Grandparent's Gift:

 

Lizzy and Nathan came over yesterday evening to help me buy Easter food and eggs.  When we pulled in the driveway, Lizzy (of course, she notices everything) started yelling there's a package on your porch.  Out the car door she went.  More excited talking as she said it says, "World's Best Grandma" on it.  I knew immediately it was from Bette Jo.
It is a rag quilt in soft flannel.  It's for my house if it's a boy and April's house if it's a girl.  I so appreciate Dwayne's extended family and the love they have shown me.

Bette also sent a card to us the day she found out we were getting a grandchild.  My cousin, Martha sent one this week.  I meant to take of picture of Martha's card last night but forgot to.  Martha is always so thoughtful at sending cards.  We may not see each other much but we keep in touch and we know we can count on the other if we have any problems in life.

I am so grateful for the greetings of gladness we've received from so many people upon hearing we're to be grandparents.

Wordless Wednesday:

 

 

2005:

Zach and Ashlyne were over last night for Zach to finish typing up his report.  My printer ran out of ink, so we were going to save it to a disc for him to take to school and print out.  I thought I found an empty disc and to our surprise it was old pictures April had saved.  I think this was 2005.  Zach and Ashlyne laughed at how they looked then.  I thought they looked cute.

Dwayne, (a few pounds lighter....) stringing the lights.

April and Ashlyne

(quite the fashion statment with that short sweater on)

Zach, Ashlyne and April

 

Zach with April in the background.

Monster Zach

Ashlyne hiding from the monster.

We found more Christmas pictures from that year I'll post later.  I have my blog printed into a journal, so it helps me to keep pictures without downloading and printing out.  It's a nice way to preserve memories.

I am grateful for these two kids in my life.  We've watched Ashlyne since she was three weeks old and I was present for Zach's birth.

Weekend:

Friday:
Dwayne and I went to Mike and Susan's to visit and to also see Carrie, Ryan and their three kids, Avery, Evan and Ellie.  Kay and Kassie were there too.  We always enjoy seeing the kids and how much they have changed between visits.  They refer Dwayne as the cowboy and I'm the cowboys' wife.  lol
Saturday:
April came by for breakfast and then we headed out to Springfield to do some shopping.  I think all the neighboring towns were in Springfield.  I've never seen the traffic that congested, even around Christmas.  We were pleasantly surprised to see Kara and Parker at the mall.  I was glancing at the cute baby in the stroller and then looked again as it was Kara and Parker!  Quite a coincedence in that big of a mall and as crowded as it was.

    Parker Bradley

 

We bought a few items but overall not much.  At least we saved money.  lol

Dwayne called on our way home and was heading over to Sput's for a fish fry.  We decided to go over on our way home and visit.  Kristin was there with Ashlyne, Kaden and Kaleb.  Kaden was soooo excited to see "His April" and told her he had missed her so much and he loved her very much.  He hasn't really seen her that often but she has picked him up from Kristin and brought him out to the house a few times.  I guess in his eyes that is alot.  My nephew, Michael was  there with his little boy Gavin who is almost six.  He told Chad when April sat by him he had found a real hottie.  I don't know why little kids talk that way.  It was cute, but I still think inappropriate for a little boy to be talking that way.  Kaleb wouldn't have anything to do with anyone except Uncle Dwayne.  He cried when he had to leave.  We visited awhile with Dwayne, Chad and a few other friends there and then headed over to Mom and Dad's.  They were super excited to see April.  Dad told her he was going to spoil this baby and would teach him/her to jig dance in no time.  Mom is doing okay but getting very tired of just sitting and not being able to get around.

Sunday:

Dwayne and I headed over to April and Mike's.  We got quite a bit of snow during the night but the roads were okay until we got to Highway 52 and then it was another story.  They received so much more snow over that way and more was coming down.  It looked like a blizzard.

Dwayne and Mike painted the nursery while April and I played lazy all afternoon watching movies.

I think the kids missed us being home as Lizzy called wanting to come over and then Ashlyne called with the same request.  Zach and Ashlyne walked over in the snow after we got home.  We spent the evening watching TV and Zach typing up a report.  Needless to say, I did not let them walk home at nine o'clock in the snow and freezing weather.  After driving that short distance I was dreading driving to work this morning.  The highway was clear but Highway A was snow and ice covered.  Luckily, I didn't slide any.  Nice Spring weather!!  lol

I am grateful for the weekend spent with family and friends.

 

Thought for the day:

Wordless Wednesday:

Weekend:

Friday:
Dwayne started working out of town this week and leaves around three a.m. on Monday morning and got home last night around nine p.m. Long week away from home for him. (and me) This shouldn't last too long. He is to start working in Fort Leonard Wood as soon as the weather clears up for the job to start. Driving under forty miles one way to work will seem like a vacation to Dwayne as he's been driving over a hundred miles one way for the past several years. Dwayne came by work and we ran a few errands.
After work, we went to Mom and Dad's and to see if they needed any groceries picked up.  Mom seemed to be in quite a bit of pain and the boot they put on her that day was more for the foot and didn't support the ankle at all.
We ate at Maid-Rites and then to Wal-Mart to buy groceries.  Stopped by and dropped off Mom and Dad's items and then home to an early bedtime.  I was still tired from the events from Mom and Dwayne had a rough work week and was exhausted.
Saturday:

We went to Rolla to watch the St. Pat's Parade.  I was wondering why Dwayne wanted to go watch Chad ride in the parade as we see him riding the horse all the time and then he told me Chad was going to ride his mule and be leading the parade.  We were disappointed that this was canceled at the last minute as the group he was to lead decided it was too cold and with the chance of rain decided not to come.  We did get to see Chad ride but it was the back of the parade reserved for horses.

Dwayne held Kaleb throughout the parade.  I don't know what Kaleb likes most, Uncle Dwayne or Uncle Dwayne's hat.

  

Kaleb's attention was drawn by the camels.  Don't ever remember seeing camels in our area before.

The wind came up and it kept getting colder and colder out. But that didn't stop Kaleb from getting as short ride on Chad's horse.

 We found some good Kabobs at one of the street stands.  We then went to Lowe's to pick up a hand rail for the basement steps as Dwayne fell down them last Saturday.  Between the two of us falling twice down the stairs now, our kids think we need a one story house.  I think the reason Dwayne has fell is his socks have nylon in them and make him slip.  May have to invest in just all cotton socks.
We spent the afternoon cleaning in the basement and installing the hand rail.  I then went to Mom and Dad's to help out for awhile.  Mom had decided the loose fitting boot wasn't helping at all so she had Judy take it off and she soaked her foot/ankle in ice water for awhile and then they made their own splint and then wrapped her foot with an ace bandage.  This helped also as it kept Mom's foot mobile.  She was feeling much better than the day before.
Sunday:
I once again missed church.  Not a good habit to get into.
April, Mike, Chad and Todd all came for a huge Sunday dinner of roast beef, corned beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, cabbage and of course corn for Mike.  I never have a dinner for him without his corn.
My oatmeal cake with a burnt sugar icing was just exactly that, burnt!!  I had it under the broiler and when I checked it it only needed about a minute more.  I got busy visiting with the kids sitting at the kitchen counter and forgot about it until I smelled it burning!  It was just the topping so I scraped that off.
We had a good afternoon of watching TV and just visiting.  Of course, we talked about the baby to be here in October.  Uncle Chad and Uncle Todd are just about as excited as Dwayne and I.  Chad is already picking out a horse for the baby.  lol
After the kids left, Dwayne spent the remainder of the afternoon packing up his truck and going to check on Mom and Dad.
I went to two different visitations for two high school friends whose mothers had passed away.  There was a nice showing of support at both visitations from family and friends even with the rain and sleet we were having.
An evening finished by watching Army Wives and the end to a fast weekend.

I am grateful for my family and friends.

Mom:

Last Wednesday evening, I took Mom to visit a friend of hers whose husband passed away in January.  We had a nice visit.  Mom and Imogene reminenced about their life as friends and neighbors.  As we were leaving Mom stepped down off the sidewalk and her leg buckled under. Imogene and I tried to help her get up but couldn't manage it. Imogene went to get help but as it's senior apartments no one was able to help so we had to call an ambulance.  It was very cold and damp out with the wind coming up.  The concrete was very cold.  Imogene brought out about four quilts to cover Mom up with but we were freezing sitting on the damp cold concrete.
I was a little aggravated with the ambulance personnel as they helped Mom to a sitting position and then tried to pull her up.  Her ankle was already swollen, therefore, she couldn't put any weight on it.  I was afraid that little bit of pressure from them trying to pull her up would damage the ankle further.  I thought they would bring a body board over to where Mom was laying on the concrete.  They didn't check to see if she could have broken a hip or worse.   After they couldn't get Mom to stand up they picked her up from the shoulders and legs and carried her to the gurney. The gurney wasn't even pulled up close to Mom nor did they move it any closer for when they picked her up.  There was a third EMT present who could have moved it. 
I called Judy and she came up to the hospital and brought Mom's medical records.  The wait is always long when you go to the ER and tonight was no exception.  The x-ray showed a fractured ankle in two places.  We had a wonderful nurse who put the splint on Mom's ankle and helped us out to the car.  We got to the hospital at 8:30 p.m. and left at 1 a.m.
Trying to get Mom in the house was quite a job.  We got her in the wheelchair but getting her across the uneven ground and the wheelchair backwards up the steps took all three of us. (Judy, Dad and I)
After getting Mom settled in bed, we left her in the capable hands of Dad.
Judy took Mom to the doctor Friday and he said if she stays off the ankle for three weeks it should heal okay.  It's taken Mom a year to get over her fall last year and weeks of bed rest which contributed to her heart filling up with fluid and we almost lost her in July.  Hopefully, this setback will turn out better.

I am grateful for Mom only breaking her ankle and nothing more.

(I am one that always thinks, what if, should have, etc.  I told Mom I wished I hadn't taken her to see Imogene.  She said, that's silly, we had a good visit and I could have fallen anywhere.  These things just happen, Connie and you can't beat yourself up over it.  My Mom, words of wisdom all throughout my years)

We're going to be grandparents!!

 

Last Thursday April text to see if we were going to be home Friday night.  They were going to Moreland's to eat and they were going to run by with a package for me to send back to Buckle.  I thought it was a little odd as I was going to St. Elizabeth on Saturday for us to go shopping and I also thought by the time they get done eating at Moreland's it would be getting a little late.  But we always welcome a visit from the kids.

When they got there, April handed me a gift bag and send she forgot to give it to me.  It looked like a Valentine's gift bag so I thought she was giving me a Valentine's card and gift.  Imagine my surprise when I opened it up and it said "A New Grandchild"!!  I started crying.  I mean really crying!!  I was so happy and I guess a little shocked but I don't remember ever crying like that at getting good news.  I took it over to Dwayne and said, look!!  April had told Mike one of us would probably cry but she thought it would be her dad. (not really cry but she figured he would get teary eyed)  After my initial shock I also reached in the bag and pulled out the gift which was an ultra sound picture that said "Love at first site".  The caption on the ultrasound said, "Hi Grandma & Grandpa!"

Dwayne and I have wanted grandchildren for years.  Almost all of our friends have been grandparents for years.  I've been buying baby clothes off and on since my great niece, Ashlyne was born and that was over sixteen years ago.  Some of them have hung in the closet so long they are stiff and have turned yellow.  And outdated!!  It's been a joke in our family for quite some time about the number of baby shoes I've bought throughout the years.

April is pretty private with her thoughts and I would never ask her when they planned on having children. Secretly I was always afraid she might not be able to get pregnant.  She has Hashimoto Thyroid Disease which can impair pregnancy but my most secret fear which I never shared with her until recently was from what the doctor said years ago when she had an inguinal hernia surgery.  When he did the repair he said he also checked out her fallopian tubes and he said they looked fine. (I'm thinking, "What, she's only thirteen months old!")  He was a good surgeon but it always bothered me that he might have caused scar tissue.  He never even suggested that but that thought was stored in the back of my mind.  I should trust God more.  April is considered high risk because of the Hashimoto and will have to see a high risk doctor starting at 28 weeks but Dr. Su said she didn't foresee any complications as April's body is getting the hormones needed from the medicine she's been on for several years, it's more precautionary.  I'm not worried about it and for me that's a big thing as I worry all the time.  I need to practice more the saying, "Let Go and Let God".

As of right now, April and Mike have decided not to find out the sex of the baby.  I think this surprised and shocked me more than that she was pregnant as April is a planner and always wants to know in advance how to plan an event, etc.  Dwayne has always thought people shouldn't find out and be surprised at the birth, so he was happy.  I don't know how I feel about not knowing, excited either way.  I just assumed April would want to know.  And she may still change her mind.

I am so grateful for this new blessing that will come into our life.

Wordless Wednesday:

Adrian:

As hard as you try to not concentrate on a date, it still creeps in.  Today would have been Adrian's 28th birthday.  Such a beautiful girl.  After fifteen years it's still hard to grasp this terrible tragedy in our lives.

Adrian 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.

Janet:

My friend Janet who passed away in 2011 birthday would be tomorrow.  I wanted to go down on her birthday to put flowers on.  While shopping in Jefferson City Saturday, I ran across these cute little pinwheels that happened to be in the same exact colors of the dresses we wore in Janet's wedding years ago.  Janet's was blue and this same shade and mine was the mint green, also this same shade of green.  What an appropriate way to remember Janet.  Dwayne is working out of town this week so I had him go with me Saturday evening to the cemetery.  (Good thing as will all the rain, there is no way we could have made it across the field in the mud).  This cemetery is in the middle of a field without a road going across.  You just drive in the middle of the field the best way you can.  I also don't want to go by myself as it's very isolated and kind of creepy.
April and I went there one summer evening a few years ago to see our neighbor's sons new tombstone and it was the eeriest feeling while there.  In one are of the cemetery we kept smelling a strong flower smell.  We searched everywhere but could not find any living flowers or vines.  We only smelled it in one section.  Along with it being dusk and the middle of nowhere it felt very eery.  We never could figure out where the strong flower/perfume smell was coming from.
I visited with Janet's Mom and Dad a couple weeks ago and they seem to be doing pretty good.  Bev is able to talk about Janet some now.  Charles and Bev have both been in poor health this winter.  I think the tulips Mom sent cheered her up some.

I am grateful to have know Janet for a childhood friend.

Weekend:

Friday:
We started off the evening by watching my great nephew, Kaleb while his Mommy and brother went to a basketball game with Ashlyne and Zach.  He was very good until April and Mike came by for a visit.  Then he was into everything!!  I don't know if we weren't paying enough attention to him or what.
Saturday:
Dwayne, Chad and Todd went to St. Elizabeth to get some hay from Mike's dad.  The drought last summer depleted our pasture and hay.
I went to St. Elizabeth and April and I spent the day shopping in Jefferson City.  My big expenditure for the day was a new door knob for the front door.  Our bit the dust after twenty-seven years. Not too bad for lasting that long.  I had spent A LOT of time refinishing our door a few years ago and now will have to find stain to touch up to get it to match as the pieces don't fit the same as the old one.  Bummer!  lol
Sunday:
I've not been sleeping well the past couple months so when I actually slept good during the night I didn't go to church as I kept dozing off.  Not a good habit to get into.
We went to Mom and Dad's for the afternoon as she had cake and ice cream for the March birthdays.
Nice to visit with the ones that showed up.
Zach and Ashlyne came home with us for the evening.  They are growing up so fast, sixteen and almost fifteen!!  Judy came over and picked them up before I got "their" pizza done.  I'll have to fix them one another time.
Dwayne went to bed early as he had to leave for Cape Girardeau early Monday morning.  The job he's supposed to start on has been delayed due to the weather so rather than being off for several more weeks, he opted to stay out of town Monday through Thursday and get to work.  At least it's not five days a week.

I am grateful for the times spent with family.

Nonna's Boys:

Nathan and Nonna

(I may or may not have let Nathan have a few sips of my Sun Drop..........)

lol

Nathan with Dwayne's hat

B

"Blake the Bullrider"

on

Zach, the "bull"

Ashlyne, Nonna & Nathan

Tuesday evening I picked Zach up after track practice and then Ashlyne came over to the house to pick him up.  We invited them to eat supper with us and go over to Kenny and Shelley's to see their new house.  Zach and Ashlyne have both been around Blake and Nathan quite a bit and were looking forward to seeing them.
We hadn't been to see the house since they moved in so we were excited to see the finished product.
The house turned out great and the rooms and decor all flows nicely.  I love the size of Shelley's kitchen and dining room.  I could use that size for our family dinners.

When Nathan started to talk, he called me Nonna and still does.  I was amazed he was so happy to see me when we got there and sat on my lap several times throughout the evening.  I was even MORE AMAZED at how he can do the DSL game (or whatever you call it).  These young kids just take to technology so fast.  I see kids no bigger than toddlers using cell phones, etc.  I just can't seem to get the hang of it.

Blake was so excited to see Ashlyne.  She used to babysit him and he just loves her.  Nathan wanted her to spend the night and babysit.  lol  Actually, he wanted me to spend the night too.  I told him he could go home with me and then immediately realized he's too young to know I was just kidding and was afraid he would take me up on it.  Would have been okay except his daycare isn't on my way to work.  Luckily, he was okay with that.

The boys had Monster Trucks on TV and Dwayne couldn't hardly visit with Kenny for watching TV.  I think we may just have to go see them when they're in St. Louis again, looks pretty exciting.

Blake has always wanted to be a bull rider and Zach played along with him and was his bull.  We had to count each time he rode.  The bull was a little wild and sometimes he didn't make the eight seconds.
They were both worn out when they got done.

We had a great time visiting and I am grateful for this family that came into our life when by chance April started babysitting Blake when he was two years old.  A great friendship has been formed.

Wordless Wednesday:

My nieces in the April's wedding:

Kara 

Ashlyne

Tess

MacKensie

Elizabeth

Goof Ball:

Where, oh where did my glasses go?

I'm such a goof ball.  Ashlyne and Lizzy were over one night and I couldn't find my glasses anywhere.  I searched and searched.  Well, you see it, they were on my head and tangled up in my hair!!  lol  I do that quite often.  I need my glasses for distant vision and push them up on my head when looking up close.  I know I felt on my head and couldn't find them, sure am glad Ashlyne and Lizzy had a good laugh for the night!! Not!!

I am grateful to my Momma for passing along her sense of humor and be able to laugh at myself.

Weekend:

Saturday:
Still not sleeping good so up earlier than I normally like.
I finished up the sealer on the bay window, not too happy with it.  It bubbles up some on the finish.  Dwayne sanded it down once for me so I could put another coat on, he said he would sand it again for me but I think I'm going to call it done.  Hung a couple pictures in the bedroom and some laundry then it was time for April to be there.  We had two baby showers to go to.  I was afraid with the weather like it was there wouldn't be a very good turnout but both showers had alot of people there.  My car is now so muddy from the gravel roads it looks like someone spray painted the lower half of the car with tan paint.  I imagine it will look that way for the rest of Spring.
After the baby showers, we stopped by to visit Mom and Dad.  Dad was in rare form today!!  He always talks alot and tells you quite a bit of history, but today he was in even more of a talkative mode than usual.  Poor Mom, you can barely visit with her for Dad talking. She did get to give April some of her recipes to write down.  One was for home made icing and I had forgot we used to make it like that all the time, so used to now just buying the tub of icing. They both felt really good today and we had a great visit.
After April left, I made a big pot of soup, way too much for Dwayne and I so I planned on taking it over to April's the next day.
Sunday:
Again, waking up way too early.  But I get alot accomplished that way just not used to the early morning hours.  I made a cake before I went to church and then actually made home made icing.  I didn't have any in the cabinet and with Mom refreshing my memory yesterday I made fudge icing.  It does set up better than the bought kind.
After church, Dwayne and I loaded up the truck and headed for April and Mike's.  Chad and Todd were going to go with us but had plans at the last minute.
Dwayne and Chad had installed a new countertop and tiled the backsplash last month. Dwayne still needed to put up a few trim pieces.  It turned out good and certainly looks a lot better than the old white counter top and tile.

                                                                             Before:

After:

I had made copies of Dodie's handwritten instructions for Liverpool Rummy and gave them to April along with three decks of cards.  We spent many Sunday afternoons playing cards with Grandma Dodie and Grandpa Andy.  If you didn't play cards or a board game when you came to visit, Grandma Dodie would get offended.  She loved her games.
After eating the soup and grilled cheese, we played a couple games.  Dwayne and April were the winners and I felt like a sore looser as I did so bad.

We had a nice weekend getting out of the house.  Dwayne has not had any work due to the weather the past few weeks and he is getting a little tired of being inside.

I am grateful for the nicer weather and a weekend of visiting with family and friends.