What did you think? That man sure knows how to give a speech. He had the crowd on their feet through most of it.  He really got them going when he said "Most important, Barack Obama knows that America cannot be strong abroad unless we are strong at home. People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power." That was pretty poignant.

I like what he said about McCain too, "The choice is clear. The Republicans will nominate a good man who served our country heroically and suffered terribly in Vietnam. He loves our country every bit as much as we all do. As a Senator, he has shown his independence on several issues."

Then he went on to say "But on the two great questions of this election, how to rebuild the American Dream and how to restore America's leadership in the world, he still embraces the extreme philosophy which has defined his party for more than 25 years, a philosophy we never had a real chance to see in action until 2001, when the Republicans finally gained control of both the White House and Congress. Then we saw what would happen to America if the policies they had talked about for decades were implemented.

They took us from record surpluses to an exploding national debt; from over 22 million new jobs down to 5 million; from an increase in working family incomes of $7,500 to a decline of more than $2,000; from almost 8 million Americans moving out of poverty to more than 5 and a half million falling into poverty - and millions more losing their health insurance.

Now, in spite of all the evidence, their candidate is promising more of the same: More tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans that will swell the deficit, increase inequality, and weaken the economy. More band-aids for health care that will enrich insurance companies, impoverish families and increase the number of uninsured. More going it alone in the world, instead of building the shared responsibilities and shared opportunities necessary to advance our security and restore our influence.

So now we wait to see what McCain has to say. I hope if he wins he doesn't give us more of what we have now. He seems to be a gentle man but then I hear he has a terrible temper. I am looking forward to their convention though to see what they have to say.

It's a rainy day today but I hope it gets gone before Saturday and it doesn't rain on our surviving the flood party. Wouldn't that be ironic lol. William went home yesterday so it's quiet around here again. He sure was glad to see his dad I tell ya. Grandma and grandpa are ok for awhile but they have such a close relationship and we are ok for awhile but no one replaces his dad. I have to go and get stuff for the party and I'm going to go buy a crib mattress for little Brody. Poor baby has a brand new bed and no mattress lol. He's still in the bassinet but at the rate he's growing he'll be too big for that pretty darn soon. Oh and it's thirsty Thursday so you know where I will be later today lol.

I'm so mad Beth, Terry, Danielle and I were all on messenger together last night and those two told Beth some awful lies about me. They told her that I stole a old man's car once and a Packer rug and just awful things like that. So friends, from now on if you go and visit them and they say something about me don't believe a word they say.

Ok, I guess I better head off to the shower and get on with my day. So have a nice day, take care and be good. Well, take care anyway.

Hugs

Thank you Sus!

I watched the convention last night and was very impressed with Hillary's speech, she had people on their feet a number of times. She did a wonderful job but I have to laugh at the reporters and those that critique them afterwards. You can sure tell which side of the isle they are on. Of course those who are for Obama said she was great and did a great job uniting the Democrats, and those who are for McCain said it wasn't a good speech and didn't accomplish a thing lol. Watching this Tim Russart came to mind. He was so looking forward to this campaign and election and was excited to be able to cover it. He was such a wise and gentle man and it's a shame that he died so young. 

We have a lot coming up over the next few weeks. This weekend we are having a SURVIVING THE FLOOD party and the whole neighborhood is invited. So I know that's going to be a lot of fun. Then I have 5 birthday's coming up in September starting on the 12th through the 22nd. We are also invited to a wedding up north on the 20th I think. Not sure if we will be going to that though. I hope so, I need to get out and look at something besides these 4 walls around me. The problem with going up there though is I think Bill will want to stay with his friend but I would rather get a room at the casino that is close by lol. It's been so long since we've gone to one so I'm hoping our losing streak is over lol. It's been a year or too since we've been to one and anyway it's been a crappy summer here and I want something different to do.

Well I guess that's it for today. See, that's why I need a get-away, to  have more things to talk about lol. So have a good day and I will be around to visit.

Good Morning!

I'm happy to report that William is feeling fine and back to his happy self. I guess it must have been indigestion he got from my spaghetti lol. His dad will be home late tonight and come and get William tomorrow sometime. I wish I could be as calm as his dad is when it comes to William but I freak out.

I finished the book titled Descent Into Hell I was reading by Kathryn Casey yesterday and boy what a story. Those of you who live in Texas may have heard about the Colton Pitonyak case and what he and his friend did to Jennifer Cave. It boggles my mind what people are capable of doing, especially to someone they claim to care about. He killed her but what him and his friend Laura Hall did was beyond belief. And once more his parents were so cold and uncaring when Jennifer's parents called them asking if they knew where he was. They got a call from her boss asking if they knew where she was so they started looking for her. At that time no one knew what he had done and they were just calling them to see if they had heard from him. They wouldn't help them at all and even told her parents not to call them anymore. I guess the trial was on court tv and was in the news all over the country. The strange thing is is that Jennifer told a friend of hers that she felt or knew that she was going to live long. Her family is amazing, they got a law passed in Texas to make what they did to her a felony and not a misdemeanor.

It's going to be a nice day today again. I must say that the start of the summer was the pits but after rain stopped and the flooding was over it's been pretty nice for the most part. We haven't had any days where the temperature's reached 100, I don't think we've even gotten up to 90 yet. Once more the humidity hasn't been bad either. Just a few days where we had to turn the AC on.  So all in all that last couple months have been pretty comfy. I hope it lasts until December then comes back again in January lol.

Well it's been pretty humdrum around here so I don't have much to talk about so I will be on my merry way and come and see what exciting things you all have been up too. I will live vicariously through you guys lol. So have a great day so I can have some fun will ya.

Hugs

Some of you may have seen this video before but I thought I'd share it anyway. This little boy is something else!!!

It's a little chilly here this morning, it's 57 right now but it does feel good. I have to admit that I'm not looking forward to winter this year as I have in the past. I've always liked seeing the seasons change but this year is another story. I'm hoping we don't have a winter like we did  last year. I haven't seen the geese heading south yet. Seems like last year we saw them migrate much earlier then in years past. That must have been a sign and from now on I will pay closer attention and watch for the migrating birds.

I was a little Worried about William last night. He was upstairs playing a video game when he came down and asked if I had something he could take for a back ache. He said his back was really hurting and I could tell that it was from the way he was walking. On top of that he felt nauseous. He couldn't get comfortable at all no matter if he was standing, sitting or laying down. I couldn't imagine what caused it and I always worry that his heart is starting to have problems again. It's the first thing I think of when he gets any kind of chest or back pain. A little while later he did vomit and after that he did feel better and his backache went away. I guess it must have been indigestion. Hmmm wonder if it was the spaghetti I made lol. But here I am thinking about what I would do if it was his heart. His dad is in N.Y. and heaven only knows where his mom is so would the doctors treat him on my word. We'd probably have to call his dad so he could give them permission. I usually have him write a note saying it's ok for me to let him be treated but I forgot this time. That'll teach me won't it.  I don't know if they would accept a note or not but I always figured that if we couldn't get a hold of him that it would be better then nothing.

Boy with William on the PC so my inbox is loaded to the hilt so I better clean it out. I hope you all had a great weekend.

See ya soon!!!

Hugs

glitter-graphics.com

I'm jumping on here while I have the chance because once William wakes up he'll be chasing me off of here lol. That's why I haven't been around to visit most of you lol. I didn't want you to forget me lol. I miss keeping up with all of you and know I will have a lot of catching up to do when he goes back home. When he's here he takes over.

Remember me telling you that he likes to hide and scare me when I come out of the bathroom? Well I got him good the other day. I went up to him and said let's have a bet. Let's see who can hit the other person the lightest and told him to go first. Well he barely touches me with his finger and thought he probably won the bet. I know he had an argument all ready for me if I said that I won. Well, when it was my turn I gave him a little whack on the arm and said you won. He thought that was pretty funny. Grandpa comes in the house just then and he tries to pull it on him but of course I'd already pulled that on him years ago so he knew what he was up too. Now he can't wait for his dad to get home so he can get him. Problem there though as I'm pretty sure he knows how it works too.

I know one thing when he's here. I get a lot more done lol. I've been going to clean out the medicine, every time I took out my vitamin bottle I kept thinking that I really need to clean this out but always walked out without another thought lol. So I did it the other day. How in the world do they get so dirty inside anyway. One of the worlds mysteries I guess lol. Then I cleaned off all the mirrors and the sink again. I know I should have done that after I did the shower but as you can see from my tag I am a procrastinator lol.

Oh, speaking of the tag. I did think of a phobia I have. It's falling. I don't mind heights or flying, snakes don't bother me much or rats or mice and things like that but the fear of falling is a big one. I don't know why I didn't think of that before. When I was doing the tag and got to that I stopped and thought and thought but it just didn't come to me. Then I had to go down to the basement to do something and it hit me lol. So there you have it folks, I do have a phobia.

Ok, I'm going to come around and try to visit some of you before William wakes up, but if I don't get around to you I hope you are having a great weekend.

Big Hugs

I have been tagged by Robin & Terry & Sara for a questionnaire, Here are my answers :

A. Attached or single? |Attached

B. Best friend? | My Husband

C. Cake or pie? |Pie

D. Day of choice? | Thursday

E. Essential item? | my camera

F. Favorite color? |don't have a favorite

G. Gummy bears or worms? | neither, give me chocolate!!! 

H. Hometown? |Beloit

I. Indulgence? | See G.

J. January or July? | July

K. Kids? | 4, 3 sons, 1 daughter 

L. Life isn’t complete without? | My family

M. Marriage date? | June

N. Number of brothers & sisters? |3 sisters, 1 brother

O. Oranges or apples? |oranges

P. Phobias? | None I can think of
Q. Quotes? |  I felt sorry for myself because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet....My mom

R. Reasons to smile? | My family

S. Season of choice? | Spring

U. Unknown fact about me? Can't think of one  

V. Vegetable? | Peas

W. Worst habits? | Procrastinating

X. X-ray or ultrasound? | Ultrasound

Y. Your favorite food? | Spaghetti 

Z. Zodiac sign? | Aquarius 

Notice that I left T for tag out? You can thank me later lol.

We had a nice day yesterday visiting with the kids. Brody get's cuter by the second and Josh and Devan are looking forward to school starting. Can you believe that!! As you can see from the photos that I put in the album that Devan was being a little silly. She sure is a doll. Oh you'll never guess what she wants to do. She wants to shave her legs lol, she's only 8. Actually she wants to use Nair or something like that she said. I told her she's too young and not to grow up so fast. I think one day while William is here I'll have Josh come and stay too. Since he's feeling a little moody lately and he looks up to William it might be good for him. My daughter talked to him about his behavior the other day and he told her that it's not the baby, that it's because Devan bugs him. Who knows really, it could be both. Devan does follow him around a lot and just maybe he might need his own space once in awhile. Oh, I'm such a ditz. I forgot to take the little shirts I bought for Brody with me. It's a good thing they are 3 to 6 month sizes, the rate he's growing he'll be in them next month.

I might get a little more computer time today. William wants to go rent a game for one of his game machines he brought with him. He brought two of them so that will give him something to do when he gets bored with the computer. He has the guitar hero game and he does pretty good on that. You can also sing with the songs and he wanted me to to take the mike and do the singing lol. The problem is the songs...I don't know them. The words scroll along the bottom but when you don't know the song anyway it's not easy. Needless to say I didn't get a very good score lol. Now if they had some good old time rock'n'roll songs from the 50's and 60's I could score 100. But NO, they have heavy metal stuff and I don't have a clue. He's still asleep right now but I bet when he wakes up the first thing he'll ask is if we can go get a game.

My two sons that are traveling called yesterday to tell us they got there ok. One son drove to Oklahoma and the other flew to N.Y. so I can relax now knowing they got there safe and sound. At least until I know they are on their way back home, then I'll start worrying again. Can't help it, it's a done deal. So I have my worry alarm clock all set and ready to go off when the time comes lol.

Ok, I guess that's it for now. I will be around to say hi while I have the chance. I see a lot of you have posted and I don't want to miss a thing lol. So TTFN.

And Happy Wednesday!

Well I was able to find some rugs yesterday and the best part is they were on sale too. I got 3 rugs and a seat cover for $15 marked down from $30. Not bad eh. Right color, right size right everything.. Walking through the store I noticed they had a lot of things marked down. It made me wonder if they are having to do that to get people to buy. It helps me decide if I will or not. I did find some cute little baby shirts on clearance and I think the most expensive one was $3 so I picked up about 5 of them for little Brody. I also got me some unmentionables that were on sale too so I figured why not, get'em while they're cheap lol.

William is here for a week so my computer time will be severely limited.. His dad is off to N.Y. again to visit his friend who lives there. It will be nice having him here but I do need to go to the grocery store now. You know how 16 year old boys can eat. Williams favorite thing to do when he's here is to hide around the corner of the bathroom door and jump out at me when I come out of there. You'd think I would remember that he does that wouldn't you? But no I don't. I open the door and start to come out and there he is jumping out at me lol. I've gotten him a few times too when I think of it lol but not nearly as often as he gets me. So my mission for the rest of the week is to try to remember that he does that and to get him back as often as I can lol.

This afternoon we are going to go to my daughter's to see how much Brody has grown in a week. They change so fast the first year and you don't want to miss a second of it. She was telling me that she thinks Josh is having a hard time adjusting with the baby. She said he's really been acting up and that's not like him at all. I don't  know what it could be other then he maybe a little jealous. He's his mom's boy through and through so that might be it. Maybe she needs to take him and do something special, just the two of them. Devan is doing fine with him so that's good. 

Well I better get off of here and get my butt to the grocery store before it's time to go see the kids. I will probably have to wake William up  to go as he didn't go to bed until after 2 this morning..  Besides it will give Bill a chance to play a few games of poker while I'm gone and William's sleeping lol. So I will try to get around and visit when I have the chance but if you don't see or hear from me you'll know why.

Hugs

I woke up at 5 this morning and that's the way I like it. Bill's still sleeping and it's nice and quiet here right now. Of course with just the two of us it's pretty quiet most of the time anyway. I do sometimes miss the hustle and bustle that comes with raising a family though. But having grandchildren makes up for that by a long shot.

Yesterday I was reading Rhonda's where she was talking about the Victorian Women's laundry day and how they did it. It sure makes you grateful for modern technology doesn't it? But it took me back to when we had a wringer washer instead of an automatic. When we just had the two boys it wasn't so bad, but when the twins came that was a whole other story. The wringers on the washing machine started popping up all the time but I kept that little secret to myself lol. I wanted an automatic so I didn't want this one to be able to be fixed. Finally it got to the point where we had to get a new washer. So, Bill goes off to Sears to look for one. I just assumed he would buy an automatic but when he got home he told me that he found one reduced because there was a dent by the wringers. WRINGERS!!!  I said what do you mean wringers! Oh he says did you want a automatic? Well YEAH! Then he told me they were delivering the wringer in a couple days. Well I told him that they wasn't going to get in the door with it. I'll just tell them to turn around and take it back, so you just better trot your butt back to the store and get a automatic. In those days people didn't use disposable diapers like they do now and I was washing diapers everyday. Needless to say it got a whole lot easier with the new washer lol. I've heard so many people say the wringers got clothes cleaner but that never made any sense to me. They both agitate in the same way and you get clean rinse water with each load right. So why they thought that is beyond me.

I didn't go out much when the twins were born until they started walking.When you have 4 kids ages 5 and under you practically have to take the whole house with you when you go out lol. Thursday's was my favorite day during those times. That was my grocery shopping day and I got out of the house all by myself lol. I so looked forward to Thursday's back then.

My son and his girlfriend are leaving tonight for Oklahoma. Her son is graduating from boot camp so they are going down for that. From what she told me he graduated at the top of his class so she's one proud mother. It's a 14 hour drive from here so I wish them safe travel. I told them to call me when they get there and when they leave to come back home. Just because they are grown doesn't mean you stop worrying about them does it? I guess Aaron will be able to come back with them. He still has a year left of school so he won't be going anywhere soon. Hopefully the war in Iraq will be over by the time he graduates high school.

Today I'm going shopping for new bathroom rugs. We went to Big Lots yesterday but what they had was not the best. Besides they didn't have anything in my colors and they didn't have anything that matched each other. The rubber backing is worn off on my old ones and we don't want to be a slipp'n and a slid'n around in the bathroom now do we.

Ok, I rambled on long enough so I'll shut-up for awhile. Notice I said awhile lol. Can't keep me quiet for long ya know. So I hope you all have a great  and terrific Tuesday!

A beginning of another week, I wonder how fast this one will fly by. Last week was a blur for me and I hope this one hangs around for awhile lol. I guess it will for 7 days huh. I have a lot to do around here so it most likely will sail by. I have the carpet shampooer out and ready. Now all I need to find is the  the ambition to get at it. What I want to know is... how come men get to retire but women don't. Even if they retire from a job outside the home they can't retire from the home. Doesn't seem fair does it lol.

Isn't Michael Phelps amazing? I watched his last race and he swims like a fish. I've watched most of them but the one just before his last one had me a little scared. It sure was close and at first I didn't think he made it. Neither did his mom. She was on the today show with her daughters this morning and it showed a clip of her during that race. I thought she was going to pass out. The gymnastics are fun to watch too. Our girl Luiken (sp) didn't get gold on her last performance but she did a beautiful job the other day. So far we have 20 gold medals to China's 39. Is it just me or does it seem to you that whoever the host country is they always do the best and get the most gold?  Anyway it doesn't really matter when you come down to it. The fact that these people do what they do is remarkable in itself. The dedication and the hard work they put in is a feat in itself. I know if I had a child in the Olympics I'd have a heart attack watching them. So I say God Bless them all, no matter where they are from.

Well it's going to be a busy day around here so I better quit stalling and get at it. You know what they say about no rest for the wicked. I didn't think I was that wicked though lol. Besides I really don't have much to talk about as you probably have guessed by now. So I hope you all have a wonderful day and a great week.

Here's a cute story...

Lesson to be learned from
typing the wrong email address:

A Minneapolis couple decided to go to Florida to thaw out during a particularly icy winter.
They planned to stay at the same hotel where they spent their honeymoon 20 years before.
Because of their hectic schedules, it was difficult to coordinate their travel schedules.
So, the husband left Minneapolis and flew to Florida on Friday, and his wife was flying down the following day.
The husband checked into the hotel, and unlike years ago, there was a computer in his room, and he decided to send an email to his wife.
However, he accidentally left out one letter in her email address, and without noticing his error, sent the email to the wrong address.
Meanwhile....somewhere in Houston ...a widow had just returned home from her husband's funeral. He was a Minister who was called home to glory after suffering a heart attack.

The widow decided to check her email, expecting messages from relatives and friends. After reading the first message, she screamed and then fainted.
The widow's son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor, and then glanced up and saw the computer screen which read:


To: My Loving Wife
Date: Friday, February 29, 2008
Subject: I have Arrived!
Dearest Love:
I know you are surprised to hear from me. They have computers here now, and you are allowed to send emails to your loved ones. I have just arrived and have been checked in.
I see that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow, and look forward to seeing you then.

Hope your journey is as uneventful as mine was.


PS ........ Sure is hot down here!!

The kids had a beautiful wedding. The bride glowed and the groom was so handsome and proud. I don't have any pictures to show you though because I forgot my camera, can you believe that???  We had so much fun at the reception. Once we finally got there that is. For one thing it was in another town 20 or so miles from here and we had a hard time finding it. And too, I almost didn't get to go at all. I thought I had a ride but I found out late yesterday morning that all the cars were full and there was no room for me and Bill didn't want to go to the reception. I called my son to see if I could ride with them but they were staying there in a hotel and not driving home. And they had their kids with them so there was no room for me in their room either and there wasn't any more rooms available. So I told him that it looks like I won't be able to go. He said make dad go, he knows if he doesn't you won't be able to go either. Then he said to tell him if he doesn't take you I will kick his butt and I'm big enough to do it now lol. You know how I hate to miss out on the fun and how I love a party so I was pretty mad and depressed.

I usually don't mind going to things like this alone as I know all my sisters will be there but this time was different. I know I would have gotten lost for sure, especially coming home at night. So I was really mad and disappointed that he wouldn't go to the reception. He was willing to go to the wedding but that was all. He said I just don't want to go and I told him that it's not always about you and I can't believe you won't do this for me. Anyway, I'm in the bathroom getting ready for the wedding and he comes in and says I suppose we can go for awhile. I guess his conscience got to him lol.

It was funny during the wedding. The minister was telling Jake and Nicole that they will have good times and bad times during their married life. She says believe me there will be moments that will come up but you have to work through them. I turned to Jodi and said "Yeah, Bill and I had one of those moments a couple hours ago". lol I thought she was going to choke from trying not to laugh out loud.

Anyway I had a blast and even got Bill to dance a couple times. Actually it was his idea. Once he gets there he has a good time, it's just getting him there lol. We even stayed there until it was over and both of us had a great time. I even learned a new line dance and caught onto it pretty quick I might add. So this old granny still has it lol.

I am so jealous! I was reading Beth's blog this morning and saw that her daughter Kaley is going to go skydiving today and if she can she's going to do it too. I've always wanted to do that! I wanted to do it when I turned 60 lol, but since my birthday is in February it would have been kind of cold falling through the air in freezing temperatures. My son did that once years ago when he was about 22 or so. I told him he couldn't but he didn't listen to me lol. It turned out to be quite an expense for him though. The wind took him off course and he landed in a bunch of brush and sprained his ankle pretty bad when he landed. So it not only cost him the money to do it but he had to miss work too because of his ankle. But what a way to end your summer just before you head off to college huh. I'm so excited for her and I wish they would hurry up and get back so I can hear all about it.

So Good Luck Kaley and Happy Landing!!!

And you too Beth if you get to go too! 

Boy, where has the week gone? Time seems to be flying for me. I can't believe it's the middle of August already and summer is almost over. I feel like I haven't been able to enjoy the summer at all this year. Well what little summer we had that is. Dealing with the flooding took up a good part, it took almost two months before we could even drive  on the roads. I sure don't want to live through something like that ever again. And we were lucky compared to those farther north of here, some people there still can't get in their homes and they still have flood waters around them. I'm sure it's probably still like that in parts of Iowa too. So because of all that it seems like summer has gone by way to fast.

Met the girls last night for thirsty Thursday and had a good time. The FEMA guy showed up and said he's been so busy lately. He said that last Friday he was out of town somewhere and that is why he missed the party lol. They gave him the card though and they also had a shirt for him with the name of our town on it and a hat with the bar logo on it. I guess he loved it. He says he'll be back again someday.

We have a wedding to attend tomorrow. Terry's grandson is getting married and you know how much I love a party!!! There's a slight problem though. The reception is in a town 20 or so miles from here and people worry about driving home. I'll be riding with Rhonda and her husband but because it's so far away he won't be drinking and he wants to stay only a couple hours. I want to stay until it's over LOL. They do have a group of rooms reserved and some are staying so if I can find a ride home with someone I might just stay too. Bill is going to the wedding with me but not to the reception. He's just not the party animal that I am lol. Poor boy just can't keep up with me lol.

Ok, that's all the news I can think of to tell you for now so I will be on my merry way. I need to get my dancing shoes out.

Take care everyone and have a wonderful day!

Hugs

glitter-graphics.com

Getting a late start this morning...again. The weather has been so nice lately and the temps at night are great for sleeping so that must be why I'm getting up later lately. Well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it lol.

I did get the shower cleaned the other day and the basement is almost done, will get to that later on. I have an appointment to get my hair cut at 11:00 and boy does it need it. I have had my hair short since the duck tail style came around in the 50's lol. Do you remember that. If you do and you admit you do you're OLD lol.

I can still remember the day I got my hair cut back then. My family was having a hard time with it. You see, I had really long naturally curly hair that hung down in waves and they sure didn't want me to cut it. But I did and have had it short since. I've never been the kind who is so attached to my hair that just the thought of getting it cut sends you reeling. I know some women like that though. I like long hair if it's taken care of, but if it has split ends all over and hangs every which way I don't like it. I know some of those people too lol. I've tried letting it grow but when it get's to that in between stage it drives me nuts and off I go to my hairdresser.

Time for me to get my face on and head out. So I will be around later to visit ya'll. Have a great thirsty Thursday!!!

A MUST read for Grandparents. Those who aren't will love it, too.
At one point during a game, the coach called one of his 9-year-old baseball players aside and asked, 'Do you understand what
cooperation is? What a team is?'  The little boy nodded in the affirmative.

'Do you understand that what matters is whether we win or lose together as a team?'  The little boy nodded yes.

'So,' the coach continued, 'I'm sure you know, when an out is called, you shouldn't argue, curse, attack the umpire, or call him a
bad name.   Do you understand all that?  Again the little boy nodded.

He continued, 'And when I take you out of the game so another boy gets a chance to play, it's not good sportsmanship to call your coach a dumb a$$' is it?'  Again the little boy nodded.

'Good,' said the coach. 'Now go over there and explain all that to your grandmother'.

Happy Wednesday! Not much to talk about today. I didn't get everything done yesterday so that's on the agenda for today. I had the kids and of course that is a good reason. I just love watching Devan and Josh with Brody. The minute he makes a sound they are right over there checking on him. Devan loves holding him but as soon as he starts fussing she wants you to take him. I can't wait until he starts cooing and smiling and see their reactions when he does that. Devan calls him Sweet Angel, isn't that too sweet? I'm thinking he is going to be one spoiled little boy lol. I can just see him when he starts walking, he will follow them everywhere they go and be their little shadow.

Ok, if I'm going to get that basement cleaned I better get at it. I haven't had any volunteers to do it for me lol. I will leave you with a touching story.

In 1986, Peter Davies was on holiday in Kenya  after graduating from Northwestern University .
On a hike through the bush, he came across a  young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant  seemed distressed, so Peter approached it very carefully.
He got down on one knee and inspected the  elephant's foot and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it. As  carefully and as gently as he could, Peter worked the wood out with his  hunting knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot. The  elephant turned to face the man, and with a rather curious look on its face,  stared at him for several tense moments. Peter stood frozen, thinking of  nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly,  turned, and walked away. Peter never forgot that elephant or the events of  that day.
Twenty years later, Peter was walking through  the Chicago Zoo with his teenaged son. As they approached the elephant  enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Peter and  his son Cameron were standing. The large bull elephant stared at Peter,  lifted its front foot off the ground, then put it down. The elephant did that  several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the  man.
Remembering the encounter in 1986, Peter  couldn't help wondering if this was the same elephant. Peter summoned up his  courage, climbed over the railing and made his way into the enclosure. He  walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder. The elephant  trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Peter legs and slammed his stupid a**  against the railing, killing him instantly.
Probably wasn't the same elephant.

Well the little boys went home yesterday and Bill is taking William home now. But now the fun is over and it's time to get things done around here. The basement is first on the agenda, which might take most of the day. I hate the thought of doing it but it has to get done. We were finally able to take all the pumps out the other day except for one. I will be pouring bleach on the floor and scrubbing like crazy then hose it down. We don't have any mold yet and I don't want any either. I do have goggles and face masks and heavy duty gloves that the red cross supplied for us and thank God for that, otherwise I'd have to go buy them. Oh shoot, come to think of it, it will have to wait until tomorrow. My daughter is bringing the kids here for a couple hours as she has a job interview today. I sure don't want them breathing in bleach and the smell would surely still be pretty strong by the time they got here. I guess I could clean the shower instead then as that was #2 on my to do list. I also want to go get a haircut one day this week. I need to get a haircut, I'm looking pretty shaggy!!! Oh and did I mention that the carpets need shampooing too lol. They got so dirty when it flooded and a lot of it came from the basement going up and down checking on the pumps. Then I'm still not done with the room up stairs, still need to get the drywall. Now my brother-in-law that is going to hang it hurt his back the other day so we have to wait until he feels better. Crap, I'm tired just from writing all this down lol. I think I'll go take a nap.

I've been reading a John Grisham book titled The Broker and so far it's pretty good. I like his books. He mostly writes fiction and I mostly only read true crime but he's my favorite fiction author. I just ordered two of Kathryn Casey's books. One of them is a true crime story titled A Descent Into Hell. It's about the case of Colton Pitonyak that happened in Austin Texas. It's a true story of a alter boy and a cheerleader. Her other one, Singularity is a fiction book. That is her first attempt at fiction, she is mostly a true crime author and her writing style is a lot like Ann Rule's. So I'm excited about getting those and can't wait until they get here. Ann has new book coming out in November called Mortal Danger and I know I will buy that one, she's my favorite author.

Ok, If I'm going to get that shower cleaned out today I better get hopping. First though I will try to do some visiting and see what you guys are up to today. Whatever it is I hope you all...
 

Good morning! I hope you all had a great weekend. Ours was a busy one but it was fun. The going away party for the FEMA guy didn't quite work out as planned, he never showed up lol. I think instead of telling him it was a birthday party they should have told him it was for him lol. Oh well as it turns out they extended his stay and he will be here another month. We still had a good time and had fun signing his card lol.

Bill's family picnic was fun too. There were people there from all over the country, most of whom we had no idea who they were lol. At first we wasn't even sure if we were at the right place until we finally saw someone we knew lol. But later more showed up and it was fun getting to know the others. One of the cousins brought his guitar and sang, he was very good too I might add. Another cousin is big into genealogy and I was amazed at the wonderful job he has done. He's found family all the way back to the 13th century. He's even traveled to Norway and visited old family homesteads there. He has a binder plumb full of old birth and death certificates and marriage licenses and pictures of ancestors. I couldn't believe the chart he has made, it's a long one. He sure has put a lot of work into it, I don't know if I'd have the patience to do all that. My kids were pretty interested in it. Of course Brody was the hit of the picnic.

I took advantage of my boys when they brought the grandsons down to spend the night. I figured since they were all here it was a good time to have them help us bring things up from the basement that we needed to get out that was damaged in the flood. We had gotten the things out we could but needed strong arms for the rest. Now I can get down there and really give it a good cleaning.

I swear, little boys giggle as much as little girls do lol. Those two boys didn't fall asleep until after 2:00 this morning, and they're up already. They said they wanted to get up early so they would have more time together. William is here too and he ended up coming downstairs and slept on the couch. They've been having fun playing with their Pokemon cards and having battles lol. I have no idea how to play that game but they like it. I think I might take them to the park later and let them run around there.

Ok, I gotta get these guys some breakfast. They are good eaters I tell ya! So I will be around later to see how your weekend went. Until then...

glitter-graphics.com

Here's my dad and brother when they met for the first time in their lives. The year was 1981, Leroy was 42 and my dad was in his 60's and getting ready to retire. This picture was taken of them when mom and dad went to California to meet him.

Oh, how I remember the day Leroy's wife Cher called. It was February 2nd, a Monday, and I was over visiting before mom left to go bowling. Mom answered the phone and she got this strange look on her face. I heard her say, yes it is, yes he is, she gave their address over the phone. Of course at the time dad and I didn't know who mom was talking to and it bothered me that she gave their address to whoever it was she was talking to. We could tell it was someone we didn't know.  There was a murder at the Radio Shack that day so I told mom she shouldn't be giving out their address to someone they don't know. She looked at me and said, it's your brother Sherry. I looked at dad right away and the expression he had on his face was something to behold. He looked surprised, happy and shocked all at the same time. He put his head in his hands and sobbed. After mom left to go bowling I stayed with dad for awhileand we talked. Cher had said that Leroy wasn't home at the time but she would have him call dad later. Dad told me that was why he never wanted to move or go anywhere because he always hoped that call would come someday. I remember him saying that sometimes prayers are answered. I didn't stay long, I thought if Leroy did call that he should have that time alone. Of course the minute I got home I called Terry to tell her that we found our brother. Mom and dad had told Terry and I about Leroy when we were in our teens I believe ,but Rhonda and Jodi were very young and they didn't know we had a brother until that very day. Rhonda is 8 years younger then I am and Jodi is 12 years younger. So needless to say they were pretty surprised to find out we had a brother.

But let me start at the beginning...

Dad was born and raised in Thayer Missouri where he met and married at the age of 17. I can't remember her name but I think she was only 16. There wasn't much work to be found there at the time so dad and his wife along with his dad and sister, his brother and his wife plus some cousins came up here looking for work. From what I remember dad telling us they didn't have much luck finding work at first. His wife didn't like it here and she missed her family so she told dad one morning when he was leaving to go look for a job that if he didn't find one that day she wanted to go back home. As luck would have it dad found a job that day. But when he got home to tell her she was already gone. She must have had it set up already with her family and she left and went back home without even waiting to see if dad was willing to go back with her. He wasn't, he found a good paying job compared to what was available in Missouri and wanted to stay. He did get a hold of her and told her he had a good job and wanted her to come back but she said no and told him she wanted a divorce. What she didn't tell him was that she was pregnant. Dad never knew until one day he got a letter in the mail with a picture enclosed. He tried to call her when he got the letter but the phone was disconnected from what I understand and he was never able to locate them again. He carried that picture in his wallet for years until it was stolen one day and that broke his heart. That was the only thing of Leroy he had and now even that was gone.

Dad was 21 when he met and married mom. They tried for years to find Leroy and his mom. They tried to find family down there and my grandpa even went there to see what he could find out but couldn't locate anyone. What happened was she met and married someone else and moved to California. She raised Leroy by his step dads name and that's what is on all of his school records. Leroy never found out what his real name was until he tried to join the military and had to get his birth certificate. It was then that he started going by his real name.

From what Leroy has told us his mom would never tell him about dad. When he asked her all she said was that she didn't want to discuss it, and wouldn't. He even went so far to say that his mom is a witch. He said he loves her but she's a witch. Our sister-in-law Cher agreed and said that we wouldn't believe how mean and hateful she is. When Leroy's daughter got married she didn't even want her grandmother at her wedding. So I guess she wasn't a very nice lady from the things we've been told.

Leroy then figured his dad didn't care about him. He thought that since dad went all those years without getting in touch with him, that he was a loser and just didn't care. He told us that if Cher hadn't called that day he never would have, he was bitter and resentful. He had no way of knowing that mom and dad tried and tried for years and years to find him. They had kept copies of all the letters they had written to court houses and schools and other family and the replies they had gotten to show Leroy if they were ever able to find him that they had tried. They didn't show him though, they told him they had them and he could see them if he wanted but after he got to know us he believed them.

Anyway, Leroy and Cher were planning a trip to Bora Bora and they needed their birth certificates to be able to go. When Cher saw Leroy's and saw dad's name and last known address she called information to see if there was a listing for dad's name. Leroy was at work when she did that and he had no idea she called. She told mom that she didn't know how he was going to react when she told him but she would try to have him call dad when he got home. Well I can only imagine what Leroy thought when she told him that she had found his dad and that he was alive and well and still living where he was when he was born. Not only that, still living where he was when his mother left him. Well Leroy did call dad and they had a nice but short conversation.

Needless to say dad wanted to go to California right away and meet his son. After talking a few more times mom and dad headed west two weeks after that first phone call. And father and son finally met each other for the first time in 42 years. Mom said it was a little hard at first, but as the days went buy things got easier and they were able to talk. Bill and I were planning a trip to Las Vegas that year so I asked mom if she would ask them if they would mind if we rented a car and drove to California to meet them. They decided they would come to Vegas and meet us there instead. Well that's all it took, mom and dad and all my sisters decided to buy tickets too  and we all went to Vegas together to meet our brother. We had a wonderful time and it was just like we had known each other for years. We never lacked for something to say to each other and we laughed and joked a kidded each other just like brothers and sisters do everyday. It was like those 42 years just melted away. Our family was finally complete.

You know it is so funny how much Leroy is like dad without ever knowing him as he was growing up. He's soft spoken like dad was and he has so many of dad's traits. He looked just like dad when dad was younger except that he grew to be 6'4' and dad wasn't even 6 feet. We were all so surprised to see so much of dad in Leroy.

Since then Leroy and Cher have been here several times to visit and all of us except for Terry have gone to California to visit them. He now realizes that dad had never forgotten him and have always loved him and he is happy and grateful that Cher called that day, as are we. Cher is Leroy's second wife, he lost his first wife in a car accident with whom he had 2 children by. His daughter would talk to Cher about dad. She wondered what kind of man her grandpa is. Knowing how mean her grandma was she told Cher that maybe just maybe grandpa is  a really nice guy. Dad was happy to find out he had 3 more grandchildren.

We will always be grateful to Cher too for having the courage to make that call. If it wasn't for her we never would have known our