A jigsaw puzzle for you!

Click on the puzzle to mix it and solve!

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Christmas! I can't believe it's almost Christmas time already! I finally put our Christmas tree up! I didn't go all out this year though.
RE: my last post, we did get several inches of snow. My perm appointment got postponed for a day, but I did get it. I don't have a pic yet.
That same day, I went to the allergist. I got 99 injections to see what I'm allergic to. Turns out, I am allergic to 32 of those "things". My serum should be in this next week. I'll get injections weekly for 5 years. Ugh.
We currently have a winter storm warning...up to 17 inches of snow here. Woohoo! But, there'll be some ice and sleet as well.
I've been busy making stuff...

I made these for a swap. The mini notebook on the left was fun to make. It's a spiral bound notebook. I covered the spirals with all sorts of fibers/ribbons. The item on the right is a tin full of cute embellies...some I made, some I bought.

This is a note card set I made with a card box. All the cards inside have a winter theme but they're all different.

This is another set I made for a gal in CA. The second photo shows the fibers on the box handle better.

This item is a Tic Tac Holder that I made for a swap! You make the base with solid color cardstock then embellish the front. The Tic Tac's go inside and a ribbon closes it and holds it all together!

For everyone at Fred's pharmacy, I made "Warm Thoughts" jars. There are thoughts pertaining to Christmas and the holidays folded up and put in the jar. You draw out one slip of paper each day, up through Christmas eve. There are quotes, scriptures and also fun things to do as families. The second photo is a close-up of the jars.

Winter has finally arrived!

We have our first Winter Weather Advisory today. We're supposed to get 3-5 inches of snow tonight and tomorrow. We'll see! lol We had a dusting of snow yesterday but it got up to 34* so it didn't last long.
I'm so excited!! Tomorrow I'm getting a perm! WOOHOO! My hair is a couple inches below my waist and it is stick straight!! The straight part is the part I hate. My hair curls so easily and perms last me almost 2 years, so it's time! It takes at least 4 hours for me to get the perm. I'll post a pic!

Where've I been??

I can't believe I haven't blogged in almost a month! It's been a busy time, in lots of ways.
First of all, we had an unexpected death in our small church and it was a difficult time.
Then, I got yet another sinus infection and have been sick for about 3 weeks. The DR didn't want to give me antibiotics again, because I've been on them 5 times since August. But, I got reeeaally sick so he finally put me on 2 weeks worth of meds. The sinus surgeon was contacted and he is sending me for allergy testing. Oh boy! Really though, I'd love it if they could fix me up with some good allergy meds so that I wouldn't need the sinus surgery.
Then, we've been doing LOTS of purging of stuff. We've worked in the garages, going through stuff. We threw away a bunch, took 2 truck loads to the Attic Window in Muncie, which is a place that finances the men's homeless shelter there. The rest got sorted into bins and Fred put up an awesome shelving system around the top of the garage, just below the ceiling. So, now everything is organized and stored! Woohoo! And it feels GREAT! I used to think that having lots of stuff filled voids in my life, but now I know that it just isn't true. It causes lots of stress. Getting rid of so much stuff has been very freeing!
Tomorrow is our Thanksgiving dinner at church. My contributions are made-from-scratch sage dressing (stuffing), 2 pans of peanut butter fudge, green bean casserole and sweet tea. =)Everyone brings lots of food and it's a great time of fellowship after church!
My family plus my FIL and step MIL will all be here for Thanksgiving day.
It was 29* degrees this morning. Ugh!! lol
Until next time...Happy Thanksgiving!!

Paper

We've lived in this house for about 22 months now. We still have so much stuff we haven't unpacked. It's stuff we don't need on a daily or weekly basis. It's stuff from the past and who knows what else! But, I've been working on my stamping/scrapbooking room and have gotten some great shelving units and organizers. I've been sorting my scrapbook paper. Who knew I had about 2000 pieces of paper!? And, I just happen to know where a ton more is out in the garage. I've always been a paper lover. I've always loved to cut paper. As a child in the 70's I'd cut up the old Sears, Penny's and Montgomery Ward catalogs. I'd cut out a "dad" and a "mom" and lots of kids. I'd cut out furniture, clothes, the whole nine yards. Sometimes I'd glue these paper dolls and accessories in a scrapbook. Remember those old scrapbooks with construction paper-type pages? I still have mine, with all my fancy stuff glued in! lol
As a teenager, I cut tons of paper to make Friendship Books.
As a getting-closer-to-40 year old woman, I still cut paper! It's very therapeutic.
For me anyway. It drives my hubby nuts.;-)

Last Weekend

I tried out a new card "recipe" and had lots of fun making tons of Halloween and Thanksgiving cards while Fred....



...brought home a 2007 Chevy Silverado Crew Cab...just for the weekend. He had serious thoughts about leasing it, but decided against it in the end.

A few of my favorite things

Altered Box

Here's the front of a "Family Movie Night" box I made for a swapper friend. Her last name is Honkomp, so I spelled out her last name on the front of the box. The little white tag in the bottom left says Family Movie Night.

Here's one side of the box...a movie reel.

The top of the box says "What movie should we see??"

The white strip on the black paper says "Now Playing..." and the white strip of paper tucked inside says Admit One. There's an old movie camera and a film strip too.

Here's another side of the box.

I filled the inside of the box with Cracker Jack, popcorn and other movie favorites!

Day with a friend

A friend, Dawn, and I went to Indianapolis yesterday, just to get out of the house.
On the way down, we stopped at Michelle Young's house and we each bought a copy of the Brand New Stampin' Up! catalog!! YAY!! Their catalogs are going to come out twice a year now instead of once a year.
We ate at "On the Border" Mexican restaurant in Castleton and then hit our destination...Archiver's scrapbook store!!!! Woohoo!! You'd have thought we were at Disney World or something!!!
I'm not sure how many trips we made around the store, but we were in there for at least 2 hours!!
I came home with some new clear, single stamps...love it when you can buy those as singles/mini sets!! And $2 each!!
I got some yummy new Autumn papers, some fabulous vintage Christmas papers, stickers for pen pals, some plain chipboard coasters, etc.
I came home and got busy on some projects!! I made Thanksgiving coasters for a swap. I also finished up a "Movie Night" box for another swap. Fun!! I'll post pix soon!
Somedays, I just LoVe getting out of the house! =)

The premier scrapbook store… welcome to Archiver's.

Life

I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.
--Diane Ackerman

Sept.19

I am one month & 2 days post-op and I went to the surgeon's office yesterday for a follow-up. He said I was a quick healer, doing great and didn't need to come back unless I had any future problems! YAY!
Last week, I got the results of my CAT scan of my sinuses. Turns out, I have to go see a surgeon about sinus surgery. Ugh! The surgeon I'll be seeing did my tonsillectomy when I was 26 and he's awesome, so I'll go and hear what he has to say, then decide about the surgery. I haven't heard very many good things about sinus surgery, so we'll see.
We had to turn on the furnace Sunday morning as it was in the low 40's but this week, it's near 90* everyday!! Fred hopes to finish sealing the driveway tomorrow.

Too much work!

Fred thought he'd repave our driveway all in one day. Our driveway is about 600 feet long. He worked 8 hours on one day, 3-4 hours the next day and only got about half way done! He had two words for this project...NEVER AGAIN! LOL This photo was taken from our living room window when he was at about the half way point in the driveway.

He still has several hours of work until he gets it finished. He always has huge aspirations! =) Always wanting to save a little money by doing things himself...but never again for this project!! lol To tell you how long our driveway is, that's his pick-up truck in the photo! It looks so small!!

Baby bird

When we were outside working on the new sidewalk, the racket of this nearby birdhouse was so amazing!! I think there were about 5 babies inside ( I had to get a ladder to look inside. We really enjoyed watching the mama bird bring food to the babies every few minutes. I was hoping I could get two or three babies in the photo, but this one baby was very pushy and very vocal! HA!

Post-op

I had my surgery as scheduled and did great with all things surgery-related. I did get a really bad UTI from the catheter, but have gotten over that with the help of antibiotics. Six days post-op, I was really sick though and my temp got up to 102.5* After talking with the surgeon's office, it was determined that I didn't have a uterine infection, but instead was still suffering from sinus related issues. My antibiotics was changed. I had a high temp for about 8 days!

I went to my regular DR today to follow up on what made me so sick post-op, as he wasn't aware of all that had been happening. I had 3 days of antibiotics left and he said that wasn't enough and gave me another round. I'm having so much trouble catching a breath! Then he gave me an inhaler, plus some Ambien since I'm not sleeping at night anymore. Then, he sent me down to the lab and I had a CAT scan of my head/sinuses. I'll know more from that the end of next week. I guess things are going much better around his office now that he has a new nurse! LOL
He told me that not being able to sleep after all the procedures I had done is normal. He wondered if I was going through a grieving process, knowing that for sure I can't have children now. He said, "You always had that hope before, but now it's gone."

Truthfully, I've been too sick to grieve! But also, I made peace with it pre-op. I mean, I had a "supernatural" peace from the Lord. It was a peace that I knew came from Him. So, post-op, I've only felt relief. No more ups and downs with infertility, no more wishing, hoping, grieving. Thirteen years was long enough! No, I'm not happy about the answer the Lord's given me, but I accept it. Now, to get well and go forward with life!

My DR told me today, "There's a reason for everything. God could have made you a man, but He made you a woman for a reason. God could have done any number of things, but He made you just like you are and He has you in this place for a reason. Now, you need to bless other people's lives. We're only given so much time on this earth and we must fill it by being and doing!" My DR rocks! LOL

One more day!

I went to my pre-op appointment today and was thrilled to learn my BP meds are already working! My BP was down to 110/74, which is great for me!
I'm having a little trouble this evening with some pre-op stuff (I'll spare the details), but I'm looking forward to getting on the other side of this!
Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers!!

Pre-op days

On Friday afternoon (8/10) I checked my BP and it was 187/104! I waited a few minutes and rechecked it and it was 174/102. Called the DR...he immediately placed me on BP meds! We drove straight to Muncie and picked them up. I started them that afternoon.
Six days later, I'm doing OK on them. They make me REALLY sleepy and rubbery feeling. But, at least I'm finally sleeping better. =)
I finished my antibiotics but I'm still running a fever and that has me worried! I SO want to get this surgery behind me! I go for a pre-op appointment tomorrow afternoon. My in-laws are coming tomorrow evening, spending the night and going to the hospital with us.
My husband is an only child and it grieves me to know we can't make his dad a grandpa (with a biological child).
I've been putting all my nervous energy to good use! I've scrubbed my house within an inch of its life! LOL I've made lots of food to freeze so that we won't starve while I've recovering. Although... Fred can make a pretty tasty grilled cheese!
Less than two days until show time!! Woohoo!! LOL

DR visit

I went to my regular DR (Rousseau) today because I have been sick all week with bronchitis type stuff. When we helped mom move last weekend, I got into a lot of mold and mildew in her old apartment and was Really sick on Sunday and it has just hung on all week. So, off to the DR I went because I HAVE to get well so that I can have my surgery next week!
He said he was very concerned about the junk I'd inhaled. My air way was very swollen and I have a hard time catching a breath. So, he put me on steroids for a few days to give me some relief. He also put me on an antibiotic for 7 days. He said taking the steroid will help my antibiotic to work better. Then, I'm on something else for the drainage, etc.

My blood pressure was 150/101. I wasn't nervous so I don't know what is up with that. He took it again and it was 151/103. My pulse was 110. I was running a temp too, so he hopes the high BP is just because I don't feel well. He said I have to get it checked again over the next few days because I can't go into surgery with it that high. He might put me on some meds to bring it down, he said.

You know all that trouble I had with that nurse of his. He apologized over and over. Then, he asked if I had met his new nurse! He just grinned! No, I hadn't met her! He let the other one go! He said in his French accent, "Mee-shelluh, she was crazy in the head!" LOL He gave me lots of details. Said she was very absent-minded and unorganized and that he just couldn't carry the load by himself. So, he now has a new nurse! He said he didn't feel so bad letting her go as she was able to get another job. We talked about what a nice person she is in general but he said she just wasn't a good fit for him.

I know a lot of people didn't understand why I thought the DR would be on our side, but I knew if I bid my time, it would all work out! He just hugged me and thanked me for speaking up. He said I wasn't the only one who had trouble with her and he said "when you just put it (all the complaints) all together it's just too much!" lol
So YAY! lol
Tonight I started out on 6 Prednisone and 2 antibiotics, so I'm hoping & praying all this mess with clear up.
I know it sounds nuts, but I am looking forward to this surgery! I can't wait to feel well!! Monday I started bleeding very heavily and by Tuesday was wearing 2 overnight pads in a Depends again. A girl can't live like that! lol It really crimps my style to wear a Depends to town!! LOL

Blessed by another blogger...

I just finished an awesome Christian fiction book by author Tracey Bateman. I was just checking out her web site and saw this entry on her blog. Due to some current circumstances, this entry really blessed me!


Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Faith
Yesterday was hard. It was one of those days where I felt like a failure. I cried and wrote in my journal, "Lord, how can I speak to your precious women about trusting and surrender and your ability to make them into the writer you've called them to be, when I so clearly haven't fully surrendered my own plans?"
I got discouraging news yesterday. News that made me feel like I'm not good enough. Like someone whose respect I truly want, just doesn't respect me at all. Ouch. That hurts. I had a day of asking the Lord to please take my hurt. please allow me the grace to keep moving if the answer from Him is "no" to the dream that I truly thought was His idea.

It's easy to be a Barbarian in theory. But when push comes to shove, do I lay down my weapon and give up, or do I hold up my leather shield against the onslaught of arrows coming at me and say, "NO if I fail, I fail trying."

It took all day for me to summon the strength to raise my shield, to flick off the arrows that had been stinging me all day. By the time I was ready to stop feeling sorry for myself, God spoke to my heart and once again assured me that He will complete that which He began in me. I dream so big, that there are going to be disappointments on the way up. There will be setbacks, there will be sore muscles, there will be flesh wounds. But only I decide if the wounds are unto death or annoyances that just make me more determined to stay in and continue to fight for the Heart of my King.

I choose to fight for His glory. I choose to complete my current assignments from him and make them truly something for his Honor. -Author Tracey Bateman

Someone is trying to use lies and evil to destroy something that is very close to me/us. I just told Fred last night I will not stand by and watch someone try to destroy this "thing" that is so special-that if "it" went down, I wanted to go down with "it", defending it! But, I know God is bigger than the lies and He will fight this battle on our behalf! My motto of late is "I will walk by faith, not by sight"

The same...

Author Lloyd C Douglas lived in a three story apartment building on the third floor.
Every morning he walked down to get his paper and spoke with a composer who lived on the first floor because he was confined to a wheel
chair. The man would tap his walking stick on the floor every day and tell Lloyd C Douglas, "That's Middle C" Lloyd would say, "Yes, I know. You told me yesterday and the day before."The composer said, "What do you think it will be tomorrow." Lloyd would smile and say, "Middle C" The composer would nod and say, "Just like God. He's the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow."

Yum!

We were in Nashville, TN a couple years ago and tried Fried Dill Pickles for the first time. I was skeptical at first, but oh my gosh! Yum with a capital Y! Since then, we've had them locally, but they just couldn't compete with their southern counterparts. However, I found this recipe online and the pickles taste just like the ones we had in Tennessee. We eat them dipped in Ranch dressing. YUM.

Science of Pickles: Fried Dill Pickles Recipe

News from the DR's office

The good news I got today is that I don't have a blood-clotting disorder that they thought I might have. The other news I got is that the pelvic ultrasound I had done last week showed a polyp in my uterus that must come out and that maybe it is the cause of my heavy bleeding. Only 16 more days until surgery! Woohoo!! lol

Letter from our Adopted Soldier!!

We received a great gift in today's mail...our first letter from our adopted soldier!! What a fun surprise!! We weren't sure if we'd ever hear from him, but we're so excited to have a letter from him!
He writes:
I wanted to thank you for all that you have sent me. It surely helped me out a lot. Sorry it took so long to write back but had a lot of stuff to do. Thank you for the letters they are great. I have been waiting for a package from back home for longer than it took your letters and packages to get here. Weird, huh? I wanted to say thank you for all you do and how you help total strangers out in your work, so I guess we have something in common. Medicine is not only of the body & mind, but spirit and heart. I am an old fashioned kind of guy. I have a wife and 2 girls who I adore more than life itself. I have 2 brothers and 2 sisters and I am the youngest out of all. I have one brother in Iraq and my sisters are still stateside. As for being the youngest, I know how it feels to be left out of just about everything. I also have the best of friends over here. The best team that consists of three others. We are mechanics, sort of like what you do except instead of humans we do on vehicles. Have to get back to work now. It's been an honor to write you and I will write you a letter again soon! Freedom for all!!! (Those words were underlined). From Groll, Robert J US ARMY PS-Thanks for being an angel... SOLDIERS ANGEL!!! (underlined)

Nifty purse!

An elderly German lady at church made this purse for me to sell on my site or eBay. I have one of these purses in different fabric that I bought at the Cracker Barrel and she loved it. She took it home, eyeballed it to make a pattern and made this purse within a day or two!

July 4

July 4th was such a lazy day for us! None of us combed our hair all day, I'm sure! Here's some awful pix of us, waiting on the fireworks to start.

Fred

Me

Mom (sorry, mom!! lol)

Some photos from my afternoon drive

Below is a display in the Warm Glow Candle Outlet

Below is the exterior of the Warm Glow Candle Outlet in Centerville, IN

An old, empty store in a small Indiana town

Where's my pellet gun??

Every night, a raccoon is tearing the bird feeders out of the tree right off the right porch. It is tearing down the hummingbird feeder and twisting the bottom off of it! I'm tired of filling it back up! I haven't done so in a week. Today, I was sitting in the LR and a hummer came and hovered, staring in the picture window at me as if to say, "Come on lady!!! Fill that feeder back up!!".
The other night, we heard this awful clatter after we'd gone to bed. We went out to investigate and found a mess on the front porch. My "new-to-me" table was knocked over and everything on it was on the porch floor. A raccoon looked up at us through the porch rails like a victim or something!
Gonna get my pellet gun loaded and he'll think "victim!"

Surgery

My surgery has been scheduled for August 17. I have to be at the hospital in Muncie at 6 AM. Ugh!Maybe being in a sleepy-zombie state will lessen my nervousness! LOL
I go back to the specialist tomorrow for a procedure.

I think...

Unless I change my mind, I think I'll go with option 4 (See previous post).


I think I'd like to get it all done and over with at the same time. I'm trying to be realistic and remind myself that 13 years without birth control and numerous fertility drugs did not produce a baby, so by having all the prodecures done, I won't be losing anything, but gaining better health, hopefully.

Visit to the specialist July 12th

Originally typed July 12:

The DR today says my terrible bleeding and pain is all related to my Polycystic Ovarian Disease. The easy way to offer me some relief is to take birth control pills, but I cannot do that because I get blood clots too easily. They took NINE vials of blood today to check me for a genetic blood clotting disorder! He did a quick pelvic exam, which really hurt, so that certainly shows the tenderness that's going on and he said my right ovary is much larger than the left.
Another option was a special type of IUD that would stop my periods, but carries a small risk of causing me a blood clot. I am NOT interested in an IUD. Ideally, he said, I need surgery.

It's up to me as to know "much" surgery I want to go through.

#1- I can do the least, which is a D & C. That might last me 3-6 months, or 10 years, the DR said.
#2- I can have a D & C and have my uterine lining burnt & sealed, which is called Endometrial ablation & would end my periods. This would end my chances of ever having children.
#3- I can do the above, PLUS there's a slight chance I could become pregnant in the future, but I would NOT be able to carry a baby, so in addition to the above, I would have my tubes tied.
#4- In addition to all the above, they could "poke holes" in my ovaries to deflate them, which would relieve some/a lot of the ovarian cysts ( I have 100's of cysts from the PCOS) and would give me some relief in general. I told him I feel like I'm carrying small sand bags around in my belly. If they get in and see that one ovary is far worse than the other, they would remove one.
#5- Hysterectomy. This is a last resort for me because I cannot take hormones or anything afterwards. So, as the DR said, I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. He said I cannot take 80% of the meds I would need (and do need now) because of fear of blood clots.

He wants to go with option #4. I have to go in for another pelvic ultrasound in 2 weeks. He also gave me the phone number for his surgical nurse to call anytime I have questions.

I could not believe how awesome this DR was. He was BEYOND thorough. Fred was so impressed!

I've had PCOS for at least 14 years. I have thought all along that I'd done something to cause it...maybe eating too much sugar, etc. as PCOS is an insulin problem, but he told me it's something I was born with. That I couldn't eat enough broccoli or live healthy enough to change the fact I was born with PCOS. I never knew that. I carried a lot of guilt for my infertility all these years because I thought I'd caused my PCOS.

I can't remember what else he told us. We were there for 2 hours.

Please keep us in your prayers as we make some decisions. Thanks!

Fun time!

We had a fun evening on July 3, the evening of our anniversary. We went to Indy and couldn't decide where to eat...we'd narrowed it down to Bucca de Beppo & The Cheesecakse Factory. So, we went to both!! We ate dinner at Bucca, went shopping, then about 10 PM, we went to the Factory and had Key Lime Cheesecake while sitting outside in their Tuscan "villa" setting. We were able to watch some fireworks being set off too!

July 4, my mom came up.I took a 4 hour nap! We had nice weather all day until 9:30 PM! Our fireworks were rained out. They were rescheduled for Saturday night. So, that Sat. night, we got carry-out from Pizza Hut and went to the park for a picnic before the fireworks. They were worth the wait!! The grand finale was exceptional!
Mom stayed 7 days and we had a lot of fun, floating around in the pool!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Today Fred & I are celebrating our 14th wedding anniversary. In fact, as I type this, the time is 3 minutes until the time our wedding started, back on July 3, 1993!!
We had such a beautiful wedding! The weather was gorgeous and we were able to share our day with so many family and friends!
Our colors were burgundy, hunter green and a touch of gold. We had 14 people in our wedding party!
My father-in-law, who is a minister, did the special prayer while we were at the kneeling/prayer bench. It was very moving and so anointed. There wasn't a dry eye in the church!
Fred's mom had kidney failure when he was about 10. She prayed that she'd live long enough to see him graduate high school. She did. She then prayed she'd live long enough to see him get married. She did. Fred's dad mentioned these things in his prayer at the wedding and it was so moving! We were all crying! My MIL Jane lived to see her son graduate from pharmacy school at Butler University and begin his career as a pharmacist. He actually became a pharmacist due to the influence of the medical people in his mom's life during her sickness.
We had our reception at the church and then drove to Indianapolis for the night. The next day, we flew to Boston then drove to Cape Cod. We stayed in B & B's, ate fresh seafood and just had a fabulous time! I think the most special thing was while we were staying at Mostly Hall B & B in Falmouth, MA., right on the ocean. We walked down to the beach and sat with thousands of others on the sand, watching the fireworks being shot off a ship out in the water! It was breathtaking! Somewhere, way down the beach, someone began singing "America the Beautiful" and it filtered down the shore as everyone joined in. Thousands were singing but there was a hush in the air and it was so moving that we sang with tears streaming down our faces! All these years later, we've never forgotten the feeling we felt, on that beach in Massachusetts, sitting among strangers but all having a common bond in the pride and thankfulness we felt in living in America.
We drove to Newport Rhode Island and visited the Vanderbilt's mansion there, ate more seafood, etc. This is where Jackie Kennedy grew up and her family home is there.

See The Breakers here: http://tickets.newportmansions.org/mansion.aspx?id=1000

See Mostly Hall here: http://www.mostlyhall.com/

While there, we stayed in this room: http://www.mostlyhall.com/accoma3bc.html#

We went to Hyannis Port, MA and saw an eternal flame for JFK.
We ferried to Martha's Vineyard. What fun!! We saw Jackie's home there, as well as Carly Simon and...what's that lady's name that was married to Woody Allen? Her home is there. There is just so much to see and do in Martha's Vineyard!
We drove to Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, MA. We got to see the rock where the Pilgrims landed. We stayed in a little, old cabin near there. There's "Plimouth Plantation" there-it's like a living history outdoor museum. I bought some little things in the gift shop there that I still put on our Christmas tree each year!

This photo of us looks so funny! I held it at an angle and it makes us look like midgets with big heads!! lol

Our Reception


We're going to Indianapolis tonight to eat and do some shopping. YAY! lol

A Very Special Friend

On July 1, 1917, a blessing was born into this world! We have a very special friend. Her name is Christeena Slattery. She turned 90 today! She still drives, shops, paints ceramics, etc. and she worked in a gift shop up until a few years ago.
She is someone that I aspire to be like in all ways! She is a prayer warrior and a very Godly woman. I feel blessed and honored to know her.
Here is a photo of us with her celebrating her birthday and the second photo is of her and her husband, back in the day. Her husband passed away a few years ago. They spent their life pastoring, working for the Lord.



This third photo is of Harry & Christeena Slattery's wedding day.

Country Drive

On a country drive this evening, we saw this old brick building. It looked like a house and there were several outbuildings and at least one barn. But while it looked like a house, it also looked like it had once been a church or a school maybe? Up above the windows on the front, the bricks are removed in the shape of a cross. The weeds are so grown up, they nearly disguise the arched door on the front. I love how the sun behind the building kind of gives it a special aura!

Sweet surprise

I was looking at this flower, thinking about taking a photo of it, when this butterfly decided to check out the flower too! What timing!

Porch

This is my favorite spot on the front porch. The plant on the table is the home to the mama bird and her nest of 5 eggs.

After I accidentally scared the mama out of her nest ( see previous post), I got a photo of a couple of the eggs in her nest.

Never leave the door open...

when you are watering plants that have bird's nests in them! I was putting a little water in the plant on the front porch that is housing a mama bird and 5 eggs and it startled the mama (even though I was very careful and not near the nest!) and she promptly flew into the house, via the front door I'd left standing open! She checked out the dining room and the living room and finally flew back outside. She never made a peep in the house but the instant she got outside, you could hear her sassing me for a country mile!

YUMMY!

I went to a Stampin' Up! class last weekend and the gal served the yummiest cheese dip and it's SO simple! I made some last night and served it over taco salads but it's awesome to eat it with just taco/tortilla chips!
Recipe:

1 can Hormel chili without beans
2 bricks cream cheese, 8 oz. each, cut into pieces

Melt ingredients over low heat in a saucepan on the stove, or you can put into a crock pot on low. Stir well and serve!

YUM!

Our adopted soldier!

Last week, there was an article in our newspaper about a program called "Soldier's Angel...May No Soldier Go Unloved". I decided to check it out online, read about it and we decided to "adopt" a soldier! I just did this last night and today, we received our soldier's info! His name is Robert and he is in Afghanistan.
I'm SO excited! If you'd like to adopt a deployed soldier or just want to read about the program, go here: http://www.soldiersangels.com/
We may never hear back from our soldier, but if we do, I'll be sure to post it here!

My poor pool

Every night, we have raccoons in our back yard around the pool. I've been afraid one would stand up on the side of our pool and puncture it or something. Well, something has happened! All the water is gone, save for a few inches! Wah!! It isn't the hoses or the pump. Don't know what has happened but I'm bummed!

Peterson Creek Primitives feature

My home and business have been featured in a Primitive Blog! You can check it out here:

http://eweniquetreasures.blogspot.com/2007/06/wednesday-inspirations-620.html

Lazy Saturday

I guess we're going to be really lazy two days in a row! lol It's nearly 3 PM and we're both still in our p.j.'s. It's raining a nice, steady gentle rain that we so desperately need. I tried to sit in the rocking chair on the front porch and go through some cookbooks, but with the breeze, I froze and had to come in. It's so chilly out!
Right next to the rocking chair on the porch is a small table with a potted flower. I went out the other day to see dirt all over the table and on the porch right around the table. I investigated and found a bird's nest in the potted plant with one egg in it! I looked in the nest last night and there are 5 eggs now.

Lazy Friday

We've finally got our pool set up and nearly ready to go. We have rusty well water, so we always have to do a special treatment to the water once we have the pool filled up. We put this white powdery stuff in the pool that costs $27 a bottle (yikes!) and the rust in the water clings to the white stuff and it all floats to the bottom of the pool and stays there until we vacuum it out. So, I vacuumed the pool floor tonight while Fred fixed a tiny leak on the filter hose. I wish someone would come out this far to fill our pool with nice clean water annually, but no one will come out this far. In the community we used to live in, the volunteer fire dept. comes and fills your pool for a small fee.
Two days ago, I started the heavy bleeding again. After still no response from my DR, the onset of the bleeding prompted me to contact the administrator of my DR's office building yesterday. Within 90 minutes, I had a personal phone call from the DR yesterday and by this morning I had a call with an appointment scheduled with a specialist. The bummy part is the OB/GYN appt. is on my anniversary...July 3! Oh well.

For those of you not aware of all the problems I've been having concerning the DR's office, this is the letter I sent him on June 8:

June 8, 2007
Dear Dr. XXXXX,
I am writing to express my concern and feelings about what I feel is a lack of care by your nurse, Tonya.
I had a uterine biopsy in your office on May 9. By that point, I had been bleeding off and on for 2 months and had possibly even suffered a miscarriage. I was told the biopsy results would be back in a week’s time.
After not hearing from your office for 9-10 days following the test, I began calling and left messages with the various ladies who answer the phone, asking for someone to call me concerning the test results. No one returned my calls. In hind sight, I guess the test results weren’t in, but I think someone should have returned my calls to let me know that. When you are sick and waiting on biopsy results, the wait is very hard.
Four days after the test, on Sunday, May 13 I had to go to the ER for uncontrollable uterine bleeding. Dr. Sowers was on call and directed us to BMH. I was bleeding out an overnight pad every hour. I was put on Provera, 20 MG for 10 days and instructed four times by the ER NP to call you the first thing the following morning. I called at 9:25 AM on Monday, May 14. I spoke directly to Tonya. She promised to talk with you, see if you wanted me to do anything different then call me back that day. I’ve never heard from her concerning this and do not know if she told you I went to the ER. I bled so strongly that week that I wore two overnight pads at a time inside a Depends undergarment and slept on a shower curtain liner.
Twenty days after the test, I once again spoke with a phone operator. She was very sympathetic and said that she was sure someone would have already called with the test results and stated that I must have missed the call. She said, “I promise someone will call you back today.” I waited by the phone until 11 PM and no one returned my call.
The next day, my husband called Tonya and left her message, asking her about the results. She called him back immediately at his pharmacy and tried to give him the results. He prompted her to call me and tell me the results herself. She told him the results had come in at 9 PM the night before but she didn’t want to call that late. I wish Fred had told her I’d waited by the phone until 11:00. I told Tonya that I was still feeling very poorly. She said she would “sit down with Dr. XXXX tonight” and call me back the following day. Two or three weeks later, I’m still waiting to hear from her. The ER NP told me to go to a OB/GYN. I asked Tonya if you wanted me to come back in or if I needed to go to an OB/GYN. That is one of the things she was to ask you and let me know and I still have no answers.
I am, in no means, trying to cause trouble. I just feel like you aren’t aware of everything that has happened. I was so sick in May that I didn’t know if I would make it. I felt like Tonya didn’t care and I still have no resolution to the bleeding. I’m not sleeping and I’m dealing with the hormonal fallout of Provera and whatever else is wrong hormonally. I’m still spotting off and on.
I don’t know what else to do and I don’t know how else to reach you. I realize I am only one of hundreds of patients and I’m not asking for special treatment.
I cannot return to Balanced Life, the ladies gym, until I have a release from your office. I can’t get anyone to call me back so that I can talk to them about this as well.
Thank you for your time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When I never heard back from the DR, I figured my letter had been intercepted by someone in his office, as we are friends with this DR and know without a doubt that he would've contacted me right away.
When I spoke on the phone with him yesterday, I could tell he wasn't in a position to speak freely, but he assured me we would talk again soon. So, we'll see. At least I'm going to the specialist now. Not sure what will happen as the consensus seems to be that the bleeding is hormonally induced due to my ovarian disease and the treatment for this is birth control pills, which I cannot take because I get blood clots. Sigh.

On a good note, after working 10 straight days, Fred had today off as well as Sat. & Sun., so I'm excited about that! Being sick, I slept 18 hours last night and he slept a lot too, so we didn't get much done today! We had lunch at Applebee's...I had the Bistro Steak sandwich on a Ciabatta and it was YUMMY!! I also took some stuff to the consignment shop, bought some stuff while there and that about sums up our day today! lol

My latest creations

These cards are a few of my latest creations, which you can find for sale on my web site at www.PetersonCreekPrimitives.com