Chutes and Ladders?

I don't know if Dwayne was trying to play the adult version of the kid game, Chutes & Ladders yesterday or what.
Dwayne was power washing our house and decks yesterday. I had talked to him around 2 p.m. and the day was going good for him. About a half an hour later, he calls me at work to ask Alan where he got the sprayer from. I'm like, what? He asks again. Now, I'm thinking, Dwayne, you always forget stuff but that is really bad if you forgot you bought a sprayer at MFA just yesterday. He then asked me a couple more stupid questions and I'm thinking, WTH!! Then he said, well I don't know if I fell off the roof or the ladder or what happened but I just woke up laying on the back deck. I'm like, WHAT?, are you okay? He said, well I have a knot on my head but I don't know what happened. He didn't know how long he had been knocked out, how it happened, very disoriented. I called Todd and he went straight over to check on Dwayne. The best we can tell by looking at the ladder and deck, the wind must have knocked the ladder (very tall heavy fiberglass ladder propped up to the second story of our house)over and it fell and hit Dwayne on the head. He has bruises on his back, neck, arm and leg. The whole top of his head is swollen and I am sure he has a concussion but he refused to go the doctor. He seems okay today, just sore. Talk about a scare!!

Being the wonderful wife that I am (tongue in cheek), I went on to Jefferson City last night and left Dwayne in the care of April. MacKensie had a volleyball game in Jeff and I went with her and Kate. Since we were in Jeff, I had Kate stop at Victoria's Bridal so I could pick up April's dress for Lindsay Helton's wedding. It turned out the shop was only a block or two from where Kensie's game was. I'm not a sports person, but I did enjoy watching the girls play their first time competion game. They did not win, but they came close. They did very good for their first game.

Overall, yesterday really sucked! I let the stress of everything get to me. Problems with my vehicle being serviced, personal problems, Mom and Dad's health, Dwayne falling. I am afraid I did not handle the day well and succumbed to worry and a bad night's sleep. That is a real problem for me to "Let go and Let God".

I am very grateful for all I have and hope I can trust and believe God will help me see his plan in so many problems in life.

The Seasons of Life:

Last night Dwayne and I went to Rolla to visit my sister's father-in-law in the hospital. Pete is in intensive care following lung surgery last week. Pete's breathing is very labored and he's hooked up to alot of machines. As we left, I told Dwayne that it brought back so many memories of his Mom when she was on life support. A lot of emotions running through my mind of that time. Dodie was on life support for six weeks and seeing Pete so bad made me realize once again how the decision to take Dodie off life support was an easier decision than we thought it would be.

After we left the hospital, we ate at Hardees and then decided to drive the back roads home. We hadn't been down Highway Y in a long time. My Uncle Hubert Feeler lives at the end of Hwy Y and I had not been to his house for over thirty years. I asked Dwayne to stop so we could visit. We had a very good visit. Aunt Ruby wasn't home as her and my cousin Delinda had gone to St. Louis to visit my cousin, Gina and her family. Uncle Hubert turned 91 this month and you would not be able to tell his age if you didn't know it. He still goes to work a few hours a day at the sawmill and feeds his cattle. I am so glad we stopped, brought back alot of memories of staying at their house when I was younger.

I know aging is a natural process, but it seems to hit home when so many of my relatives, parents included, reach this phase of their life. I remember when my great aunts and uncles passed away and that generation was gone. I don't remember my Grandma dwelling on their deaths, just accepting as the nature of life. I would so like to be like my Grandma in that aspect.
Now it's on to the next generation and I have so many wonderful memories of my relatives thoughout the years. Sunday afternoons visiting with family, family reunions, never a month went by that some of the family didn't get together. We are trying to keep that tradition up with our family. I think we, as a society, get so busy and caught up in life, we fail to stop and appreciate family and the importance of keeping the family circle intact.

I am very grateful for all of my ancestors who have been a legacy of love and wisdom though the years.

Weekend:

Friday:
After work, I picked Ashlyne up from school as she had track practice. She was very excited for her first school dance the next night. She is growing up so fast.

Saturday:
Dwayne had painted the upstairs bathroom and I had been slow about putting the curtains and my collection of rabbits back. I used to collect rabbits and I have many from friends and family. When I redid my kitchen a few years ago I decided to retire my rabbits. But I couldn't just get rid of them, I like each one, so I made the upstairs bathroom my rabbit collection room. My friend, Susan had made me some of the rabbits, bought some for me and made a cross stitch picture of rabbits. I now have them showcased along with a wooden shelf Susan made. (Susan is very crafty, she can make anything, wooden, sewing, etc.) Chad's previous girlfriend, Desiree, had noticed my cross stitch rabbit picture and gave me one that she and her Grandma had made when she was a little girl. It meant alot to me that she was willing to give me something that meant alot to her.
That evening Dwayne and I were going to run into Rolla to eat and pick up a few things from Lowe's. I had called Mom before we left and she was crying. She said she hated to break down in front of me but she just felt awful. We stopped by to see Mom and Dad on the way to town. Mom had quit crying but you could tell she just didn't feel well. I wondered if she had fluid around her heart again as her face was puffy. Overall, Mom has done really good for her age and health problems. I think it is just hard on her not to be able to do all she's done in the past. I told her not to worry about Sunday dinner the next day as she didn't feel good. She said she still wants all of us there to visit and keep up the tradition.
We ate at Wendy's and then headed to Lowe's to pick up stain for the decks. Do you know how hard it is to pick out a stain color? We thought we knew what to get but when you put the stain on a board it looks totally different than what the can shows. Hopefully, we got the right one.
We stopped off at Dairy Queen on the way home to get an ice cream cone. We must be getting older, that's what my Mom and Dad do. LOL
Sunday:
I went to church and Karen did a wonderful job on the sermon. She was dressed as a donkey and did the sermon from the view point of the donkey. She always does an amazing job of taking scripture and putting them into words we understand.
We went to Mom's for dinner. Dwayne had went up earlier to help Mom and do some cleaning for her. What a great guy!
Mom still did not feel well and Judy had all of us girls go in the bedroom and hold hands with Mom and pray for her. I think it upset Ashlyne quite a bit to see Grandma not feeling good. She was very clingy yesterday and would walk up to me several times and hug me for quite a while. We (Ashlyne and I)talked about the possibility of Grandma's dying in the future and even though we would miss her tremendously, we are very grateful to have had such a wonderful, caring Grandma in our lives. It was easy to say those words aloud when in my heart I was just as upset as Ashlyne.
Ashlyne is such a grown-up little girl, always taking the responsibility on her shoulder for everyone else's problems. She is a very good big sister to Zach. She watches out for him and always makes sure he is okay.
Mom wants to continue the Sunday dinners but is really not up to cooking such a huge meal each week. We decided we would all bring dinner in on Sundays so Mom and Dad could visit and not have to worry about the food or cleanup. I am glad our family continues to get together each week.
I took my customary Sunday afternoon nap, not sure I really need it as much as it is a habit.
We had chili for supper, then watched the movie Amish Grace. They movie was based on the Amish school shooting a few years ago. The movie is a good example of forgiveness. The Amish have a very forgiving nature and just because they forgave the shooter did not mean it was an easy decision. Their forgiving nature is a testament each of us should follow. I hadn't cried in quite a while from watching a movie, but this one sure is a heart breaker.
After the movie, I called to check on Mom and Dad. Dad had been sick and vomiting. I could hear him in the background while I was talking to Mom. He sounded awful. Mom and Dad are both going to go to the doctor today.
The sun is shining today and hopefully we will have a beautiful Spring week of weather.

Clair E. Bennett:

Dwayne, April and I went to memorial service for Clair last night. Clair made an impact in the community and the large crowd was a testament to his many friends.
There were no chairs left and standing room only, people were even standing out in the hallway.
Tony Bennett, Clair's son talked about his Dad and also read a letter from Clair's best friend, Nick, who could not be there due to his health. Nick shared humorous episodes in his long time friendship with Clair. Tony kept us entertained with stories of Clair's past.
As always, Karen Alden did wonderful with the eulogy. There was a dinner in the church basement following the service.
We shall always remember Clair with a smile.

John Deere Green:

"I’ll take you for a ride on my big green tractor.”
My husband buys the most practical gifts and this one is a sure winner!!

Weekend:

Friday:
Our community lost a dear friend, Clair Bennett yesterday. Clair was an icon in Vienna. Everybody knew Clair, young or old, Clair was their friend. Clair moved to Vienna years ago and bought the motel south of Vienna. Clair has since sold the motel and moved to town. Clair's extended family, Gene and his wife Ann, Doc and his wife Lee and Clair's daughter, Tracy and her mother, Betty Terry also moved to the Vienna area. The Bennett Family became known by all in the community.
You could see Clair most mornings at the coffee shop along with his brother, Doc. Doc was in an unfortunate accident in December 2009. Doc was due to come home on the 23rd of March and on Thursday, March 18th, Clair had gone to Doc's to clean up around the place and burn a brush pile. The tragedy is that somehow Clair died in the grass fire that got out of control with the wind. The community mourns the loss of such a dear man.
Friday afternoon, I went to visit Tracy. Poor Tracy, she is so devastated. Betty was there, also. Mother and daughter were trying to come to grips on this terribe tragedy. It is just a very difficult time for all the family.
Clair's wife, Louise has a hard road ahead of her. She is a strong person and will persevere but Clair's loss will always be there. Our thoughts and prayers go out to each one of them.
Saturday:
I went to our neighbor's house (Tonya Magner) for a baby shower for her sister, Jessica Davis. I had a good time visiting with neighbors and sharing in their joy.
Sunday:
I went to church and then Dwayne and I went to Mom's for dinner. Mom outdid herself as she had ham, mashed potatoes/gravy, corn, cooked cabbage, chocolate cake and bread pudding. At eighty years old, she is still an amazing cook. After dinner we were sitting around the table visiting.

Little Elizabeth Ann decided to tell us a joke. We were all stunned as she told the following joke:
There was a Christmas Program at a church and there was a guard at the door. To enter the program you had to have something in your pockets that had to do with Christmas. The first man was asked what he had in his pocket. He pulled out a lighter. The guard asked what that had to do with Christmas. He said it's a light and represents the North Star. The guard said, that's fine, you may go in. He asked the second man what was in his pocket. He pulled out a set of keys. He asked what they had to do with Christmas. The man shook the keys and said they jingle as in Christmas Bells. The guard told him he could enter. The third man when asked, pulled out a pair of purple panties. The guard asked what that had to do with Christmas and the man replied, they're "Carol's".
With that we all burst out laughing and I thought my sister, Judy was going to roll on the floor with laughter. It was so unexpected and we were all shocked as Liz is only eight years old. None-the-less, a good belly laugh is good for everyone. Definitely not a boring dinner!!
Sunday evening I fixed, chicken/rice, mashed potatoes, corn and salad with rolls for supper. We had brownies and ice cream for dessert. It was only Dwayne, April, Mike and I as the boys had plans.

I am extremely grateful to have my parents and family close by for frequent visits and that Mom and Dad are in relatively good health.

Cleaning Lady:

Since Dwayne has been laid off, he decided he would be my cleaning lady/man. Cleaning Man just doesn't sound right.
I came home last night to the house cleaned, supper cooking on the stove.
I told him that was wonderful and if he could just bring me my pipe and slippers, I would be in a perfect world.
Oh, how wonderful to be the husband/wife. LOL

Weekend Recap:

Friday:
End of the week evening of just relaxing. The past few weeks have worn me out.
Saturday:
Dwayne and I went to Rolla to buy a few groceries and eat out. Wal-Mart wasn't too bad since we were there at the same time as the St. Pat's Parade was going on uptown. We did hit a traffic jam as we were heading over to Sirloin Stockade for lunch. The traffic was at a stand still at the traffic lights. It's hard to imagine that many people in town just for a parade.
That afternoon, I read and Dwayne worked on some house plans for some friends of ours.
Sunday:
Dwayne and I rode to church together as he was to help prepare the meal for after church.
The corned beef and cabbage were very good. They had hot dogs for the ones that don't care for corned beef. As always, everyone brings such great side dishes. Hard not to eat too much.
I took a nap after we got home and Dwayne worked on the plans some more.
Shelley, Kenny and Nathan came down later in the afternoon. We had a good time visiting and April was glad to get home in time to see the baby before they left.
Friends and family, alot to be grateful for.

Adrian K. Brouk:

March 12, 1985 - February 5, 1998
A life cut short, a little girl with such a bright future.
Adrian was an intelligent girl. She wrote beautiful poems, excelled in her school work and just at the beginning of her teen life in another month. Such a tragedy.
There are no words to describe the loss of Adrian's life.
Remembering you with love.

Blake and the Bench:

When Blake comes to visit he often uses the bench in the living room for a number of things. Bull riding-how easy it is to become a bull rider and wrap a rope (aka bead necklace) around your hand and ride for 8 seconds. Sometimes he gets a really mean bull and only makes it 2 or 3 seconds. He is so funny, in between rides he walks over to the little bench (bleachers) and sits down to wait his next turn. He talks to the other bull riders as they walk by.
Then on to the bench becoming a pasture for the farm animals. Blake and April set up the animals in corrals and one mean bull jumped out and into the back of Towmater Truck.
Last winter he had the bench be his operating table and April and I had to take turns being a patient. He would "operate" on us and sometimes the operation would be very rough(literally as he would karate chop our backs with his plastic knife), then he would call in the "real doctors" to fix us. We were usually laughing so hard he had a difficult time working on us as we wouldn't lay still. Sometimes he would use the small bench as a floor jack to raise the operating table. (He knows all about mechanical tools as his dad is a mechanic)
They say kids don't use their imagination anymore with all of the technical toys and games. Blake is proof that kids still play with the simplest of toys.
We enjoy having our "monthly visitation rights" with Blake as we became so attached to him when April babysat.
Kenny and Shelley came down later in the evening to pick him up. We then spent time playing with Nathan. He is such a sweet baby, smiles all the time and tries to talk to you. We enjoyed the evening.

Wednesday Words:

I don't have any words of wisdom for Wednesday, just couldn't think of a title for today.
I received the results of my liver biopsy today. I hadn't been worried about the outcome as the doctors thought it was probably an autoimmune type of cirrhosis, but they needed a biopsy to get a finitive diagnosis. The good news is it has not gone into cirrhosis and it is called NASH, Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis. Nothing to do for it, just watch my diet and losing weight would help alot. If my liver enzymes continue to be high or get higher they may want to look again to make sure there is no scarring or cirrhosis.

I'm looking forward to tonight as "Blake's April" is picking him up at preschool and bringing him to the house for a few hours. He wanted some one on one time without his baby brother there, which is not typical for Blake as he wants his brother included in his activities but we had kept Nathan last month when Kenny, Shelly and Blake went to the Monster Jam and he as much as us wanted to have "Blake Time". The supper menu will be, what else?, hot dogs, macaroni-n-cheese and tater tots. We always have hot dogs when Blake is over. I had fixed cheese hot dogs recently for supper and Dwayne and April both asked if Blake was coming over. LOL

I guess my words of wisdom for today would be the title of my blog: Grateful For The Life I've Been Given.

On the road again...................

Thankfully, I think I'm on the road to recovery. I couldn't stand the pain anymore yesterday and went to see Jane, my Nurse Practioner. She ordered an x-ray to make sure the biopsy didn't penetrate further than anticipated. The x-ray looked good, just a tiny air pocket that could be causing some of the pain. She explained the pain as still being muscle spasms and ordered a muscle relaxer and pain pills. She thought they would have given me muscle relaxers the day of the procedure. That would have helped, as that night the muscle spasms were very intense. I never thought about the pain still being due to the muscles as it was a different type of pain and constant. Whatever, I'm just glad to be feeling better.
Since I haven't felt well, I'm going to play hooky on supper and have April pick up a couple pizzas from Pizza Hut on her way home. They have a good deal for only $10 per pizza.

Weekend:

Friday:
Work wasn't very busy and that was good as I wasn't very productive anyway. I was not prepared to be so exhausted and sore from the biopsy. That night Dwayne fixed tuna salad sandwiches and brought me one in the living room. It was nice to be waited on.
Saturday:
Still didn't do too much, several loads of laundry and just resting. Zach came over to spend the night and to help Uncle Dwayne the next day. He enjoys spending time with Dwayne.
Sunday:
I went to church but left early as I wasn't feeling well. Mom fixed dinner so I went up there for awhile. There weren't as many there as usual but we had a good time visiting. I then went home and rested for the afternoon.
Sunday supper was only Dwayne, April, Mike and I. The boys had went riding and camping. We had pot roast, potatoes, carrots, corn, (about the only vegetable Mike likes, so we have it quite often) lemon cake and home frozen peaches Mom sent down. I love her frozen peaches, they almost taste fresh.

I feel like a big wuss complaining about still not feeling well from the biopsy but I feel like it literally knocked me on my butt. I called Dr. Wang's office today and the nurse checked with him and he said it was natural to still be so sore as the "core biopsy" takes out a round sliver of the liver (whoops, rhyming there)and the tissue and muscle they go through takes awhile to heal and with my immune system, it takes even longer. That is good that it is normal but I'd like to just feel good and not have pain. I'm not very patient at waiting around for the time it takes to heal, I want it healed now!! Guess I need to just take it one day at a time and not rush the process.

I am so glad Spring is just around the corner. I love Spring, I feel so energized and try to get everything done inside and out as soon as possible, then when Summer gets here, it's too hot and I just don't like taking care of plants anymore. I'm going to try to do better this summer and have some potted plants on the porch. I enjoy everyone's flowers but do not take the time to have them at my house. Hopefully, I'll do better this year.

Lipstick & Purse-N-Ality:

Before going to the Lipstick & Purse-N-Ality show, April and I went and ate at La Posada. This is one of our favorite places to eat and we hadn't been there in quite some time.


April designed the above cover.

The Rolla Daily News where April works presents a show every few months for vendors to show their new items and a few of the stores have a fashion show. April modeled in the show last Fall but decided not to this time. Her co-worker, Leonie, loves to model and do the fashion show. She seems to be a natural at it.

Leonie


The short lady in front is my Aunt Geri Williams and her sister Rose in the turquoise shirt.
My Aunt Geri always attends the shows and as you can see from the picture above, she was one of the first to wait in line. She was disappointed April didn't model this time but she still enjoys all of the activities.
I especially enjoyed Chic Chick's show, their models were typical of the professional fashion shows, exotic makeup, jewels on their face, some even had feathers above their eyebrows. Their MC did a fantastic job, even singing in between settings.

If you look close at the lower left hand corner, you can see April standing there.

My cousin Martha's, daughter, Brooke was involved with the Rolla Chamber of Commerce booth. Hard to believe little Brooke, who Dwayne taught to walk, is now such a grown up and a beautiful person, inside and out.

Brooke, on the right

We had a great time, but I was so tired we didn't stay long.

Life in General:

Life... Well, each day is amazing in itself. Whether we have a good day or bad, each day is a precious gift from God. When you stop to think about the miracle of life from beginning to end it almost takes your breath away. "God is Good, God is Great" is an amazing truth. When life is good, we thank God, when life is not going so good, we blame God. Why, God? Why? Why do we not say, Why, Devil? Why? Not everything good or bad comes from God, but how we handle the trying times says alot about us.

I'm having a "mini trial" right now with my health. Nothing serious, I'm sure, but still a time of worry. My liver enzymes have been elevated for several years, not alarmingly high levels, but high none-the-less. I had a liver biopsy done on Tuesday, the 2nd. I had thought they would sedate me for the biopsy, but that was not the case. You have to be awake to take a deep breath at the time of the biopsy. When the doctor explained how he would give lido cane to the site and it would numb the area, I thought, great - pain, pain, pain! But I was pleasantly surprised that it did not hurt that much. I did not even feel pain as the seven inch biopsy needle was inserted. There was increased pressure and an amazing stabbing type pain across my whole abdomen at the time of the biopsy, but that was it. The only thing I was worried about was if we would get out in time for me to get a Hardees breakfast biscuit. I love their bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits. Luckily, we got out at 10:40 a.m. and the Hardees by the mall serves breakfast until 11 a.m.
Dwayne was a good "nurse" for the day. I anticipated having an ache at the biopsy site but not for having what I can only describe as a spasm that started at the top of my right hip, up through my side and down my arm. It hurt so bad! I couldn't even turn over in bed or get up. Dwayne, bless his heart, would have to literally pick me up off the bed so I could get up. This muscle spasm or whatever lasted on into the night. I thought I would get relief and sleep with the pain pills but for some strange reason, pain pills keep me awake and this particular pain pill caused me to break out in hives and very, very itchy. I didn't get much sleep during the night or yesterday but I slept very sound last night and feel much better today.
I am back to work today and it feels good to have a routine to get back into.

Weekend:

Friday:
I talked Dwayne into going shopping with me. The last few years April and I have been grocery shopping together and we kind of have a method going. If there was something down one aisle we need one of us would just go and get it and catch up with each other at the end of an aisle. Dwayne doesn't get this method, he thinks I'm just dashing off and then he loses me. But I am still glad he went with me. For some reason buying groceries wears me out anymore.
We stopped at the Road Kill Grill on the way home and had their pulled pork sandwiches. They have very good food and service. Their advertisement is below with directions if anyone is interested.

Saturday:

Bradley James Feeler
My nephew, R.J. Feeler, brought his little boy Bradley down for a visit. Bradley is such a sweet little boy. He never got into anything and just sat and played with the toys. I enjoyed their visit.
The rest of the day I cleaned house and that evening, Dwayne and I watched TV and went to bed early.
Sunday:
Desmon
I went to church Sunday and then came home to what I thought was going to be a relaxing afternoon. I didn't count on watching Desmon for a few hours while Chad went horseback riding. We played with the cows and each time Desmon comes for a visit he remembers from the first time we played and how we set up the hay, the pond, etc. We play it the same way each time. When it was time to start supper, Desmon wanted to help. He followed directions and "helped" me fix the dessert and macaroni and cheese. Both recipes I borrowed from Pioneer Woman.


Todd grilled hamburgers when he got there. Finally, I had all three of my kids for a meal at the same time. Desmon kept us entertained throughout the meal and afterward. I think he really needs to be around other kids as he is only with adults and tends to talk and play rough. He does have a sweet side when it's just one on one with him. He will sit on my lap to watch TV or read a book. Then he'll look up and say, I love you Miss Connie. Then he'll turn around and be a little wild man!! Guess you gotta take the good with the bad.
I had a great weekend visiting with family.