Random Chatty News

I haven't blogged in a while. It isn't because there isn't much going on in my life. There is always SOMETHING. I am just not very good at the written word. Here are a few things that are going on right now....

All of the fish died in the fish tank or as Becky put it, the pond turned over. Garry cleaned it all out and now we have new ones. Yay Garry!

A stray-ish cat adopted us. I suspect that it belongs to someone nearby but he likes us better. Grace named him Ken. His name was Princess first until we discovered she was a he.

I'm signed up to go on The Walk in the fall. Garry might go too and if he gets to go in the fall he gets to go before me. *Insert pouty face here* LOL

I'm reading a book that has zero value except for entertainment. It's called Many Bloody Returns. It is several short stories by lots of different people. I got it because I like Charline Harris (The Sookie Stackhouse Novels) and she is one of the writers. It is ok. Most of the other writers I found boring. But, I started it so I will finish it. That is how I roll.

I have been super busy at work. That is a good thing because I have to pay that guy named Bill. He takes all my money.

Garry took Spring Break off with Grace. They had a lot of fun together. We ended up going to the Indy Zoo and the Indiana State Museum on that Monday. Grace had a blast. It must have been the perfect weather because most of the animals were up and moving around. Especially the monkeys. They got a little X rated so we didn't hang out too long with them! After our long day we ate at the Golden Corral and I got food poisoning...good times.

Becky helped me out with Warriorette try-outs and I now have 14 girls on the team. We will see how many stick with it until the end of the year. Really I would have been thrilled with like 6 girls. I have my work cut out for me for sure.

Grace is going to dance again at Jean Marie's. I thought she would never want to do any kind of dance ANYWHERE after what happened at her last dance school. She is having a good time. She says it is a little too easy. I told her to just do her very best and make those easy moves as graceful as she can. She loves the tumbling class too.

The talent show that I organize at Grace's school is coming up. Grace wants to do a hip hop dance with her friends. She wants ME to teach them one. I know! Me!? Well, I will do my best and there is always youtube to help us out. The kids really have a good time and for some of them it is a really big deal, for some of the parents too. Some get a little "Stage Mom" on me. But, I don't do it for them I do it for the kids and they can get over it :)

Grace has a birthday coming up. She will be 9. That just blows my mind. I took her and some friends to the beauty college to get their nails done and their hair curled. Then I took them to J.C. Penney's and bought them all a matching shirt to wear to school. They had a good time. On her actual birthday we will take her out to eat somewhere that will sing to her and then go bowling. On the Sunday after her birthday we will have her skating party. If you count the treat bags at her school with everything else the child has 4 birthday parties. I know, it's all my doing. I take all the responsibilty for the spoiling!

We had to replace just about every stitch of spring and summer clothing Grace had. I got out her clothes from storage and NOTHING fit her from last year. Boo at that for sure! We went on a little shopping spree and got her all new clothes and shoes. Come to find out her shoes she has been wearing are a full size to small! She didn't say a word about it. Silly child. I don't feel so bad about it because she could have told me they were too small. I only felt bad when she was little and couldn't tell me I was cramming her foot into a too small shoe (yes I did that...Mother of the Year here). All is taken care of now and we should be good to go for both spring and summer.

A new store moved in next door to the salon. Nice right? No. Not really. You must be 18 to enter if that gives you any clue as to what they might be selling there. We all run to the window to see who is coming in and out. People sprint from their cars to the door of that store and from the store they clutch the tell all brown paper sacks to their chests and run equally fast back to their vehicles. If you have to feel quilty about going in and buying something from a store....maybe you shouldn't. Just saying.

Well that is all I have time for right now. I hope you have enjoyed my random thoughts.

Grace My Guest Blogger!!!!!

Grace dug on Andrew's 25 things and wanted to do her own. So here she is as my guest blogger.

1. I like to play my DS.
2. I like to watch cartoons.
3. I like to joke around with Dad.
4. I like when my friends come to my house and play littlest pet shop with me.
5. I like to blow bubbles.
6. I like to design clothes and color them.
7. I like to go to school and see my teacher Mrs. Sheren.
8. I like to play with my dogs.
9. I don't like to get out of bed in the morning.
10. I like to go to the zoo and see the lions and monkies.
11. I love to get letters in the mail.
12. Mario Cart is my favorite game to play on the Wii.
13. I watch Judge Judy with my Dad.
14. I play with my Webkinz on the computer.
15. I make sculptors out of clay and I like to draw.
16. Church camp is my favorite place to be.
17. My favorite places to eat are La Fiesta and Chuckie Cheese.
18. My favorite colors are pink and purple.
19. I like to listen to my IPOD.
20. My favorite songs are "So What", "The Hampster Dance", "The Fruit of the Spirit", and "Spider Webs".
21. I like to get my picture taken.
22. I like to go to the mall with my Mommy and get clothes.
23. I don't like Dad's spider.
24. I like to watch Animal Planet and Cartoon Network.
25. I like to dance and go to Warriorette practice with Mom.

Thank you Grace for your blog!!

She is so sensitive

Grace wears her heart on her sleeve. Anyone who knows her knows this about her. She can not stand for someone to be upset with her or not like her. She will do whatever it takes to make it right. If she and Tali have a fight it usually ends with Grace feeling bad and crying and Tali crying because Grace is upset and crying. There are certain songs that she just can't stand to hear because she says they remind her of animals that have gone to be with Jesus. Last year we lost Fez our dog and Sauce our cat. It was so very hard for her. She can't stand for you to even mention their names. Grace did some scrapping with her Aunt Becky and Tali and T-Bird had a picture of Sauce when he was a kitten (we got Sauce from them). Grace just about started to cry. It has been since July that he has been gone and she still gets all weepy about him. I have to admit I don't really know what to do for her sometimes. My first reaction is to try to nip it in the bud and tell her to stop. I know that sounds harsh but once she gets going there is no stopping the fountain from flowing. She just cries and cries. It usually works if I can get her to control herself quickly, but if she gets that first tear out it is all over. Waterworks here we come.
She feels SO much for other people and animals. If she see's someone walking in the cold she will comment on how she wishes they didn't have to. She may see a stray cat and worry about it for the rest of the day, whether or not it has food or shelter. She really freaks if she see's an ambulance. She just about can't take not knowing if the person is ok. It makes me wonder if she will be a nurse or maybe a teacher, someone who helps other people. She really cares. It is an amazing gift and I hope she never looses the passion and compassion she feels for other people and animals. She is a prime example of child like faith and trust and I hope she never looses that either. Yes she is so sensitive but though it is hard at times I wouldn't change her for the world.

First day of school

So today is the first day of school for Grace. She looked so cute this morning! She is getting to be such a big girl. She asked me this morning if 3rd grade will be hard. Of course I tell her no it will be a breeze and I hope that it is for her. I can't wait to pick her up from school and see how her day was. I miss her today. This house seems so quiet without her here. I am not one of those parents that can't wait for school to start to get rid of her. I enjoy her alot and I always look forward to picking her up and hearing all about everything she learned. She reminded me just a few days ago that in 8 yrs she will be driving! Wow. A glimpse into the future.

It's not fair!

It's not fair. The fair is in Bicknell. No really. It's not fair. Trying to explain to an 8 year old why we CAN'T go to the fair every single night is a chore. In the same breath I am trying to also explain to her why it is not ever a good idea to ride anything that has been put together in one after noon. I just don't trust those rides. For as much as it costs to ride those things in one day you can go to Holiday World and at least trust the rides your kid is on.

Don't get me wrong there are things I enjoy at the fair. I like to take Grace to see the animals and she loves it. I also like to see Grace's 4-H project on display. She is so proud and so am I! It warms my heart to see her little projects she has done all by herself.

When she gets big enough she really wants to take a pig to the 4-H fair. Can you imagine my little princess showing a big pig at the fair? Me either! Haley Wampler was telling her she should do it and that she was sure her dad wouldn't mind if she kept it with their pigs. Gee thanks Haley! An animal at the fair means a WHOLE week of living there day and night to take care of the animal. No thanks. Time will tell and I have learned to never say never.

She melts me

Yesterday Garry and I took Grace to Monroe City for his Mom to watch her while we went out to dinner. As we drove down the road I noticed how beautiful the sun was coming through the rain clouds. It was beaming down in streams of light. I told Grace to look and she said she thought it looked like God was coming to earth. I asked her what would happen if God came to earth. She said that all the people that believe in Jesus would go back home with him. She asked me if she would be able to go with him. I told her that God knows what is in her heart and that she didn't have to worry. I told her why people get baptized and told her that there was nothing magic in the water and she didn't have to worry about that right now. She seemed happy with that answer so I was a little surprised when all on her own she went to ask Seth if she could be baptized. I had a hunch that is what she and Tali wanted when they went on the mission looking for him. Grace was so honest and pure in her answers to Seth's questions that I kept tearing up and couldn't help smiling at the same time. She cracked me up when she called the valley between us and God the "sin pit". Lauren got to pray with her and she was so patient and loving.
I will never forget this special moment in Grace's life with such special people whom we both love. It is amazing that Grace gets to share this with her best friend Tali. It is also amazing that I get to share this with my best friend Becky.
As we left the church I gave Grace a hug and told her she was the reason I started coming to church. I felt like I wasn't equipped to answer the big questions and I wanted to raise her knowing the love of God. I wanted her to know the love of a church family and be involved with the community in a positive way. I got all of that and so much more. God is so good.

Turtles

Turtles, turtles everywhere! Since the floods I have seen a blue bazillion turtles here lately. I know that I'm not entirely crazy. Other people have seen them too. I have stopped twice to help a few of the little fella's across the road. Why did the turtle cross the road? He was stappled to the chicken. That one is an inside joke for Becky's Zach :) I love litle turtles and always wanted to have them as pets when I was a kid. I could never keep them alive though. R.I.P. all those brave little guys I captured when we lived in Carlisle out in the country. Grace and Tali will tell you if you see a turtle you have to poke it with a stick first to see if it will bite it. If it doesn't it isn't a snapping turtle. Wise words from the mouths of babes. When in doubt, poke it with a stick.

Yea church camp!

Grace just got back from church camp. She had an amazing time. I missed her while she was gone but I didn't cry this time :) The other two times she has been to camp I bawled like a baby. There are many reason why this time was much easier. Seth, Lauren and Anna happened to be there at this camp and that made it easier. Grace was so excited to go with Tali and that made it easier. I just felt a peace that she was going to be with people that love her and that she loves. I never got the chance to go to church camp when I was a child. I really feel liked I missed out on something really awesome. I don't want Grace to ever look back and feel like I held her back or became a helicopter mom hovering over her all the time. She is getting to be a big girl. She is already excited about next year and I love that she can't wait until she goes for a whole week. The truth is that I won't like it much. I don't like not having her around but no more tears because I know she is having a blast while she is gone. It takes special people to be camp counselors and camp staff (and camp pastors). Maybe some day when Grace is a teen she will get to be a counselor and share God's love with little kids. I can't wait to see what wonderful things she is going to do. Just like they learned at camp this week, she is such a light! Shine on baby Grace.

Thank heaven for little girls.

I wish I was as good with words as some of my fellow bloggers. Trust me, I have a ton of thoughts and ideas swimming around in my noggin. I just don't know how to get em out of the water! Pool check! Everyone out! It doesn't work for me that way. Oh well, here it goes anyway.
With Mother's day right around the corner I have thought a lot about what kind of Mother I am and what kind I would like to be. I love my Grace. She is my light and my life. I thank God for giving her to me even though at the time I was proclaiming to never want any ankle biters. He knows what is best :) I never had this yearning to have a child like a lot of other women. I could hold a baby and be like "yep nice baby" and then give it back unchanged. I wasn't one of those that just HAD to have children or my life would be over. Boy am I glad God knew better! Garry's dad had just died in a house fire and two weeks later we found out I was pregant. It was a surprise. I was pregnant when he died and didn't know it. I was so sick that day and thought it was just my migrains. It was little Grace letting me know she was there! She teaches me something every day. In a lot of ways she is so much like me. I see myself in so many things that she says and does. I think that may be why we clash so often. She is stubborn like me and she always has to get the last word in just like me. She is so much more sensitive than I am though. She wears her heart on her sleeve. In ways that is not such a good thing but in others it is wonderful. She cares so much. I admire that in her :) She is so brave and yet so tender at heart. She stands up to me and I know that is hard to do. I don't mean to be but sometimes I can be scary and let my temper go. Sometimes I am so hard on her and she still loves me no matter what. I hope that when she is older and looks back on her childhood she will feel loved and feel like she had a pretty good time. It is an amazing responsibility to raise a child and make sure they have morals and the love of Christ in their life. I pray that I am doing the right things by Grace and that she grows up a happy and healthy girl with confidence to do what she is called to do in life. I will always be there to pick her up in case she falls (or runs her swing into a tree). I will be there to support her and guide her in whatever she decides to do in life. I love that I have the honor of being that wonderful little angel's Mommy. I truely thank God for her every day.

Happy

If you're happy and you know clap your hands. I'm pretty happy. I want to clap my hands, stomp my feet and praise the Lord! I am finally learning to be somewhat patient and learning to listen to that little inner tug that tells me what to do if I ask in the right way. I am so lucky to have a supportive husband. No matter what crazyness I create for myself he is always there to help raise me up or catch me when I fall. He listens to me rant about things I know I could change and too chicken to do so. He listens and he listens. That man is so patient with me. I can be pretty annoying sometimes. I know this. If you are one of my friends and reading this you know this too. I am also very lucky to have the supportive friends that I have that even though I know must get sick of my constant second guessing of myself and things I want (NEED) to do. Yet, they are always supportive and encouraging too. Then there is my Grace. I make a lot of mistakes as a parent and she is always ready and willing to forgive me. She is a good kid. All in all I am a pretty happy girl and fixing to get a whole lot happier!

Dance party fever

I forgot how much I love to dance. I mean really dance, like throw your old back out and hurt your knee dance. Do you remember coming home from school dances and the next morning your whole body would ache because you danced so much. Yes, I miss that. If you hurt really bad it meant you had tons of fun at the dance the night before. Grace had her Hannah Montana dance party and the girls had a blast just like that. I bought platic medallions on a ribbon and we had ourselves a dance competition. I sent half of the girls into the youth room of the church and the other half stayed in the hall. I turned on the song that they would make up the moves to and let them have at it. Once the song was over each group got to show off the moves they made up. Yes, kind and gentle reader that does mean that I "got" to listen to the same song three times over. It was so worth it to see the girls have so much fun. We did two songs and each group won once. They loved it so much that they wanted to do it again. They split into different teams and then danced to do two different songs. Again, some how they managed to each win one more time :) Listening to 4 Hannah Montana songs 3 times each takes one and a half hours in case you are wondering. I must say that I had a bit of a headache when it was all over but it was so worth it. A few times I got out there with the girls and busted a move. It was fun. No other adults there, just me and a bunch of 7 and 8 year olds that didn't care how silly I looked dancing with them. Wouldn't you have loved to be a fly on the wall that day? I didn't get to play "Pin the Kiss on Troy" but they loved that game and giggled the whole time they played. Sylvia rocked the house and won on that game. She got him right on the kisser. That kid has got some aim! She told me as her team waited their turn to dance that Grace has the best birthday parties ever. I know it is silly but that meant so much to me that they had a good time. I hope Grace will remember the parties and sleepovers and have fond memories.

We had a family party at Zanders the next day and got to see almost all of the cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents. It was a good time too. We had Zanders icecream cake....need I say more? I have had people tell me that I go overboard for her birthday and I probably always will. I love to celebrate the day that God gave me the joy of my life in a big way. She is such a special girl and I love her so very much. Plus, I really wanted the trampoline too.....lol :)

It can always be worse

There is always someone who has it worse than you. Always. I try to remember that when I have something not so great going on in my life. It can always be worse. Right? Right? Please tell me yes :(

On a much happier note, Grace turned 8 today. My baby is 8! She is such a light in my little dark patch I have going on right now. Her excitement over her birthday brings such joy to my life. She got to have cupcakes at school today for the first time. She has always been on spring break during her birthday. She was so stoked about it. It was so fun to see her feel so special when her friends all sang happy birthday to her. She wanted to go to Ponderosa (even though I really don't like it) for her birthday dinner. Of course we went. I let her pick whatever she wanted to eat or drink. She wanted a Pepsi of course. Those of you who know my Grace know that a Pepsi is a great treat for her and not such a treat for Garry and I! She gets wild on the crazy kid crack and gets mouthy. But, hey, it's her birthday right? She was super de duper crazy! LOL. One celebration down and 2 more to go. The Hannah Montana dance party with friends is Saturday and the family party is a Zanders on Sunday. We party down when it comes to our baby girls birthday. I thank God for having the wisdom to give me my angel.

Hello self

Ever keep getting the same message over and over again and just try to ignore it? I keep thinking, not right now or maybe later. Next year perhaps? Anyone who knows me well knows any kind of change has a way of making me skiddish (spelling?) at first. Now I know why Grace has to be told to do things three times. Yes exactly three times. You tell her twice it is so not getting done. I always wondered where she got that from. Guess now it is staring me right in the face. Hello self, meet yourself. Nice to meet you. I just got told something for the third time (each time from a differnt source in a different way).....let's see what I do with it. Confused? Me too. :)

It finally happened.....

I mentioned in my last post that Grace is getting glases. I really suspected she needed them a year ago when she was getting the headaches. I took her to get her eyes checked and the guy told me she was borderline and that he didn't see the need to give her glasses at that point. I thought that was a little strange because I really thought she needed them. She sits so close to the computer and just squints a lot. But, an eye Dr. I am not so I went with what the professional said. Yesterday I took Grace to the eye Dr. here in Bicknell (not the same one she had been to before, my insurance changed and I don't HAVE to go there anymore). He came out and told me that he doesn't take this kind of thing lightly and I got kind of freaked out, then he preceeded to tell me that Grace is almost legally blind. It hit me like a ton of bricks. Poor baby! She can't see a thing that is far away. He let her look out the window with some sort of glasses he was checking her eyes with and she was so excited because everything wasn't so small anymore. I knew something was wrong and I should have went somewhere else, insurance or no insurance, and had her checked again. Hind sight is 20/20 I guess. No pun intended. LOL. She was excited at first to get glasses and now she is thinking it might not be that cool to have to wear glasses all the time. She picked out some super sheek black plastic ones with pink on the inside. Tali helped her pick them out which I think was kind of special for both of them. She also helped her pick out the glasses case. It is teal of course! So in a few weeks my little princess won't be as blind as a bat anymore.

Rest in peace little buddy Fez

I am so very sad. Sad really doesn't cover it. Fez died in my arms tonight. He was feeling a little under the weather today and to tell you the truth I didn't think much of it because he still ate his treat and went outside to play for a bit. I left at 3 to go get Grace from school and he was in his house acting a little ick but nothing to indicate he was dying. By the time I got home from taking Grace to dance class (around 7ish) he was in a bad way. He was vomiting blood and not able to hold his bladder. I called all of the vets in the book and couldn't get anyone to answer. He was fading really fast. I decided the best thing to do was just hold him and make him comfortable until he died. I could tell he was about to go so I took him outside because that was his favorite place to be. As I sat on the ground holding him Layla came to him and put her nose to his. He opened his eyes and whined some. Layla turned and walked away and he closed his little eyes and died. I just about lost my mind. I know I have talked about how dumb he was, and he was. But, he was my dog. He was dumb and annoying, most of the time he was a waste of a good dog and I loved him. Every ounce of the sweet dumb dog. Layla is so sad. Fez was her friend and constant companion. I swear to you that she cried real doggy tears. She is one depressd little lady. The pain that Grace is feeling is out of this world. She just cried and cried. Her heart is broken. Today has NOT been a good day for her. She just found out she is getting glasses and then her dog dies. Nice. When I could really tell that he was dying I let her say good bye to him. I think it will help her in the long run. I will never be able to thank Jim enough for coming over so late at night and helping Garry bury Fez. It meant so much to us. Who else would come over and help you dig a hole (getting all muddy) after he has worked all day and JUST got home? He is a good man. Thanks Jim. I know we can get another dog and we probably will, but no other dog will replace Fez in ANY of our hearts. I will miss that sweet little face, so happy to see me no matter if I was gone for 10 hours or 10 minutes. Bye little buddy.

I named her right!

Poor poor Grace. She is hurt. Once again. I am really thinking about putting her in a bubble. She has managed to hurt her neck now. It is all swollen and it hurts her. I am giving her until Monday with medicine and ice/heat. If the swelling has not gone down she is so going to the Dr. AGAIN!!!!! I hope this doesn't mean she won't be able to tumble anymore. She will be so sad. I would rather her be sad than hurt though. I care way more about her not being hurt. We will also have to think long and hard about the trampoline she wants for her birthday. *sigh* On a positive note she hasn't thrown up yet this week. Hooray for no vomit!

My heart

I have often wondered what I did with my life before I had Grace. I must have watched a ton of T.V.! When I held that tiny baby in my arms for the first time I thought my heart might just burst from the happiness. I remembered that joy anew today. I got the chance to hang out with my little sister today for a bit. She has two babies. One is 17 months old and the other is 5 months old. The older one was asleep when I got there to pick my sister up so I didn't get the chance to see him. I was kind of sad because I hadn't seen either of them for a long time. I walked up to Jolie and took her from my mom and she gave me the biggest smile you can imagine. It was really the first time I had seen her smile and laugh and know she was doing it and not just passing a gas bubble :) It almost made me cry. She made me remember my little baby Grace when she was that small. She looks just like Grace when she was little. We don't have babies we have clones according to my Mom. Holding Jolie also made me realize that no matter how old Grace gets she will always be my little baby. Think she will still want to snuggle with Mom on the couch when she is 20? I hope so.