I AM A GRAND MA

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY
SAVANNAH MARIE!!!
She has finally arrived - 6lbs 5ozs - 19 inches long
Born July 13 2010 at 9:24am
She is absolutely beautiful!!!!

Here she is with her Mama - my daughter in law
Katherine - what a beautiful Mom and obviously Savannah's beauty comes from her!!

Here is my son Eric - holding his precious daughter
That is the picture that made me cry - such a precious moment
so full of life and love
I am excited for all of them!!!
Thanks for sharing this moment with me - I know there will
be so many more pictures and moments but for now
that is it - We are Truly BLESSED~!~
Hug Those You Love - Every Moment Is A Blessing!

SUMMER NEWS

HELLO SUMMER TIME!!!
I have been wondering if keeping a blog is a smart thing for me.
I have lost so much motivation to keep up. I have wanted to write about things
happening here - but getting my behind to actually sit and type out an entry
seems to be a major endeavor.Anyway - I am here now - so let me catch you all up on what is going on.....

Some GREAT news is that I am finding some dear friends that I have lost touch
with over the last 20 years - every once in a while I put type in their names
in a Google search just to see if I could find them but alas it
was not to be.....then on face-book I tried to do a search and slowly but surely I
am finding these wonderful friends/family once again and it really has
done wonders for me...I am finding that there were a lot of missing pieces to my life until I started finding
these dear friends.

The first friend that I found is sweet sweet Lauren - she was my roommate in college.
WOW it is wonderful to connect with her - she could always make me smile and is just
beautiful on the inside and outside - just so sweet...Golly I missed her.
Slowly but surely we are catching up on news--her emails sound just like her.
I am so determined to NEVER lose touch with her again or any of my dear friends.
I am VERY thankful for the internet - through it I have connected my past with
my present - and it is the perfect match!!! It feels like I am becoming more
like myself...I will write about my other friends in my next entries - I am trying to save topics to discuss so that I have at least that motivating factor helping me out.

It is typical SUMMER weather here - temps in the triple digits - so the a/c and I have
become really good friends - just another reason to stay inside.
I see a new lung specialist towards the end of this month - my other doctor
was slowly trying to get out of the WC business - he has turned his business into
educating senior citizens in preventive care - running a lot of community programs.
He barely had any more office hours - and trying to please everyone in this situation was just not working out for me - so now I have to start again.
Oh well - typical state garbage!

Any day now I am going to be a grandma - now that is exciting!!!
We know the baby is a girl---I am so excited -- I just wish I could be there..
but they are in Japan. But 6 weeks after the baby is born they are coming back
to the states - my son is heading for Georgia - so at least he will be closer to home.
I will have plenty of time to spoil and enjoy every second of it~~
Allen thinks if he just ignores it he will not become a grandpa because he is
claiming that he is too young - OMG ready or not - here she comes....LOL!

I have been keeping very busy with staying creative - I am still playing with
digital painting---and I am improving upon my zentangles - it really does
relax me - feel free to check out my art blog - FINDING MYSELF - and checking
out my art - it makes me feel like I am doing something good...and not
just wasting away!!!

Allen has been keeping busy with working on lawn mowers and small engine repairs.
Now that he can do for HOURS and HOURS...he gets into the zone and he just keeps busy.
Now he even has people from all over the place calling him to see if he can help them.
We are also talking about creating with gourds - dried up gourds - we have the tools,
we are just comparing prices right now of places that sell the gourds-because we
cannot find any that are local.
My hunnie wants to be creative with me - now how cool is that.
The daughter is working at her school job all summer and taking a couple
of classes also - she is loving it all - and she has a art exhibition coming up that will last
until the end of the year - WOW - I am truly impressed!!
She has created her own army of "monsters" - they are just so cute!!
They are out of clay - and just so very cute - she is also doing teddy bear jars - that
girl has such talent - I am in awe!!

As for the renovations - they are still going on -the roof was finished - the ceiling
in the garage and dinning room have been repaired - the dinning room has been
painted ( that room is our new computer/craft room).The walls in the hallway and entrance way have been repaired and painted.
We have the new kitchen cabinets - Allen is still staining them--and we have to move the
old computer/craft room to the new - but I have to wait until
Allen gets help because he hurt his back and he just cannot do it by himself!
So things are moving forward - but just a bit slower!!

Well for now - that is all the news fit to print -
I THANK YOU for stopping by
and staying in touch--leave a comment and let me know that you have stopped by - I look forward to hearing from you!
In the meantime - HUG those you LOVE - time is so short!
PEACE~!~

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

First I want to say HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to all the dads out there. I hope
your day is very special.
Today is a bit tough for me - the other day I was thinking of Father's Day coming up
and I picked up the phone to call my dad to ask about his plans - then it hit me - and I spent the next several hours just sobbing....God I miss him....
Here are a few words of wisdom for Father's Day that I happen to come across:

My Father

When I Was... 4 years old
"My daddy can do anything."

5 years old
"My daddy knows a whole lot."

6 years old
"My dad is smarter than your dad."

8 years old
"My dad doesn't know exactly everything."

10 years old
"In the olden days when my dad grew up, things were sure different."

12 years old
"Oh well! Naturally, Dad doesn't know anything about that.
He is too old to remember his childhood."

14 years old
"Don't pay any attention to my dad. He is so old-fashioned!"

21 years old
"Him? My Lord, he's hopelessly out-of-date!"

25 years old
"Dad knows a little bit about it, but then he should because he's been around for so long."

30 years old
"Maybe we should ask dad what he thinks."

35 years old
"I'm not doing a single thing until I talk to Dad."

40 years old
"I wonder how Dad would have handled it.
He was so wise and had a world of experience."

50 years old
"I'd give anything if Dad were here now so I could talk this over with him.
Too bad I didn't appreciate how smart he was.
I could have learned a lot from him."

~ Ann Landers ~
I LOVE You Dad and Miss You So Very Much
Hug Those You Love....Life Is Short~!~

THANKFUL THURSDAY-TIME FLYING BY

WOW - time is just flying by - where the heck did January go?
I feel like I am missing out on things because I just cannot account for the time
flying by and nothing is happening. GEEZ~!
Well since today is Thursday I thought I would do THANKFUL THURSDAY!
I have not done one of those in a very long time--

I am Thankful for:
1- My daughter - she has been voted in as a president of a club and is
doing a SUPREME job in running the club and making changes that are
attracting more people who are interested in joining...so proud of her.
College seems to agreeing with her - lol
2-I found my long lost BFF from college on facebook. Have been searching for
her for such a long time - trying to get friends to look for her
in the tri-state area and finally -after 20 years I have found her....
Love ya Lauren -
3-for my hunnie who shares my passion for football and we are
well stocked for some fun food and football craziness this sunday...
4-For my friends who have not given up on me--Thanks for always
staying in touch with me--through my highs and lows - and my
withdrawing from the internet from time to time--
THANKS from the bottom of my heart!!

I hope life is treating all of you GRAND--what are you thankful for?!
Until Next Time........PEACE~!~

HAPPY NEW YEAR - 2010

First and Foremost - HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE~!~
Now Yes I have dropped out of sight again - really not spending a lot of time on the computer
I really think I have become somewhat burnt out over it.
I did manage to blog on my artblog for 30 days straight and create a lil piece of art for 30 days straight - both in November - I enjoyed myself...then the holidays came on
much too fast.
It was my first holiday without my dad which saddened me a great deal - but I did manage
to be okay---better then what I thought--for me - this is good.
Just wanted to wish everyone - a wonderful New Year--did anyone make
any new year resolutions - it was almost two years ago that I woke up and said
NO MORE CIGARETTES - so that is something to celebrate this month.
My resolution is going to be DECLUTTER MY SURROUNDINGS/LIFE
and BE CREATIVE at least once a week--do something
to keep those creative juices flowing!
I am still living the life of a recluse - but I am getting better at accepting
that of myself instead of making myself feel terrible about it! This also is a good thing
for me!
I hope to put some pics up of stuff around here--hopefully soon!
In the meantime - I hope your New Year brings you much HAPPINESS and PROSPERITY..
and that LOVE guides your every step!
See you all soon-PEACE~!~

GIVEAWAY FOR A BIRTHDAY

I just wanted to share some fun news - let you all get in on the fun, Aimee from Creative Flutter, is having a giveaway celebrating her own birthday!!! There are some wonderful prizes listed - so check it out for yourself!!! You Never Know---Click Here-CREATIVE FLUTTER

TRYING TO MOVE FORWARD

Life has taken some turns for me - I have been gone for so long that I noticed not many of my friends keep a blog/journal any longer - that saddens my heart. I tried to keep up with everyone - but I let my personal life run my life--let me explain. I know that things will happen and one must take care of things - but those things were running my life….my mind became so consumed by “what will happen next” that I no longer had the capability to move forward with my own life - instead I worried about everything else. Am I making any sense yet? Last Thanksgiving things took a drastic change - my brother and the police found my dad kicking my mother (who was on the ground) and he was totally unresponsive. Dementia hit him hard and fast…yes there were little signs - but now he is not coming back--then my brother had to find a place that could take care of dad and a place were my mom can live on….he did and he had to make hard decisions. I had no part in any of it - but I am thinking now that it was probably a good idea that I did not --because I do not think I could have found the strength to find all the help and take care of all the personal things that my parents needed done. My brother is extremely emotionally detached…and he is able to keep a level head so much more easier then me. Now the months following - my mother would call daily crying to me how lonely she was - how much she wanted to be with my dad - how much no one loves her…and the list went on…every phone call I tried to reassure her that life was good and dad needed the special care and she was very well loved and cared about….that is when it hit me to send my mom flowers to just say I love you….so since she moved into this senior citizen complex - I have sent her flowers once a month. She is in heaven. Her phone calls are happy and excited because she received beautiful flowers and her “neighbors” became more friendly because they saw flowers always getting delivered. The last month of my dad’s life was very stressful for her - she noticed he was going down hill - his verbal skills were non-existent….he also was no longer responding to her like he was. Then he finally closed his eyes and God saw fit to give him his final peace. My mom misses him tremendously but she also said that she is blessed that the last few months of his life they were not in the same house - because she felt it would have been harder for her. I thought I would be able to handle things better - I am wrong. First I saw my mom after a couple of years of not being around (even tho we talk every week) and she looked VERY unstable on her feet….she could not sit still for more then 5 minutes …. Always seemed nervous. I felt so bad because I just do not know how to help her. I still send her flowers of course - but you can just tell that her life is so very empty without my dad. They made it to 60 years together - that in itself is a true blessing. I should feel blessed for all the wonderful memories I have of my dad - of all the help he gave me when I was a single mom - for everything…. But I feel such a loss that I cannot call him and just say “Hi Old Man-Watcha Doing?”. That leaves me sad and empty--and causes me to cry. I really miss him. At the funeral I felt very left out of everything…I guess that is my own fault…but very disconnected nonetheless. There was no warm feelings from my siblings - no support - nothing. I tried to reach out but I was quickly ignored in a snobbish way. I think my siblings would have preferred that I was not there--that I never showed up because I really did not belong. We were going to stay the night just to visit with everyone but I quickly got the feeling I was not welcomed…and so I have not heard from any of my family down there since then. My dad (I believe) was my connection with my siblings since he lived down near them and now that he is gone - there is no reason for them to stay in touch with me. I miss my dad - I knew it would be hard on me when he died - I knew that I would be the one who would have to problem of moving on--but God I miss him. I am trying to get back to what little a normal life I used to have…but I cannot seem to concentrate and I definitely do not have the motivation. I am slowly reaching out to peeps I used to visit in blog land, friends, etc…but it really is taking me a long time to feel OK to do any of that. Hopefully this is the start to something positive --at least something of a sign of moving forward. Thanks for stopping by - HUG those you LOVE - because Life is way too short~!~ PEACE!!!!