Babysitting:

 

 

 

Wednesday, April's babysitter need the day off due to the death of her mother.  I offered to take off work and watch him.  My bosses are really good about that.

We had a good day and it was my first time with him alone.  Grandpa seems to hog him..........

This is what I've always dreamed about; being a grandparent.  We spent the day doing nothing; just watching TV, jabbering and playing.  I really enjoyed the day.

 

I am so grateful for this little boy in our lives.

Wordless Wednesday on Thursday:

Toys:

Weekend:

Friday:
Bad Rummy night!!! I lost every game.  Boo!

Saturday:
April was getting her car serviced at Weidinger's, so Dwayne picked her and Cash up when he went to the bank.  Cash was spending the night so it took quite a bit of "stuff" to bring.
Cash was taking a nap so April and I went to Rolla while Grandpa babysat.  J. C. Penney had a good sale on so I got a good deal on a heavy winter coat that I will need for an upcoming trip in March.
Had to buy Dwayne new work pants at Family Center.  I don't know why carpenter's have to wear white, they certainly don't stay white long.  Not even with Tide!!  I wish they could wear the brown carharts, they not only wouldn't show dirt they are a heavier material so would last longer.
When we got home, Todd was there.  I fixed lunch and we all sat around and watched Cash.

Happy Baby

I took April back to get her car and then Cash and I went visiting.  First, we went to my sister Judy's and visited with her and Joe awhile.  He really went to town jabbering for Judy.  Judy kept telling him how precious he was.  lol  Precious is a word Judy used often.

We then went to Mom and Dad's.  He talked a lot for them, too.

Dad giving him a horsey ride.

He let Grandma Great rock him for quite awhile.  Unusual

for him to sit still that long.

Talking to Mom's wind up doll.

 

We pretty much spent most of our time playing with Cash for the evening.

"Family Picture"

 

Dwayne slept in the living room with Cash and got up with him during the night.  Suits me just fine!!  lol  Dwayne is a little possessive of him and even admitted it yesterday.  Grandpa is the main care taker when Cash is at the house.

 

Sunday:

 

Grandpa let me sleep late.  Yay, Grandpa!!

 

Cash fell asleep after getting his bath. 

Gotta have a little play time before church.

 

We went to church and I was so excited to show him off and the little booger was in a bad mood and CRIED the whole time.  Went back to our seat, handed him to Grandpa and he quieted right down.

He was really good for us all weekend but when he gets mad, he really gets mad!  lol

He was glad to see his Mommy when she got there.  He snuggled up under her neck and chin and went to sleep.  He also held onto her hair.  This is so ironic as April always held my hair when I held her and as she got older, if she got in trouble or got her feelings hurt, she would come over and just hold a strand of my hair.

After church, Dwayne picked up barbecue pork steaks from the Fireman's stand for lunch.  They were very good.  I spent the afternoon sewing and Dwayne did his farm chores.

We mainly just rested after that.  Forgot how tiring a baby can be.  But we're up for it anytime.

 

I am grateful for life and my family.

Grandpa and Grandma Feeler:

Today is a bittersweet day.  It's would have been my Grandpa's birthday and it's also the anniversary date of my Grandma's death.  It seemed fitting she "went home" on Grandpa's birthday.

Grandpa:
I was kind of a grandpa's girl.  We lived close by and went over often.   As a little girl, he would always ask me for sugar (a kiss on his cheek).  I would sometimes tell him I was out and had to go to Vichy to get more.  When I started dating Dwayne who is from Vichy, my family said I was still going to Vichy to get sugar.  lol
Grandpa and Grandma had a huge strawberry patch.  They would sell strawberries and also people would come in to pick their own.  I used to help them pick in the evenings.  Sometimes it seemed I ate more than I picked.
Grandpa played the fiddle and sang gospel hymns.  Our preacher would go down and they would sing and play; it was a good time.  Grandpa loved to tell stories which is probably where my dad got his talking and story telling from.  If you live around Vienna, you know that from seeing him in the stores and especially from the article in the Maries County Gazette. 
My Grandpa died on my seventeenth birthday.  The relatives all felt bad for me but it seemed an honor.  I always know the date Grandpa died and many years ago it was.  (It will be forty years this coming April 19th)

Grandma:
Grandma was more lenient with the grand kids than Grandpa.  Grandpa insisted we clean our plates.  As soon as he got up from the table, Grandma would tell us we didn't have to finish.  We usually ate pretty slow so Grandpa got up first.  lol
I was named after my Grandma.  Her name was Eliza Rebecca and my middle name is the same as hers, Connie Rebecca.  I'm the only grandchild named after Grandma.  I always loved having Grandma's middle name.
Grandma made each grandchild feel special.  No one ever felt as if another grand child was favored more than another.  My cousin's wrote a song about Grandma for her eightieth birthday; What Makes Grandma Grand.  They also sang it at her funeral.
I am glad all three of our children got to know my Grandma.  April was only two and a half when she died, but she does have some memories.  The boys knew her well.  Since I was a stay at home Mom, we went to visit often.

I never knew my Mom's parents; they had both passed away years earlier so I only knew Grandpa and Grandma Feeler.  What a blessing they were.

I am grateful for Grandpa Arch and Grandma Eliza and the influence they had on my life.

Visit with Cash:

Last night was our Wednesday evening with the Holtmeyer's.

Cash was in an exceptionally good mood.  He cooed, jabbered and hollered the whole time we were there.  I thought my kids were advanced and talked a lot but they didn't talk near as much as Cash does.  We enjoyed our visit.

Grandpa and Cash on horse Santa brought.

(Cell phone picture, not too clear)

This is my favorite picture so far.  He looks so sweet and

quite a bit like his Mommy did at this age.

 

I am grateful for this day and my family.

Wordless Wednesday:

Weekend:

Friday:
Dwayne and I went to Wal-Mart for groceries.  Quite the trip, Dwayne was being a goofball.
We then went to Sput's for his 56th Birthday.  Dwayne and I shared the Philly steak sandwich.  If you ever go to Sput's, I definitely recommend the Philly steak sandwich. Visited with a lot of friends.
Saturday:
Dwayne had to work in St. Louis and didn't expect to get home until 9:30 p.m.
I spent the day goofing off, did get one cabinet and one closet cleaned, though.  I never left the house at all.
Nathan and Liz came over around six for a few hours.  I made a pot of chili. I sprinkled in a few red pepper flakes but didn't think I had done that much.  The chili was HOT and spicy.  I couldn't figure it out.  Comes to find out Dwayne switched my mild chili beans in the cart for super spicy!!  Ugh!
We played Liverpool Rummy and Liz was the winner.  We had a good time.  Around nine o'clock Dwayne called and said they were working until midnight and starting in at five on Sunday morning.  Luckily, the company paid for a motel room.
Sunday:
Finally, I got back to church.  The sermon was very good and it was nice to see everyone again.
Went into Rolla to run a few errands and treated myself to Long John Silver's batter fried fish.  Love their fish and I don't need all the extras to go with it.  Stopped by Mom and Dad's on the way home.  They were doing good.  Spent the afternoon reading.
Dwayne got home around six.  After his shower, we sat down to eat chili.  I told him I must have put in too many pepper flakes as it was very hot.  He started laughing and that's when he told me he switched the beans!  I felt like switching him as the chili had a very good flavor but you couldn't enjoy it for it being too hot and spicy.
We watched TV for awhile and called it an early night.

I am grateful for my hard working husband.

Tynes:

For those of you who live around Vienna, you will remember our principal of many years, Ray Tynes.  His great-granddaughter, Kolleen Tynes came for a visit last night and to show us her new baby.  We were friends with Kolleen's Dad, Paul for many years. (Paul was also Dwayne's second cousin).  Unfortunately, he passed away several years ago.  We have always kept in contact with Kolleen.  She used to come and spend the night with us every Summer to go to the Lennaman Reunion.  Since a small child, she has always referred to us as Uncle Dwayne and Aunt Connie.

Her baby, Trad  (dart spelled backwards........) is a real sweetheart.  He seems like a real content baby.  Her little girl, Trinity Rain is quite the little character.  Her and Dwayne hit it off right off the bat, as you can tell by the pictures below.

I had picked up a small gift for her from Dollar General.  They didn't have much to select as their shelves were still almost cleaned out since Christmas.  I bought a small set with a pink wig, sunglasses, barrettes, ear rings and a microphone.  You would have thought we spent big bucks as she was so excited.  She had been wanting a microphone that doesn't play music so she could sing and "Rock 'n Roll".  And her and Dwayne did just that.  He's such a dork.  lol

Kolleen and Trad

Dwayne reading Trinity a book.

Trinity and the Rock 'n Roll Star, Dwayne!!

(and yes, he had on everything, barrettes, ear rings and all!  lol)

 

We had a nice evening visiting and getting caught up on each other's lives.

 

I am grateful for friends and being there for each other.

(and for my goofy husband)

Wednesday Visits:

 Dwayne decided we were going to make a tradition of going over to April and Mike's every Wednesday evening to see Cash.  Last night made our first trip.  It was a nice drive over with a full moon illuminating everything.
Last night is the most I've ever held Cash.  He's had a bit of colic and only seems to want his Mommy during that time.  AND Dwayne is a pig hog and takes him most of the time.  Pig hog is a term April came up with when she was small if the boys took a big portion of food or anytime she thought someone had too much of something.  The term has just stuck and we use it often if anyone takes too much.  Also, the little stinker just likes his Grandpa and follows him with his eyes if he's around.

 

 

Listening to Grandpa

Trying to smile

Yep, I can smile

Was that good, Grandpa?

 

As you can tell, we're enjoying our grandson quite a bit.

 

I am grateful for our precious little Cash.

Wordless Wednesday:

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse:

 I love getting pictures of Cash from April during the week.  This first one she sent after they got home from daycare.  She said he was so happy and just babbling away and hollering every little bit.

 

This next one, I just love.  He is so entranced by the TV.  April said she was in the kitchen and she could hear Cash holler real loud every little bit.  She went in to see what he was hollering about.  He was watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and I guess every little bit they say something and the kids are to respond.   The kids at daycare do this and holler something back.  She said she thought Cash was too young to understand the concept but every time they yelled something for a response, Cash would holler real loud.  Then he would just watch the TV and then the next time he would holler again.  Can babies this young really get the concept to responding back?  From all evidence, it seems like he knows when to respond. 

 

I am most grateful for this precious little guy that came into our lives October 12th, 2013.

Weekend:

Friday:
Friday wasn't a very good day.  My cousin, Jeannie, whom I'm very close to, her 34 year old son died the night before.  We still don't know what happened.  An autopsy was scheduled for today.  My main contact is her sister, Martha.  I tried talking to Jeannie Saturday morning but she was crying so hard I couldn't understand her.  We would appreciate any and all prayers.
We had another untimely death in the neighborhood last week.  A previous neighbor, 25 year old Nichole Licklider died.  At first they thought it was from pneumonia, but the autopsy showed she had developed diabetes and she couldn't fight off the infection, her body just shut down.  The really sad part is they found her two year old daughter lying by her.  The poor little girl spent the night and day with dead mother.  Dwayne and I went to the visitation, but the line was to the door of the church and twisted around to the side.  After about ten minutes, I told Dwayne we could leave.  I was mainly going for my niece, Kristin as she lived next door to Nichole and they were very good friends. 
We then went to Krissi's house.  She was having a hard time coping with Nichole's death, but there isn't an easy way to get through it.  We played with Kaden and Kaleb for awhile.  Kaden is always excited to see me and yells, Aunt Connie as he runs over to give me a hug.  Kaleb runs straight to Uncle Dwayne; he won't have a thing to do with me.
Saturday:
The weather was so much better, it was nice to get outside.  I went with Dwayne to cut wood.  Poor Dwayne, the first load he cut, it was so muddy we couldn't get in to it.  Second cutting went much smoother.
I spent the afternoon working on taxes and then spent two hours making ham roll-ups to take to Mom's on Sunday for our delayed Christmas celebration.  Dwayne fixed supper and then we watched a new television show on TV based on Jeanette Oke's books.  I love reading all of her novels.
Sunday:
A lady I used to work with at Stricker Clinic years ago, Eithel Prewett, passed away and her visitation and funeral was on Sunday.  That morning, I went in for her visitation.  It was a nice reflection on Eithel's life.  She was much older than the rest of us girls that worked for Dr. Stricker and she kind of took us all under her wing.  I have fond memories of Eithel.
Around 12:30, we had our delayed Christmas at Mom's.  We had a good time.  I forgot to take my camera with me.
Afterwards, April, Mike and Cash came to the house for awhile.  We played Phase 10 and played with Cash

You can't tell, but he is smiling in the picture. 

 He loves laying on our footstool

Of course, he loves his Grandpa.

 

After the kids left, Dwayne watched TV and I read a book.  A very relaxing evening.

 

I am grateful for my family and even more aware of how precious life is after the week we had.

Cash:

Weekend:

Friday:
We didn't do much.  Zach was still at the house and ate supper with us.  We watched a movie and then I took Zach home.  I visited with Judy and her family for awhile, then home to bed.
Saturday:
My great nephew, Liam's birthday party was in the afternoon.  We met April and Cash at the junction of 42 and 133 and then went on to Crocker for the party.

Liam, then and now

Liam is such a cute little boy and had an exciting time of opening presents and eating his cake.
There was quite a bit of family there so it was nice to visit.
After the part, we took April back to her car and then went on over to her house with Cash with us.  Grandma Connie bought her own car seat for trips with our grandson.  I brought the soup over and we all ate a couple bowls.  We were going to play cards but I think we were all too stuffed and tired.
We watched Saving Private Ryan and Cash sat right there with Grandpa watching the whole show.  He loves TV and just like all guys, a good war movie.  lol

All three guys in a trance.

Even a war movie can get long and put you to sleep.

 

We didn't stay too late as it's a long drive home.  I kept trying to deny the fact snow was coming.

Sunday:

Well, guess who was wrong about the snow!!  We played a lot of Rummy.  Dwayne wins almost every time.  We went up and checked on Mom and Dad but that was the extent of our outing.

Monday:

Dwayne needed to feed and water the cows so to get out of the house I went with him.  VERY cold out and the roads were bad.  We took a bale of hay down to Chad's horses and stopped in to visit him and Desmon.  Todd came in from Rolla and said he found himself driving along and all of a sudden he was in the ditch and going back the way he came from.  He said he stood out in the cold holding a chain trying to get someone to stop and pull him out.  They all just waved.  (and my poor boy was freezing........).  Finally, a Rolla City Utility truck stopped and pulled him out.

I had planned on fixing round steak for supper but just really didn't want to so I didn't.  We drank a couple glasses of wine and played Rummy from 5:30 to 11:30.  Dwayne won three games and I won three.  We started the tie-breaker but I was just too tired.

Tuesday

Dwayne took me into work.  I could have probably drove but the roads were still pretty bad.  I did cook supper (Dwayne was so glad...) lol and then we played Rummy.  Dwayne won the tie-breaker!!  Darn it!!  So, we played some more.  I won one, Dwayne won one and then he won the tie-breaker AGAIN!  I may have to try again tonight.  I did take time out to watch my show The Haves and the Have Nots.  Not sure how they're going to get out of the mess they're in right now.

 

I am grateful for a warm home and a good husband.  We have a good life.

 

Evening with the greats:

After supper, Zach, Nathan, Lizzy and Gunner came over to spend the night.  We played Skip-Bo and had brownies and hot chocolate.  Gunner ate so many brownies, I thought he might puke!  lol
After the Skip-Bo games, the kids went downstairs to play Foosball and watch TV.  They love the Foosball table.
Dwayne and Zach watched TV upstairs and I cut up vegetable to put a crockpot of soup on this morning.  After Dwayne and Zach went to bed, Lizzy and I stayed up to watch our new favorite show, The Haves and the Have Nots.  Very entertaining show!!  Maybe too old for Lizzy but she loves it anyway.
I have three extra bedrooms upstairs and the kids still sleep on the couch and love seat.  Zach is the only one who slept up in a bed.  My bedrooms just go to waste.  I think I'll teach my grand kids from early on to sleep upstairs.  lol
This morning, I got up before the kids to put the soup on and to drink a cup of coffee without interruptions.  I then got busy making chocolate chip/peanut butter chip pancakes.  I always make chocolate chip for company but we got creative this time and added the peanut butter chips.  It was very yummy!!
I left for work and the kids stayed with Dwayne until Tony was supposed to come pick them up.

I am grateful for my extended family of great nieces and nephews and that they still like to come over to their "old"  Aunt Connie's to spend the night and have a good time.

Happy New Year:

New Year's Eve:
We stayed home and had a nice T-Bone steak and shrimp dinner along with St. James sweet wine.
We then just watched TV until about 11 o'clock and then went to bed. 
New Year's:
I went with Dwayne to cut wood.  While he was cutting wood, I went for a walk.  It was quite a hill and I was going to walk to the property line but I went just over the hill to a clearing and still couldn't see a fence line in sight so I turned around and went back.  I helped Dwayne load the wood.  I haven't done that in years and forgot how heavy the sticks were.  We were cutting wood on a neighbor that had his place logged and Dwayne cut from the off falls.
We then stopped at Chad's.  My nephew, Wayne and his girlfriend, Dionne was there along with Todd.  We had a very nice visit.
While Dwayne was splitting wood, I did some laundry and a few things around the house.
In the afternoon, my great niece, Lizzy, great nephew, Nathan and a great nephew we only see a couple times a year, Gunner came over.  I had a good time with the kids.  Lizzy and I spent the afternoon wrapping Mom's gifts for our delayed Sunday Christmas and Nathan and Gunner played Foosball in the basement.  We had pizza and lemonade for supper.
Gunner thinks he's an alien (he's eight years old) and would zap me every little bit.  I would shake my head and wave my arms around and he was so pleased his zapping powers were working.  He has an Aunt Betty that lives close to him and he sometimes forgets and calls me Aunt Betty.  He said "I love you, Aunt Betty".  Lizzy said, "Wow, he never says that, he must really like you".  lol  He also said he'd never spent the night at Aunt Betty's, so tonight him, Lizzy and Nathan are coming over and spending the night.  I'm cutting down a little bit on my always saying yes to everything and told them they could but they had to eat supper first.  Saves me a little work.  lol
So, tonight I have a whole menu of activities they've lined out for us to do.  One being playing Skip-Bo.  At least that's a game pretty easily played.  Should be an interesting night. 
I have to make them chocolate chip pancakes in the morning before I go to work and I think we're done after that.  Wish me luck.  lol

I pray that 2014 is a good year.  We had a few unfortunate happenings in 2013, so I'm hoping for a better year.  Isn't it funny how we put so much emphasis on a new year, like it's something magical.

I am grateful good happenings in 2013, family, friends and a good job with good people to work for.

Here's to a Happy New Year to all.