The strength of an ant....

Brenda was almost halfway to the top of the tremendous granite cliff. She was standing on a ledge where she was taking a breather during this, her first rock climb. As she rested there, the safety rope snapped against her eye and knocked out her contact lens . "Great", she thought. "Here I am on a rock ledge, hundreds of feet from the bottom and hundreds of feet to the top of this cliff, and now my sight is blurry."

She looked and looked, hoping that somehow it had landed on the ledge. But it just wasn't there. She felt the panic rising in her, so she began praying. She prayed for calm, and she prayed that she may find her contact lens.

When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but it was not to be found. Although she was calm now that she was at the top, she was saddened because she could not clearly see across the range of mountains. She thought of the bible verse "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth."

She thought, "Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me."

Later, when they had hiked down the trail to the bottom of the cliff they met another party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, "Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?"

Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across a twig on the face of the rock, carrying it!

The story doesn't end there. Brenda's father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a cartoon of an ant lugging that contact lens with the caption, "Lord, I don't know why You want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I'll carry it for You."

This has become my new mantra , "God, I don't know why You want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it's awfully heavy. But, if You want me to carry it, I will."

I definitely feel like the ant these days. It seems everytime I turn around a new burden has been added to my load. I have to believe there is a reason. This is not to say that there aren't moments that I want to cry and scream and rail at the unfairness of it all. But when all is said and done I pick the load back up and continue on. When I was younger I would pray to have my burdens taken from me. Now I pray for the strength to carry them.

ABC's

Bet you didn't know all of these.

A - Age: 37
B - Bed size: Queen
C - Chore you hate: laundry...it never ends
D - Dog's name: Sumner and Suzy
E - Essential start your day item: Coffee
F - Favorite color: green
G - Gold or Silver or Platinum: Silver as a general rule, but I do wear gold occassionally
H - Height: 5'6
I - Instruments you play: Used to play Flute and Saxophone
J - Job title: Mom/Nurse
K - Kid(s): TIm, Nic, Ian, Rosie
L - Living arrangements: with grandparents, and kids and Sean
M - Mom's name: Alexis
N - Nicknames: Krissy, Kris, K, Jabberjaws, Mommy
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: Nope
P - Pet Peeves: Stupid people
Q - Quote from a movie: As you wish
R - Right handed or left handed: both
S - Siblings: Lisa, Meagan, Samantha, James, Seth
T - Time you wake up: 5am - so I can get a workout out in before the masses arise
U- Underwear: Yes
V - Vegetable you dislike: Lima Beans
W - Ways you run late: getting kids ready then myself
X - X-rays you've had: chest, arm, toe.
Y - Yummy food you make: Mac and Cheese, bread, chicken and dumplings
Z - Zoo favorite: Pandas

UPDATE: Nic's audition

We recieved Nic's official acceptance today. Now all I have to do is figure out how much the budget wil allow.

There are options for lessons Fall 2009 TUITION –
Lesson Duration Once a week Twice a week
30 min $560 $1120
45 min $800 $1600
60 min $960 $1920
Group Theory Lessons - Free

Luckily, they have it set-up so you can make 4 monthly installments. I am also looking in to scholarship options.

1st Grade

Ian started 1st grade yesterday. He was excited to go. I on the other hand came to the realization that he is growing up much faster than I would prefer. He is suddenly a boy with his own opinions and preferences. I can no longer lay out clothes for him and expect him to wear them, he wants to pick put his own....whether or not they match. This morning he left wearing two different socks. He was well aware of this and insisted it was what he wanted to wear. All I could do was wave goodbye as the bus pulled away and hope he doesn't get teased about it. As a parent, I worry about his grades, the safety of the school bus ride, etc. but, what worries me the most is ...What if he gets teased or picked on at school. I can't protect him.

I know this is silly and there are much greater dangers and obstacles in the world. It just happens to be the one thing that struck me today as the thing I was worried about. I guess I will know how he fared when he gets off the bus this afternoon.

Journeys and Changes

There remains no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved and therefore the marriage is irretrievably broken.

This statement is the only acceptable grounds on which to file for an uncontested divorce in Missouri. I find it interesting that it very accurately describes Sean and I's situation. We have struggled for the past year or two, trying to figure out how to fall back in love with each other and preserve our marriage. We weren't able to figure it out but, have become very good actors apparently. I am surprise by how many people have said, " I had no idea things weren't good between you to." Then the next question is usually "so what happened?" It is hard to explain. There isn't any one thing. It has been an accumulation of multiple things over a long time. I have learned it is possible to love someone but not be IN love with them.

After a surpisingly short conversation, Sean and I agreed it would be better to end things now while we are still ok with each other than to wait until we morphed in to enemies with such animosity between us that we couldn't agree on anything. It has been agreed that the kids will stay here with me and we will share custody. Sean plans to see them as often as possible. He will be moving up to Wisconsin at the end of this month (aug 29). He has friend who lives up there that has a spare room. It will be difficult for him to be so far away from the kids but KC holds alot of pain and grief for him. In the long run he will heal much faster and probably more completely by not being here (KC).

There is a whole gammit of emotion right now, but soon things will settle into a new routine and we will begin new journeys in our lives. As the saying goes...Time heals all wounds.

Nic...audition

Earlier this week (Wed), I was reading the paper and came across an announcement about the Park University Youth Music Conservatory.I showed it to Nic and suggested we call about it. It turned out they were taking applications and auditions on Sunday(today). Nic was given an audition slot. We arrived a little early and met Professor Martin Storey, who was person Nic was to audition for. Nic played his two pieces, Bach's Minuet I and Sunrise, Sunset from Fiddler on the Roof. Before leaving, Professor Storey told us we should receive an email early this week giving us registration information as well as the instructors name. Although, he did not specifically say Nic got in, we are assuming the best from his comment.

This is an awesome opportunity for Nic.

This link will take you to the conservatory's homepage.

http://www.park.edu/icm/ycm/index.shtml

Afternoon at the Lake

Elizabeth and I took the kids to the Lake for the afternoon. It was a blast and no one got terribly sunburned.

Nature's Wonders

Sometimes Mother Nature presents you with the most spectacular scenes. Here are a few I was lucky enough to capture.

August B-Day event

Here are some pictures from our family get together to celebrate the August birthdays.

Women have one flaw...

IF THERE IS ONE FLAW IN WOMEN…

Women have strengths that amaze men.
They bear hardships and they carry burdens,
but they hold happiness, love and joy.

They smile when they want to scream.
They sing when they want to cry.
They cry when they are happy
and laugh when they are nervous.
They fight for what they believe in.
They stand up to injustice.

They don't take "no" for an answer
when they believe there is a better solution.

They go without so their family can have.
They go to the doctor with a frightened friend.
They love unconditionally.
They cry when their children excel
and cheer when their friends get awards.

They are happy when they hear about
a birth or a wedding.
Their hearts break when a friend dies.
They grieve at the loss of a family member,
yet they are strong when they
think there is no strength left.
They know that a hug and a kiss
can heal a broken heart.

Women come in all shapes, sizes and colors.

They'll drive, fly, walk, run or e-mail you
to show how much they care about you..

The heart of a woman is what
makes the world keep turning.

They bring joy, hope and love.
They have compassion and ideas.
They give moral support to their
family and friends.

Women have vital things to say
and everything to give.

HOWEVER, IF THERE IS ONE FLAW IN WOMEN,
IT IS THAT

THEY FORGET THEIR WORTH.

Bigger Bucket

"I think I need a bigger bucket!!"

One of my favorite sayings it atributed to Mother Teresa and goes something like....

God only gives you what you can handle, but I sure wish he didn't trust me so much.

My take on it is more to the effect of....

God only gives you what you can handle, but I need a bigger bucket.

This pretty much sums up my week. So if you have an empty bucket laying around you might want to send it my way. I am sure I can put it to good use.

Smash and grab...not fun

Tuesday night, I went to the gym with Nic and Katie. We had a great workout, then came out to find the van's driver side window smashed. Normally, I take everything in and lock it in a locker. For some reason I didn't that night. I left my purse in the car under my gym bag. They took it. The only saving grace was, that my keys apparently got flipped out when they grabbed it. I found them between the seats. Now the kicker is, all they got was $80. I had that in cash in my wallet. They tried to use my bank card but I only had $3 in the checking account and all of the other cards I have are debit cards (the kind you have to add money to in order to use them)and I had not put anything on them this week. It is alot of frustration on my part though. I spent one entire day on the phone cancelling and reordering medical cards, bank accounts, grocery cards, etc. And one whole day getting my ID and SSN dealt with. I do have to give kudos to the North Patrol Police Division, in particular Officer Ellis. He was very prompt in his response to me and has been nothing but polite and helpful. I really appreciate being made to feel like this was being taken seriously. Not because I hope to get anything back but because I hope they can prevent it from happening to someone else.

On a funny note, the van is cleaner than it has been in awhile after the vaccumming to get all the glass out.

Selena's Birthday

Selena is staying with us for a few weeks. Her birthday was this past Thursday, she turned 18. I am not one to let a birthday pass without some kind of celebration. So, we had a birthday dinner for her tonight. Nic and I made the cakes, Devil's Food with a cherry center. She managed to blow out all the candles without catching her hair on fire. I had been wracking my brain to figure out what to do for her present. I finally decided since she seems to get cold easily, I made her a kuddler, Mom made her a hat and scarf set for this winter, and Lisa made her a necklace. Meagan found a hysterical Hoops and Yoyo card about the things you can do now that you are 18. I am pretty sure she had a good time. I really wanted her to feel like we consider her a part of the family. Although, my family can be pretty overwhelming.

GNO- July

Last night was girls' night out. The normal crew (me. mom, lisa, meg, sam) were all there and we added three new faces. Alana, who is a long time family friend and a hoot to hang out with. Danie who is a new friend, she and I have bonded over kid fiascos. And Selena, tim's girlfriend, who is very much like a daughter. We went to Fiesta Guadalahara in Smithville for dinner. It is wonderful mexican food. Mom and I go about once a week for dinner so the waiters and owner know us. I had a blast. I love being able to chat with everyone and see what everyone is up to. And of course, we hit Sheridan's afterwards for frozen custard. My favorite at the moment is this concotion of Vanilla custard, hot fudge, sliced bananas, and sliced strawberries. It is well worth the extra time in the gym.

Pile O' Kids

Yesterday, Nic watched the kids so I could take Sean to work and keep the van for the day. I came home to find them all curled up sound asleep on my bed. I thought it was cute so I took a picture to share with everyone.

And, yes, that is Rosie's artwork in the background. haven't gotten the bedroom painted yet. Still working in that one. :)

July Update

We have been really busy the last month or so.

Tim has started his new job. He is working with a construction company that installs and repairs the fuel tanks for rail yards and airports. He is usually a disgusting mess when he gets home but he is enjoying it. His dad, Jason is with the same company and at least on this job they are working together. This is kind of a trial by fire thing. If Tim does well and proves himself they will take him onto the next crew, if not then they will let him go at the end of this job. I don’t want him to screw this up so I have been getting up at 6am to make sure he is up and has a lunch, etc. So far, it has worked. His girlfriend, Selena, is staying with us for a few weeks. She has decided to stay in Seattle and will be attending college there this fall. She is looking at a career in nursing, which of course I love being a nurse myself. Tim really wants her to finish college before they get more serious. He doesn’t want “family life” to get in her way. I totally agree and support him on that one.

Nic just got home yesterday. He spent a week and a half in Seattle visiting friends. He came home looking like a lobster. Typical boy, he didn’t put on any sunscreen when they went to the water park. He has been working for mom and dad doing odd chores and yard work. It has given him enough spending money to do what he wants this summer without being locked into a job. He is going into his junior year in high school next month. I am trying to find him a music program for fall, his school doesn’t have an orchestra. Last year he was able to play with the pit band for special events though. I am hopeful that he will have another outstanding year. He finished his sophmore year with a 4.0. His passion is still cooking and he spends a lot of time in the kitchen experimenting…and sitting on the counter.

Ian finished his summer program at school with perfect attendance. His favorite class was the lego architecture. He is excited to start 1st grade next month. I am excited because it is all day instead of ½ day like kindergarten. He recently discovered Pokemon cards. He also has a new found love of motorcycles. A friend who came over for 4th of July let him sit on his. Ian thought it was great!

Rosie is definitely two. Her new nickname is “Molly Meltdown”. She has developed a penchant for tamtrums. They can be quite funny to watch. When she calms down she will come to me and say “Mommy, I am done now.” Some days it is all I can do not to laugh. She also takes after her brother, Nic and loves to help in the kitchen. She is a wiz at making kool-aid.

As for me, I am doing ok. The stress of life gets to me occassionally but I manage. I am going to the gym frequently and that helps a lot and I am down 7 lbs so far. I am thinking strongly about going back to school this winter to work on furthering my nursing degree. In the meantime, I continue to sew and keep busy with taking care of the family. I am also continueing to walk/run. I signed up for the Memory Walk in October. It is to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association. Since, my grandmother suffers from the disease I feel like it is something I should do. This one is only a 5K. Samantha is trying to talk me into the ½ marathon next year for the Hospital Hill Run. Not sure I will be up to that, but not totally discounting it either. We will see.

End of Update

Spaghetti Facial

Rosie loved the spaghetti I made for dinner last night.

Fireworks

These are some of the fireworks we saw. We had an awesome view from the front yard of several displays. Everyone loved it.

Family fun - 7/4/9

We had a blast on the fourth. Lisa and her family, Sam, James, and Sariah, and Mom and Dad all came over. We had hot dogs and devil eggs, plus loads of munchies and side salads. Mom made her famous fruit salad with the help of the kids. It was a blast.

First tomatoes of the season

These are our tomato plants. I decided to do container gardening this year. I have 7 tomato plants and 3 pepper plants that are doing well. I tried originally to have them in the backyard but, Rosie kept trying to be helpful. She would unplant and replant them multiple times a day. So I moved the buckets to the front porch and they are doing well there. It seems to be just the right about of sun/shade for them. Rosie still goes out every day to check on them but no longer tries to unplant them. She can't wait for the tomato to turn red so she can eat it!

Storm

The storm last night was amazing. I stood on my deck and captured this. The lightening strikes were awesome to watch. This does not do them justice.
Click on the picture, to view it. It will take you to my google albums.

From Storm

Sweet Sleep

 

So sweet when she sleeps.

Summer Journey (Ian)

Ian got the opportunity to participate in the Smithville Elementary Summer Journey program this summer. It is summer school with a twist. He took classes like Lego Architecture. He came home telling me all about buttresses and flying buttresses and how they can be used to support a building. He also learned all about bugs and assorted creepy-crawlies. Not my favorite subject but he thoroughly enjoyed it. He also earned honors for perfect attendance! It was a great way to get him used to the all day program he will start this fall in 1st grade. Alas, yesterday was his last day, next week we enter the land of "I'm Bored".

All about the moo-cow

From New Folder (3)

From New Folder (3)

Sean went to Wisconsin last weekend and brought back a few thing for the kids. For Rosie it is all about the moo-cow. Her favorite joke right now is:
"What does a cow work for?.............MOOO-LAAA"
It is a riot to listen to her tell it.

Hair flowers

From New Folder (3)

My sister Sam is an amazingly talented crafter. She showed me how to make these adorable flower clips for Rosie's hair. It was so easy and fun I made 1/2 dozen of them. Luckily Rosie is very much into being a princess right now so she loves to wear them.

Baptismal gown

This is the baptimal gown I made for Heidi Rose.

From Christening gown

Update on Dad...

He is still at KU Med. The results came back from the abdominal CT. They were much much better than we expected. There were no new growths and the original tumor was measusred for comparison. It has shrunk slightly from the last set of scans. This is good! Dad is still being treated for the PE (pulmonary emboli). He wil continue that treatment course for awhile. The PE is very large and will take time to resolve. The current game plan is for him to come home over the weekend....that is however subject to change.

Being right isn't always a good thing.

My Dad is in KU med. He has been there since last Sunday. He was initially admitted for extreme dehydration and anemia. Both of these can be side effects of the chemo he is on. Unfortunately, he wouldn't listen and ended up going when it became critical instead managable. So the first night they pumped him full of fluids, somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 IV bags (about 5 liters). This unfortunately caused a fluid overload. He swelled up to resemble the pilsbury dough boy. To relieve this they put him on Lasix, a diuretic. In the meantime his hemoglobin was less than 8.

Have you strapped in for the roller coaster ride yet? If not do so now!

His hemoglobin started to come up but the rest of his labs were still whacky and he still felt crummy. One of the main problems was he couldn't catch his breath. It was fatigueing just to sit up. Thus, they started him on oxygen. This helped somewhat. His labs started to straighten out. Unfortunately, some of the important ones went down then came back up...of particular concern was the lactic acid. They tried a CPAP machine to help regulate his nighttime breathing. Not getting the results they wanted, the MD said he wanted a chest and abdominal CT. His theory being that the cancer might have spread , causing the elevated lactic acid results.

I have been saying that I had a gut feeling there was something more to this. More than just dehydration this time. I have had this feeling since the last set of scans he had done. So when the MD said that I was relieved and terrified at the same time. Relieved that they were going to take a closer look and not just blow it off and terrified that they would confirm what my gut was saying. The curse of being a nurse who paid attention in class and believes in "gut feelings".

They did the chest CT this morning. They did find something....a pulmonary emboli. This is a blood clot in his lung. It appears that there is one or more clots around his port (implanted IV port). The working theory is that one broke off and found its way to the lung. They have started him on Lovenox (a heavy duty anticoagulant), to help break up the clots and prevent more.

As of this writing they have not done the abdominal CT.

So we wait......

Thank You!

We may not have conquered Pancreatic Cancer yet, but we conquered the Hill.

Our final total for our fundraising was $2390.oo.

Thank you to everyone for their support, encouragement, and prayers!

Rare Moment

Rosie and her great Grandma shared a smile. It was a treat to see. For those who don't know Grandma has Alzheimer's. It is rare for her to show much emotion. Occassionally, I am lucky enough to capture it.

Our Dog, Sumner

Finalizing the 10K and ...

I slept and took yesterday off from everything...except posting the pictures. Today I am working on a scrap book of the event and finalizing the fund raising. We had several offline donations that we need to get into the count before we publish a final number. So far it is looking good.

I made it to the gym this morning and managed a full weight workout and 250 yrds in the pool. Then I sat and reveled in the glorious bubbling water in the hot tub. As I sat there, I started thinking about what to do next.

So, I made a decision to do the Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk. It is in October and is only a 3 mile course. After having done the 10K it should be a piece of cake. Again this is something dear to me; my grandmother suffers with Alzheimer's. I have seen the impact this disease has on families. It is a hard thing to deal with. It is like losing the person twice...once as the mind dies and then again when the body dies. I have spent most of my nursing career working in Alzheimer's units. Now I care for my grandmother at home. I am glad to be able to provide her with the care she needs. Every now and again I am rewarded with a smile or a pat on the cheek. That makes it all worth it.

Hospital Hill Run 2009 Slideshow

36th Hospital Hill Run

The Hospital Hill Run was today. Lisa, Heather, Samantha, Nic and I all did the 10K. It was awesome. My goal was just to finish before they started taking down the barricades. I did a little better than that. The goal for next year is to finish in under 1:30:00. 

I survived! Here is my offical results.

Kristin Vancleave Smith #10161

Smithville

Age: 37 Gender: F

Distance	10K
Clock Time	1:46:51
Overall Place	1258 / 1263
Gender Place	714 / 723
Division Place	113 / 113
Age Grade	28.9%
St	MO
Divt	113
Sext	723
Pace	17:12

Mowing the yard

So I decided that I needed to mow the yard today before it became so tall that we lost a child in it. I finished the front yard this morning. I always do it first because I figure it is the part that makes an inpression on the neighbors (good or bad).  And it looked like it might rain. Rain never came instead the sun came out.  So I decided to mow the back yard too. I got down to the last three passes and the mower died. nic came out to help me get it restarted and just went ahead and finished. I was a little miffed because I wanted to me able to say I had donet he WHOLE thing. Oh well, at least it got done. Oh and did I mention the snake?

Family BBQ

We all got together to celebrate the May Birthdays...

Happy Birthday to Kameron, Matt, and Lisa!

Behold the woman...

A friend of mine's husband sent this to her. I just had to repost it.

Quote of the day: Behold the Woman

"Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater. If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby. If you give her a house, she'll give you a home. If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal. If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart. She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her. So, if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of shit." ~unknown

The ultimate coffee mug...

"Here's your coffee honey."

Me addicted to coffee?     YUP!

Track Letter

Nic was awarded a JV letter in Track.

Sharpie Artwork

There are times as a mom you don't know whether to laugh, cry or run screaming from the house. This was one of those moments.  I had gone to answer the call of mother nature and  when I returned I could hear Rosie singing in my bedroom so I went to investigate. This is what I found.

Sean had left a sharpie on the end table in the livingroom, Rosie found it. Needless to say Sean is going to help repaint the bedroom and gets no input on the color. I am thinking Lilac.  :)

Zoo Trip

We awoke to thunder and rain. But slowly the storms cleared and we had the perfect afternoon for a trip to the zoo. We loaded everyone (Sean, Me, Christina (Sean's friend from Wisconsin), Liz, Nic, Ian, Alex and Rosie) into the cars and headed off. We managed to only have one semi-meltdown during the whole afternoon. The mom's reading this will understand how outstanding of a feat that is with a 2 yr old, 4 yr old and 6 yr old. No one got overly sunburnt and we had a blast. On the way home we were treated to a spectacular view of the incoming storm clouds.

Nic's Conference Track Meet

He took first with a 104' 1" diskus throw.

He also took first with a 42' 1" shot put throw.

PlayDate

Elizabeth and her daughter, Alex have started coming over regularly for playdates. These are pictures from the most recent one. 

Pan Can update

So far we have raised $1860.00. 

 I hope that everyone knows how much they are appreciated for their support in this endeavour. 

Finding Zen

 Zen ...what exactly does it mean? 

 The whole point of Zen is to become fully aware, here and now.  Zen demands one to “Come to your senses!”, for when you get lost in thoughts of the past or future, life passes you by.   When you  mindfully focus in the present moment, you can completely dissolve into whatever manifests.   Each moment is filled with a profound peace and clarity.  Each moment is perceived to have significance, charged with magic and mystery, infinitely precious.  

I found my Zen this morning residing with a sweet young man behind the Starbuck's counter. After a morning that had not gone well I decided to treat myslef to a latte. While in Seattle I had discovered the vanilla chai latte. It wasn't on the posted menu but I took a chance and asked for it anyway, fully prepared to be told it was not available. Instead, this wonderful young man with a beautiful accent asked how I wanted it prepared and made it perfectly. The first taste was wonderful, pure bliss. Nothing else came into my world at that moment except the taste of the chai as it flowed into my mouth, biting the back of my tongue as it continued down my throat. That moment of zen stayed with me.  I actually giggled most of the way home, enjopying the happy peace that had settled over me. 

I need to find a way to be fully present, right here, right now, more often and enjoy the moments of Zen that present themselves. So the lesson is..... If not now, then when?

Journals...

My mom is an avid journal keeper. She pointed out to me the other day that the blog entries I make are in essence a journal. She suggested I print them out and put them together in a notebook for the kids to read some day. I like that idea. So as of today I am going to print these out and put them in a notebook.

 Who know someday in the future someone might find my life interesting or at least humorous.

Support....

This post is from my sis-in-law, Tina. 

SATURDAY, APRIL 25, 2009

...screenprint.

My hubby and I are showing our support for his sisters running a 10K by screenprinting. They are running in the Hospital Hill Run in KC to raise money/awareness for Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. You can check out all the info at the team website:http://www.firstgiving.com/daddygirls. We live far away, so we are printing up some bandannas for the team and a bunch of fun flags for the supporters in the crowd. It's an in-house job. We are doing it all ourselves from design to print. Lucy is our model today.


With all these flags laid out to dry, Andy Warhol's work comes to mind...

GO, DADDY'S GIRLS!!!

Ronan's visit

Ian and Rosie's great-aunt Marilyn stopped for a visit with her newfoundland Ronan. 

Stormy Weather.

These were taken Saturday afternoon during a break in the rain along 169 Hwy.

Turkey

You know you live in the country when this is your
view from your kitchen window....Wild turkey anyone?

Having issues with the Blog

Sorry for the overdose of my blogs. Multiply seems to have republished more than half of the things already there. I havent figured this out yet so bare with me.

A day in the life of Alzheimer's

So I was awoken this morning to the sound of fingers drumming on my kitchen table. It was G'pa. He was very agitated because his breakfast wasn't waiting for him and he had to catch the train.  It took about 3 minutes to get him to understand he did not have to catch the train as it was Saturday. I was not about to try to convince him he wasn't working anymore.  So he went back to bed grumbling about being crazy. I am not sure if he was referring to himself or me.  About 7am ( a much more reasonable time) I was awoken by him screaming "Lorine". This is my grandmother's name, although he frequently calls me this. I don't understand that because I look nothing like my grandmother ever did. But I go along with it for my sanity's sake. So I stumble into the living room and ask him why he is yelling. He is upset because he can't find his equipment to catch the rabbits he needs. (He used to catch rabbits and tag them as part of a research project in CA).  I again choose the route of the obscure to convince him he didn't need to do this today. I pointed out it was storming and they predicted thunder and lightening and it wouldn't do him any good to be out in the rain as the rabbits wouldn't be out anyway. He accepted that but continued to tell me about the research project and such.  Then all of a sudden he declares he is crazy.  I am taken back by this and ask him why. He ignores me and goes off on another tangent about rabbits. Trying to change the subject I bring up his birthday which is this month. I ask him how old he will be....he tells me he doesn't know, and looks very puzzled.  Then he declares, " I guess I am too old to worry about it." and laughs.

Unfortunately, these mornings are coming more frequently. He is slipping into the Alzheimer's abyss. His wife, my grandmother, Lorine is well in to late stage Alzheimer's. There are times I think it is a blessing that he is now slipping too. It has been so hard on him to see her and not have any recognition from her.  Now he is more accepting of her presence without her acknowledging him. The hard part for me is seeing how he treated her first hand. He frequently thinks I am her and is not very kind. I am amazed at the strength my grandmother must have had, not to smack him with a skillet sometimes. 

Update on Fundraising for PanCan

We have raised $535 of our $2500 goal so far.  

This week Smithville Junior High raised money thru a "Make a donation, Wear your jeans" day. They raised $160. WAY TO GO WARRIORS! 

I continue with my training. I am up to 4.5 miles. I am really psyched about this. If I make it thru this 10K, I may just try for a 1/2 marathon next year.  

I want to make sure everybody knows how thankful I am for their support, prayers and good wishes. 

If you want to see our progress you can use the link below to go to our donation page.

http://www.firstgiving.com/daddygirls

Easter with the Family

We had a great time with everyone at our house for Easter.  James and Tina called and we were able to video conference with Seth, Staci and Rhianna. Dad got to enjoy some deviled eggs, made especially by Sean. Chad made scalloped potatoes and we had a spiral cut ham with an awesome glaze.  The kids ran around and caused the usual chaos.  It was great fun!

Bunnies...

Easter Bunnies everywhere!

Coloring of the Eggs.

We had all the kids over Thursday to dye easter eggs. It was a blast!

Toupee?

The poor guy in the background looks like he is wearing a toupee. He was quite funny to see up close. The white patch was parted down the middle and looked neatly combed.

Sunset

The sunset tonight was beautiful and progressed

into an equally beautiful full moon.

A reason to Drink Chocolate Milk

One of the newest recovery foods discovered is chocolate milk (although any grade school child can attest to its wonders).

Chocolate milk provides the athlete with a winning combination of nutrients: protein for muscles, carbohydrates and B vitamins for energy, calcium and vitamin D for bones, potassium for fluid balance, and water for rehydration.  The best way to refuel after your next run, workout or competition is to drink 16 ounces of chocolate milk within 30 minutes of finishing. For more information on how to make chocolate milk a part of your training schedule, or on the sports nutrition benefits of dairy, please visit www.midwestdairy.com.

OK, this you gotta love! I valid reason to drink choclate milk. MmmmmmmmmM!

Seth's email

seth.mayo@usmc.mil

For those who would like to have it here is Seth's work email. He asked that it be posted. He still has his personal gmail account too. We figured out how to make the web call work on MSn tonight and Rosie and Rhianna got to chat. It was grreat fun. Next we are going to try for a virtual play date.

Anybody found Zen?

Today is one of those days that I am having to make a concentrated effort to be motivated. I am just off today. Even at the gym I had to really push to get thru my sets. Maybe I did too much yesterday or maybe the stress of life is taking it's toll. Either way, I think I will try to lay low today and hope for ZEN.

OHMMMMM......OHMMMMMM.........OHMMMMMMM

I ran...

So today I made it to a personal milestone...I ran. I actually ran. I did 5 intervals on the treadmill....4 minutes walking then 1 mintue running. I know 1 minute doesn't seem like much but I haven't been able to even run a full minute until now. So I am psyched!!

 My goal is to up the running while decreasing the walking until I can run a full thirty minutes.

Seeds of Life gift...

We recieved this wonderful gift from our dear friends, Jim and Rachel. It is an acorn ready to sprout into an oak tree that you can then plant. We recieved this just after Aunt Sarah passed. Our plan it to plant it in her memory as soon as it is ready. I truely appreciate the thoughtfulness behind this gift. What a wonderful way to express your sympathy to a family who has lost some one dear. Thank you Rachel and Jim.

GNO - April

Girl's Night Out   April 2009

Mom, Liz, Kris, Meg, Lisa, Sam

Our first girl's night out was a smashing success! I had a blast. We went to Cascone's Italian Resturant. I had the best fettucine alfredo with shrimp.We had this wager going. We all kept track of how many minutes we worked out. The person with the most minutes got their dinner bought for them. This was a huge motivator for me. I came out with 701 minutes, which means I got bragging rights for this month. WHA-HOO!! We decided to do this again and make it a monthly thing...until we get tired of it or our husbands revolt...whichever comes first. 

I had planned the night off for myself. So after dinner I went to my hotel, checked in, watched a movie and went to bed. I slept sooooo good. I woke up this morning with a whole new attitude and feeling refreshed. I even made it to the gym and worked out for 2 hours. As a bonus, I got on the scale and discovered (even with pigging out yesterday) that I had dropped 3 pounds. I will definitely have to do this again.

Weight Watchers

I joined Weight Watchers. I attend my first meeting last night.  It was really interesting. I like the fact that I can eat what ever foods I want as long as I am paying attention to portion size and such. I started plugging in my meals for the past few days into the points tracker. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I wasnt horribly off. I was over my points but only by 5 or less. That made me feel like I was in a good starting place. I just need to be more thoughtfull when planning meals. 

I have gotten back on the gym horse too. My goal is to go 5 days a week or more. Right now I am sticking to the elliptical thingy. It doesn't hurt my knees. Next week I am going to try the treadmill and see if I can do some interval walking/running.  I would like to get to a point I can actually run. 

With luck the combination will be enough to get me in shape and healthy. 

ARGHH!

Last night was a rough one. The kids refused to go to bed and then proceeded to antagonize each other for another hour or so. I finally got to bed about 11:30 and was woken every hour on the hour to the sounds of "I need water. LORINE, WHERE ARE YOU, WHY AREN'T YOU HELPING ME!" (My g'pa has taken to calling me Lorine) I love my children and my grandfather however, I am getting to a place where I don't like them very much.  My attitude sucks right now.

I can not tell you how much I am looking forward to Friday. My sisters, mom and I have been doing a challenge. We have been keeping track of the minutes we workout this month.  Now you will notice I said minutes worked out, not pounds lost.  This was supposed to be motivation to get us all moving more. The person with the most minutes gets their dinner bought at our GNO this friday. We decided to go to Cascone's , an italian resturant. YUMMY! I also decided I needed a break, a night off from being Mom/Nurse/Wife/add job description here. So I have gotten myself a hotel room for Friday night. I am going to enjoy the peace and quiet for one whole night! I can take a bath with out a child demanding to come in, or watch a movie uninterupted, or just sleep with out a knee in my back and being woken up constantly. It is only one night but I am going to make the most out of it. I am hoping to come back a little more refreshed and with a better attitude (did I mention mine sucks right now). 

If it works I may have to make it a monthly thing.

Just for Hannah....

This is our world!