I'd Support This Amendment

My sister sent me this in an email. I'm passing it along through my blog.

No one has been able to explain to me why young men and women serve in the U.S. Military for 20 years, risking their lives protecting freedom, and only get 50% of their pay on retirement. While Politicians hold their political positions

in the safe confines of the capital, protected by these same men and women, and receive full-pay retirement after serving one term. It just does not make any sense.

If each person who receives this will forward it on to 20 people, in three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one proposal that really should be passed around.

Proposed 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution: "Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States ."

Chick-Fil-A and Good Labs

Reece and I had lunch at Chick-Fil-A on Wednesday. There is one very near our house and we have it fairly often anyway, but we especially wanted to support them on Wednesday. There was a long line at the drive-thru, and it was busy inside, too. We'll be going again on August 1 to show our support for Chick-Fil-A, freedom of speech, and traditional marriage.

When our oldest son was little, he called Chick-Fil-A "Chick-A-Flick." He's 41 now. Yeah, we've been Chick-Fil-A fans for a long, long time. :o)

I didn't have to have a blood transfusion on Thursday. That was a surprise to the staff at the BMT clinic, but not to me. I really felt pretty good all week, and usually when my blood count is low I am so tired I can barely function. My hemoglobin actually went up a little bit over the week. I hope that continues!

And my blood sugars are going down. The insulin is really helping. Once I get off the steroid (prednisone, 10 mg every other day) it should be even better. Hey, I might get healthy yet.

Have a great weekend, dear readers.

Cousins and Mini Golf

Jason emailed some pictures of Lily and Jacob playing miniature golf with some of their cousins. It looks like they had fun!

That's Sophie and Hugh in the front, Jacob and Lily (both in black) in the middle, and Finn in the back in yellow.














I love Lily's outfit--black dress with cowboy boots. :o) The girl has some Texas flair.














Jake is so serious about things. I wonder if he made a hole in one?

Front to back: Sophie, Finn, Hugh, Jacob and Lily.

Thanks for sharing the photos, Jason. I love them!

Beautiful Monday

Last week when I was at the BMT clinic, my doctor said that I'd probably need blood this week since my red blood cell count was low (but not low enough for a transfusion that day). But I have felt pretty good since then, so maybe I won't have to have the transfusion on Thursday after all.

We can't figure out why my red blood count is low. I don't seem to have internal bleeding, but my body is not making red cells as it should. My blood sugar readings are improved, so maybe the high sugars had something to do with it?

After one week at home, Ron is once again out of town. This time he will be gone for nearly 3 weeks. Too long. :o( We talk to him every night, but that's not the same.

Reece and I went to Gran's this afternoon. We made her some lunch, and while she and Reece played in her bedroom, I baked her some brownies. We brought a few home for the little girls.

They were testing the smoke alarms and fire extinguishers at Gran's apartment complex today, and Reece was fascinated when the alarms kept going off. He played "fire alarm" for the rest of the afternoon with Aubrey.

I enjoyed the day. I watched Josh and the kids swim and play. The hummers were very active, chasing each other around and visiting the feeders every few minutes. The puppies came outside and loved on me, sitting on the patio with me for awhile. Our trees are full of locusts, and every now and then they would all start their loud "singing." I love that sound; it reminds me of childhood summers.

In the evening, Josh grilled some steaks and Cyrise made salad and baked potatoes to go with them. Yum! I'm hoping lean red beef will help me make red cells. While he was cooking, Josh had his Iphone on the Kicker, playing the Vince Gill channel on Pandora. My kind of music. :o)

After dinner, Reece and I went for a walk. I haven't been walking with him for over a year, since the cauda equina syndrome began. We wanted to look for deer and fireflies. We saw two deer, a male and a female, but it must be too late in the year for fireflies. My lower body is still numb and tingly, but I'm able to walk fairly well, and had no trouble on our walk.

The deer were so pretty. When we saw them we stopped and stood very still. The male saw us and stared and stared, trying to figure out what we were. Then he started walking toward us! He would walk a little toward us, then stop and look for awhile. One of us moved, and they were gone in a flash. Reece was delighted that we saw them. Me too!

It was time for the girls to go to bed when we got back. I read to them and sang them some songs. Reece has been staying up later, so he is in here with me, having a snack and watching cartoons.

Happy Birthday, Ahlyssa!

It was so nice to have you and your family here with us.

Lys, you are such a sweet, beautiful young lady. We are so proud of you and love you very, very much.

I hope you are having a super birthday today with Kayleigh and your Spring cousins. :o)

Enjoy your cake and ice cream (but don't eat any pine nuts)!

Lyssa shared her birthday celebration with her brothers and sister. Since we were not together for any of their birthdays, we thought we would celebrate them all at once.

Grandkids Everywhere!

Our oldest son, Jason, and his family are here this week. They arrived yesterday morning, and it's so wonderful to have them here.

The kids are growing up; both Caelen and Ahlyssa are tall and slender. Both of them are taller than me (but I'm only 5'2", so that's not hard to do). Lily and Jacob have grown, too, but not as obviously as the older two.

They have spent lots of time in the pool so far. I asked if there was anything special they would like to do while they are here, but they are only interested in swimming right now.

Of course Reece and the little girls are thrilled to have their cousins here. When Reece woke up this morning, the first thing he said was, "I have to go see if my friends are up."

I was outside most of the day, watching them in the pool. It was amazing to see 7 of them in the pool (Gina was in her little Jenny Jump-up, hanging on the grape arbor). The older kids are so wonderful with the little ones. They all had a ball and were worn out yesterday and today.

Josh and the guys grilled chicken, bratwurst and riblets for dinner tonight. Cyrise made rice and mixed cauliflower and broccoli, and I baked a Marie Callendar razzleberry pie. Everything was delicious. Last night we gave the kids hot dogs, and the rest of us had food from our favorite Thai place. Tomorrow they are planning to have kalbi, which we have every time Jason comes to visit. :o)

Kelly is coming to see everyone tomorrow, too. I'm looking forward to having all three of our children here, at least for a few hours.

It's been a long day and I am tired, but I am going to bed feeling very happy.

Mom and the Little Green Machine

(My mom with Reece and Camryn. She's so cute).

The weekend has gone by so quickly.

We watched the kids yesterday while Josh and Cyrise went to the river. I went to Mom's alone and vacuumed her living room in preparation for spot cleaning it today. I got her a Little Green Machine for pet spots. She forgets to take Teddy out as often as she should, which results in pee spots on the carpet.

Ron used the machine on a few spots last week, and I got up most of the rest of them today. I'm really pleased with how well it works. Some of the spots were pretty old, and her carpet is light colored, but it took most of them out. I'm going to borrow the machine to clean some spots on my carpet.

Mom never wants to sit by and relax when someone is cleaning. She wanted to help. It made her shoulders sore, but she was so happy. I was watching her as she sat on the carpet and cleaned some spots and it reminded me of how she was when we were growing up. She always worked so hard, and took pleasure in keeping her house clean and neat. I had a lump in my throat, watching her today.

The carpet looked so much better when we finished. Mom exclaimed over and over about what a good job the little machine did. It doesn't take much to make her happy. :o)

Reece, Sugar Levels and Ron

Reece and I slept in this morning. I love to watch him sleeping; he's so beautiful.

Yesterday I had my appointment with the diabetes specialist. She was alarmed by my blood sugar levels and said I should have come in much sooner. But she got right down to business and figured out a schedule for my insulin. Nothing I was doing was helping because it simply wasn't enough, given the situation I'm in with the prednisone and other drugs.

I started with the new insulin last night. We hadn't been able to get my levels out of the 350 to 450 range. But this morning before breakfast my reading was 145. Still a little high, but much better than before. Thank goodness!

Ron will be home from Colorado this afternoon. Reece and I will go to Gran's in a few minutes, then we'll pick him up at the airport. Reece has missed his Papa. Me too.

This and That

Ron is out of town this week. It doesn't feel right when he is not here.

I found the cutest little cabinet on Craigslist last week. Ron, Reece and I went and got it on Sunday afternoon. I love pretty hand painted furniture. The lady who sold this said she got it in South America "many many years ago." It has a few little dings that need to be touched up, but otherwise it's in good shape. The pic gives you an idea of how it looks.

I went to the BMT clinic this morning. My labs were okay; I didn't need any transfusions. I lost another 3 pounds and am down to 114 lbs., but my doctor (Dr. O) doesn't seem too worried about it. Dr. W suggested Carnation Instant Breakfast. He said he adds ice cream or fruit or peanut butter to his.

Dr. W also gave me some great news. Dr. B is back! He hasn't come back to work yet, but he is out of Afghanistan. Thank you to all who prayed for him. He will be back at the hospital in mid-August.

Reece went to Academy with his parents last night. Here he is, trying out the football pads. I guess that's his football face. :o)

We've been getting a little rain the past few days. We are so thankful for that, even though it puts a damper on the swimming. Right now the pool needs to be brushed and cleaned.

Hope you are all having a great week!

Holiday Pics

We had an enjoyable Fourth of July. It was just Josh and his family, Gran and me and Ron.

We had ribs, corn on the cob, red skinned potato salad and this flag cake for dessert. I started to cut into the cake, then remembered I wanted to take a picture. Cyrise made it, and the little girls helped put the fruit on it. It's a Fourth of July tradition. :o)

The kids enjoyed the pool all day long, especially when Great Gran and I got in with them.

Josh and Cyrise took Reece to see the fireworks display in Schertz. The little girls didn't go; they were already in bed and asleep by 8:30.

Reece loved seeing them and told us all about it this morning.

I sat out on the patio, listening to music and enjoying the breeze. We have several hummingbirds visiting the feeders, and I loved watching them. Ron joined me there for awhile. We could hear the booms from the fireworks show.

It was a pleasant holiday.

Happy Independence Day, America!

Hope you're all having a wonderful 4th of July!

God bless the USA.

picture source

Katy and Sister

Josh and I took Sister and Katy to the vet this morning. Their rabies vaccinations had expired and I didn't realize it. They got an exam, some other shots, a heartworm test and had their nails clipped. They were so good, except for a little pulling and trying to see what the vet was doing to the other one while waiting their turn.

I really like our vet. He has been taking care of the girlie dogs ever since we got them, so he knows them and treats them wonderfully. He's the one who got them through their bout with parvo a couple of years ago.

They both rode in one kennel in the back of the pickup, and were so interested in all they could see. They don't get out much, so they're always excited to go somewhere.

The top picture was taken right after they came to us. A friend had found them on the road with their golden retriever mother. After our big black lab died, I told Ron that if we ever got dogs again, I wanted two of them. When K posted that was trying to find homes for them, I told her I wanted them, and she gave them to me. They stole our hearts immediately. All of us love them, including our grandchildren. They are family. :o)

Here are my big girls today. Katy's on the left, Sis on the right. Ron and I bathed them yesterday and they feel so soft and silky, but Sister already has mud on her leg and chest.