Update

I have been off for just a little while. My poor d-i-l to be fell and cracked her head as she was getting out of the shower. She received four stitches to the back of her head. She had slight bleeding on the brain, but thankfully it stopped rather quickly. She's been having headaches since it happened (which was last saturday)and is to be expected, but they got worse on wednesday. I got her back to the ER and it was due to dehydration. I have her staying with me now, and we have gotten her well hydrated. She is off the major pain killers and only taking the ibuprofen. We are having her wedding shower this saturday and one of my friends told her she had to get better or I was going to have all the fun opening her presents and not her. She said, "I'll get better, I wanna open them!" Please pray for her continued recovery. Thanks and God bless Karen

Track Meet

Joseph's track meet. I got a couple of pictures of him doing the triple jump and the long jump. Just thought I'd share.

First try at the triple jump...they get 3 all together


Landing on the third jump. Too many people in the way to get a pic of jump 2


On Your mark...ready for long jump


Running for the long jump


In the Air...


The landing!!!

He didn't place in this meet, but he makes good pictures!!!

Oh No!!!

Well, I couldn't believe it when it happened, but my Mustang Convertible got hit by a pickup truck last week. My car was parked at a new home subdivision. I was checking out the model homes. The realtor and I had just walked into the model home, when she said, "oh, he just hit your car!" My heart sunk. I walked out and the builder had been in a hurry and said he wasn't used to cars being there and just didn't look. He hit at the edge of the driver door and the quarter panel. Thank God I was not in the car at the time. The driver of the truck however, didn't have insurance. So, I had to turn it into my insurance. It's now at the body shop and they told me yesterday that it would be done by February 11th. So, now I'm in a rental (which is nice, by the way) until then. It's a 2008 Grand Prix with all the bells and whistles. So, there's more than one silver lining to this story. One...I have insurance and that's why we have it. Two...I've been given a nice car to drive while mine is being fixed. Three...No one was hurt!(that's actually #1) Four...After the accident and I talked to him, He was amazed that I wasn't yelling, screaming or showing any kind of anger. I feel that maybe my reaction was a witness to him in some way. Bible says God can use anything. How about a situation that could have been volatile? After he hit my car, he was very apologetic and sorry. If I had yelled, screamed, or been angry, all that would have done is made him feel worse than he visibly already did. And what would that have accomplished? I'm not saying that I didn't want to cry over my poor car, but I tried to keep a cool head. Well, that's my story for now.

HAPPY 20 YEARS TODAY

Today marks a very special day for me and my husband. We have been married 20 years!! I have been anxiously awaiting this day since new years. It feels like Christmas to me. Brian and I met in an unusual way. I lived in a suburb outside Chicago and Brian grew up in a farm town in Pennsylvania. My older brother John went in to the Army in July of 1985, and was to do his basic training in Ft. Dix, New Jersey. Brian also enlisted and was sent to Ft. Dix at the same time. They met during basic and teamed up together to help each other make it through basic training. Since Brian grew up on a farm, summer vacations were spent working the farm. He became very homesick, and was not receiving any mail from home. He was thinking of leaving, but my brother asked my dad and I to send him some mail. He needed some encouragement. So, that began our relationship. We started writing letters in August of 1985 and continued on through his AIT in Maryland and his overseas assignment in Germany. Then he said he was coming home on leave for 30 days. I had never even spoken to him on the phone, but as soon as I knew he was coming home, I arranged for 30 days off from work. I flew to Pittsburgh airport to spend two weeks with him at his family's home. Our planes came in the same day, but mine was first. I met his entire family before I "met" him. His plane came in a couple of hours later. It was like a movie...the second I saw his face..for real..not a picture..I was hooked. After only 3 days of being together he asked me to marry him. Obviously, my answer was yes! At the end of the two weeks, we both flew to Chicago to spend another two weeks with my family. We bought my engagement ring and he picked out what he wanted in a wedding ring..and that started the wedding planning. Now all we needed was a date. He had 6 months left in Germany, but didn't know his exact leave date. As soon as we knew, we scheduled the wedding for two weeks after he came home. January 23, 1988. The rest now is our history. I have been blessed with an awesome husband. Sure there have been a few rocks in the road, but we're the better for them now and they have made us stronger. We have been blessed with 3 remarkable sons as well. Our oldest son is now engaged to a precious girl Ashlynn. I pray for them to have as wonderful a marriage as we have. Not that it's all sunshine and roses, for anyone who lives in the real world knows that it's not. But, to have a partner that you can lean on or to be the post for when things don't go as planned. For when the world comes crashing down. But then also to have the partner that is their to rejoice with you when all is right.

Happy New Year

This new year started out a little differently than in years past. No party to go to and didn't stay at home. (At least I didn't) My son Brian had to go back to base. So, Brian, Ashlynn, Joseph and I piled(literally)in my car(Mustang) and headed for San Angelo. We left on Monday Dec.31st. We arrived around 9pm got checked into our motel on base. Boy was is COLD there. We get to the room and the magnetic card key doesn't work. Oh, how I miss real keys!!! We had to drive back over to the main registration for the motels and get the "key" to work. He apologized and asked if we would like a room with a "real" key, they were having troubles with the new magnetic system that they had. I, of course, said yes. Well, in doing so they upgraded our room. Instead of a room, we had a suite. It was a living room, kitchen, bedroom and bath. Very nice, too bad it was only one night. We stayed up till midnight, said Happy New Year!! Called my Husband, Jeremy called me and we wished each other Happy New Year! We took Brian to his room, told him goodnight and we all went to bed. We got up slow, picked up Brian, ate breakfast in town at IHOP. WOW!! was it crowded! After we ate we took Brian back to base, said our goodbyes and started the 7 hour journey back home. We arrived back home at 7:45pm. It was a fun trip, but would have liked to stay longer.
The Happiest of New Years to all of you! I will be praying for all of you to be in God's Will as well and to be open to hear from Him. Love to All Karen

The Best Present Ever....

Christmas was a joy with our family this year. My dad, a long distance truck driver was able to be home. My grandmother from Indiana flew down to Texas for her first visit, and I went out to San Angelo & brought Brian Jr. home for the holiday. That was a trip in itself. If you read the last blog you know it was a turn around trip. We got to San Angelo around 8pm and left again around 9pm. We made it to my mom's south of Livingston around 5am. Oh were we ever tired. We slept about 4 hours, got up again, so that Brian could visit with his Great-Grandma. We stayed until 1, then went home where we thought we were going to get some more sleep. WRONG! Jeremy wanted me to take him to the bank and to the mall. He said Josh was bringing his check and would be there about 3:30. It was then 2:30 and I didn't think one hour would be enough so I waited for Josh to show up. He didn't get there till 5:30.:( I took Jeremy over to the bank and mall, then had to get ready for my husbands work Christmas Party. It was at 7:30. Needless to say, I was more of a zombie than anything else. I ate some, but didn't socialize like I normally would have. I fell into bed, FINALLY, around 10pm. The rest of the weekend was active, but not too bad. I had to work for half day on Christmas Eve. I had been trying to find a puppy for Joseph for Christmas. Since he had lost his lab two weeks ago. I ran into a friend at the mall and she new someone that had one little puppy left. So after work on Christmas Eve, I went and picked him up. Then we had to sneak little puppy in the car all the way to Grandma's house hoping he would make a sound and if he did, Joseph wouldn't hear it. He was a good Christmas Present and stayed quiet the entire trip to Grandma's. We snuck him into Grandma's room where he stayed until the next morning. It was hard staying out of that room too!! He's so cute you can't help but play with him. After all presents were opened, I told Joseph I forgot one of his presents in the bedroom and I didn't wrap it. He was wearing a Santa hat so I asked to borrow it to hide the present in it. I came out with puppy in hat. Joseph looked and instantly had tears in his eyes. (and so did mom and gram and great gram) He didn't hardly put him down the rest of the day. He named him Buddy. Here is a picture of Buddy as we came home from Gram's house. He is a mix of Chihuahua, Beagle and weenie dog.

And so it begins....

Last night (Wednesday 12/19) My mom and I drove to Hobby Airport to pick up my Grandmother. She was flying in from Indiana. It was her first flight. They left the Louisville airport on time, then went to Birmingham where they were delayed about 40 minutes. Then on in to Houston. This is also her first trip to Texas. After she arrived we made our way through baggage and on the way home. (my house) When we got there, there were several hugs and hellos to be had. Nanny had not seen my boys in awhile. They have grown a lot since then. We ate some pizza, showed her around my house and then off she and my mom went to mom's house. They didn't get home till eleven or so. And now it's my turn to be the traveller. I'm leaving this afternoon to go get Brian from San Angelo. He told me that since he's not the driver, he can leave after classes today. Anyone who is driving their own vehicle, has to wait until 6am Friday. So, 7 hours out there to get him and turn around and drive 7 hours right back. I'm tired just thinking of it, but I'm pretty excited to see him and to have him home for Christmas. And so the journey begins....I'll try to post again before Christmas, but if not Merry Christmas to all who reads this. Here is one of my favorite Christmas cartoons. Enjoy

It's Christmas!!!

Here it is, December 18th !!! 6 more days till Christmas!!! I remember being really excited as a child and not being to go to sleep. The excitement is a little different now. Instead of waiting for "Santa" and what I would get in the morning...Now I'm excited about my son coming home, my Grandmother coming down from Indiana, and what I'm giving to the ones I love. To see their faces when they open the gifts. I'm also excited about having a "daughter" for this Christmas. (Brian & Ashlynn are getting engaged!!!) I had so much fun shopping for a girl! I hope she likes what I got for her. I've been trying to pay attention when we've gone shopping. Making mental notes of what she says she likes, wants or needs.
On a sad note, Joseph lost his dog this past Saturday(15th). We were out at my parents house, in the country. All the dogs have the run of the property. Her house is down a dirt road. There are only 7 houses on this long road. Someone drove past and hit Gracie. They didn't even stop to let us know. My dad saw her lying down and the other dogs around her. He told Joseph and they went out to see if it was Gracie, and it was. She was scratched up quite a bit, and she couldn't walk. I didn't think there was anything we could do for her, but Joseph was quite upset and begged us to take her to the vet to check her out. My husband, dad and Joseph went to the vet. They took x-rays and determined that her back legs were both out of the sockets. There was a possible surgery, but no guarantees it would work. Then, if it did work, it would be months of rehab afterwards. The vet recommended that the best for all would be to put her down. Joseph went back in the room with Grace, loved on her for awhile and said his goodbyes to her. It was precious and awful all at the same time. Joseph didn't want to leave her there, so my dad said we'd bring her home to bury her on the property, so he would know where she was. He has asked if he could get another dog. So we've been looking for a small, female puppy. We may have found one. A man here said he had a chihuahua mix at his deer lease, and if one was a female he'd bring it down on Friday. I will take her to my mom's house and she will keep her till Christmas. I really hope he would like a small dog. Gracie was a yellow lab mix. We just really don't want another large dog in the house.
As for now until Christmas....like all of you, I'm going to be really busy. I've got to finish house cleaning, Grandma comes in on Wednesday evening:) Mom and I will be getting her at the airport. Then on Thursday afternoon, Ashlynn and I leave to get Brian Jr. and bring him home. We will get home on Friday afternoon. Saturday I've got baking to do, Sunday we have church and a Christmas party in the evening. Christmas Eve, I'll work half a day and then head to mom and dad's house. Busy Busy...but fun and so looking forward to it.
I wish all of you a Merry Christmas!!! Enjoy the day and the family and Remember that if not for Jesus it would just be a day on the calendar!

Catch up

Wow! I couldn't hardly believe that it's been almost a month since I posted something. We have been busy. After Brian's graduation we got ready for Thanksgiving. We drove to Lawton, OK. It's about 7 hours from here. It was such a wonderful weekend. They made some good food. John deep fried two turkeys.
I have two brothers. One older, one younger. I have not been close to either of them for some time. Brian and I moved to Texas 10 1/2 years ago from the Chicago area. My younger brother, Bob, still lives there with his family. John moved back to the Chicago area at the same time we moved away. The distance seemed to affect the relationships. The phone calls became less frequent, however unintentional it may have been. John, then rejoined the Army. He is now stationed at Ft Sill in OK. The time spent with my brother John and his wife Lori was good. John married Lori after we moved to Texas, so we've never had a really good chance to know each other. Lori and I went shopping the day after Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time. We did a lot of talking and shopping and just had a fun girl day. I got most of my Christmas shopping done that day. It was such a blessing for me to spend that time with her. The day we left, it started to snow. It was fun to see it again, just glad I don't have to live in it any more. We stopped for the night at my Mom's house in Shepherd, TX. (just south of Livingston) As soon as we got there, I brushed my hair, put on some make-up and went with her to a Christmas ornament exchange with the ladies of her church. That was fun. Some of those ladies are just too much!! We drew numbers and then picked a gift or stole someone else's gift. There were about 30 ladies there. It went on for some time, but oh what fun it was! We spent the night with my parents and on Sunday helped my Mom deck her halls. We put up the tree and decorated it. Since I had helped her, she said she would come to my house and help me with my tree. She came down on Wednesday and we got my tree up and decorated. I think this will be a new tradition with us. It was fun decorating our trees together. We ended the evening with some Mexican food for dinner.
In other news... My oldest son, Brian has proposed to his girlfriend Ashlynn. They plan to be married on May 24, 2008. I am happy for them. They make a good pair. I have from now until then to wrap my brain around the idea of being a "mother-in-law". You never hear good things about a "mother-in-law". I hope to change this with Ashlynn. We have a good friendship so far.
We have joined a new small group at our church. Small group is another name for Bible Study. We do weekly at home bible studies in place of most Sunday school classes. We have gotten into one that really seems to fit us. In previous groups, my husband is usually only one of a couple of men that attend. And he really needed one with more men. Each member of the group has something we can relate with. One mom is starting to home school her boys...been there. Another couple is having real trouble with their son...OH have I been there!! Another has a sibling that will be having a valve replacement on their heart... My niece Ashley has gone through this several times. And yet one more couple has a teenager that has moved in with them and relating with her and her parent...again we've had some teenage boys stay with us when they were having troubles with their parents... Is God all over this or what?!! It has been a blessing to us to get to know these families and to be apart of everything that is going on..good and bad..and to see God work in all situations.
God Bless You
Karen

Graduation

It's been more than a week since I've posted, but I've been enjoying visiting my son for a long weekend in San Antonio. He graduated from Lackland AFB Basic Training on Nov. 2ND. Ashlynn (girlfriend) and I drove out on Halloween night. We got to the motel around 8pm. The morning started at 5:15 am. We got ready and were on base at 7:15 for a family briefing at 7:30. At 9:00 we went outside for the Airman's run. It was a 1.5 mile run that went past the families. We then had time to kill until 1pm when the coin ceremony was to begin. The coin ceremony is where they give the airman a coin that signifies the change from trainee to airman. We had perfect seats in the bleachers. He was directly in front of us. After the ceremony we spent the rest of the day together. We had lunch, went bowling, had supper and just hung out together. Friday morning brought the graduation. 9am we were in the bleachers at the parade field. They were in their dress blues. The marching past the bleachers of people and officers signified their graduation as well as taking their final oath. It was impressive. Friday we were able to go off base. Brian had been so tired from the 6 1/2 weeks we went to the motel and just let him rest, watch TV and talk about his experiences. Saturday we had the entire day from 9-7:30. He's been very hungry, so he asked to go to a buffet. We found a Golden Corral off 410. He ate until he was tired of putting food in his mouth. I don't know where he put it all!!! My husband, Brian, and Sons Jeremy & Joseph came Saturday morning. We visited for awhile, then went to the Alamo and Riverwalk. On Sunday we went to church with him. It was a little different, but we enjoyed it. After church we had to hit the buffet one more time. Later we walked around the Parade field and looked at all the old air planes from times gone by. Joseph really wanted to go bowling, so we did that again too and had a lot of fun. It was really a great family time. It was hard to say goodbye on Sunday evening. We had to say goodbye around 6pm. Then drove home. He left for Goodfellow AFB the next morning at 3:45 am. (yuck) I got a call from him this morning and he loves the routine of the new base. He's says it's so much different than that of basic training. Now just counting down the days until he can come home for Christmas!!! :)

What A Weekend

What a weekend I had!! It was wonderful. I spent saturday with my mom shopping and having a good time at DeerBrook Mall. I was looking for an outfit for my son Brian's Air Force Graduation. Found some good deals at JCPenney. Then went looking for shoes. Payless really didn't have what I was looking for, so on we went. We left the mall and decided it was lunch time. We went over to Red Lobster, mmmmm, the Talapia was excellent, and the lunch portion was just the right amount. After lunch we hit Home Depot and found some beautiful mums. I got 2 yellow, red and orange mums and some Pansies. Now back to the shoe hunt. Oh, but wait, lets run in Wal-mart real quick. We looked at a couple of things and then left. Only bought 2 25cent sodas on the way out. Now over to Kohl's for the shoes. They had several pairs, and most on sale. Got a real cute brown pair, and comfortable too. By then it was close to 6pm, time to end the day.

Sunday I got up and went to church. We were having something different. We have been doing a study on Faith In Action. So to finish up on this study on Sunday, we did service projects in place of regular sunday services. Our group picked up trash, trimmed trees and bushes, mowed and weed eated along one of the city feeder roads. We worked for about 3 hours and picked up loads of trash. It is unbelieveable what people will toss out onto the road. After 3 hours of bending and picking up trash, I was starting to feel it in my legs and back. However, I bought the pretty flowers the day before and they needed to get in the ground. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get to it before wednesday. (We leave for San Antonio for Graduation) So, now I'm already a little sore, so why not make it worse. It wasn't a simple task of just putting some mums in the ground. The flower beds had leaves and pine needles covering them. So get the rake, rake 'em out, pull the little weeds that popped up, then plant the flowers. By the time I was finished (4:30) I was sore everywhere!!! I went and soaked in a hot tub with some lavender bubble bath. ( Best part of the day) Today I can tell you that I'm not moving very quickly. I guess that means I'd better do more exercising so as not to be so sore when doing yard work. Or at least to not do an entire day of yard work. But the bright side is I have some pretty color in the front yard and it was a gorgeous day to be outside. I did enjoy it, even if my muscles are screaming now!!!! Thankfully, with my job, I get to sit at a desk :)

Hope all you had a wonderful Fall weekend too.........
Karen

Grateful

Grateful may sound like an odd title for this post, but it actually fits. Last friday, while no one was home, our house was robbed. "They" broke in from behind the garage, used a screwdriver to wedge open the inside door. Then proceeded to take things from the house that could be easily pawned. They only took about $1000 worth of stuff. Things that can be replaced. We filed a police report, just in case anything were to turn up. I suspended service to my sons' cell phone. Brian had the insurance coverage, so for the $50 deductible, it will be replaced. And, since we reported it stolen, if anyone tries to get new service on it, it will be confiscated. Needless to say, every door is now double checked to make sure all deadbolts are locked before leaving. Yes, I am upset, but also grateful that no one was home and no one came in on anybody while they were there. You never know how an intruder would act if "caught in the act". I am normally home around 2pm, but this day I had a hair appt. My sons got home together around 4:30 and I came in around 5. I do believe God was watching out for us during all this. Please pray for those that did this. That God will meet the need in their lives.

A Beautiful Day

I must say, from the moment I went outside today, It was hard pressed to keep me there. It was a gorgeous, Autumn day here in SE Texas. It was about 64 degrees when I left for work. I work in a small office and we left the door open and the window up until about 1pm. That's sayin' something for here. We don't easily turn off our air conditioners! I do have a convertible and as soon as I was off work, the top went down(on the car). It has been a beautiful day to be outside enjoying. And it's not over yet. I'm about to leave for my mom's house, with 2 thirteen year old boys. She's about an hour north of me. It should be fun for the end of a great day.

"This is the day that the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalms 118:24

One Proud Mama

Let's start with my oldest son Brian. He graduated h.s. in May 2007. He is now in the Air Force. I can never remember the title of his job, but it is something in communications. He is currently in Basic Training in San Antonio. He is scheduled to graduate from BMT on November 2.
My second son, Jeremy, has been homeschooled since 7th grade.(y'all know different kids need different things) He has been doing so well, that this wonderful 16 year old boy, finished his studies and graduated over the weekend. October 7th to be exact. He got a job over the summer which was originally going to be a summer job. But he excelled so much in this job, they were planning to keep him part time through the school year. Now that he has graduated, he's working full-time. He's doing such things like welding, painting, metal cutting, using a forklift and so on...He plans to save his money to pay for the Tech school. What a kid/Man he has grown up to be!!!
My third son, Joseph, not to be left out, is certainly another source of pride. He is also growing into a special young man. He has become the "bicycle fix-it guy" in the neighborhood. He seems to always be fixing someones bike. Putting chains back on, adding brakes or adjusting brakes. I guess he's got the mechanical gene just like his brothers and dad.
I was told at church the other day in the jr. high youth, that Joseph lifts his brother Brian up in prayer every Sunday, to help him labor through his basic training. I work in the high school group, so I don't know what happens in the jr. high. It's good to know how much they really love and care about each other, even when it's left unsaid most of the time.

On another note... I got a call from Brian on Saturday!!!! It made me feel so good to hear from him. He's doing well, a bit home sick, but good. It's so hard having him gone and not being able to at least call him. Writing letters is okay, but nothing like hearing his voice!!!