Fun week...

This has been a fun week for me. Travis had training to attend in Dallas this week and he brought Andrew with him. They stayed with us and while Travis attended his training, I got to babysit Andrew. It was a fun time. I look forward to having other grand-children come stay with us, too. (Hint...Hint!!!)

I really can bake a pie from scratch...

This past January, I got in a baking mood and decided to bake a lemon meringue pie. I hadn't baked one in a long time and family was beginning to think they had only dreamed I used to bake them. So, I got all the ingredients and got busy. This is a picture of the results. Doesn't it look delicious? It was!!!!

The Long, Long Year

I just realized today, that it has been over a year since we began the process of moving from Minnesota to Texas. We put our home in Minnesota on the market in June, then found our home in Texas the first week in July. Due to the housing market, our home did not sell until the end of November. We moved to Texas and closed on our home the first week of December. (Yes, we were actually homeless for a week.)

So much has happened in that time since we moved. I am so thankful for the time I got to spend with my mother. She had been going down in health for quite a while, showing signs of Alzheimer's and dementia. But, I got to have her come home with us a lot between December and May. She loved coming to visit and spending time here. I would wait on her and take care of her and it made her feel so special and
loved. Here is a picture we took of her on March 27, 2007. It was her 82nd birthday. She looks really good here, and this is her natural color of hair. (I hope I have her genes.)

Then, in mid April, she began to complain of her stomach hurting and every time she would eat she would feel sick. So, she got to where she would not eat (or could not eat) very much. She began to lose weight. And, she never was very heavy. She just seemed to get weaker and weaker. Finally, my brother called me and told me he was going to call an ambulance and take her to the hospital. We both knew she would not go if we just took her. They admitted her and began to do tests. She was admitted to the hospital on April 30. They did tests and May 1 and on May 2 she was diagnosed with cancer. It was in her kidneys, her stomach, her spleen, her liver, her colon, and the lower part of her lungs. The doctor said she had less than 6 months. It turned out she had less than that. She passed away on May 23. Exactly 3 weeks after being diagnosed with the cancer. She never knew what she had.

It is so difficult to write about this, but I feel I need to. I love my mother so much and I am really, really having a tough time with her death. God gave me 6 months to spend with her before He took her home, and I am so grateful for that time. But, I still needed more time. I know that sounds selfish, but I can't help it. She was the most wonderful mother, ever. She always said, "My kids are my life." And, she meant it. She made so many sacrifices for us and we always knew we were loved. She always told us she loved us and it made it easy for us to tell each other we love each other, too.

I will try to write more later. I'm not as good at blogging as Bill is, but maybe I can get better at it. Maybe someday I will actually have some "treasures" to put on Grandma's Treasure Chest.

Sleepless In Seattle

A couple of weeks ago, Bill was on a business trip where he was in three states in one week. On the last leg of the trip, he was in Seattle. As he walked through the airport on his way to his gate to come back home, he noticed that one of the shops had lots of things in regards to the movie, Sleepless in Seattle. Knowing that this is my favorite movie, he decided to bring me a couple of things. He certainly earned points for this.

He brought me a coffee mug with Sleepless in Seattle on it, and a nightshirt with Sleepless in Seattle on it. He couldn't have brought me anything that would have brought me more pleasure than this stuff.

That's just the kind of husband Bill is. I'm the most blessed woman in the whole world. God knew that he would be perfect for me and would be the only one in the world for me. I'm so thankful that God brought us together. Thank you, Lord!

National Domestic Violence Month

While searching on the internet this week, I learned that October is also “National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.” This information brought back some very difficult and painful memories in my own life. I was a victim of domestic violence in my first marriage.

For a long time I felt that I was to blame, that I must have been doing something that caused the abuse. I realized later that the abuse was a result of my husband feeling guilty and insecure for his own indiscretions. He felt that in order to make himself feel better, he had to bring me down to his level. And…he did keep me very afraid, insecure and feeling to blame. I truly believe he loved me, but had an illness that prevented him from being the loving husband he should have been. And, even more sadly, he never got the opportunity to become that husband, because he passed away 20 years ago.

So, when I found this information about domestic violence, I felt I had to add it to my Blog.

It’s my hope that if anyone is being victimized by abuse, whether male or female, this information will encourage that person to get help from this terrible thing.

I did a bit more research and found some great information. First of all, though, I want to say…It’s NOT your fault! No one has the right to abuse anyone else. That includes a spouse or significant other. Remember, God made you who you are and He loves you. If you have things about yourself that YOU don’t like, then it is up to you to change. No one has the right to make you change into something you’re not.

Here are a few of the statistics I found regarding domestic violence. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence provides a fact sheet on its website and the following link is live, just click on it ... http://www.ncadv.org/resources/Statistics_170.html. Here are a few of the stats. You can download the fact sheet for yourself and much more online.

Did you know?

· 1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence during her lifetime
· 73% of domestic violence victims are female
· 37% of women treated in emergency rooms for violent injuries were hurt by a current or former partner
· 44% of women murdered by an intimate partner visited an emergency room in the two years prior to their deaths
· 73% of domestic violence incidents go unreported
· 61% of these incidents go unreported because victims “think the police won’t believe” them
· 8.8 million children witness domestic violence each year

Yes, these statistics are alarming. And, you may think that they only happen in homes where God is not a big part of their lives. This is very wrong.

Domestic violence occurs in the Christian homes as well as the secular homes. Here is a link to another website I found on Domestic Violence: http://abigails.org. This is the website of “Abigail’s: Help for Domestic Abuse, Domestic Violence”. This website answers questions about domestic violence from a Christian perspective.

One of the pages asks, “What is the Christian answer to domestic violence?

Answer: Marriage is the first institution that God established between man & woman. Both men and women were created in His image; equal partners with distinctively different roles (Genesis 1:27). A man is to be the head, or authority of his household (Ephesians 5:23, 1 Peter 3:1). With this comes the responsibility of earning the respect of his family and community. Colossian 3:13 commands husbands to love their wives and never treat them harshly. For the rest of the article click this link… http://www.gotquestions.org/domestic-violence.html

Abigail’s offers Bible Studies and Lessons. This website is totally biblical and based on 1 Samuel 25, which teaches us about Abigail, a woman married to an abusive husband. Her story is only one chapter long, yet it says much about the struggle of women facing abuse at home. It can help women understand how to protect family and loved ones from abuse while maintaining Godly submission.

So, if you are a victim of domestic violence, or have a friend who is, please check out these websites. There is hope and help out there. You are special and created by God to be a Light for Him. You can’t be a Light if you are being kept down and not allowed to glow.

By the way – through God’s grace, He brought me a wonderful husband and now I’m glowing again!

Pink Ribbon Month

Hi Everyone,

Sorry it has taken so long to get back to blogging, but I'm back now.

As most of you probably know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For over FIFTEEN years a pink ribbon is the international symbol of breast cancer awareness. Wear a pink ribbon, so that people will ask you what it's all about. Do your self exams. Early detection is the best chance for a long life. If you notice anything strange see your doctor, don't wait.

Pink ribbons spread awareness and are used to raise money to fund research that will lead to a cure.

Another way to raise money to fund research is to purchase the Breast Cancer Postage Stamps from the U.S. Post Office. The cost of the postage stamp includes about $ .06 that goes to Breast Cancer research. The actual cost for each stamp is $ .45, so it is a little more than the regular $ .39 stamp. We always purchase these stamps, and feel proud to put them on our mail.

I'll be back again soon!

Grandma

The night before....

Well, it's the night before I fly to Austin, Texas. And, you know what that means. I will be up most of the night trying to get packed and trying to make sure I don't forget anything. But, of course I will. That's okay. Whatever I forget, I'll buy it there or do without.

So, I'll write more later. Texas here I come.