Summer is almost gone!

Wow, it seems like spring just arrived and now summer is almost over .. it has flown by and I have nothing to post about what I have done.  My entire summer has been running back and forth to doctor visits, treatments and therapy.  I’ve also spent a lot of time with my grandkids this summer.  I only got to stay at my home on wheels a couple times this spring and I have to admit I have missed it but it has also been nice not having to deal with steps and living in a stick home during my illness. 

Sometimes in life we have to make decisions that are best for us even though their not what our heart desires.  My heart still has the desire to live in a home on wheels and travel and see new things.  I miss old friends I have bonding relationships with as well as making new friends in the places we travel.  But health issues and family seem to take a back seat to all those things.

I have put a ticker on my blog so that you all know that I am still alive and kicking and you can see how I’m doing in my weight loss struggles.  I have to admit the weight loss is not going as fast as I want but my doctor assures me I am doing great and losing at a good safe pace that is better for me in the end.

It’s been a beautiful summer and just a few weeks of extremely hot days, but I have to admit with pride I’m been good and haven’t complained during those heat spells.  Today it feels like fall and a reminder that its just around the corner and before I know it Ole man winter will be here again.  I had hope to be able to hook up to the home on wheels and spend some of the cold months where it was warmer but that isn’t appearing to be a option this year either.  So it’s looking like I will be spending another ole cold winter living in the stick home. 

I have to admit I do love the fall colors, the smells and all the great foods that go with it and I’m hoping to get to spend a bit of time at the home on wheels but it’s very doubtful at this point and time.  Convention for RVers is coming up the first week in October and I so want to go but I’m just not sure my health will be up to it so for now I am taking life one day at time.

I pray you are all having a great summer .. until next time .. God Bless

Wow where has the time gone?  It's been a busy summer with the grand kids.  Running to and from doctor appointments and treatments.  I'm dealing with health issues and it doesn't appear to be an end to it at this time.  My Aunt (who raised me until i was 6) is also having health issues and i've been going with her as well for appointments and testing.  Between her and I at least 4 days a week are spent at the doctor or hospital.  Weekends have been spent enjoying family time or trying to catch up on rest to get ready for the next week.

The grand kids have returned back to school so that has helped let up on that part.  Although the first few days was nice to have some alone time but now i'm beginning to miss them :)

Until this past week we've had a very pleasant summer weather wise but wow it's a hot one this week with horrible humidity and as you all know my asthma and MS does not like this weather.  But i am being good and not complaining as winter will be here before i want it to be.

I am still living in my dad's home and in fact I've only been to the home on wheels a few times .. just too many things going on in my personal life.  I'm still having health issues and at this time i am not really ready to get into all of that.  I just ask that you continue to keep me in your prayers.

On a good note my son's both seem to be doing good, the oldest son is getting his life more normal and has seemed to be free of so much drama (fingers crossed it continues) the youngest son has made a job career change and that seems to be going well for him.  The fur balls are doing great and i'm enjoying spending time with family.

Well that is all i have for now, wishing you all a great Labor Day weekend!

Day 3

Today is the 3rd since my surgery and I thought I was feeling pretty good until I tried to sit up and found I was not ready for that step yet!  It was a beautiful day, the temps were in the low 80’s and I was stuck in bed!  Go figure!  I have waited all winter long for these days and now that they are here I’m stuck in bed! 

Surgery went well

I just wanted to post a quick update.  My surgery went well and I’m looking at a recovery period of 6-8 weeks.  Right now I’m mostly sleeping.

where have I been?

Wow, it’s hard to believe it’s been almost 2 months since my last post!  I can imagine your all wondering where I have been or what I’ve been doing?  Well there has been very little down time and lots of personal, family and health issues going on in my life.  It’s been cold and what a very cold and nasty winter it has been.  Ole man winter has hung on till the very end and finally it seems Spring has finally Sprung!

I am still living in house and there doesn’t seem that there will be any changes in that department for sometime.  I have to say that I have been enjoying spending time with family that I missed while on the road, but my heart also longs to be back on the road again but at this time my health and family is top priority. 

So let’s see if I can give you a bit of a run down, after I posted my last blog post.  My son and family moved in and was here around a month in a half and my days was spent driving the kids back and forth from school, in between that I was doing physical therapy 2 times a week and dealing with more deaths and illness in the family.  Then my sister’s grandkids moved in temporally due to a illness of their mother.  So I was still dealing with kids back and forth to school in a different town and lots of ball practices and older activities for the 8th grader.   Not only have I been dealing with these issues but also my own illness.  I will be having surgery Thursday and recovery time could be up to 3-6 months.  Of course I’m praying for God to heal me much faster.  I have also been struggling with losing weight!  It’s been a hard winter and this has been one ruff battle with the weight struggle.  For health issues I need to shed 50 more lbs and at times I’m ready to throw in the towel and have gastric bypass surgery.  The doctors keep telling me I’ve done good to lose 20 lbs in such a severe winter and not being able to exercise due to health issues and the extreme temps.  So for now I will continue to fight the battle of the bulge and other health issues.

Life seems to be a roller coaster ride for me that I just can not get off of .. I want to wish you all a Happy Easter tomorrow and may God bless each and everyone of you.  May we celebrate the true meaning of Easter and remember the sacrifice that Jesus gave for all of us. 

Sunshine and Warmth!

On Tuesday I got up and got dressed and it was such a beautiful day.  The sun was shining, the temps were near 60 degrees!  I went to St. Louis and Alton shopping with Daddy Tom, Momma Rosie and my Aunt Louis.  We always have a great time and it’s great to get out of the house!!  We always laugh and laugh.  I know now where I get my craziness from .. it’s apart of my gene pool on the Jackson side!  We went shopping and as always daddy takes us all out to lunch.  Tuesday’s treat was Ponderosa!  OH it’s so good and the best part is daddy Tom gets cake and doesn’t want his icing so I get to eat it!   

Later that night I heard sirens and saw the lights and I went outside to look and it appeared to be at my Aunt Barb’s .. Please remember her in pray as she is on life support and not doing very good. 

Wednesday was another beautiful day and with the sun shining I spent as much time as I could outside.  I even got all the snow and ice cleaned off my back patio.  It’s been months since it’s been that clean from snow and ice!  Later in the afternoon Daddy and Mommy showed up to pick me up and we went to visit Aunt Louis.  Had a great visit and that evening my precious jewels came to spend the night .. so I got a double treat! 

Thursday .. wow the temps went really high with a high of 68 degrees!  It almost feels like summer!  I had to get up early and get the grand kids ready for school and drop them off before I could start my day.  I rode to Jacksonville with Daddy and Mommy and we had a great day.  Found a new thrift store called the Attic and got me some good deals.  I needed some pillow cases really badly and they had em for a .25 cents! 

On our way home we stopped at Aunt Louis and visited and Aunt Pearl was there so it was icing on the cake to get to see her.  I got some more bad news .. my brother in law passed away yesterday.  RIP Rusty Blackburn .. he had been very sick and in lots of pain for sometime and his wish finally came true.  He is now in heaven with his beloved wife (my sister) Rosemary who passed away 2 years ago this coming March.  It seems that with every good thing in my life there is always a bad thing right behind it. 

Later in the evening the weather took a turn for the worse and the winds picked up and the electric kept going on and off.  Wow, Mr Wind sounds like he is coming through the walls.  There are tornado warnings and wind adversary’s everywhere .. it’s a good night to just curl up on the couch and snuggle with my babies.  none of them are enjoying the sound of the wind.  One of the shutters on the outside of house is just a banging and I’ve noticed several shingles in the yard   Looks like this spring I’m gonna have to find someone to come replace those missing shingles.

I enjoyed the warm weather while it lasted and it gave me a taste of spring that I am so looking forward too.  But it appears Mr. Winter is not ready to leave and it’s going to continue to get colder with temps back in the single digits next week!

I will just take what life has to offer and when it’s lemons .. I will just make lemon aide!!

How Do I Begin …

I titled my blog today with the title of a poem that my niece Amy wrote for her loving brother who we recently lost.  It is so how I feel about writing this blog post.  It was a year ago today that we pulled out of Ajo AZ to head home because of some personal issues with our oldest son and grand kids.  So much has happened in my life this past year.  Some of it not good.  It feels like my life has been on a roller coaster ride the past several years and there has been much grief, hurt and pain in my life.  There has been happiness as well, but the happiness seems less then good.  I am thankful for my faith and being able to trust that my heavenly father has given me the strength to endure this ride.  God has embraced me and I know that this too shall pass and in the end I will become a much stronger person.  I have held together as God created a strong endurable woman when he created me.  God blessed me with gifts of courage, to be strong and stand up fight for my family and beliefs.  That is what I have done this past year.  There have been days when I have been weary and wondered if I could go on but my father always picks me up and holds me tight.  I can feel my  father encouraging me to be strong.  God has blessed me with a wonderful family and friends whom I have leaned upon (you know who are).

 

I know that there are many ruff roads ahead as I am still dealing with several issues, including health but as I have always done my entire life.  I will stand strong on my faith and in the end I will learn from my experiences and I will become a better person because I endured.  I have learned that as long as I lean upon my faith, trust and believe “with God all things are possible” I am living proof.

It’s been one ruff winter with lots of snow, severely cold temps and lots of hibernating!  Lots of back, neck and knee pains I have been experiencing.   I have accepted the fact that pain is apart of my life and enduring it is all I can do.  We’ve had snow 1-2 times a week any where from a dusting to up to 10” and we’ve went weeks with below freezing temps and a lots of below zero temps!  If temps reached the low 20’s it’s felt like a heat wave!  Were dealing with high utility cost due to the extreme cold temps as most of the nation is!

looking out my back door .. this is the view I have experienced most of the winter

On a good note something I have been doing when the weather permits is getting to visit with family members that I haven’t spent time with in years!  Every afternoon Papa Tom and Momma Rosie picks me up and we head to my Aunt Louise house to drink soda (me) and coffee (them).  We have a great time visiting and sometimes I get blessed with my other aunt’s Pearl and Betty, and cousin Carrie coming by and saying hello.  I’ve come to enjoy these moments this winter.  Their the highlight of my day.   I’ve also started playing Bunco every other Tuesday night with family and I’ve enjoyed that.

This is the grand dog Oreo who is normally an outside dog but because the temps have been so cold he has become an inside dog.  Oreo seems to be enjoying the indoors, although he does get bored and likes to be put back outside during the day if the sun is shining.  He barks to come inside and he barks to go outside

I’ve always been blessed to get to spend lots of great time spoiling Hurricane Hailey and Tornado Toby my precious grand jewels!  I’ve missed the warm temps and being outdoors this winter but in return I have to admit it’s been worth it with the memories and love I have been blessed with. 

My winter has been spent spending time with family and wishing for warmer weather.  I’m so ready for Spring and being able to get outdoors.  I guess you could say that I’m starting to get back into the life style of living in one place.  I have to admit my heart yearns and misses traveling but I have to also admit I have missed some wonderful memories with family members that are no longer with us.  Traveling is like anything else you give up some things to gain others and the same with living in one place.  Right now because of circumstances in life I am giving up my hearts desire of seeing and exploring new places in exchange for memories with family members that I love very much.  Regardless of bad or good situations that have been thrown my way and weather I am living my life in an RV traveling and exploring new places or living in my dad’s home.  I am truly blessed because regardless where I am living, I am still a child of God’s and I am living my life the best possible way that I can to honor my father and in return my heart is being filled with memories that I will always hold dear to me.  That is what the true meaning of life is.   Hope your all have a great winter.