My Birthday Week

I can't believe that a year has already gone by since I planned and had my 60th birthday party!  That was such fun last year.  Tomorrow is my 61st birthday.  As I type this number and look at it, I have a hard time accepting the fact that I am this age.  Other than the fact that my body is wasting away day after day, and it definitely feels 61, I don't act any older than I did 10 years ago, or 20 for that matter. 

Lois took me out to breakfast for my birthday this morning.  We had a nice leisurely visit before I had to go to PT for my shoulder.  When I arrived home, Debbie and Jessie were on the swing outside and I joined them for the next 45 minutes.  I should have been doing paperwork, but I enjoyed the beautiful day instead.  When Debbie left, Jess and I went to McDonald's for our drive-thru lunch and ate at the park in the van.  We pulled in the driveway at home the same time as her speech teacher, Cheryl, came for her first fall session.  Jessie loves Cheryl and she is doing so much better with her words.  Cheryl saw a big difference. 

Lois came for dinner and even though it was warm outside, I made an oven dinner.  I've finally gotten into the swing of making nicer meals again.  Just as we were getting ready to eat (outside on the deck!) the door bell rang - I got a big hug from Doreen and Matt and a quiet "Hi" from Shiloh.  They left NJ at 6:00 a.m. and God gave them a good trip here.  Ed will be our church's Children's Pastor beginning tomorrow.  They've been gone for 7 years (they had previously been here for 5 years as Youth Pastor) and I am very glad they are back.  Doreen makes for a very nice birthday gift for me!

Pictures From The North

Yeah!  The internet didn't shut down before I uploaded a few pictures.  The first picture is from our hotel room.  We had a Lakeside view and it was nice enough to have the door open to hear the waves and watch the Star Line come and go, which was right next to the hotel.

The next picture is Jess and Mr. Toad in front of a store in Mackinaw Crossings.  While Jon went to the Island, we shopped. 

The third picture is what Jess likes to do best in a hotel.  She lays on the bed watching a DVD on her player, and either plays with her letter tiles or her Apples 2 Apples cards.  She insists on take about 20-30 DVD's and we do have a holder that holds them all out of their cases, but she usually only watches one.  And, the same one over and over.  This time she surprised me and watched 2 different ones and only once!

The next picture is taken at the Soo Locks.  I think Jessie's favorite place there was McDonald's where we stopped for snack-sized ice cream. 

Today, Sunday, Jon decided to stay home from church so the three of us went to Dimitri's for breakfast, along with the rest of Washington.  It was PACKED, which didn't go over real well with Jess.  No breakdowns, though.

We also had to do some grocery shopping, which I never do on a Sunday, unless I can help it.  The place was packed with people and screaming kids.  That really didn't go over well with Jess.  I managed to redirect her and she continued to scan all the groceries, but she wasn't happy.  There were too many squealing kids. 

It's been a nice quiet late afternoon and evening.  For a change I put a beef roast in the crock pot before we left to shop and we had a nice dinner.  I think a beef roast is my favorite meal, along with mashed potatoes, gravy, onions and peas.  Tonight instead of peas we had butternut squash from last fall.  I need to use it up before I start freezing more from this year.

Wrapping Up "Girlfriends With A Cause"

The ladies who were part of the "committee" for the Girlfriends With A Cause day that we did last month met for lunch today to review what we did right and where we could improve.  They are excited and want to do one every year, and have a new cause each time.  To date our fund raiser for the Teacher Training Scholarship Fund In Haiti raised over $2,500.00.  This total doesn't even reflect what the vendors sent in.  We'll know that amount next month.  We raised enough to have 50 scholarships!  Guess how many are on the waiting list?  50 !!!  Praise God. 

Rachel took Jessie to lunch at Ocean Breeze today and Rachel texted me while we were eating that when she asked for the bill, she was told that someone paid for their meal.  Wow, that was nice.

Jon had breakfast out then went to a couple of stores.  After my lunch meeting he went with me down to Lakeside to buy a new water filter for the refrigerator at Sears, bookends for the SM Resource Cart, and a book for me at FCS.  I also bought a couple of other things at FCS and when I got back to the van I realized the reason I wanted to go there was that I had a $25.00 gift certificate to spend.  I totally forgot it.  I sure wish I didn't feel like I left half my brain at home most of the time.

We had a nice chicken dinner tonight and ate on the deck.  It was a beautiful day and it was nice to eat out there again. 

I Have Returned

I want to THANK Becky, Anonymous, Karla P., Doreen, and Judy C. (and anyone else I may have momentarily forgotten) for their comments on missing my daily posts. That meant alot to me.  I have decided to return.  I miss blogging as much as others miss reading it.  Becky reminded me today that it has been 2 weeks since I last blogged. I didn't realize it was that long.  Let's see if I can quickly recap the last two weeks.

Four years ago last February (2009) Bill gave me a wonderful gift.  He watched the kids while I went to Haiti for 2 weeks to be with my good friend, Lois, who is a missionary in LaPointe, which is in the northwestern part of Haiti.  Then in October of 2009 he gave me another gift and watched the kids while I went on a two-week, 3,000 mile road trip with her out east to visit supporters and supporting churches.  She is currently in Michigan for another HMA and I left on Saturday, Sept. 14 for a 5-day visitation/vacation trip with her.  We visited supporters in Toledo, Ohio and Boardman, Ohio, which is near Youngstown.  This time Jon gave me this give of time away.  We also stayed at The Heritage Inn at Sauder Village in Archbold, Ohio for a couple nights for vacation and it was very nice. 

We returned at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 18.  I unpacked, washed clothes, repacked, packed up Jess' stuff and the kids and I left Thursday morning at 9:00 a.m. for 4 days in Mackinaw.  (I don't recommend this quick turn around for vacation!)  We stayed 3 nights in a hotel on the beach and I enjoyed listening to the waves on the shore. Both kids enjoy the Fort in Mackinaw and when Jon went to the Island, Jess and I shopped at Mackinaw Crossings and had lunch out.  We also drove up to Sault Ste. Marie to the Soo Locks, but we weren't there at the right time to see the big ships in the locks.  While we were in St. Ignace, we stopped at our favorite place to eat (The Galley) and Jon was able to get his whitefish livers and blue gill for dinner.  He was a happy eater!  Julie, Kylee, and Lynzee were also up in Mackinaw for the weekend and we connected for dinner on Saturday night at Audie's.  We arrived back home around 4:15 p.m. on Sunday. 

I had returned with such peace and I was so relaxed.  I haven't felt that good in over 3 years.  I really needed the time away.  However, as this week progressed, I have had a most difficult time adjusting to all the things I "have" to do and "want" to do.  I also hurt my right shoulder somehow and have to go to PT for several weeks which just adds to the calendar, not to mention another part of my body that hurts.  If I can just make it through October, I'll have plenty of time to relax when I have my knee surgery on November 7. 

Jon is doing good, although he is also in PT for a bad back, but he's improving very well.  Work continutes to be hectic.

Jess is, well, Jess.  She did really well while I was gone.  We Face-timed each night which helped her with me not being home.  Jon did a great job in caring for her and the house.  Debbie and Rachel, too.  We are dealing with panic attacks in Meijer's again with her.  I'll write more about that later.  I'll also try to post some pictures from our trip upnorth.

Until tomorrow, it's good to be back!

Another Good One From Jess

I went today to the doctor's office to have my knee drained and a shot of cortisone put in it.  Because I'm such a wimp, I had Debbie and Jessie go with me so Debbie could hold my hand.  (It's really painful and when the cortisone goes in, it feels like they are blowing up my knee!).  Anyway, as we walked in the room Jessie spied the ultra sound machine that they would use to guide the needle to the proper site, which was on, and said "Baby!"  Debbie's mouth dropped and she said, "She knows what that is?"  Laughing hard I said that Jess used to watch the baby channel and watch babies being born all the time.  Then I told Jessie that, "No, it's for my knee."  She looked at me, made a sign with her fingers and said, "Small baby?"  Still laughing very hard I said that if there was a baby in my knee, that I would be on the 6:00 news!  Way too funny.  Oh, by the way, for some reason, I didn't feel the cortisone go in at all!  PTL !!!!!!  Must have been the extra endorphin from laughing so hard! 

I am taking a break from blogging.  At least a week. Maybe two.  I need to re-evaluate the reason for continuing.  It began in 2010 as a means of daily communicating on Bill's progress with his cancer.  The secondary reason is to let people know what a full and great life someone with Down Syndrome can have.  Jessie is a blessing to us all and I want to let everyone know that her life is worth living and being a part of this family. I'll see.  Every three months I have that time period put into hard-bound books, so it is sort of like a diary.  I know that when Bill was alive he really enjoyed reading them.  I won't let Jess touch them.  I guess they will eventually be for Jon.  We'll see.

So, until a week or two, God Bless. 

Back To Bible Study!

Summer is officially over since Bible Study began again at Shepherd's Gate.  We are studying Beth Moore's The Patriarchs.  As always, it is very good and I enjoy the 5 out of 7 days of homework.  I LOVE to learn. 

Is It Saturday Yet?

Thanks to a very quiet Jessie and then Rachel's arrival at 9:00, I skipped Water Aerobics and stayed in bed until almost 10:00 a.m.  I never do that unless I'm sick.  I did have a headache, but I just needed to sleep.  I'm worn out.  My own fault, I guess, being involved in too many things.  Come Saturday, I'm taking a break.  I may not even blog for a week.  That'll be different, since I've blogged daily for almost 3 years!  We'll see.

I did paper work then had a meeting at church.  Picked up a fish and chip dinner for the kids and I because Stephen Ministry Continuing Education began again tonight and I was too lazy to fix a nice meal.  Just as I got there it looked like it was going to storm.  Sure enough, as people trickled in, many phones went off with the warning to take cover immediately as we were in a Severe Thunderstorm Warning.  It was pretty bad - very dark, too.  Jon said we lost power, but only for a few minutes - thankfully.  He had Jess in our storm closet. 

The weather hasn't changed much.  It's still extremely humid and the temp is 71 degrees.  I guess it's supposed to be in the 60's soon.  That's Michigan for you.  Yesterday was close to 100 degrees.

A Busy Day = Again

Stephen Ministry Leaders Meeting from 9-noon.  Lunch with Jon.  Walgreen's, Post Office and Home.  Paperwork, bank, home, short nap.  Dinner, and out to Lake Orion with Denise and Marilyn.  Marilyn and I led 2 mock supervision groups for a church's SM training session.  Jon went to PT today and is in alot of pain tonight.  Debbie and Jessie stayed indoors most of the day and did this and that.  Jess did swing, though, for awhile this morning. 

Can You Believe This?

Last week I mentioned that I had the van's sensors tell me that I had a low tire.  The front right one was low so I stopped at a gas station, pumped it up, and then took it to the dealers to see what was going on.  They checked it out and said that there wasn't anything wrong with the two front tires.  Probably the heat.  Right.

Friday morning when I was going out to begin packing the van to go to church for the fund raiser, I had a flat tire.  I called for road side service, they changed it and thanks to Debbie and Jessie for taking it to the dealers. There was a nail in the tire that couldn't be fixed so I needed a new tire.

Then they tell me that I needed new back brakes.  OK, there's only 20,000 miles on my van - brakes?  Discouraged I set an appointment for today and dropped off the van so they could work on it tomorrow.  They checked it early and I got a phone call an hour or so later stating that I DIDN'T need brakes.  OK, do you want to tell my how this happened?  They have no clue.  Maybe the oil change guy got two vans mixed up? 

Since I had no way of getting there I had the shuttle service come put up Jess and me.  Of course, he got lost and I about lost it when I had to retell him how to get to my house!  Jess did really well getting in the van and she talked all the way there, which is normal.  Not loud.  Just talked.  After all, she was out of her comfort zone.  When we arrived the driver made a comment about her talking all the time and how did I manage it?  Then he proceeded to tell me that he had a 55 year old niece with the same "disease!"  At that point I didn't know if I should laugh or cry!

Of course, since I've now gone to so much trouble and for their mistake, I can now have a FREE oil change.  Since I just had one done and Chrysler changed their guidelines to once every 10,000 miles, I have to wait about a year to cash in on my FREE oil change!

Also, my Uconnect quit on the way there so I had them try to reconnect it with my phone.  Forty-five minutes later !!!!!! the guy comes out to tell me I have to have a new radio because the current radio doesn't always pick up the signals from the new phones.  Really? It's been working fine since I got my new phone several months ago.  I can't wait to find out what else they may tell me when I take it back in for the new radio!

When I finally got home I noticed that I need a new water filter on the refrigerator.  And, the upstairs toilet wouldn't flush. I quit.  I'm going to bed.

 

Rest

Today was my rest day.  After going to bed earlier than normal, I was able to even sleep in today since Jon had to work.  Jess and I went to Dimitri's for breakfast, we came home and after taking some medication for pain, I iced my left knee, heated my back and right side and slept for almost 3 hours.  I feel much better now.  Jess occupied herself here and there.  She tends to enjoy her time alone, that's for sure.  At one point she told me to go get a book and read on the deck, so she could be alone in the family room.  I think not!  I stayed put, she went to her room. 

Girlfriends With A Cause

I would say that our event was a success.  There were not as many women as what we had hoped, yet everyone had a great time and even though the final tallies aren't in, I'm sure we raised over $1,000.00 for the Teacher Training Scholarship in Haiti.  That's 20 teachers who can be trained to evangelize Haitian children and teach the Bible.  Praise God.

We may have to do this again ... Girlfriends With A Cause ... with a different cause next year!  Wouldn't that be something if it could be an annual event?  It is alot of hard work, but so much fun.  A huge THANK YOU to all that donated an item, baked goodies, gave a raffle prize, cooked the food, set up, and much, much more.  I think for this being our first event, we ALL did a fantastic job. Way to go, everyone!  May God bless each one of you that had a part in our "Girlfriends With A Cause" day.

I didn't blog last night because I couldn't get on the internet.  I wasn't physically able to write much anyway, as yesterday was the hardest day - the set up.

Stuffed Cabbage

You're probably wondering where I'm going with this.  Well, Uncle Jack and Aunt Betty (Mom Sutton's youngest sister) were in town from Arizona and we met at Papous in Richmond for dinner.  Aunt Etta, who is the oldest living sibling and will turn 98 on September 18, was also there along with Chris, Joyce and John, Carol and me.  I decided to be brave and order something I never make:  Stuffed cabbage.  It WAS really good.  It was almost as good as my mom used to make.  We ate them alot growing up.  To my knowledge, I've never made them.  Maybe I'll be brave one day and try to make them. 

It's 12:23 a.m. and I'm still working on last minute details for the Fund Raiser.  Every time I think I've got it all done, I remember something else.  I should finish in a half hour or so.  I don't want to leave anything to do tomorrow, other than set up the gym.  I'm looking forward to Sunday when I can heave a big sigh and sit on the couch with my feet up and not feel like I need to do something for this event.

The Best Laid Plans ...

don't always happen, do they?  That's why we have to trust God that whatever happens in our day is directed by Him.  He allows it to happen for a purpose.  No matter what it is.  Because of the Girlfriends With A Cause event we're having on Saturday, I've anticipated that this week there would be numerous things going wrong.  I haven't been disappointed.

Yesterday the lawn mower wouldn't start no matter how many times I tried to get it started.  Today a friend from church, Rod, came and on the first pull the lawn mower started.  I wasn't very happy, but then I thought that maybe God was saving me from myself.  I would have cut the lawn and been unable to walk for days. Thanks, Rod.  I sure appreciate your help!

Today the tire gauge on my van indicated two low tires while I was out running errands.  I went and filled one up that was low but thought I'd better get them checked out and have the oil changed.  Two tires ok, oil changed AND I need new back brakes.  I really don't have time for this, but then I don't have time to have the brakes go out on me either.  Just not good timing. 

Oh, well, in light of the world's situations, my problems are so minor.  I just get frustrated when my day is different than what I planned.  At my age, you'd think I'd be used to it. 

Extra prayer is needed for all the women who are involved in this Fund Raiser.  Providing scholarships to train teachers to evangelize the children of Haiti isn't what Satan wants.  Please uplift all of us up to the Throne.  Let's all put on our armor of God and have a wonderful, profitable and fun day on Saturday in Jesus' name!

Rose of Sharon Trees

I have quite a few Rose of Sharon trees along the fence in the back yard and I have MANY seedlings that are in my garden.  I am planning on selling them at the Girlfriends With A Cause event on Saturday.  I hope to sell enough to pay for 2 Teacher Training scholarships.  Dorene came this morning and moved 6 of the largest ones and placed them next to the fence by the road.  In a couple years, they're going to be really nice.  It doesn't take them long to get tall.

I tried to work outside today.  Just walking on the uneven grass was enough to put me in quite a bit of pain.  It was discouraging.  Jessie was good for awhile outside swinging, but when she came in she spent the greater part of the day yelling at me and resisting anything Debbie asked her to do.  I've just about had it with this attitude lately.  She had quite a few time outs today, which didn't seem to make a difference. 

Finished!

We finished Lois' 30-year scrapbook of her career in Haiti around 4:30 p.m. this afternoon.  It looks pretty awesome, if I do say so myself!  If you're coming to the Girlfriends With A Cause day at SCCC on Saturday, you'll have to take a look at it. 

Ortha came with Lois and read a book while we worked.  When we finished we had a picnic dinner on the deck.  That was nice, but it was getting a bit nippy.  I decided to shut off the air, open the windows and put the upstairs ceiling fan on to bring in the cool air.  Now it's colder in the house than when the air conditioning was on!

Scrapbooking - Again

It was nice being back in church again on a Sunday.  Jon went to first service and I went to the second.  When I got home I fixed lunch for us, Lois came over and we scrapbooked for the next 7 hours, with a bit off to go to McDonald's for dinner.  That's about it for today.  Oh, wait - one more thing ...

Remember awhile back I told you about Jessie seeing the red hatters and saying, "Halloween!" at a restaurant?  Weellll ... it happened again, but this time they weren't red hatters.  We were in McDonald's at the pop machine and Jessie stood next to this woman who had what must have been a head band on with feathers sticking straight up in the air. She was dressed a bit wierd, too.  Jess took a look at her, then did a double-take.  She looked at me and said, "Halloween?"  I chose not to answer her because we were so close to the woman I was hoping she couldn't figure out what Jess said, only Jess says Halloween very clearly.  She repeated it and I had to say something.  "Well, I don't think so, Jess.  Let's just get our pop and get in the car."  Lois  was laughing so hard we barely made it out of McD's without making a scene.  And, she didn't hear what Jess said!  She was laughing at the head piece!  Ah, the gift of laughter!

Diane and Randie have had nice two days.  After Denise's wedding yesterday they went to the Hazel Park Race Track for the evening.  Today they went to the MSU grounds for the Llama and Alpaca Fest.  Then they went to the Potter Park Zoo.  She's sent me quite a few pictures.  I thought my goats with coats were funny.  You should see the Llamas and how they are shaved and brushed!