Weekly Visit:

Cash just gave me a kiss or "aws" as he says.

We went down a day early for our visit this week.  Thought since we would see Cash Thursday and then again on Sunday we might space it out a little.
Plus, Grandpa hadn't seen Cash in a week and a half and he was having withdrawals.  It's his own fault.  He didn't want to come in from deer camp last week to go see Cash.  I was in shock over that!  lol
I love these visits and the excitement Cash has when we (I mean Grandpa) get there.  Last night he walked right past me on to his Grandpa.  They played their take the hat off, throw it in the floor, pick it up and do it over again and again.  He still has a routine with Grandma of going around the room and pointing to each person in the pictures.  He's got Todd and Chad's name down.  Chad comes out more as Cha.  April said Todd before she even said Dada or Mommy.  Todd held her throughout the day when she was little and she was "his" baby.  When she was seven months old, she pointed to a picture on the coffee table and says, Dodd, Dodd.  They are still pretty close.
It's so fun to see from week to week how much he's learned and changed.

I am grateful for the opportunity to see our grandson each week.

Weekend Update:

Friday:
I normally fix calico beans for pre-opening night of deer season for the guys at deer camp.  This year, I totally forgot about it.  Mid-week, I was talking to Dwayne and he timidly asked he I was going to make the beans this year.  What, oh my goodness, I forgot!!  I told him I would fix them for the weekend.
Lizzy came over to watch TV.  While I was preparing to cook the calico beans, I got the sum of the week's activities.  Man, can that girl talk!!  lol  And fast, too.  You have to hang onto every word to keep up.  Love her; she filled a void I felt after April moved out.
I had saw on facebook a video on how to curl your hair with aluminum foil and a flat iron.

We didn't curl the bangs.  The curls turned out really cute.  I did small sections and the curls were pretty tight so we decided to try larger sections next time for a looser curl.  Much faster than a curling iron for each curl.

Saturday:

I went to April's for the day.  We went to Jefferson City shopping.  Cash did real well until we got to Apple Bees for lunch.  He was overtired and let us know it..........  Well, Grandma Nonnie finally just started walking around the restaurant with him.  It worked!  April had gone to the bathroom, so I sat on the bench by the front entrance and Cash had fun waving at people and seeing the "tuks"aka trucks outside.  We got our lunch and Cash ate his food and a good time was had by all!!  lol

I bought some new Christmas decorations.  I'm going to try to get more in the mood to decorate than I have the last couple years.  I used to have almost every surface decorated plus wrapping the pictures on the wall to resemble Christmas presents.  Don't think I'll go that far.  lol

Wrapping presents; I used to be so particular.  Every corner was folded just right, the ribbons matching the wrapping paper and so proud of myself when I got done.  My Mom told me when I was still at home that one day I wouldn't care so much about how the wrapping was done, I would just be glad to get them wrapped.  WHAT?  Was she crazy?  My packages would always be wrapped pretty.  How could she think such a thing!!   WELLLLLLLL, guess what?  I don't like to wrap presents anymore.  I get them wrapped but it's not near as much fun as it used to be.  I'm going to try to do better this year.  I bought some old fashioned looking wrapping paper and making my own bows like I used to do.  I'll let you know how it goes and if I stick to my guns.

When I got home, Dwayne hadn't picked up the beans yet.  (I was a little ticked)  But after about an hour, Dwayne and Todd came to get the calico beans.  Good, my beans get to go to deer camp again.

Sunday:

I literally did nothing all day.  I was going to go to church but fell asleep in the rocking chair and didn't wake back up in time.  I watched TV all day, took another nap in the afternoon and that was about it.  I don't feel guilty for napping.  My Mom always says I need the extra rest or I wouldn't be sleeping.  Love my Mom, she always (well, almost always....) says the right thing to make me feel better.  Despite looking normal on the outside, Lupus takes a toll on your body.  You can't really complain about it as people look at you and say you look fine to them.  Or if you're having an exhausting day and say you're tired, people say, I'm tired, too.  Uh, no, you don't understand.  I'm not just tired, I'm exhausted.  Dr. Pearson explained it to me one day as picturing myself walking around in quick sand all day.  That's how much more effort you need to put forth just doing normal things.

Whoops, kind of got on a rampage there!!! 

Dwayne came home just before dark with all his deer stories and fun they had.  This is Dwayne's vacation every year.  He works so hard all year and especially this year with lots of overtime.  How they find it fun to camp with several other smelly guys, I'll never know.  Give me my trip to Alaska anytime!!   lol

 

I am grateful for my family and a safe deer season.

Wordless Wednesday:

Weekend Update:

Friday:
Dwayne was super excited for deer season starting.  He takes the full week off and that's his vacation every year.  You'd think he was going to the World's Fair!  lol  After he left for deer camp, I went to Dad's so we could go visit Mom in the hospital.  She was doing better but still pretty short of breathe.
Saturday:
April had a hair appointment so I watched Cash.  He's pretty comfortable with our house now and goes straight to his small toy box.  And Mickey Mouse!  As long as Mickey is on, he's in a trance.
Dwayne conveniently came home deer hunting (to see Cash).  Cash always takes Dwayne's hat off and throws it in the floor and they repeat this several times.  Dwayne wears Cabela's crush felt hats.  He has an orange one for deer hunting.  Cash just stared at it but had no interest in playing their game with a orange hat.
Lizzy came over mid-morning.  April came home a little after noon and we had lunch of scrambled eggs and cheese.  When April was little, she loved eggs.  When she would be at Mom's, Mom would ask her how many eggs she wanted.  The answer was always twenty-eleven.  I guess that meant she wanted more than two.  It was cute at the time.  I asked her at lunch if she wanted twenty-eleven eggs and she looked at me like I was crazy.
We had a nice afternoon of visiting.  After April and Cash left, it was time for me and Lizzy to head out to church to work at the Fall Festival.  Lizzy has helped for the last three years.  The ladies just love her and she gets to run a lot of errands.  It was super busy this year and we were worn out when we got done.  But we had a lot of fun.  It's always fun with this group of people.
Home to TV and then off to bed.
Sunday:
Lizzy and I went to church.  Stopped off for frozen coffee on the way home.  As if we needed something cold to drink with it freezing outside and snow coming down!  We received about four inches of snow.  April sent me a picture of Cash's first snow this year.  They got a lot more in St. Elizabeth than we did.

                                      Cash's first snow of 2014
After we got home, we decided to watch a movie.  I fell asleep on the couch so I missed the whole thing.  We had a nice relaxing day of watching it snow and doing not much of anything.  I called Mom and told her I was going to come up but she said the roads were too bad and not to try it.  She said she was feeling better.
I've had a contact stuck in my eye for about four days.  It was really bothering me.  So, as cold as it was, I bundle up and head to Katie's for her to get it out.  Katie said only me would get out in the snow for a contact in the eye.  lol  We did have a good visit though.
One thing I'm not used to doing anymore is filling up the wood furnace.  Kept it going and filled it up before going to bed.  Sad to say, but the fire was out when I got up this morning.  Must have gotten down pretty cold to use all the wood.  Luckily for me this morning, Dwayne came in from deer hunting so he built a fire after I left for work.

I am grateful for family and friends and especially my Mom getting better.

Mom:

My poor Momma has been sick again.  She went into the hospital early Sunday morning with double pneumonia.  Katie said they had ten people in the ER room working on her.  I know Mom is getting worn out but I don't want to let her go.

She's had a rough year, several bouts of pneumonia, congestive heart failure getting worse, almost dying on the day of Wayne's funeral-which she wasn't able to go to.  So much to bare, but she keeps on truckin' on!  Momma is one tough cookie, she keeps fighting back the illness, the numerous falls she's had and losing Wayne.  I admire my Mom so much.

Mom and I a few years ago.

 

I am grateful for my Mom and fine example she is to her family.

Wordless Wednesday:

Weekly Visit:

 

We went last night instead of our usual Wednesday night visit.  Cash doesn't look like it in the picture, but he was running a low grade temperature and wasn't feeling well.

He fell asleep in the floor watching TV with Grandpa. Didn't even phase him when I picked him and took him to his Momma when we got ready to go.

His routine with Grandpa is to take his hat off and throw it to the floor (over and over again).  Our routine is to go around the room pointing at pictures and saying their names.  He says Cash for his pictures and Mom and Dad for their pictures.  Can't get him to name up yet.  He does say Nonna sometimes and when he stayed all night with us, he called Dwayne papa.

 

I am grateful for the opportunity to go visit the kids every week.

Wordless Wednesday:

Dad's 90th Birthday:

  

We went to Walnut Grove Saturday to my brother, Russell's house to celebrate my dad's 90th birthday. 
April, Lizzy, Cash and I rode together.  The ride down was great.  Uh, the ride home, not so much.
Cash was tired of riding and he let us know about it.  April said we're leaving him with Grandpa when we go Christmas shopping.  lol

Judy, Shannon; Russ, Mom: April, Cash

Dad

 

Mom, Judy, Russell, Connie, Kate, Dad

Russ & Mom

 

Nathan, Kristin, Me

April and Cash

 

We had a great time celebrating Dad's 90th Birthday.  A couple of our cousins and their wives came down.  Paul and Adra Spencer of Rolla, Dad's nephew; Otis and Donna Williams of St. James, Mom's nephew.

After leaving Russ's, we went to Springfield to do a little shopping.  I now have most of my Christmas shopping done.  That's a first for me in quite a few years.

We came home and Cash and Grandpa got to visit.  Dwayne is pure mush when Cash is around.

Sunday:

Dwayne and I seldom get any time to be together.  With his work schedule and then working on the farm on weekends, we don't take the time for just us.  We went to Jefferson City and ate at Red Lobster then to Menard's to pick out the color of shingles we need to put on the house.  What, we need shingles already?  Dwayne, "Connie, we built the house in 1988, it's time for a new roof".  Wow, it's been that long already?!  We still refer to it as the new house.  Uh, need to quit doing that as it's been 26 years since we built the new house.  We had fun dreaming of updates we could (wish to) do to the house.  Brings back a lot of memories of when we built the house.  We had fun (really) even with three kids to care of at the time.  It was an adventure for them, also.  And the cost!!  Wow, we should have bought extra shingles in 1988 to save!!  lol

 

I am so grateful for my family and especially my Dad's 90th birthday which will be this week on the 6th.  I am so grateful to still have him in my life.