Hey all, did you miss me?
Okay, so here's what's been happening in a year.
My mom had to have a knee replacement last September. After a long recovery, she felt the replacement was a waste because of the constant pain she's been in ever since. Come to find out, there's been an infection in her knee the entire time. Last week she had a second operation to clean it out and voila she is a new woman. Mom is walking around with almost no pain (still has her stitches) and has a whole new attitude. It's amazing what long term pain can do to ones well being, or lack there of.
My dad is up next for surgeries. Right now he's walking around with an aneurysm on his aorta. It's been there a while and he is being closely monitored. So far there have been no changes but at 78 active years old, why wait for this time bomb to suddenly begin ticking. He's looking into having it removed/fixed soon.
The grandbabies are all getting so big. Cora will be 4 in October and Trevor in December. The transition from 2 and half last summer to 3 and a half this summer has been like night and day. They understand so much more, talk in full conversations, listen and repeat, sometimes things you don't want repeated, lol, and learn SO fast it's incredible. I am in awe of them.
Trevor started pre school two days a week this past year. Surprisingly, his teacher said he was the quietest one in the class. Not surprisingly, he's the loudest one at home, LOL. Even though I know it's very beneficial, I find it so sad to think that the babies of the family are now pre school age.
Little Warren is not so little any more. He's a very compact and heavy and I now see how my daughter stays in such good shape. I can literally, only hold him for a few minutes before needing a bit of oxygen, LOL. Okay, I'm their grandmother so I naturally think my grandchildren are gorgeous, but I have to tell you, recently we were out with the boys and on more than one, more than two occasions, people stopped to look and comment on how adorable Warren is. I have to agree. He's content to sit and play alone but when his brother wants to rumble and tumble with him, there's lots of laughing to be heard. Trevor is such a good big brother. Hugging, kissing and comforting one minute, pushing and grabbing the next, LOL.
Cora has really blossomed this year. During the day, she loves to do anything Mimi is doing. She helps me make the bed, scramble the eggs, and set the table for dinner. She helped plant flowers and learned how important it is to take care of them. She talks about weather, sports animals and bugs as if she's known about them all her life. She doesn't like to pray out loud but will always remind us to pray at the table or if she hears a siren somewhere. She loves going to church and asked me one day if God was funny. Three is a great age. So inquisitive.
I went to my 30th class reunion this past November. It was a lot of fun and good to see so many old friends.
Mark and I went up to Vermont on a mini winter vacation in February. We stayed at this place called Windekind Farm. Google it, I guarantee you will want to go there. It was quiet, secluded and definitely relaxing. We went to the Vermont Teddy Bear factory and of course, Ben and Jerry's. The owners took quite a liking to us and even asked us to stay an extra night for free. We will definitely be back.
After our mini vacation, we made a decision that we were going to lose some weight. The years were definitely catching up with me and my middle section, not to mention a few other places as well, and I felt really heavy and disgusting. Mark too had put on weight and wanted to slim down a bit. I enlisted the help of my sister Julie who had lost quite a bit of weight due to a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. She taught us about, not just eating low carb but good carbs and smaller portions. My personal goal was to lose 10 lbs. by June. To be honest, I did not think this was attainable since I'd never had to lose weight in my life and have no willpower or determination to discipline myself that way. I have to say, this way of eating has been such an easy adjustment for me, that by May I had lost 10 plus lbs. and exceeded my expectations of what I thought I would lose. As of today, I am down 17 lbs. and Mark has lost 22. Thanks Julie for all your help.
In March, Erika and Scott announced the possibility of moving to Tennessee for a job for Scott. After being laid off from his job, working many temp jobs and not finding a permanent position, they made the decision to move down south where a friend of Scott's offered him a job with a company that he had previously worked for. As of June they have been living in an apartment while actively looking for a house. I have to admit, I never really thought it was all going to happen. I thought for sure a job would crop up, or their house wouldn't sell, or they'd just change their minds, but none of that happened. It's still difficult for me to think of them as not living up here any more. I have this feeling inside me that feels like, they're on vacation and will be home soon. I miss them so much and hate the fact that I won't be able to see Persson grow up with his cousins. Still, I am so grateful that they are open minded about returning one day and that we live in a day and age where we can be constantly connected in many different ways. Saying, "wanna Skype?" has become second nature to Cora and Trevor and little Persson walks around talking to photographs thinking they can talk back to him, LOL. How cute it that? Not that TN would have been my first choice of vacation spots, but now it's on the top of my list.
So that's about it for now. I know there's so much more but I hope I can write about those things at some other point in time. This blog site is not the most user friendly place to upload pictures. Every time I do it seems to move my paragraphs all over the place. SO, no pictures this time, but hopefully, or should I say, maybe, the next time.
Ciao ~J~
