Fall

It seems like fall is just around the corner. We had gorgeous temperatures this weekend and expect more this week. Yesterday we were able to open the windows and turn off the AC. I love when we can do that. Since we live in a basement house there is no cross ventilation, the only bummer about having cement on 3 sides of the house. But it is so nice to feel the cool breeze as I fall off to sleepland.

Annie isn't doing very well. Her cancer is back, she has a really big spot behind her neck. It doesn't seem to bother her though. Yesterday she was playing with a pretty like nothing at all was wrong. We know that her time is limited but as long as she is feeling OK and not in pain we will enjoy spoiling her.

That's about all I have for now. It's Monday and I have a lot of work to do. Let's all have a grand day today, what do you think?

Sweetness just turned 3 weeks old!

We received some new pictures this week of Miss Emmeline.









So precious. I don't know when I will be able to hold that darlin' in my arms but until then I will just have to settle with pictures and online visits. I still can't get over the fact that we have 3 babes both within 3 weeks of each other. I just can't stop smiling (not that I want to!)

The tale of Leah

It started like this



Mom? Are you ok?



Beth assured Abby she was fine, just ready for her sister to be born.

You sure you're ok Mom?



Such a doll. It was time to distract my precious from worrying about her mommy so I took a latex glove and blew it up. I took an ink pen out of my purse to draw a face but Abby wanted a picture of Sophie.....no Annie....no Sophie....no Annie, so I just drew a boxer.



Dare I say that Grandmother is the smartest person on this Earth? My precious played with this thing all night long!



She got candy........."which one Abby?" I kept asking her that until I got a good picture! She kept saying "The KitKat Grandmother!"



We walked downstairs but not on the cracks cause we would break her mama's back.



Mama must have said "ouch" this time



I think this was about when Abby said (and she literally did say it) "it's ok to break mama's back!"





Wheeeee!



We went outside to get some fresh air. That didn't last long cause it was hot!

(Note the 'Big Sister' tee shirt my precious is wearing)



Then is was just about time. Beth's contractions were getting unbearable.

Then, she was born. Joe was just outside the door and heard Beth scream out "MY BABY!" Then the nurse chased him out of the hallway. We knew it was almost time for Abby to finally, after all of these months to meet her little sister Leah.











I finally got a picture of the entire family. Thomas had been taking gobs of pictures himself.



Oh yall.....every single time I see this picture I get a huge lump in my throat. It is the very defination of love...Look at mama and daughter.



Good job Mama



Papa Joe held Leah



Then I washed my hands and he knew I was ready.



Oh My! I'm telling you folks, I am so blessed. Two grand babies within 3 weeks! Unbelievable. And get this, Emmeline and Leah were born exactly 3 weeks apart and weighed the same. 6lbs & 14oz. Now that my friends is cool.

Leah Samantha

After looking through over 180 photos I took yesterday and today, this one said it all. These are my girls. I have lots of girls, including a 17yr old, a 32 yr old, a 3 week old and 2 15 month olds, but these 3 just seem to scream out THIS IS WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT!

We have a baby girl!

Born at 8:09pm 8/26/09, 6lbs 14oz, 19" long. We are not sure of the name yet but it is looking more and more like Leah Samantha which I absolutely LOVE!

I picked up my precious from the school bus, went inside and looked in her school folder. Nothing was there so we scooted over to McDonald's for a happy meal and a #1 for Grandmother. Abby picked out our 'special' table as she called it. It was right next to the one that she and her family usually eat at. Then off to the hospital.

She was anxious to see her mommy of course. Mom was doing great. Daddy too! Leah (I will take my Grandmother liberties now and start calling her by what I know her name will be) took her time getting here. Beth just knew she would have her within 2 hours of getting to the hospital but Leah decided that was not to be. Her contractions basically stopped after an hour or so and they made the decision to start the dreaded Pitocin. They had to increase it 3 times and let's just say the third time was a charm.

Steph and I both were fighting over places to take pictures but we got home so late (way after 10pm) and Abby and I both had to get to bed that I didn't have time to even take my camera out of the case. I promise I will have at least one up this evening.

Awwwww......my new grand baby is here! It's amazing I was able to get into my office this morning cause my head is so big. Life is not just good, it is AWESOME!

Guess what!

It looks like there is a very good chance that a certain someone might become a big sister today! Any guesses as to who the precious angel is I am talking about? Here's a hint............



Her mama called last night to say the contractions have been off and on for a week and when she goes to the doctor today she feels pretty certain they will keep her at the hospital. Mamas just kinda know these things. So I get to leave work and get my precious off of the big yellow school bus! Then, she and I are going to go to lunch, unless her mama calls to say little sister is a'coming.

I am so excited. I packed my camera with extra batteries this morning and am prepared to scoop up my sweetie and have a fun afternoon.

I'll let you guys know as soon as I can. But first, I have very important things to do.......like spoil the heck out of Abby! Oh my, does life get any better?

Tuesday, it is what it is

Ha ha. I am full of it today. I don't know why because I stayed up way too late last night and overslept this morning. I woke up to Steph saying "MOM! wake up!" But I still got to work in plenty of time. Even had time to grab a bite to eat and pay a bill. I told So I am wonderwoman.

If you are glad we have a holiday coming up soon raise your hand. I had honestly forgotten about it until I was reminded earlier in an email. How fun. That is kind of like finding a $20 in your wallet that you forgot about. I try to hide money from myself but my memory won't let me forget it. **sigh**

I left my Sunday post up on purpose because that Charlie is just so danged precious I wanted everyone to see him. I wish I had taken more pictures of him but he was wounded and just recovering from surgery so we'll give him a pass this time.

I'm gonna get to work, since I actually have some work to do today. That is a good thing.

Have a great day everyone and smile smile smile.

Does it get cuter than this?

Or this?



Meet Charlie. His parents are Sarah and Russell and his brother is Kade. I told the story of Spencer here.

They have been looking and looking for a boxer pup but they are hard to find around these parts. I sent her a link for BoxerRescue which she had been looking at but had not been able to find one to fit her family yet. Their son Kade missed Spencer every day saying "dog." Sarah's mother had to have surgery at Vanderbilt in Nashville recently (she is fine) and while there they found this precious baby in a newspaper. They snatched him right up and brought him home.

This past Thursday he met up with a stray and ran into the road (Clinton rd for those that know the area) and was hit by a car. Charlie's parents quickly took him to the vet where they were told surgery was the only option and that he might not get through that. They made the decision to take him to Marion, Il where the vet could do the specialized surgery. It was a success! He will be fine and shouldn't have any problems according to the vet.



Please excuse what looks like my large ear in this one



Awwwwww, puppy kisses and oh that smell. Puppy breath.

Sophie made friends with him too







Charlie looks like he's not quite sure why this dog is being so friendly!







Kade had never seen a horse before (he just turned 1yr old) so we walked over to show him.







Here is little Kade. Notice his shirt his aunt had made for him.



Here is a better shot of the shirt. I just loved it.







He is such a doll and loves his new brother so much. Sarah said he is already giving Charlie a biscuit every morning just how he did Spencer. They make a good team. Charlie is now 11 weeks old. Russell, his dad, told me that he wants them to grow up together, and that is exactly what they will do. I love a happy ending. Don't you?

Yea, she's ALL better now.........

since Greg called and told her what she wanted to hear. To me it was BS, but that isn't up to me. Short story is they are 'going out' again. She was happy about it of course. I told her that it would have been better to have told him you'd have to think about it at least for a night but she quickly told me differently. Hey, it's her life and her heart. I want to hold that precious heart in my hands and give it some of my grownup sense but I can't. I know, I know...it's all about learning and growing up. It is just so hard to see someone that is so loving and giving and just absolutely sweet go through this. If I remember her correctly she told me that he was 'confused' and that he didn't mean to hurt her and he was sorry. W H A T E V E R! This girl has been there and done that but I wouldn't listen to anyone either and found out the hard way. The real hard way.

I have been painting the second coat at work today. Yesterday a coworker did it. Today I did the rolling on the wall and let me tell you my back feels like the knife needs to be removed. My farrier is coming out tonight to shoe both the horses and Miss Stephanie will be the one taking care of it. I will be inside sitting on the heating pad. I wanted to ride this weekend but I'll have to see if I can get the ole 51 yr old back feeling better first. The weather is supposed to be fantastic, highs tomorrow in the high 70's and low 80's on Sunday. We'll see. I wanted Steph to ride with me but now that she has her guy back I'm sure she won't.

That's about it for now. I need to wrap things up here at work. By the way, did I ever tell yall that I have a SpongeBob Squarepants clock in my office just over my monitor? It was Stephanie's and she didn't want it anymore. I love it.

She's better today

Steph that is. She didn't cry last night and that is good. Maybe she is starting to accept the fact that it is over. Or at least I hope it is. I hate that her heart hurts but better to find out now than later.

Yesterday I got my hair cut. When I pulled out of the parking space and drove in front of Walmart guess who I saw!!!!!!! My precious and her family. I rolled down my window and hollered "Abby!" She turned around like huh? She had just woken up from falling asleep in the car and wasn't very awake. Beth asked me if I was coming in and I said no, was on my way home. Yesterday was her first day at preschool and she called me later on and told me and Papa Joe all about it. She was so excited she could barely get the words out before moving onto more things. I said something about seeing her in front of Walmart and she said "I was praying you would come in." Oh my. Talk about breaking my heart! She is such a doll. Her parents took her to school and she rode the big school bus home. Her daddy took pictures of her getting off the bus and no telling what else. I can't wait to get my hands on them.

That is all for now. We are getting ready to start painting my office and there will be people in here which means I won't be able to get online. How rude! Just kidding. Honestly I can't wait to get this office painted. It is a horrible color of light yellow now but soon will be a light plum or so I'm told. I hope the paint fumes don't trigger a migraine. Smells do that to me. If so I'll have to scoot home.

I hope everyone has a fantastic day today and remember........smile, even if the other person isn't. It really makes a difference.

I know it is part of growing up but...........

it breaks mine and Joe's hearts. Stephanie's boyfriend broke up with her after school yesterday after 16 months of dating (we all know that length of time in high school is HUGE) and didn't even give her a reason. He said they need to be friends. She was just at his house most of the day Sunday riding 4-wheelers and having a great time. I think he is a complete coward for doing this like he did. She deserves a reason and we told her so.

She talked very little to me but did talk in length to her Dad. He told her that he has never trusted him since they met. That he is a liar (we both knew that but Steph would never believe it) and he thinks a cheat. They talked a long time and she seemed better for it. I am so thankful for their relationship. She and Joe have come a long long way in the past couple of years. He can give her the guy's point of view and that is something I can't.

We ate dinner a bit later then Steph called a good buddy of hers that knows Greg well. He confirmed what her dad told her. He said Greg is a player. That pretty much sealed the deal for her (as far as believing it). Naturally she didn't want to believe it. This girl loves, I mean truly loves Greg. I know because I was in love in high school. No one believed me but I knew. She does too.

I know that she will be fine and this is a part of growing up. The painful part of relationships but frankly between me and you, I hope that boy stays out of her life forever. But that is not up to me or Joe.

The last thing I told her this morning as I walked out of the door for work was to hold her head high today. She said she would try. I told her "You can do it baby." Damn, this hurts but not near as much as her little heart is hurting.

She will be fine but it might take a while. Meanwhile she has her family and friends to lean on. Gee, it is tough being a parent when your kid's heart hurts.

I don't get it...I just don't get it

How can a parent not call their child for an entire summer? For that matter, how can a parent stay out of their child's life for 7 yrs? Both are exactly what has happened to my precious daughter Stephanie.

From 1999 - 2007 her biological father was completely out of her life. He never called nor did he ever see her. In late 2007 I received a letter from a lawyer that he wanted to see her. After very careful consideration, not to mention a drug test, talking with him through a mediator to get some things straight and on the record, she finally saw him. Although it was awkward at first she soon grew comfortable and for several months he treated her like his daughter. But then, earlier this year he changed. He started treating her differently. He treated me and Joe differently. He suddenly got it in his head that we were rich. I have no idea where that came from. We suspect that his money ran out (he had been showering her with gifts, eating out and various other things). It seemed that since we owned our house and a little acreage plus the horses we were suddenly rich. Of course nothing could be further from the truth. The truth is that Joe and I have worked hard for what we have and we have saved and spent our money wisely. Not to brag it is just the truth.

Steph shared a few things with me for several months but the day that she told me how he was treating her versus his roommate's son I recognized it immediately. It was exactly how he used to treat Ryan the last few months of our marriage. He would treat the roommate's son really nice, do anything for him, take him out to eat, etc. But when it came to his own child he would be completely opposite. Mean is what it is. Treat her badly. No physical abuse but mental and we all know that can be just as bad, if not worse than physical abuse.

That was all I needed to hear. The day she told me that on the phone from his house was the last time she has seen him. That was Memorial Day this year. Since then she has talked to him twice. Both times she confronted him with his behavior and his reaction was to act like a child. He started raising his voice and interrupting her. She tried to talk to him but finally hung up on him. He just kept interrupting and she is just like me, can't stand that.

She sent him an email with pictures of her leg after Dakota kicked it showing her in a soft cast hoping it might get a reaction from him. We never heard anything. No phone call, no email, nothing. She finally felt one afternoon she just had to do something so she called him to tell him a few things. He didn't answer so she left her feelings on his answering machine. That was the first part of July and still nothing. Finally Saturday night she was talking to her dad (Joe) and she told him how much she was still hurting from it all. He and I were both surprised. We thought she was past it but in hindsight I can see how she wasn't. It wasn't finished. She still had questions that deserved answers. So, she asked Joe to call him to find out what was going on.

Sunday morning Joe did just that. Called him to talk. Naturally nothing was his fault, he was waiting for her to call him. He told Joe about the 'nasty message' she left and blah blah blah. Joe told him that he was the adult and should have been the one to contact her to try to work things out. Basically it was a lot of BS and excuses that didn't amount to a hill of beans as my mother would say. He asked to speak with Steph but she wanted no part of it. What hurt her the most during the conversation was when Joe asked about the email Stephanie sent him showing her leg in a cast. He just kept saying he had not been online. He never once asked what happened to her and if she was OK. He was too busy trying to convince Joe that it wasn't his fault and he didn't know. Can you imagine? Finding out your child has had an accident where her leg was in a cast and not asking about it? That spoke volumes for her.

He called later on that evening and she talked to him. She had lots of questions about things that he did/said when she was younger. He was so wrong in every one of the cases but he would never say he was sorry. He never told her that he loved her. The only time he did say he was sorry he put it like this...."OK, I'm sorry.....happy?" with a very sarcastic tone in his voice. Her mouth just hung open. She couldn't believe it. Shortly after that she just handed the phone to me. I told him with a very calm but firm voice that all she wanted was a sincere apology. That she needed to talk about all of this stuff in the past and hear him admit and explain it. She needed to hear that he loved her and wanted her in his life. I told him that he needed to put his own feelings aside and act like a grownup and think of her and what she needs. After all, that is what parents do. The thing is he is not capable of being a parent. He can't say he is sorry and mean it. He can't be what Steph wants him to be.

I talked to her later on and just told her that the best thing she can do is accept the fact that he will never be what she needs and to just move on with her life. I know that is easy for me to say, but not so easy for her to do.

She told me last night that she is glad to have her family. She has a mom and dad that love her and show their love. She has a boyfriend that she loves and he loves her. She has good friends and generally is a happy teenager. She will have to learn to accept that he will never be a part of her life. But that will take time. Meanwhile she will be happy. She will be loved. She will be OK.

This Weekend

I picked up Abby after work Friday and brought her to the country where she belongs. hehe We had a great time, of course. Who wouldn't have a good time with this little darlin?

Joe fixed a good dinner and did she eat well. She has always been a good eater, not at all picky. I hope her soon to come little sister eats as well. Speaking of her, I just can't wait until that day!

We played and watched a little TV. She and Steph hung out not to mention the time she spent with her Papa Joe. Then it was bath time.







She only stayed one night this time. Saturday morning she rode her bike and blew bubbles. We were going to do more but it was so hot we decided to stay in the shade instead.











She had so much fun on her bike. We have the perfect patio for bike riding. She weaved in and out of the posts and plants. All the while hollering "Look Papa Joe!" Such a doll. Then it was time for bubbles.















Of course the girls were by our side.



The medicine Annie is taking makes her really thirsty. She is a drinking machine these days.









Before long it was time to take her home. Afterward Joe, Steph and I went to Pizza Inn for dinner. Joe had been craving their salad bar ever since he got home from Ohio. I must say it was really good too.

I am so grateful to have such a great and loving family.