Molly & Anna meet for the first time.....

As you can see, Anna adores Molly! Jen & Dave left the hospital this morning with Molly and came right over to pick Anna up from our house. Anna was antsy all morning....she could hardly wait! She will definately be a great big sister to Molly. Anna could not keep her eyes off of Molly....it was so sweet to see. Jen calls the baby "squeekers" because she is always making little squeeking noises. Baby is down to 6 lbs even.


Jeff went to the Packer game today with his boss and 4 of our priests from Holy Family Parish. The weather is perfect...they should have a great time. Our son Joe is there also with a bus group from Milwaukee (they started to party at 11:00 am this morning), so I hope they are not too rowdy...they are sitting real close to where Jeff is sitting! oh boy......


Well, one event done, now we can concentrate of Thanksgiving and Christmas :)


Have a great week.....Janet

Molly has arrived!!!!!

Molly arrived at about 3:52 this afternoon. She is 18" long and weighed in at 6 lbs. 3 oz. She is a little peanut! Anna is so proud to be a big sister and can hardly wait to see Molly in person. Originally she was to be at the hospital to watch the delivery, but because of the H1N1, only people over the age of 18 can be at the hospital.


We are so proud...as always! Yeah, we are grandparents again. Jen is doing well and is glad it's all over. She was a real trooper and and performed great. One push and Molly slid right out!


Blessings,
Janet & Jeff

Cure for extreme headache?????

Well...we discontinued the acupuncture as it really wasn't working. At about $500.00 (out of pocket) for the past 6 weeks, we decided it was time for the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago. Insurance needed a letter of medical necessity (as if having a headache 24/7 ~ 365 days a year isn't enough).... So the neurologist sent one off to the insurance on Thursday and I will call the insurance on Monday. Evidentally it has to go in front of a medical board for review. Jeff missed 2 days of work again this week...not good. Hope and pray Jeff gets in to the headache clinic soon. He did all the things we could do here, CT-Angio of his head, sinus CT scan, eye check up, dentist and numerous doctors. The neuro-surgeon at Froedtert in Milwaukee said Jeff's anuerism is the about same size as the last time and does not appear to be leaking. (not the cause of the headaches)    http://diamondheadache.com

Wow, it is sunny and very warm for November!  I think it is around 60 degrees.  And yes, my Christmas decor is up outside!  :)  LOL   LOL


If Jennifer doesn't have little Molly by Friday the 13th, she will be induced at 6:30 am on the 13th.  Yeah...we can hardly wait!  Anna is very anxious also.  She talks to Molly all the time....she tells her it's time to come out and play.  Wonder if she will be a little chatterbox like Anna?


Other than Jeff, all is well here....take care and have a Blessed weekend.


Janet

Trick or Treat 2009

Candy, candy and more candy! It was very cold and windy on Halloween this year. Anna went with her 2 girlfriends in Rosendale and Luke went with daddy in Lombard. Little munchkins...so cute. Anna did share one piece of candy with Jeff and one for me. Yummy! We gave out candy to about 70 kids. There were some really cute costumes, I wish I would have taken pictures! Next year.


Went to the cancer doctor and my results were good from the CT scan.  I am not in remission, but I am stable.  Stable is good!


Jeff is stopping the acupuncture and we are making arrangements for the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago.  Something HAS to help pretty soon.


Yesterday we finished raking leaves and doing yard work.  I hate to admit it, but we put up our Christmas decor outside.  We won't turn on the lights yet but I wanted to do it while it was somewhat warm out.  It is no fun when it is zero degrees!  I love the Christmas season and the way I figure, I have 2 months to enjoy it now.


Take care and God Bless,
Janet

"Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually, it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever." ~ Lance Armstrong

Grandparents Day

Friday was Grandparents Day at Anna's school. I took my mom (great-grandma) and we got to watch music skits from K through 3rd grade. Anna was the first one to recite for the 2nd graders. They sang a song about "Grandma's are like that". (grandpa's, aunts and special friends too) After each sentance that she read, the kids sang "Grandma's are like that!" So cute.

Jeff's UPDATE: He went to the acupuncturist Friday night and now he is put on a gluten-free diet as well as no dairy or caffeine. Went and bought about $80.00 worth of groceries that are gluten-free etc. tonight......yikes that stuff is expensive! He also is checking the "Geo-pathic forces" in our house. He brought home something we plug in to every outlet in our house and it will have a digital reading. Jeff will then take that in tuesday night when he sees him again and get the results. Also, he has to sleep on the sofa in case the problem in in the bedroom with the "forces". Oh boy? Should be interesting!

I go tomorrow to the Cancer Center for the results of my CT from this past week. Hopefully everything will have stayed the same.

Off to bed..........sweet dreams.

Janet

Love the Fall beauty....

Feeling pretty good today. Had my CT scan on Tuesday, I'll get the results on Monday next week.


Jeff is still struggling with his headaches. Yesterday he woke up and he could rate it about a "2". By 11:30, he felt a numbness in his forehead that travels and the POW....his headache is a "7". It was his day off, so stress shouldn't have been a factor...??? He does think that the acupuncture many be helping somewhat.


Our "Hopper's Hood" neighbor and friend Kevin Liedke, lost his courageous battle with cancer at age 54. So sad. I am so thankful for Jeff's and my health (even though it is not perfect). Things can always be worse. We have to live each day to the fullest and know that we are born to die, some sooner than others. Although we love it here now and what we are doing, enjoying family and friends, we always have the gift of a greater place to be in the future.


Since my diagnosis 15 years ago with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, I have learned to appreciate every minute of the day and night. Not much "rattles" me anymore as we have learned - Life is too short! Things that used to annoy me, do not exist any more. I guess attitude is the key...you HAVE to have a good one and a total positive one. I have always appreciated nature and everything around me. Today is gloomy and rainy, BUT my trees in the front yard with their red glow cheer everything up for me.


I hope everyone has the glow of a red fall tree....or something to brighten their day!


God's Blessings,
Janet

CELEBRATIONS!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREA (DAUGHTER-IN-LAW)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACK "DAD"

HAPPY 4TH ANNIVERSARY JULIE & MARK

Jeff's dad celebrates his birthday today along with our daughter-in-law Andrea. CONGRATS!!


Julie & Mark celebrated 4 years of marriage this past Sunday. CONGRATS!

Today we also had some sadness....our friend and neighbor passed away from a battle with cancer at a young age of early 50's. His name is Kevin and our sincere thoughts and prayers go out to his family.  Another friend of ours found out she has an inoperable brain tumor and will go through radiation and chemo, although doctors have given her about 18 months.  Our prayers are lifted for her too.  Another neighbor just lost his sister to cancer a couple days ago, she too very young, only in her 40's.  It is evident that God needed some very special angels.  I sure hope and pray that our sciencists can find a cure.

Update on Jenny:  only less than a month before little Molly is born.  Things are going well and everyone is excited for the day to come.

I did a terrible thing last night!  I accidentally left Lucy in the garage for about 1 1/2 hrs.  She snuck out there when I came in!  Poor baby!  Jeff happened to hear her yipping........(bad mommy).  lol

With a Grateful Heart,

Janet

Hike around Mauthe Lake

This past Sunday was sunny but 38 degrees. We decided to drive through the Kettle Moraine Ice Age area so view the beautiful colors of the trees. We stopped at the "Hamburger Haus" in Dundee (Long Lake area) and got hamburgers to go. We purchased a one day State Park sticker and went down to the lake to eat.  It ended up being a tad cold, so we went back to the car to finish. We then proceeded to take a hike on the trail around the lake. It was fun and very pretty. We had fun collecting leaves, acorns and as Anna would call them "prize" items. We sure enjoyed our day with Anna. She is growing up so fast! We treasure every minute we get to spend with her. Someday we would like the whole family to get together and go hiking.  I love nature.  :)  ...hint-hint....  There were some site numbers we wrote down as we are thinking maybe we would like to go tent camping next summer.  Walked about 2 miles all together....and yes, Anna was tired at the end.  All of a sudden she said, my feet hurt, carry me.  NOT.  We proceeded back to the car and then went back to the "Hamburger Haus" and got an ice cream cone for the trip back to Fond du Lac.  When we got back to Anna's house, we put her leaves in a book to flatten them.  Anna & I are going to make something with them, plus she wants to use some of the leaves for the story she will be writing.

It is times like last Sunday walking in the woods that we can really feel closer to God and all the beauty He has to share....:)

Happy Fall to All....

Janet & Jeff

The Little Farmer

Last Sunday we went to the Little Farmer and picked out our pumpkins. After checking out our pumpkins, we put them in the car and went back to go through the 2 acre corn maze. It was fun and was even funnier to watch Anna guide our way through it. It was a gorgeous day. To top the day off, we all enjoyed a yummy caramel apple. It was a good day for all! We love being able to do things like this with the kids and grand-kids. Speaking of which, Jenny & Dave's baby girl will be arriving soon....only about 6 weeks left! :)

Health updates: Jeff is going to see an acupuncturist this morning, Dr. Hany, in Marytown, WI. He has tried everything possible for his headaches (that he has had for 24/7 since last February) and is willing to try anything at this point. Hope it goes well. I didn't feel well the past couple of weeks, can't really say what it was, but I just wasn't up to par. Tired all the time was my main issue. Feeling better today.

• Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity.... It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. ~Melody Beattie

Praying for all our friends with health issues (especially the ones with cancer).....

God's blessings to all.........
Janet

LUKE is "2" today!

Boy, oh boy...Luke is "2" today!! As you can see he had a monkey themed party at his home in Illinois today. Julie made the monkey cake from scratch. It looks awesome and she did not use a form for it. She simply carved it out and used the extra pieces for the ears etc. I give her credit as I never even have made a cake from scratch, let alone a dimensional one! Way to go Julie! Luke is pointing at the cake requesting "more". Looks like he has a fair amount on his face....lol HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUKE

I see the cute monkey balloons and it looks like the kids had fun playing in the tree house/fort/slide/ swing set too. Glad it was a good day for all. Wish we could have been there. Jeff still has his migraine headache and just was not able to drive. :(

Love & Hugs,
Janet & Jeff

Our Godson - John's wedding.....

Saturday was a glorious day. It couldn't have been a more beautiful day as the sun was shining, and it was warm with a slight breeze. Our Godson John married his beloved Melissa. They had 10 attendants (10 girls, 10 guys) plus 2 flower girls and a ring bearer. The entire wedding party were dressed in fall colors. The flowers were fall themed as well. Approximately 350 people attended the dinner and reception/dance. It was really hard to believe that "little" Johnny was getting married as it seems like yesterday that he was just a wee one. AND, he is not so little! He is VERY tall! A grand time was had by all.....

Jeff's entire family came home for the wedding. There will be a picture to post later when I get one.

GOD BLESS THE NEWLY MARRIED COUPLE ~ John & Melissa

Love, Janet & Jeff

We have Luke for a week!

We picked up Luke in Lombard, IL on the day before Labor Day and brought him back with us to Fond du Lac, WI. We are having a fun time with him. Anna visited on Labor Day and got to play with her cousin. He is so good. It is amazing how good he goes to bed at night and for his afternoon nap. He just runs down the hall, goes in to the bedroom and trys to climb in to the crib. He lays down, and he's out for the count! Luke gives lots of hugs and kisses.....and of course we don;t like that at all......lol lol...

Anna started the 2nd grade the day after Labor Day. It gets her tired out, as she is ready for bed by 8:30. She likes her teacher but is not happy that they get homework. I'm sure she will get in to a rountine soon.

Later gators,
Janet

Mama Jenny & Anna

As you can see Anna loves her baby sister already! She has been talking to her all the time. She bought a gift for Molly today, a little "first" bear. She has already nicknamed the baby "Molly-Bear". Anna is going to be such a Big Sister to Molly and a big help to Jenny & Dave. Only 2 1/2 months left! Jen has been feeling pretty good except for the swollen ankles, sciatic pain and major heartburn. If I remember right, we all went through that stuff......and hopefully those things will disappear in time. Keep praying for a healthy, safe pregnancy and delivery. :) Thank you.

Hugs, Janet

I am Love'n My Garden!

I am loving all these fresh veggies from my little 5’ x 10’ raised garden! Tomatoes are really getting ripe faster now. Love the little Roma ones, the Grape tomatoes and Cherry ones too. We’ve had about a dozen big ones for sandwiches. Next year I need more cukes! Anna & I go out and pick a few times a week. I can’t believe August is over half over. Where has the summer gone? Until next time……..

Have a great day!

Janet

"For fast-acting relief, try slowing down."

Lily Tomlin

"There is more to life than increasing its speed."

Mahatma Gandhi

"How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then to rest afterward."

Spanish proverb

One of Nature's Blessings!

This little beauty was posing for me today. Finally, after taking about 40 pictures....I decided to just let him/her eat in peace. I was about 12" away from this Monarch and it acted like it was there just to perform for me.

Love,
Janet

Some of the Family....

Wow...2 posts in one day! Took some pictures, so thought I would post them right away. We went out for fish and it was delightful. Now, to try and cool down before bedtime.....it's 86 in the house...:( I should have had the air on but the fans are doing an okay job.

Later.................Janet

Anna goes to camp!!!

We went with Jenny & Anna to take her to Girl Scout camp last Sunday as Dave had to work. She was excited and nervous and saying "see ya later" was hard for her. It was a 3 night camp, from Sunday afternoon to Wednesday night at 7 pm. that is the longest she has been away from family. The camp was beautiful and looked like it was going to be fun. Well......they stopped at our house Wednesday night after they picked her up and she ran in to our house and we all got big hugs and kisses. She said she hated the camp, everything is brown. lol lol lol She didn't like all the dirt. She did like the pool, she got the highest level in the swim testing and was very proud of that. She had signed up to make a duck in the Noah's Ark build a pet and when she got to camp was told they didn't have anymore ducks and that she had to settle for a dog. She was major bummed out as she wanted the duck "to remind her of papa" (Jeff). That was supposed to make her less homesick. Her comment was "why do you sign up ahead of time if you don't get what you sign up for?" Oh well, one of life's cruel lessons!
Oh my we had gorgeous weather all week.....80's and sunny....just how I like it! Always makes me feel good.

Going out with Jeff's parents and Jenny & Anna tonight for a fish dinner at Whispering Springs Golf course. Yummmmm!

Tomorrow my friend Lyn & I teach a "cupcake" class at the Scrapbook Cottage. We will be making a cupcake card and a paper dimensional cupcake. I'll post a picture tomorrow. Should be a fun time.

Have a glorious weekend!

Pool Time

The above picture is from Sunday. We had pool time with Luke before they went back to Illinois. Anna & Luke had some cuddle time before she left for Girl Scout camp on Sunday. It seems really weird not to be able to talk to Anna. It is a 3 night trip she is on. She was very excited. Hopefully all is well.

Oh my...I was a lucky duck today! ~ I picked about 10 Roma tomato's, 1 big tomato, 3 cukes, 3 zuchinni and a green pepper. There are some sweet banana peppers ready too. Tomorrow will be a salad day!

Busy day tomorrow, Jeff has an appointment with the neurologist, I get my port flushed, need to pick up my new c-pap mask, buy dog food and shock the pool! I do need to hoe and water the garden also, among other outdoor things. I would love to get everything done in the morning as tomorrow looks like another "pool day"!!! The water was 82 today.

Summer is finally here...I hope it stays for a while! I'll be sure to take a snooze in the pool for you too! lol

Enjoy!
Janet

Relay for Life 2009

Fond du Lac raised over $455,000.00 last night in the 2009 Relay for Life. We haven't got a total on what our "Hopper's Hood" brought in yet. It was a cold and rainy day and night. But we managed to pull it off again......a very successful relay. Actually, is was always a steady rain and around 11pm it started thundering and lightning and everyone had to be pulled off the track and put in to the high school. We had wild storms all night, especially at 2 am and 4 am. The 4 am one almost knocked me out of bed! 2 of the 3 tents we had on our site were blown away and wrecked. Nothing, even a storm could not ruin the event....Fond du Lac is always committed to their causes. Today everyone was tired and trying to recuperate. The theme for this years event was Rock n Rollin cancer away. And yes.....that is JEFF dressed up as a woman. Our "Dude looks like a Lady" guy didn't show up and so they recruited Jeff to dress up and go out for a 1/2 hr. walk around the track and ask for $$$$$ to be dropped in his purse! He brought in $200.00 for that little contest. LOL I told him he should Nair that mustache!

We went from in the 60's yesterday to almost 90 today. I had to laugh the other day when my friend commented on the fact that we were riding in the convertible and I still had a snow brush in the backseat! You know you are in Wisconsin ....when.....you are always prepared for the worst weather. LOL LOL (I did take the snow brush out now)

Many thanks to our family and friends who donated so generously to the Relay for Life this year. We deeply appreciate it.

Gods Blessings to all............
Janet & Jeff

Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Today was a gorgeous day.....so I went outside to take pictures of some of the flowers.....and then again at sunset. Days like this make a person feel totally awesome. Thank you God, for the most beautiful colors of today.

Went to the Pulmanary doctor today and got breathing test results. Seems like my actual breathing is okay with some early kind of lung disease. ??? I have the chest CT scan tomorrow morning and the Echo-Cardiogram after that. So, until then I don't know too much. Anyway, I feel good.

The pool should warm up nicely this week as it is to be in the 80's all week. Yippee!!! I love it. The grand-kids, Luke and Anna will love it too!

Relay for Life is coming up this Friday and we are gearing up for the walk. Jeff's brother is printing the shirts, I can't wait to see what they look like. We'll be sure to take pictures and post them too. Hope the "hood" (Hopper's Hood") makes good money for the Relay for Life Cancer Walk. It all counts in the fight against cancer.

Until the next time.............God Bless!
Janet

The "Scrapper's".....

Wow, we had a fun crop night at the Scrapbook Cottage Friday/Saturday. Started out at 2:00 Friday afternoon, then at 5:30 went to the Backyard Grill for some food for the tummy and a cocktail to get the inspirations flowing...... Continued to scrap from 7:30 to 1:30 in the morning. It was quite the marathon! Sometime we'll have to see if we can go all night! LOL LOL LOL :)

I didn't notice until I put the photo on my blog that we were all color coordinated too. Hmmmmm....divine intervention? Anyway, it was a good time had by all.

I had Anna from Wednesday morning until Friday afternoon.....it was so fun having her here. We went to her swimming lessons and I got to sit right by the diving board to watch as the lessons were private ones. She is learning to dive and is doing quite well. Little stinker! She can swim 2 widths of the pool, which was really awesome to see. Grandpa got to watch her one time too.

Saturday we went clothes shopping for baby Molly. (due in November) Jenny lets Anna pick out her new sister to be clothes. It is cute to see her take such a vested interest in the process. She checks the prices, and sizes etc. She is going to be a great big sister.

Tomorrow I have a CT scan of the chest and a Echo-cardiogram.....I'll post regarding that when I get results. Have not received the results from the breathing test yet either. Must not be too bad if they didn't call me.

Hugs and Love to all......

OBJECTS IN MIRROR ARE CLOSER THAN THEY APPEAR!

OMG.......we took the dogs with us while we went riding around today. They loved it! :; We were driving around for about an hour and a half and we were about 2 blocks from home when we noticed that Lucy had puked up all her dog food! The booster seat caught most of it, so I had to hose that off when we got home. AND, I had to hose off Lucy's face and Daisy's tail and one leg. Jeff said never again. I say.....never say never. Poor baby! :(

Our son-in-law Dave had a union meeting over at the high school today regarding Mercury Marine's status. (he is the only Master Plumber there) They are in negotiations regarding closing the plant, employing 2,000 people and moving it to Stillwater, OK where they have 200 employed. :( ~ or hopefully that will not happen. Dave brought Jenny in, so we watched Anna swim. I went in the pool too around 1:30 and we played and splashed etc. Nice day, around 80 and then around 6pm the temps went down to 72, it got real windy and it poured rain for about 5 minutes.....then stopped and the sun came back out! Yeah......

I am real sleepy right now....every night this week I went to bed around 2:30 am.......I think it just caught up!!! .....yawn......

Until the next time.........

An afternoon at the Park...

Julie, Mark, Jenny, Jeff & I took the kids to the park on Saturday afternoon. We walked around, enjoyed the beautiful day and the kids rode the merry-go-round and the train. Then that night we celebrated my mom, Julie & Anna's birthdays....again. Jeff's mom and dad joined us too. We had pizza and an angel food cake with yummy Cool Whip Strawberry Dip on it.

Went to the doctor today as I am still coughing, all day & night. He scheduled an echo-gram and a CT of the chest and a breathing test. So....we'll see what is going on! I guess he wants to rule out certain things.

Jeff has his headaches bad again today.....I think we are going to have to try the acupuncture route or the Botox or SOMETHING. Yesterday he told someone that our "golden" years are really our "rusty" years! LOL LOL

I changed the design of my blog....just for something different....it's free, so I thought I would give it a try. Hope you enjoy it too.

Have a wonderful, beautiful week......

Love,

Garden today....

Yummmmm....I ate some plump red cherry tomatoes today, 5 to be exact. I see some zucchini, peppers and lots of tomatoes. I just love going outside picking and eating the new veggies. The flowers are doing well also this year. I think I should pick some to bring in to the house. They don't have much fragrance, but they are pretty to look at.

It is a gorgeous day today, sunny and warm, not hot. I think I should go take a nap outside!

I can't wait for the 18th....Julie, Mark & Luke are coming for the weekend. We are going to celebrate Anna's birthday(the 3rd) and my mom's(the 11th) and Julie's(the 12th)! We have a jam packed day for that Saturday! Anna is in a parade in Brandon and we want to take the kids to the park and ride the train & merry-g0-round etc. AND....we want to swim. I hope we can do it all! Whew!

Wishing everyone a blessed week.

Janet & Jeff

HAPPY 4th of JULY!!!!!

Yesterday, Anna turned "7".....Happy Birthday Anna! I went along to Jen's ultrasound and.......IT"S A GIRL!!!!! Anna & Jenny decided they are naming her Molly. Oh......another little one to spoil!! Congrats to the Kloostra's.

Yes, we are running "Doggie Daycare" this weekend. We have Ginger (Anna's dog) and Brewski (Joe & Andrea's dog). We only had Brewski for one night and Ginger for two. We decided it was easier to sleep separate....Jeff with Brewski and the rest with me.

We are looking forward to the fireworks tonight and grilling out prawns. yumm......

HAPPY 4 th to ALL.............

Janet & Jeff

June Pooltime

Are we ever getting our warm weather back? It has been cool here for the past 3 days, 60's and low 70's. We miss going in the pool!

Tomorrow we all find out if Anna will have a baby sister or brother? Although because Jenny works in Radiology, they take sneak peeks and it looks like it will be a girl. :)

I am so excited that Jeff will be off Saturday & Sunday. Hmmm....what should we do? I think we will go to a movie for sure.

Wishing all of you a Happy & Safe 4th of July!

Blessings,

Father's Day celebrated today!

Finally got to celebrate Father's Day with Jeff's dad and mom. We went for breakfast at Schreiner's. Jeff had his usual veggie omelet and Jack his strawberry waffle. yummmmmm....... We sat there for quite a while and chatted and had a really nice visit. Of course, when we got home, I had to put Jeff to work just a little. He filled all the bird feeders and then helped me pick up the debris from trimming our "Miss Kim" lilacs. It always has to be done by July 1st so that we get maximum quantity of lilacs next spring. I went in the pool with Anna and Jeff read and then took a nap. :)

The weather was perfect today. High 70's and a nice cool breeze, or I should say wind! I am sad to see the weekend over. Good thing is that Jeff has this coming Saturday and Sunday off.......yeah! It will be a quiet 4th of July here as all the kids are busy and not coming home. We usually sit in the front yard and watch the park's fireworks. We have a pretty good view from our house. My guess is the weekend will be full of loud noises from firecrackers, bottle rockets and neighborhood cheer.

"It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto Thy name, O most High"
"To show forth Thy loving kindness in the morning, and Thy faithfulness every night."
(Psalm 92:1-2)

God's blessings......

Looks like Luke is saying a little prayer for his big sister in Heaven. Someday these pictures will be a nice reminder of his sister Chloe and how he helped tend to her garden. :) God rest her little soul. Our own little "angel". I spoke with Julie the other day about how I was thinking of Chloe a lot lately. She said she had been also. Maybe it is because when we see beautiful flowers, we think of her. I don't know....she reminded me of a little rose-bud.....and plucked to soon from her mom & dad and all of us. All we can hope and pray for is when we will see her again in the Gardens of Heaven.

On a happier note.....Luke went to the pool for the first time this year and it looks like he loved it. Little stinker....I can't wait for them to come home and go in the pool to splash and have fun.

Have a Great Week...................

Laundry!

Yes, this is one of the 3 stacks of folded laundry that Anna (almost 7) did for me yesterday. She put them all in their appropriate rooms with a bill attached! Not sure if this is $11.00 or .11cents? Hopefully it is the latter. Anyway....it sure brightened my day... :)

Whew...it has been a while since I last posted! The past 3 weeks I have had a non-stop cough.....but I don't really seem to be sick. I have gone to the doctor 3 times and I am finally on an inhaler and I think it may be working a bit.

Jeff had a MRI of his head to see if their was a cause for his headaches. Both doctors have said he needs to reduce his stress as they really think that they are tension headaches. The MRI shows no tumors or strokes and the anuerism is about the same size as it was last year. (small) So......to relax....he has indicated that he has always wanted to learn to play the guitar. I think that is a great idea and we will be checking that out soon. :)

It is a beautiful day out today....should be in the 80's and sunny. Tomorrow we are going to put the pool up....I am excited for that as it was my favorite pastime last summer. Anna & I had so much fun in it and it was a treat when grandpa could join us. Hopefully summer is here to stay!

The roses and flowers are blooming in the yard, it is so pretty....I love watching their progress. My veggie garden is awesome also. I have baby tomatoes and the peas are climbing and the radishes are almost ready for picking. It has been about 20 years since we had a vegetable garden....I missed it.

"Destiny is not a matter of chance,
it is a matter of choice;
it is not a thing to be waited for,
it is a thing to be achieved."

Have a great weekend ~ Happy Father's Day to all the dads.

Jeff's Birthday AGAIN....

This time with Julie, Mark, Luke, Joe & Andrea, along with Jeff's parents, my mother and Jen, Dave & Anna and Lyn & Kay! We had my mom's Pumpkin Bar dessert for the birthday treat. Jeff got to snuggle with both grand kids and it was fun. Joe grilled the chicken breasts and we had lots of yummy food. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEFF..........AGAIN!

Well, I am still coughing. It is going on about 10 days now....and I am wondering if it will ever go away! I don't have any other symptoms! ugh.....

It is still cool in our neck of the woods. The highs have only been in the low 60's. Sure does not make the gardens grow very fast. We need some sunny, warm days and I pray they come soon. Corn should be knee high by the 4Th of July.....we'll see about that!

There are a number of our friends that have cancer right now. I would like to ask you to please say a big prayer for all of them....thank you. God bless you.

Humbly,

JEFF'S BIRTHDAY - 57 yrs.

Jeff 's birthday was Saturday, he had to work...last day of the work month and it was hectic - crazy busy. (car sales).
We went to Sal's Pizza on Main Street in Fond Du Lac. It is a new place and the pizza is totally awesome. What is even more awesome is that it is the former "Sport Shop", where Jeff's dad managed it for around 17 years! It was fun to see what they did to the multi story store. It brought back a lot of memories. Then Jeff and Anna camped out in the backyard...it was a cold night!~I am surprised that they stayed out there all night. Jenny & Dave brought Chinatown Kitchen take out to our house for supper on Sunday night, so now that is 3 days that Jeff has celebrated! The rest of the kids come home this coming weekend......so we will do it all over again! Lucky duck!

Need some prayers for Jeff for the headaches he has constantly. His head CT scan is this Wednesday. Of course he did some work in the yard yesterday and now his back is killing him along with his sciatic. Why are us baby boomers falling apart? Our parents are healthier than we are!

I am so excited, my garden is growing really well. I even have a few tomatoes on a Grape tomato plant. I can hardly wait to be eating some of the great veggies from the garden.

I just need to get healthy again....I've been coughing all night long for the past 3 nights. I end up on the couch sleeping sitting up. It is the only way I can sleep. I do not have the sore throat or fever anymore. I may have to break down and call the doctor. :(

I got the below in an email yesterday and I think it is a great reminder for all of us.

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you, really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words' In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone for everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

I especially like numbers: 15, 26, 28, 30, 31, 33, 34, 36, & 40

37 years!!!!

OMG....I can remember the day we got married like it was yesterday!!! We feel so blessed that we have been able to be together for this amount of time. God has been good to us for sure!...and we thank Him for that. Jeff's birthday is Saturday...so we get to celebrate again! We are both 57 now and happy to be here. We celebrate life everyday. The kids will all come home the weekend of June 6 th.....we'll have a BBQ and celebrate some more. We can hardly wait to see little Luke and Anna play together. It is so good to look forward to these times together with family.
I saw this poem on Memorial Day...thought I would post it for you to read.

Love,

A PRAYER FOR OUR NATION

- by the late Helen Steiner Rice

God bless America

and keep us safe and free--

Safe from all our enemies,

wherever they may be...

Teach us to walk humbly

and closer in Thy Ways,

Give us faith and courage

and put purpose in our days,

Make each one of us aware

that each must do his part,

For in the individual

is where peace must have its start--

For a better world to live in

where all are safe and free

Must start with "faith and hope and love"

deep in the heart of me.

MY NEW GARDEN

Joe helped me with the "garden" for Mothers Day. We bought the stone, Joe did the labor with the big help of our son-in-law Dave. It is so cool....I love it!

I planted tomatoes, peppers, cukes, zucchini, red onions, and some radishes. Now I just have to water it and wait for it all to grow. I can hardly wait to pick a big red juicy tomato! ....and have a BLT. :)

The past 2 days have been just beautiful...near 80 degrees and sunny. There is an awesome breeze pulling through the house right now and I am going to nap for a bit before I go to the Scrapbook Cottage. See ya later!

Hugs, Janet

A Prayer....

Let us pray today.....

Saint Theresa's Prayer

May today there be peace within.

May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be content knowing you are a child of God.

Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.

It is there for each and every one of us.

Sad Day...Penny went to Doggie Heaven....

I took Penny to the Vet yesterday afternoon and she did not come home......:(

She was 10 1/2 yrs. and was suffering from arthritis. When we got home from vacation, she would not eat or drink. She had 2 major poop accidents in the house that were bloody and she was wandering around the house to look for places to hide. The other 2 dogs knew something was wrong as they kept sniffing her and cuddling up to Penny.... I will especially miss this little dog as she was given to me from a friend soon after I was diagnosed with my cancer. We somehow formed a very special bond. She had her ups and downs, just like me, with our medical issues....yet we both always bounced back. I cried/sobbed for the drive back in to town. This is rare for me as I just don't cry over anything. This is probably the 3rd time I have cried in 15 years! I have many fond memories of Penny....and I will remember her always.
On a happier note....I can hardly wait for tonight results on American Idol. We are DANNY GOKEY fans. "Go Danny". All 3 that are left are awesome, and I think that it may be down to a popularity contest now. We'll see!
It is a rainy day here today and it is greening the grass nicely. However, these kind of days make me want to sleep. I bought my flowers yesterday and I would really like to plant them soon. I think Sunday is supposed to be nicer.

Have a wonderful thankful day......

What Can I Say?

Our trip was AWESOME! It was much nicer at St. Pete's Beach than it is here! Today, in Fond du Lac it is cold and rainy. :(

We are thinking we are going to do this again next year. Have to start saving the pennies now. It is amazing how quickly you can develop the "Florida Rot". We slept until we woke up...which was usually around 10:00 am. Ate some toast and orange juice in the room, went down to the pool, went to dinner around 6:00 pm and then went to the beach in the evening. All I can say is BEAUTIFUL!!! All of the people we met were so nice. A cute couple, just married last Saturday are in the picture above, on the right, 2nd pic down. They were booked for Mexico, changed to St. Pete's Beach....for all the swine flu reasons....etc. I think they enjoyed their trip anyway. CONGRAT'S TO STEPHANIE & DERYL.

Blessings to all..........
Janet & Jeff

Posting new pictures tomorrow!

From sunny Florida...and I mean SUNNY! Highs of 95 degrees +!!! Not a cloud in the sky....I don't want to leave.....:(

This was 5 days of heaven.

Big Hugs.....

Janet & Jeff

Lil' Skooter Anna

The Easter bunny was good and got Anna a skooter for Easter. Here she is riding it at our house. She crashed and burned a couple of times.....she claims the skooter beats her up! We thought she did real well. Also "note", the band-aids on her ankles. Well, she came out with them on and said " look, I have bandaids on all 4 ankles. "4 ankles"...never heard that one before. She is such a character, We love her anyway an always!!!

Jeff still has some headaches.......more so at night. Hope we can figure this all out. He is steroids and they seem to working. Right now he will try anything! Pretty bad when you go to bed with a headache and wake up with one too. :(

I had a couple of bad days last week, but I am GREAT now. The sun is shining and Anna is here and I am ready to go! We have a million things to do today, including baking cookies. :)

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.~ Romans 8:14

JEFF STILL BATTLING THE HEADACHES!

Jeff missed 2 days work last week and so far 2 days this week due to these debilitating headaches. :( I feel so bad for him as they move around in his head and he says it is like a kaleidoscope of colors, even with his eyes closed. Per the doctor, we went to the ER yesterday and he had a CT scan to make sure that the small brain aneurysm that he has is not bleeding. As well as they could see, it is not.....that is a good thing. The doctor gave him a really powerful injection that (stronger than morphine) worked for about 2 hours. It is very quiet in our home as I am not making any noise of any kind....I had to stop the clock in the bedroom because the ticking was too loud for him. Of course, the house has to remain dark as well. My goodness I hope this passes soon! He has admitted that he has had a headache for over 2 months....ranking them a 6 or 7. Yesterday he told the ER doctor it was a 15. About 30 years ago I suffered a bout with cluster headaches and I remember it lasted about 3 weeks and I thought I would go out of my mind. Nothing helped and one day it was "just gone" and never returned. I was hoping Jeff's would do the same, but not so....or at least not yet! Saturday morning I had called Jeff at work as he had forgot his sunglasses and he said "I don't need them, I feel great"...and he sounded great too! We went to church 8 am Sunday morning, went to breakfast with friends and he was feeling wonderful, no headache! Then it hit him midday on Sunday, and it was back full force. Now, how do you figure that??? We will have to pray harder I guess.

Anna is so happy her mommy is expecting a baby.....she keeps snuggling up to Jenny and saying "mommy, I love you, we're having a baby". It is so sweet to see her enjoying this journey. Jenny had an ultrasound yesterday and they saw the heartbeat of the baby.....Jenny was much relieved at seeing it. Only 7 months to go! I guess she is about 9 1/2 weeks along. Amazing. :)

I am feeling much better. I had about a week that I was not feeling well, and of course it happened to be over the Easter holiday. I sure wish it would warm up and stay warm! It is 31 degrees today. We had some snow, slush and rain this morning so far. So much for spring! It is very damp in the house too...even though I have the heat turned up to 68 for Jeff. Usually I can live with the heat at 65 but not today...just cannot get warmed up. Well, I guess I whined enough. I am going to make a cup of tea and read a book...it is just that kind of day!

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you.

1 Peter 5:7

Love & Hugs,

Good Friday

We had fun coloring the eggs. Luke liked splashing in the color.....while Anna was trying to be very neat. We did 6 dozen all together. Looks like we will be eating egg salad all week! LOL LOL

Luke didn't like being in the bedroom to sleep, so I slept on the couch and he slept in his pack n play in the living room. He slept all night...however, our little Bichon Penny did not! She hurt her back and leg again and been getting sick. She is 10 yrs. and I think she may be going to doggy heaven soon. :( I hate to have her put down but she cried all night last night and it breaks my heart to see her suffer. I am going to have to call the vet on Monday.

LOL LOL, Anna just called here and was so generous to invite us all out to her house for lunch. I asked her what mommy was having for lunch? She said "we'll have to figure that out". Jen got on the phone and laughed and said...."no", we are coming in to town and want to go out for lunch. I laughed and said that sounded like a better idea! Although being as I went to bed at 4 am and got up at 6 am, I might have to stay home and nap and let the rest go out for lunch. Yawn...........

Jeff has worked the past few days with a killer headache ......not a good thing. Hopefully tomorrow he can rest after Mass when we go to Jenny & Dave's. (after the Easter egg hunt) It should be a real nice day tomorrow....sun and 50's. :)

Until tomorrow........Happy Easter Blessings to All,