My Aunt

My Mom called on Saturday and let me know that my aunt had passed away Friday night. Thank goodness she was in no pain and went quickly. She had a stroke Wednesday evening and was taken to the hospital where the doctors said she had bleeding in her brain and there was nothing they could do for her. My parents drove to Grass Valley that morning and stayed with her. Thankfully they were there when she passed. They had just gotten back from having dinner with my cousin Bobby and his wife, within 5 minutes of their return she died.

I wish I could have seen her once again. I hadn't seen her since my Grandmother died around 10 years ago or so. Life always got in the way of visiting. I did keep in touch with her with phone calls and pictures, so I know she knew I loved her. I will miss her deeply, she was always full of life and always happy. She and my uncle never had children, so my parents were the ones taking care of her the best they could for the last few years. I know this is very painfull for my Mother, my Aunt was the last of her immediate family.

She is going to be cremated, so my Mom is waiting to have a memorial service until my cousin Bobby's parents' come to visit in June. Lena and I are going to try to make it for the service, it just depends on the money situation. I would like to go not only to be there for my Mom, but to also put flowers on my Great Grandmother, Great Grandfather and my Grandmother's graves.

Field Trip to the Zoo

Today was Lena's field trip to the zoo with her class. We had a good time, but I wish they would have gotten off on time so we would have had more time at the zoo. We were supposed to leave at 9:15, but didn't actually get on the road until almost 10:00, so we only had about 2 hours at the zoo. We probably would have seen more if it hadn't started hailing pea sized hail and then snowed for the rest of the time. Poor Lena's jeans were soaked about a half a foot up her leg. The other kids also had wet pants. I do have to say that maybe next year they should plan this trip in May. They already had to cancel and reschedule once due to bad weather and we parents were told that if the trip didn't happen today it wouldn't happen at all, so all of us trooper mothers were there freezing. Thank goodness I had the forethought to bring extra pants and two small umbrellas with me. I just had a feeling it was going to be bad even though the weather people said slight chance of rain. Slight my you know what! It hailed for heavens sake and then proceeded to snow the rest of the time. Oh well, we had fun anyway. I told Lena we would come back this summer so we could see the rest.

When I got home there was a message from my Mom saying that my Aunt Jesse, who lives in Grass Valley, CA had a stroke last night and it wasn't looking good. I called my Mom and she said that an artery burst in her brain and it's swelling up with blood. This is not good, Randy's grandpa had the same thing happen and the doctors said there was nothing to do but wait. I really want to be there, but can't afford it right now. Lena and I would have to drive because the closest major airport is Sacramento and I'm not driving from there to Grass Valley, so I sit here praying and hoping she might come out of it. My family was planning a birthday party for her next month, 92nd. I guess she won't be here for that.

Day 4 of Spring Break, only 3 To Go

So far so good at least after the fiasco of Monday. On Tuesday we had Lena's friend Madison for a sleepover, that went really well. She and Lena always get along. Wednesday I took them both to the Legacy Center to swim. They had a great time, then we went to lunch at, I'm sure you can figure this one out without me saying a thing. Today we met Randy and some of his co-workers for lunch and now Lena is off playing at a friends house. Peace and quiet, yeah!

I'm still trying to figure out when Lena and I will be coming back to Oregon to house hunt. I really wanted to on Spring break so she wouldn't miss any school, but I guess Randy's comany still didn't have all the i's dottet and t's crossed on the contract, so they wouldn't pay for us to come out yet. That has been finalized, so now we need to figure out when we will be going. I hoping to have Nicole watch Lena for a few days and maybe one of her sisters' for another day and her Grandma and Great Grandma for another so I don't have to drag her all over looking at houses. I think maybe it would be nice for her to spend some time with her old friends too, so I will have to get ahold of the Mom's to see about that.

That's about it for now.

The Dash

I thought this was too good not to share.

The Dash I hope you enjoy this as much as I did, and maybe it will help you take life a little slower and with more meaning. In July 2006, a short 3-minute movie was launched on the Internet called The Dash. Since then, over 40 million people from around the world have watched it; and over 20,000 a day continue to watch it as a result of people passing it along. The movie has been more successful than we could have ever imagined. More importantly, however, it has inspired many, many people to reflect on their lives and ask that all important question, 'Are my priorities where they should be?' I hope you enjoy this movie and share it with those who are close to you.

Click This Link to View: www.dashpoemmovie.com

Thank Goodness My Husband is Home Now

Just wanted to say thank God Randy is home now. I was about to explode earlier today. Read previous post. I have to say I have the most wonderful husband in the world. He came home from work today and I vented and he said I will take over. He has been downstairs cooking fresh trout he caught and has taken over the Lena duties.


I LOVE MY HUSBAND!

First Day of Spring Break - ARG!

Today was the first day of Spring break for Lena, so I planned, what I thought would be a fun day. We went to McDonald's for lunch then to the movie Nim's Island. Well, it didn't go as well as I had planned. I liked the movie, I thought it was really cute, but Lena kept wining at me that it was "boring", she kept squirming around and making me crazy. This is the first time she has done this, so I was getting a bit mad about half way through because she wouldn't stop. I was not about to leave a movie I had just spent $9 getting into. We are really poor this month and I stretched the budget in order to have money to do things this week. She continued to wine and cry all the way home, so I told her if she was going to act this way we wouldn't be doing anything else this week, and she had better stop before I got really mad. Well whe went on and on and pulled out the I don't love her card and I just lost it. I screamed at her to shut up. After that I felt somewhat bad, but I still didn't talk to her the rest of the way home, and it actually worked, she shut up. Wow, if I had known that those two little words would work like that I would have said it to her much sooner. Oh, I know, it won't work for long.

I wish they would do away with spring break, I mean come on people, school gets out here the end of May, can't we all just hang on a couple of more weeks?

Now I don't know what I'm going to do with her the rest of the week. Her ballet classes aren't going on either. Anybody HELP!

First Lost Tooth

Wow, Lena's tooth finally came out last night after we finished reading her bedtime books. I didn't think it would ever happen. She refused to let anyone take it out and wanted it to fall out on its own. It took so long that her permanent tooth is right behind.

This morning she came in and told me the tooth fairy left her $3. She was so excited. She also informed me that she saw the tooth fairy, so I asked her what he/she looked like. So matter of factly she stated, "well, she had long brown hair, bright red lipstick and a pink dress with sparkle all over it." I have to say that Randy must be magical in order for him to look like that. I just started laughing and said she will have to tell daddy when he gets home that you saw the tooth fairy.

I am glad and sad at the same time at this new milestone. On one hand I'm happy for Lena because she has been waiting for this for so long and on the other I'm sad because my baby is growing up way too fast. We have already had boyfriends and now a new one this week. Next week who knows. The next thing she will be driving! I just want her to be little forever, I know that's not realistic, but one can hope can't one?

Picture of Jasper

Yes, he has been re-named, again. This one will stick I think. He really looks like a Jasper.

A New Addition To Our Family

Well, Randy finally broke down and we got a new puppy today! He is so cute. He is a mix breed of Shih Tzu and Chiuaua (sp). He looks exactly like a Shih Tzu and is so small he has crawled under my couch and is asleep there. I was originally going to name him Jake, but we have another dog named Drake and I think he might get a bit confused, so I have changed it to Jack. I think this will fit him really well.

I have been wanting another dog since my baby Sammy died in February. I was really trying to wait until we got back to Oregon, but I saw his picture on a PetFinder site and just had to go see him. Well, needless to say he came home with me. Did anyone have any doubts on that one?

I will try to get pictures and post them.

Love to you all.

It's been far too long

I know, I know, it has been quite a while since I have posted anything, so I decided to take a quick few and let everyone know how things have been.

I am finally starting to get my energy back from being so sick in February. To be honest, even though the doctor told me it would be a couple of months until I was back to normal, I didn't really think it would take that long, but alas it has. I had my last check-up a couple of weeks ago and the pnumonia (sp?) is gone, however I do have a scar in my lung that will be there forever. It shouldn't cause any problems, but it will always be there. My white cell count is back to normal and my iron level is also good. I will just pray that I never get that sick again.

Lena started ballet yesterday and so far she loves it. She looks so cute in her leotard. Her schooling is going great. She got her 3rd quarter report card last week and she has mastery in all areas, even the following classroom rules and guidelines. She is really looking forward to moving back to Oregon. I hear about it almost every day.

Well, we need to get to Cabelas. I will try to keep up on my posts.

Love to you all.