The York's Visit:

William's Family Reunion:
My cousin, Ron and his wife Martha sent a message they had gotten home from their extended visit to the Ozarks. We enjoyed having them visit. Judy and I had received their hospitality in 2003 when we took Mom and Dad to Oregon to visit Aunt Tobie, Ron's Mom. Wayne and Bobbie took Mom and Dad to California and Oregon in 2006. These visits were extra special to Mom as Aunt Tobie has now passed away and the only sibling left out of the ten are Mom and Uncle Glen in California.
Ron and Martha stopped to see Uncle Glen in southern California on their way to Missouri.

Uncle Glen Williams:


We were so disappointed Mom could not attend the reunion. Ron and Martha plan on coming back in the fall so we will do the "cousin party" again. The following are pictures Martha sent. I am sad to say, I do not have any of Ron and Martha during their visit.

The Feeler Sisters: Judy, Kate and Connie


The Feeler's, Connie, Judy, Dad, Wayne and Kate:


April & Mike:


Dwayne, Connie, Chad, Todd and April Elrod:


Dad:


For us it is normal to have lots of family around, we take it for granted. Ron York, as an only child, does not have that continuation but he felt a real connection to his extended relatives during his visit. I am proud to have had a part in the family getting together and I cherish each relative in my life. I do indeed feel "Grateful for the life I've been given".

Weekend Recap:

Saturday:
Kenny and Shelley brought Blake down to spend the night with April. He was so excited to go to Mike's farm and see the cows and turkeys. Shelley said he got up at six in the morning to see if it was time to go to April's yet.
As April and Blake were getting ready to leave for St. Elizabeth, Dwayne and I decided to drive them over to get out of the house for awhile. Actually, I had planned on spring-cleaning the kitchen but Dwayne said I needed to take break, probably because he didn't want to get suckered in on helping me. LOL
Blake thought we'd never get there, he told April she couldn't move with "Mite" because it was too far away. We met Mike's parents and visited for awhile. After we left, we stopped at an antique shop in St. Elizabeth. Dwayne bought a toy truck set for kids to play with at the house. We had planned on eating at Miss Kitty's but at the last minute Dwayne decided he wanted to eat at Westphalia Inn. We drove in pouring down rain all the to Westphalia and the Inn didn't open up until 4:30, so we thought we'd eat at the bar next door, it didn't open until 4:00. I guess people in Westphalia don't eat lunch out. We stopped at Mr. Jack's in Freeburg and the food was very good. We spent the rest of the day lazing around the house. When April, Mike and Blake got to the house, Blake had quite the stories to tell about the turtees and Mike's toy John Deere tractors.

He had a great time and couldn't wait to camp out in April's living room with the sleeping bag.
Sunday:
I got up and went to church. We had a guest speaker, Kevin Runge, from Belle. He did a good job on his sermon.
When I got home we had Blake's favorite, hot dogs for lunch. Kenny, Shelley and Baby Nathan came mid-afternoon to get Blake. Nathan was such a joy, he just smiles and plays contentedly.
After they left, I made cinnamon rolls for supper dessert. I usually only make them for when we have company so they were surprised I made them just for us. I also fixed Chicken Lasagna, salad, corn and crescent rolls for supper. Not a good combination if you're trying to loose weight. The boys didn't come over as Kacie Workman was home and they had a barbecue for her and Kadence.
Monday:
Work was very busy as several projects came in while I was off a few days. I picked MacKensie and Zach up at school, dropped Kensie off at her house and Zach came home with me. Todd, Chad and Troy stopped by for supper-leftovers from the night before. I had a good visit with the boys. Chad still hugs us when he comes over and as he left he gave Dwayne a huge hug. Gotta love that some things don't change.
Judy took Joe to Columbia for some tests. He had chest pains and shortness of breath all last week. They kept him overnight to run tests.
Tuesday:
Work wasn't too busy and I got alot done. Dwayne called in the afternoon to see if Joe was still in the hospital. Dwayne is working in Columbia so he stopped by to see Joe. I was proud that he even remembered and thought of that all on his own. (It's not like I think he's a little kid or something, it's just he does not remember stuff very often). Joe got to come home yesterday evening and then goes back up tomorrow for more tests.
MacKensie had a volleyball game in Jefferson City last night. I went with her and Kate. They won one out of the three games. Kensie got in three good serves. You could tell it boosted her self confidence. We grabbed a sandwich on the way home and treated ourselves to Baskin Robbins Ice Cream . I got home in time to watch The Good Wife. I love that show and I think the acting is superb.

Each day brought about precious memories of time with family and friends.

Missing in Action:

I took a few days off work last week. Since I canceled our internet service at home, I've not had a chance to blog until now.
Wednesday, April met me at La Pasoda for lunch. We love eating there and hadn't been in awhile. I went to Wal-Marts and then home to take a nap. What is three days off to rest without resting?
Thursday and Friday I did some spring cleaning. I still took time out to rest and read a book. Overall, it was nice to be off work and go at my own pace.
Work was very busy yesterday getting caught up on what came in on the three days I was gone. I have not blogged about Todd's birthday yet and now I need to another birthday to the list as my nephew, Tyler turned twenty on the 25th. Hopefully, I will have time tomorrow to dedicate to them.

Fun Filled Weekend:

What a great weekend we had.
Friday:
Dwayne's cousin, Mark Carroll and his friend Susie surprised us Friday evening with a visit. Mark lives in IL and had come down to put flowers on his Mom's grave. We had a great time visiting, it seemed we all wanted to talk at once. April was still at home when they got there so they got to see her before she left. Todd stopped by to get this birthday card and money and visited with them for awhile. Chad was going to come up but we were leaving to take them out to eat at a local barbecue place, Randy's Roadkill Grill. They were extremely busy so we had to wait almost two hours for our food. Since we hadn't seen Mark in quite awhile we had a lot of visiting to catch up on while we waited for our food. We then took them down to Chad's house for a visit. Never a dull moment around Desmon, kept us all entertained.
Saturday:


Nathan Steven Allen

Dwayne and Mark got up early and went mushroom hunting. While in Vichy, they picked Nathan up from Kenny and Shelley's. Shelley was in a wedding and we watched Nathan Saturday night for them. It's no chore as he is such a delightful baby.
Dwayne fried up the mushrooms for us for breakfast. Mark and Susie left to fish over at the lake before they headed back to IL.
Saturday afternoon, my cousin Ron York and his wife Martha arrived from OR. They had stopped to see Mom in the hospital on their way to the house. Wayne and Bobbie came down and took them to Sybil's in St. James for dinner and to the Havener Center in Rolla to show them the paintings Wayne has on display there. We spent the rest of the evening on the front porch sampling St. James wine. Wayne, Ron and Martha preferred the dry wine while Dwayne, Bobbie and I enjoyed the sweet wine. April told me today that St. James Winery got second place in the country for their grade of wine.
Sunday:
Dwayne fixed breakfast for Ron and Martha before they left for Rolla and to go by and visit Mom again. While they were gone, Kenny and Shelley came by to pick up Nathan. He was all smiles when he saw them. We never had any problems with him at all.
Since my cousin was here from Oregon, we had planned a Williams Family Reunion or as Mom's side of the family calls them, a cousin party. I was so disappointed Mom was unable to be there. We had a total of sixty family members present for the day. Everyone seemed to have a good time and the kids were very excited that Chad and Todd rode their horses over and gave rides.

Judy, Kate and Connie (I'm still waiting for April to get a camera that doesn't add at least twenty pounds to a person!!)


Connie, Judy, Dad, Wayne, Kate (We certainly missed Mom being there)


Cousins


More Cousins


Troy and Wayne, Jr.


Zach


Ashlyn and Lizzy

Dwayne and I went up Sunday evening to visit Mom. She was doing much better and had been moved from ICU to a step-down unit. She was in good spirits even though she missed out on the day. When we got back some of the family was still there and we spent the rest of the evening visiting.
Monday:
I had planned on coming to work an hour later so I could visit with Ron and Martha and see them off. We had a nice visit and look forward to them coming again in the fall.
Although I was a little tired last night, it was so worth it to see and visit with my family and have everyone gather at my house. I feel so blessed.

What would you dooooooooooooo for a Klondike Bar?

Not sing, that's for sure!!
We just celebrated my birthday at work with Klondike Bars.
As anyone that knows me knows I cannot sing. They asked
me to quit singing and then I could have me my ice cream. LOL

Nifty Fifty, Plus Three:

April and my niece, Kristin put this in the Rolla Daily News three years ago for my fifieth birthday. Such wonderful kids!! Ha!
April, Chad and Todd had a barbecue at Chad's house for me three years ago.
Tonight, we are going to Randy's Roadkill Grill for mine and Todd's birthday.
Todd turned twenty-nine Saturday, the 17th.

The week thus far:

Tuesday:
Dwayne "worshed" the windows and April washed the windows. We hicks say worshed. Todd is the most hick sounding of our three kids and even he says washed!! He says there is not a r in washed, maybe not, but that's how we pronounce it. LOL
Dwayne has done so many of my spring jobs this year, things he's never done before. Like worshing windows. We've been married close to thirty-three years and this is a first. They were pretty dirty with soap and water spots from when he power-washed the siding and decks.
He's also cleaned the leaves out of my flower beds and helped with some of the spring cleaning around the house. Dwayne is afraid I will have another flare-up so he is taking over my heavier chores around the house. I so appreciate the help, but the old fashioned part of me being the "housewife", I feel guilty that he's doing these chores. I am trying to learn to relax and let go.
Wednesday:
I finished up the upstairs bathroom and bedroom getting them ready for company this weekend.
My cousin, Ron York and his wife Martha, are coming in from Oregon for a couple days. We're having a family reunion or as Mom's family calls it, cousin party, on Sunday afternoon. I'm looking forward to seeing cousins I haven't seen in quite some time. I just hope Mom will be able to get out of the hospital Sunday morning.
Thursday:
The day was tense as my Mom was admitted to the hospital for a blood clot in her lung. Mom has been having difficulty in breathing the past couple months. We were so fortunate that a local doctor could see her distress and sent her to Springfield to the cardiologist the next day. Blood tests revealed elevation in her bloodwork that idicated heart problems and the possiblity of a blood clot. Dad took Mom in yesterday morning to Phelps County Hospital for a CT and it revealed not one, but two blood clots, one in each lung!! They immediately put her in ICU and started blood thinners. When I went up to see her last night she was sitting up in bed and looked so much better than she had earlier. Her color was good and her face not so puffy as she also had fluid building up around her heart. No wonder she was having difficulty breathing and chest pains. I felt so much better after seeing her.
I then went to good old Wal-Mart's to buy groceries for the weekend. I bought so much my cart was overflowing, don't know how I managed to get it all in one cart. Luckily, I did not have to unload the groceries when I got home as Dwayne and April did that chore. April even put away most of it. I was so tired I went to bed early.
Friday:
A good night's sleep makes a person feel so much better the next day. We have a meeting at work today so I had to dress up instead of wearing my usual jeans to work. It is nice to dress up once in a while.
My mind is racing with all that will be going on this weekend. Tomorrow will be my baby son, Todd's 29th birthday!!! So hard to believe he will be that old, makes me feel even older.
Ron and Martha will come in mid-afternoon and Wayne and Bobbie are taking them to Sybil's to eat tomorrow night. We will then have a nice evening visiting.
We're watching our friend's baby, Nathan over the weekend. We're excited to see him as it's been a couple weeks or more since we last saw him. Dwayne is like a kid in a candy shop, he's been counting down the days until Nathan comes down. LOL Dwayne and April have already set up the playpen in our room for his visit. He's a good baby and we will enjoy our time with him.

As much as I worry about my Mom's health, I am extremely grateful to have had such loving parents as long as I have. Family is the most important part of life along with worshipping God in the blessings he has bestowed upon us.

Weekend:

Saturday:
Dwayne power-washed the front porch and I did some Spring cleaning upstairs. I seldom clean the upstairs since the kids have all moved out. I like to give each room in the house a thorough cleaning each Spring, wipe down the walls, shampoo carpets, wash windows and cleaning behind furniture. Somehow it makes me feel better to start fresh each Spring with a clean house, reduces cobwebs in the house and in my mind.
Saturday evening we went to a friend's house for barbecue. We had a great time visiting with friends we hadn't seen in awhile.
Sunday:
I played hooky from church, shouldn't have but I did.
I baked a cake and casserole to take up to Mom's for dinner. Judy fixed chicken-n-dumplings and we all brought in side dishes. Mom has not been feeling well so we are taking over the cooking on Sundays to give Mom a break. It was so nice outside, we sat on the porch visiting after dinner.
Dwayne and Zach hauled some wood over to the lake in Vichy for our pig roast next month. They spent the afternoon fishing at the lake. They didn't have much luck but Zach certainly enjoyed himself.
April, Mike and I met Dwayne and Zach at Vichy Wye for supper. Zach was having a hard time eating his hamburger as they're quite large so April told him to cut it in half and it would be easier to hold. He told me on the way home from school last night that April had a good idea to make his hamburger the right size to eat. She only meant for him to eat half at a time but he thought she meant he couldn't eat anymore than that. He's so cute and it takes him forever to tell a story, you almost want to finish his sentences for him. He kept us entertained as we ate and enjoyed all the attention of being the only niece or nephew present.
Sunday evening we watched the new episode of Army Wives. I love that show but it seems like it is over before an hour has passed. I think they should make it a two hour show. Guess they couldn't keep the season going that long if they did that.
Monday:
I went to the chiropractor first thing before going to work. I had messed up my back when I fell down the stairs in January. It is getting much better since I've gone for treatments. I now have a lot more sympathy for people with back pain. The saying about walking a mile in someone else's shoes before judging applies to several different aspects of life.
Work was pretty busy as we have three people out for a few days.
Tuesday:
Judy took Mom to Springfield to see her cardiologist as she's not been feeling well this winter.
They took blood work and ordered some more tests for later in the month. So far, everything is looking good. There is some thickening in the heart muscle but with her age and heart history, that is normal.

The weather has been so nice and I've really enjoyed the outdoors and being with family.

Easter Weekend:

Friday:
Work has been very stressful for the last week and I went home with a pounding headache. There were a couple of good movies on TV that Dwayne and I watched. Chad called me around 9 p.m. and we talked for about forty-five minutes. Good to talk to my son and hear him back to his old self.
Saturday:
I did not wake up until 11 a.m. I watched a movie with April. I always enjoy our Saturday time together. I still had a headache so I took a two and a half hour nap.
I woke up feeling good, cleaned the kitchen and went downstairs to walk on the treadmill. Dwayne cleaned out all of my flower beds for me and I appreciated that very much.
We got ready and went to Rolla to eat out and buy food for our Easter meal. We ate at a new Italian Restaurant, Napoli's. It was okay, nothing spectacular.
We headed to Wal-Mart's to buy groceries. I could not believe they were completely out of hams. We then went to Kroger's and luckily they still had hams left. I thought I would probably have a difficult time going to sleep after sleeping late and taking such a long nap, but after putting groceries away I went to bed and went straight to sleep.
Easter Sunday:
What a wonderful way to wake up!! Todd had come over and fixed chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. Pancakes is my favorite breakfast food, especially with chocolate chips. Dwayne, Todd, April and I spent a lazy morning visiting and getting ready for our Easter dinner.
We always have Easter at our house for my family and Dwayne's. There was a good turnout of family. We are running out of small kids for the Easter Egg Hunt as the youngest there was eight. The great nieces and nephews had alot of eggs to hunt and decided they weren't too old after all. (Especially when they found out three of the eggs had five dollar bills in them. Even the adult kids decided maybe they should hunt eggs, too. LOL) It was such a great day with all three of our children present and seeing each one doing good and enjoying themselves.
After everyone left, Dwayne and I went to Chad's and borrowed Todd's four wheeler. We drove around on our land at the Emge Place and just enjoying being outdoors. I had a wonderful weekend and feel rested to start another work week.

What a wonderful blessing to have my family and parents to celebrate Easter with.

In The Beginning:

I was looking through one of my older Bibles the other night and ran across a church bulletin from 1973. I had wrote a small article for the bulletin. I thought I would share it for this Easter Holiday, as without the beginning of time and how the world began, we would not have had Christ send his son, Jesus to die for us.