Silent Sunday

Vacation Fun...

A family update...

As I promised, I am back with an update on the medical status of my father in law and my sister. Who to start with? Hmm.... there is much to tell about both.

My father in law physically is doing fantastic since his fall. He is done with occupational and physical therapy and is only now receiving speech services. His headaches have almost disappeared due in part to a great massage therapist and new glasses (he went to a new eye doc that specializes in TBI's and it was discovered the eyes were a little off kilter so his muscles were working overtime to try to bring everything into focus...hence the headaches).

As he continues to improve physically, he gets more frustrated and a little depressed. He is realizing just how much he lost memory wise. He learns and remembers a lot, but gets upset if people expect too much. On the other hand, it has been fun reintroducing him to some things, like taking him to Greenfield Village when we took the kids to see Thomas and seeing how excited he was to ride the train himself. We are taking him to his "first" Detroit Tiger's Baseball game on Father's Day.

Sometimes though it is sad to hear him talk. He will openly tell you he was "born" in December and is only 6 months old. But other times, he has some amazing insight seeing things with new eyes.

My sister is doing remarkably well to, she has had her downs and challenges... but the news is a 6 cm tumor shrunk to 2.7 cm after 1 round of chemo! Instead of waiting to lose a lot of her hair, she ended up shaving it and sports her wigs and scarves with pride. Her second round of chemo has given her a symptom of neuropathy which is interfering with some of her daily life and is scary since it makes her hands and feet numb and if it gets worse could be permanent. Thankfully she has a great oncologist that is taking everything seriously and taking precautions.

She is scheduled for surgery in July and then the plan is for radiation and then reconstructive surgery. If all goes well then she will be cancer free by Christmas. :) So we pray and wait and pray some more.

Another update soon!

So I am not a good blogger....

Something I knew but since it is June and I haven't posted since January... it really proves the point. Not that anyone actually reads my blog anyways..LOL.

I need to come back for an update on my sister and father in law, and I will do that later. But for now... in the spirit of summer and grilling I give you BBQ in a Jar.

Found on Craft Gossip, I love their site, I have bookmarked a bunch of things all lovely crafty goodness. To hopefully get to someday. :)

Stuff...

So, here it is January 18, and I am writing my first post of the year. I could use the excuse that I am busy and stressed... but since my last post was in November, I am right on target for my blogging style...nonexistent.

What can I say though... it is 18 days into the new year and 2010 kind of sucks so far. Two major medical issues have happened with extended family members. I'll just do a rundown to catch up.

On Dec. 30, my father in law suffered a fall at work and now has what is termed a TBI (traumatic brain injury). He has lost most of his memory for people, places and things. He is home and able to do things like dress and feed himself. He can read and is accepting of what he is told for the most part, and little memories have come back. It is sad to see and have conversations with him sometimes... I just can't imagine the heartbreak that my mother in law felt when she walked into the ER and they had to tell him that she was his wife. He is in rehab though, and prognosis is good...and each day that passes brings more hope.

And 5 days ago, my 39 year old sister was diagnosed with breast cancer. Not many details are known yet, she is undergoing testing to find out exactly what type, stage and everything else that they need to know to begin treating it. It is aggressive and she has an 8 mm lump in her right breast. After the initial shock has worn off.. she has a great attitude about it.. no matter what has to happen in terms of treatment, "death is not an option". So they are finding out whatever they can that can be done, and putting everything in God's hands, as it should be.

So, prayers for my family and Jim's... it has left us all emotionally drained.

And, the normal stresses at work and all.... but that is nothing new.

On a positive note, I bought some material to make myself something... I will post about the details later.

I am going to make Jim a gift for his birthday... he has been complaining that I have not made him anything.

T got all her spelling words right last week. Yay!

J has been doing well sleeping in his bed all night..(hope I didn't just jinx it....)

And, I actually participated in one of the Smartypants Quizzes on The Pioneer Woman and am hoping that I am eligible to win one of the Amazon giftcards ... there are a ton of books that I want. I have been following her blog for a while and decided to try a quiz. I hope I got the answers right.. there were quite a few that I actually knew.

It's back to work tomorrow for me... my vacation in February can't come quick enough.

Highs and Lows

It has been such a busy week and since I am not the greatest blogger, I failed to even write about what all was going on. So I guess a rundown is in order....

Highs
1. Jim and I celebrated our 8th anniversary on Tuesday the 1st of September. It is hard to believe that we have been married 8 years.. it has gone by so fast. Come October, we will have been together 16 years. There have been ups and downs, but that happens in any relationship. I consider myself very blessed to be married to the love of my life.
2. After posting the above on Facebook I had lots of well wishes of course... but the best was from my Mother-In-Law who posted that 8 years ago she gained a wonderful Daughter-In-Law. She is the best MIL anyone could have.
3. I closed a case for a client who was turning 18 this week... she started with me 5 years ago and went from an actively suicidal, depressed cutter to a lovely young woman, who has goals and visions for her future. It was the very first case that I ever have worked with exclusively that has been successful. I wish her the best of luck for her future.
4. Jim received a promotion at work that he has been working toward for quite a long time, he is now the branch manager of the Redford Location of the Harry J. Will Funeral Home. I am so proud of him.

Lows
1. Some sleep issues with Jay this week, some nights getting him to go to bed is a struggle. Once he is asleep is it not so bad, he generally sleeps all night unless he has night terrors.
2. Money issues as always.... it sucks to be barely making it some weeks.... hopefully Jim's raise will help ease that a bit.... and allow us to save a little.
3. Work is crazy busy as always lately.... and they keep adding more stuff for us to do. I seem to be always behind and it is stressing me out.

But all in all, it has been a great week. :)

Happy Birthday Tommi!

Where does the time go? They grow so fast... it is hard to believe that T turned 6 today.

Her going home pic:


Today:

Woes of a Real Tree....

So, this is our first time with a real tree for Christmas. I know that as a kid, I had one a time or two...but Jim has never had one. So, when our artificial basically died last year we threw it out and decided this year we would get a real one.

I think in retrospect...we should have done a tiny bit of research before hand. I didn't really worry too much, new we needed a stand...but two of my sisters' have been getting real trees for quite some time now and I never heard of them having any major problems. (at least that they told us)

So, family Christmas Tree day was scheduled for last Saturday and we all went....even with some drama before hand ended up having a decent time...though my nephew and his wife did not end up coming to dinner (but that is a long story and one I don't really want to tell.....). Jim and I found a really nice douglas fir and were really excited to set it up and decorate it yesterday with the kids...

I found what I thought was a nice stand.... and it is, but I think it is too small for the tree. Our tree is bigger than we thought and I think that is a HUGE part of the issue. We set it up and got it partially decorated....and it fell. While we were eating dinner. And we lost a couple of ornaments... one that Jim's grandparents bought T for her first Christmas. Sucks...but it happens. So Jim calls my sister and borrows her tree stand.... nice one that you can swivel around and then lock into place when you find the side you want..... bigger stand... we think we are good. So we get it all set up and the tree is almost completely decorated.... and..... it falls. And this time we lose a few cheap ornaments...no biggie...and Jim's orange hunting ornament.... that is a big deal to him and can't really be replaced. :( That, I am sad about for him....

So, we are trying to keep Jay out of the living room because of the glass, T thankfully went back into our room cause I had the TV on and crawled into our bed to watch while we were dealing with the tree (and believe me.... she got LOTS of praise for that choice!) And as I was standing holding the tree from falling, Jim called friends for help and we took all the ornaments and lights off.

With help, the tree is back in the stand I bought....screwed in as far as it can go and we now have fishing line tied from the top to the metal top to the blinds...just to steady it. It is decorated and stayed up all night....and we are hoping it stays that way until at least Christmas Day. And the day after Christmas..... all the ornaments are getting put away by the kids and I and you can bet the first time we can get shopping... Jim and I are going to be looking for a great deal on an artificial tree.... as well as a tree stand for my sister to replace the one we broke.

Ugh.

Old Blue Chair

Had a conversation in the car last night when out for our 7th anniversay with Jim about Kenny Chesney's song Old Blue Chair. I found out some information that I really didn't know about him and his faith and I am in awe and in love all over again.

Here are the lyrics to the song:

There's a blue rockin' chair,
sittin' in the sand.
Weathered by the storms,
and well oiled hands.
It sways back and forth,
with the help of the winds.
Seems to always be there,
like an ol' trusted friend.

I've read a lot of books, wrote a few songs.
Looked at my life, where it's goin', where it's gone.
I've seen the world, through a bus windshield.
But nothing compares,
to the way that I see it,
to the way that I see it,
to the way that I see it,
when I sit in that Old Blue Chair.

From that chair I've caught
a few fish and some rays,
and I've watched boats sail,
in and out of Cinnamon Bay.
I let go of a lover,
that took a piece of my heart.
Prayed many times for forgiveness,
and a brand new start.

I've read a lot of books, wrote a few songs.
Looked at my life, where it's goin', where it's gone.
I've seen the world, through a bus windshield.
But nothing compares,
to the way that I see it,
to the way that I see it,
to the way that I see it,
when I sit in that Old Blue Chair.

That chair was my bed one New Year's night,
when I passed out from too much Malibu and diet,
and I woke up to a hundred mosquito bites. I swear.
Got 'em all sittin' right there, in the Old Blue Chair.

There's a blue rockin' chair,
sittin' in the sand.
Weathered by the storms,
and well oiled hands.

His "old blue chair" he told me is his hunting stand. He is able to utterly and totally relax, kind of a meditation of sorts, and he said that he prays more there than anywhere else. I have to admit that I was actually shocked. I know that Jim loves hunting, but never really thought that he would also use his time in the woods in such a profound manner while he is waiting and watching for deer.

Then in his silly way he started making up his own lyrics to the song and actually said that he was going to write them down. I hope he does, so I can write them here and compare the two. :) Each day I love him more and more.....

I really need and want an "old blue chair"...but I don't think that it is something that you can really seek out...I think that something that special and profound should just happen. I have been floundering in my faith for some time and honestly have just come to realize just how much. It was a rough spring for the family, and though things are better in some respects...we are struggling in others. And so I have been struggling within myself. It's hard to just let go and let God.

And so here I ask, though I know that He never left me, for the Lord to come back into my life, watch over me and mine and to guide us in His way. Amen.

New Park!

So, we have a new park in our city, a boundless playground. That means that anyone, regardless of their ability can enjoy most if not all of the playground equipment. (you can even access the structure if you are in a wheelchair) :) We have more parks here than the surrounding cities do. Two within a block from our house and the elementary school 5 houses away. But this new park is really cool...it's got some neat features that non of the other parks do. I've taken the kids a few times, and thought I would post some pics from the day we took their cousins to play. It's the kids favorite park right now..and mine too.

Tommi and her cousin Andrea


The Gang

Stephen and Andrea

Jay

Tommi