Daddy's Home!

     Daddy Smith got home from the hospital today. He will need lots of help, but at least he's home now.

     Having an allover rough day today. A lot of pain and no energy at all. The fatigue aspect of my disease rears it's ugly head at the most inopportune times... well that would pretty much be anytime at all now wouldn't it? Frustrating knowing that there is so much to do here and honestly I'm not up to it... today anyway. I'm thinking tomorrow is another day though, and I will push through. I know in my heart that God will lead me through this, and I will be a stronger person on the other side of this. While life is driving me to my knees I might as well say some more prayers while I'm down there, right?

     Thank You for stopping by and sharing in our story. Friends and Family are a huge Blessing and strength.

Quotes Of The Day:


Seek the Lord and His strength; seek his presence continually!  1 Chronicles 16:11

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.  Philippians 4:13

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12

Digging Up Bones

     Genealogy is way too much fun! (for me anyway) I find myself following up on leads and going off on tangents that eat up all my time. I have been working on a friend's family tree, and before I know it the hours have flown by. It would help if she didn't have such interesting characters in her family. You know you've hit gold when the people are listed on Wikipedia. I find that while zoning out with "dead people" I'm not as aware of my physical "stuff". That's a good thing, but it doesn't get anything done around here to prepare for the big move. Guess I just need to bite the bullet and do it anyway.

     Need to get out to the trailer and retrieve my notebook and samples. Hobby Lobby has some fabric that I think would work perfect for the headboard and curtains in the bedroom. Just need my samples to make sure of the color match. Have a 40% off coupon that is begging to be used.

     Daddy Smith is scheduled to come home from the hospital tomorrow. He still has a lot of issues that need to be resolved, but if they can get a provider to come into the home that should be enough...I guess. Like Mae West used to say "Gettin' old ain't for sissies!" She knew what she was talking about.

Not Reading Any Books Right Now

Quotes For The Day:


"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail."   Benjamin Franklin

"When you are through changing, you are through."   Bruce Barton

On a More Positive Note

     That last post was quite a downer, so I'm re-focusing on the positive. Sometimes it takes a bit of an adjustment when life has been handing me so much to deal with all at once. Like they say "When life gives you lemons, squeeze them in the enemies eyes and run like Hell"....lol.

     Got our mailbox today at the Mail Center USA here in Corpus Christi. They are able to give me a local address and forward our mail to us when we are traveling. At $6.00 a month plus postage for forwards I'm thinking this is a reasonable way to go and the Ladies that work there are amazing. We've been mailing packages there for years so it's nice to be able to continue working with the same people. We will have our voting and driver license address at the brother-in-law's in Sandia. One more thing to check off the list!

     Picked up a box of old issues of Texas Highways and Arizona Highways magazine yesterday at a thrift store for $3. Going thru them and snagging ideas for our "Bucket Book". I'm putting together a 3 ring binder with ideas for the places and things that Joey and I would like to see. Major focus right now is the Texas area (Lord knows that could take years just by itself..ha), then branching out from there. 

     Need to stop reading books and sort more paperwork "stuff". Have to have all my little ducks in a row come moving day, but the allure of those hours of escape call their siren song...sigh. Kindle Fire is currently my enemy, well except for my word with friends, and reading a few special blogs, and checking facebook, and, and, and....hehe

Books I'm Reading:
 None Right Now....!

Books I Just Read:
"Effigies: A Faye Longchamp Mystery" by Mary Anna Evans (Another interesting murder mystery with colorful characters and all the twists and turns I love)

Quotes For The Day:
"I am driven by two main philosophies. Know more today than I knew yesterday, and lessen the suffering of others. You'd be surprised how far that gets you." Nell deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and director of the American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium (something to strive for!)

"When you're down to nothing, God is up to something." unknown

Thanks for stopping by. Be Blessed, but more importantly Be a Blessing!

Couch Looks Inviting

     Mom and Dad Smith's apartment complex had a fire. The building right next to them is destroyed, but their's was safe. Thank You God! Got me thinking though... How horrible for all those Seniors and handicapped folks that only have social security or disability for income, with probably no renter's insurance of any kind. No way to replace their belongings or get another place to live. Many with no where to go. Several lost pets in the fire (possibly their only companion in their old age). Paints a desperate and oh so sad picture. On the plus side: there were no casualties and only a few minor injuries. A miracle in itself considering that it happened at 11:30 pm. Sooo keeping these Dear People in my prayers. Sending lots of positive thoughts and energy that direction.
     Dad Smith is recovering well from his knee replacement surgery. The physical stuff is going well, but we are concerned re his mental health. He's just not himself anymore and is confused a lot. His sense of humor and quick wit is sorely missing. Joey is at the hospital several hours each day. Sometimes they play checkers, but most times it's just to sit and watch tv together while Daddy snoozes between therapy sessions. I would love to spend more time with Daddy too, but I'm thinking that with my immune system dealing with the chemo-therapy right now it probably wouldn't be too smart to be hanging out at a hospital. Even though it is in the re-hab unit; the germs are there. Why push it?
     Experienced a minimum amount of side-effects this week when I started the shots. Just seem to be tired all the time. We'll see how it goes and I'll keep ya'll posted.
     Think we have buyers for some more of our bigger items. YES!! Don't know what we would have done without Craigslist.... it's amazing! Need to use what energy I can find to get the rest of our stuff gone through to get ready for the next yard sale. We made about $300 at the last one (not counting our big ticket items). Not bad for "stuff". Kept what was left to throw in with the next sale. So much to do and all I want to do is curl up on the couch (which is for sale too if anyone is interested...lol) and read a book. I'm really looking forward to getting things moved into the 5er I'll know just what I have left over to get rid of. Planning on moving it into town by mid July to start loading it up. Fun, Fun, Fun....!

What I'm Reading:
"Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins (ok, so I still haven't really gotten a serious start on this one cuz I got sidetracked by a "new to me" murder mystery series, but I'll try to get back to this soon. ok so it just might sit on my kindle awhile longer while I explore my new fav author: Ms Evans)

What I Just Read:
"Artifacts - A Faye Longchamp Mystery" by Mary Anna Evans (#1 of 7 archaeology student sleuth series set in Florida. Good murder mystery with lots of colorful characters and twists along the way. good read. will defiantly read more from this series.)
"Relics - A Faye Longchamp Mystery" by Mary Anna Evans (#2 of 7 Ms Evans has me hooked! I love the way she paints pictures with words, develops great characters and spins a yarn well. I"ll be moving onto the next book in the series soon. These books do tend to build on each other, but I think they could be read out of sequence without much problem.)

What's On My Needles:
Just finished another hat for the Baptist Seaman's Mission. Think I'll do some pretty chemo hats next for the ladies. The colors and patterns I've been using for the men's hats are Sooooo boring! At this rate I shouldn't have any problem reaching my hat a week or 52 hats for charity in 2012 goal.

Quote For The Day:
"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." Marcel Proust

"The Mad Hatter:  Have I gone mad?
Alice: I'm afraid so. You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are!"

Full Days

     Lot's of medical stuff going on. Joey's Daddy had knee replacement surgery Tuesday. Pretty big deal with him being 89 years old, but he came through it like a real trooper. That man's strength is amazing. It sure made for a long day for Joey. He was up by 3:30am  to pick Mom and Daddy Smith up by 5:30 to take them to the hospital for his scheduled surgery of 8:30. As it turned out, they weren't able to do the surgery until about 2pm ish. Then Joey stayed there with his Daddy through the night to make sure everything went ok. He's been at the hospital with him the greatest part of every day since. The way he honors his parents is just one of the many reasons I love that man. Daddy Smith is recovering well and is being moved to skilled nursing area of the hospital later today. God is Good!
     I had another appointment with my Rheumatoligist Tuesday. She gave me another steroid shot in my left hip bursa. Feels so much better now, but man o man those needles hurt like the devil going in! The last time I was in to see her she had given me a pile of information to read about some of the more aggressive treatments that are available for Rheumatoid Arthritis. The one that we decided on is called Methotrexate. It is actually a drug that is used for chemo-therapy, but has shown itself to be very effective for RA. I start giving myself the injections Saturday. We'll see how that all goes and I'll keep everyone posted. We were scared that it would be horribly expensive, but with insurance (thank you God) my co-pay was only $2.92. Two Dollars and Ninety Two Cents.... !!! Now That I can deal with, huh? Amazing!
     She ordered an ultra sound of my hands and wrists for Wednesday and I'll get the results on my next follow-up appointment. They managed to pull 6 vials of blood out of my cruddy veins. They need to do some more protein splitting and develop a base line for my liver function. The chemo type meds they are giving me can have an adverse affect on my liver so need to keep a close eye on it. They'll do a retake on my next visit. She also renewed my script for more physical therapy...yippy, skippy...
     Planning Lasagna feed for Father's Day. All the kids will be home with us. Not an easy feat with the weird work schedules they all have.

What I'm Reading:
"The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins (gotta see what all the buzz is about...lol)

What I Just Read:
"This is a Soul: The Mission of Rick Hodes" by Marilyn Berger (The story of one person making a HUGE difference in Africa esp Mother Teresa's clinic in Ethiopia. This man is truly an inspiration. We, as Americans are SO blessed. There is a place at the back of the book that tells where people can send donations where the entire amount of gift goes to help his work unlike so many "nonprofit" charities.)

"Messages" by John Michael Hileman (Christian fiction, good read, page turner, adventure story)

"To Love Anew" (Sydney Cove Series #1) by Bonnie Leon (Interesting historical Christian fiction set in early 1800's London and then Australia with focus on the prison system. Good read. More focus on story instead of romance. My interest in history is higher than vicarious romance :-) )

What's On My Needles:
Still knitting hats for the Baptist Seaman's Charity. Using up yarn AND doing some good.

Quotes of The Day:
"Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul." Democritus

"Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat." Mother Teresa

Thanks for stopping by
Be Blessed!

It's Really Real

Sold my Pfaff Serger yesterday, so now I know it's really real!

Funny how a person holds onto things. I just had to have ___ (fill in the blank) years ago for ___ (whatever reasons, again fill in the blank), but now I've found it just doesn't fit into my life/space/dream. Many of the items that are finding their way onto Craigslist were "have to have" items at one time. Used for the intended purpose then just left to sit and collect dust. Going through my cupboards for the upcoming yard sale is showing me just how many things fit that description. When I look at them with my "get real" glasses on I can see that they are of little or no purpose any longer. If I don't need it, love it, use it, then I have to lose it. We don't have room in our new home for anything that doesn't fit that criteria. Yet I find myself clinging to some things that have fulfilled or outlived their purpose many years ago. Am I hanging onto unrealized potential or dreams of what could have beens? No matter. There's always a shop somewhere that will have a replacement "whatever", if I should find I need one down the road. For now though; the cash in our pockets means a whole lot more than paying storage for useless stuff.

What I'm Reading Now:

"This Is a Soul - The Mission of Rick Hodes" by Marilyn Berger

The story of Dr. Rick Hodes and the wonderful work he's done at Mother Teresa's clinic in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, but more importantly his living example of altruism. Another inspiring instance of how one person can make a difference.

What I Just Finished Reading:

"Wild Goose Chase" by Terri Thayer

Simplistic murder mystery. (Nancy Drew grows up to be a quilter). I won't bother with this author again. Too bad, because the premise sounded great. Just not enough meat on the bones for me though.

"Letters of a Woman Homesteader" by Elinore Pruitt Stewart

Pioneer diary format through old letters. Interesting insight into the difficulties of such a life. 

Quote(s) for the Day:

"A useless life is an early death."

"All things are only transitory."

"knowing is not enough, we must apply

willing is not enough, we must do.."

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe