Lynda's Life

New Home

2009-12-10T21:53:00.002-06:00

Well the moving truck finally arrived on Monday and at 11:30 p.m. they were still unloading our "stuff". The only thing we managed to get together then was our bed and did it ever feel good to sleep in our own bed again. The rest of the week I have managed to get the kitchen unpacked, set up the guest bedroom, get our room unpacked and arranged and even hung some pictures today. I am working on getting the Christmas decorations up and spent some time with Izzy today explaining why Baby Jesus wasn't in the manager yet, I don't think she quite understood what I was saying.

It is nice to have busy days with things to do. It makes the day go quicker and there is less time to dwell on the events of the past couple of months. Sometimes it just hits me that Sean is really gone. I can't believe that I have actually buried one of my children. It seems to come in waves and there really doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to what causes the sudden sadness and feeling of loss. This is without a doubt the hardest thing that I have ever done in my life. No parent should be there for a child's birth and to hold their hand when they leave this world. However, I have peace with everything that has happened. I know that he is in a better place and is finally at peace and is happy and isn't that really all that we want for our children. I know that he is waiting for us and preparing a place for us for when we are all together again one day. Izzy said it best as she was looking at our manger and was talking about the angel, "Angels protect and love us just like Uncle Sean."

In other news and unless you are in some huge news vacuum the big news here has been snow, followed by more snow followed by bone chilling temperatures. Robert was ahead of the curve this week and went and purchased a mondo snow blower before the big snow. It is comical to watch him outside with the "Tim Taylor" (Home Improvement) snow blower doing our driveway, sidewalks and helping the neighbors.

This Sunday we are taking Rachel to see the Nutcracker at Hoyt Sherman here in Des Moines. I hope she is excited about it as I am looking forward to the time with her and Robert. This is our special Christmas treat for her. Joyce and I took Izzy to Disney: Princesses on Ice for her special treat and she really enjoyed it. It is nice to be back in Des Moines and to be able to see the girls and do things with them. Hopefully soon Jonah will be able to do things with us but he is still a little young and it quite the Daddy's boy right now.

This kind of catches everyone up on who, where and what of this adventure we call life.

A Roller Coaster Ride

2009-11-11T08:21:00.003-06:00

The last three weeks have probably been the hardest of my life and that is really saying something as we have had plenty of ups and downs, changes and upheavals. As many of you know our son Sean was dealing with many issues related to his multiple deployments especially from his time in Iraq. The demons chased Sean daily and he just couldn't seem to get past them. On Sunday October 25th we got a call that he had had a seizure and that they were taking him to Womack Army Hospital. By the time Robert got there he was already intubated and they had decided to air lift him to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill for an emergency craniotomy for bleeding in his brain. Sean never regained consciousness and on Wednesday, October 28th we had the breathing tube removed and he quietly went home to be with Heavenly Father. All of siblings but one were there with him as were Robert and I and my sister Kay who had immediately flown to NC when I asked her. He was surrounded by his family who loved him and his unit Chaplain who really liked and several other members of his unit.

We bought him back home to Iowa, where all there are are happy memories of him growing up to be buried at the new VA Cemetery in Van Meter, IA which is about 15 minutes from Des Moines. He was buried with full military honors and I think he would have approved of what we did. We learned many things about Sean during his short time in the hospital. He was a respected solider, he was a good friend, he was a leader of men and had helped many people. I knew that Sean was kind but the depth of his goodness I was totally unaware of. We had people from all over the world call us to tell us stories of how he had helped them. We had big gruff military people crying at his passing. In Sean's short life of 28 years he did more to people than most people do in a lifetime. One of the things we are proudest of is that we heard from friends from all walks of life, all colors and all faiths. None of these things were important to him just that they needed a friend or help and he was there for them.

I have stayed in Des Moines, found us a house and am excited to be back here to be closer to my Joyce and Justin and my grandchildren, although I wish fervently that we had come back for a happier reason. Robert is in Fayetteville, NC tying up loose ends and arranging for the move of our household goods. It will be good to be settled and have that special love that only grandchildren can bring. There are still really hard times, the grief at times seems almost unbearable. However, I have the assurance that I will be with him again one day and that he is finally at peace and happy.

Remembrance

2009-06-11T12:11:00.002-05:00

Thirty-three years ago today I ushered (rather pushed) my son Jeremy into the world. He was born at 2:20 am at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. He was perfect in my opinion, a little butterball that was completely bald. It is hard to believe that so many years have passed. He has grown into a incredibly handsome, kind man. He has served his county since he was eighteen. He is the father of two precious children a little boy named Pietro and a little girl named Mercedes. He has fulfilled and exceeded my hopes and dreams for him. When talking with him today I reiterated that I can't believe has had reached this age, it truly goes by in a blink of an eye. It seems like just yesterday I was bringing him home from the hospital. I hope he knows how much I love him.

Back in Fayetteville, NC

2009-06-09T13:05:00.002-05:00

As of last Wednesday Robert, Kiba and I are back in North Carolina. Things just didn't work out the way we anticipated and there are any number of good reasons to be here in North Carolina. The least of which is Sean. We packed up our "stuff" in Des Moines and had the truck loaded a week ago Monday (June 1st) then began the trek down here. We didn't get away from Des Moines till around 1300 hours on Monday so we broke the trip into three days rather than the usual two. It is a very pretty drive, especially through Kentucky with all the horse farms dotting the scenary. We made it here relatively early on Wednesday, a little after noon.

Saturday Sean and one of his buddies helped unload the truck and put most everything in storage for the time being. Our plan at this point is to look for and rent a house at which time our household stuff will come out of storage. There were some things that we bought into the apartment like our bed and dresser. You should have seen those guys huffing and puffing dragging that dresser up to Sean's third floor apartment. Youth is a wonderful thing.

I have found a knitting group here in Fayetteville that is really active and is full of nice and informative women. In fact, one of the ladies in the knitting group is in our new ward here in Fayetteville. It really is a small world. While I miss Joyce and the girls like crazy I can't say that the prospect of no more Iowa winters is certainly appealing. I have a fondness for the ocean and we are about 1 1/2 hours from the ocean here. Another huge plus in my opinion. I am anxious to get into a house and have all my things around me but for the time being the apartment is comfortable and we are adjusting.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-03-02T10:10:00.003-06:00

Now that Robert and Kiba (Sean's dog) have returned to Iowa with Sean at work I have a LOT of free time. Since I have been here I have been doing all the cleaning, washing and cooking. Basically Mom stuff. While Sean tends to be pretty tidy there are just some things that I think guys don't necessarily think of. Like scrubbing the rim of the toilet bowl, boy was that gross. Another thing would be vacuuming. You know going around the edges by the baseboard with the edge cleaner, moving the coffee table, going under the bed. I feel fairly confident that this apartment is probably the cleanest it has been since he moved in here. Now that Kiba is gone and I don't have to worry about running him out I have even more time to do stuff. Although, I have to say that I miss him because he was a lot of company during the day and I could talk to him, cry with him and he just listened without offering any kind of input, positive or negative. Of course, like all dogs he seemed to think that a good lick from the dog cures your woes and he is surprisingly right. Before Robert left on Saturday I laid in a supply of reading materials and I organized the yarn I had with me into plastic bags with their respective patterns (okay, I know it is a little OCD but that is just me). I suspect that I am going to be getting a lot of knitting done.

It was really cruddy here in NC this morning. It has been snowing although it looks like it is already melting off. It was very gloomy but the sun is trying to come out. It was really cold for here too. Unfortunately it is not supposed to get very warm here today. I am focusing on later in the week when the temperature is going to be in the high 60's and eventually into the 70's. Thank goodness I also got some more spring like clothes the other day as all I bought with me was really winter stuff. I am hoping to motivate Sean to get some collapsible chairs to put out on his little patio. I enjoy sitting outside and reading, knitting or just enjoying the fresh air when the days are warmer.

I think we may be making some progress on the drinking issue. He seems to be trying very hard not to drink like he had been. I feel like he is making some progress on that front and that certainly is positive. I am going to talk to his psychologist about putting him on a anti-depressant and something to help him sleep. Hopefully, that will help with the anger/sadness about what occured in Iraq and help with the drinking because he is self-medicating himself to deal with these issues. The more we can keep him from drinking the sooner he can enter a program to deal with the PTSD.

I am so thankful for all the prayers and long distance support I have gotten, for people putting our names on the prayer list in the Temple. Thanks again for all this loving support.

Still Hanging Out in NC

2009-02-28T13:34:00.002-06:00

This past week has been incredibly frustrating. Robert arrived a week ago and the intent was to take me and Kiba back home to Iowa while Sean entered his PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) program. We had a pretty good weekend, got Sean all packed up on Sunday night and we all headed out to our various destinations early Monday morning. We got a call from Sean just as we were getting to Lexington, KY saying he was turned away from his program, we later found out that he had failed the breathalizer. So we turned around and headed back to Fayetteville, NC and arrived back here early on Tuesday afternoon. Robert took the rest of the week off to be here and try to help get this circus organized. We have talked to tons of people, found out that the Army is really messed up and really didn't get any solid answers from anyone. There has been lots of praying and tears of frustration that we seem to be at some sort of stalemate as to how to get him treated. The week culminated with Robert and Kiba (Sean's dog) leaving this morning to return to Iowa with me staying here with Sean. Today I am very melancholy . . . I feel like I am spinning my wheels. Hopefully, I can annoy enough people early enough in the week to come that we can try to get some kind of resolution or at a minimum start making some real progress towards solving this dilema.

While it is incredibly hard for me to apart from Robert we both truly feel that at this moment in time I need to be here with Sean. If it means I have to pat him down every single day for a bottle of alcohol, so be it. The hardest thing is the lack of a support system here. Robert does a wonderful job from a distance but it is just not the same as having him here with me. Plus, this time I don't even have the dog for company when Sean is at work! I have also had to buy some new outfits as I packed for winter and Spring is really trying to begin here. Although, they do have snow forecast for tomorrow so it is kind of hard to see. Thank Heavenly Father for small blessings like Target.

Thank Heavenly Father for Kind People in High Places

2009-02-10T12:23:00.003-06:00

For those of you that have been following the blog you know that I have been in North Carolina for going on three months to assist Sean with getting into a program for his already diagnosed PTSD/Alcohol Abuse. It has been a roller coaster of a ride with him. I have felt frustration, pain and absolute despair, sometimes all in one day. He has always been a remarkably resilient and strong person. His original tour of Iraq (he was part of the original push to Baghdad) has left him depressed and struggling with how a loving, caring God can allow good friends to die right before your eyes. He has been struggling with this for some time now and the continued promises to get him help just weren't materializing and his condition was in my opinion beginning to deteriorate which I felt was a direct result of the upcoming anniversary of his deployment to Iraq. Finally on Friday I had had a enough. Sean was fortunate to serve in Iraq with a man who has since left the Army and gone on to be a Congressman from Pennsylvania. He has kept in contact with Sean. I mean really how many people get personal correspondence from a Congressman or a phone call at Christmas and your birthday from one (especially when you can't even vote for him) I called his office, talked to him, talked with his Veteran/Foreign Affairs liaison and they really got the ball rolling. I also called and talked to Sean's psychologist, his company commander and former 1st Sargent and just about anyone else I thought could help.

Thanks to the Congressman and other people who care for him we now have a date for his entrance into the PTSD/Substance Abuse program that is in Hampton, VA. He will be entering the program on 23 February, which is less than two weeks. I am so excited for him and so thankful for the kind people that Heavenly Father has put in his life that were willing to step up and get him the help that he needs. Last night I saw a faint glimmer of the Sean that was prior to his deployment. It makes my heart break that he has had to go through this and there have been countless hours of prayer, but I am convinced that Heavenly Father has something greater in-store for him and that good will come out of this.

For me, I am so anxious to be back in Waterloo with my honey. I have missed him terribly and he has been wonderfully supportive of me being here. I miss my Ward family at Church and can't wait to see all of them. I have felt the strength of their love and support the entire time I have been gone. One of the first things I want to do when I get back is to take a weekend and spend an entire Saturday at the temple in Nauvoo. I need the peace that it brings to me.

Time Marches On

2009-02-04T15:06:00.004-06:00

I can't believe it has been so long since I have posted to my blog. My New Year's resolution was to blog on a more frequent basis. I am still in North Carolina with Sean, I actually woke up this morning with Sean letting Kiba (his dog) into the room with me at about 5:30 a.m. which is our daily routine and Sean telling me, "Hey Mom, it is snowing outside". Since I have been here we have had snow twice, before this year they hadn't had any snow in five years. While I know that this comes no where close to the winter they have been having in Waterloo, you would be amazed how even a small amount of snow paralyzes a southern city. Just so you know the first snow we had closed Ft. Bragg and Pope Air Force Base, I guess who had to call back if there was some kind of national emergency.

It seems hard to believe that I have been away from Waterloo for going on three months. More amazing is that I have been away from my sweetie going on two months, I miss him so much. I have been very happy to be here for Sean and I think it has been very important that I be here. On MLK day he had a full blown seizure and thankfully I was here with him. I was able to lift him off the couch (all 150 pounds of him) and place him on the floor so he wouldn't hurt himself, call the ambulance, wrangle the dog into his cage and ride in the ambulance with him to Womack Army Medical Center which is on Ft. Bragg. Mother adrenalin rocks, I mean when would I normally be able to lift that much weight with no problem. I am so thankful that Heavenly Father was here with me and was able to keep me calm, collected and strong. It is so awesome how He looks after us. We spent two days in ICU recovering from the seizure. I certainly which they would finally pinpoint what was causing them.

We are going one step at a time. First we need to deal with the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from his first tour in Iraq. This has been particulary hard, there is absolutely nothing in the Mom manual on how to deal with a son who returns from war and cannot get the horrific details and images out of his head. I do think we are making some progress on this front too. I feel sorry for the men and woman who don't have someone to be an advocate for them and to fight for the appropriate treatment. We have an added adavantage that my time in the Army helps me to understand the workings on the Army and military medicine in particular.

On another note, Sean seved with a guy in Iraq who has gone on to be a congressman who still keeps in touch with Sean. I mean, how many people get a call from a congressman for Christmas or their birthday. I happen to have his private cell phone number thanks to Sean and I am going to give him a call and tell him how horrified I am about the way these veterans are being been treated or more importantly having to fight for treatment.

This is about enough for this post. Continued prayers are greatly appreciated for Sean. To my Ward Family in Waterloo, IA I miss you guys so much.

Exciting

2008-11-13T11:32:00.004-06:00

There are some ways that I really like to spend time, one of those is reading. The ladies in our Ward have recently started a book club. Last night was the first meeting that I attended. We read "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine. I really enjoyed this updated version of the classic Cinderella story. It read extremely fast, less than one day fast. We outlined books for the upcoming months. I am excited to reread some books I have already enjoyed. We are reading "The Christmas Box" by Paul Evans for December and "The Red Tent" by Anita Diamante for January. I will be hosting the January get together as the January book was my choice. I have some kind of fun ideas in the back of my head as to how we can enjoy discussing this book . . . does anyone have a red tent they aren't using???? I love the "Anne of Green Gables" books and we will be reading those too.

As of this point I am the oldest member of the book club, all these young women could literally be my daughter. In fact, most of them are the age of my daughter. I thoroughly enjoy all of them though. As I listen to them talk about the everyday struggles of being a mom and a wife in today's world I hope that I can help them to walk through this season of their lives. They will one day be amazed at how quickly it passed. I look at my oldest son who is thirty-two and it seems to me like yesterday that he was the age of Josh and Lucas and I was wondering how I was going to keep my sanity but I did and while I am enjoying this season of my life that also was an enjoyable season. What better feeling is there than rocking or cradling your child you has just had a bath and they smell so good and then there is that smile as they are sleeping. I always felt they were remembering fondly their time with Heavenly Father because the veil was not heavy for them yet. Those of the memories that they will have and cherish.

On the home front, I am looking through cook books for great Christmas cookie recipes. I am looking for one in particular to surprise my husband. I am also, of course, knitting. Nothing in particular is on the needles right now I am trying to come up with a pattern for a shawl to wear in the temple. The challenge is to find something that is pretty but not too pretty that will also be warm. If anyone has any ideas I am open to suggestions. I borrowed the "Pride and Prejudice" DVDs (the BBC version) and as this afternoon is supposed to be very gloomy I think I will begin to watch them.

Veteran's Day

2008-11-11T10:49:00.002-06:00

Today I am especially grateful for family members who have served in the Armed Forces. I am especially grateful for my three sons who have all done tours of duty in either Afghanistan or Iraq, some more that one. I am humbled by the fact that they do not want people to thank them, pat them on the back or otherwise acknowledge them. They did something that had to be done, loss of life for all of them has been particularly hard. One of them told that one of the biggest reasons he had such a hard time was my fault. When I inquired why it was my fault his reply was, "Because you always taught us to respect other peoples ideals, faiths, opinions. That even if what they believed in or stood for made your blood boil it was their right to believe those things."

One of the hardest things for me as a mother was there was nothing in the "Mom Book" about what to do, how to act, what do you ask when a son comes back from war. It has been without a doubt one of my biggest if not the biggest challenge as a mom. I love each of these boys. One is especially tender hearted, and cries at sad movies, I can't imagine how painful it must have been for him. One is an exemplary solider but the loss of his fellow commarades has come at a terrible price for him one that will forever be in his mind and heart. One is a gentle giant who has a booming voice and a tough exterior but has a gentle and kind heart who loves his family above all else. Yet each of these boys, which I should say are men now, served his country gladly, didn't complain or whimper when duty called and did the job they had to do at a cost that we may never know. I hold each of them in my heart and hope they know how very proud I am of them and the decision they made.

Hopefully everyone can get beyond their differences about the should we, why are we there and today of all days salute these young men and women and be grateful for the sacrifice they have made. This poem is always appropriate on this day:

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow Between the crosses row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.

Back in Waterloo

2008-11-10T13:31:00.011-06:00

Saturday, Robert came over to Des Moines and picked me up to take me back to Waterloo. He came bright and early so he had some "grandpa time w/the girls.

One of the fun things about being over there is I got to participate in Halloween w/the girls again. Rachel didn't go trick or treating but she stayed at Grandma Mona's to pass out candy.

I went out with the "fairy" and her parents. Isabelle was a little trooper, she went up and down the blocks and was very poliet remembering please and thank you and "Happy Halloween". This year was really fun because she was so into it and was really excited to see the other kids costumes.

Another bonus of this trip was that we got to see Jonah. His Daddy, Justin is now no longer active duty Army. He is on terminal leave which means that he is using what leave he had saved and when the leave is over he will be officially done with the active duty phase of his Army life. It has been a long seven years with two trip to Iraq for him. I know that his wife and children are glad that they don't have that looming in front of them right now. I know that I can breath a sigh of relief on this one. One down two to go!

I love this picture of Jonah and Isabelle. What do you think he is asking her? I think he is asking, "Is this crazy bunch of people really our family? This really wasn't what I requested." I hope that Izzy is telling him that while we may be a little wacky we are pretty lovable and that we really love each other lots. I don't know though, Isabelle looks pretty solomen. I also go to attend Rachel's first concert. She is playing the clarinet. I think the band director had way more guts than I would have, these kids have only been playing together for two months. It was very informal and very basic. I think the point was to show the parents that it doesn't take knowledge of an entire scale, I think they know five notes now, to play a song either as a group or as a band. The did a couple of pieces as a band and also some ensemble pieces.

Rachel participated in the ensemble clarinet piece. For the amount of time playing and all it was fairly good. A lot less squeaking than I anticipated. Their next concert will be after the first of they year. I can't wait to hear that one and see the progress that they have made. It was a great time and I enjoyed every minute of it. I love being around the girls and they are so loving. The hardest thing is coming home. The one bonus is we are only two hours away from Joyce and her family and 30 minutes from Justin and his.One last photo from the trip.

It Is Great To Be An American

2008-11-04T14:22:00.004-06:00

I am so happy that this election is almost over, then perhaps everyone can move on and we can begin to look forward to a brighter tomorrow. The one thing I think we can all agree on is that as Americans we have a wonderful opportunity for our voices to be heard and to make our desires known. That by voting for a canidate we can help to shape the future not only for ourselves but for our children and grandchildren. This alone is a humbling thought.

Must of us will go home tonight to watch election results. No matter who wins another group of equally concerned Americans will be disappointed. It is my hope that while very few of us are actually able to make policy whether at the national, state or local level that we all endeavour to make our part of American just a little kinder. It takes no real extra time to get to know your neighbors and to be willing to lend a helping hand when needed. Attend your church, mosque or synagogue and make yourself available to opportunities to be "helping hands" in your community. Mentor a young person and make them believe that they can be anything they want to be. Love your family and make sure that they know that you love them. Take time everyday to reflect on your significant other and be thankful for that person.

Today may be a great day to be an American but tomorrow can be a great day for America.

Connecting With Family

2008-10-24T22:28:00.002-05:00

I am busy working on trying to connect with the cousins I grew up. I have started a page on Facebook so that we can all connect including extended family like children and spouses. It should be fun to take and see where life has taken all of us. One of my female cousins that I was close to growing up has become a spinner, what an amazing coincidence! I guess I wouldn't be the only one dragging my knitting along to a family event as she also knits. The few cousins that I have been able to reconnect with have proved fun to get back in touch with.

I am planning on a trip to Des Moines to see our daughter and granddaughters. It has been quite a while since I have seen them and I have been in need of a granddaughter fix badly. I will be there for my one granddaughters first band concert and Halloween. I should have some great pictures to post from that.

Once I get back to Waterloo from that it will almost be time to gear up for Thanksgiving which I am really looking forward to. We will have over 50% of the kids and their families here.

What is the old saying about the road to hell . . . .

2008-10-23T16:14:00.004-05:00

I had promised myself that I would be diligent and blog nearly everyday, that has obviously not happened. My last post is when my youngest grandson JW was born and the lack of blogging is not because my life has been so boring since then. Since JW was born Bob and I have relocated to Waterloo, IA for a job oppportunity for Bob. Bob moved here in February and I followed in late May. Since then we have been busy getting settled and then getting unsettled because of the floods and then settled again. Life is certainly interesting!

I have been working on getting the house into shape. The house was built in 1911

and has had quite a bit of restoration work done on it already, but it still needs more. One of the great features that you can't see is a "three season porch" that is off the back of the house. I really enjoy an older home and love the character that they have.

Our oldest son just finished with a tour of Afghanistan, so if anyone thinks that being an accountant for the Navy means you are safe from deployment, think again. He went back to Italy when he got back from his deployment and bought back his wife and two children. They will be with him at Great Lakes Naval Air Station until Christmas and then they will go back to Naples for Christmas. Unfortunately, then Jeremy will be back here by himself until summer when they will be back.

Our youngest is getting out of the Army after seven years. He has gotten married in the last year and a half and is the father of the adorable JW in my previous post. He did two tours in Iraq and now that he has a family he doesn't want to risk anymore.

Our daughter and her family are still in Des Moines and I will be loading myself up this weekend to go over there and spend two weeks with her. The hardest thing about this move has been being away from her and girls but at least it is only about two hours between here and Des Moines.

I have been starting a lot of knitting lately but just can't seem to find that one thing that would really take off and make me want to stay up till three in the morning to finish. I am currently enjoying some mindless crocheting and am making the bathmat from Liz Radford's "One Skein". I got the cones of yarn on sale so all total the cost of this bathmat is going to be about five dollars. You can hardly beat that and it gives me something to do during all those Law & Order marathons!

Hopefully, this will be the start of me posting on a more regular basis. I am also trying to get all my cousins together and get us all caught up on what has been happening in our lives, it has been too long since we have had contact with each other. I am hoping that blogging will be another way for us to connect.

Introducing JW

2008-03-11T08:43:00.006-05:00

On Monday, March 10th at 1:15 am we welcomed our new grandson, he was born on his grandpa's birthday. He weighed 8lbs 3oz and was 19 3/4 inches long. His Daddy, Mommy and two sisters are very excited and can't wait to go home. We all happen to thing he is pretty perfect. Poor little guy, his only male cousin is already seven and lives in Italy, he is the first boy after six granddaugther's. Now some pictures of him!!

Things to Be Thankful For

2008-01-22T15:03:00.000-06:00

It is so true that when you think your life is the pitts you don't have to look very hard to find someone else who is living through a much more trying ordeal. A young family from our Church has a three year-old son who has leukemia, to learn more about Elijah and his family's incredible strength and faith in the face of some real adversity feel free to read his blog at http://www.elijahhancock.blogspot.com/. It makes me so thankful for healthy grandchildren and children. I can hardly imagine how incredibly difficult it must be to have a small child going through this. I was incredibly upset when Son #3 had to have the emergency craniotomy to remove the subdural hematoma in October. Even though he is 27, my first inclination was to hop a plane and go to North Carolina to be with him. One of the hardest things to do was to respect his wishes and not do so and just wait to see him till he was able to travel home. Please remember Elijah in your prayers and I have an incredibly strong testimony of what the power of prayer can do.

Not much else is new, we are trying to make it through this cold snap which has included the water line to the dishwasher being frozen (can I just tell you how much I hate washing dishes by hand) and the furnance seeming to run non-stop.

Do You Hear What I Hear

2008-01-06T16:03:00.000-06:00

Absolutely nothing . . . the last of the children left on Friday. Grandpa and I are enjoying peace and quiet. Don't get me wrong we had a wonderful time having the kids and their kids around for the holidays, but let's face facts, Grandpa and Grandma aren't terribly exciting and have gotten to the point that we really do enjoy the quiet of just the two of us. Grandpa spends a lot of time on the computer posting to political blogs and attempting to interest me in ones he finds interesting (one would thing after being married about a million years he would know that I don't like to be read ALOUD to) and playing WoW. I can usually be found knitting, reading or messing around on my computer. How we would ever exist with only one computer is beyond me, we have dueling computers with in the computer room.

I have been busy trying to map out a knitting strategy for the new year. I am going to try to accomplish at least one pair of socks a month this year (my goal last year and I woefully missed the mark) and am also going to get busy on some serious lace knitting. The first couple of months of this years I need to get busy doing baby knitting as we will be welcoming a new grandson in March. I am busy scoping out patterns and suitable yarns.

I think it time for a cup of tea and some more knitting!

A Family Christmas

2007-12-26T21:41:00.001-06:00

Everyone is either eating of looking at Grandpa

Christmas Dinner - Daughter-In-Law w/Grandaughter

Christmas Afternoon w/Daughter and her girls

Son #1, Daughter, Son #4, Son #3

After a perilous drive back from Chicago on Saturday which included Son #3 missing his original flight out of Raleigh (although that later became a mute point as that flight was cancelled), we were finally able to retrieve Son #3 from the complete chaos of O'Hare around noon. The drive out of Chicago and until Iowa City was just a great deal of rain. When I say that once we got to Iowa City that the weather went to the dogs that would truly be a gross understatement. It was about a 35 mph trip all the way from Iowa City to Des Moines. We saw lots of cars that had slid off into the ditch and the medium. However, the real tale of just how bad the weather was when about Grinnell there were two snow plows that had slid into the medium. We finally got back here to Des Moines about 8:30 p.m., so roughly an 8 1/2 hour trip.

The next couple of days were comprised of running around and finishing last minute shopping, a huge wrapping party, last minute grocery shopping (what an absolute zoo the Hy-Vee on Grand was on Christmas Eve).

All of it turned out to be worth it though, having four of the six kids here for Christmas with their families was wonderful even if it was a little hectic and noisy . . . .

Feeling the Crunch

2007-12-20T18:36:00.000-06:00

It would appear that I like most of the knitter's I know have seriously underestimated the amount of knitting time available prior to the opening of Christmas presents. I may have bought some extra time by insisting that nothing is to be opened until Christmas morning . . . no exceptions! That being said, I am beginning to feel the crunch. Actually the time schedule would have worked had not son #4 with family in tow arrived a day early, an totally unscheduled trip w/daughter #1 to retrieve son #3 from Chicago due to a "snafu" with son #1's scheduled departure time from the greater Chicago area to Des Moines had not gotten put on the schedule. I am beginning to get seriously angry w/the United States military and their seeming lack of concern for my holiday preparations. Daughter #1 and I will be leaving Des Moines around 3:30 p.m. on Friday, arriving in Gurnee, IL at son #1's apartment probably about 9:00 p.m. +, retrieve son #3 from Chicago/O'Hare at 7:16 a.m. on Saturday morning (I certainly hope all the air traffic gods align so that he leaves Raleigh, NC on time and hence arrive Chicago O'Hare on time), knitting time on the way over will be seriously reduced by the fact that it gets dark early, hopefully knitting time on the way home will be better. However, as luck would have it the weather is supposed to turn to absolute crap around midnight on Friday . . . so the drive home may be tricky.

I still need to finish the multi-directional scarf for son #1, have four pairs of felted clogs to knit and felt, thank goodness that they are all for little people and whip up pretty fast and I had hoped to finish a pair of socks for son #4 . . . plus I still have to block "the daughter's" gift and the hat and gloves that match the scarf that isn't yet finished. I have to at some point go to the grocery store and get the fixins' for Christmas dinner.

Now that I look this all over I think I am going to have a nice cup of tea and whimper quietly in the corner before I start knitting again.

Finally Back

2007-12-19T20:46:00.000-06:00

After a seriously long a absence from blogging I am trying to get back into it. I am again staying at home and filling my days with knitting and chasing after my granddaughter. She is 1 1/2 now and is seriously busy! Her favorite pastime these days is coloring.

Things have been incredibly crazy around here. The holidays have been fun and I am looking forward to a family Christmas with four of the six kids home for the holiday. This year will be extra special because son #3 had an emergency craniotomy in October for a subdural hematoma. It was very hard and I had to really reign in my mothering by not flying to North Carolina to be with him and respecting his wishes. Son #1 is will also be here and he will be deploying to Afghanistan the 3rd of February. Son #4 and his family are here (yes, for all of you keeping track the "baby" got married in May of this year). Next year at this time we will have a new grandson to celebrate Christmas with. Daughter #1 (actually the only daughter) will be here with her family, so it will be crowded, busy and tons of fun.

I had tried to back to work in August but it proved to be to much for my MS which really flared in late October/early November. Now that I am home again and watching my diet and fatigue level it seems to be doing better.

I have decided to work on one of my New Year's resolutions early to start consistently adding to my blog.

Still in the Deep Freeze

2007-02-03T12:02:00.000-06:00

It is still . . . . very cold here in Des Moines as you can tell by the weather sticker from Wunderground. I am going to go venture out today to see a dear friend who shattered her femur about two weeks ago. It has been so cold I haven't been a terribly good friend but I am riding with another friend to go see her. Updates to come.

It's Cold Outside

2007-02-02T11:31:00.000-06:00

Windchill: -14 °F / -25 °C

It is incredibly cold outside here as you can see from the latest temperature reading, on the bright side it is at least sunny! I hate to combine cold with gray skies. Today isn't even supposed to be the coldest day, tomorrow is supposed to be colder.

I braved the elements yesterday morning and went to the libray and stocked up on some mystery/romance novels for this cold spell. I do not intend to go out unless I absolutely have to. After warming up the car for fifteen minutes this morning it was still chilly in the car when I went to take Rach to school. I figure I am good to go, I have books and my knitting and as an added bonus there is figure skating on television this weekend. It really doesn't get much better than that.

I have been somewhat distracted from knitting for the past week or so. I have been reading lots and playing World of Warcraft. I am extremely proud that I have managed to level my character without any help from anyone to a level fourteen. I had forgotten how addictive this game can be, it really sucks you into it.

This morning I am busy doing wash and I have some bananas that are crying to be made into banana bread.

A Busy Morning

2007-01-23T11:40:00.000-06:00

Today has already been a busy day. Took Rach to school along with her Sydney Opera House project, hope it made it class in one piece! I then made a grocery store run which I absolutely detest. It is not the shopping so much but the lugging it into the house and then putting everything away. I think because putting things away forces cleaning and well . . . that is never fun. I started a "BIG" pot of beef stew with all kinds of good veggies in it for dinner tonight. Ran the vacumm and started the dishwasher. I have laundry that is screaming to be done . . . but I like to live life like Scarlett O'Hara, "Tomorrow is another day!"

It is snowing again here in Des Moines so it looks like an afternoon of knitting. I am making great progess of hubby's vest. The back of the vest is almost finished and then I can start on the front. All in all, it has been pretty easy knitting. It is just the sheer size of knitting for hubby that seems to make me think twice about it. The pattern I am using is the "Peter Easy" by Berroco, it is one of their "free" patterns and actually was sized so that I didn't have to make changes to fit hubby.

I have some really new cool sock yarn that I got at Knitted Together that I am dying to make into some crazy socks for me. Rachel and Izzy are both sporting the Crosspatch Hat from the pattern at Knitty, they look great and I had a lot of fun doing them.

That is it for today . . .

A New Beginning

2007-01-22T09:40:00.000-06:00

This is my first post on my very own blog. Here I will be writing about my life which includes my family and my hobbies. My biggest hobby is knitting. Most days when I have free time you can find me knitting something. I am currently on a hat binge . . . winter has finally arrived here in Iowa and EVERYONE needs a hat!