The Folks

This is a good picture of my parents, we call "The Folk's".They are so happy that they don't have to leave their house that almost sold. I guess the old saying is true, You don't know what you got til it's almost gone. They have a new appreciation for their home like never before. My dad thought he wasn't able to do things around the house anymore and that's one reason why he was so anxious to sell it. He thought they needed to move in Assisted Living, but after the deal fell through on the house last week, he got his leaf blower out and cleaned off his driveway, got his hammer out and started hanging things on walls and just had a different outlook. My mom unpacked all her treasures that she loves to look at and placed them back where they belong. I thank God for being with all of us last week during this trying time and we are all so happy at the outcome. There's No Place Like Home!

Pug mania & other creatures

Our nephew is a foster parent to pug dogs. He actually has 8 dogs total, 3 cats, 2 ferrets, 1 bird & fish. He adopted 2 of the pugs. He and his family went out of town for 6 days and he asked my husband to go take care of the ZOO 3 times per day. We only live a few miles from him, so Mike thought it would be easy to go over and take care of them.....Well, I ended up going with him at feeding time to help. The dogs were divided into 3 different rooms and each had their names on bowls with the amount of food they get. I tell you, it was not an easy job! My hubby would feed the other zoo animals and I just stuck to feeding the dogs and then letting them all out after they ate. The ferrets had a 3 story condo they live in with a hammock. It is the funniest thing to see that little weezle laying in that hammock, not a care in the world.....I ended up with all the pugs in my lap when I sat outside...they were starved for attention.......What an experience we had.......I have to admit I sort of bonded with some of them.....their names are: Rocky, Hollie, Jazz, Johnny, Hank, Yoko, Charger & Koon .........

The Biggest Loser After pictures

This is the start of the walk on the trail we took the mornings my sister Diane was here visiting. Diane made it to the top of the hill on the walking trail......She is the Biggest Loser! My sister flys home today. We had a Great 10 Days together. Lots of changes took place.....Our Parents are NOT selling their house and NOT going into Assisted Living. We had 1 day of the moving sale and at the end of the day the Realtor called to break the news that the buyers couldn't buy the house afterall. Their loan wasn't approved. Our Mom was so excited cause she didn't want to leave her home. Our parents took the house off the market and are staying put. They are not ready for assisted living and are happy at the change in plans. God knew what was best for them. It was a very busy week for us. I am so glad I had my sister here to help with everything. We decided to cut the moving sale short the next day and only sell things that would clutter up their house. We had to go furniture shopping cause they sold their couch, but ended up with a nicer and more functional one.

I promised an after picture when my sister came. She has taught me so much this week about portion control and how to make a delicious egg white omelet. I am going to continue on this journey of eating better. I am so proud of her! or should I say, of Us. I will miss her so much, but we have our Web Cam, Thank God. Look at this thin body.......Great Job Sis! Keep up the good work......

My Neice is going to have a BABY!

First of all, my sister Diane is here from Louisiana helping with our parents moving sale. Night before last we get a call from her daughter, Dayna, who also lives in Louisiana. It was around 9:00 at night and Dayna told her mom that she took 2 pregnancy tests and they were both positive. My sister and I danced around in the kitchen while on the phone with her.....you see....Dayna and her hubby, Rob have been trying to have a baby for a short while and the news was the best news they could have gotten. Rob was so excited and wanted to make sure so they drove to Walgreens to buy another test, which was also positive the next morning, then she went for a blood test to make more sure and it was positive.....so......my sister will have a 3rd grandchild in January. Her son, has 2 children. My sister is on Cloud 9.....What's neat is our daughter's are both having babies.....
This news came at the best time.....you see.....my sister and I have been so stressed over this move for our parents and the uncertainties. The boxing up of precious memories, not being able to keep everything....what to sell....what to keep.....It has been a rollercoaster of emotions.
My sister and I have been able to go walking on our trail to talk and share, which has been our savior. We have lots of work yet to do to get ready for the Big moving sale, which starts tomorrow. I just had to share this exciting news with my Blogger friends......My Neice will make a wonderful momma and Rob a great daddy. Congrats to both of them!!!
The picture is Dayna on her wedding day before getting ready to walk down the isle in Jamaica last year......Isn't she beautiful?

My Sissy will be here in 3 days!!!! Hooray!!!

I am so excited.... my sister, Diane will be flying into Chicago and we will pick her up at the airport on Saturday morning. I will be taking my vacation from work while she is here for 10 days.

Where to start........well, our parents live about 1 mile from me and they decided to sell their house. My dad didn't want the responsibility of taking care of a house and yard anymore, so he thought that if he put it on the market it might take 6 months to a year to sell.......well, the 3rd person who looked at it bought it and now we are racing against the clock to prepare a moving sale and finding them a place to live. We have already checked out Assisted Living Facilities in the area since that is what an option would be and they did put down a deposit to hold one, but it may not be ready when they need it. We have 22 days to get rid of stuff and move our parents. Our parents are not what you would call elderly even though they are in their 70's. They do get around and still drive, but they feel as though they do need some assistance. This is bitter sweet for me because they are selling the house I grew up in. They won't have the space they are use to having. Our mom likes her stuff, meaning her pretty trinkets and believe you me she has lots of them! It will be very hard for her to give up things she loves so much.

So, this trip for my sister will be a very busy time for us as sister's to help make decisions for our parents for their future. I really dreaded this time in my life cause I don't deal too well with change. It is very hard to watch your parents age and not to be able to do the things they use to do and depend on their children for help. Our brother lives in Idaho and won't be able to come to help, due to not being able to leave his business at this time. I just pray for God to give us strength and that this transition will be a smooth one.

We plan to have some sister time alone though, after we tuck the folks in bed.......

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all of the Mother's out there! I wanted to share this adorable little birds nest that we discovered in our Azalea tree in our backyard next to our back porch. We think there are at least 3 baby birds in the nest. We watch with amazement as the mother bird takes care of her babies.

My son-in-law Jeff celebrates his Birthday on Mother's Day this year. Happy Birthday Jeff!

Friday Night Spaghetti

Friday night the grandson's came over while their mom & dad went out to dinner with some friends. I made spaghetti! I think the next time I babysit I will choose something less messy to make.....like "Culvers"......which I usually get them on a weeknight of babysitting. I thought a home cooked meal would be nice. Nate, Elsa & Abby also stopped by for dinner. I made my sauce the night before so all I had to do was boil the pasta and heat up the garlic bread. As you can see by Gray's face, he really enjoyed it!

I am thinking as I look at these pictures, where will # 5 grand-child (grand-daughter) fit at this kitchen table? Oh, I see a spot by Aunt Elsa........Bumpa (grampa) and I were the only ones in the dining room eating. After dinner, Gray and Abby played a chasing around the house game. Gray is going to be so good with his baby sister. He dearly loves Abby and plays so well with her. Abby cracked us up. She is such a girly girl.....she loves purses and clothes. She wanted to wear her little raincoat in the house and I found my little pink satin purse for her to play with. Here she is sitting on the kitchen rug, with her purse around her arm reading her books that Bumpa got her.......What a fun Friday Night! And to think there is more to come!

My Daughter will have a Daughter

I have so much I want to say but sometimes I can't express my feelings like I want to. I feel like one very Blessed person. I don't have a lot of riches but I do have my family and that means more to me and is worth more than anything else in the world.

My beautiful daughter, Steph found out yesterday that she is having a GIRL! I am so excited for her to have her very own daughter. Steph was my first born and the only grand-daughter on my husbands side of the family. She was a little princess growing up around her brother and boy cousins. I am so excited for her to experience the frills and Joy that a little girl brings to a mom. As Steph got older and growing into that lovely lady, our relationship grew into a friendship that is hard to explain. I can honestly say, my daughter is my best friend and I can't wait to see her relationship with her daughter........

Spring Fashion Show & Tea

My daughter Steph treated me to a Mother's Day Tea and Spring Fashion Show Sunday in her home town. All the money raised went to benefit Children's Memorial Hospital, which I am truly thankful for. Steph and her middle son Carter were in the fashion show, modelling clothes from Butterfly Kisses, a Mommy & Me Boutique. Jen's daughter was also a model and it was so special to see her table filled with her lovely family members. I had a delightful time sipping specialty tea & lemonade with my daughter and grandson. We were served individual plates and everything was very tasty. Steph looked picture perfect modelling maternity clothes and Carter was a natural walking down the runway, proud to show off his new outfits. They had a lot of different business's donate items that you could win by purchasing tickets for the raffle. I tried my best to win the mother/daughter manicure/pedicure spa package but another deserving mom & daughter won it. What a fun way to spend a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Thanks Steph!