Catching Up Post Christmas

Hi! I trust you all had a blessed Christmas as did we. This past week has been a whirlwind. Little John started out last week being sick, we ended up at the doctor to learn of bronchitis. He is better but now Mason has it.I baked cooked and delivered goodies the first half of the week. John was off work from Thursday until this morning, which really messed with the boys heads. They love having their Daddy home, but when they get up this morning it will be chaos.

Wednesday night we rode around in our Christmas pj's, drank hot cocoa, sang Christmas tunes and looked at lights.

Thursday we had lunch at my parents with my brother and his family and then opened gifts. We came home and napped only to leave again to take my father-in-law some fruit and have supper at McDonald's and then to look at Christmas lights. Then it was home to prepare for Santa.

Friday morning was gifts everywhere! We stayed in that morning and I made buttermilk pancakes. My father-in-law arrived at 9:30am for breakfast with us. We had lunch with my parents around noon and then came back home to take naps. John went over to his Dad's with his supper and spent some time with him. Then at 5pm we went to my brother's house and met us with my sister-in-law's family there for supper. It was total chaos but in a good way. We had a blast and so did the boys. At one point we all were hanging out in the game room downstairs where a game of pool, a game of ping pong and a game of air hockey was all taking place, along a ballgame on tv and some basketball was being shot. We made it home about 8pm and tucked our tired little fellows in tight. John and I settled in with coffee and a sweet snack while taking in a Christmas movie.

Saturday morning brought brunch at my parents with my brother and his family and our cousin Brenda. We came home and rested while the boys napped. Then I started supper preparations for we had friends coming over with their little boy. They left about 10pm and we all were completely waxed. Laying down never felt so good!

Sunday was church and a nap then John's Dad came over. He, hubby and Little John went to visit with some of their relatives in from Texas. My parents came over for a little visit with Mason and I. We ordered pizza in and watched Cars the movie. hubby was up and off to work this am at 4 and I did not sleep well and ended up staying up and typing all of this. LOL!

Today the boys are staying with my Mom for a little while so I can make preparations for a baby shower that I am helping host this weekend. I also need to pick up some last minute things for Christmas with hubby's family Friday night. Yes, you read that right we STILL have one more Christmas get together to attend and I am making chicken and dressing, home canned green beans and fresh cream corn from the freezer as well as an apple cake.

I also need to get my new laptop set up (thank you Santa!), have pictures printed off, buy regular groceries and do some work for the small group. It s going to be another busy week. I also hope to get some pictures posted this week.

Christmas Blessings.........

from our home to yours!

Plenty to Write But No Time

Things have been excessively crazy around here! So I am going to post some bulletins for you.

• My Mom had a CT done to check the spot on her lung......we are expecting the worst, hoping for the best and praying for a miracle.
• The boys are finished with school (until June) and are home with me full time. YAY!!!
• We have had a blessed season and are so thankful for everything and everyone.
• My Daddy is better and the doc is still adjusting the medication.
• Little John is sick with bronchitis, Mason had an awful bout with reflux triggered by second hand cigarette smoke. Thanks Aunt M! Yes, I am being sarcastic! He vomited 5 times....projectile style. She never smoked while there just reaked of the smell. That is all it takes for him to get this sick.
• We have had 4 get togethers so far and have 7 more in the next 48 hours. Don't ask....Thankfully only 1 is at our house.
• I broke my little toe on the left toe and tore the toenail off last night. Ouch!
• I was released from the ENT from the surgery and feel much better now.
• We have gotten the most beautiful Christmas cards this year.

I guess that is about all for now. Christmas blessings on you all!

Cookie Help!

I am a cook not a baker. I love to cook........not to bake cookies. I do basic ones. I do bake several dozen around Christmas....but I want something special for this swap. We are doing a cookie swap in our small group next weekend. Do you have any ideas? I don't want anything too simple.......nor too complicated.

Do you bake? Tell us your favorite! Blessings and thanks!

Sleepless Night

It is after 11pm here and we are still up keeping an eye on the weather. We are having gravitational force winds and have had over 4 inches of rain. There are tornadoes here there and yonder as well.......not a safe feeling!

I had not posted and I thought I might shoot some bulletin posts at you.

• My Daddy was finally given a diagnosis and is being treated by a neurologist that is familiar with that subject. It is trigeminal neuralgia. HE was put on a low dosage of meds and will work his way up to a stronger dose over the next two weeks, then see the doc in 6 weeks to see if that is strong enough. He was having a great day today and has been pain free for 24 hours.
• My uncle had 5 bypasses and a valve repaired this am. He was in surgery around 7 hours and is slow to respond tonight.....please pray for him. My Mom spent the night at the hospital last night with my aunt. We have family here from North Carolina and Georgia.
• I got all of my Christmas cards out yesterday. About 110 of them.
• I started the task of wrapping presents today. I use to enjoy this part more for some reason. Do you like to wrap presents?
• We are doing a no spend month on January.
• I am tired........good night.

Blessings!!!!

Christmas Countdown

The boys are old enough now to understand so much more about Christmas. We decided to do a little Christmas countdown with them.
1. Wear Christmas pajamas and watch a Charlie Brown Christmas
2. Get out the little peoples nativity set and talk in depth about each character
3. Christmas parade and look at lights
4. Put trees up (including theirs in their rooms- John Deere themed)-have picnic supper beside big tree
5. Make gingerbread house
6. Get the boys ready for bed in pjs, bundle them up and go to the park and see the lights.
7. Make Christmas snack mix
8. Watch Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too
9. Make dough ornaments and decorate them
10. Read Christmas story and drink hot cocoa in front of fireplace
11. Make Christmas cookies
12. Family reunion w/ my Daddy's side
13. Do Christmas lace up cards
14. Paint stain glass ornaments
15. Watch Rudolph and the Misfit Toys
16. Color Christmas pictures
17. Write Santa a letter
18. Watch Christmas special on tv
19. Daddy takes boys to Aunt Sandra's house to see lights (Mommy at small group)
20. Go caroling to grandparents and Uncle Mike's
21. Wear Christmas pajamas and read God Gave Us Christmas
22. Deliver treats to friends and family
23. Finish #22
24. Bake cake for Jesus' b'day/ Go to Nana and Papa's to open presents
25. Special b'fast of Christmas pancakes, open presents, Pawpaw M comes over/ Lunch at Nana and Papa's/ Supper at Uncle Mike's

Are you and your little ones counting down Christmas?

Blessings!!!

A Frugal Funny

We had a Christmas get together with my Daddy's side of the family a couple of weekends ago. My parents always cut off the slices of spiral ham and take them in a pretty dish (or dishes). When the get together was over I was packing my Mom's dishes for her. I had to step away from the table and when I came back one of the two dishes was missing. I saw it in my aunts basket and asked her if it was hers. She responded that she had brought a honey baked ham in it.

Here's the funny. I ate ham from that dish, it tasted just like the one my parents had brought. The only difference:

My aunt's was honey baked for $6.66 per pound.
My parent's was an Aldi ham for $1.28 per pound.

Funny!

Today Was a Good Day!

My Dad is still in pain. No results from the biopsy yet. John's Dad is better. I am better. It will all be better someday! LOL! It always pours here when it rains. If you've been reading here for long you know what I mean. I had a lot to get done and was proud to get almost all of it completed. Things have been on survival mode the last 4 weeks since surgery. Here's what I did:

• Cleaned out like never before and came up with 11 boxes of things and food to donate to the HH (thrift store, food bank and service for school children in need of winter clothes and toys)
• 12 YES 12 loads of laundry
• Mailed 54 Christmas cards and I am only through letter H
• Checked the mail
• Vomited some of the morning from not eating with my new med (the script said to take on an empty tummy......NOT! TMI-sorry
• Redid my blog design
• Made menu plan for December
• Finished N.S.'s mix order
• Made labels
• emptied dw and loaded it back
• cooked supper
• Took out 3 bags of garbage
• Decorated the house for Christmas except for the the tree and the boys' trees
• Put away yesterday's groceries
• Baked a spiral sliced ham
• Wrote out checks and paid my parent's bills at their office
• Cleaned out the extra fridge in the utility room
• Put a bushel of apples in the clean fridge for this winter

I think that was all. I feel so much better being able to do and take care of things. I hope you all had a wonderful day as well.

The boys have a cough, a bad cough. I imagine I will be calling the doctor tomorrow, as Little John's is bad enough that it is causing him to wake up. He is taking a prescription cough med but I think he might need an antibiotic too. He was sneezing tonight and the green yuckies were coming from his nose. Mason has the green too. Please say a little prayer for them and my Dad too. Thanks so much!

Have a blessed night and sweet dreams!!!

Today's News

Today was a busy day. I had a doctor's appointment at 9:45am. The ENT said the sinus area and nose are looking great but there is some congestion in the right lung. I figured as much since i am coughing up some phelm. He added an antibiotic and another nose spray (from the compound shop). I then met my cousin for a quick lunch and made some exchanges from Friday's shopping trip. I also bought groceries, picked up a couple of other items and went to the drug stores, post office and Sam's.

I took another "test" and it was negative. My bottom is better and the doctor was happy about that. Me too!!!!

My fil is some better and saw his regular doctor today and was given a couple of shots and some more meds for ole arthur.

My Daddy is still awaiting the results of his biopsy and we are too, just not very patiently. His pain was worse today. It came and went but never eased up.

Tomorrow is back to the grind......making mixes. Making December's meal plan, doing Christmas cards and hoping to get the laundry caught up, Christmas decorating done and some orders out.

Have a great night and sweet dreams!

Blessings!!!

My Head is Spinning

It has been a long few days. Thanksgiving was great. I cooked and we took it to my parents home. It was just us and the boys and my parents for the noon meal. that night my brother, sil and their 2 boys (17 yrs. and 11 yrs.) came over. We had a blast and by the end of the night Daddy was in pain pretty badly so we called it a night.

I prepared my list, sales papers and coupons and at 3am my best friend Connie and I braved the 27* temps (and the crowds) to welcome Black Friday in all of it's glory! We had a blast and spent about 7 hours of just shopping. I came home and we spent an easy afternoon and night. I am so thankful John was off so he could stay with the boys.

Saturday Daddy had a lot of pain but finally was able to start back on his Coumadin and seemed more like himself and not so sluggish. I was not feeling well and later that night I found out why. I am miserable. I will be going to the doctor tomorrow but in the meantime if you have any suggestions/advice it is much welcome. It seems as I have bleeding (severe) hemorrhoids again. Yuck!

This morning John and I got the boys ready for church and we decided he and them would go and I would stay home and rest. He had been gone about 5 or 6 minutes when the phone rang. It was his Dad and something was wrong (he was crying). He said he couldn't go and I was asking where can't you go? Well, come to find out he's been having pain in his leg. i called John and he brought the boys home and left to take his Dad to the er. He met his is at his Dad's and they took him to find out that his Dad had so much arthritis that he needs a knee replacement. He is 83 and has no heart function and has a pacemaker and there is many many other health issues. I don't see that happening. He was given a script for pain meds and an anti-inflammatory. He is home resting.

Daddy is better today for now, he seems more like himself and was able to go to church.

I am still having my bottom issue as well as being a few weeks late with my period (I will take another pregnancy test in 2 days)-I think my cycle is messed up from having surgery and the stress of everything and my head is spinning from all the green liquid coming from my nose. Yuck! I am praying there is not any infection. Surgery was less than a month ago and now this!!! Please Lord make my Daddy and fil better and heal my body!!!

I see the ENT tomorrow and am going to try to see the OB/GYN too. We'll see.....Have a great night and blessings!!!!

Thanksgiving Eve

Today has been busy. Daddy had to be at the hospital at 5:15am for his biopsy this morning. They did the biopsy and sent it off to pathology. His pain had returned full speed by yesterday and I can only imagine how miserable he must be with a shaved side of the head and a 2 inch incision to boot. He will start the coumadin back Saturday and he can now finish the steroid pack starting today. The annual hunting weekend is out. Please continue to pray for him and some relief from the pain.

I spent most of the day in the kitchen. I made 4 dozen cookies, 2 sweet potato pies, chicken and dressing, potato salad, have the cranberry sauce a chilling in the fridge, the ham baked, the turkey cooked, the gravy made, the rolls made, the corn (from the garden that i cut off and milked this summer) thawing in the fridge. Tomorrow I will warm everything up, cook the green beans and fry the corn and I will be done.

Are you cooking this year?

Thanksgiving Blessings!!!!

Making the Long Story Short

The past several days have been crazy with my Daddy. The pain got worse on Friday. We went to the eye doctor since that's where it was and then to the primary care physician. We found out that his sed rate had been off in the ER, but they chose to ignore it. The short of it is that he is having a biopsy on Wednesday to see if they can detect Trigeminal Neuralgia. Inflammation in the blood vessels in the temple. Daddy is off of his Coumadin and Aspirin for 5 days for the surgery.....that is not good as his heart needs those to stay in rhythm. WE should have the results next week. I am asking for prayer once again.

He has been on a steroid dose pack for 5 days and was taken off today, due to orders from the pathologist. It seems to be helping to keep the pain to a minimum.

I am absolutely exhausted. We were at the surgeon office and the hospital for pre admission testing from 11am until 6pm.

Oh and did I mention that I am cooking Thanksgiving for my parents and our little family? My Mom is pitiful, she is so tired and sad and maybe depressed. One of her brothers is too sick for open heart surgery and the other found out last week he also has a heart issue and prostate cancer.

I will be fine, but sometimes it is nice just to have you to take care of. It looks like I am in full swing of care taking for everyone again. I am making it better than I was but still uncomfortable and cannot bend, stoop or lift over 5#. GRRRRRR!

God is good and i will be fine with his help. Thank you for your prayers. I covet them.

Blessings and good night........

Slow Recovery

Can I just say this is getting old......I feel way older than 33! I can go and go and be busy (and do as normal as possible for someone that cannot lift over 5#, stoop or bend) for maybe 3 hours and then the pain hits and I am so tired. I usually need a nap (1-2 hours). I am so thankful the boys are still in preschool so I can rest some. I know that sounds horrible but it's the truth.

This little surgery has knocked the wind out of me! I still have a good bit of drainage, not so much blood anymore though. I haven't had any breakthrough bleeding in sometime. I still have to wash out each nostril twice a day with lots of salt water and it burns! I still use the saline solution every 30 minutes or so. I only have about a week left of the last antibiotic. Thankful for that I am . Just being honest here....... you might want to stop reading now........ I still have the yeast infection and now internal and external hemroids (sp). Heavens to Betsy!!!!! I am making it fine, well as I can and I am trying! LOL! What else can I do?!

So, that's where I am now.

My sil, Sandra is coming to clean house for me Saturday morning. We have small group here that night.

Tonight we went to the funeral home. My friend Connie's, Mom passed away yesterday. She's been sick for some time and now is finally at rest.

My Dad's pain was a little better today, just mainly around the left eye and reading is a little bit of an issue.

John is still getting to work most days but nothing regular is promised.

So, there you have it...........

Hope all is well with you all! Blessings!!!

My Daddy

Well, we saw the neurosurgeon and there was no stroke (this time) nor no tumor. There is an abnormality at the brain stem that has been there since birth and is begin......nothing to do with the headaches. He was referred back to the neurologist to determine what type of headache and what medication regime would be best suited for this. The neurosurgeon told him there is over 100 different types of headaches......crazy!

The good news is that he is some better and even worked in the pasture a little today. He is on the mend! Thank you all for your thoughts, calls, emails and prayers!

Love and Blessings to you!

Update on Daddy

He is some better today, no pain so far. We saw the neurosurgeon and got good news. Post more tomorrow. Night......

Long Day

Today has really been a long, long day with little rest. I have been napping about two hours each day and I had not one wink today. It will be two weeks tomorrow since surgery and I am still finding it difficult to keep up.

John and I took the boys to school this am and then went to Piggly Wiggly and to check on Daddy. My cousin Deb came up from Trussville (John had left for work by then). We went by the bank, then to Dollar Tree, Wal-Mart, the pharmacy and picked up lunch for us and my parents. We dropped everything off at my parents and then home to unload. We started the mixes today. I have several orders and hope to get them out this week (depending on the outcome of my Daddy appointment's with the neurosurgeon tomorrow). We did around 100 bags/jars of them.

My Daddy is in awful pain still yet. The new pain meds is not even helping. He will have an MRI and then see the doc tomorrow. Please pray! I will update asap.

John is working late and is off tomorrow to do the driving all over Birmingham tomorrow for us. Praise the Lord for that.

I am exhausted. I am off to get the boys down and then me. I have bills and things to do at the office for my parents tomorrow before we leave for Daddy's appointment. This no stooping, bending and lifting over 5#'s is getting old!!!!

Sweet dreams dear friends and blessings always!

At A Loss.......Where To Begin

I am getting better little by little and gaining strength. I went back to the doctor yesterday and still no lifting over 5#, stooping or bending. I am still having issues with bleeding. I even drove the hour to the doctors (my Mom went too). I am feeling better but the junk coming from my nose is nasty and after the suctioning and spraying out at the doctor yesterday day....yuck! He was even digging in there with super long tweezers! Just saying. I go back in two weeks to the doctor. I also am rinsing my sinuses with salt water twice daily. It burns!!!!! Then I am using the saline spray every thirty minutes or so while awake. I am still taking one antibiotic and have two weeks of it left.I also now have a yeast infection....I did Diflucam today......hope it works!

Now, onto bigger things, more important anyhow......my Daddy is sick, stroke level sick. Last year some of you may remember that he was having severe pains in the head(August or September), which resulted in a neurosurgeon getting involved and we thought for awhile he had a brain tumor only to find out the spot on the brain was scar tissue from a stroke. Well, the pains started again last night and got so bad this morning Mom took him to Birmingham to the er. No stroke showed up on the brain scan. His blood pressure was 180/90 and he is already on 2 bp meds. Not good. The doc seemed to think he has been under too much stress and gave him pain pills. They released him. He already had an appointment with the neuro doc this coming Tuesday......now I hope he will keep it!

Please pray for him........the pain is horrendous! He is so uncomfortable and it leaves his head tender and his cheek with a burning sensation......
Thank you for your prayers and I will keep you posted.

Have a blessed weekend!

Yesterday, Today

Yesterday was better. Not great but good, it was doable. I functioned without prescription pain meds, only Tyneol. The pain, burning in the eye was better but worse at times today. Yesterday my mom came and did some laundry, some odds and ends and we spent a great few hours together, just us. It was much needed! I slept, two, two hour naps to be exact. Our pastors' wife and daughter came and brought an elaborate meal, delicious it was!

Today my friend, Monica bought my groceries, my parents are taking and picking up the boys as we have been blessed that John has gotten to work all week (and tomorrow too)! I am getting there. I just cat napped today and tonight managed the boys by myself for a couple of hours without incident. My Mom bathed them and helped with supper (she and my Daddy ate with us).

There is still lots of drainage and clots. I still am vomiting some from the drainage and have lost 12 pounds since last Tuesday. I need to lose more but this is a bad way to lose it.

I go back to the doctor Friday.

We are blessed and the wind is slowing building back up in my sails. Thank you for your prayers!

Hugs and Blessings!

Rough Day

Today started off with plans and ended with a Lortab and bed. I had a bad bleed out (from left sinus area) and managed to stop it on my own with doctors and the dear Lord's help. We also have determined that maybe a nerve was "messed with" behind the left eye and is causing awful pain, twitching, burning and irritation. The drainage is still tremendous as well as the severe headache and general tenderness. I am exhausted and worn down today, hopefully tomorrow will not be as "rough".
Goodnight......... and blessings!

Back in the Saddle

Well, not quite, if you count sitting upside down with the saddle on the horses belly. LOL! I am still feeling pretty rough. Yesterday was the best and the worse day of the last few. By that, I mean I went back to the doctor and he removed the 2 pounds of packing (all total about a foot). It was so gross and man it hurt! As the doctor was gently pulling it out it felt like my brains were coming with it. Then he sprayed and suctioned and repacked a little to stop the bleeding. Then I could breath out my nose! YAY! The worse part of the whole ordeal was not being able to breath through my nose and when I ate/talked. I could not breath because my throat being blocked. It was crazy and I am so thankful the packing is gone.

The bad parts now is using the spray every 15-30 minutes in my nose, the clots of blood and yuckiness going down the back of my throat and the pain in my face (the swelling is virtually gone-due to the packing being removed). It hurts to cough, sneeze or touch my face or head for that matter. I still cannot lift much and no stooping or bending as I am light headed much of the time. But, the good news is that the infection is gone and I am on my way back! Praise the Lord!

My parents kept the boys overnight from Monday through Thursday and I do not know what we would have done without them. My Mom made jello, baked sweet potatoes, apple cake, scalloped apples and many other yummies for us and my queasy tummy.

Belinda and Monica cooked a meal each and John tried his hand at cooking supper last night and did a terrific job! He has been amazing! I thank the good Lord for such a great husband!

We are going to get the boys out in a little while after their naps and let them play. I am looking forward to a little sunshine!

Thank you for praying for my uncle, he is very sick and they are stilling working to stabilize him enough for 5 bypasses on Wednesday. Please keep him in your prayers, his name is Tom.

The owner of the boys school/daycare is still having an awful time with the unexpected death of her husband. Please pray for Ms. Lisa and her family. The funeral was today.

I hope all is well and I hope to catch up soon!

Blessings!!!!

Day 3

From the world of Mr.homemaker/caretaker:
The swelling in her nose seems to be a little worse making the pain be worse. The packing must be saturated because the drainage is now going down her throat.She tried to get up and be a little more active yesterday but she must have over done it because she's paying for it this am. Her only plans for leaving my recliner today(where she's been sleeping)are for potty and shower breaks.The appt. for removal can not come soon enough. Thanks for your continued thoughts and prayers.

Just an after thought in case some of you are unclear, she had sinus surgery in order to clear up infection that several rounds of different medications couldn't do.They also had to shave the bone in her right sinus cavity to allow more air passage.

P.S. Say a prayer for Marva's uncle.He was airlifted to Birmingham this am with a possible heart attack/stroke.

Thanks
John

Update

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. All went well as far as we can tell.Dr. said recovery will take time. Her throat is extremely sore(making swallowing very difficult)and the nausea is pretty bad at times. The packing in her nose has her airways closed(packing will be removed on Friday am).Just gonna take time and patience from all involved.Please continue to pray and we will keep updating as often as possible.


Thanks
John

It's Me, Again

I am suppose to be at the surgery center in the morning at 5:45am. Please say a prayer. John will post tomorrow to let you know how things went.

Also, this morning I took my boys (who now feel better) to school. The director (owner)'s husband fell dead of a heart attack around 9ish. He was not even 50 and in great shape. He and Ms. Lisa were not just husband and wife but true sweethearts and best friends (as well as parents of 3 beautiful girls). Please pray for this family. They are in shock and are devasted.

Blessings!!!

November Meal Plan

Here's the meal plan this month. There are meals being provided for a few days following my surgery.......a blessing that is!

1 Paula Deen's chicken pot pie, salad
2Oven baked Parmesan crusted catfish fillets, boiled shrimp, fried shrimp, corn, slaw, salad, rolls, onion rings, oven fries and hushpuppies
3 meal brought in
4 "
5 "
6 "
7 "
8 "
9 "
10 "
11 Beefstew, cornbread
12 pork roast, gravy, biscuits, candied sweet potatoes
13 Chciken noodle soup, grill cheese sandwiches
14 OUT
15 Spaghetti, salad, garlic bread
16 Tuna helper, green beans
17 Chili
18 Chili dogs, oven fries
19 Small group- chili, onion dipw/ chips, dill dip w/ veggie tray, pigs in blanket, pizzas (DiGornio)
20 philly cheesesteak casserole, green beans, corn on cob
21 sloppy joes, oven fries, slaw
22 chicken fingers, peas and mac & cheese]
23 chicken burritos, salsa and chips
24 Santa Fe Soup, corn chips
25 leftovers
26 Thanksgiving
27 leftovers
28 Pizza! Wings! Take Out!
29 Tuna salad sandwiches, chips and dip
30 Tacos and Nachos

What a Weekend

Things are much the same here EXCEPT we have two very sick little boys. Double ear infection and sinus infections along with a nasty dry cough that brings vomiting st times (many times)......it has been a rough ride lately..........2 weeks ago, three days before leaving for our beach trip we made the trip to Children's with severe abdominal pain........it has been rough. All total 4 doctor's visits for each of the boys in the last 4 weeks and the hospital trip for little John........i am so thankful for insurance. We are still dealing with issues from c. diff (almost three yeas later).......the cause for the trip to Children's. I am just really rambling here. Sorry for that. I am so tired and sick of being sick. I would love it if my boys were well..........especially before Tuesday's surgery for mommy. The front of my face feels like it is gonna just blow off.......the pressure is so intense (nah, I'm not too wimpy about pain.........after open heart surgery I only took 2 pain pills and was out of the hospital in 2 days). However, this pressure is awful! i can deal with me........Lord please make the boys well. Their appetites are awful, what little we can manage to get them to eat, they end up losing from the harsh coughing. They are on a very strong prescription cough med, it is just too weak for this cough.

I hope this all makes sense, or at least some......I am not proofing this, sorry. I am waiting up to give another dose of meds and I am too tired.

I know there are many families and children much worse off than mine but God hears ALL prayers, please send one up for my boys. Bless you!

God's speed and blessings!

A Rather Shocking Day

I have been having a few different health issues and they all are rather serious. However, today I went for a CT and I got some rather shocking news...there is a serious problem and ............................I am scheduled for surgery early next week. The doctor asked if I could be prepared for surgery in the morning.........WHAT? That soon? Yes, that soon he replied. Geez! since I could not it will take place next week. I prefer not to discuss the details here on the ole blog though. The surgery will leave me with the wind knocked out of my sails for a week (says the doctor) and full recovery will take 6-8 weeks.

The last time I was fully put under anesthesia was when I had open heart surgery and I would be lying to say that I am not nervous. I AM.......terribly!

I WILL however will still be taking orders and overseeing my little mix business (I have a couple of my regular employees ready for your business)......so please place those orders................we will need the income.......

AS WE RECEIVED MORE SHOCKING NEWS THIS AFTERNOON........ without disclosing too much information for safety reasons..........
John's last regular work day will be Friday......OF THIS WEEK! He technically will still be employed by the same company but there will be no regular work and that means little or no paycheck(s). It is difficult to explain, there are other companies, government agencies and lots of contract information involved.

God will take care of us, all the way around........I know this without a doubt but I am only human........so I am asking for your prayers and comments.......if you have never prayed or commented now is your chance.;)

Thank you all and I hope to see you around soon, when able..........

Blessings!!!!!

Beach Trip 2009

We had a great beach vacation! We went down on Monday and came home on Thursday! The boys had a blast (and so did Mommy and Daddy!)!

We ate great seafood, oh my goodness, it was so delicious! We ate at Hazel's, The Original Oyster House, Cosmo's and Jake's Steak and Seafood Grill! We ate at Cracker Barrel on the way down and Waffle House on the way home. While there we cooked breakfast a couple of times and lunch once.

This is where we stayed (The Phoenix West)! It was awesome!

Here are the boys and John on the beach for the first time after we arrived.


Here are John, Mason and James (His Mom and Dad came with us also). What a spectular view!

We went to the zoo on Tuesday morning. It was beautiful and well kept. The boys always love seeing the animals!

Here is little John having a blast in the wind with the sand!

And Mason had to bring the tractors with him........to dig you know!

Here is the sunset at The Wharf.

Here are my boys hanging out with their Daddy on Tuesday morning while awaiting Ms. Julie's famous bacon omelets.

Here is the view of the beach from oour 19th floor condo.........fantastic!

The ocean from our condo balcony........what a terrific view!

Here are the boys on Wednesday morning for our little photo shoot........non-professional I might add.

Here is all of us........this one is going to be framed for the grandparents for Christmas presents.

Well, we are back and I am catching up on reading blogs. I also came home with bronchitis and the boys with colds (we made a stop by the peds office on the way in). Hope we all are feeling better soon.

Have you ever been to the Orange Beach /Gulf Shores areas?

Where do you vacation? Do you like the beach?

What have you been up to this past week? Hope all is well!

Blessings!!!

SURPRISE!

I just wanted to let you know that Marva's Mixes is open for business! So........check it out and start your Christmas shopping early!

Blessings!!!

Fall Made It's Appearance and Our Decorations Did Too!

Fall is my favorite season of the year. I love everything about it! October is my favorite month. Here are a few things in and around my house we have adorned with fall decor.



This wreath was made by and used by my mil before she fell ill to cancer, before she passed away she gave it to me. I will treasure it always. It is seen hanging on my front porch light fixture.
This is scarecrow man. Or possibly woman, picked up at Michael's for $5.99. He is guarding the boys pumpkins!

Here is mini scarecrow man. He is guarding the mini bounty found on the china hutch. He was bought at Dollar General for $1.

This Fall angel was made by my Mom and me 5 or 6 years ago. She won 1st place in the county fair that year. The jar of fall treats is no other than half candy corn and half dry roasted peanuts shook up good (to mix) and stored in airtight container. That treat taste just like a PayDay candy bar.

Last but not least is this fall arrangement that my friend Deb and I made. I saw one at Michael's and it was priced at $59.99. That was outrageous. We bought all of the stuff and made it ourselves for less than $15.00! It might have taken 15 minutes to put it together. I used it for a centerpiece for our table for a party a couple of weeks back.

Have you decorated for Fall yet? Blessings!!!!!!

Keeping Up With the Happenings

It has been eventful around here........to eventful (or eruptive)..........you mommies all know what I mean! "I gomma bomit!" That statement is never good.......at least we were not on the carpet but in the kitchen.......which is worse? It's all yucky. John and Mason both are sick with coughs, congestion, runny noses. No fever but some greeny yuck from their noses. Then I was giving John his antibiotic this morning and he started coughing......I mean really coughing and I stopped about half way through. Then he said the above statement and IT happened. He had just had breakfast. Double Yuck! He got a dose of high power cough medicine and now is finally eating some dry Cheerios. Mason is fine (as well as can be). I hope they get well soon!

Last weekend we had our huge semi-annual yard sale. The weather men were predicting rain. And they were actually right.....it rained for a very short time on us twice! We made it though at least through lunch. From 8am until 12 pm we sold $580.25 for 4 families. We all were thrilled and had it packed up before 1pm. There were some things left and we all have raided our houses again......looking for more to add. We are going to have another one the first weekend of November.

I guess that is about all I have for now........

Have a great day and blessings!!!

Backing Tracking to October 10th.......11 Years

We celebrated our eleven year anniversary on Saturday (night-to be exact). We had a sitter and decided to go eat and to a movie (and to Sam's Club- Haha!)

We went to Lonestar (I had a coupon from there for my birthday, for an entree up to $15) to eat. I chose a steak dinner with a salad and baked potato. John had the trio with bbq chicken, steak medallions and fried shrimp with a salad and a baked potato. Then we had the chocolate something the other for dessert for our anniversary (it was also free)! ;)

We then went and got our movie tickets. We usually only go once a year to the movies. This year there was NOT much worth seeing. I had a $3 coupon off on each movie ticket that made them $6.50 each.........compared to the regular $9.50 each. Ouch!!! I thought that was high......I went to the ladies room and John got us the 2 drink and large popcorn combo..........Then he said that was $18.75.............NO!!!!!!! That is just crazy!!! After seeing the movie we should have just stayed home! I was embarrassed and I was thinking that the parents that had brought their 6-8-10 year old kids to see it had to be also! It was rated PG-13 but it should have been rated R! Enough said.



This is the movie tickets, the roses John got me and our leftover supper. It was yummy!

Here we are just before we left for our date. I felt like a school girl again! LOL!

How do you usually celebrate your anniversary? Have you seen any decent movies lately? What does going the cinemas cost in your neck of the woods?

Blessings!!!!!!

Sunday Morning

Thiese were taken this past Sunday morning. The boys looked too cute, posing for me not to take their pictures. The top two are of John and the bottom two are of Mason. I sure do love my little boys.

Blessings!!!!!

Building Tall Towers

The boys love building with these cardboard blocks. Here are a few pictures below......

This is Mason with a block "mustache".
Here is John as a "blockhead". Hehe!

Look what our little Elmo builders made..........

Blessings!!!!!

Fried Apple Pie Day

A couple of weeks ago I made fried apple pies. They were so yummy and by the time I shared all of the three dozen with friends and relatives there were none left. Needless to say there have since been several requests for another fried apple pie day........

Excuse the messy kitchen below, it shows the true view of pie day.


The aftermath.... a clean kitchen and a few plates of yummy pies.

Do ya'll make fried pies? What are your favorite kind? Blessings!!!

Birthday Memories

Here are some pictures from my special day. The boys got me a wonderful card that had the sticker (on me in the picture below). It said "#1 Mom"....too cute! Excuse my appearance.

The boys and John got me two cards, a 4 qt. RED crock pot, a new Bible, a Mom's pocket planner, a great ceramic coffee mug that says bargain shopper and has a Proverbs 31 verse on it and a beautiful angel (most all of this is pictured below).

I got a cute card from my aunt, a card and a pan of ham rolls (my favorite) from my friend Connie. My brother and his family gave me $20 and a Cinnamon Stick candle from Bath & Body Works (yum!).

My parents paid for a cut and highlight, gave me $50, a shirt, a manicure set, a gift cert for a manicure, a $30 gift card to Factory Connection, a $30 gift card to Cato's, a HUGE potted mum and a great little party. They are pictured below with me. My Mom made me a tasty peanut butter cake and it was soooooooo GOOD!

I had a great birthday and am looking forward to getting all I can out of my 33rd year! I am so blessed!

BLESSINGS!!!!

Thirty Three

I am at work today (I typed this last night) and it is my 33rd birthday. John took me to lunch yesterday and I got to go shopping! I found several great things for me, yes, just me!!! I hope you have a great day too!

Blessings!!!

Busy Day!

Today has been one those "crazy and busy days"! My parents have been out of town for a few days and we have been going non-stop! This is what was on my agenda today.....

• up, devotion, got ready
• boys up, ready, fed breakfast off to school
• newspaper office (ad for yard sale next weekend)
• Wal-mart
• post office
• deposit yesterday's sales
• Piggly Wiggly
• empty dishwasher
• take out trash
• go into work for 2 hours
• menu plan for October
• send out a few emails
• clean out both fridges/freezers
• inventory fridges/freezers/pantry/cupboards
• pay for an Ebay purchase
• make calls
• divide 15#'s of cooked ground chuck for freezer
• handwash a few dishes and pots and pans
• pay bills
• balance checkbook
• supper (roast, cornbread, butterpeas and mac & cheese)

Well, the cornbread is almost ready to come out of the oven and I've got to get supper over to my parents and pick up the boys! Hope you've had a blessed day!

What was on your agenda today? Blessings!!!

Promises

I made a promise last week to the boys that if they would go night night in their underwear that the next morning for school I would make them have silly hair. They did great and Mommy kept her promise! Below are a couple of pictures of them with "silly hair".



Mason


John

Their new hair styles were a hit with the other kids but not with some of the moms.......some of them were asking for "hairstyling" lessons for their boys........LOL!

Blessings!!!!!

This, That and This

Hi all! I am so happy to be back in the blogging world! I am a tired girl today though. the boys mainly lil' john and Big John kept me awake the better part of the night and it seems like the longest day today.

Thank you all for the kind words and prayers during the death of John's uncle. He, no doubt is resting in peace now.

Apples are slowing down and things are not quite as hectic and we are enjoying some wonderful apple treats (fried apple pies, honey apple cakes, apple butter, candied apples, apples with caramel dip and so on so forth). YUM!!! It does look like the store (home market) will be closing soon though.

I am trying to get into the mix mode again.......I cannot wait to get started with all of that. I will open my online back up when the weather begins to cool off and we get back home settled from the beach (maybe the end of next month).

The flooding has not effected us directly, but we do not need more rain right now. We have semi-dwarf apple trees and their root stock is not very deep. The rot is hurting us as well. The ground is completely saturated and the smell of mold is in the air. God knows our every need and he will supply.

The boys are doing well and still in pre-school. they stilll like it and are leaning so very much! Mason is completely potty trained now and Little John still has an accident at night here and there (mostly here......every night, as of late). They got flu mist vaccinations on Monday of this week........we are waiting to hear if our peds office will get swine flu vaccinations or not. Swine flu has hit their school and there has been SEVERAL cases of it there. There is a set of girl twins on their class and they have had it. It is scary and we are taking every precaution that we know if.

The small group is going great! All of the ladies seem to love what we are teaching them and are catching right on. the deals and bargains help so much and we are so blessed to get to show them these things and glorify the Lord at the same time. We have seen so many blessings from this!

I hope all is well! Are your children getting flu vacs this year? Are you? What yummy treats are you fixing this Fall?

Blessings!!!!

Please Pray........A Death

Last night we had been called by one of John's sisters to let us know that their Uncle would not be likely to make it throught he night. Only 10 minutes later while on the phone with two of his sisters he was told of Uncle Gary's passing. He had surgery a couple of weeks ago for a cancerous mass in his throat. We lost John's Mom about 18 months ago due to lung cancer. . They both were smokers. Thank you for your prayers. John, his Dad and sisters will be traveling this weekend the 4 our drive to be with the familly.

Hugs and Blessings!

Rembering

Has it really been eight years ago?! Do you know where you were? What did you think the first time you heard terrorism? John and I were getting breakfast to go at Burger King in Gardendale headed to Birmingham to see his orthopedic doctor (he had just had knee surgery 6 months prior to September 11th).

We were watching Fox news and could not believe our eyes. All of the death that day brought and sadness. Please say a little prayer when you finish reading this for all of the families of the dead, for the survivors (as their lives will NEVER be the same), all of the military and their families they have left behind to defend our freedom.

God Bless the USA!

Am I Following You?

UPDATE...........They are back up again.



This is crazy........apparently all of the blogs I follow have disappeared off of my list! It says I am not currently following any blogs. Please leave me a comment and let me know if it showing that I am still following you or not........Thank you.

Blessings!!!

September Menu Plan

This month is already well underway, but I am just now getting this posted. I love using a menu plan because it keeps us within our budget and I always know what I am making ahead of time.



1 Hot Dogs, tater tots, peach pound cake (Dad feeds boys-Mom at work)
2 OUT-Burger King
3 Chicken fettuccine alfredo, fresh cut off corn, fresh green beans, fried apples
4 Leftovers and popcorn (movie night)
5 Baked ziti, tossed salad, garlic cheese bread
6 Waffles, sausage, fresh apples dipped in caramel and chopped nuts
7 Chicken burritos, chips and fresh salsa
8 Chicken dino bytes, oven fries (Dad feeds boys-Mom at work)
9 BLT's, potato salad
10 Candied pork chops, fried apples, green beans, rice
11 Taco salads, chips w/ cheese dip
12 Country fried venison cubed steaks, green beans, buttermilk biscuits, gravy, mashed
potatoes, hm apple butter
13 HM chili, Jim n Nick's cheese biscuits
14 Enchiladas, refried beans, spanish rice
15 Chicken fingers, home canned pink eye purple hull peas, mac & cheese (Dad feeds boys)
16 Chili cheeseburgers, oven fries, cole slaw
17 Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, hm apple butter, buttermilk biscuits,
fried apple pies
18 Kraut and wieners, pintos, fried potatoes, mac & cheese, sliced onion
19 (Small group-at my house- brunch themed menu) Ole farm breakfast casseroles, breakfast
punch and coffee
20 Beef stew cornbread and hoop cheese
21 Leftovers
22 Speckled butter beans, stewed cabbage, potato salad, squash casserole, fried green tomatoes,
cornbread, sliced onion
23 Roast, gravy, buttermilk biscuits, fresh cantaloupe
24 Lasagna, tossed salad, garlic cheese bread
25 BBQ hot dogs, potato salad, onion rings
26 Grilled steaks, baked potatoes, tossed salad, hm ice cream
27 Ham and cheese omelets, cinnamon raisin toast, fried apples
28 Chicken salad sandwiches, hm pickles, chips w/ dip
29 Crock pot ribs, potato salad, bbq beans, corn on cob, hm lemonade, peach cobbler
(Goodbye summer!)
30 Chicken fajita nachos, with fresh salsa, brownies

Blessings!!!

Slowing Down

Things are slowing and I am glad but today was a really slow day, due to a sick child (Mason). Bless his heart, daycare called yesterday and he had a low grade fever, headache and runny nose. John went and picked him up (I was at the market in Trussville). He was better today with crazy fevers on and off most of the night. His immune system is finally able to try to fight things off......Praise the Lord!!!! He will go back to school tomorrow if he is okay tonight. He has not had a fever over 100* after 5:30 this morning.

I have a menu plan that I have been trying to post for a week or better and cannot seem to get around to it. Maybe in the next day or two. Tomorrow I am introducing a friend who attending the small group on money management to Aldi. FUN!!!

Hope you all have a great day! Blessings!

The Day Off

This is from Thursday......it just did not post.


Not really! I was off from markets and work, but there was plenty to do today. hubby was home as well and we made the most of it. I cooked breakfast and we got the boys ready for school. I did a couple loads of laundry and unloaded as well as reloaded the dw. Then off they went, to school.

Hubby and I returned to clean out and detail the insides both vehicles. He took some things to the storage building and I cleaned off the front porch, swept it and scrubbed it down. While he washed and detailed the outsides of both vehicles, I proceeded to do another 3 loads of laundry, wash 1and 1/2 bushels of pink eye purple hull peas and can 27 jars of them, chop veggies and make 19 bags of freezer salsa and start washing cukes for bread and butter pickles. I also put 5 # of boneless/skinless chicken breasts in the crock pot to cook.

We had a quick lunch around 1pm. Hubby weedeated around EVERYTHING while I canned the pickles (13 jars) and did another 2 loads of laundry. I then made some phone calls and printed some things off the laptop while hubby took boxes and baskets back to the packing house.

We then took several things over to the freezer to store for those long winter days. When we returned we hung some new "pretties" in the kitchen/dining room and then I stripped beds and finished the laundry. I got supper started and we headed off to pick up the boys and to the post office.

If you counted that WAS EIGHT loads of laundry!

After playing with the boys outside and eating supper, bathes were in order. After bathes we watched a movie and had popcorn and fresh apples from the orchard dipped in hot caramel. Yummy! Bedtime was at eight for everyone except me, where was I.......trying to get this machine to publish this post! LOL!

Hope you had a great day!

Blessings!!!!

I Am Not Typing This

Please say a little prayer, I will be calling the ENT in the am because I have a severe sore throat and a little ear ache. We know how touchy the sinuses have been and to make matters worse, I priobably picked this up from my Daddy as he has had strept and just started Cipro today. I feel yucky! Blessings!!!!

It's Been A While!

Hi all! I am sorry for being gone for so long, summer is just a very hectic time for us. I thought I would update you on the happenings around here the last month.

The boys are growing like summer time weeds and talking so much now, we are just thrilled! They went 30 days without a cold or any kind of sickness and it was WONDERFUL! However last weekend the fevers, moodiness, coughs and poor appetites started and then the trip to the peds office. Bronchitis, ear infections and so on so forth. They are better now and we are so GLAD!!! Mason only had to have occasional breathing treatments during this bout, so that was a great feat! They are still enjoying pre-school/daycare and are learning so many things! They turned three in March and we are just blown away every day to think they were "suppose" to have disabilities and such! They both can count to 25 ( in English) and to 10 in Spanish. They can sing several songs, say two different blessings/prayers, say all of their abc's, recognize ANY color and their shapes as well. Mason can even spell DOG and CAT. They both are potty trained and we are so glad that is almost over (they still wear pull-ups at night), but Mason has been dry the last three mornings! Yay Mason!

John did not get the job as Executive Director of the Agri-Business center and we are disappointed but God has bigger and better things in store and we believe that! His work is full force right now and that is a blessing in itself, although the hours and LONG! John has joined our choir and is enjoying that tremendously!

I went back to the doctor about my sinuses yesterday and got a semi good report. No surgery, at least right now. i do have permanent damage in the sinus cavities and was started on two new medications to cut the risk of inflammation in the future, these are life long medications........needless to say I am a little less than thrilled! However, I am blessed, so I will deal with it!

I am having severe hormonal migraines and we discussing a full hysterectomy with my OB/GYN in the future. This is where the men folk need to skip this part............
I also am staying anemic again and reducing my periods to come every three months is not helping like it was. The cramps are severe again and make me vomit and my periods are heavy, heavy, HEAVY!!! Please say a prayer that we make the right decisions. I am very tired, all of the time it seems.

On the farm we are STILL picking peaches! Since the third week in May we have been going strong with this beautiful yet fuzzy stone fruit! We are finishing markets up for the season and have stopped deliveries to grocery stores, so things are slowing down a bit. We have started picking apples (Gala and Ozark Gold) this week. Different varieties of Red and Golden Delicious next week. We still have tomatoes, squash, okra, all sorts of peppers, eggplants, cucumbers and such coming in. I only worked 61 hours last week opposed to the 89 the week before! ;)

I have just been canning and freezing my little farm girl's heart out! I have canned pink eye purple hull peas (almost 7 bushels). We have frozen peaches, freezer salsa, bread and butter pickles, frozen squash, okra and apples. I cannot even began to list it all here. I hope to have a full post on that soon though. We will eat good this winter, now to get some meat to go with it!

We are still looking forward to vacation next month to the Gulf! The small group on money management and frugal living is shaping up quite nicely and I am learning so much, even as a leader! I am so excited to use what God has gave me to help others!

My Daddy turned 76 the 20th of August and we pulled off a humdinger of a surprise party for him with a full dinner that I cooked for 25 folks! It was great and enjoyed it so very much!

I also am hoping to do better with my shopping and menu planning starting this month! I will get my menu up on Thursday.

I suppose that is all for now. Hope all is well! Congrats to Problem Solvin' Mom on the birth of Sugar Plum!

Happy blessings to you all!

Hello Again!

I just wanted to do a quick check in and say hello! We are still pickin' and a cannin' and a freezin' and a grinnin' (while we bare it). LOL! If we all could get well......namely me, it would not be so bad. We are so, so very blessed and God is good!

I still have this awful infection and was sent to a ENT by my family doctor. After 4 shots, 4 prescriptions (one of which is an antibiotic, for the full next THREE weeks), I should be better, if not, surgery is on the horizon. JOY! I am staying very, very tired and these new glasses are difficult to adjust to. Heather had asked about Zenni Optical (online vision source). I did NOT use them. They are very reputable, but my eye doctor's office will not touch a pair of glasses from an outside source due to lawsuits and such. I just saved the hassle and paid the BIG $$$$ and got them from my regular eye doctor.

The boys had their pictures made at school last week and they turned out well. I cannot wait to get some pictures of them and the fruit and markets and everything else on here, there is just not enough time, that and my internet chooses to work when it wants.

We are planning a fall vacation with our friends Jeremy and Julie and their 6 year old son, that the boys just adore. I cannot wait! We are heading to Orange Beach/Gulf Shores area.

As for John's job, they are still interviewing........can you say C.R.A.Z.Y!!!! WE have been finally told in no uncertain terms that he not a likely prospect. That hit us hard, but God has bigger and better things in store, in HIS on time. So, we will continue down the road of life with that attitude.

I hope you all are doing well and are thriving in the heat and your gardens and pregnancies and life in general! Many blessings and hugs!!! I'll be back around again, hopefully sooner than later! LOL!

Life

Life seems to be getting in the way of my blogging! LOL! ;) In all seriousness, there is not much time for blogging these days. I thought I would do a quick check in while I had some time.

It seems that my bronchitis that I thought I was over and done with is still with me and I started a new antibiotic yesterday. John and Mason now also have it and started an antibiotic and prescription cough medicine yesterday.

Something has been on my mind as of late........so here goes! I cannot believe the whole Jon and Kate saga.I feel so sorry for the kiddos......there........that's all I'm sayin'.

The markets are going well and so is the harvest. We have really been blessed. We have been enjoying temps in the 70's and 80's and low humidity! It has been so very nice! We are picking blueberries, peaches, nectarines, apples, blackberries, cabbage, watermelons, cantaloupes, tomatoes, peppers, squash and eggplant.

This past weekend was really busy with over 1200 (8 quart) baskets of peaches being picked Friday and Saturday alone. We are seeing increased sales and record days at our indoor roadside market.......praise the Lord for that! After losing all of the orchard crops three years ago, we are still recovering!

We are co-heading a debt free, penny pinching small group from our church starting next month. We are calling it; Living on Manna. I am so very excited a bout it! The other couple M and M had us over to their home home Saturday night and we had a blast! It was so nice to fellowship with such a wonderful couple who loves the Lord like we do!

I see everyone else is busy too, just as us. I am reading and trying to comment here and there but sometimes it just is not possible. I hope to catch up with you soon........it could be a while though; peaches will be in full force through August! :)

Blessings and hugs to ya'll!

What A Day!

Look at this......two posts within 48 hours. If I were not sick, I probably would be at work (even though it is 9:28pm).

This morning I got the boys up, fed and they did NOT want to go to school. John felt better and had no vomiting since Saturday night but he was so mad at me. I picked him up and got slapped in the face (during one of his tantrums). I got him dressed anyway through all of the screaming and sent him to his room after a good talking to. He also lost all of his privileges at home for later this evening.

I got them off to school and went to work for two hours to do the banking/bills, ect. I also made a doctor's appointment. Then I went home to chop veggies for chow chow. I made the brine and and added the veggies to sit in the fridge for 8 hours. I got my CVS and grocery lists together, took a 30 minute nap, got myself presentable and left for the doctor at 1pm.

I stopped by CVS and got my shopping done there, tanked my vehicle up with gas and went by Subway for a late lunch. I made it to the doctor at 2:45pm for my 3pm appointment. After being told I had a bad case of bronchitis and puss pockets in the back of my mouth and that I might need to see an ENT if they did not go away with this powerful antibiotic I would be put on for a week, I headed to Wal-Mart to finish my shopping. I had so many coupons and comp items i thought the cashier was going to pass out before she got me rang up.......it was actually funny when she saw the total drop from $176 to $115 and that wasn't even all of the savings........with the comp ads (and coupons) I saved $201!!! Yippee! That's enough to make a sick woman well! LOL!

I came home and got the leftovers out while hubby picked up the boys and my meds at the pharmacy. I put away groceries, we ate supper, did bathes, did two washers of clothes and finished canning the chow chow. I am going to bed soon as I have a big day tomorrow at work and the market...........I also have 2 bushels (120 ears) of peaches and cream corn to get put up sometime soon.

For the market tomorrow I will have peaches(50 big baskets), tomatoes (3 -25# boxes, 100 cantaloupes, 2 dozen heads of cabbage, 4 bushels of squash and a half of bushel of cucumbers and a few canned goods. We mainly cup out (sell in small quantities) the veggies and peaches. This is all that can fit on the truck and in the front as well. I hope to remember to take my camera tomorrow and take some pictures and post them.

Well, it has been along day and I have to get hubby up and off to work at 1am......can you hear me pouting?!

Do you have a farmer's market close by and do you like shopping there?

Have a blessed night!!!!

What the Week Has Held

I would love to report that EVERYONE is well however, that is NOT the case. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and a very Happy 4th! We are all still working long hours and harvesting more fruits and veggies than we should be blessed with......praise the Lord!

I went to the eye doctor this week to find out that my eyes had each changed three points and finding out that new glasses would be around $400 + (the pair I want is actually $529), I will be getting my information and using Zenni optical (online) to purchase 2 pairs with sunshade clip-ons for less than $100!!!

I have a new endeavor going on; I have acquired a customer to buy numerous jars of my peach salsa and chow chow weekly. I am very excited about this as it will be a yearly thing and not just a summer thing. I made 54 pints of peach salsa Monday.

I have the sinus/throat yuckies once again and will be seeing the doctor tomorrow. I got our vehicle tags on Monday. We already had a farming tag for the Durango but opted to get one for the new truck as well.

Mason fell head first at daycare Friday onto black asphalt and I rushed him to the doctor since the blood under the skin was forming a weird pattern. He also has a gash on the forehead (there is also a huge bruised area) as well and a skinned nose. The exam showed no signaficinant damage. His leg was hurting only to got through numerous x-rays and blood work to find he has an infection. It was so bad by Friday night that he could not even walk. He had pink eye earlier in the week and passed it on to John, only to have it again this morning.

John (little) got up vomiting bile and and a little blood yesterday morning, it only got worse as the day wore on, so Hubby and I took him (my friend Connie, took care of Mason) to Children's hospital in Birmingham to the er about 5:30pm when nothing we were doing was working. After numerous doses of lab work and such , he has a tummy bug. He is better today and we are being very, very careful monitoring what he is eating and drinking and the amounts. Mason then got up with runny yuckiness this morning.

The Clorox wipes are in full force at the Mc household today (Lysol too)! We should own stock in those companies! LOL!

The boys will be having their pictures made Tuesday at school, Masonwill really have a shiner to smile about! LOL!

The only fireworks we saw were at 9pm last night on the way home from the hospital. John could not have his allergy meds last night due tot he tummy virus, so he and I were up and down most of the night last night. I hope tonight is better!

Hubby went to church today and I stayed with the boys. I took about an hours nap while they were napping, now, if I only had some energy!

We heard that the calls for interviews will start this week for the job hubby applied for. We also heard that they have narrowed it down to 41 out of 200 applicants, he is one of the 41!!!! Yay!!! Noe, they will narrow it to 7..........we are very hopeful! Please keep praying!

Have a wonderful week and I am missing blogging and my blog buddies but we are blessed to be able to do what we do (farming) and working so close with the Lord and our family! Hope to see you all soon!

Blessings!

Updates

Hi again! I hope all is going well. The majority of the time I am reading at least most of your blogs but sometimes I do not have the time or energy. right now I am commenting very little due to lack of time/energy. We are busy, busy, busy here. We are averaging picking 400 or more 8 quart baskets of peaches 6 days a week. then there is the garden and other orchard crops as well. The markets are going well and all is booming. We are so blessed!

I am better just a lot of drainage. The strep is gone! Yay for that!
My Daddy is better except the cough.
My mom's biopsy was NEGATIVE!!!!! Praise the Lord! She goes back in September for a recheck.
My cousin's baby, Brennan went home from the NICU and is doing well.
The other cousin's baby Annsley is fighting hard to stay here on earth. The next 24 hours are critical. She is in the NICU. She is 4 weeks old, born at 32 weeks gestation. Her intestines are dying and we are praying.
My mom's brother passed away last Wednesday morning in North Carolina.
My Mom's sister Mary gave us the news of her mouth cancer on Friday. More surgery to come.
My nephew that left his wife and children has signed divorce papers and was in a serious accident Saturday morning while off duty. He had been to a party and left, flipped his jeep and then another jeep driven by his brother hit his and flipped him several more times. I suspect there is a strong chance he will be fired from the police force. He had broken bones in his back and his pelvis is cracked as well as a minor head injury. He is still in a Birmingham hospital.

We are a very close knit family and everything affects each one of us.

We should here something of hubby's job application this week.

We were off yesterday, the first time in what seems like weeks. I am home today even though i had to go to the office this morning for two hours. Ive made 48 jars of peach salsa that i have sold for tomorrow and have appointments and errands to run shortly. I will see the eye doctor today, yuck.

We pulled up two rows of yellow squash and will be setting more tomato plants in their place. Right now we are picking peaches (5 varieties), Lodi apples, blueberries, nectarines (2 varieties), squash, cantaloupes, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers (5 varieties), eggplant, cucumbers cabbage and blackberries.

Now to leave you with a snide comment that I received by someone in hubby's family. I walked off and could not speak. I was not rude, I just took some baskets to the back packing house and waited there until she and her husband left. I want to know how you would have handled the matter......... She was talking about all of the expectant moms in her family and said my so and so is expecting triplets and they ARE God given not like your twins.................

I cried in the back waiting for them to leave. It was so hurtful. We had help to conceive, but aren't ALL babies God given? WOW!! Talk about a blow. We are blessed that our babies even made it through. So, how would you have handled that?

I hope to write more later! Blessings and hugs to you all!

Short and Sweet

Well, maybe not that sweet...........we are still as busy as ever here despite my Daddy's full blown pneumonia, Mother's biopsy (on Thursday) and now my strep throat. I am not even joking, in the least. Mom went back to work today, Daddy is still under a doctor's care (and just finished his meds today) and I started a z pack today. We should know about the biopsy results Monday.

We got John's Dad moved into his new apartment tonight as well.

John has not heard from the job, we were told yesterday hopefully a decision will be reached in the next two weeks. Our church has a new building being dedicated tomorrow and my boys are suppose to sing......I so hope I feel better and fast.

Happy Father's Day to all of the Daddy's out there as well. Have a blessed week!