Shopping

Jon and I spent the entire day shopping with Lois. She's getting things bought for her needs in Haiti that can't be purchased there. We will then get them in rubbermaids and ship them to Port-de-Paix where someone will then drive them down to Port-au-Prince. She's hoping the items will be there when she returns in February of 2017.

Jessie and Jennifer spent time shopping at Kohl's. Jessie also worked at the Library.

Around 6:00 p.m. we went and dropped off a card at a friend's house, delivered Doreen's corn then ate dinner at Wendy's. From there we dropped in at Don and Rox's house for about a half hour, had an ice cream cone at McDonald's and returned home in the dark! We rarely are out after dark! Isn't that something? Jessie thought it was going to storm. I tried to convince her that it was just night time.

Corn and Onions

This morning Jon prepared most of his smaller onions to be dehydrated and began dehydrating. The machine is still running. Right after that, Doreen and I cut corn off the cob and Jon processed 10 pints of corn and I froze a couple bags. They are all for Doreen. It went very fast with 3 people. It's always nice to work together to do a project.

Jess and Rachel went to the pool but Jessie would not go in the pool. Apparently there were some kid classes and the pool she usually goes in to was full of them. Rachel got her in the kiddie pool for about 5 minutes, the hot tub for 10 then she was done. I felt sorry for Rachel. It's a lot of work getting them both ready and in the pool.. I think Rachel's going to try again on Friday. There usually are no classes on any Friday.

A Busy Social Day

At lunch time I went with the Wednesday Bible Study Ladies to Rochester to a BBQ place right on Paint Creek. We ate on the patio listening to the water rushing over rocks. I love that sound. The food was good, too. We then took a walk along the Paint Creek trail - maybe a half mile. Enough for me. It was hot and humid.

For dinner I went with the Glory Girls to another BBQ place to celebrate 2 birthday's. I had fish and chips. We haven't gotten together since May so it was nice catching up with everyone. Three husbands also came but they sat somewhere else!

I left for a meeting before Jessie got down stairs. When Angie got here she thought that Jon had given Jessie breakfast and Jon thought Angie was going to give her breakfast. Thus, no breakfast for Jessie. She never said anything, either! When Angie and Jon realized their misunderstanding, Angie took her for an early lunch. I asked Jess about not having breakfast and she just smiled. Apparently it didn't phase her any! I think it's funny.

Happy 60th Birthday, Lois

Yesterday, Saturday, Jon and I left at 10:00 a.m. and didn't return until 4:00 p.m. Lois' 60th birthday party was from Noon until 3:00 p.m. at church. It was a very nice day and everyone seemed to have a good time. The food was very good and the one game we played (How Well Do You Know Lois?) was fun. Lois' 60th birthday was while she was in Haiti, April 18. Keeping with the spring date, I decorated the tables with my birdhouses and we had a BBQ lunch.

Unfortunately, my body didn't do so well. I hurt so much when we got home that all I could do was sit on the couch the rest of the night and take pain medication. According to my Fitbit, I put in 7,391 steps. I usually do just over 5,000.

Jon was in bad shape, too. He did almost all the kitchen work. After we ate, he took care of boxing up all the left over food and cleaning the kitchen. I helped wash all the dirty pans, etc. that we used. Luckily I'm familiar with the industrial washer, as I used to cook for several months for our Day Care children's lunch many years ago.

The picture on the top left was taken Friday afternoon. The round blue table in the middle was for the cake and a couple balloons.

I was going to take pictures on Saturday but totally forgot the take any pictures. Bummer. I don't think anyone took any pictures either.








Today, Sunday, Jon went to church and I skipped it. I was still too uncomfortable to move much. I've spent most of the day on the couch.

Day Before The Party

Jon and I were able to go to church and decorate for Lois' birthday party. I'm so very glad we could do that. It would have made tomorrow very difficult for me. Everything looks nice and all we have to do when we get there is make the beverages and wait for the food to arrive.

Jessie and Rachel had a very busy day. They went out to breakfast and stopped at Frontier Town. Jessie fed the goats and tried on hats in one of the stores. She sure does love hats! They also went to Target and walked around. When we got home from church, they were watching Adventures In Babysitting, a Disney remake of an 80's movie.

Overwhelmed

The past 3 days have been filled from the time I got up until I fell in to bed. Right now I don't feel much like typing, but if I don't do it tonight, it might be a week before I "feel" like it.

Tuesday
I had lunch with my long-time friend, Janet. We had a nice time catching up. We used to work together in the office at Morgan Elementary. I haven't kept up with her like I should. I'm going to try my very best to have lunch with her again real soon.

Jessie's case worker, Vicki, came at 2:00 p.m. for our monthly meeting and to review what I needed for the local appeal hearing we were going to go to the next day. The county cut Jessie's CLS hours by 6 hours a week. From 21 to 15. I wasn't real happy with her since I've been asking her for a week or more exactly what they were looking for in justification. I had already typed up a 3-page letter for the appeal, but then she tells me they would need more. So, I finished the typing and preparing 3 sets of justification pages at 1:00 a.m.

Wednesday
Last day of Bible Study. I enjoyed redoing The Patriarchs, by Beth Moore. The group of ladies that came for this study decided we'd continue with another one. I'll be facilitating "The Me I Want To Be", by John Ortberg. This one is only a 5-week study.

Immediately after Bible Study I went home and picked up Jon, Jess and Jennifer and we went and quickly ate at McDonald's then we were at the MCCMH building for our 1:30 p.m. appointment. I was pleased with my presentation and the answers I gave the interviewer. Not it's in God's hands. I will be informed around September 10 whether or not her hours have been reinstated. If they aren't, I could go before a Medicaid Judge for a regular court hearing, but I just can't put myself through that. It always seems that the people that need the money or services the most are the ones that get things cut.

Since we were close to Mt.Clemens for the hearing, we went to the County Court Building and I renewed my CPL. I was in and out in about 10 minutes. On the way home we stopped at Dairy Queen and treated ourselves to a blizzard.

When I got home I couldn't do anything else. I sat on the couch and slept for 3 hours! After dinner I continued working on getting things ready for the Birthday Party Jon and I are giving Lois on Saturday.

Thursday
I did some last minute shopping for the party, as well as grocery shopping. Tonight I packed up all the items for the party because Jon and I can decorate at church tomorrow afternoon. Unfortunately, I found out I had bought round table cloths instead of oblong ones. Back to the Dollar Store tomorrow!

Jessie has been doing better lately. She's not complained about back pain now for a couple weeks. She's had a good week with her aides. On Monday, Angie's daughter and Jessie were fooling around with snap chat and produced this picture. Cute, huh?

Scrapbooking

I finished The Discovery this morning at 1:05 a.m. !!! I really liked it. It was a story within a story, based on historical facts.

Lois and I met for lunch at Leo's then came home and spent the rest of the day working on her ministry scrapbook. We finished it, but, not until 8:30 p.m. I am super tired and I know Lois was, too.

Angie spent the day with Jessie and had a good time - some of the time. They played outside, did puzzles, went out to lunch then went to the show to see "Pete's Dragon". Unfortunately, one hour into the movie Jessie was too scared to stay so they came home. She was very aggitated the rest of the afternoon and evening.

What A Nice Day

Not only was it a wonderful weather day, but a great spiritual day for me.

Jess and I ate a quiet breakfast then she went outside to swing in her hammock. When she was finished, I sat down and watched all 5 sessions of a DVD Book Study/Bible Study I'm facilitating in October. The book is, The Me I Want To Be, by John Ortberg. The book is wonderful, and the DVD sessions were better than being in church (don't tell anyone!). I can't wait to get together with the ladies and do this study.

I also continued reading my fiction book, The Discovery, by Dan Walsh. Another, oh my! I MUST finish it tonight. It is so good. Dan Walsh is an excellent author. Read one of his books.

Jess and I went to McDonald's for a quick lunch then she helped me cut vines that had overgrown a tree across the road and were scraping the top of our van whenever we came in the driveway. She also helped me pick up twigs and cut down some peonie bushes. I couldn't resist taking her picture as she rested.

Julie, Lynzee and Julie's dad stopped in for about 20 minutes to pick up a Route 66 salt and pepper shaker set I gave her dad. He drove all the way from California via Route 66. He'll head back on Wednesday. I explained to Jessie that he was Julie's dad. She left the room, came back with a picture and handed it to Julie. A picture of Bill. "My daddy." she said. I wanted to cry. The picture she brought was on the second shelf in a book case and she had to go around boxes I had on the floor to get to it. I didn't even know she knew the picture was up there.

Rachel came to watch Jessie while I went to church for the Wesleyan East District Ordination Service. Two of our own were being ordained, John and Lindsey G. It was an awesome service and once again, lots of suits! I've been praying for wisdom for a step in my future and I received my answer during the charge to the ones being ordained.

Jon finished his 30 days tonight at 7:30 p.m. He finished strong. I am proud of him. Now to see where God will lead him in the next months.

An Afternoon With Diane and Randie

Jess and I went to the post office, Walgreen's, Michael's, CQT then met Diane and Randie at Culver's for lunch. When we got back here, Diane worked on my computer updating it and reinstalling a photo copier that I had. I sure do appreciate her expertise. She thinks I'm capable of doing all she does, but I'm not.

While Jess wrote in her magazines, played with beads and watched her iPad, we watched the movie, "Bonnieville". It was sad and funny. It was just nice to sit and watch a movie. I haven't done that in quite some time.

Jon has one more day at work. He said that some of his residents were crying today and he told them: "Let's hold it together until tomorrow, shall we ladies? Only one day of crying!". He's too funny.

Free Ice Cream Day

Jessie had a great day with Rachel. They had breakfast out, shopped at Target, went to the park, and McDonald's for a free ice cream cone. When they got home, Jessie colored and did a mosaic art project.

Jon rearranged all his DVD's bringing them downstairs to the living room and moving his books upstairs. He's looking forward to Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. He walks out the door of his work for the last time. He's more than ready for a break.

Joyful Journey Ladies met late morning for brunch. This is the group that I have been part of for over 20 years. Women I used to work with. Women of different faith backgrounds yet we get together many times a year to worship, sing and pray. Not to mention encourage one another. I'm blessed to be part of this group.

My Day Out With Jon

Today was on the calendar as a Family Date Day, but we left Jessie with Rachel and just Jon and I went out instead. Breakfast, church, blood work for Jon, Family Christian Stores, Ollie's Outlet store, Applebee's for lunch, Gordon Foods, Sam's Club and the best stop of the day: 2nd. and Charles. Oh, dear. I do need a 12-step program for "bookism" I bought 12 books !!! I do have the best lending library around, though. I consider it a ministry. Not to mention I love to read.

Now, you'd think that with all the walking I did today I'd have walked more than 6,000 steps. Not. Only 5,101 as of this moment on my Fitbit. Well, I did use the electric cart at Sam's Club because my hip hurt so much. Oh, well.

Jessie and Rachel had a good day. They went to the Library, Meijer's shopping, Target, the Dollar Store and she folded towels and took a nap.

Scrapbooking

Lois came over this afternoon and we spent the day beginning to up-date her scrapbook that we worked on in 2013. We were able to do 10 pages! Gets me in the mood to do my own scrapbooks that I've been wanting to do, but find no time to do them. I guess I could quit reading for awhile. I'll have to think about that one.

I felt much better today, although if I coughed, sneezed or laughed, my stomach, chest and neck muscles complained. A lot. At least I had more energy that yesterday.

Jon returned to work. He has the next 2 days off then works Saturday and Sunday then he's done. Today they offered him a salaried position to get him to stay. His polite answer was NO. They also tried to mandate him another 4 hours (on-top of his already 12 1/2 hours) but again he made it clear it wasn't going to happen.

Jennifer couldn't work today so Angie came for a couple hours in the morning and took Jessie to Art. Rachel came in the afternoon and took Jessie to the Library to work. A different day for her.

Food Poisoning

Not much to say since I've been in bed or on the couch until 7:15 p.m. I began with food poisoning and many trips to the bathroom last night about 11:00 p.m. The food we brought home from the restaurant last night is in the garbage. Jon was sick to his stomach and Jessie complained of pain in the afternoon, but no trips to the bathroom for either one.

Jessie's Day

Angie came to be with Jessie today. They did a mosaic picture and went outside to swing. Jessie always used her hammock swing, but lately she's been favoring her regular swing. I'm not sure why, but that's what she's been using.

After lunch they went to Wolcott Mill Farm and walked around the entire area twice.

Angie stayed later while I took Jon to his rheumatologist appointment. He'll be starting on a new drug to see if it helps his joint pain and all around "not good" feeling. I pray that it will help. Would you please join me in praying for that, too? And that blood work will reveal what might be wrong with him?

The 3 of us went to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. There wasn't anyone in the place when we got there and by the time we left, there were just a few adults - no children. While I was paying for the bills, Jon took Jessie to the van. When I got out there, Jessie was in the midst of a horrible breakdown of some kind. It almost looked like and she acted like someone had given her something. She was screaming, pulling her hair, burping, blowing her nose without a kleenex. It scared me. Neither Jon nor I know what set her off. She kept saying "Bad Mom!", too, and I know I didn't do anything. All we could do was try to quiet her down and get home. She continued yelling and burping. I was beside myself. As we got near our home she got quiet and then said, "OK, God. OK, Daddy!" silence, then "OK, God." It was like she heard God and Daddy talk to her and she answered them. She went in the house, Jon sat with her for a few minutes on the couch then she sat down on the floor with her iPad and has been OK since then. I really don't quite know what happened tonight.

A Day At Chris'

Jon, Jess, Lois and I went to spend the day at Chris' house. Only Sean was able to join us as Ashley wasn't feeling well and Eric was at a friend's house whose father had passed away. We left right after church, picked up Lois and arrived in time for lunch. After we ate Sean took pictures of Lois for a new "prayer book mark" then we spent many hours playing Tenzie and eating dessert. Twice. It was a really nice day with lots of laughter. Something we all needed. Jess spent the entire time in one of Chris' bedrooms watching Full House on her DVD player and playing with her letter tiles.

God gave us a spectacular sunset to enjoy as we drove home:

I'm Good For Another Four Years

Unless I do something stupid, of course! I sat through a CPL renewal 3-hour class this morning then shot 50 rounds before I received my certificate. When I was finished, Jon and Jessie met me at Culver's for lunch. After Jon went his way to a couple stores and Jess and I went to Meijer's for a few items. When I got home my brain told me to buckle down and get a lot of paperwork done. My body said: NAP. So, I slept for 3 hours and 6 minutes (per my Fitbit). I feel a lot better tonight. I'll be doing paperwork when I'm done here.

Yet Another Very Humid Day

Rachel and Jessie went to breakfast, Target and Meijer's. I went to breakfast with a friend then the post office before I came home to stay in doors the rest of the day.

It was soooo hot and muggy and very, very humid again. Doreen and Ed came in the late afternoon and returned camping items they borrowed for Family Camp. While they were here it got dark to the north and there were huge rain drops. But, that was it for over our house. Apparently it hit by their house while they were gone.

When they left they went to church and Doreen sent me this picture of the clouds from the parking lot. Spectacular! But nasty. Romeo had a bad storm earlier in the day and there's a lot of tree damage and power outages, according to Chris.

Around 7:30 p.m. it got really still outside. It was very dark and it sure looked like we were going to be hit hard. We did get torrential rain for about a half hour, but that was all ... thank God!  I don't like storms, as I may have mentioned before.

Outdoor Adventures - Thursday, August 11

Yesterday Rachel, Jessie and I went to Outdoor Adventures where Brenda was camping and spent several hours with her.

Rachel and Jessie first went in the kiddie pool, along with Brenda and her nephew. They were in the pool for about an hour. Jessie did really well considering there were so many kids in the pool, too.

After they got dressed we went and ate lunch at the Snack Bar. We were going to eat inside but there were 3 screaming kids inside so we went outside to eat. They were even too much for me!

Even though it was in the lower 90's, the heat index was 99 with a full sun. We all started out playing the 18 holes of miniature golf but I pooped out after just a couple. I went and sat down under a large pavilion.

When golfing ended, there was an opportunity for Jessie to try to break a water-filled balloon. Like breaking a pinata. She had help from both Rachel and Brenda.

We all had a really nice day, but the heat took its toll on all 3 of us (Brenda, too, I think). After the drive home Jessie got her spot on the floor and I found mine on the couch. I was exhausted. Dinner consisted of ham spread sandwiches, grapes and kettle corn!

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Lunch at Subway after swimming. One happy girl.

















We had dinner at Wendy's tonight. Jon's french fries covered in cheese and bacon were much more appealing than her plain ones. She looked like a little birdie waiting for her worm.












Target practice with Jon this morning. Not bad. I'll take it. Obviously need more practice. CPL renewal class on Saturday. I should be OK.

Only 6 More Days

That's how many work days Jon has to "suffer" through until he can walk out the door for good. He looked whipped again tonight. If he were like most all the other employees who have left, he wouldn't be working his 30 day notice. At least he has no more 3 days in a row.

Angie worked today and will also work tomorrow because Rachel is on vacation, camping with her parents. I hope she has a nice, restful time, as she will soon start college - again.

Jessie did quite a bit of "school work" before lunch, then after lunch they went to the Nature Center. Jessie had a good day. She's been happier these past few days and not complaining of any side/back pain. I am so thankful for that. A happy Jessie makes for a happy household!

She was VERY excited when her Parents magazine came in the mail. She LOVES magazines. She goes through each one and underlines or crosses out almost every word. Sometimes she'll copy words in the magazine. She especially loves magazines with babies in them. If there's a magazine I want to look at, I better grab and hide it so I'll be able to read it!

Single Women's Luncheon

Today 5 of us met for lunch after church time. A friend suggested that I organize this group and see what happens. All 5 of us want to meet for lunch after church on a Sunday once a month and then do something afterward. Today 2 women came back to the house to play games. Chris came by later and we played another game then had sandwiches for dinner. Chris was the last to leave at 10:00 p.m. It was a very nice day. Jessie was the best she has EVER been at a restaurant with a group of people. She was very quiet and wrote in her book when she wasn't eating.

Just You And Me Day

Jon had to work, so it was just Jessie and me. We ate breakfast, I wrote out some bills, we went to the post office, bank, Walgreen's, Meijer's grocery shopping and McDonald's drive thru for Jessie. Jon had bought some liver sausage the other day and I had a liver sausage sandwich with a huge slice of an Orange Wellington tomato from the garden on it. Yummy!

While we were at Meijer's Jess saw what she thought was chicken poppers and began to run over to them. Unfortunately, her shoes didn't follow with her legs and she fell. That was so not Jessie. She rarely falls. I think it shocked her more than anything, as she didn't know if she should cry or not. She does have one scraped and swollen knee tonight.

Not only did that upset her but we got in line and we were putting our groceries on the belt when a young mother with 2 small boys got in line behind us. That in itself was enough for a panic attack. Add one of the boys whined and cried the entire time. The mother totally ignored the child, as if he wasn't even there. I did all I could to manage Jessie not having a full blown panic attack. She was close to one but I kept telling her the boy wasn't hurt. Just crabby and he needed a good spanking. I would have liked to spank the mom, too! We just can't seem to go anywhere that there isn't some child crying.

Company For Dinner

While Jessie and Rachel met Vicki and Rachel's mom, Jane, for breakfast, I met a friend at the Rec Center and we walked in the lazy river for 25 minutes, hung in the deep end for my back and sat in the hot tub. Afterwards, I met Jon for lunch then went to Kohl's and Michael's.

Jessie and Rachel shopped at Target then went swimming at the Rec Center, too. They didn't go on Tuesday because they went bowling with Brent.

Our friend, Heather, came for dinner tonight. We met her years ago at the Garden Grille, where she was a waitress. She stayed on when it became Benny's and now works at another restaurant. We've kept in touch and it was nice just sitting down and chatting instead of a few sentences here and there over a meal at the restaurant.

Family Date Day

We planned a Family Date Day for today weeks ago and we were going to go up to the thumb of Michigan and back down on the Lake side. However, we had to begin our day at the doctor's office for a re-check on Jessie. All her blood work came back wonderful, as did her ultra sound. (Praise God!) So, back to square one. I'm going to treat it like gas, I guess. We'll see how she responds to papaya pills or GasX when she's having pain. At least we know there isn't a stone stuck somewhere or something is wrong with her kidneys or liver.

We ended up going to Algonac, Marine City and St. Clair before coming back home. Next time we'll go further. Jon took a nap when he got home, Jess played on her iPad and I also took a nap. We went out to dinner as a way of ending our "date day".

Art and an Ultrasound

While I had Bible Study, Jennifer took Jessie to Art class. As you can see from the picture it is very different. Paint, hot glue, cardboard and aluminum foil were used in the project. She's doing so many nice Art projects that I will have to set up a room as her own personal Art Gallery!

I left Bible Study early because she had her Ultrasound scheduled for 1:15 in Lake Orion. Jennifer went with us. BTW. I was very proud of Jessie as she could not have any food or water 6 hours before her test. She never asked once for food or drink. That was amazing.

The technician wasn't too happy that Jessie wouldn't lay down on the bed, but she managed to get good pictures while Jessie sat in a regular chair and leaned back. I thanked her for thinking "out of the box" and accommodating Jessie's phobia to hospital beds.

We ate lunch at Culver's before coming home. Jennifer and Jessie played a Memory Game and I sat and rested. I was tired. After Jen left I also took a nap.

Did I mention that I bought myself a Fitbit? I bought the Alta Fitbit. Experts say we should walk at least 10,000 steps a day. I'm barely making 5,000. However, I have had 2 days of just over 5,000. One of them being last night.  Before I went to bed, I noticed I was short by less than 50 steps so I went back downstairs and walked around the dining room table so I'd be over the 5,000 steps. My goal is to be consistent for a week of over 5,000 steps then try for 6,000. Then 7,000. Then finally the 10,000.

Jessie's Bowling Day - Yesterday

Rachel and Jessie met Jessie's best friend, Brent, at a bowling alley yesterday morning after lunch at McDonald's. As you can see from the picture, they are best buds.

Brent's mom is holding Jessie's hand while she bowls. Everyone was laughing at Jessie because after she threw each ball, she wiggled her butt !! That's my girl!

Friends

The 3 amigas. Rox, me and Doreen. Rox had the two of us over for lunch this afternoon. We had a chicken salad and fresh fruit. Very, very nice. We sat on her new patio and enjoyed each other's company.

I took Jessie to the doctor's late this afternoon because she complains each day about the pain in her upper right side. They took a urine sample (it was OK), blood work and tomorrow she's going to have an ultrasound. Unfortunately, we have to go to Lake Orion to have it done. Thursday she has a follow-up with our primary doctor.

We ate a quick dinner at Hardee's (yuckh!) then at 7:00 pm I had our SM Supervision Group at the house. They left around 8:30 p.m. Since no one had a Care Receiver, we shared about what God has done in our lives lately and I also played the song, "Dear Younger Me", by MercyMe. We each wrote a paragraph congratulating ourselves on something that we were proud of that we had done as a younger me. (Verses concentrating on the negative.) Listen to the song if you get a chance. I really like it. It makes you think.

Harvesting and Dehydrating

Jon harvested 20# 8 oz of potatoes this afternoon, as well as peeled scores of garlic and put them in the dehydrator. He's going to make garlic salt and garlic powder. We had the tiny potatoes for dinner, along with Rainbow Trout and glazed carrots. They were soooo good. There's nothing better than freshly harvested potatoes.

Jessie had a follow-up appointment for a hearing test then to see the doctor. All is well. Both tubes are still in place, open and no sign of infection. I'm so thankful. Next visit = 6 months.