Summer?

So now that summer is upon us what to do? Still thinking of the grocery store, continue with preschool or do something wild and crazy??? Well maybe not wild and crazy, Craig still has a screwed up schedual at work. Not much of a weekend with his schedual. I have become a full time preschool teacher and am loving it. Still would like to do the grocery store and maybe a resturant. Can't make you my mind or my other mind!!! Im also thinking about going back to school and finishing up the Early Childhood Education program I started many years ago. I only have 1 and 1/2 semesters to go. So give me some help in making up that old mind of mine.

Thinking of a trip to Texas to see Chelsie. Jaxson, her son, is in South Carolina visiting his dad for the summer. Wow how time flies. Seems like yesterday they were here visiting us. They did come home in May for about 2 weeks, was sooooo glad to see them. Chelsie had just gotten home from Korea, where she was stationed for a year. So glad to have her home.

Les and Nina anounced their engagement also in May. They will be getting married June of 2012. Got to get planning on that.

Kellie is still in college and will be graduating in November from College of Hair Design. She then will be starting Barbering College at the end of November. We have Jayla every Saturday and she has been a true blessing. So wish Jaxson was closer.

Well looks like everyone around here, that would be Jayla and Papa, are waking up from their naps. Off to figure whats for supper, maybe some T-Bone steaks, baked potato and asparagus. Sounds so good. Have a great day.

Vacation begins NOW!!!!!!

Well I have quit my job and Craig and I are going to start to live our lives!!!! Are Kids are gone and starting families of their own. Chelsie is in South Korea and her family is in South Carolina and waiting for her to come home, Les and Nina have their own place and Kellie has Baby Jayla and will be moving into their own place soon. So Craig and I will be without Children, kind of sad yet very exciting!

We started our MINI vacation with a day trip to some places here in Nebraska:  First stop, Union, Ne. We found this Orchard that is family owned and operated, the Lechner Family. They had some really neat things in there. We found these wonderful Praline Pecans there and they are sooooo goooooodd!!! We will be planning on going back when the apples are in season and do some picking. Fresh Apple Pies, here I come.

Our next stop was Nebraska City, yet another apple orchard, went to the Arbor Lodge and visited the Arbor Tree Farm. We were going to take the walking path tour, however it was so humid that we decided to go back when the Apple Festival starts. The weather will be cooler and easier for us old people to handle. Then off to find a place for lunch: Parkers Rib Ranch. Boys was that something else. Wonderful food and a super wonderful waitress. Her name was Seirra. Super sweet young lady, stop in and see her if you are in that neighborhood.

Off to Brownville: Only to be disappointed: they had a flood and the River Boat ride was no more. So we just toured the town and what a town it is. Small little shops here and there and some very intersting museums. We went to The Captain Bailey House Museum and Gardens and it was really cool. They told us the house had been moved one brick at a time to the location that it sits at now. Pretty impressive. We also went to a Winery will we were there: Wiskey Run Creek. We sampled wines and even wound up buying three bottles!!! Those will be really good to drink this fall as we sit on the deck and rethink places we have visited.

Captain Baily's House

Last stop on this trip: Pawnee City, Nebraska and yet another Winery. SchillingBridge Winery. Love that place. They told us about a wine tour and even signed us up and gave us the directions and a map of all the wineries here in Nebraska. We enjoyed some wonderful wines and sampled some of their beers from their microbrew they have. Bought a growler of Rootbeer, yummy.  While we were in Pawnee City we seen the barn from when Larry the Cable Guy was young.

Larry the Cable Guy Barn

Grapes from SchillingBridge Winery

Our evening came to an end with our drive back home. What a wonderful time we had. Can't wait for the next trip. We think will be to Carhenge, Chimney Rock, Mt Rushmore then off to the fossil beds. Can't wait.

Doctors Appointment

Well the old dreaded doctors appointment! I knew I was having some problems but this appointment scared the heck out of me. I went to the emergency room on the 3rd of May and was told I had strep. Ok, I can deal with that, yeah right. The doctor there wasn't going to let me go home unless I promised to make an appointment with my doctor because of the blood presure, 187/105. Not good!!!! So I make the appointment with a doctor and go in and he tells me I have to make life changing plans or I won't be around to see my beautiful grandkids grow up, OH MY GOD!!! I have to be here for these little guys. Life changing plan is  now in effect!!!!!!

So here I am - Telling the whole world, or who ever is reading, the dreaded weight and begging for help! When I went to the doctor the weight was 270.5, that was on Friday the 14th. He told me he wanted me to lose 5 pounds by the 11 of June. 5 pounds! Do any of you have a doctor that hasn't said you were overweight and needs to lose the weight? Well my doctor never once told me I was fat or overweight, that is in those nasty words. All he said was, " Mary, for the sake of those grandkids and for the sake of YOUR health, I WOULD like you to lose 5 pounds by the 11th. Here are some tips to do it. If you need ANY help, PLEASE call my office." Wow now that is what I call a doctor.

 So today is the 16th of May and I got on the scale, just to see how mine was compared to the doctors and it said I weighed 268.4, ok right! I went to the neighbors house and used their scale and she is a fitness nut, so I am guessing hers would be right, and hers said I weighed 267.9. Yippy!!!!.

Ok so what I need now is some good heart healthy recipes and I can thank the internet for those, but I also need the good old encouragement for everyone, you know the cheering section. I am so grateful for the family and friends that I have that have pushed me in this life changing trip that I am on. Craig, the good old man, has helped with eating what I fix and not complaining about it and the kids for the encourgement that this is something I can do. The next thing I need to work on is getting rid of most of the stress that I have in my life or dealing with in a different want. So here goes!!!!

That is me, what I look like now. More updates as they happen!!!!

Spring Cleaning

What the heck was I thinking - SPRING CLEANING? Well need I say more? It is going so slow not getting things done like I would like to. Have so many distractions:

she is such a dolly.

Baby Jayla

This is Miss Sassy Pants Jayla. This was taken on Valentines day, 2009. What a little hambone she is. Such a sweet little thing. Love her so much. Can't wait to get some Pictures of Little Man Jaxson as soon as he comes to see Grandma and Grandpa!

House cleaning

Well started to do some spring cleaning a little early. cleaning out the home office and moving Kellie and Jaylas stuff up there. Will start cleaning the big bedroom downstairs and turning that into a guest suite. Trying to get it all done in a week. We will see how that goes.

Chelsie, Richard and Little Jaxson will be home the 16th of March for about a week and a half. We will have a busy week that week also. Chelsie will then be leaving for Korea around the 15 of April :( That will be a hard time for me. I miss talking to my kids everyday and it hurts like heck when I don't talk to them. Kellie and Jayla no longer live at home and it is hard to get to talk to them also. I was so use to having them around all the time and now they aren't here. Ripped my heart out.

 I so want to have all the kids together so I can get pictures of all of them. I really want pictures of the babies together!!!! I keep praying for the day they are all together again.

As soon as I learn to up load pictures, watch out. I really love to take pictures!! Keep smiling and may God bless each and everyone of us.

Taking a stand on Abuse:

In the last few months I have been watching a very dear person go through Domestic Abuse. The sad thing is that she doesn't see it. She is a very young mother who has a beautiful little girl. I love both so very much and it truely hurts me to see what she is doing. I have taken a stand to fight abuse and will make posts on facebook and here to hopefully one day end the Abuse. I know it will never go away but if I can help at least one person see what is happening in their life and help them get the help they need then that is what I will do. I will post a  form of abuse every day for the next 6 days and maybe someone will see it and in turn help me fight this horrible disease.

Emotional Abuse is defined as Hurting another person's feelings by saying cruel, unfair comments or by name calling. Such as:
          *  Attacks on and/or insults about people you care about, such as family and friends
         * Cursing, swearing and /or screaming at you and blames you for everything that has gone wrong
          * Uses money to control you (e.g. taking all of you money, forcing you to ask family and friends for money.
          * telling you you are "crazy" and needs help, that you are not a good person, can't take care of you children, etc.


I hope one day to be able to help this person in my life to understand what is happening and to help her end the Abuse she and her daughter are going through. She doesn't understand that she in turn is inflicking abuse on her daughter and her family and friends. WE need to take this stand on abuse so that the abuser and the Abusee are getting the help that is needed before it is too late.

 If any one reading this wants to help fight abuse please call your local Abuse center and find out what you can do. The National Abuse Hotline numbers are: i-800-799-SAFE(7233) Or TTY 1-800-787-3224.

Thanks for listening and May God bless each and everyone.