Happy New Year!

This is Maddy and Bryce.  Maddy is 16 and Bryce will be 2 in June.  How lucky is he to have all these gorgeous women in his life?  Maddy and Peyton and Krissy sure take good care of him!  We're really proud of the whole family.

We slept late this morning after yesterday's long day and trip.  It was rest we needed.  We took it pretty easy all day and then watched the Thunder get beat tonight.  Bummer; we hate when they get beat!  One of my kids (at school) reminded me that they can't win them all.  I tend to think they are good enough to win them all, but that's my flaw and not theirs!

Here's hoping that this year will be a great one for all of you!  Thank you for keeping up with and in touch with me.  Being connected to you all is a treasure to me and I thank God for the ability to be in touch.

PS:  I did the tutorials online on my phone today and it's still lots smarter than me.  I'm learning, though.  If I can just figure out the GPS I'll be content.  So far I haven't made that happen, but I haven't given up hope!

We Think Krissy's an Awesome Mom.

This is Lee's youngest daughter, Krissy and her daughter, Peyton.  Krissy does such a great job with their three kids.  I'll post one of their oldest, Madison, tomorrow.  You've seen lots of pix of their baby, Bryce. He keeps our hearts melted.  Peyton and Maddy do, too, but they're older, so we don't get so many pix and hugs from them.  It's usually hard to get Krissy to sit down for a pic, too!  I love this one and am so thrilled to have gotten it.  It was at her house that we celebrated Christmas with that huge bunch on Christmas day. She has a wonderful husband, who is also a great dad, too.  I'll get his pic in here soon, too.  I take lots of random pix and casual shots, but I don't get many good poses like this one.  Thanks, Krissy and Peyton! And, thanks to God for this sweet family in our family!

Today Lee and I went to OKC for the funeral of the mother of one of Lee's good friends.  It was pretty gut wrenching.  I didn't know the lady, but I know her son.  I jumped right into the whole thing and re-lived Don's service as well as Lee's wife, Phyllis'.  I didn't know Phyllis, but I know how the loss of her hurt her family.  I sat there and wrote my service as well as Lee's (in my mind).  I went to a friend's funeral on Saturday.  I think I'm over quota on funerals for a while; I hope so!  I thank God for precious people in our lives and I ask Him to help me to learn and grow from losing them,  I thank Him for our lives and for all the opportunities we've had to lengthen our lives.  God is good and I trust Him and His timing.  Sometimes it's hard to accept what I don't understand, but He never promised anything would be easy.

PS:  Jim Nelson, check your email; I sent you a message about an Itazuke patch that Dave Gibson has for you.

Lunch with Dorothy!

I remembered to take a pic of us today.  Lee was already into his grubbies and Dorothy had her coat on, ready to go home, but they were good sports and we got a pic of the good times.  We got to Dorothy's house and were thrilled to hear a message on her machine from her sister, Ada!  Ada is in the hospital, but they've found the place where she was bleeding internally and patched it, they hope.  They're going in with a camera tomorrow to make sure things are working right.  If all is good, they'll let her go home, soon.  That's such awesome news and it was so good to hear Ada's voice!  God is so good and we sure thank Him for giving us more time with Ada.  She's an amazing woman to bounce back like she does, but she totally trusts God!

We got good naps today then went back to church tonight.  On the way home we stopped by our friend Bob Clark's house and went in to inspect his work and that of his boys, who are both here to help.  Slowly but surely he'll get that house finished and it will be so nice!

We got home and enjoyed watching the Thunder beat the Rockets.  It's been a good day for us from start to finish.

No Tripod? No Worries!

I don't have a tripod, so I improvise.  I wanted a shot of us with our little wee Christmas tree before I pack it for the year, so I improvised.  Lee and I got such a hoot out of the rig, I had to share it.  The camera was sitting on top of those 4 rolls of toilet tissue.  It got the following pic for us:

I love that little tree.  It's made of broken pieces of glass wired into place.  Inside it is a little tea light, so it's really pretty when it's lit.  It's pretty even when it's not lit and it's way easy to pack!  This tree and the nativity scene with the Santa collection was our complete decoration this year.  We're happy with it.  The new year is coming!  Let's make it a great one!

The Master Melter, Melts Papa Lee's Heart.

Lee absolutely loves it when Bryce lays his head down on his shoulder.  Nothing could make him any more content!  This is a pic I got Wednesday.

Today has been a good day of rest for us.  We slept late and took it easy all day.  The Thunder played tonight and managed to win, so that's good.  I made a turkey pot pie and a desert that Krissy served Wednesday, so we're happily fed, today.  We'll have leftovers for Sunday dinner when Dorothy will come share with us; she'll love it, I think.  (I replaced the sugar in the desert recipe, so we're good and Dorothy can have it, too.)

We just got news of the death of a good friend's mother in OKC, so we'll be heading back to the City on Monday for her funeral.  Life is precious and so are good friends.  We want to be supportive at this devastating time.

The Christmas Day Crowd.

This is a bunch of Lee's family who we spent Christmas with, yesterday.  What a great bunch of folks!  We ate all day and had lots of fun visiting and playing Dirty Santa.  I'm not going to name everyone, but Lee's the one with the white beard and I'm the one behind him on the stairs.  What a fun day we had!

We got back to the hotel last night and I edited most of 92 pix that I got yesterday!  There's more to edit, but how cool is it to get so many pix of such a fun time?  I'm so grateful for a digital camera.  If I knew how to use the camera on my phone that would be cool, too.  So far I'm doing well to answer it when it rings!  I've got a ways to go with technology!

We're home, safely, and ready for a good night's sleep and some time eating right for a change.  Our systems have pretty much been in shock mode since Thanksgiving and it's past time to behave!

I talked to Dorothy and she's fine, but her sister, Ada, is back in the hospital.  Bless her heart; she's an all time champ, but we're thanking God for being in control.  He knows best and it's hard for us to even know how to pray!  The docs say she has so much wrong with her that they don't know where to start with treating her; that tells us that she's for sure in God's hands.  We trust Him and His timing. Ada's husband, Spike, is such a great caregiver, but he's beginning to show wear, too.  They are both in God's hands, as ALL  OF  US  ARE.  God bless us all!

A Very Merry Christmas it Has Been!

Lisa and Rick (Lee's daughter and her husband) stayed at the same hotel with us last night.  We met them for breakfast and a wonderful, long visit this morning.  Then we continued on the day with tons of visiting.  Man, we sure don't know how to go easy; we just go, go, go!  Along about 6 this evening we decided it would be worth it to spend one more night in the City.  We could keep up the visiting and then drive home tomorrow.  I'm sure glad we did that.  We're both exhausted.  I came back to the hotel and edited 92 pix I took today!  That's how much fun we had and I did my best to capture a bunch of it on pix!

What a sweet Christmas God has given us!  We stopped at Tricia's house tonight and even caught Nate there!  We missed Gabe and Sadie, but it was cool to see Nate!  When the kids get so grown, it's easy to miss them and hard to catch them!  Trish had gotten a good pic of all of them when they were all there.  I'll have to swipe that pic from her FB account and post it on here, soon!

We're exhausted; it's nearly 1 a.m. on the 26th, but this is the post for the 25th.  A merry Christmas it has been!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Lee and I came to OKC today and stopped by and made a little visit with Trish; ran some errands and picked up Dan, Lee's brother, to go to dinner with us at the Olive Garden.  Dan's wife, Sandy, wasn't feeling good, so she didn't go out to eat with us.  When we got done with dinner and took Dan home, Sandy was either feeling better, or we imposed on her, because we went in and visited for a good visit.  It was a fun time for us; I hope we didn't wear out Sandy!

Lisa, Lee's daughter, and her husband, Rick, are staying at the same hotel as us and we'll get up and have breakfast with them in the morning.  Then we'll have Christmas dinner with his youngest daughter tomorrow in the middle of the afternoon.  Lots of good visiting and we're enjoying ourselves.

I'm so grateful that we both feel good and can make these visits!  Gretta and Elena are suffering with a stomach virus and it could happen to any of us.  I hope  you are all well and can enjoy this holiday and I pray that Gretta and Elena are feeling good soon!

Technical Issues.

Holy cow!  Yesterday my phone (which is connected to the computer) quit working and so did my usb port on the computer.  Lee and I bought a smart phone for each other for Christmas and it wouldn't work, either.  I worked for hours to get something to work and nothing would.  Finally, in desperation, I rebooted the computer.  Wallah!  That fixed everything.  I don't know why I don't think of that first thing!  Maybe I will after this!  I'm convinced the phone is smarter than either one of us or even both of us put together.  We're going to be doing a lot of traveling and we were tempted to buy a gps for the truck, but I thought we might as well go ahead and join the real world and get a phone that had a gps, plus I can learn to text.  I don't know; I may have bitten off more than we can chew!  I've come a long way today; maybe I will, indeed, figure it out, but the fatigue is showing in my face, I'm afraid.  I thank God for giving both Lee and I some extra time to live.  He's lived through prostate cancer and 3 heart attacks and open heart surgery.  I'm giving breast cancer a run for it's money.  I thank God for the time and each other to share it, so I'll do my best to make the best of it.  I'm going to outgrow the flip phone!  No promises about how quickly I will be proficient with it!

Happy Christmas Eve Eve.  All is good with us.  I hope all is good with you.

Christmas is Tough but We're Blessed to Have Each Other.

Today we remembered to take a pic before we got into grubbies after church.  We usually forget and get busy with lunch and then nap and then church, again.  You'd think taking a pic wouldn't be such a big deal, but it seems to turn into a major production.   Anyway, we got it done today.  Dorothy's niece has been here for the last 3 days, so we didn't get to have lunch with Dorothy today.  We were out there visiting the other night and I didn't even think to take my camera.  What a mistake that was! Dorothy's niece is from Manhattan, New York; she's originally from Texas, so we could talk!  She is really a doll and she and Dorothy had so much fun visiting the last few days.  They reminded me of my cousin and I when we used to go to our Aunt Maie's house and play.  Allison was cooking for Dorothy and even combed her hair; man, I missed another good pic of Dorothy with her hair all fixed today!  Anyway, it's been a fun week for her and for us to meet Allison!  I thank God for Allison's visit.  It was good for us, and I know it was such a treat for Dorothy.  Allison flew to San Antonio to visit her mom and drove up here to spend 3 full days with Dorothy.  That's a big sacrifice on her part and also her mom's; how generous of both of them.  Allison kept saying that she was the one getting the blessings out of the visit, and I know that's true, too, because Dorothy is such a dear and has so much wisdom and wit to share.  It's been a win/win for everyone.  God bless Allison!

I sang at the nursing home today after church; I always love to be able to do that and I'll miss it while we're gone, so I'm glad to catch a chance to do it before we go.  My sciatic nerve is settling down and doing lots better.  I guess it just got in a crimp or something and some good time on the inversion table and some rest helped me to get past that difficulty.

We're going to OKC for Christmas day with a bunch of Lee's family and we've just put together all those details over the weekend.  We were going to solo it here, but decided to go to the city.  We're creating new memories for each other.  I'm such a bear about Christmas.  Over the years there have been so many good times and it's so hard for me to face that they will never be, again.  Everything that should be good and happy tends to affect me emotionally and I take a nose dive.  My tree was a wonderful tree of memories that I treasured, from stockings my Granddaddy brought from the hosiery mill where he worked to ornaments with the kids baby pix to my Mom's necklaces, not to mention the ornaments that Don and I bought each year.  I just have not found the strength to face all those treasures.  Lee's wife decorated to the nth degree each year.  I don't think he wants to do all that, again, but being married to me is quite a shock.  So, it's kind of a hard time for both of us.  We are working together to attempt to find a good tradition for us.  Thank God he is such a wonderful guy and loves me even through these bear days.

Another Precious Granddaughter Pic.

Here's Elena all dressed up (and curled) for her Christmas program.  Grammy's so proud and pleased! She'll be so happy to be 7 on February 20th.

It's icy here, but the roads have been fine for what little driving we had to do.  It's cold here, but it could be so much worse!  The trees look like jewels with ice all over them, bu few are broken.  We still have power, so I am so giving thanks for that!

We watched a Thunder game (won) tonight and I did some sewing while I watched.  It's so nice to be able to see to thread a needle!  I thank God for the cataract surgery and for a warm house to sit around and enjoy.  And I thank Him so much for a dear Lee to share life with me.  A couple of years ago were so grim for both of us; it's really a blessing to have a wonderful person to share times that could be so tough alone.

I'm in my third week of taking this new medicine and I'm having no ill effects from it.  I thank God for that, too!  We'll go the first week in January to Houston to do tests to see if it's working against the cancer.  God is in charge and I trust Him.

Chip off the Old Block?

We all love to play cards in this family.  This is Raynie playing Go Fish with Elena over Thanksgiving.  They were so sweet; if they weren't playing Go Fish, they were pushing their baby dolls around the house in their buggies or in the basement playing their level of pool.  It was precious to me to have them here together as well as all the others.  Treasured memories are so precious to me!  (Notice how she holds her cards?  I don't think she's left handed, but maybe a bit ambidextrous; she's got a good grip on those cards for a 6 year old in my 'objective' opinion. )

We are supposed to have an ice storm headed for us, but so far it just looks like rain out there.  For a while our dish was frozen so we didn't have TV, but we had a good moved taped, so we were able to watch "A Time to Kill."  It was a good book and a good movie.  Before that we had gone to watch the high school teams play.  The girls lost, but fought hard and were fun to watch.  The guys won and I couldn't have enjoyed anything any more.  I was pleased that it wasn't too slippery when we got out of there.  The door handle on the truck was icy, but we made it home fine.  I thank God for safety and pray that we can keep power through this storm.

Tomorrow we have some errands to run in town; hope we can get out to do them.  Nothing is essential, though, so if we're iced in we have plenty of food and we'll be fine.  Take care and enjoy the season.

Perfection in Action, as a Proud Mom Sees Things..

This is a pic of Gretta making a quick adjustment to Raynie's haircut when they were here Thanksgiving.  She was in the middle of doing Gracie's haircut, when Raynie walked by and she noticed a couple of hairs she'd missed.  She fixed it right then.  We saw Raynie yesterday and that haircut is still so HER!  Thanks, again, Jilly for helping to release the real Raynie (who was hidden under hair until you released her!).

We're getting braced around here for the next onslaught of winter that is headed our way.  Hopefully it won't be as bad here as it may be in the northern part of the state, but I don't think we'd better count our chickens before they hatch!  Our gas bill came today and it was way higher than normal for this time of year, but I thank God that we are able to pay it.  I thank Him for a warm home and for the blessings of family here to share Thanksgiving with us.  We are richly blessed.

Our temperature right now is 57, but the cold front is coming.  They say ice will begin to form overnight. Here we go!  God bless!

Plus a Lot of 'Friends.'

So, here is the blue heron with many of his 'friends' in the background.  That's a bunch of Canadian geese, who have become Hobart geese (because they never leave).  Sometimes we have thousands of geese who live here and many of them leave, but many stay year 'round.  The farmers hate them because they can clear off a wheat field in a really short time.  They leave some awful green splotches all over around the park, too (we live near the park and our driveway falls heir to some of this green), so that's sometimes disgusting. However, I love their honking, and I tend to like them more than I hate them.  I can't think of any reason not to love the blue heron, though.

I thank God for a safe trip to OKC today.  We went to take some chairs to Trish and to bring home my van that she's had for several months.  I need to sell the van, though, and when we stopped by Lee's brother's house he offered to sell it for us!  What a guy!  I left it with him, happily!  I'll have to check tomorrow to see how we can work out the details of the title, etc., but I am so grateful that he will fool with it for me!  There's really not much market for selling used cars here in Hobart, and he has a great market there in OKC!  What a great couple he and his wife are!  So, instead of driving home alone, I got to ride with Lee!

It was a great day, but we're tired just from traveling.  Sorry to be so late with this post,  but thanks for bothering to keep up with us!

Look Who is Still Here!

It's the blue heron!  I was so thrilled to see him yesterday.  There were two of them, but I couldn't get both of them in the same pic.  He's standing on ice that's still on our lake at the park.  I'm looking forward to spring to see if they will lay eggs and raise another family!  It was really fun to watch them grow and learn to fly this past summer.  I love the treats God has for us every day.  I guess I should be overjoyed with the mosquitoes and flies, but I haven't made it to that place, yet.

It was nice to sleep in this morning.  I'm sure the school won't be calling me anymore before they break for Christmas, so it looks like my working days are done until after spring break.  I'm good with that.  I'll miss the kids, but I'll love sleeping late!  We have a high school basketball game Friday night, so it will probably be my last time to see some of the kids until the spring.  I'm glad it's a home game so we can go!

We're going to OKC tomorrow to take some things to Trish and bring our van home.  It's been living with her for the last few months, so we'll get it out of her way.  I would sure love to sell it.  Come spring, I'll have to sell it to get it out of the garage so Lee can park in there.  Anyone need a '96 Chevy van; it's a great van; I love it, but we sure don't need 3 vehicles!

Gretta and Garrett.

This pic I got of Gretta and Garrett when they were here for Thanksgiving.  Gretta just posted that she finished this semester with a B in the class that's been the toughest for her, so far, I think.  She got an A on the presentation that's been worrying her so much for the last couple of weeks.  I'm so proud of her and thank God that she's gotten past this hurdle and can enjoy the holidays free of school stress for awhile!  I also thank God that she and Garrett and all the others who came for Thanksgiving could come.  That was a special time.

Today we spent from 4:30 to 9 watching junior high basketball games.  They were great games.  We only came away with one out of 4 wins and one was a bitter loss in the last two minutes after leading the whole way.  I guess we can't win them all.  It's sure fun to watch them play, though.

The weather here was beautiful today.  Lee and I walked around the park and saw two of the blue herons!  I was so thrilled to see them!  I took pix, but I haven't looked at them yet; I'm thinking I was too far away from them, but hope maybe one was good enough to post tomorrow.  Anyway, I was delighted to see them!  I thank God for simple pleasures; He gives us so many!

Our Christmas "Corner."

I am such a Scrooge of Christmas!  My Christmas tree is too full of memories from years past and I really don't want to face them.  Lee is such a dear to understand.  His aunt, who we went to see back in September made this nativity scene for his mom many years ago.  So, we put that out in our 'Christmas Corner.'  Then my friend in Oregon has sent an addition or two to a Santa collection every few years  and I have that hanging on the wall beside my shoulder.  The wreath, my brother-in-law made for my mom many years ago.  I use it year 'round.  This is our "Christmas Corner."  One year, maybe I'll be gutsy enough to get out the tree.  The last time I pulled out the tree was the year before I was diagnosed with breast cancer, so that would have been 2005.  After that we were always somewhere besides here, so we just never got out the tree.  We always got out the Santas.  The year after Don died I couldn't face any of it, but Mike sent another Santa, so I dug out the Santas.  The Santas make it out every Christmas, in fact they live in the top drawer of that chest under the wreath.  This is the Christmas look for us.  The best part of Christmas for us is that we have each other to get us through it.  God is gracious and good and we thank Him!

I had a great nap today, but it's time to turn in for the night.  This is the last week of school before the Christmas break, so I really expect the teachers will want to be at school this week.  They need to be getting the kids ready for their 9 week finals this week.  If someone is sick or their child is sick, they'll need me, though, so I'd better be ready.  So, off to bed I go and give thanks for the opportunity to work.  After this week I'll be off until I get home after spring break.  Woo hoo!

A Precious Pair.

This is our friends, Bob Clark and Dorothy Rule.  Bob's wife, Diana, took this pic last week when we were doing the tour of homes.  Bob and Lee are both so good to hang onto Dorothy and keep her from falling.  Diana was awfully sweet to take her by the arm and direct her around the homes, pointing out beautiful decorations, etc.  It was a fun day and provided many memories to treasure.  I'm glad Di got this shot and shared it with me.

Today was the community meal we had at the church. Then we came home for naps before we took off to watch the guys play for first place in their tournament tonight.  They lost, so they only got 2nd place, but we loved watching them, anyway.  The girls played this afternoon, but we napped through it and missed their win, which put them into 3rd place.  They're good kids and we sure love watching them, even when they don't win; they play hard and I feel like I see their real personalities when they're on the basketball court.

We had plenty of food left over from the dinner today, so we're going to have leftovers after church tomorrow.  That will be a nice treat.  I thank God for a wonderful church family and wonderful community. We are blessed to have the freedoms we have and it's great to live in a small town.  "Freedom isn't free," is a quote I appreciate so much, and thank those who are responsible for our freedom.

Holiday Haircuts.

We used to come to this house every Thanksgiving when Don's mom and dad owned it.  The whole family came.  One of the traditions was his niece would do haircuts.  Gretta carries on that tradition and gives haircuts.  Raynie couldn't wait to get her hair cut and Elena really wanted a haircut just like Raynie's.  Gretta and Elena's dad had agreed to let Elena's hair grow long enough for ponytails, so she would only trim Elena's hair until she got her daddy's approval.  You can see Elena in the background watching this haircut.  You can see the happy expression on Raynie's face, too.  We all loved her haircut.  We thank Gretta for delighting us all with this haircut!  We thank God for these precious memories, too.

Today has been super busy.  I monitored testing this morning and then they asked me to stay and hold the fort in the applied calculus class.  No way I could teach it, but I could enjoy being with the kids and make sure there were no fires or shootings!  Then we went to Burns Flat to watch our high school girls and boys play in a tournament.  The boys won, so we'll go back to see them play in the finals tomorrow night.  After the games we came home and the Thunder was playing, but I had to watch it from the kitchen as I made dressing for our town wide holiday meal tomorrow.  We provide that meal at church and invite the town; usually about 200 people come besides the church, so it's a big deal and tomorrow will be a busy day, too!

I'm so ready for bed; no nap time today!  I feel good, though.  I'm thanking God that my sciatic nerve is responding well to treatment on my inversion table and NuBax.  I'm lucky to have both of them!

Our Littlest Statue of Liberty.

Everyone who was willing got their pic made in the Statue of Liberty crown.  This is Raynie, taking her turn. I sure thank God for our liberty, but also for the precious memories from this Thanksgiving!


Today went good for me.  We tested this morning and everyone passed!  That was awesome!  Then in the afternoon I subbed 2 hours for a coach in History and another hour in science, both in the middle school.  I sure love the kids!  I subbed because those two teachers were out for our JV tournament, which meant I missed the games.  Our girls won by 2 points, though and the guys were ahead 30 to 0 when I last heard them on the radio.  They'll play tomorrow afternoon and I should get to see those games.

Lee woke up in the middle of the night with horrible pain in his foot.  He saw the doc first thing this morning and they think it's gout.  I don't really think so, but I'm not the doc.  Don had gout and it sure didn't act like Lee's pain.  It looks a lot more like the pain I had with peripheral neuropathy when I had chemo.  He has trouble with both, but they're treating the gout.  I sure hope it helps because he's in a lot of pain and I hate that for him.

Other than Lee's pain, all is good on this front.  Our snow and ice are beginning to melt, but we still have dangerous spots for driving and walking.  We've got to be really careful out there!

A Sleepy Statue of Liberty and the Artist.

When your 17 year old cousin will wear your work, it's a real compliment.  This is Garrett and Gracie.  You can tell she's really proud and he's not so tickled, but willing.  They are both sweethearts!

Today I monitored testing in the morning and then subbed for an English teacher in the afternoon.  I loved it all!  Then we had church tonight and, now, the Thunder is playing.  It's a full day for me, but I got a quick nap in right after school, so I'm in good shape.I thank God for naps and precious memories!

The weather got up over freezing today, so a lot of our snow on the roads melted.  It'll probably freeze tonight and be treacherous in the morning, but we're working our way out of this mess.  (I mean beautiful winter.)

Yet Another Statue of Liberty.

Lee is a great sport.  He was proud to wear the crown Gracie made!  We had such a good time with them all here and we thank God every day for the precious memories.

Today I monitored for testing at the high school in the morning.  Then we went to Lawton for my treatment. It went without a snag.  We then went by Wal-Mart and got groceries, so we were kind of late getting home. The Thunder is playing, so I'll go right to bed as soon as this game is over because I monitor testing in the morning and then sub in the afternoon tomorrow.  Busy days are here!  God is good!

Another Statue of Liberty/

Trish was willing to model the Statue of Liberty crown and torch and she had a lovely assistant.  This was more of the Thanksgiving fun.  I'm thanking God for these precious memories and the camera to help me record them!

Today was an easy day.  They didn't call me to sub, so I had a day off.  I did some technical stuff around here and had a great nap.  I love the naps!  All the snow the last storm brought is still out there because we haven't been above 20 much , let alone above freezing!  We're hoping the main roads are clear enough for us to get to Lawton tomorrow for my treatment.  I'm subbing Wednesday and Thursday, so this week will be busy after today.

One of our kids from church and school is coming by tonight to have Lee and I participate in a research project she's doing on texting and driving.  We hardly know how to use the cell phone, let alone text.  As her dad said, "All the more reason we shouldn't be texting and driving!"  No danger; we don't text under any circumstances.  I'd like to know how to text, but I don't.  I figure someone will teach me . . . or not.   Good grief, my spell checker doesn't even accept the word texting; me either!  Ha!

Pick of the Litter!

This is Gracie, who has been named Pick of the Litter at least twice in her school career.  She is an awesome kid even if she is my own granddaughter.  She learned to play hand and foot canasta over Thanksgiving, but she still played go fish with the little girls.  She built this 'hat' and modeled it for a pic as the statue of Liberty. We got pix of several people wearing it.  She's very creative and as bright as they come.  I could write a book about our sweet Gracie.  Love, love, love her!  She's 10.

Today we got out for the first time since this last snow.  There is still most of the snow on all the off streets. The main streets were even bad this morning, but with traffic and sunshine today much of it melted.  It was a full day going to see 4 houses.  We had to put on booties at each house to keep from tracking up the houses. Putting those booties on and taking them off was a big deal in itself, not to mention not falling as we bent over to put them off and get them on.  Then there was the issue of getting in and out of the car and making it into the houses without falling.  I thank God to have made it through the day, safely.  Dorothy went with us as did Bob and Dianna Clark.  Bob and Lee helped Dorothy in and out and one time she slipped, but they caught her before she hit the ground.  It was scary, but the whole day was fun.  I'm working hard to stay awake for the Thunder game.  I missed my nap, so I'm way sleepy!  As soon as the Thunder is done, I'm headed to bed.  I hope this winter weather is being good to you.

Sisters!

Sisters, daughters, moms; they are all those and I am very proud of them.  This is Trish on the left and Gretta on the right.  This was taken the Friday after Thanksgiving.  They are safely home, now and all is quiet here, but we miss all the activity and them!  I thank God for the precious time with them this Thanksgiving and many other times during our lives!

We still have snow and will have for a while.  It's not supposed to get over freezing until Wednesday.  We have to go to Lawton for my treatment on Tuesday; hope the roads are clear!  Tomorrow is the tour of homes in Hobart; that ought to be interesting.  We just tour 4 homes, but I really kind of dread finding a place to park and then getting into these houses; we may cut it kind of short.  We plan to go with our friends Bob and Diana Clark and Dorothy Rule.  We'll dress really warm and pray for the best.

Holy Cow!

This is Sadie on her knees with Raynie, Gracie and Elena hugging her.  Precious granddaughters who were here for Thanksgiving and it's memories to treasure!  I thank God they could all be here and get home, safely.

We had 3 1/2 inches of snow, again last night.  So, school was cancelled and I got to sleep in this morning.  Nice!  We're expecting a low of 3 degrees tonight and it got only up into the low 20's today, so the snow isn't melting.   It's 8 degrees right now and feels like -5.  This is heavy duty winter and another storm is headed our way.  YIKES!   God will provide; at least we don't have ice here and we still have power.  We aren't supposed to get over freezing until Wednesday.  I dug out my sweat shirts today.  Our heat bill is going to be tremendous, but I'm so glad we have heat (it's running almost non-stop).  I didn't take pix of this snow; it looks just like it did the last time:  pretty, but COLD!

Hope you all are fairing well with the winter weather!  God bless!

Cards, Cards, Cards!

This is Raynie, Gracie and Elena.  They were playing one of many games of Go Fish!  Gracie is such a doll to play with the little girls, even though she also learned to play Hand and Foot Canasta with the big people over this Thanksgiving.  Gracie is 10 and Raynie and Elena are 6.  Elena will be 7 in February and Raynie will be 7 in July.  They are so sweet to sit and play so patiently with each other.  Even Sadie was sweet to play with the little girls and I had a chance to play a few games with them, too.

We never got around to the puzzles we meant to work.  We've put the puzzles on hold for Spring Break. There just wasn't time to do all the playing and visiting and eating, plus a puzzle!  Gretta and Trish brought work with them, so that also cut into the puzzle time.  The dream of puzzling helped to pull us all to one place, though.  We'll get the puzzles done in Branson!

We got another half inch of snow here, today.  It is 19 out there with a wind chill of 7, so I'm not eager to go out for anything.  I did go monitor testing this morning and am supposed to go tomorrow, as well.  The only good thing about that is that I don't have to TAKE the test, plus I get paid to do it.  I feel for the kids having to take the tests.  Of course, if they've paid attention to their studies the tests won't be hard for them . . . that's the problem, because so many of them don't pay much attention!

A Bit of the Zoo.

Check out the table, with everything from Gretta's make up to jalapeno sauce and jelly!  Lee is enjoying having his daughter, Lisa, close and Gretta coming on in the background.  I think that's Garrett in the background to the left.  Lots of activity around here when we have a bunch of people here.  We love it!  The smiles give away the joy.  Lisa is texting with her brother in the city who is wondering when she'll be there; she left here to go there.  It may have been a bit like a zoo, but we loved it and we sure thank God for it.

I thought I subbed this afternoon, but it's next Wednesday afternoon, so I had this afternoon off.  I went right to bed and had a great nap!  It's a good thing because we've got another late Thunder game tonight.  I'm ready for it.  I'm going to go get my bath and be all ready to hit the bed as soon as it's over.

Today was my third day on the new pill instead of the shots in my rump.  There are some pretty scary side effects, but so far I haven't had any hint of any of them.  I'm praying that I'll be able to handle them if I have them and hope I won't even have any.  So far, so good!

Another Abbreviated Family Pic, Including the Clark Members.

This is a pic I got on Saturday of Diana and Bob Clark with Gretta, Elena, Garrett and Sadie (in the back in the middle).  Bob and Gretta have gotten to be buddies on FB and when they came to Branson when we were there for spring break.  Bob has joined Lee's beard club, it appears.  We love these folks and of course our kids!  I so thank God for such a great Thanksgiving.  It's wonderful to have Bob and Di living right down the street from us about 5 blocks, too!

Today I monitored for testing this morning, but got to come home at noon.  I ate a quick lunch and 20 minute power nap before I dusted and vacuumed down the middle of the house.  I also changed the sheets on our bed and washed them.  It feels good to have the house back in shape.  We're supposed to have nasty weather coming in here tomorrow, so we may be stuck in the house some this week and weekend.  Ugh.My back and leg are doing better enough that I don't have to use the cane.  I keep doing treatments with my inversion table and my NuBax and they are working pretty well.  Time will help.

After my vacuuming we went to Sentinel to watch Hobart High School play and win 3 basketball games. There were the girls and the boys varsity games and then the JV game.  When we go to the ballgames we eat dinner there, so I didn't have to cook.  Thankfully, they have really pretty good stuff at the concession stands!  It was a great night.  Then we came home to watch the Thunder play a game we taped; I'll catch what I can of it while I get my bath. and head to bed.

Just Too Funny.

From time to time Trish and I have been told that we look alike; often people think Gretta looks like me. Now, look closely at this pic.  Trish is listening intently to Rick (Lee's son-in-law) and Gretta is in the top right corner listening intently to Bob Clark, whose wife, Diana, is in front of Gretta; both of them have their tongues sticking out!  Now, that I do all the time when I'm intently working on something.  Don used to always coach me by saying, "Hold your tongue just right."  Lee often says,"I don't know why your tongue isn't chapped.  There is no doubt that if I'm gluing something or icing a cake or even vacuuming, I've got my tongue positioned just right to get the job done.  I noticed this in this pic and had to laugh out loud; it must be genetic. ( Sissy, do you do that?)  You may have to make this pic larger to see Gretta's tongue; hope you can see it.

This was after breakfast Saturday morning.  We were all just sitting around the table visiting.  Bob and Diana came after we'd already eaten, but they sat down and joined in with the visit.  They are just like family, so we were so glad that they were able to stop by while the kids were here.

My leg and back were better enough that I could go without the cane today.  They didn't call me to sub, so that was good.  I'll monitor testing the rest of the week.  My chiropractor is in the office in Hobart on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  If I continue to get better with my own treatments I'll not go to see him, but if it's not better by Wednesday, I'll go see him after school.

I started the new pills to block estrogen in my system today.  I sure hope that they'll work and that I won't have ugly side effects from them.  So on we go with the battle.

A Good Family Shot.

Lee got this shot of us as Trish and Gretta and the kids were leaving yesterday.  I wish we could have gotten one with all of us when Lisa and Rick were there, but everything happens so quickly and it's so hard to get everyone in one place at a time.  I'd like to have set the camera up on the car and gotten Lee in the pic, but nobody wanted to be still that long.  Ugh!  Anyway, we got this one and I'm grateful for it.

That's Garrett, Gretta's son, with his arm around me.  He'll be 17 tomorrow.  Then Sadie is next to me on the other side (she'll be 17 in March).  Next is Gracie, who is 10 and will be 11 in April.  Then Gretta is next, with he daughter, Elena (who will be 7 in February) on her lap.  Next is Trish, with her daughter, Raynie (who is 6), in her lap.  On the far end is Tricia's son, Mason, who is 13.  We had fun, fun, fun!  We missed all the others who couldn't be here, but we understand that folks can only be at one place at a time and we're so glad those who could come here, did.

Today was a day of rest.  We went to church twice and I took an hour and a half nap.  My sciatic nerve has decided that this is a good time to shift into low gear, so I've got the cane out to help me make it around school this week. Don't you know the kids there will love that!  I'm scheduled to monitor testing Tuesday - Friday; maybe they won't call me tomorrow and I'll be able to get in to see if the chiropractor can put me back into shape.  Right now I'm going down to the basement to spend a little time on the inversion table in hopes that I can jerk myself back into shape.  This getting old is tricky!  God has seen me through lots worse things, (and this before, too) so He'll get me through this, another bump in the road, too!

Whew! The Awesome is Gone and We're Back to Our Normal.

Much of the fun this weekend was Lisa and Rick coming and getting acquainted with Trish and Gretta and the kids.  Their visit was too brief, but it was great.  This pic I got this morning after breakfast when we were sitting around the table still visiting.  Rick and Lisa left shortly after this to head for OKC to visit with more family there.  This is two Thanksgivings in a row that they've spent with us, so we're honored and have enjoyed it so much!

After Rick and Lisa left we played Hand and Foot Canasta until the kids all left around 2:30.  In the midst of our game we nibbled on leftovers from Thursday's turkey and dressing.  After the kids left, Lee was a wonderful help to get the house put back into shape.  The beds are all cleaned and the mirrors shined, so we're ready for more company; any takers?

We're so thankful every day for our family and everyone's health.   We're especially thankful right now for everyone's safe travels over this holiday.  I'm so grateful that they would and could come here, so that we didn't have to travel.  It's wonderful to be at home and to share it with the people we love most.  We look forward to when others can join us!

Our good friends Bob, and Diana Clark came over and visited around the table with us after breakfast today.  They are like family.  They joined us in Branson last spring when Trish and Gretta and the kids were with us there.  They live just about 5 or 6 blocks from here and they're treasured friends from when Bob and I went to school together in Japan.  The Bible speaks of a friend who is closer than a brother and they are that kind of friends; we love them so much and thank God for them in our lives.  I'll post pix of them that I got today with some of the kids, too.  I got lots of good pix this weekend, so I'll be posting them over the next few days.  Hope your holiday was awesome, too.

Lots of Food; Lots of Haircuts; Lots of Fun!

The first pic is one I got yesterday of Lee and Raynie at dinner.  Trish is on the left and Mason, Sadie and Grace to the right of Lee (in the pic).   The second pic I took tonight of Raynie playing cards with Elena (not in the pic) after her haircut.  Behind her is Sadie, sitting in Gracie's lap and they're watching Trish get a haircut.  Sadie and Gracie already had their haircuts.  Raynie's was the hit of the night; it is SO cute!  The others wanted trims, not big haircuts.  Thanks to Gretta for cleaning up everyone's hair!

Thanks to God for this awesome visit and everyone's health and safe traveling!  Lee's daughter, Lisa, and her husband, Rick, got here about noon today; we're so thankful to have them be here, too!  It's been a great gathering!  I'll post a pic of Lisa and Rick tomorrow.

Kids Are Awesome!

This is a pic I got today of Sadie fixing a plate for Raynie.  What sweet sisters; they impress me all the time and make me so proud and grateful!  Today we had a wonderful dinner and played lots of cards.  I even got a nap after dinner, so the day worked well for me.

We stay up too late every night.  It's worth it for all the fun we have, though!  Hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful!  Sorry I'm so late with this posting!

Some are HERE!

We devoured one bowl of banana pudding and a ton of other stuff; now we're ready to play Nertz!  That's Sadie, me, Trish, and Gracie.  Gretta is working.  The little girls are loving playing together, Mason and Garrett and playing pool and card tricks.  Lee is watching the Thunder and reporting to me.  Fun, fun, fun!

Happy Thanksgiving to all.  Tomorrow we'll eat turkey.  Lisa and Rick (Lee's daughter and her husband) will be here Friday and we'll have roast beef.  Lots of good food happening around here!

I Could Hardly Hold up My Head.

I monitored for testing this morning, but school was out at 12:30, so I didn't have to sub for anyone in the afternoon.  It's a good thing because I could hardly hold up my head.  I'm spoiled to sleeping in too much, lately!  Getting up and going to school is a sleepy job for me.  Monitoring for testing is especially sleepy work!  I do it 4 days next week.  I really enjoy it, but I'd better get good sleep before those days!

I came home and took a good nap and then we headed out to the first high school basketball game of the year.  Wow!  Our guys are really great!  The girls struggled and lost, but the guys won by one point.  It was super exciting!  I love watching the kids play; it gives me a whole new respect and love for them for the effort that put into it!  I thank God for these experiences for the kids and for me!

Tomorrow the kids start to come in; we are so excited!  Woo hoo!  Oh, by the way, this pic is one we got today before my nap.  Bet you get tired of the same background, but it's the easiest place to put the camera for a good shot.  I put the camera on the bar and we step into place; it works if I can just remember to do it!

We Still Have Snow!

This is the view from our back door and to the right of the view I posted last night.  It still looks like this, only there are tracks in the alley.  Maybe it will warm up some tomorrow and some will melt.  The roads are mostly clear, so that's good.

They didn't call me to sub today, so I got lots of baking done.  I made more chex because I had eaten a bunch of what I made the other day, and we need plenty of those when the kids get here.  I made the chocolate chip pies today and a cherry pie.  I also made fudge.  We bought sugar free pumpkin and pecan pies at the grocery store.  Lee took a nap and woke up saying, "It smells like Thanksgiving in here!"

I'm scheduled to monitor testing tomorrow.  If they need me to stay after the tests are over at noon, I'll sub in the afternoon.  If not, I've got plenty to do at home.  Tomorrow night is the high school's first basketball game and it's in Cordell.  I can hardly wait to see them play!  They are 'my kids' and they do a fantastic job! I love to watch them play.  The middle school has had a few games to get me primed; I love watching them, too!  I'm so hooked on these kids and I especially love their ballgames!

I am thankful for a warm home and plenty of food to welcome the family who is coming for Thanksgiving. I'm so thankful for their safe travels and for THEM!  God blesses so richly.  Oh how I miss Don, especially as I get ready for times he would have loved, but I'm thankful for Lee and for his understanding and love.  I know this season is hard for him sometimes, too.  It's complicated, but God gets us through complications and I thank Him for that, too!  We miss those who were such a big part of our lives; it's a treasure that we can understand those feelings that we each have and support each other.  Enjoy your Thanksgiving!

SNOW!

This is looking out the back door of our bedroom this morning.  This is the exact spot where I lay in the sun in warm months.  Man, what a difference!  In fact it was 70 here on Friday and then dropped 40 degrees when a cold front came, and this snow eventually followed.  What a change in temperatures!  I suspect we got about 9 inches, but some say it may be over a foot.  It's enough to cancel most everything that was supposed to happen today and it sure kept me inside!

It's been a nice day of rest for me.  I thank God for a warm place to be and for the beauty of this snow. Gretta and Elena made it to OKC yesterday afternoon and are enjoying visiting around with friends and family there.  Thankfully, they don't have much snow.  They had some sleet and it will freeze tonight, so it may get treacherous there tonight.  She and Trish and the kids are coming on Wednesday, so we're hoping the roads will be clear by then.

Hope you are all safe and warm as you read this.

Thankful for the Fun and the Energy.

Ava is such an independent little doll; I wasn't helping her do anything.  Heaven forbid!  I was tickling her in an attempt to get her to smile.  Those ringlets are completely HER.  She comes in the room on springs and the springs in her feet go clear up to her hair.  She's just such a doll!  She's just two but she acts and looks like she's about 4.  She has no idea that her brother and her cousins are older than her.  She's as big as any of them in her book.  I treasure the memories of this past visit (and all of them) to Houston!  By the way, she surprised us all by letting Lee help her into the high chair; then she wouldn't let anyone BUT help her get down or back up into it.  She's a hoot and she can pick a winning helper, too!

I've vacuumed the house today.  I made cornbread for the dressing and biscuits to eat next week.  I'm so grateful to have enough energy to get this stuff done.  There was a time when I couldn't do it, but I'm able to do it and I thank God.  I mostly thank God for the kids who are coming next week!  Gretta and Elena have made it to Oklahoma City and they're visiting Trish and friends until Wednesday when they'll come here. Yahoo!  Thanksgiving is coming to Hobart!

And Precious Girls in My Life, Too!

I put pix on here all the time of my granddaughters and daughters.  Here's one of my sister-in-law and her only granddaughter.  I attempted to fix Ava's eyes, but her powers are just too strong!  :)  Doris is Don's sister and the angel who opens her house and arms to us every time I have to go down to MD Anderson! Ava is the darling who came into their lives after two sons and three grandsons.  We had so much fun on this last visit because we got to spend some time with all the kids!  We sure thank God for awesome girls in our lives!

I had a great day subbing today.  It's always a joy to go back to the middle school.  I think that's my favorite spot, until I go to the high school and then I think that's my favorite.  I just know I'm at home subbing for some weird reason!  After school we went out to find about a quarter inch of ice on our windows!  YIKES! Thankfully, I had TWO scrapers in my van because I broke the first one I used!

I came home and baked the turkey for TG.  I'm going to go take all the meat off the bones and freeze it until next week.  That'll get a big job behind me.  I'll do a little each day, so it will be not too much work and lots of fun for me!  Woo hoo!

Awesome Guys Come in All Sizes!

This is a pic I got of Jerry and his grandson, Colter.  Jerry is so good with the guys; he plays hard with them and is always teaching them some concept.  The guys love it and it's so fun to watch the love growing.  God blesses us to arrange us in families and I'm so pleased to share family with awesome people, young and young at heart!

Today the high school changed their mind and had me sub for the math/chemistry teacher and had all the Ag kids go to the library.  I think I got lucky.  The kids were much better today, so it was a great day.  Then after school we went to a nearby town, Cordell, to watch our Junior High kids play basketball.  The Junior Varsity guys won their game and the other games were close and fun to watch.  We love watching them play.  We're going to miss their games when we spend much of the winter in Branson, so we want to see as many as we can before we leave.  We just got home as the Thunder was finishing their win against the Clippers, so that was good, too.  I missed my nap, so I'll be crashing soon so I can get up early to sub for an English teacher tomorrow.    Good night and God bless!

Wonderful Men in My Life.

I go through my pix and wonderful men keep appearing.  Here are two of them.  Brett and Lee got to sit down and visit a bit the other night when he brought his boys over to Doris and Jerry's house.  The kids were all so thrilled to be together, and Jerry is a wonder at playing with them.  It was a great time and Lee really enjoyed getting so spend some time with Brett.  How blessed am I to have great men in my life, and I thank God for them!

I subbed today for the chemistry teacher and then the computer teacher the last two hours.  The kids all know what they're supposed to do in the computer class, so that was a breeze.  Chemistry was okay except for one class and there was no excuse for them.  I sent 3 to the office and should have sent more.  I'm subbing for the Ag. teacher tomorrow; think maybe I'll take a shovel in case they get out of hand.  It's no wonder they have trouble getting subs; these kids can really be trying.  I love them, though, and they pull me to them like a magnet.  Thankfully, one was at church tonight and I could hug him; I couldn't hug him at school or he'd have been embarrassed.  It's so nice to look up and see a civil face amongst them when they are acting like animals!  I really like the teachers I work with, and the kids really steal my heart.  I love it when we can go watch them play basketball and that season is right upon us.  Woo hoo!  Friday I sub for the 6th grade English teacher and she has one class of 7th grade literature.  I'll be right at home with that bunch; it will feel like a vacation.

Mostly Good News.

This is cousins, Ava and Logan by the garden where their magic Nana grows Tootsie Roll Pops from jelly beans!  That Nana is something else!  They plant the jelly beans and the next time the come over there are Tootsie Roll Pops in the garden!

Okay, the news today was good enough that we could come home.  We stopped in Lawton and got groceries for Thanksgiving, so we just got home and got it all unloaded and put where it belongs.  I have a couple of messages that they want me to sub tomorrow and Thursday, so unless they found someone else I'll be working the rest of the week.  I'm already scheduled for Friday.  I love it!

Now, all my numbers looked good, except my cancer markers were elevated just a tad.  In August they were 52 and today they were 74.  That's not alarming, but it is worthy of our attention.  Also the nodes on my neck are multiplying; not a lot, but just enough that we notice it and one of them is changing colors.  That tells us that there is activity there and it's like if you slap a fly and he still wiggles, you slap him until he quits. So, we're changing one of the medications that I take.  We're stopping the one that is a shot in each hip, but continuing the one that is an infusion every 28 days to strengthen my bones.  Also I will be taking a pill every day.  I will see the doc, again, in 2 months so that he can see if this change is heading me back in the right direction.  They did a heart scan to see if my heart was tolerating the treatments and it looked good.  They did lung X-rays and the lungs look good.  So, the doc was very pleased with everything except the nodes in my neck and the elevated cancer markers.  After all, they told me there is no cure; we're just treating this, so I see this as an over all good report.  It messes with my plans for January, but I can work with that and I'll get to see more ballgames here, so that's a good thing.  Sorry to be so late, but it's as quick as I could do it!

What Fun!

Enjoy all the pix!  We had so much fun tonight when Brett came over with his two boys and Stephanie came with their son and daughter!  Brett's wife, Heather was working and couldn't get anyone to cover for her tonight and Stephanie's husband, Gregg, is in San Francisco working.  It's always hard to get everyone right when we're here, but we were so glad this many of the family could be here and we sure missed Heather and Gregg.  Heather, even sent a puzzle that the kids and I will work over Thanksgiving, so they'll all be with us in spirit and we'll be enjoying that!

My tests went fine today.  I don't know any results.  We see the doc in the morning at 9:40.  If he's content to let us go home and we can get out of here by noon, we'll head for home.  I'm praying we can do that.  We love being here, but there's a lot to do at home to get ready for Thanksgiving.  We're really looking forward to having a house full of kids!

I'll post tomorrow as soon as I can about my results.  If it's really late, you know it's good because we're on our way home!