So what's going on over here, you ask? The GRAND children are here. :-D So are Brent and Kayla's dogs for the extended weekend. Having an 8 week old puppy here, is both amusing and busy! Watching the dogs and the grand kids interact, is highly entertaining! Brian ruptured his Achilles Tendon last weekend and will be off his foot and out of work for up to 3 months. Surgery is scheduled for next Thursday and a recovery time frame of 10 to 12 weeks. Analyse's 3rd birthday party is going to be in Michigan this year, so I have begun working on 'details' for that. I haven't been on line (not even on Pinterst) in two days! Does that tell ya anything? Smirk. Kate was in town and I got to spend a bit of time chatting with her. :-> Pam R. stopped by and got to smile with her :-D Our friends the Tromp's blessed us both with their visit and their 'care package'. Not going to be able to get down to our nieces bridal shower today, seeings how neither Brian nor I can drive and other 'details'. Planning on making (our legal) Aunt Billie's 80th Birthday party tomorrow. So what's going on around here? oh, just the usual craziness ;-p

My man's birthday ;->

    Tomorrow is this man's birthday -->

   He is my handsome husband -

   (no idea what it was we were watching on the TV, when this shot was snapped - honest. I am SURE however that I am making a face over what it was on the TV, not at Brian!!! o;->)
   My wish for his birthday, is that I could grant him numerous hours of this -->

   He has so-o-o earned them!!!

  HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRIAN !!!  I Love you!!!!

~ : - > ~ ~ ; - > ~ ~ : - > ~ ~ ; - > ~ ~
THIS is what I wrote about him last year on his birthday ;->

Wedding Weekend - Saturday - part 2 - The Tux's

    Back on August 4th, I had told you about the awesome deal God had lead us to for the tux's. In THIS posting, I had mentioned how 'so far' only one pair of pants needed hemmed. That particular pair had been Brian's. They needed shortened. No biggie, I could always just tack them up at the seams if the time crunch got that bad. But then Brent had tried his on. Wouldn't you know it - the groom's of all people's, were too short. 8-/ I mean up just above his ankles too short. Yup, we got nervous there for a couple of minutes. I commented on how I could easily turn them into capries.... he didn't seem very amused, so I should have stopped, but couldn't. I then offered to make them into nickers. (chuckle, chuckle). Good thing I was watching his reaction, other wise I might not have been able to dodge that look he sent my direction. o;-p
   Thankfully, once we let the existing hem down, the problem was fixable, but what a time I had, trying to iron the old hem lines crease out of that material!!! It badly wanted to stay put, but I was informing it it needed to leave! ! ! Once we got to the point of a compromise that I hoped wouldn't show too much, I stopped ironing and started pinning it up to sew. That was Saturday morning. After I had finished the cakes. And taken a shower and put curlers in my hair.
    I got one leg of one of the pairs of pants hemmed and it was time to head to the church. Okey-dokie. Sigh.
    Once we got to the church, while others were doing other things, I finished the pants. :-D

    Here's a picture of our four sons in their tux's. They make my heart smile! ;->

    Can you tell that their dad (my husband) was the one taking the picture and that he had said something to make them laugh before snapping the shot?

     Here's Brent with his best friend / best man (Adam) -

      look at their eyes, they were up to something! A-typical for those two! ;-p

    And here's the groom (Brent) with his dad (Brian - my husband) -

      PLEASE do NOT ask what they were doing to one another behind their backs! Crazy guys! ;-p

   Reminder - you can click on each of the pictures to see them larger / clearer, then click on the arrow up in the left corner of your screen, to come back to the posting.

    This concludes this edition of my bragging sessions about Brent and Kayla's wedding. Editions yet to come are: the wedding flowers, the decorated church, the altered wedding dress, the beautiful bride, etc..
    Hope you don't mind. Actually, if you do, please stay away for about a week, while I get all of this out of my system. ;-p

about my birthday -

    One day a week ago, when Byron had called me, I could tell from the sounds I was hearing, that he had put the phone down and I was on speaker phone. Occasionally I could hear little sounds which had to be coming from Elliot. Byron said that Elliot was sitting in a seat on the table, right next to where he'd sat the phone. I liked that! I want him familiar with this grandma's voice too!
     Byron was working at fixing something to eat and we were talking when suddenly I heard Analyse enter the room, singing. Byron asked her who's birthday it was. She didn't know, she just wanted him to sing the 'Happy Birthday' song with her!
     I volunteered the information that my birthday had been the week before, and that she could sing it to me. "Oh Mom, I'm so-o sorry! I did call you from work late that night, and I had meant to have her call you the next day, but then...". I reassured him that I was not at all upset. Good intentions often get misdirected by life. They just do.
     He asked Analyse if she wanted to sing 'Happy Birthday' to grandma, then informed me that she was vigorously shaking her head yes while smiling ear to ear. All righty then!
     In an ever so cute sounding way, with a very clear pitch, and very precise pronunciation, Analyse began singing the song to me. I tell you folks, my heart melted right then and there!!!
     She sang a bit and then seemed to stall. I heard Byron start up where she had ended and then her join him. After a few words, Byron's voice dropped off and Analyse carried on for a bit, before again seeming to stall. This continued throughout the entire song. Byron told me later that every time she stalled, she had sort of cocked her head at him and given him this look like 'why aren't you singing with me?!?'. He had wanted me to be able to hear her, not be drowned out by his voice.
     Hear her I did. And loved it!!! So much so, that I am seriously considering calling them and requesting that she sing it to me again. And then maybe again the following week. And then...   o;->

     The in-town kids and Brian, had taken me out to Cracker Barrel(R) for dinner. I like that place!
     Brian gave me a White Castle(R) glass, which he had bought for me the last time we had visited our out of state kids. Cyndi really likes White Castle. As do I. And Brian thinks they are pretty good. Byron, however, does not care for them. So if I get the chance while I am there, I always make sure that somebody goes and picks some up for Cyndi and I. Hey, I am a considerate mother-in-love, who is willing to sacrifice like that for my daughter-in-love. o;-p

    At dinner, Benson didn't have a card for me. I did however, learn who the money laying on the kitchen counter belonged to. Benson had given it to Brian, asking him to please pick up a card for me, from him .... What was that I had said earlier, about good intentions getting misdirected by life?  chuckle, chuckle....
    Brent had handed me his (and Kayla's) card, while wearing a big smirk on his face. I expect nothing else from him. ;-p   The outside of the card read, "For your Birthday, here's the perfect Bumper Sticker for someone in your age group!  Across the inside, there actually is a bumper sticker attached, which reads, "I'm OLD! I'm SUPPOSED To Leave My Turn Signal ON."  Underneath that, it said, "Enjoy!" with "I Love you mom" in Brent's hand writing above his signature and then Kayla's signature (using her 'going to be' last name ;-p)

     Brandon had joined us quite a ways into the meal (he had been working). He walked in carrying two cards. Ought-oh. Smirk.
     On the outside of the first one, there is a picture of a very young child, two bottom teeth showing, the child is obviously wearing his daddy's sun glasses, and the child is asking, "What do you have to do to get a bottle around here?" The inside of the card reads, "Hope you get what you want for your birthday!"  "Love ya  Brandon"

     I did! I had lunch and time with a friend (keep reading... you'll come to that info. ;-]) I got dinner at Cracker Barrel(R) with most of my family, and then dessert en-route home with them at Dairy Queen(R).  And I had a whole slew of on line well wishes, from friends and relatives. Oh, and cards from both Brian and my parents, as well as a singing phone call from my Dad and Joan. :-D

     The front of the second card from Brandon, showed a chimp sitting next to a phone, holding the receiver in his hand. Below that it read, "I better not hear any crap about how upset you are that I missed your birthday. I mean, how do you know I wasn't in a serious car accident and lying in some ditch out inthe middle of nowhere? Or maybe I was trapped in an abandoned well or mineshaft? Stuff like that happens, you know! Well, I may have forgotten your birthday, but I didn't exactly get any phone calls to see if I was okay."    The inside of the card read, "All I know is, you better have a darned good excuse why I didn't hear from you on your birthday!"      "Uh, by the way, I hope it was happy."       "Love ya, Brandon"      He hadn't thought he'd be able to get out in time to join us, so had bought the first card. He had picked up the second one in the gift shop part of the restaurant, before joining us at the table. Then decided 'what the heck', and given me both!

    Yup, I have a crazy family. Have grown to appreciate that about them!

    Yesterday while my 'chauffeur' Amy was driving me around picking up some wedding prep supplies, she gave me a 24 case of cans of Pepsi(R). How in the world did she ever guess?  o;-p

    The day of my birthday, I had gotten a surprise phone call from Debbie G.. She had then taken (and treated) me to a late lunch out. I was thrilled! I hadn't seen her in w-a-y too long, and been missing her something fierce!!!

     Let's see - it's 1:40 now where the kids are... I wonder if Ms. Analyse is down for her nap, or if she could sing to me again ..... o;->

      This is a picture of her that Benson sent to me....  :->!

our boys and their dad

    Twenty three years ago this morning, I gave birth to our youngest son. His arrival meant that we had four sons under the age of 6 1/2. Yes, I too know people whom have more, and even closer together in ages, but for our little family, those four in that time span, equaled non-stop craziness!!!
     It didn't take us long to dub them "Seek", "Destroy", "Destruct", and "Dismantle". No one title always applied to only one child, they all just always made sure all positions were covered. Oh the stories I could tell. Oh the stories I have told. ;-p
    But this posting isn't about those times. It's about what has evolved out of them.

                                        (at Byron and Cyndi's wedding.
                       You can click on the picture if you'd like to see it better)

    During all of their growing up years, Brian (my husband, their dad) almost always worked at least two jobs. I say 'almost always', because we seemed to always feel full effect of the economy. Many a time he would get a good job, just to be let go down the road a short ways, due to a shift in the economy and down-sizing or 'belt-tightening' by employers.
     And I said "at least two jobs", because there were many periods during which he juggled three. And us, his family.
     For years, Brian lamented to me about how he wasn't a very good daddy. And/or he would get highly disappointed in himself, due to needing to work so many hours in order to support us, thus not having much time to spend with his boys.
     And yes, he NEEDED to work that many hours. 'Below the poverty line' was a normal thing for us to see when doing our yearly taxes.
      But this posting isn't about how hard or how many hours he averaged working either. It's about what evolved out of what he did do, when he wasn't working.
  
      I remember m-a-n-y a time, Brian arriving home from work so tired he could hardly pick his feet up to drag himself up the porch steps, and yet still allowing four rambunctious young sons to climb on, or wrestle with him. Often all at once. And the times that I attempted to call them off, he would silence me.
      I remember the times that we went camping. Including the times that the boys and I headed out on Friday and he joined us after he was done catering on Saturday. Whether he had been there the whole time, or if he joined us later, he would tell me to grab my book and sit by the camp fire, cooking him up some delicious food, while he and the boys headed off to play in the sand, or wrestle in the water, or whatever else they came up with to do that time. But always, it wasn't about Brian catching his breath or taking a break, it was about time with his family. And he figured since I 'dealt with them' the mass majority of the time, I deserved some calm for a bit. (Although he often did word it, that I was to rest up for him for after the boys went to sleep. ;-p)
      I remember many a time while he was working nights at his regular job, plus morning/lunch hours at the caterers, him still wanting me to make sure he got up in time to attend a sons home sports game. And if I pointed out how little sleep he'd had - sometimes three hours for what was suppose to equal his 'night's sleep', he would remind me that he could sleep when he died. (I guess he thinks the Lord is gonna give him a rest period, before joining his beautiful base voice to one of His quartets.)
      If we were involved in doing some type of volunteer work (most often meaning either a) we were doing the food for some church or camp event, or b) he was doing the sound for it, or often c) both) then our boys were learning the ropes working right along side of us. Didn't matter that in actuality, we often could have done the job much faster with out their help. "They learn best by doing."
     But this also isn't about all of the things that I remember. It's about the relationships with his sons that evolved out of all of the above.

    I find it very interesting, that for him "not being a good daddy", he is the one they call, or corner in the kitchen or bathroom, when somethings not right in their world. Or when something exciting happens. Or when they just start talking.
    "The girls" have commented on how my guys will get to talking, and talking, and talking, and about how often it's not about any one thing, "they just like to talk to one another, especially if dad is around."
     Often if we fix our plates in the kitchen, intending to sit in the living room to eat and watch something, it takes awhile for the guys to actually join us. They always insist that us ladies fix our plates first and then they fix theirs, but in the mean time, they get to talking. And talking. And talking. Often blended with bursts of laughter. Which if we call in, inquiring about, we're asked, "are you sure you want to know?". Most often, my answer is no. I've learned. ;-p There's been many a time they call out to tell us to go ahead and start eating. To us, it's a sign we probably won't be watching whatever it was. ;-b.
    
     When the out-of-state-kids are in town and we're planning to do something as a family, all of the boys insist that we wait till dad gets home to go do it. Even when Brian says to go ahead and he'll catch up with us. "He had to miss enough things when we were growing up, due to working so you guys could feed us. It's wrong not to wait for him now."
     There have been many times that he (Brian) thinks he's "bribing them" with dinner out if they all pitch in and help do church (he's the janitor). They chuckle and claim that they just like going out to eat with their father. "It's always more fun when he's along."

                            (Brian with his sons, before Byron's wedding)

      I marvel at the relationship our grown sons have and are still building with their dad. No, they don't always take his advice the first time. They often ask for it and then choose to try things their own way first. Sometimes they are right. But not always. And oh is it sweet to hear them tell him, "guess I should have listened to you in the first place, huh?"  ;-]
     And no, they haven't always made what their father would consider the wisest of choices on some matters. But it is comforting to see them come to him, seeking council to straighten things up again.
     If he had truly been a 'bad daddy', his in-put would be anything but welcome!

     I have been mulling this posting over in my mind for quite awhile. And then last night when I went looking for Brian, I learned that he was with Brent, in the bathroom, talking. One on 'the throne', the other sitting on the edge of the tub. Talking.
     And today is Brent's birthday, re-reminding me that all of our sons are no longer "boys", but rather they have grown into 'men'.
     And then almost directly back to back, I read THIS posting on the blog 'a holy experience' and THIS posting on Jen's '11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven'.
     I knew it was time to stop mulling, and start typing!

p.s.
I used pictures from Byron and Cyndi's wedding because,
a)  I hadn't really planned ahead of time to do this posting TODAY. So therefore, I hadn't yet dug through all of our box's of pictures to find a cute/good picture of Brian with all four of our young sons in it.
b) I did go through this box of pictures sitting next to the desk, but, as you would expect,I found pictures with all but this son, then all but that son, then all of the sons, but you couldn't really see all of their faces, because it was a shot of everyone opening presents. Or...
c) But I am 'suppose' (;->) to be adding pictures to postings on a more regular basis, and I really am trying ... (whoops, guess I should have used the words 'attempting to'...o;-p)
d) So Benson helped me find the pictures from their wedding which are stored in one of our computers files....
You've got some pictures. Your Welcome ;-b!

posting from Brian -

I will live my life according to these beliefs

GOD does not exist

It's just foolish to think

That there is a an all knowing GOD with a cosmic plan

That an all powerful GOD brings purpose to the pain and suffering in the world

Is a comforting thought however

It

Is only wishful thinking

People can do as they please without eternal consciences

The idea that

I am deserving of hell

Because of sin,

Is a lie meant to make me a slave to those in power

“The more you have, the happier you will be.”

Our existence has no grand meaning or purpose

In a world with no GOD

There is freedom to be who I want to be

But with GOD

Life is an endless cycle guilt and shame

Without GOD

Everything is fine

It is ridiculous to think

I am lost and in need of saving

And thats how I felt before Christ opened my eyes changed my heart and reversed my thinking

I am lost and in need of saving

It is ridiculous to think

Everything is fine

Without GOD

Life is an endless cycle guilt and shame

But with GOD

There is freedom to be who I want to be

In a world with no GOD

Our existence has no grand meaning or purpose

“The more you have, the happier you will be.”

Is a lie meant to make me a slave to those in power

Because of sin,

I am deserving of hell

The idea that

People can do as they please without eternal consciences

Is only wishful thinking

It

Is a comforting thought however

That an all powerful GOD brings purpose to the pain and suffering in the world

That there is a an all knowing GOD with a cosmic plan

It's just foolish to think

GOD does not exist

I will live my life according to these beliefs

Nov. 18th - I'm Thankful for: "

     Brian. My husband. It's his birthday today :-).
     On Nov. 4th, I posted: "The fact that my husband is not only my husband, but he is also my friend."
     As many of you whom have known me for years know, I had once been 'engaged' to a different guy. No, he hadn't yet officially given me an engagement ring. My parents had stated that I had to finish high school first. But the agreement between the two of us had been, that we were engaged.
     And then God started showing me that while he was a nice guy, he wasn't right for me.
     Being the ever so submissive person that I am (o;-p), I fought God for months over it. Not a wise move. Nope. Man is God ever persistent about 'getting his way'!! He wore me down. And He opened my eyes. Eventually I said that I would break up with the guy, but then I added "But only for the summer. You have till I start college to prove to me that I'm doing the right thing God!" (Nope, I'm not a bit stubborn. ;-p)
     But God won. He was ever so right!!! Looking back over our marriage, I can not imagine going through a lot of what we have, with that other guy as my husband. Like I said, he was a nice guy. In no way am I trying to 'tear him down'. It's just that "we" weren't right.
     But Brian has been an amazing husband to me! He  - Loves - Me! And he finds little ways to demonstrate that to me, all of the time!
     Like last night. He watched the Thanksgiving themed cook-off between Iron Chef's Bobby Flay and 'The Pioneer Women' (Ree Drummand) with me. We both highly enjoyed it! But afterwords, he went into the DVR settings, and changed the setting for that particular recording from "Save till the space is needed" to "Save till I delete it". His explanation for doing so? "You really like her, and I know that your going to want to show it to some of your friends." Does he know me or what? But the cool part is, he not only knows me, but those little things matter to him. How cool is that?!?!!! I am so-o-o-o blessed!
     Like I shared in that Nov. 4th posting, "I am well aware that not every wife can state such. (then it was about how not every wife can state that her husband is also her friend. But it also applies to, not every women can state that her husband cares about the little things that matter to her.) I wish they could! My heart is very heavy for some friends that can't. It has been so heart warming to watch as my prayers in this area have been being answered for one particular friend! Thank-you Lord!!! Now, about those other ones..... o;-p"
    I remember one time y-e-a-r-s ago, when we were so far past broke (at least from our perspective). I had not had any Pepsi in over a week and a half. Honest! And I hadn't been complaining either. That wouldn't have helped the situation at all! But late one night, upon arriving home from a catering job, Brian presented me with a big 3-liter (they marketed those for just a short amount of time) of Pepsi. I tell you, it was like he was presenting me with multiple dozens of roses!!!!! How was he able to suddenly do it? The job he had worked that night, had given him a cash tip. We had been praying it would, the gas tank really needed it. But he said that HE wanted to put some 'go-juice' in my tank as well ;-p. So-o-o sweet! So thoughtful! So loving!!!
    No, Brian and I do not always see eye to eye on everything. Nor is he perfect. But I love him. And he loves me! And for that, I am very very thankful!!!
      

The 2010 "I'm Thankful for: " Challenge   - if you don't know what this is, follow the lead on our side bar.

now off of the list v/

       I have done a great deal of pondering over whether or not I was going to do the 'in my mind' proposed postings for this series. Perhaps I should just skip posting about them ... Or maybe I could post them without admitting how long these particular things have been on our 'to-do' lists .... but most likely somebody would remember that I had posted about them going to be done, or needing to be done, (or whatever applies to a particular posting) way back when ....  Then again, maybe if I did both post them and admit to how long they had been on our list, it would be encouragement to others that they too could tackle things which have been on their own lists for a long time .... And around and around the pondering went ....
      And then one day last week our neighbor / friend Chris settled it for me. Brandon and I were at their house - Chris was driving Brandon to get additional parts for his 'in the process of being worked on' truck, and Chris's wife Amy was again being my chauffeur - this time running me to the bank and an attempted grocery shopping expedition.
     A-n-y-ways, Chris pointed out a project he had just finished, and talked about when it was that he had actually started working on their dining room....   Chris, it looks sharp! And thanks for un-knowingly helping me decide on whether or not to post these posting and openly admit about them being on our list for a long time! ;-)
      HOPEFULLY, many of you reading these will be inspired/ encouraged to keep at your 'lists' too!!! ;-)

      [inserted note here - v/ = the closest thing I could make to a check mark! )

      Now off the list - no. 1 -

      Decorating the den. Okay, I see those questioning raised eyebrows. Your asking why 'decorating the den' would be something that remained on our 'to do' list for a long time. In deciding to actually do these postings, I also decided that I am not going to try and 'splain away, or make excuses, for why they remained un-done for so long. All I will say for this particular one, is that in this house, the den is right off of the dining room, and over the years, it has become a great "oh, just put it in there out of the way for now" area. I know lots of you have similar areas, and some of you will even admit to having them o;-p.

     Many years ago now, Brian and I had stopped at an Estate Sale out in an area we seldom traverse ... maybe it was while "Mandy" was living with us and we were driving her back and forth from her special school, not sure. Any-ways, as you have caught on to, I remember both where this particular Estate Sale was, and even what the inside of the house was like. Usually we travel together through such sales. That time, we both seemed to be being pulled this or that way from one another. I remember having gone looking for Brian, spotted him in an area that didn't contain anything which captured my fancy, so I wandered away again. Then I went back to check on him, and then again, and then... what in the world has he found, that's got him so enthralled?!?!!!
     It was this envelope -

      As many of you know, Brian is a HUGE Muppet's fan!!! The Muppet's Show started airing around the same time as when we got married. We use to literally schedule our life around being home to watch that show! (hey, that was before VCR's, etc.!!!  Yeah, ancient history ;-p)
     Inside the envelope Brian had spotted, were six (6) very detailed sketched drawings of three (3) of The Muppet characters. One wasn't that impressive, but the other five... they were indeed impressive! The large brown envelope even included the original mailing label! There was no way we weren't buying them!
      Over time we have also collected lots of The Muppet's movies, and some of their books, as well as this and that thing .... always with the intention of displaying all of them together some how.
      Then a few years ago the boys and I decided that for that years Father's Day, we were going to purchase nice frames for the drawings, and decorate the den with a Muppet's theme.
      We got the frames purchased.... We got all of the misc. 'stuff' into the den... but we never actually got around to packing up the other 'decorations' that were in there, etc.. Thus the project remained on the infamous 'to - do' list.

       I am ever so happy to report that it's now been checked off of that list!!! :-D  With Benson helping me carry out all of the stuff that was in there so I could pack it away for now, and Brandon doing some extreme dusting, and Brent hanging and arranging things for me.... the project got completed!! :-)

       That evening I had the lights in the den on when Brain got home, so he glanced in there while walking by, and then he did good! Brian usually does not get all that excited over things - but he glanced in there while walking by, stopped, backed up, turned and walked into the room while loudly declaring "Oh WOW!".   :->!!!
        Here are pictures of what he spotted -

               (Still need to get a frame for the Life magazine ...)

                    (The Muppet's Christmas Carol is a yearly MUST WATCH in this house!!!)

    (see the 'pink bunny' sitting contently in Kermit's arms, recognize them from our 'profile picture'? ;-p)


         HOPEFULLY,  you too have now been encouraged to tackle something which has long been on your 'to-do' list!   If so, tell us about it!

- * - * - * - * - * - * - * -
For the record - NO, Brian is NOT interested in collecting any and every thing Muppet's related .....

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

I 'plan' on linking this particular posting up to:
~ "Making Your Home Sing Monday('s)", are hosted by Nan, at 'Mom's the Word (I love to hear)' (http://momstheword--livingforhim.blogspot.com/).
~ "Homemaker Mondays ... Yours, Mine & Ours", are hosted by Jen, at '11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven' (http://rtheyallyours.blogspot.com/).
~ "2nd Time Around Tuesday('s)", are hosted by Diane, at 'A Picture is Worth 1,000 words' (http://diane1876.blogspot.com/),
~ "Market Yourself Monday", are hosted by Sumo, at 'Sumo's Sweet Stuff' (http://sumossweetstuff.blogspot.com/)
  ~ "DIY Day('s) {Do it yourself day('s)}", are hosted by Kimba, at ASPTL (A Soft Place To Land) (http://asoftplacetoland-kimba.blogspot.com/).
~ "Whatever Goes Wednesday('s), hosted by Michelle, at 'Someday Crafts'
(http://somedaycrafts.blogspot.com/)

and the 'Red Green Award' goes to ...

       The 'Red Green Show' is a show that is carried on most PBS (Public Broadcasting Stations) stations. It is definitely a 'guys show'. But over time lots of us women have learned to enjoy it too. The show is about a bunch of the members of a 'guys lodge'. The main character is a middle aged fellow whom believes anything can be either fixed or rigged by using duct tape. His name is 'Red Green'.
       Brian came out of work last evening to see that one tire on the van was exceptionally low. He was very thankful to find that "the boys" had left Brandon's portable air compress-er in the back of the van, after having used it on their tubes before going down a river the other day. He filled the tire. But then he could audibly hear the air leaking back out of it. Not good. He figured he must have run over something, so he started checking the tire. When he couldn't find anything, he got in and backed the van up just a bit so that he could better see the rest of the tire. Still nothing. Hummmm.
        He started filling the tire again. Why? Just because .... turned out that it was God's prompting. The leak was in the tire's valve stem. When the hose was tight, it took air in, but when it relaxed, air came shooting straight back out. Not good! What to do ...
        He found a little round piece of plastic on the floor of the van (it must of been a cap off of 'something') and after filling the tire again, was able to shove it down in the valve stem. He then sealed it in there good with duct tape. He was hoping it would hold long enough to get to one of the tire places on 28th street.
      It did. But they were all closed. It held while he drove the whole way home. He then tried calling the tire places on this end of town. It seems they all close before 6 p.m.. Bother.
     Thankfully, he had already gotten permission to go in late and stay late today, so that he could go get his new glasses fixed (had them two weeks and they already popped a lens ...). So he headed out this morning to get both a tire and his glasses fixed.

      But a 'Red Green Award' goes to my Brian for having rigged the tire with duct tape good enough to not only drive the whole way home, but also have it last overnight and then drive it to the tire store. 'Red Green' would be so proud of you dear!!!!!  :-D

My Mother's Day this year -

     I was out of town with only my husband this year on Mother's Day. It fell during our anniversary get away, which I will be telling you about yet this week (or at least that's the 'plan').

    Before we left town, Brent had given me a card. I had smirked and given him this quizzical look before opening it. His are always good, but sassy. That's Brent.
    The card itself was purples, yellow, soft green, and teal blue colored.
    The front of the card read, "A wonderful mother (the word 'mother' was surrounded by small shiny hearts) should have understanding. You (the word 'you' is on a big red heart with shiny points all around it) have understanding."
    The inside of the front of the card read, "A wonderful mother should have patience. You (the word 'you' was on top of a red heart. And the letters of the word 'you' were sparkly white.) have patience."
    A flap folded over the inside of the card read, "A wonderful mother should (the word 'should' was on a white circle with shiny points all around it) get an expensive Mother's Day present..." and there was a wrapped gift pictured at the bottom of the flap.
    Fold the flap open and it read, "... Lucky for me (the word 'me' is 3-d looking and colored with red shiny sparklies), you've got patience And (the word 'and' was also 3-D looking and sitting on a big red heart) understanding. Happy Mother's Day
    Brent has signed it, "I Love you Mom! Brent :)"
    Chuckle, chuckle!!!!

    We had gone into the nearby big town on Sunday and I had talked to Byron on the phone. :-}

    While we were at the emergency pet place on Monday, Benson had given me a huge hug, wished me a 'Happy Mother's Day', and between sobs told me that he had been working on making me a card on the computer ... more tears - from all of us!

     Later on Monday, Brandon had given me a card. On the envelope, after the word 'To:' which was printed on there, he had written, "the Best mommy ever". ( ;-) )
    The outside of the card showed a picture of somebody sitting on a padded bench - you could see from the wist down. So the bare arms from the elbows down were showing, and a white skirt sort of wrapped tight around bare legs which ended in pink untied high top tennis shoes. The bottom of the front of the card read, "There's more to being a mom than laughing and relaxing and having fun."
    You open the card and music starts playing. The inside of the card read, "Except today! Enjoy your Mother's Day." The music playing was "o/~ girls just wanna have fun o/~" (preformed by Cyndi Lauper)
    Brandon had signed it, "Love Ox".
    Chuckle, chuckle!!!

    Monday evening Brian had given me a card with an apology, "sorry things didn't go like we planned ...". tear, s-i-g-h ...
    At the top of the outside of the card it read, "to my wife - ". Under that there was a picture of a guy with a comical almost pig shaped head, standing in front of a window with green grass and the sun showing through it. Under the picture it read, "For Mother's Day, I thought I'd surprise you with a clean house."
    The inside of the front of the card and the inside of the card combined into a big picture. In the upper part of one side was the same scene which had been at the top of the front of the card. But then it was like the camera had zoomed out and you could see the rest of the room. A kid (with the same type of head as the dad) was sitting on a chair with something in it's hands and the words "text, text, test" were written next to it. Another kid (with the same type of head) was laying on the floor in front of a checker board. Also spread about on the floor were a couple of socks, shoes, video cases, a boom box, books, video games, a tennis ball, etc.. On one side of the room was a huge TV. Off to one side was a coffee table with a open pop can on it, and a wallet with some loose change, and a open magazine. In the bottom corner, under the guy in front of the window, there was a dog obviously chasing somebody and barking, but all you could see of the somebody was one whole leg, the foot of the other leg, and part of the bottom of their shirt (they were running off of the page).
    Between the dad in front of the window and the dog chasing somebody, the card read, "But my house key only fits this one. (the word 'this' was underlined) Happy Mother's Day"
    It was signed "B"
    Chuckle, chuckle!!!

Rascal - Oct.1994 - May 10th, 2010

    We moved into this house Labor Day weekend of the year that our youngest son, Brent, started kindergarten. While we were still renting, this time we were renting a whole house, not an apartment, which was either on the main floor or the upstairs of a big old house. We had done this once before, but it was a very small little house, and thankfully we had only continued to live there about six months after son number two was born. And while our 'one floor of a big old house apartments' were nice, this house was w-a-y bigger, and better, for oh so many reasons, one of which was that now we could get a non-caged pet. We had had a couple of gerbils, and fish, and we had a genie pig, who thought he was a very small dog or something!!! He loved to be let free to play on the porch while Benson was building with all of our over sized blocks, or wander from person to person in our living room, etc.. But now, seeings how we were in a big old house, we could get a cat or a dog.
     While both Brian and I had stories in our past of peoples cats that made us shudder, which had made both of us think we weren't really 'cat people', the decision was made to get a cat over a dog never the less. Why? Because of our life at the time. It was ever more practical and feasible to leave a cat at home alone for a long weekend, then it would be to get somebody to keep letting a dog out, etc..
     The farmhouse apartment we had lived in before moving here, had a big barn next door, which was owned by some people whom lived down around the lake. We called them to see if they happen to know of anybody whom had free kittens. They told us that that was much more a spring occurrence, but they would check around for us. Later they called back stating that some friends of theirs had just found kittens in their own barn and would be glad to let us have one. The arrangements were made for the kitten to get from it's owners, to our connection and then through other people, to us.
     We had not told the boys that we definitely were getting one. One night in November we just loaded everybody up in our suburban and headed back up to where we had just moved out of. The boys were told to wait in the truck while we (Brian and I) went inside for a minute. Inside we found the kitten inside of a cat travel case, with the home owners Labrador scaring the heck out of it. (Perhaps those memories is what kept Rascal from ever fully accepting Boo). We left the house with the kitten tucked securely inside my coat, hoping to keep it hidden there till we arrived home.
     It wasn't to be!!! Oh could that teeny little thing meow loudly!!!! Goodness!!! And oh could he climb!!! For awhile I bore the proof that he had all of his little claws. Mercy!!!
    Were the boys ever surprised, and thrilled!!! The kitten got ever so thourally inspected and loved almost to pieces (explaining how tightly you could and could not hug/hold a kitten took a bit of reminding for awhile ;-p) that first night. And the next day. And the next. And when they arrived home from school on Monday, they had to verify that we still had him...
     While numerous different names were suggested, we decided to wait a couple of weeks and see if any particular name really fit him. It had been about two weeks when one evening as I was sitting in the rocking chair watching the boys play with him, I laughingly told the kitten "You're a little rascal!!!". At once the boys started declaring, "That's it Mom!" "That's a perfect name for him mom", etc.. And thus he was named. He lived up to his name to the very end!
     We have heard that 50% of an animals personality is the animal itself, and the other 50% is due to the animals environment. We believe there is a lot of truth in that statistic!
     You hear how cats won't come when they are called. As a kitten, Rascal would almost go head over tail in his hurry to come to you. True, sometimes in his latter years he'd just stare at you, but then again, so does Boo sometimes, let alone "the boys". ;-p. But other times, even in his late adulthood, Rascal would come when called.
     In many ways Rascal perceived himself to be much more dog than cat like. For many years he loved to play fetch with the rings off of milk jugs. His humans would tire of it long before he usually did. He liked to hide underneath the dining room bench closest to our walk through path and totally without warning, jump out and grab ahold of whom ever was passing by. Sometimes he scared you oh so good! Then he'd just peer up at you while cocking his head sideways and meow ever so cutely. He was a rascal!!!
     Sometimes I'd hear this noise and not be able to figure out what exactly he was doing. He liked playing under the white dining room bench. He'd jump between the top of the bench and the full length support beam underneath it. And back and forth and then take off running through the house. And could he ever get up steam (let alone noise) while running! Often during the day, you'd hear him "THUMP" down off of a bed upstairs and then run full hilt through the upstairs, or down the staircase. His name was Rascal. His nick-name was 'Thunder Cat'. And yet other times he went into some type of stealth mode and appeared in a silent fast blur out of no where.

    We had had him de-clawed in the front, seeings how he was going to be an indoors cat anyways. But his whole life he seemed to think that he had front paws which needed sharpened. And could he ever make noise doing so! He loved using the side of one of the rails under a dining room bench, or any and every cardboard box, and the ribbing along the edge of the brown couch, and any other place which could produce noise while he sharpened non existent claws.
    Every single time that we were gone for a weekend, he would come bellowing down from upstairs as soon as we entered the house, giving us all kinds of heck for having left him home alone for so long! Occasionally, he'd even be waiting for us right inside the door. As if to prove he didn't want us to leave again, he would attach himself to one of us by wrapping all four legs around one of our legs and holding on for dear life. Most often, it was Benson or I that he picked. While everybody else emptied the vehicle, his chosen captive would try to comfort the poor love deprived kitty.
     I clearly remember about mid August of one year. I had been working in the kitchen up at camp for nine weeks straight. Brian had come up every weekend. The boys had spent some weeks up there, and then some time elsewhere. That evening after I had gotten home, I was again sitting in the rocking chair. Rascal had jumped up into my lap. I greeted him, expecting him to settle down on my lap and demand petting forever. But instead, he had kept climbing. He'd put one paw on either shoulder and literally rubbed my nose with his. It was ever so comical, and yet heart warming at the same time.
    When we first got him, he had been a short haired cat that didn't shed. Round about the time he turned two, his hair changed. He became a long haired cat whom most defiantly shed! Mercy! The older he got, the more he seemed to shed, and the more my allergies to him worsened. For years he would let me brush him down. At first I could do so on my own. Then I had to start wearing a mask over my mouth and nose to do so, which he wasn't always thrilled with. But then it got to the point that when I tried brushing him, my eyes would start stinging, and swelling, and stay swollen for a day or so, so I ended up giving it up. I kept a container of wet ones on my night stand so that if he jumped up on the bed with me and I forgot and petted him, I could wash my hands before I fell asleep and got my hands near my eyes.
     Rascal was a talker! The whole family will attest to him walking through the house calling something which most definitly sounded like "Mom?!?" He also said something, which, while it did not sound like 'Benson', it most definitly was whom he was inquiring about!!! Sometimes I would tell him that Benson was in the basement, and he would turn, head out of the room, and straight to Benson in the basement. If Benson got home later than what Rascal deemed an acceptable time, Rascal would give him quite the talking to!!!! And how he abused the word hello!!! Oh man. Sometimes in the middle of the night, he would stand at the bottom of the stairs and call out "Hell-wo-o-o?", and keep repeating it, gradually growing louder, until somebody whom he had awakened would holler "we're all up here Rascal!" or, "Come here Rascal!" or some such. Just yelling for him to be quiet didn't work. We had tried, but it didn't!.
     Once Brent and Boo had moved back home again, we always had the gate at the top of the staircase closed due to how Rascal and Boo usually wouldn't get along. In the evenings, when Rascal could hear a bunch of us gathered in the living room, he'd stand at that gate calling, then yelling, then bellowing his "hell-wo-o-o-o?!?!?!?!" getting so loud sometimes that we would either turn up what we were watching, or give in and try to have the two co-existing in the same room. He WANTED to be where we were!
     Over time, perhaps because of my reduced interaction with him due to my asthma, or perhaps due to my frustration with a couple of the things he had started 'pulling', Rascal grew less attached to me, and more and more attached to Brian. It wasn't that he had never cared for Brain, not at all. Use to be that Brian was getting home from work about the time the boys and I were trying to leave the house in the morning. Via the kitchen window, Brian would watch us load up in the truck and pull out. While he's not sure how it started, the minute we walked out, Rascal would be sitting by his feet waiting for a treat, which we kept in the drawer next to that window. In-fact, it got to the point where Rascal would be trying to climb Brian's leg wanting (demanding) his treat while we were still in the house and Brian would be pointing out to him that we hadn't left yet! Comical!!
     Rascal would sleep with Brian during the day and Benson at night. Brian tried to teach him that it was okay if I crawled into bed during the day too, due to headaches, or vertigo, or whatever. I had my side of the bed, and Rascal was suppose to stay on Brian's other side. Usually however, Rascal preferred to climb down between the two of us and then over time spread out, thus leaving both of us clinging to our sides of the bed. How a twenty two pound, very long cat, could take up so-o much of a bed, and make himself unmovable (as though he weighed twenty two tons instead of twenty two pounds) we never did figure out.
     Rascal wasn't thrilled with Brian changing shifts. Once Brain did go to bed in the evening, Rascal would jump up on the bed and give him quite the talking to over the whole situation. One night, just last week, Brian was already in bed, I was getting ready for bed, and Rascal was somehow sitting in the middle of the bed, with Brian petting him and consoling him. As I started to get in bed, I sort of lost my balance and put my hand down. Goodness! Rascal quickly informed me in a no un-certain tone, that my hand was on their side of 'the line'!!! A definite rascal!!!!
     Like I said, he almost always slept with Benson at night. Pretty much the only exception to that was the summer's Benson spent at camp. The summer that all of us lived up there, Brain and Benson had ended up fetching Rascal up there too. That summer he liked being let out of our camper on a leash and loved to lay in the shade underneath it. We tried letting him out on a leash here at home, and he wanted nothing to do with it what so ever! However, if Benson was sitting on a chair on the porch reading a book, he often gave in to Rascal's pleading and took him out there with him, wrapped safely in a blanket.
     For awhile Benson had had a bunk bed in his room, who's top bunk was occupied by all of his stuffed animals, and often Rascal. Benson could walk into his room not even thinking about the fact that Rascal might be up there, only to be jumped at, or attached by out stretched paws. Rascal enjoyed that game a bit to much at times! Smirk, smirk.
     I had just sat up onto the edge of my bed trying to figure out what the noise had been and what I was smelling the night of our house fire, when Rascal jumped up onto the bed beside me. Suddenly the lights of my electric alarm clock went out and I knew that that was my 'sign' if you will, that I had to get the boys up and we had to get out of there, and now! I should have scooped Rascal up when I jumped up, but I didn't. And to this day I regret that I didn't. He followed me to the doors of the boys rooms to wake them up, he followed us to the top of the staircase, but he didn't finish following us down the steps. Had he already seen the flames in the basement? Had the smoke filling the bathroom and the kitchen scared him up to me? Probably.
     We escaped out the front door only to hear him bellowing for one of us from the top of the stairs. Benson was pleading with me to let him go get Rascal. Part of me wanted to let him. Part of me wanted to do it myself. But as I had stepped off of the porch I kept remembering stories of people whom had quickly run back into to nab a pet and been killed because right then the building had exploded, or collapsed, or some other horror. I didn't want to lose Rascal, but there was no way I was chancing one of us. As I had left the porch I had looked towards the back yard, there was huge black clouds like filling it. I followed them up... our chimney was billowing black smoke as though our house was an old coal train engine. I could not see through our back yard to see the garage. This was way to serious, way to scary.
     Thankfully the firemen were able to find Rascal. He had hidden himself up in the bottom side of our bed frame. That is also where we found him later at the hotel, after having searched every where outside thinking he had escaped out of the door during all of the commotion of people coming and going. That first week, the insurance company had us staying in this hotel like suite with full kitchen, two full baths, etc.. That same night after he had been found after being in hiding, I looked up to see he had jumped up to the partical wall of our bedroom and was walking the wall. The thing was, it was over a sixteen foot drop down to the main floor, but he never wavered, just called 'hi' down to me. Crazy cat!
     From that week until the time we were able to again live in our own home was a six month period. During that time we moved in with my then bachelor brother Craig. Thing is, he is HIGHLY allergic to cats. So poor Rascal was confined to the basement bedroom. It took us awhile to figure out that the reason our borrowed air mattress bed wouldn't stay filled, was due to tiny cat nail holes.
     He hated being confined to that room. After a while we barraced the small section right out side of the room so he had a bit more of wandering space. That cat found ways to climb and escape upon numerous occasions!!! We just couldn't seem to keep him in there. So finally I brought home a solid sided shipping skid from work and stood it lengthwise in the door way. We even sat odd stuff on top of it. That worked, for about three weeks. Then one night in the wee morning hours, I was awaken to Rascal's voice calling "Hell-wo-oo?!?" And then "Mom---" My fuzzy brain could not figure it out, seeings how I was in an upstairs bedroom that week, and he was trapped in the basement .... but then I head the bedroom door squeak further open and Rascal bounded onto the bed, his "Hell-ow-o" full of pride, as though "Look mom, I found you!!!". Oh how I had wished Craig wasn't so darn allergic! But we knew that being the personable cat that he was, Rascal would hate being stored at some shelter type of place. He was one thrilled kitty when we moved back home!!!!!

    The last few months Rascal seemed to be striving even harder to live up to his name. To the point Brian had questioned if the cat was getting senile, because he kept doing the type of stunts he had done as a kitten. Things like practically climbing into the fridge and meowing "Milk" (SERIOUSLY!) while tapping the jug with a paw. We gave him milk again. (We always did at the beginning of every winter, and he would scarf it down. But other than that, it was hit or miss whether he would want some or not.) Things like begging for treats again, which we did have a package of in the drawer, even though he had turned his nose up at them for a long time. We gave him treats. Etc.
    The last couple of months we had seen lots of evidence that Rascal's time with us was soon to be ending. Some times we thought it was ever so eminent, but then he would rally and be ever so sprighty and full of life, that we joked about how "he'd probably out live all of us". If only he had. If only.
    Not only had he again been doing things like he had when he was young, he had also been seeking out the other members of the family for attention again. I've mentioned how close he was to Benson, Brian and I, but he had always also done lots of inter acting with the other family members as well. He was not a cat to be left out of things! In-fact, once he had almost tipped over the lit jack-o-lanterns while trying to investigate them, let alone the time he had climbed the Christmas tree.
    Speaking of Christmas tree. Chuckle, chuckle. For years we always went and cut down our own tree. We learned that the tree sap infused water under the tree, was it's own k ind of cat nip (which we never bought) for Rascal!!! Man did he love that stuff!!! I had the hardest time keeping water in the tree holder, had to refill it daily!
    The Christmas after our house fire, we used a friends fake Christmas tree, and for asthmatic reasons have never had a live tree again. Rascal was insulted, to put it mildly. He approached that first tree with caution, sniffing the air and then looking back over his shoulder at us as though to say, "somethings not right here!". He went under the tree. He exited with disdain clearly written all over his face and gave us quite the talking to!!!! It was highly comical from our perspective, but not from his. We took pity on him and cut a branch from one of the small trees in our yard and set it under the tree in a bowl of water. He actually thanked us. So-o-o rascally!!!
    Like I shared, he had also been seeking out the other members of the family for attention again. One morning while Byron was here two weeks ago, Boo and I had been up for about two hours when Byron got up and wandered into the den where I was. Seeings how I hadn't spotted Rascal in any of his usual haunts when I had gotten up, I had figured he was up under my bed. Nope. As Byron was standing there talking to me and Boo was in on a couch, Rascal came wandering in proud as punch talking up at Byron and then rubbing his leg. A surprised Byron leaned down and picked him up saying "Well hello there .....". Rascal had purred and talked and snuggled for a good twenty minutes. Was he saying his "goodbye, thanks for loving me, I love you too." ? And he had done similar stunts with Brandon and Brent.
     Brian and I had pulled out around 4:00 on Sat.. We were escaping to a friend's cottage for a couple of days, next week is our 30th anniversary. We had slept in on Monday morning, but when we entered the kitchen around nine, Brian's cell phone was beeping due to missed messages. The only way we get service up there is by having the cell phone sitting open on top of Brian's wallet, on one spot on top of the dishwasher in front of the bay window overlooking the lake, and by pushing the buttons gently, then changing it to speaker phone. There was a message from Byron about Benson. And there were several messages from Benson. He was beside himself with grief.
    At about two a.m. that morning, Rascal had went to the basement to find him, walking totally stiff legged, and hardly breathing. He had gone to find Benson to say goodbye. Benson tried to help him. He desperately wanted to cure him. All he could do was demonstrate his love for his beloved cat to Rascal's very end.
     Once we got Benson's messages we jumped right into action. We packed up, cleaned up our dishes, and were out of there! About fifteen minutes later Benson called again, Keaton (one of our "part time" kids) was driving him to the Emergency Pet Place up on such and such a street... maybe they could do something. Not long later he called again, Rascal had a heart murmur, his liver was a solid rock, and the Dr. didn't know if he'd make it another five minutes on his own. Benson was bawling, the tears were streaming down Brian's face, and I was striving ever so hard not to join them. I had a long bumpy car ride ahead of me and I knew my head would be challenged enough with that, let alone if I added crying to it.
     The Dr. later commented on how he couldn't believe what a fighter Rascal was, and that we definitely had done something right with him. See, Rascal hung on till we got there, and his body responded as Brian talked to him and stroked him. Oh did the tears stream. I think he responded to me too, or maybe it's just hopeful thinking. He barely breathed, had a heart beat for about another five minutes, and then the Dr. said he was gone. It took awhile for the tears to slow enough for us to head home.
    That evening Brent, with a small amount of assistance from Brian, constructed a casket. Of his own accord, Brent had removed his hat when we lowered Rascal into the casket. Brian and Benson dug a deep hole (Brandon is an assistant soccer coach and they had an evening away game), and through our tears, Rascal was lowered into the ground.
     Brian summed it up perfectly - "Losing a family pet is just as painful as losing a human member of your family. Thankfully, it usually takes less time to start healing from the pain, but initially, there's just as much pain, grief, sorrow, the whole lot of it."
    We literally thanked / thank the Lord for Rascal having been a part of our life's! He added a lot of joy, and laughter and LOVE!!!

(I got started on the kitchen yesterday, but the fresh turned soil in the back corner of the yard kept drawing my eyes and heart ...   Benson had slept on the couch Monday night, and during the night when I'd come down to use the bathroom, there was no white and gray ball laying between his legs ...     Benson is currently on a train headed for Byron and Cyndi's, per Cyndi's insistence and generosity.)

     Yes, I fully realize that this is a very long posting. Rascal wasn't just a cat. He was very much a part of our lives! There are many other things I could have shared with you, and I just might some time. After all, we are printing postings off and keeping them in a book as a life record so to speak.

B-I-G changes in our lifes!!!

     There are two VERY BIG changes currently about to start in our life. VERY BIG indeed!!!

     Our youngest son, Brent, whom will be 22 this July, just pulled out of the driveway. He is headed to the recruiter's office - - - to officially sign the papers - - - to enlist in the Navy - - - for a six year stint. - - - He hopes to join the seabee's.
    Part of us is darn proud of "the boy". Both Brian and I have always strove to teach our sons to treat veterans with respect. We've taught them that without all of the men and women whom have served in this countries military forces, our country would not / could not be what it is today. He was in the 8th grade on that horrendous September 11th, and it made an enormous impact on him. He wants to do 'his part' in helping to keep America the 'home of the free'. So on the one hand, we're proud of him.
    But the other hand is our parental hand. The one that wants to pull our children close and keep them there! We know we can not protect them from all of the badness in the world, no matter how much we might be tempted to. And we are not interested in 'smothering' our children. Heck, we need breathing space from them to, if you want to know the truth of it all. But to let one go off and join the military - that's BIG!!!
    He's 22, so no, he does not need our permission to join up. Didn't mean it that way. Just clarifying.
    And yes, we know that many people head off to foreign lands and make it home safe again. Changed. But safe. But ...
    And yes, we know that we could 'lose him' even if he stayed close to home. He was hit by that car in the 4th grade while crossing the street. And Brandon was hit by a car while driving our van, and if it had connected a foot differently he wouldn't still be with us. And Brian had got hit by the falling steel at work and thankfully only ended up with stitches in his head. And Brandon had fallen off that scaffolding. And ... there's w-a-y to many examples in our resume of life!!!! But joining the military, well , it just seems so ...... heavy on our parental hearts.

      Brian had posted this on his Facebook page - "2 more nights and I'll no longer be a Vampire. Looking forward to being a day walker. It's been 15 years since I've seen the sun, hope it's still there."
    Tonight will be his last night working nights. My husband, whom HATES change, signed the posting and used his seniority to switch shifts. Instead of getting off at 6:30 a.m., he will be getting up to get ready to head off to work.
    We are going to try it for a year. If he decides he hates it, he can switch back again next April.
    There are some down points to it. Things like he will no longer be available to take me to doctor's appointments. Once I'm over being so dizzy, we will not be able to resume our 'date day Friday's'. Etc..
    But we are rooting for the possible good points from the change. Many reports state that people whom work all night shifts, are far more likely to have harder times losing weight, and controlling their blood pressure, and sugar problems, and sleep apnea, etc..
    He currently often struggles with going to bed, due to feeling like all he does is sleep the day away. Having friends over seems pert near impossible, because he sleeps till _ and then has to leave for work. And on Sunday afternoons he tries to go back to bed by _ so that he can get "his body upside down again" (as he refers to it).
    And the examples for this go on as well.

      So..., there are two VERY BIG changes currently about to start in our life. VERY BIG indeed!!!