Time to Relax

Happy Saturday....I hope this post finds you all well rested after a busy Christmas holiday. We had a great day and are extremely blessed! All the children enjoyed their gifts and were appreciated everything that they received. Russell & I were up until 3:30 AM Christmas morning wrapping presents (every year we intend to have this finished well before Christmas, however that never seems to quite happen). Rachel & Isaac were the first to wake up at 8:00, so we were thankful for a few extra hours of sleep. We enjoyed our Christmas morning (I'll post pictures later). While Russell fixed breakfast, I got ready so we could begin our morning of cooking for the Spencer family Christmas. We love have everyone for holiday and enjoy the time we spend with them all. Russell & I enjoy cooking together, and we each have our specialities. We made waldorf salad, turkey breast, ham, baked corn, mash potatoes, sweet potatoes, pretzel jello salad, macaroni and cheese and pumpkin pies. Brenda (better known as Queenie) made her famous cheeseball by request - we all love her cheeseball! We munched on all the goodies that we made weeks before, cheeseball and chips and salsa. Everyone appeared to have had a great time! We are so thankful for family and being able to spend time together. We missed our family that could not be with us, but am sure they enjoyed their time with family and friends as well.

The house is now quite and it seems a bit odd, as Rachel and Isaac are visiting their Grandma & PaPa Schwarz in Cincinnati and having Christmas with them. I'm glad that we are able to work things out so that they get to spend quality time with them.

With Isaac gone there have been no garbage truck noises (he wanted this garbage truck so bad, and Santa came through), no nerf gun wars going on - both Darryl & Isaac got a nerf longshot for Christmas. Darryl received a voice recorder that he can use to play back how his music sounds when he is practicing. Rachel has not been nearly as social now that she has her new iPod - this year Santa brought her a Nano (so I get the cast off shuffle - yeah for me!) and reading her new books - the Twilight series, she received the first and second one in the series.

Well, I guess it is time to think about making dinner for the troops that are here, as the 15 year old is always hungry.

Hope you enjoy the rest of the day and weekend!

Love,
Tina

Merry Christmas

So much has happened at the Spencer/Schwarz home since my last post. We have been busy preparing for Christmas (as we are sure that everyone else has been too). All the candy has been made; english toffee, bon-bons, chocolate fudge, peanut butter fudge, chocolate peanut butter fudge, toffee bars, peanut butter blossoms, peanut clusters, white chocolate party mix, Chex mix, seasoned oyster crackers, and lastly Russian tea cakes. It was a lot of fun making all the goodies this year.

I am so greatful to God for being so selfless that he sent his son to earth to give us hope. While the holiday comes with mixed emotions and really missing family members who have passed this year, I know that they are having the best Christmas ever as they get to spend it with Jesus!

Just wanted to send you all a Merry Christmas wish as we are getting ready to start the process of getting ready for church. Once we return from church the children will get to unwrap one present. It is the present that Russell purchased and wrapped without my being involved. This is a really neat tradition that we are starting this year. Growing up we always go to unwrap one present too, and it was always from Daddy. Daddy was always on the road (he was a truck driver) and he would purchase something special for my sister and I. Those were always extra special to me, so we are hoping to pass that tradition on to our children.

Tomorrow will be very busy as we prepare for Russell's family to come and spend Christmas afternoon with us and have dinner. Russell and I love having his family are excited about being able to cook together in the kitchen.

We wish all our family could be with us tomorrow, but know that you will be with us in spirit.

So, for now I must leave you and I'll try and post shortly after Christmas.

With much love!
Tina

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM RUSSELL - TINA - DARRYL - RACHEL - ISAAC

Busy Week

Good Evening.....

I hope this finds everyone doing well. We have had a hectic week at the Spencer/Schwarz house. Isaac's had his Christmas program on Tuesday night. I am so thankful that we attend a public school that isn't afraid to remember the reason that we have the season - Jesus Christ. It was awesome to hear them sing music that I remember singing growing up when you could call it a Christmas Concert and not a Holiday concert. We had practice on Wednesday for both the elementary and Jr./Sr. High Christmas program that was today. Friday night Russell and I had a date night and went to Cracker Barrel for dinner (my all time favorite place). We then finished up the majority of our shopping. All I need to pick up are a few odds and ends and stocking stuffers to round everything out. Saturday we spent the day rearranging furniture in the parent family room and cleaning top to bottom. I hadn't really cleaned that well since I've gotten better.

Today we all attended church as a family. I sang a solo this morning that went okay - I always manage to get a cold right before I am suppose to perform. Tonight we had the Children's program. I had about 15 elementary children who performed Majesty and then sang 3 songs. The Jr./Sr. High group did readings, scripture reading, Rachel sand a solo and then did a little skit. It was really simple, but nicely done.

I am soon off to bed, I am fighting this cold and we have a hectic week that will start again on Monday. Darryl's holiday concert is Monday, we have a band board meeting on Tuesday, Wednesday is the Jr./Sr. High for Christmas caroling at the nursing home and then their Christmas party at the Pastor's house. Thursday evening is Rachel's holiday concert, and on Friday we are going to just veg and then I will hit hard again on Saturday to finish up my baking.

Well, I'm off to take my medicine and get snuggled up on the couch.

Love to all of you!
Tina

P.S. I will try and post pictures before I hit the bed tonight, if not I'll post pictures tomorrow with time permitting.

Holiday Baking

Happy Tuesday.......

Well today is a vacation day from work, but has been busy thus far. Russell and I attended the school performance for Isaac today at 9:30 (he was the back-up for the cow) because he was performing (back-ups perform in the morning). He did a great job and we found out today that he had to "try-out"! He is coming into his own. When we returned home, we started on the holiday baking. I try to do this with Laura, but it didn't work out this year...:( On Sunday I went through all the recipes and put together a list of ingredients. For those who don't know this fact, when I was growing up Christmas was a big thing in our family. We could count on Mom and Granny to make all sorts of goodies. Mom would never make sugar cookies, because a friend of hers did them so well, she would pay her to make them (I sure wish I had Krista McWhirter's recipe), but we made all sorts of other goodies. We would play Christmas music and go to town on making things. My favorite as child, was making bon-bons. I actually got to help and would roll the balls and get to dip them in the chocolate.....I'm sure I've bored you with my walk down memory lane!

So we have made chex mix, seasoned oyster crackers, and new recipe this year, cheesy ranch chex mix, up next is good chunk of the fudge and a couple of Swedish Tea Rings (Grandma Barcus used to always make these - one of the few things of hers that I mastered the recipe).

The greatest thing about today, is that Russell and I are getting to do it together. We both enjoy cooking and it is fun to do it with the love of my life....we are of course listening to Christmas music (not his favorite, but for my benefit he is tolerating it). As soon as the chex mix comes out of the oven, we will be running up to little local grocery store to purchase a few things that we forgot, I am not certain how we could have forgotten something with a list that 2 pages long!!

Well, I must sign off for now, the timer is beeping at me and that signals time to stir the chex mix.

Love,
Tina

Pictures from Isaac's Birthday

A Birthday Party for 3...........

Birthday Time - Guess who is 8????

Happy Monday All......

Today is my baby boy's 8th birthday................I cannot believe that this time 8 years ago I was waiting to hear the results of the aminocentisis to see if the little man could be delivered. He was not doing well and Dr. Smith felt it better to bring him into the world than take a chance that something might happen. So as the day went on, the results were in and his lungs were developed enough for him to come into this world. So at 6:33 PM on December 1st, 2000, Isaac John Schwarz was born weighing a whopping 4 1/2 lbs. He looked like a little old man and was so tiny (compared to his sister who was 10 lbs. at birth).

Tonight we will have our birthday celebration for him. He has requested Spaghetti for dinner and a John Deere cake (after much searching, a John Deere shaped cake pan was not found - so it is up to Russell and I to try our hand at shaping a cake to look like a tractor - wish us luck!). I will post some pictures tonight - I can't seem to put my fingers on his new born pictures, which of course will need to be scanned in. So the picture below will have to do for now, I took it this morning of him and his big brother!

Have a wonderful day!

Recent Happenings..................

Hello All............ I hope that this post finds you all well rested after a blessed Thanksgiving and shopping like crazy on Friday. The last few weeks at the Spencer/Schwarz house has been a bit crazed. A week ago Saturday I flew back to Iowa for my maternal grandmother's funeral. While it was a sad occasion to go back, it was refreshing to see family and friends again. It was a beautiful service and the weather cooperated as much as it could for Iowa. I returned to Kentucky on Tuesday. Of course Tuesday there was car drama........while Russell was on his way to pick me up at the airport a wooden post hit our van gas tank (apparently it was laying on the road and when the tractor trailer went over it, it decided to flip and flop and puncture our gas tank. We made a mad dash to a dealer (our normal dealer has closed, we had to seek out a new one) that we didn't know to get it repaired. We rented a car and were certain that we wouldn't see our van for a while. Thankfully this dealer gets customer service and we had our van back late on Wednesday! We were all excited that it was repaired quickly! However, the bank account was not thrilled......:( Now we are waiting to see how much our car insurance will cover, as we didn't have time to get multiple quotes to their dismay. We spent Thanksgiving with Russell's family and had a wonderful time. We even got to spend time with his sister Debbie who is currently living in Colorado (she and Richard normally reside in Arizona). We then left the Spencer family in Northern Kentucky and drove across the Ohio River to land in Finneytown (Cincinnati, OH) to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Horn family. We had a wonderful time there as well! That evening we celebrated an 8th birthday for Master Isaac - whom most of us could not believe that he is going to be 8 on Monday........it just doesn't seem possible that the little 4 1/2 lb. baby boy that was brought home from the hospital could have grown up this fast!!! After the kitchen was cleaned, the party over, Laura and I mapped out our attack for Friday. While neither of us really had anything that we just had to get, we couldn't pass up our tradition of shopping on Black Friday. In fact we didn't need any of the super deals that we had to leave the house at 3:00 AM, instead, Laura, Don, Benjamin and I left the house around 6:15 and were finished for the day by 3:30. Yesterday was another travel day for us, as we celebrated Russell's, Max's (our great-nephew), and Isaac's birthday with the Spencer's, so we took another road trip to Northern Kentucky and spent the afternoon eating (yet again) and having a birthday celebration. We had a great time, however were ready for home! We all vegged last night....the boys played Runescape (thank goodness for 3 computers with internet access), Rachel watched a movie and I read my book....by the fire! Well, I am off to get ready for Russell and I to run out and pick up a few things for Isaac's family celebration with us tomorrow (I still can't believe my baby boy is going to be 8). Until Later.............hopefully I will get some pictures posted this evening (since I don't have to work tomorrow - vacation day for me)! Love, Tina & Russell

My little girl is growing up

Good Morning......

This is to share my thoughts about my little girl (I know....she isn't little anymore - after all she is 13, but she still is my baby girl). Last night she had her first babysitting job. This past summer she took an all day babysitting course and has been anxious ever since to have a job to make money. Rachel loves to shop and the best thing about her is that she is such a giving child. When is shopping she likes to buy something for others and not just herself (I give credit for that and her love of reading to Grandma Hattie). We drove her to Clarksville, Indiana yesterday afternoon (an hour away) to babysit for someone that I work for. She spent the night and will be coming home some time this morning. She was not nervous or anxious, I think I was enough of both for both of us. I guess maybe this is what my felt the first time I babysat, or maybe not.

Well, I hope that you all have a blessed and wonderful Sunday! I am off to get ready for church and later to help a little lad (Isaac) with a habitat project for class.

Love,
Tina

P.S. Those of us in the house that have a lot of Iowa blood running through us are thrilled we had a light dusting of snow last night. In fact the little lad was up and dressed and ready to go out and "play" in it by 8:30!

Pictures at long last

Sharing the beautiful fall color that surrounded
us until this weekend!

My latest attempt to try scrap booking online

I think I need a better software, any suggestions

would be nice.........

Oh and the concert was AWESOME!!!!!! We all had a great time, but I think Rachel had the best time of all. They all gave a great concert - James Otto has the cutest dimples, and Rachel thinks he is cute. Trace Atkins is just loving what he does and of course Alan Jackson is just happy to be doin' what he is doing and loving every minute of it.

Well, it is late, so off to bed with myself! Have a great week everyone!

Off to see a concert...

Well in about 30 minutes we will be leaving our house for Northern Kentucky for Rachel's first concert. As a gift for her 13th birthday we gave her tickets to go see a concert (with the caveat that the parents got to go)! So around 7:30 tonight we will be seeing Trace Adkins & Alan Jackson at the Bank of Kentucky Center on the campus of Northern Kentucky University. I'll try and have an update tomorrow to let you know how it went. All we know is that there is one very very excited 13th year old girl in our house!

We didn't fall off planet earth..........

Hello out there in blogger land -

I know it has been a while since I updated, life has gotten a bit out of control.

Here is the update I promised to do the week of the 21st; Darryl's report was okay, not a shocker, but normally the 1st quarter is a good one, it is here on out that we need to stay focused on getting the work done, however we can't go to school with him and make sure that he turns it in. What is a parent to do (any helpful hints from those with boys would be much appreciated)?

Last Tuesday we went to part of Darryl's Parent/Teacher conferences (we were double booked - Isaac had a game at 6:00). His teacher's had good things to say, the same thing that we have heard for a few years, he gets it and is bright, just doesn't always turn in the work. We are finishing his conferences on Thursday (or most likely Russell, since I am not certain I will make it home in time). Tonight were Parent/Teacher conferences for Rachel. All of her teacher's had glowing things to say about her......that she is a joy in class and does not follow the crowd and is her own person. We are thankful for that, we so pray each and every day that she continues on that path, and doesn't give in to peer pressure. Her pre-algebra teacher says she is making good progress and is willing to work with her after school. Her Language Arts teacher said that Rachel is a very good writer and is making it her goal for Rachel to get a distinguished, that she is almost there. Tomorrow night is Parent/Teacher conferences with Isaac's teacher. I am sure we will hear that he needs to apply himself and stay on task (that was the comment on his report cards).

We are enjoying the fall weather, and the beautiful change of season. I am hoping to get some pictures this weekend of the wonderful color. It was an amazing experience to look out my kitchen window and see the hillside full of fall color!

Friday is Rachel's 13th birthday concert, she (or should I say we, Russell, Rachel and I) are going to Alan Jackson and Trace Adkins. I am off work on Friday and am not sure who is more excited, Rachel, Russell or I. It will be a great time.

I leave you one last blessing - a wonderful husband who over the past year has endured far more than I am sure that ever thought he would have to endure. God knew what he was doing when he sent him to me (and Rachel and Isaac). I love my kids, all of them, as they are very unique and bring such wonderfulness to my life, even though sometimes they make me crazy. I am thankful for parents who loved me enough to bring me into the world and do the best that they knew how, as I have now learned, children do not come with manuals and every day is an adventure (I miss you both so much)! I am thankful for family, without them (especially my Grandma-as a little girl I so wanted to be just like her-ironic that my life in a lot of ways was a replica of hers) I wouldn't be who I am today - thanks for never giving up on me and always loving me no matter what! I am thankful for my "newer" family - the Spencer's! They welcomed me into their lives and even thought I don't tell them often enough, I love them all very much and consider myself lucky to be a part of them! For those people in my life that are family (and you know who you are), for being there for me through everything and holding me up when I couldn't do it myself! God sent each and every person into my life for a reason and/or a season. Most of you reading this were sent for a reason and not just for a season!

I have much more I could say, but I think I have rambled on for long enough! Until next time, take time to stop and look at the changing colors of the leaves, breath the crisp morning air and enjoy life, it a true gift from God - treasure it!

Love from Kentucky!

Latest Happenings

Hello All,

First of all, I know.........I still owe you pictures. I promise I am truly working on it! I think I have slightly over-extended myself (for some of you I know you are so not shocked)! We had an awesome week, busy but awesome.

Things are chugging along at the Spencer/Schwarz house and it appears that fall may have finally arrived. I love not having either air conditioning or heat on - this has to be my favorite time of year.

Last week, we did have a bit of drama. Darryl has been having an issue with his toe and he ended up having to have a portion of his toenail removed. The interesting thing was, that for whatever reason the nurse did not not help the doctor, and Russell became the "assistant". The other exciting thing that took place during the visit was that Darryl passed out - I think this spooked the dad bit, but he was okay. It is looking better, so I think he is on the mend!

This is report card week, two of the three have arrived home. For those wondering, Rachel's was awesome, she is being very challenged in pre-algebra and having a bit of a time achieving that almighty "A", with that being said, with the exception of math the entire report card was A's. Isaac's report card continues to surprise us, things that were good grades at mid-term had slipped a couple of grades, spelling! He could use some work on reading directions and tends to not want to finish his class work, which results in a mediocre grade. All in we are very pleased with his progress, after all we know he is not driven like Rachel, nor do we expect him to be like her. The only report card left to arrive is Darryl's, we are being told it will be good, but unfortunately after several years of hearing this, we just can't buy in until we have the report card in hand. Cross your fingers with us that it will be good! At mid-term we already had 12 missed assignments and lost computer privileges for 12 days. I'll have to give you an update on Thursday, in the meantime pray and cross those fingers.

I have one quick request tonight as I write this, please pray that I can work through some things concerning my daddy. I don't know if it is the weather change, getting kids school pictures or what, but the last couple of weeks have been extremely hard. I am missing him so much and just want to hear him say he loves me one last time!

Well, it has been a long day, I just got home at 8:45, left work and went straight to the football field, as Isaac had a game and then worked my concession stand duty for the season.

Have a great evening/morning (depending on when you read this)!

Sending you all love from Kentucky!

P.S. I forgot to remind you all that UK Basketball is just around the corner - GO UK!!!

The latest happenings......

What a week we have had! The kids have been on fall break the entire week, so Russell took the opportunity to get some projects completed that require more than one pair of hands. He wanted to get a lot accomplished, however he managed to get a "bug" and was not feeling up to par for a few days. He left on Thursday morning for his annual fishing trip to Lake Cumberland with his brothers, and will be home on Sunday late afternoon. We all miss him, but are glad he is talking time to do something for himself, since he does so much for all of us.

I took vacation days on Thursday and Friday.......I don't think they were really vacation days though! On Thursday, we went through Isaac's room top to bottom - which involved cleaning every nook, disposing of broken toys, rearranging the room for winter (needed to get the bed away from the windows), and vacuum really well. Once we were done with Isaac's room, it was on to Rachel's. We removed several bags of clothes for Goodwill! That child will not part with something even it if is way too small! We are finishing up under her bed this evening when it cools down. Darryl's room will have to come at a later date - in fact I think Russell is going to try and tackle that this week, since were are suppose to finally get some rain the middle of the week. In the evening, Isaac had a football game and while we didn't win, he did score a touchdown. That boy can run..........

Friday the kids and I spent the day hanging out and doing errands. I got the older kids a white board/bulletin board to help them get more organized (not that Rachel needs more organization, but I wanted it to be fair). Isaac got to pick out a toy, and with his big brother's help he received a bow and arrow (the arrow are plastic with suction cups)! We went out for Chinese lunch, since that is not one of Russell's favorites. We had a great time. Friday night was Cub/Boy Scout outing at the scoutmaster's house. They do a hot dog roast, hayride and camp out. We all went (the 4 of us) and had a great time. Darryl camped out in a tent, Rachel spent the night with the girls inside, Isaac and I came home and camped out in our bedroom. My back isn't up to much sleeping in a tent these days, so we had to come home. The older kids stayed and hung out with the scoutmasters son (who is Darryl's friend) and his daughter (who is Rachel's friend). I'm now off to do yet another load of laundry (I think I've done 12 loads the past couple of days............I think dirty laundry multiplies in dirty rooms), make dinner and give the boys haircuts.

I know I promised pictures, and I hope to get to that this week, but it is stacking up to be another hectic week, so I won't make any empty promises.

Hope you all have a blessed weekend!

Football Update...........

Hi Ya'll......

Just a quick post before I'm off to watch CSI - Las Vegas. I wanted to let you know that our little football player scored a touchdown tonight! He did a great job of running in the ball.....he had to do a bit of zigging and zagging, but he was persistent and scored. Unfortunately, we didn't win, but they played a pretty good game, now we just need to get our defense in the right places.

Have a great evening!

A Wonderful Family Weekend

As promised, here is an update about our weekend.........

Saturday was a hard working day to start off, we had a lot of clean-up that we needed to do around the house and yard. As a result, the boys worked on the storage shed and got it all cleaned up and organized, while Rachel and I worked on going through totes upon totes of books. We are donating them to a school library. If I knew how to get them to Texas without having to pay a fortune in shipping I would send them there, as there are books from the very early years to the tween years. We saved all the very special books and those that were given to the children by special people! Then Russell and I got cleaned up and went and did our weekly shopping. It is wonderful to have two children that are old enough to watch the younger one.........we have become very spoiled! Then we came home and did a family activity, we had a fire out back and roasted marshmallows and were lucky enough that one of the neighboring towns was having their Tobacco Festival (yest you read correctly, Tobacco Festival - tobacco growing is a major crop around where we live) and they had fireworks. We could see them from our back deck. It was so fun to watch them with Isaac. The other two really didn't care about them, but he is still my little boy and likes things like that. Here were a few common phrases..........."sweet"; "Mommy - did you see that one?"; "totally awesome"! What a wonderful memory! Then while he and I were watching those, Russell went in and got out his telescope that he received from Uncle Brad and Aunt Glenda for Christmas. Isaac didn't know he was going to get to look at stars and the moon - once he figured out what was going on, he was finished with the fireworks. He and Russell had a great time looking through the telescope, the only bad part was that the moon was bright it made it difficult to see the stars.

Today, Rachel and I went to Cincinnati to go shopping - I desperately needed to replace a few key pieces of my work wardrobe - it was getting bad when you put on your pants without having to unbutton or zip them! After 2 days this past week of getting dressed and having my husband say that it looks way too big and makes you look way bigger than you are, you know it time to clean out the closet (oh, which I did on Saturday). I managed to find that essential pair of black pants and a few new shirts (mostly to go with already existing suit jackets), and of course, what would be a shopping trip without a new pair of shoes. We spent time with Laura, as she went shopping with us. The boys stayed home and played their computer games and had a grand ole' time!

Well, I have a kitchen to clean up (the weekends I have KP duty - to give Russell a break), and a load of my work laundry to put in the dryer, and then it is off to snuggle with my husband and watch a movie!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

What a Month............

Hello at long last! We really didn't go to Mars or fall off of planet Earth! We have been extremely busy with kids schedules.

Our month has gone well, we are back into the swing of a school schedule with a mix of activities. This is the first year that all three children have been involved in something. Darryl and the marching band (small but mighty it is) is doing really well under the direction or our new Band Director - we absolutely love him, it took us a while to get adjusted to him and his sense of humor, but I am sure it took him a while to adjust to us too! Over the summer we made an investment in a new oboe...........boy those things are not cheap! Darryl is thrilled to have his new oboe. He has also become quite the keyboard player, now if we could only find a very cheap/free upright piano. We really want to have all the kids take piano lessons (how we would fit that one into the schedule, I'm not really sure, but we would manage). Oh, I almost forgot, Darryl is now in second year Spanish and so of course, almost all his conversations he wants to have in Spanish. This would be great if the mom knew Spanish! I can count to ten, say son, good morning, good bye and few other phrases with his constant help! It is hysterical to listen to me try and converse with him. Now on to number two son, Isaac, he is almost as busy as Darryl. He is playing flag football this year and loving it. We had our first game on Tuesday night and I don't think that many of the boys on the team had much of a clue! I am sure they could all tell us how many birds flew overhead, how many cars went by, and how many dandelions were in the grass!!! So, needless to say, we lost in a major way. But on Thursday night, I guess the boys decided they didn't like to know what it felt like to loss so badly, so they came out and played a great game. Isaac made an extra point (in flag football they run in the extra point instead of kicking) and ran for an almost touchdown....he was a few inches shy of making it over the line. But he called for a penalty at the end of his run - the other player was pushing him, so he shoved him back. We figured out this is not allowed, and the ball was taken back to point where we started. He loves to run and will run down our driveway at every chance he gets. I am really hoping that he decides to train with the Cross Country team next year instead of play football, because it becomes tackle football.....I am such a wimp of a mom! Now one to our girl....my first thought is to call her my "baby" girl, but she is not a baby anymore. She is as tall as I am and growing up so fast. She is involved in chorus, Beta and academic team. She was doing marching band, but that had become a major conflict with basketball and since she wanted to do basketball more than marching band we allowed her to make the choice. So then basketball started and she was doing the conditioning and then the coaches didn't like the fact that she was doing academic team and chorus (that would pose too much of a potential game conflict I guess) that she had to make a choice between basketball, chorus and academic team......and the decision was? That is pretty much a no brainer, she chose chorus and academic team. On Monday the academic team had their first meet and she did really well, she did arts and humanities. The team won its first meet! This coming Monday, she gets to do quick recall, social studies, arts and humanities. We are so happy for her - she is really thriving on being able to do that.

Wednesday's continue to be a very busy day with church. I am now leading the elementary age children - they are so precious and want to learn about Jesus and take it all in. I have wonderful help from my friend Joyce with this group - she is so awesome for the kids. She has lived her whole life in Trimble county and knows just about all the kids and their parents. Darryl is going to start doing the music for this group and Rachel is going to help him. We are so blessed to have such musically talented children. I am also leading the middle school group, which is more of a challenge. I have a large number of sixth graders in proportion of the seventh and eighth graders..........I had forgotten how immature sixth graders were. I pray that God gives me the patience to make it through the year! Thank goodness for my friend Pam, or I would not be able to hold it together with the middle school group!

Russell has been doing a lot work outside, due to the remnants of Hurricane Ike that flew through Kentucky (never thought I would experience a hurricane living here)! We lost several trees, thank goodness most of them were back behind the pond and you can't really tell. We didn't lose any of the major trees in our yard, and for that we are thankful. We did lose our back storm door, but we weren't horribly sad about that. We had been wanting a new one for the front door, so now we will be moving the front to the back!

Well, I promise picture next time and it won't be so long....I have to get moving! We are going to go through some storage totes and see what we can pass on to charity and Goodwill.

Hope everyone has a blessed day and I will try to post more often and add some much needed updated pictures!

The "Zooy" Schedule has begun.........

I know it has been a while since I last updated. We have been getting back into the routine of school, or so I think.

There are lunches to pack, homework to be done, scout meetings to attend, children to be picked up from activities, and the list goes on......................

Just so you can have an idea of how hectic life can get, although I must admit for once I am not whining or complaining! This time last year I was pretty much bound to not much movement and horrific pain if I even tried to do something. It is with great energy and enthusiasm that I am thankful for the blessing of being healed! Okay, now I am back from my tangent, here is how our week sort of goes.............

• Monday's is Chorus after school (Rachel) and cub scouts (Mom and Isaac event);
• Tuesday's is marching band (Darryl, was Rachel too but due to basketball, she won't be able to do marching band), soon to be filled with basketball games (Rachel)
• Wednesday's we have youth group for all 3 children. This year I will be leading the elementary school youth group, and leading the Middle School group as well
• Thursday's will be a repeat of Tuesday with the addition of Boy Scouts (Darryl & Russell)
• Friday's is marching band and of course home football games.
• Somewhere in here there will be flag football for Isaac - we just don't have a schedule yet and there will be Beta meetings for Rachel, Darryl is doing Drama Club, and Rachel is doing Science Club

That's just the week, and weekends are much more relaxing either there is either a band fundraisers to be worked, youth group fundraisers to be worked and baked for or the Annual Apple Festival that is must do.........it is a lot of fun and it is a great little community event! If you are looking for something fun to do, come on by Bedford the 2nd weekend of September and enjoy some down home hospitality!

Now back to youth group, I felt compelled to help out and try to make a difference with the youth. Somehow being so very sick this past year and going through what I did, I felt God gave me a 2nd chance for a reason and that this is an opportunity for me to do something to give back a little of what he has given me. Our youth group is a major outreach program for our little church. I am excited about the opportunity, now I just have to come up with a curriculum that will keep them engaged and help them learn. I am really wanting to go back to the basics with them, so if you have any suggestions, please let me know. I am not very crafty and so easy craft suggestions would be very welcomed!!

This week had an extra twist in it......Isaac started complaining of his ear hurting and that resulted in a trip to the doctor with a diagnosis of an ear infection (what is an ear infection????? We hadn't had one since he was 6 months old). He missed Wednesday and Thursday from school, which resulted in a "ton" of homework. I know a "ton" is a slight exaggeration, however to a 2nd grader anything more than 2 papers to do after dinner is too much! Along with reading and spelling words. So we will be spending a good chunk of the 3 day weekend trying to get all the classwork done. We managed to get the homework done, as they send the next weeks homework home on Friday's!

On a job related note, I start a new position on Tuesday. Of course, I will still be with Humana but I have moved to the Corporate building and will be working in the underwriting department as a consultant. I am really excited about this opportunity and looking forward to helping with processes and whatever else they need me to do. It was a bit sad to leave my old department, as that position was the very reason I chose to leave my comfort zone of Cincinnati to move to Louisville. Plus when I arrived in the department it chaos and no real set performance standards, reporting or accountability. We made major strides in the last 3 1/2 years. They all had become like my family away from home!

Well, I will close for now and promise to try not to stay away for as long! I hope everyone enjoys the 3 day weekend!

Tina

Week in Review..........

Good Morning Gentle Readers,

We have had a great week! The kids have had a good week of school, no incidents so far. Packing everyone's lunch is going well so far, I am sure they will get tired of having some of the same old things, but it is a lot cheaper than school lunch!

We have discovered that our weekly schedule will go something like this.....Monday, Wednesday and Friday - Rachel and Darryl will have marching band from 3:30-5:30; Rachel will also have Chorus after school until 4:30; Monday evening Isaac has Cub Scouts; Tuesday are Church Choir, once a month Band Booster meeting, then once basketball starts, Rachel will have games. Wednesday are youth group - 6:00-8:30 (I will be there the entire time, as I will be leading the elementary level youth and Jr. High). Thursday's will be basketball again, and in the evening is Boy Scouts for Darryl....and Friday's will be home football games!!! For those of you that really know me, know how much I love high school football, so of course, the Mom will be at every home game, plus she has a job to do, sell things for the Band Booster and most likely work the concession stand occasionally for the Sports Boosters.

Rachel had a friend sleepover last night and we are soon off to get our manicures! Some quality Mother/Daughter time!!

Well.....I must close as we need to leave in about 10 minutes. I will be back later this weekend!

Tina

My Little Girl is turning 13.....

I can hardly believe that my little girl that was born 13 years ago tomorrow is growing up before my very eyes! She is becoming a very fine young woman and has officially entered the teenage years! It's hard to believe that snuggly not so tiny baby who was born at 11:17 PM and was 10 lbs. 1 oz. and 21 1/2" long has grown into such a beautiful teenager (if I may say so myself......after all I am the Mom :) )! HAPPY 13th BIRTHDAY SWEETHEART!!!! We love you very much and are very proud of you and all you accomplishments!

2008 Gatlinburg Family Vacation

Well at long last, here are pictures of our family vacation (click the above heading). We had a great time walking downtown Gatlinburg. We really enjoyed it and the time spent with children. On Sunday, we went to the Smokies and spent the entire day there! It was a great day - and one that I am very thankful that I enjoyed. The most rewarding part of the vacation for me was, getting to do half of the Chimney Top hike! Considering 6 months ago I could barely walk and was wondering if I was even going to survive. It was very rewarding and for that I am very thankful to God! We enjoyed several wonderful local "eateries" and had great food. We hit the outlet mall on Monday and was able to get everyone ready for back to school from head to toe at great savings I might add!

Well, I'm off and running again. We are headed to the monthly Band Booster meeting with our new band director! We are so excited to get the season started....better late than never.

The next post will contain pictures of Rachel's Family 13th birthday party.

Until later..............

Tina

Thrilled that Mom Stayed Home for the 1st Day of School.............Not so much!!!!!

The first day of school - just waiting on the school bus. They were excited about going today all in all. Of course, Isaac felt the need to be goofy...imagine that! They survived the day, but I can sure tell that Isaac is tired. He has already gotten his shower and quite content to lay on the sofa and wait for dinner.

1st Day of School

Good Morning....

As I write this post, my children are getting ready for school. We have about 10 minutes before we have to leave for the bus, then they will be off and start the new school year. Darryl is officially a sophomore, Rachel is now a 7th grader and Isaac (my baby-who will remind you that he is not a baby) is a 2nd grader! I so can't believe how big and grown-up they are getting to be.

I will be back later and post pictures (even though my husband thinks I'm goofy). I first have to go to the dentist and then we are going to look at cabinetry for the kid's bathroom and our bathroom. The time has come for the major projects to begin!

Have a great day!
Tina

Great News..........

Just a quick post before I leave to go run errands! I have received an offer at Humana for another position. I will be working in the underwriting department beginning September 1st as a Consultant. I will be working on various processes and taking broken processed and helping to either re-build them or fixing them. I am very excited about this opportunity. I still owe you'll a vacation post and plan on doing that tonight some time (hopefully). Have a million things to get done for Rachel's 13th Family Birthday Party tomorrow.

Hope you all are having a wonderful day!
Tina

We are back and no fell over the side of the mountain.....

Hello -

Just a quick update and then I'll post more on Friday, as I am off work.

We had a great vacation - more to come on that later. But most importantly and long over due I would like to ask for my fellow blogger's prayers for Russell's family. Over a week and half ago, his sister Pat's son died suddenly and left behind a wife (who was in Iraq serving our country), a 15 year old son and a 3 year old son. Last Friday they had a remembrance gathering. Our hearts go out to them, as this has been extremely hard on them all. His wife is back at Ft. Campbell with their 3 year old son. We love you all and wish we could take away the pain.

Tina

We're Almost Gone..............

Good Evening -

Just a quick update, we are almost all ready to leave on vacation. All children are packed and their luggage is in the car! They are all in bed and excited about getting up early (well, maybe not excited) and getting on the road. Of course, what am I doing - laundry! Why do I leave it to the last minute???

I also discovered that when I was washing my favorite pair of shorts and capris that there was sewing to be done!! I so cannot sew, much my Aunt's dismay! My Aunt Sharon is a wonderful seamstress! Tonight I called her about something else, and then brought up my needing to sew on a button and how do I get the stitch witchery to stick to my pants? I can never get a button to stay on, but now I know the secret. You start sewing on the button, but you use sew over a toothpick. When you are done, you pull it out and bring the needle back up, but not through the button and wrap it around the thread under the button, but it back down through the fabric and knot it off! THANKS AUNT SHARON - now if only the dryer would get done, I could be almost packed! I've decided to go without the capris - I'm not up to the challenge of getting the hem to stick again! I already fixed it this morning for work - it will just have to wait until I get back home from vacation!

Well - I'm off to get laundry from the dryer and finish my packing! Russell is on his own for packing except for my making sure that he has his wallet this time!

I'll check back in when we return!

Tina

An Update..........

Well, the last week and a half has been another crazy one............

We made it to Iowa (after a 2 hour delay - thanks to the Mississippi River and havoc that the flooding caused). Russell and I enjoyed our "night out" on Friday in Champaign, IL. We visited the book store and indulged ourselves in a couple of good books and then a tasty dinner out. We were going to go for a swim at the hotel, but we laid down to watch a bit of TV and were out like a light for the night. The auction took place on Saturday and for the most part the weather cooperated. There was a good turnout according the records and all items that needed to sell, sold. It was a bit sad saying goodbye for one last time, only to know that the next time I returned to Packwood, IA 200 N. Church Street would no longer be the home that both my Mom and Daddy treasured. Thanks for all the prayers, my family and friends - without all of you I would not have been able to be as strong as I was.

It is good to have everyone back home and be back to our summer routine. Last week Brooke visited us for a few days and everyone had a good time. Rachel & I took her shopping to get her "stocked" up with back to school clothes and had a blast. The girls even ended up wanting matching p.j.'s and shirts. Please continue to keep Brooke in your prayers - she needs us to keep on loving her and supporting her, even if from afar. She was with us for only 2 years, but left a lasting impression on all our hearts and will forever be a part of our family!

The week came and went, and the weekend was relaxing and enjoyable. Isaac had a birthday party to attend for one of his friends (we didn't even realized he lived so close). He had a great time and even stayed after the party to play. He hasn't ever really had a friend, especially one that lived so close - a draw back to living in the country. The boy's parents are really nice people and loved having Isaac. Next is our turn to reciprocate and have him over for a play date - but that will have to wait until we get back from vacation.

Yes - we are going on a vacation!!!! I so cannot wait. We have not gone away as a family for several days for a few years now. We are leaving Friday bright and early for Gatlinburg, TN! One of my most favorite places (plus it holds a dear place in my heart, as it was on a trip to Gatlinburg with the love of my life that we decided we didn't want to live without the other one)! We are going to be spending time with my brother-in-law Brad, Sister-in-Law, Glenda. nephew Brian and Brian's cousin. Originally the boys were suppose to camp while the girls got to stay in the hotel. But like all good plans, they sometimes get altered just as ours has. Now everyone is going to stay in the hotel - we are looking forward to the time away and time to spend with family! We won't be home until Monday evening. While there I get to do a fair amount of shopping - even looking for accessories to go with my new Vera Bradley purse that I received for my birthday - I can hardly wait!

I am hoping to have lots of pictures to post - as I am not only taking my camera, but Rachel's too! Her camera with the memory card can hold over 150 photos. Plus if needed we will have the laptop with us, so I can always download and keep on clicking!

We still don't have a band director - we are praying that we have one by the beginning of school! School is just a few weeks away for our children - 2 of the 3 aren't ready to go back. For those of you that really know our children, I'm sure you can figure out who is ready, and has been ready to go back.

I'm signing off for now, as I have to work on getting my clothes ironed for work tomorrow and my work laundry in the washer (the only thing I'm responsible for washing). I want to be close to being completely packed so that when I come home on Thursday, all we have to do is the finishing touches. I want to be up and out of the house by 6:30 AM - my family thinks I'm nuts, but I am too excited to wait much longer. We have had a few bumps and hills to climb so far this year and this is a much deserved trip for our entire family!

I'll post when we get home from vacation - unless I find a minute to give you all a quick update from beautiful Gatlinburg!

Latest Happenings...........

Just wanted to let you all know that we have not fallen off the face of the earth. We are just crazy busy.


Darryl spent last week in Washington, D.C. with his Aunt Brenda, Aunt Pat, and Cousin Joseph. They were visiting Pat's son, Bryan. Darryl went to see all the great sites that Washington has to offer and had a really good time. Of course, we all missed him (even his sister) terribly. We went to Northern Kentucky last night to pick him up, only to have to get him repacked and ready for Boy Scout Camp. His little brother has been lost without him and it is going to be another long week.


We have managed to get a load of laundry done to get him repacked, dressed and hygiene taken care, uniform shirt ironed, breakfast done, and the dishwasher is running. It has already been a hectic morning. I am praying that nothing gets broken or he doesn't get hurt while at camp.


I hope that you all had a very enjoyable 4th of July! We spent it at home with Laura, Christopher, Laura's Nephew and his friend. It was a really good time, even though the pool was way too cold to swim in. It seemed a bit odd, without our oldest son here, I have decided that I do not like having holidays without our children. I'm not sure what I am going to do when they go off to college and/or grow up and have families of their own. I'm just thankful that time is a long way off.


This week is a mixed emotion week for me. We leave to go to Iowa on Friday for my Daddy's sale. I don't want to be at the auction to watch my childhood be sold for cents on a dollar and things that hold so many memories that I could not bring home. Thank God for the wonderful memories and that no one can take those away. I would really rather not go, however because I am the Executrix, and if the house and vehicles sell, I will need to sign paperwork. Please pray that all goes well and we have a good turnout. I really only care that we make enough from the auction to pay off the debts that were left behind, so I can work on closing this chapter. Not that grief is done in a systematic or logical way, which is very hard for me. All things should have logic and be systematic! I just remind myself that God is in charge of this process and that he will see me through.


On a happier note, I am very excited to report that I am finally feeling a whole lot like the old me, and taken another 3 lbs. off, so that is a total of 78 lbs. lost! This is the first week that I have not taken Alleve at night and only taking 2 in the morning and the best part of all not having to lay back down after having a shower because the pain is so great. THANK GOD FOR WONDERFUL RECOVERIES!!!


I would like to congratulate our niece, Shelly and Brian were married yesterday in Moline, Illinois. We were sad that we couldn't be there to celebrate their special day, but with having to make another trip to Iowa and the price of gas, we just couldn't squeeze it in our budget. CONGRATULATION'S SHELLY & BRIAN - WE WISH YOU THE BEST!!!


This last note of gratitude goes to all the MEN and WOMEN who defend or has defened our country so that we can celebrate the 4th of July and live in a land of freedom! THANK YOU SOLDIERS (Active & Retired) for all that you have done for this great country!! I AM PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN.....(Lee Greenwood's song about being proud to be an American comes to mind. Now I will have it singing through my head.)


Hope you all have a wonderful and blessed day!

Tina

At Last an Update...........

I know it has been a while since we have updated our blog. Life has been pretty busy already and it is only June. The kids got out of school on June 5th and so summer break started.......... :)

On Saturday, June 7th, we went to Cincinnati to have dinner and Bucca deBeppo (an Italian family restaurant) with Don, Laura and Christopher Horn. We celebrated Tina's birthday. It was a fun evening for everyone and we shared some good memories. On Thursday, June 12th, Rachel & Isaac went to Cincinnati to spend some time with their Grandma and Papa Schwarz. They got to see their cousins while they were there and came home on Saturday the 14th.

Bible school started in the evenings on Sunday the 15th and went through Thursday, June 19th; this year's theme was God's Big Backyard. Rachel was a guide and was able to get volunteer hours for Beta and Isaac enjoyed it too (thought I don't think he enjoyed it as much as Rachel did). Then during the morning of this week, Isaac attended PEP week and did running and soccer, while Rachel helped one of the high school teacher's with her dance class. Isaac really enjoyed this week and brought home his very own soccer ball on Friday and Rachel loved helping the kids learn some of the ballroom dances that she had learned this year.

Darryl has been diligently working in the garden, and we have picked our strawberries 4 times, we shared some with Mom and the remaining 3 picking were just enough to eat, but next year we will have enough for me to freeze and make some strawberry jam.....ymmmmmm! Plus with the additional 25 plants they planted this year we will have enough to sell.

We found out this week that our Band Director resigned and so now we will most likely not have a marching band for this season. This impacts both our high school and middle school. Please help us pray that we find the right fit for all of our band kids (including our 2 - Darryl & Rachel).

Tonight (6/22) Russell and I had a date! We treated ourselves to a Montgomery Gentry concert. We knew we had decent seats, but little did we realize that we had FRONT ROW seats. I will post pictures later (someone forgot her camera-but who never meets a stranger, ended making friends with a really nice woman that took awesome pictures)once I receive them from my concert friend. The concert was awesome! We both had a great time! Russell said it was great seeing me be so happy and really enjoying myself! Thanks to the love of my life for a wonderful evening! I was able to get a guitar pick from the stage and we treated the kids to t-shirts, and I even got one for myself. Russell doesn't think I will wear it, but I will just prove him wrong.

This will be a bit of a calm week and hopefully they will get to enjoy our pool some, weather permitting. Darryl leaves for Washington, D.C. on Friday morning. He is going with his Aunt Brenda and Aunt Pat. They are going to see Pat's son, Brian and do some site seeing while they are there. He will have a great time and won't be back until the 4th of July.

Work is going well and still struggle in the mornings. I get frustrated with that, but Russell reminds me that I have come a long way in just 2 months. Heck 2 months ago we wouldn't have even thought about being able to go to a concert. I wouldn't have been able to stand/sit long enough to enjoy it. I thank God every day that I am doing as well as I am. I still have days when the pain gets a bit much, but I am down to only taking Tylenol or Alleve in the mornings. I still really miss my Daddy and wish I could hear him say I love you one more time and tell him how much I love him!

This fall Rachel and I are waling in the Heart Walk in Louisville. We will be walking in memory of my Mom (she died of sudden heart failure in January 1999) and my Daddy (who just died this past February of heart failure). If you feel inclined to help the Heart Association with their research, here is a link to my website where you can sponsor me; https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=255198&lis=1&kntae255198=6D77B2B08C5C48569A2FF529AB533740&supId=224478734

Well, it is off to bed for me. I am going to start working 10 hour days so I can have a Friday off, every other week. That should help a bit with gas! I hope this post finds all my family, friends and blogging friends doing well. Remember God is good all the time; All the time, God is good!

Love,
Tina

Week In Review

Hello,

Just an update of my 1st week back to work. It seems a bit strange to come back to a new manager, new director and a new position. I'm sure things won't be this calm again for a very long time. I am going to start Six Sigma training (Project Management Certification)and will be working on several projects for our department. I love to dig into things and find things that need to be fixed and put out "fires"/issues that arise for our groups and internal departments. I am really excited about this new opportunity.

Tuesday I felt like I was starting a new job and even had the stomach butterflies to go along with it. Of course there was no need, everyone was happy to see me, and I was happy to see them. I hadn't been in the office since the beginning of September. I worked from home until I went out on official leave, December 10th. I came back to over 5,000 emails though. Many of which I could just delete since they were issues that had been addressed and the fact that I had a new position.

Wednesday came and went with it being pretty uneventful, still just trying to go through emails......argh!!!!!! I don't think anyone picks up the phone to call if there is something that they need anymore. There are some days that I think technology has taken the personal side of business away.

Thursday was a bit more hectic, not only did I have to go to work, but Rachel had her middle school concert that night. She had to be at the school at 6:30, I left work early enough to get home to catch my breath, but traffic did not cooperate, so I came in the door with enough time for a potty break and to take the shine off my face by applying a bit of powder. No more than 10 minutes later we were back out the door, so dinner for me was 10:00 that night (thank goodness everyone else had eaten prior). Rachel did a wonderful job singing in the chorus. She had a bit of a solo in one of the songs from the musical Rent that they sang. She also played her flute in 6th grade band and then played again with the 7th graders, who happened to be playing a piece with the 8th grade. We were very proud of here. She also had special surprise visitors from Cincinnati, her Grandma and Papa Schwarz attended her concert. She didn't know, and neither did Isaac that they were coming, so they were both very surprised and of course happy to see them. They also did awards, and Rachel received the 6th Grade Female Band Student award. We couldn't be prouder of her. She is definitely going to challenge her brother, Darryl. They are becoming very competitive music wise. I think I ate dinner and dropped into bed on Thursday.

Friday used to be my least favorite day of the week, because it was jeans day at work and I never felt comfortable wearing jeans. Well this Friday, I shocked everyone and showed up in jeans. Losing 72 lbs. will do that to a person. The jeans that I wore I hadn't worn ever (my friend Leslie gave them to me before I left Cinti - I love hand me downs)!! A couple of people didn't even recognize me, because in years past I would never wear jeans! I was sure glad when the day was over. I could tell I was missing my mid-morning naps!

Saturday was a blur - I am trying to take better care of my feet, and since reaching the bottoms of my feet successfully is still a bit trying, I try to do a pedicure every 6 weeks. So I was off for my appointment at 12:00; arrived and she was running "a little late". Well a little late turned out to be about an hour late, it really was not a big deal since I didn't have any kids with me. Then when I was done, I dashed back home to pick up Isaac to take him with me to get something to make for dinner. Darryl's girlfriend was coming for dinner and I wanted to pick up something a bit special. We didn't want to embarrass him - so off Isaac and I went well the others stayed home and cleaned the house! I love the look and smell of a clean house - they did a terrific job. While somethings may not have been done the way I would have done it, I've learned to let go, that is small stuff and learned to appreciate that they do it!!! FAMILY THANK YOU FOR CLEANING ON SATURDAY!!!!

Sunday was a day for the boys to work in the garden while Rachel and I went to church. We came home, had lunch and then Rachel, Isaac and I were off to Bray's Orchard (our local fruit and garden place). We arrived back with 2 flats of petunias, marigolds, cabbage, watermelon, green peppers, squash, zucchini, oregano, basil, dill, parsley, rosemary, and sage. The boys had already planted tomatoes and broccoli. I did a couple loads of laundry, made dinner, and took a 2 hour nap and still was asleep before 10:30.

Our garden is doing nicely. We have picked strawberries twice and Russell is going to pick them again tomorrow. The boys have already planted tomatoes and broccoli plants. We have 25 more strawberry plants due to arrive on Thursday along with asparagus plants. Even though the asparagus will take a few years before we can even pick, it will be well worth the wait since I won't pay 3-4 for a bunch of spears that look like wood.

Well, the natives are getting restless. I made angel food cake on Sunday to go with our home grown strawberries and they are anxious for another taste of angel food cake......so I'm off to get dessert underway. Why I do this to myself I am not sure since the 7 yr. old will just get hyped up on sugar. I guess we will crash him by giving him some benadryl for his allergies. The pollen and mold counts right now are effecting us all right now.

Good night for now fellow blogger family and friends!

Love,
Tina

Rest Area Stop in Illinois

WERE BACK!!!

Hello,

Wanted to let you all know that we have returned from our Iowa trip. It was a good trip, difficult at times, but it sure helped the healing processes. Here is what I was able to come to terms with..... I had asked a week ago Sunday for prayers while we were gone and I could really feel God’s presence as I went through material things. I have come to grips with that the house is just a house, the people/person that made it a home don’t live there anymore (they are in a much greater place now), and the stuff is just stuff – no one can take our memories away and I don't need the stuff to remember. I also have decided that for whatever reason God felt that I shouldn’t be there with either when my Daddy died or for his funeral. I have had to just turn it over to him and understand that our heavenly Father is no different than our earthly parents (when we are younger), in that he ultimately decides what is right for us and we should not question his authority.

I am feeling more like the old me and the positive outlook on life has come back. I also returned to work today and the day went really well. I had been gone so long that it almost felt like I was starting a new job.

I would be amiss if I didn't thank our dear friends (actually they are pretty much like family) Mike and Robbie for opening their home up to our family of 5 for the weekend. I also got to see my sister, Toni. We also go to see my Aunt Sharon, Uncle Jim and cousin Macayla, whom we hadn't seen for several years. Thanks Aunt Sharon for hemming my lined pants, mending 2 pairs of pants and hemming Rachel's lined dress - you did an AWESOME job! I wish I had an ounce of your sewing ability, but unfortunately I didn't inherit that ability.

Above (in a new post I couldn't figure out how to get in this post). Here are some pictures that I took while we were stopped on our return to Kentucky. We were in Illinois at a rest area and they had a neat playground, the covered bridge and a hike to a tower on the hillside. I didn't make the hike, but I was able to do a pretty good amount of the driving.

Russell and I will be returning to Iowa for the auction on July 12th, we don't plan on being there for the entire sale, as I'm not sure I could handle seeing other people carrying away our family stuff (but remember, it is just stuff)!

Love to all from our Family!

One Day Left and Counting for Iowa

Well, first of all I must brag on my 15 yr. old son.........he received a proficient at State Solo Contest last Saturday and on Sunday received Band Member of the Year for 2007-2008. As the Band Director, Mr. Osborne was talking about the student, once he said that he is only a freshman and already writing music, I started to get misty eyed (imagine that)! We are all very proud of him. Of course, by the time his name was called I did my best to not let my tears of joy flow as not to embarrass the poor lad. We all got a good laugh out of it and said if I could get that choked up about a band award, what will I do if he makes field commander (for marching band), little lone his high school graduation. He laughed and said that he would just make sure that everyone knew I was his "Aunt" and not his Mom.......gotta love teenagers!

Rachel is working hard on getting all her flute music down for the concert next Thursday. She is not only playing with her 6th grade class, but also playing with the 7th grade class, and singing a solo (possibly 2) for chorus. Of course there will be awards at her concert, so now she is really trying to work even harder so that she can come away with an award just as significant as her brothers. Last night we were so proud of her, she actually asked Darryl if he could help her work out a couple of "kinks" in her music. He does such a great job of working with her. We were in our room with Isaac and could hear Darryl clapping out the rhythm for her. When they came in we asked if it was all worked out and Darryl said she did a great job and sounded good.

Isaac's road trip was a huge success. I received a phone call from him as they were leaving the movie theatre and he was so excited. He was practically screaming on the phone. Mommy you have to see this movie.....it is so AWESOME! I think I lost my hearing for a few minutes (not really just kidding). I was glad that he had such a great time. Both he and Russell enjoyed the movie.

Well, tomorrow we leave for our Iowa road trip. This week has been really hard! Almost everything thing I see and or touch makes me cry. I've been trying hard not to watch much TV this week, because it seems like someone is always dying or terribly sick. As I type this post I am struggling with all the questions that come when you truly become honest with yourself and begin to grieve as God expects us too. I am mad that I wasn't there with him...why couldn't God let him live just a few more months when I would be better.....I wasn't there when my Mom died, why did I twice not have the opportunity to say goodbye and help them move on to a better life. Why do I feel like God is punishing me; when will this hole in my heart heal? Every time I enter our family room, I see my Daddy's picture and wonder why?????? If anyone out there has any good suggestions, I am open. I started re-reading the book I read when my Mom died, but somehow this time it is not happening. While I loved my Mom, I was not truly as close to her as I was my Daddy. I keep trying to make sense of it all, but somehow I don't seem to get far with it. I will let you know when we get back on Monday (possibly might have to wait until next weekend) since I will be going back to work on Tuesday.

We will take pictures and I will try and get new ones on here. One thing that Isaac is looking forward to is his John Deere tractor rides. A family friend and someone that I went to high school with is willing to give him a tractor ride. Isaac also wants to sit in a "big truck" like Papa drove (my dad was a truck driver), so I want to take him over to where Daddy retired from, it is just a stones throw away from Daddy's house so that he (and anyone else that wants to) sit in one again.

Well, I guess I will close for now, because it is becoming hard to type through the tears. I hope you all have a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend! God Bless our soldiers that have given the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom and continue to do so every day!

Tina

Hello from Kentucky

Hi Everyone,

Just a quick update and I promise on Sunday that I will try and get some updated pictures posted! I went to the Neurosurgeon on Monday and had an MRI and received a clean bill of health!!! PRAISE THE LORD FOR ANSWERED PRAYERS! I am still having a bit of hip and leg pain, but that is to be expected since the nerve was so severely pinched. The doctor said that within the next couple of weeks and by continuing to push myself to do more, it should get better. I am returning to work on the 28th.

Tomorrow, Darryl, Russell and Isaac will be going to Eastern Kentucky University for Darryl to play his state solo piece. We are so proud of him and his accomplishments. He has also decided to try out for field commander for marching band this year. Rachel and her friend Brittney are baking for our Band Fish Fry tomorrow. So far they have made 3 batches of brownies, a strawberry cake, a confetti cake (reminds me of when my Granny would make me the confetti angel food cake for my birthday), and a marble bundt cake. We have 2 more cakes to go!

I am making dinner tonight as Russell and Isaac are having a night out. They went out for dinner and are seeing Speed Racer at this very moment! Isaac didn't know where they were going, but that they were taking a "road trip". He will come home one very happy little boy. Unfortunately being 7 with a 15 yr. old and an almost 13 yr. old in the house there is not much that is about him, so this was the perfect opportunity.

We will be leaving on Friday the 23rd for Iowa; this is going to be one hard trip. I know why I am going and while I have to be an adult, I want to be a child and say please, I really don't want to go. This is going to be so hard, and leaving will be even harder as I will be saying good-bye to lots of memories and "stuff" that I just can't keep that was such an important part of my life. Plus I have to really face the truth that my daddy is really gone and that this is just not a bad dream. I ask for your prayers for our entire family for the next week and half as I am already very emotional just thinking about why we are going back.

Well, for someone who said this would be short, I guess once again my fingers just kept on moving and the words were flowing, not elegantly, but none the less were flowing.

Until Later......Love,
Tina

I Really Didn't Fall of the Face of the Earth

Hi Everyone,


This is a very emotional post for me, so please bear with me as I ramble on! I think God is telling me if I write what I am feeling it will help me heal and cope.


After my last post, I once again became every ill and couldn't move (only a week and a half after being home). This time when we called the Neurosurgeon his nurse said that he was on call at Baptist East and I needed to get their immediately! Unfortunately, Russell could not even get me in the van, so it required an ambulance ride (at the tune of $887) at 45 mph as for once this past winter we were getting a pretty heavy snowfall and the roads were very slick so a 45 minute ride turned into almost 2 hours. Getting admitted took forever, I'm glad I wasn't dying (so I thought).


I once again had developed a staph infection and this time is was more serious than the last. There were no warning signs or anything. So they scheduled another MRI to figure out how bad and by now the pain was uncontrollable. I was scheduled for surgery the next day and ended up with drain tubes and was considered "contagious" so I was placed in a private room. While they were dealing with the staph infection I decided to start spiking temperatures of over 103 degrees, which resulted in having a cooling blanket put on my bed and being diagnosed with a "blood infection". Later to be told by the Infectious Disease doctor that it was e-coli....how in the world I got that I don't know. I was in the hospital for a pretty long time and on major pain medication and wasn't a very pleasant person. I came home with a pic-line and IV antibiotics and had home health physical therapy, occupational therapy and a nurse that came every Monday to change the pic-line dressing and draw blood to make sure that the infection was going away. I have now been pic-line free for 4 weeks!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!


During my last stay, I received word that my daddy's cardiologist had suggested that they put in a pacemaker/defibrillator. Daddy called to see what I thought and while I wasn't sure, he was excited and thought this would give him a better shot at a longer life (as they had figured out his heart would beat at 180, go to 70, then go to 30, then stop, and start the cycle all over again). Unfortunately, God decided that it was time for Daddy to come before the surgery could even be performed. We discussed his having the surgery at the beginning of the week and by that Thursday I received a call from the hospital telling me they didn't think that he would make it through the night! I felt horribly guilty that I who having my own crisis couldn't be there with him.....he was not only my Daddy, but my best friend!!!! I was able to talk with him, however he could not even respond to me at this point. I feel very guilty because I asked him to hang in there until I could be with him, unfortunately (or fortunately) God decided that the 23rd of February was his day to be reunited with my Mom whom he had missed for the last 9 years and his father whom he lost 41 years ago. I attempted to plan his funeral while being in a "drugged" state and was unable to attend. I just have to have faith that God knew what he was doing and there was a reason that I was not meant to be there with him or attend the funeral. The grieving processes is so different for me this time, and much harder than when I lost my Mom. On several occasions I have picked up the phone to call, dialed the number only to realize that he is not there. We are going to go back to Iowa over Memorial weekend to go through things and get as much ready for the auction as we can.


I am continuing to get better, but have a long road ahead as the hip and leg pain make sitting for more than 5-10 minutes almost unbearable (thank goodness I have such a wonderful husband who bought us a laptop so I could try and stay in touch with the outside world). I have been able to finally return to church which has helped my disposition very much plus a 72 pound weight loss - not a diet I would recommend, but it has given me the motivation to keep going, I have another 25-30 to take off.


Monday we go see the Neurosurgeon and hopefully get one final MRI and a clean bill of health and something to help with the leg/hip pain so that I can return to work....please pray that all goes well.


Now on to the kids......they are so wonderful. They were all very effected by my being taken in an ambulance the last time. Darryl has been wonderful and been so very helpful when I wasn't able to be there for them. He turned 15 in April and we had a great family party at my Sister-in-law's house with most of his Aunts, Uncles and Cousins there. Darryl made it to state solo/ensemble with his Oboe Solo and performs that next Saturday while Rachel and I (not much working for me) work the major fundraiser for the Band Boosters. Darryl had his best report card since I have been a part of his life....I was so proud of him, he still has a little room for improvement, but he really worked hard and it showed. Rachel's grades continue to be exceptional, she is so driven for almost being 13! She is going to be performing a voice solo during the end of year concert and not only playing 1st chair flute, but has been asked to play with the 7th grade also. She also found out that she is going to be able to be in the color guard for the marching band, so now we not only have one at the tune of $250, but 2, which equals $500, but Russell and I are committed to making sure that they can participate because it is something that is important to both of them, plus Mom is the Treasurer for the Booster Organization. Isaac, well he is still lovable Isaac. Being 7 with a 15 yr. old and almost 13th yr. old isn't easy. In fact this week we finally figured it out that Isaac will still be in grade school when Darryl graduates from high school. He loves to be outside and could really care less about school. He is so much like his Iowa Papa. In fact, I have some pictures of my Daddy as a little boy and with the exception of the clothes he is almost a spitting image of him. Only if we could afford a real John Deere tractor he would be the happiest boy on earth!


I cannot begin to express how much of a wonderful husband I have.....I thank God everyday for leading us together. Without him every that we have been through as a family these past few months would have been impossible. He is the love of my life and even though tomorrow is Mother's Day, for a long time he played both roles and took a college class! He did a fabulous job and feel like tomorrow is just as much about him as it is me, since I wasn't much of a mom for a few months.


Russell, in case you read this I want you to know that I love you with every ounce of my being and feel very lucky that you are my husband and mate for life. Without you I am nothing, plus you have given me a large family that I adore and love with all my heart, and who have accepted me and treat me so well. Your family is very special to me. Plus, you came with a wonderful son whom I just adore and love like he is my very own! I LOVE YOU RUSSELL - Happy Mother's Day, because were both Mom and Dad when I couldn't be.


Sorry this post is so long and seemed to ramble, but it seemed as if the Lord was urging me to put my feelings into words to help me and make me a better Mom and Wife! Also, a huge thank you to all of those who prayed for me and my family.


To all my fellow family, friends and bloggers who read this HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!


Love,
Tina

Long Overdue Update

Hi Everyone,

I am sorry it has been so long since I last posted. I however have been in the hospital for 7 days. We went for my Neurosurgeon appointment to have the staples removed only have them tell my to go directly to the ER and that I would be admitted, since I had managed to get an infection (guess) I ginxed myself on the last post.

We went to the ER on Tuesday, and it took them several hours to have a bed ready for me. They immediately started drawing blood and doing cultures. Also during this time I had one of the worst headaches I have ever experienced in my life. On Wednesday morning, they came to get me at 7:00 AM to do a quick cat scan of my head to see if they could figure out what was causing the headache and then took me off to surgery. I didn't even have time to call Russell for him to get there. While I was in pre-op, it was the anethesiologist who put the pieces of the puzzle together and identified that my potassium was very low and that could be what was causing my headache, so with potassium therapy my headache started to go away. The Neurosurgeon did a I&D (Incision and Drainage) on my back. Thankfully the infection had not gotten too far in my incision, but unfortunately I had managed to get bacteria into my bloodstream. I now had a Neurosurgeion and an Infectious Disease doctor coordinating my care. On Wednesday after surgery a pic line was put in my left upper arm and I continued to get 2 different IV antibiotics and blood draws on a regular basis (but those went really well since I had the pic line).

On Monday, I was finally discharged, but that took over 4 hours as the nurse had others that were having significant issues so I kept getting pushed down on the list. I am so happy to be home even though we are continuing the IV Therapy here. Once a week I go to the Infusion Therapy office for the dressing to be changed on my pic line and pick up new supplies. I get 3 doses of my IV antibiotic a day ( 7 AM/3 PM/11 PM). I have to continue this therapy for 6 weeks.

Please say a quick prayer that that IV therapy continues to work, as I don't really want to go back to the hospital anytime soon!!!

Russell and the kids are doing great considering all the extra drama I have provided. Russell has been so wonderful through all this and encouraging as my progress previously made, went out the window. They (me included) are just happy that I am back home. I really missed being with my family for those 7 days and being 45 minutes away.

Hope you are all doing well and surviving the weather.

Tina

Tina's Surgery Update

I know this one is long overdue and apologize, but it will also be a quick one.

Surgery went well on the Jan. 10th and required a 2 day hospital stay. On a positive note to date there has been no infection (for those that know me well they know this is a major accomplishment, as I am much like my grandmother and seem to get it with no trouble after surgery). The Neurosurgeon said it went really well he performed a discectomy so the L4-L5 and L5-S1 discs. I have about 10-12 staples in my back. I am allowed to sit for 10-15 minutes at a time only and am encouraged to walk. Since it has been so cold, my walking consists of walking around the house. I can't get comfortable in bed and slept on my stomach last night and so today I am not doing so well. I don't think I should have slept on my stomach. We go see the Neurosurgeon on Jan. 22nd and at that time he will remove the staples and let me know how much physical therapy I have to have, when I can drive (YEAH!!!!!) and when I will be going back to work (which I am ready to do, since today I found out my boss resigned and will be gone by the time I get back).

Well, this is all for now, please continue to pray that I heal and can get some good sleep........also, say a prayer for Russell and Darryl as they are at a Boy Scout camping/hiking trip and doing a Klondike tomorrow! I'm just glad it is them and not me!

Stay warm....................:)

Tina

This Week.......

Good Monday Morning.......

This is going to be one crazy week. Darryl has play practice Monday, Tuesday and Thursday of this week. Rachel has basketball practice on Monday, Tuesday and Friday. Isaac has Cub Scouts on Monday and Darryl has Boy Scouts on Thursday. Russell and I have our monthly Band Booster meeting on Tuesday (of which I am the Treasurer, but haven't been able to attend), Rachel also has chorus on Wednesday and lastly Isaac has basketball on Friday. Poor Russell has his fair share of running to do today. Here is how today really pans out, Rachel has to be at the Middle School for basketball at 5:30; Darryl has to be picked up from play practice at 5:30, Isaac has Cub Scouts from 6:30-7:30 and lastly Rachel has to be picked up at 7:00. I know he is so looking forward to my being able to help run kids again.

On another note, Russell starts classes in a couple of weeks. It is official.....on Friday, he went and registered so before long he will be able to sub for not only our school district but for any of the other 3 school districts that surround us.

Okay, I have a huge favor for all my blogger friends and family....I could really use the power of prayer on Thursday. This Thursday I have to be at Norton Suburban hospital for my back surgery. I have to be there at 2:00, and surgery is scheduled for 4:00. I doubt that I will be able to get an update posted to the blog before I come home, but I'm hoping that Russell will be able to bring the laptop with him on one of his visits and I can update you all. If not, you can consider no news good news. I know of one friend that has a blog, Leslie Clark, so maybe when Russell calls her to let her know that I did okay, she can put a quick note on her blog for me (Les, could I please ask a huge favor for you to put a quick note on your blog until I can update mine?? - you are the best!). Surgery is suppose to be routine and will last up to 3 hours. The Neurosurgeon will be removing the scar tissue from my past surgery back in '88 from a car accident, so with that comes a bit more of a risk.

I also ask that you pray for Russell and the children while I'm in the hospital (it should be no more than a couple of days). I want to send a huge thank you to my brother-in-law, Brad and sister-in-law Glenda for coming down on Thursday to stay with the kids so Russell can stay at the hospital until I am out of recovery. I have told Russell that I don't want him to feel like he has to stay forever with me that, I would much rather he be home with the kids. Besides I will be pretty out of it from surgery and will feel more up to having visitors on Friday.

Both Russell and I are very happy today.....the kids have been out of school since 3:30 on the 21st of December and returning back to school TODAY!!!!!!!!!!! We are so ready for them to be back in school, and from the moods this morning, we can tell Rachel and Isaac are excited about going back, however Darryl is not quite as excited as the others.

Well, I'm out of here to go back and lay down for a little while. I sure hope you all have a great day!

Love,
Tina