Deanna and I in the unfinished basement. 

Randy's chair and part of the diningroom. I'll post pics of the diningroom tomorrow. 

Betty making herself comfortable on the footstool.  

The other wall of the livingroom 

The livingroom with the new furniture. 

Deanna and I. I was wearing my scrubs. I just got home from work.  

Children are a blessing from GOD!
Deanna did a characture sketch of me for school and I wanted to share it with everyone here. It is so sweet, it made me cry, but also brutally honest. I think that we could all be a little more honest with eachother at times and a lot more sweet and the world would definitely be a better place. So, without further ado, here it is:
My mom:
My mom has the most noticeable hair. It is a dirty blond and short, curly bob style. I can recognize her anywhere. Some people say we look a lot alike. Our personalities are not the same though; she is loving, not so fearless, and a klutz.
Even though at times she has to discipline, she is loving. She loves me a lot and I can prove that because when I am sick she takes care of me and always wants hugs and ises. She always says, :I love you, sister sue." I remember one time at Chrismas I fell off a folding chair and hut my chin on the floor; it was bleeding really badly, and there was a big cut. My mom was by me the whole time. My mom is truly like a big teddy bear.
Another thing about my mom is she is afraid of any moving thing in a cage, roller coasters, and heights. My mom is not so fearless. She gets scared so easily. She screams over mice any kind of rodents, and heights. When we go to amusement parks she will not even go on rides. One time last year at Christmas my cousin and I dropped her hamster on my mom, and she screamed like a bunch of schoolgirls.
At times she can be klutzy. She has had stitches at least five times. Most of the time she does not watch where she is going, and because of that she stubs her toes a lot. She especially stubs her baby toe a lot. Two years ago she stubbed her baby toe and broke it. When she broke it she screamed, "Ouch, that hurt!" My mom is a walking disaster.
All in all, my mother is an accident waiting to happen. All of us call her scaredy cat! At times, she has to discipline, but she is always loving. And I love her back. The END
She is quite the kid! I am so proud of her. She is an incredibly bright, talented little girl. She will be 12 this summer. I don't know where the time has gone. It seems like just yesterday I was changing her diapers and now she is writing about me. GOTTA LOVE IT!

I'm blonde and I admit it!
I could use a million excuses for being a ditz and I guess that being blonde, or dishwater pan brown is as good of one as any. Last week, I had to mail out my bills and I put them in the mailbox with the flag up. I went to get the mail a couple of days later and my bills were in the mailbox, with the flag down. So, I said a few choice words and brought them in the house to have the hub look at them and see if I did anything wrong with them and he looked them over and said no. I then had to make a few phone calls to tell some people the payments would be late and I tried to pay as many of them over the phone which costs extra. Then I proceeded to put them back in the mailbox the next day and the same thing happened again, they were still there and the flag was down. Randy and I both said a few choice words and he ran them down to the post office to be mailed out the next day. Over the weekend we were talking to his sister and she said that postage had been raised to .40 instead of .37. I looked at Randy and he looked at me and both of us said, "so that is what was wrong with those letters! We told her that we had no idea. She laughed and said, "well, it has been on the news." I said, "I guess that I live in a bubble." I heard a few things on the radio, but I listen to a radio station where the D.J's are always joking about something and I thought they were kidding! The joke was on me. I have a few bills that need to be mailed and I will have to go to the post office and buy some new stamps tomorrow. I bet the bill collectors are cursing me right now because they got their money with an envelope that says "postage due" Just one of the many DUMB things I do on a daily basis.

Randy(Birdman) and the seagulls eating out of his hand at a foodstand in Washington,D.C. The girl in the picture was fascinated by him. Deanna was scared of the birds because they got too close to her.  

Korean War Memorial Wall- Faces of soldiers lazered into the granite 

Korean War Memorial 

Washington Memorial 

Freedom is not free!
Here are some of the pictures that we took while visiting the war memorials in Washington, D.C. It was amazing to see all of the names on The Wall and to see the Korean and WWII memorials. I can only hope that as Americans we all appreciate the freedom we enjoy each day. The men and women who have served this country and those who continue to do so have sacrificed themselves so we can continue to live in the way we are accustomed to. I would personally like to Thank them and I pray for our men and women still in battle in Iraq. May the Lord keep them in his care and bring them all home safely.

Living on a Prayer......
This week was quite difficult to say the least. We received some bad news. Our nephew, Joshua was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma Cancer and Histoplasmosis (a lung fungus). I haven't been sleeping well and have been worrying about he and his family. He is Randy's brother's son. He is a great kid. He is so smart and is one of those kids who has his whole life planned out. He is only 14 (15 on April 4th) and already has plans to go to college to be an early childhood education teacher. He also knows everything there is to know about most of the cars on the market today, from what type of engine, mechanical problems, to the safety ratings of them. I could sit and talk to him for hours and have had some good opportunities to when we have taken the boys somewhere or when they have come over to visit. He is kind and loved by all who meet him. When he found out he was diagnosed, he said "God must have a plan for me and everything will be alright." His cancer has a 90% chance of being cured. He starts Chemotherapy on Monday. The oncologist meets with them on Wednesday to tell them exactly what stage of cancer it is and what the plan will be from here. Please keep Joshua and his family in your prayers. I for one will be chanting the serenity prayer until I can learn to accept it and deal with it.
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change and the wisdom to know the difference.

Happy New Year!
Another year has flown by. I can't believe it is already 2006. 2005 had its ups and downs, but like most years it comes and leaves too quickly. My children are growing up too fast and my life is flying by. Before I know it, I will be 80 a great grandmother rocking my great grandbabies God-willing I live that long.
This year has been full of revelations and realizations and big changes for me. I moved to another state far away from my family, friends and all that is familiar to me. My family has been in the midst of a crisis most of last year with my little brother and his family. I have prayed more than I had ever prayed in the past. I have come to the realization that I must leave my life in God's hands and let him share my burdens and help me through them. Moving to another state with a totally different perception and culture has helped me appreciate the state I am from. Being this far away has also forced me to see how much friends and family have meant to me over the years. I have always had a strong sense of family and friendship, but I haven't always been the best at letting my friends and family know how much I love and appreciate them. So, in the coming year I am going to work harder at seizing those opportunities when they come along. I have let too many of those pass me by. I am going to pray for my brother and hope that he can recover from his addiction and try to be more supportive of him. I ask that all of you who read this blog will do the same. I love and miss you all.