whatever came my way.

That's not to say that crises or homeschooling 4 children or my husband not being around all the time were easy situations to handle. Some things were really hard & I wasn't always sure that I would make it. But, I did make it & I'm a stronger person because of it. God was faithful & still is!

As I'm struggling to find my place in life with all of my children grown & my husband still working those long hours, I need to remember that God is still faithful. He has a plan for this season of my life. I just have to lean on Him more & seek His guidance. Ah, peace - what a wonderful thing!

short week

Boy, this week sure flew by fast! Not much has gone on around here. DH started back to work this week for his 2 week rotation. Leaving at 7 AM then not getting back home until after 10:30 PM makes for really long days.

I did get the laundry done & the new guest room ready for guests. Still fighting this darn cold. The cough has slowed down a lot & I have my voice back, but I still have some head congestion. There was so much I wanted to do this week but just didn't feel like doing it.

The girls have been very busy at work this spring. Next weekend is the Alexandria Afire! celebration. http://www.kenthouse.org/sugarpop.htm
We'll be very busy all weekend in our Civil War attire. It should be fun though! As long as it's not to hot, that is.

DS loves his new job! He's working nearly every day & has already made it to Assistant Manager of the Jackson Street shop. He does come home tired every day. He puts on quite a performance for the customers as he fixes their beverage. Yesterday he said he received a $10 tip as well as applause.

I guess the newlyweds are doing OK as I haven't really heard from them this week. The only way I know what they are doing is when her parents mention them in their blogs. So I eagerly scan those each day to see if they're mentioned. Once they get moved into their own place, I hope to be able to call them or get on the webcam with them so we can stay in touch on a regular basis.

Tonight is the first meeting of the Fab 4's for church. People have been assigned to different groups to meet monthly for food & fellowship to get to know each other better. I'm looking forward to it. I only know the host couple of our group. But it seems to be a variety of ages involved. That's a good thing!

Friday, April 20 our oldest son and #3 child married the love of his life! It was a very bittersweet time for me as his mother. I was on an emotional roller coaster for several weeks. On one hand I was so very happy that he's happy, and on the other hand I was so very sad that my little boy had another woman that would be first in his life.

He was my least likely to get married first. Goes to show that you just never know how things are going to turn out. They met over the internet. As they chatted on line they discovered so many common interests. They were both Christians, homeschooled, had a quirky sense of humor, liked Stephen King books & horror movies, played guitar, and very shy around people.

They honeymooned at a secluded rustic cabin right on a lake near Hot Springs, AR. From all accounts, they had a wonderful first week of married life. They stopped here & spent the night on their way home to south Louisiana. Since the bed & some other furniture pieces that they will need in their little cottage were here, they rented a U-Haul trailer to take it on down with them. They probably won't move into their cottage until next weekend.

I was really sick with a stomach bug the week before the wedding. Then spent the week of the wedding in a hotel tending to last minute details, dealing with extended family, & dealing with all of my emotions. We make it back home & I'm looking forward to a week with my husband. But, I get sick again! This time it's a sore throat, cough, runny nose, & generally aching all over. I haven't been sick in way over a year!

My husband started back to work early this morning & just got home at 1045 tonight. I really hate his long work hours!!! But, the bright side is that he's off 2 weeks after he works for 2 weeks. Now that the wedding is behind us, maybe we can start doing things around our own home. There's an endless list of things to be done.

We have the money to start some much needed remodeling. It needed to be done when we first moved here in 1997. Since we weren't able to do it then, it'll be a HUGE undertaking now. Whereas it would have been a simple remodel then, it will be major deconstruction followed by new construction. The hard part for me will be doing it in stages as we have the money for it. I tend to want it all done "right now".

I'm so behind in my Creative Memories business. I'm not even sure what all the new products are! That's a sad state of affairs. I haven't sold anything in months & haven't even worked on any of my personal albums. Showcase is coming up again in August. I tried to register tonight but the site declined my credit card! Have no idea why, so guess I'll have to call them tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have enough of a voice to do that.

My oldest daughter (and #1 child) & I are planning on going to the ACFW conference in Dallas in September. I thought now that I would have more free time for myself I could pick up my dream of being a writer. Haven't made a lot of progress in that direction yet. I do have several ideas, just haven't had the time or knowledge to take it to the next level. A couple of my favorite authors will be teaching at the conference. So, I'm anxious to meet & hear them!!

Some of the projects I want to get to this spring & summer are: planning & prioritizing the remodel, several sewing projects for various family members, working on my scrapbook albums (especially my album on Kent Plantation House), research for my story, actually writing the story, developing & maintaining my flower & vegetable gardens, starting an exercise program of walking every day, getting involved a little more at church, finding someone to do a Bible study with, spending quality time with each of my children & my husband, making time to visit & stay in touch with extended family more than I do. WOW! That's quite a list. No wonder I feel like I never get anything done. I feel so overwhelmed with it all I don't start any of it because I don't know where to start. For all of those years of homeschooling my children I knew exactly what we'd do each day. Now I feel lost, even though I've looked forward to having time to do the things I wanted to do.

My prayer tonight is Lord, show me how to prioritize things in my life so I can do the things that you want me to do!

Proud of Myself

I'm trying a different font here. I think this one is easier to read. Now, if I can just remember to use it here every time. :-)

I'm proud of myself for:
1) finishing my Christmas shopping more than a week before Christmas.
2) learning how to knit.
3) updating this blog!

The stockings are hung by the chimney with care & they've already been filled by Santa's elf. No one pays any attention to the stockings anymore until Christmas morning, so I can fill them ahead of time & not have to wait for every one to go to bed on Christmas Eve. That's nice, especially since I usually go to bed before everyone else.

Our tree turned out beautifully! You can see a picture of it on Rachel's blog at Romantic Stitches. She did the decorating of the tree all by herself. This is the third year she's done all the tree decorating. She does love Christmas!!

Elizabeth decorated the mantle again this year. She usually does a lot of the other decorating around the house. But we opted not to do a lot of the other decorating since there's the roof leak in the dining room. If everything goes as planned, we'll get the roof fixed, the living room, dining room, & sunroom fixed over this next year.

It's hard to believe that my oldest child is now 24 years old. I just always took it for granted that she would be married & have a at least 1 child by now. Just goes to show you that God isn't on the same timetable that I am. I'm proud that she seems content to wait on God though. Wish I could say the rest of my kids were content to wait on God & be satisfied with their life right now.

After being told most of my life that I couldn't do things like crochet, knitting, & needlepoint because I was left handed, I've learned how to do those very things! That makes me feel good about myself. I can do those things & more whether I'm left handed or not!

First Entry

I don't know that anyone will ever read this blog, but it's easier to type than it is to write very much with a pen in hand. Fibromyalgia has affected my life in so many ways. I can't remember the last time I had a day completely without pain. But I try not to dwell on it & just do the things I can.


I can't believe I'm almost finished with my Christmas shopping. Yea! It'll be interesting to see how our actual Christmas works out. With my DH working, #1 son living 4 hours away, the other 3 working, etc. I would like to go spend a few days with Mom for Christmas. Hopefully all 4 kids + daughter-in-law to be can go with me. Don't know when we'll see the in-laws. I don't like to go unless DH can go, especially since it's his family.

The weather still can't make up its mind what it's going to do. Hot, then cold. Rain, rain, then dry. Wrecks havoc with my fibromyalgia.

It's amazing how sleep or lack of sleep affects the fibro as well as my diabetes. My sugar has been bouncing all over the place today. I think it's just because I'm very tired & haven't been getting enough sleep. DH's schedule isn't conducive to getting enough rest. I will take a sleeping pill in a little while & go to bed since he started on nights today.

I have 6 granny squares crocheted for Squares 4 Survivors. A charity effort I've been involved in since Hurricane's Katrina & Rita hit our state last year. Ladies from all over the country & Canada crochet 12" granny squares that are then assembled in an afghan for the families that lost their homes during the hurricane. It's been a very rewarding endeavor.

That's it for my first post. Maybe more tomorrow.