BEING TAGGED

Several in the blog world are tagging others to see what their 23 post had to say and especially the 5th sentence in that post. Supposedly, it has deep meaning. Here is my sentence:

First, I am so tired. I just want to sleep.

Yep, I guess that could sum up the bigger portion of my life! I do feel tired a lot. In fact, I use to feel so tired I wanted to sleep all the time and then I finally realized I was depressed and took "happy pills" for a while. But, now I am not taking anything! Back in the summer I went to my family doctor and the PA put me on a cholesterol lowering drug and I didn't like the way it made me feel. She tried some other medications, two different ones and each one made me feel wierd. So......back in September, I went off everything. I don't take vitamins, no glucosamine-chondroitin and certainly no cholesterol medication. I read somewhere that taking the glucosamine-chondroitin can raise your cholesterol. So I figured if I stopped taking it, then I wouldn't need the cholesterol medication any more. And.......if I don't go back to the doctor then I won't know if my cholesterol is lowered or not! I think is a form of sleeping?!? Just ignorance is bliss? Out of sight, out of mind? Of course my mind is out there anyway. Sort of broke!

So, maybe there is deep meaning in my sentence. I am asleep, so be sure you don't wake me when you come by to read and comment!

TODAY MAY BE THE DAY!

Today is Friday! Friday is the last day of this week, well almost anyway. Saturday is the last day and it is a work day for me and mine.

It looks like the kids apartment may be ready at last! This may be the last day they are here, or maybe tomorrow. I think they like being here, of which I am glad. I am glad my home is such that people can come and stay and enjoy themselves. But there comes a time when I need my house back! Okay, okay, I know I could kick them out and say enough already! But I want them here! I love having my grandkids come in and kiss me good morning and say "have a nice day!" I love that Emma came to me crying this morning and just needed a hug. I love having them here!

But in the greater scheme of things, I need my house back. I need to get started cleaning and getting ready for company. I have deep cleaning to do in both rooms that are occupied. Today will be cleaning in the garage and outdoors. Tomorrow will be cleaning in the bathroom, changing out faucets. We have a problem with the faucets in the front bathroom. So....I have purchased new faucets and hopefully, they will improve the function. I need to clean the closet in there and the shower and tub and especially the floor. I need to clean my own bathroom.

I think it is funny how that as we live and do our everyday things, the room can get filthy around us and it seems to creep up on me. I know I should do somethings every day, some every week but sometimes it is several weeks before I get around to it. And then when something like Rita comes along, it may be more than several weeks! So......I have a lot to do.

I have only about two and half weeks before Thanksgiving! I spent time Wednesday looking at tile for my kitchen. I think insurance is going to pay for our kitchen damage from Rita afterall. We spoke with our agent and he agreed that it should be paid for. Our deductible is large, but it should be enough to finish out our deductible and still get some cash to do the job. I have to get our receipts copied and faxed to them. I don't want to be greedy but I do want to get what is coming to me from insurance. Afterall, I have been paying into Farmers for 35 years and have only had a few claims in all that time. This is ligitimate damage and they should pay us for the damage.

I found a pretty porcelain tile. Wouldn't you know it is more expensive than ceramic! But it is so pretty and goes well with the laminate flooring in the den. It will allow us to replace the kitchen and still have continunity into the den. I think it will make a good flow. Tollie is even talking of replacing the carpet in the hall and bedrooms. That would be great, but I don't want to use all of our funds up. It has been nice to have surplus these last few weeks. We need to keep it that way. You never know what may come up!

I spent some time yesterday getting recipes off the internet to make bar cookies. I want to make up some batches this weekend and get ready for my Christmas baskets. I think this year, instead of doing several things, I am just going to make all kids of different bar cookies. I think it will be fun to try different types and variations and then make a basket of them. You see, every year I make up baskets for those people at work. I have done this for several years and now I can't not do it. Mr. R would be so disappointed if I didn't do it. He looks forward to it every year. I have always, in the past, made a loaf of homemade bread and then added some homemade pear jelly to it. But this year, I think I will do something different and make the various cookies. It will be fun to see how many different types of cookies!

Have a great weekend. I plan to work, work, and work some more and get ready! The holidays will be here before we know it.

PS Haven't heard from my dad, yet. He should get the package today or tomorrow, hopefully!

TRIBUTE!

I want to write a tribute to my husband. He is the greatest and I love him so very much. It seems lately, I have not taken the time to really let him know how much he means to me. We had so much going on and it will only get worse during the holidays.

So......this is to say that I love my man more than words can describe. I know he is great and I can't explain to you here how he makes me feel and how proud I am to be his wife! One of the best things about my Tollie is that others respect him so much. I work part-time at the same place Tollie has worked for 28 years. I have a great time at work, mainly because I am respected and valued, only because they value and respect Tollie so much. This has to be the reason because it started that way, even before they really knew me!

I thank God every day for Tollie and look forward to many more years of marriage and happiness and joy and fun with him. We have been married 35 years as of last June. We have been through many difficulties and much more happiness. And through it all, we find strength in each other after we follow our Lord's lead. I think that is one great thing about us, we have the Lord in our lives and we both look to Him for guidance and that makes it easier to deal with anything.

Tollie was and is a wonderful dad. I say was and is because his dad days have changed since our girls are grown. He was a wonderful dad in that he was involved with the girls. He made every effort to talk with them and be there for them and love them. He was not afraid to make them cry or laugh! He had their best interest at heart and made sure they knew the Lord and what he had done for him. The girls love their dad and he is special in a lot of ways. When our oldest got married, she made sure and mouthed "I love you, daddy" into the video camera set up at the front. Her dad cherishes this moment. Of course, it was a surprise to him and he loved it! There is a specialness with both girls and I thank God that he has been an example of what true love is and a mentor for a good marriage. I think my daughter has chosen wisely for her mate. We think of Paul as our son, not our son-in-law. And our other daughter will choose wisely as well. We have been concerned about some of her choices for boyfriends at times, but she has a good one now. So we have confidence she will find that right mate. One of the things their dad always told the girls is, "look for the right mate but more importantly, be the right mate." I think that shows a lot of wisdom on his part. That shows the kind of dad he is.

Tollie has always had a heart of compassion for those less fortunate. He is a hard worker and really loves what he does at work. He is a hero at work so much of the time, (when he fixes a computer, they all love him) and he is my hero all the time.

If you don't know Tollie, you should meet him and get to know him. He is special and I am thankful he is mine and I am his. We are one and I look forward to the rest of our lives together and in love and peace with each other. Come grow old with me, the best is yet to be!!!!

ANTICIPATION!

I am counting the days for Thanksgiving. I was told once that if you look too much to the future, you lose the days of the present. I guess that could be true, but I am so looking forward to Thanksgiving and I don't want anything to get in the way.

So.....I am a little ticked at my dad for scheduling his surgery for the Monday before Thanksgiving!!!! I know he is having trouble and wants to get it done as soon as possible, but I think in all this I am mainly concerned that he is having this type of surgery to begin with. He believes he is going to live forever and is so determined to do whatever to get him to that point!

My dad has had some recent problems with cervical neck herniation. It started only a few months ago and when he saw a neurosurgeon, he immediately wanted to do surgery. Of course, he told him it was no hurry and it was an elective surgery! I told my sister I would like to check and see if the doc has just bought a new Mercedes or something! As far as I know, no other modalities have been tried. So why the hurry to do surger? It will be a three hour surgery, complicated with metal plates, screws, cages and done posteriorly, which I understand is not usually done, at least according to the articles I have read. He will have a long recovery time. He will have to wear a neck collar for some time and it could take up to six months for full recovery and again, according to the articles I have read, will never be the same. When you fuse the spine, it is never "like it was." My dad is 82 years old! The biggest thing is he is in no pain! He has some numbness and tingling in his arms and hands. And he is having a little trouble walking from a dragging foot. Those are his symptoms!

So.....I ask for prayers for my dad. I ask for prayers of wisdom and an open mind to other solutions to try. I ask for prayers for my mom who is there to take care of him. I ask for prayers for my sister, who just broke her ankle and is now on crutches. She plans to be there for the surgery, but is unsure at this point. I ask for prayers for me. I have given mother and daddy a choice of my being there for the surgery, coming in one day and leaving the day after the surgery or coming a week later and spending the week to help them out. It is in their hands. But I have told them, I will be home on Wednesday before Thanksgiving!

How cold and hard you say? Well, my daughter's boyfriend is coming for Thanksgiving and is bringing his mother. We have never met and I am so anxious to visit with her. We have e-mailed and I know we will be friends immediately! The Lewis', Lavonne, Trent, Mindy, the kids and g-kids and us! A houseful, but a house full of love and laughter and games and enjoyment. I have pictured it for so long and especially after Rita came through and we wondered if it would even take place. Now......I am counting the days in anticipation of a fun time.

TRICK OR TREAT!?!

I find it amusing that my kids did not want their kids to have anything to do with Halloween when they were first married and first parenting days! But now, they still don't like Halloween but are in the trenches. Actually, my son-in-law Paul is in the trenches mainly because he is a youth minister and has those responsibilities. So.......our congregation is doing a Trunk or Treat. This is where members of the church decorate the trunks of their car and the kids then go around and do the trick or treating thing from these trunks. It is a safe environment that allows for the experiences without the trouble or problems associated with Halloween. We are having a chili supper first and then inviting the community to come and participate.

Last evening, Paul and I went canvassing around the neighborhood, passing out flyers annoucing the invitation to the Trunk or Treat. He confessed that he didn't mind doing it and it was the first time he had ever done anything like that. I told him I didn't mind doing it as it was totally harmless, and in fact was a first step in introducing ourselves to the neighborhood. We talked with those jogging and outside during our walk.

I must preface this event with the fact that Paul was very discouraged yesterday. He became the youth minister for our church back in the summer and has been doing an excellent job. But he is very discouraged. He has a small youth group. Really only two kids in the H.S. group and two in the J.H group. There is an additional kid that graduated but has stayed around. The problem he is having is that the kids want to do the fun things, but when it comes to doing the "spiritual" things, like the passing of these flyers, they find excuses to not do it. That is why he and I did the passing out of the flyers. He is discouraged to the point of wanting to go back to teaching and I think if he could would start tomorrow and kiss this experience goodbye!

I have been trying real hard to encourage him to hang in there and concentrate on the younger kids and do what he can. He is limited when he has so few and until we do something to encourage and get young families to visit, it will be hard. Paul has tended to "jump" from one activity to another, which includes jobs as well. I had hoped he would stay with the teaching and I believe he will return there next summer and hopefully stay. They need some stability in their young family. So, I pray for them and Paul's decisions and will try to encourage them as I can.

I am encouraging another young family who is really struggling right now. I walked out in faith a couple of Sundays ago and confronted a young man with his sinful actions in their marriage and told him we needed to talk. His wife and parents did not think he would go through with it, but Tollie and I had dinner with this young family last week and I boldly challenged them both to work, work together and save this family. They have two precious young souls counting on them to make this work and they need to put aside their own wants and desires.

I know there a lot of hurting people and especially young families who need our help, guidance, prayers and mentoring. I pray I am mentoring boldly to help save them. Pray with us as we teach young families in class and work with them each day.

HOME TODAY!

Tollie will be home today. I am ready! He called last night. They were at the lodge at the base of the Chisos mountains in Big Bend, Texas. They usually stay in the desert and camp another night, but they were all tired! So, they went to the lodge, got a room and were able to shower and rest. I am so thankful he is down and okay. I did worry a little about him. As I said in an earlier post, he usually prepares a lot for this trip but this time he prepared litttle. Mainly, he prepared little because of hurricane Rita. We were gone for two weeks and during that two weeks, he was so busy! He worked constantly, getting everything back to normal. I was glad he went on the trip, but I know he would have liked to have had more time to prepare. He is okay. Now the long trip home!

Sunday! My son-in-law is preaching today. It will be a good day!