This is the day the Lord has made. I plan to rejoice and be glad in it.

Presently I have missed Bible class due to nausea that i seem to be having a lot of lately. I do plan to go to church, so i may not be able to publish this until later in the day...or i may publish it with all of my usual misspellings and grammatical errors....we shall see.

Michael has come through with the first and most difficult of his surgeries--this one through the front of his neck. On Monday, April 6, Mathew's birthday, Michael will have hopefully his final surgery for this problem of his discs bulging into this spinal column and causing numbness in his hand and loss of muscle tone in his arm. The doctor feels Michael will be able to regain his muscle tone with exercise and hopefully be pain free for the first time since last summer. Please continue to pray for him.

I did not go up there because Michael said Carol Ann, the woman he plans to marry, has been with him the entire time. She, like Michael, is a doctor and she has been very diligent about him not walking without oxygen and about calming him when he is not aware of where he is and what is happening. She has called me about twenty times during this entire process to let me know every step of the way. she seems to be so very nice and she speaks so often of how much she loves Michael. I am proud of myself for not going up there, and thanks to Vicki, I decided to honor Michael's statement that he did not need me to come since Carol Ann was going to be with him throughout. Carol Ann told me she would not leave his side for 48 hours after the surgery and she would alert the medical staff if there were any indication that Michael was having breathing problems. Again, thanks Vicki for you wisdom. I love you.

Michael will have the second and hopefully last surgery on Monday at 1:30p.m. so once again your prayers are coveted. Remember this prayerI request is two fold" for his physical healing and even more inportantly, for his spiritual healing and his complete return to God. I do love him so and he has had such a tough time in life. I pray that Michael will repent and return to God so that Michael can experience life while walking in the light of the Lord and with our precious Father leading his every step. Carol Ann was raised southern Baptistt and now attends a non-denominational church in Mount Vernon, Inidanan. She said she is not preaching to Michael, but she has asked him to go to church with her and with her twin sons, Ryan and Logan, both 10 years old. He has told her he will not go and she has told me that she has told him that this decison needs to be his and not something he does for anyone but for himself. She tells him she believes God has been behind their meeting each other and that he can believe it is "some chance" occurrence, but she believe it could only have happened with a plan and she believes the plan was from God. She appears to be a delight.

BTW, i want to ask Andy and Jessica to ask them to come to the wedding, They may not come, but wouldnt it be great if they did?

Ramona is doing great and still working her night shift of 11P.M. to 7:30 a.m everyday except Friday and Saturday night. She is planning to take her teacher certification test in about a week so please pray for he in that regard. her desire is to get a job teaching junior high science and I hope she is successful in that regard. I feel she will be a great teacher and i know she loves science. Matthew continues to do well in school with mostly A's and some B's and he is getting excited about the finish line in his pursuit of an engineering degree which he should have by spring 2010. Karsen continues to be the delight of a grandmother's heart. We are buddies and spend each morning together getting ready for our day.

I actually have more to say, but i must stop now to get ready for church.

May our precious, almighty, loving God richly bless you, my dearest ones. jk

It is March 4th andIi am just now getting over all of the Valentine hooplah (Just kidding, but I felt an excuse was needed for my dirth of no postings)

I have just now gotten reconnected with my exercise program that I had been doing regularly prior to my trip to Indiana. I have also set up an appointment with a dietician and weight manager for Monday. I am pumped about this. I realize I am an individual who needs a support system to accomplish the difficult things in life. I believe God provides this help for me. I want to be all He has in mind for me to be and to accomplish all He desires for me to accomplish for Him on this earth. Blessed be the name of the Lord....Jehovah.

Today I went to Ladies Bible Class and again gained so much by our study that is directed by Casandra Martin. Please pray for Casandra and for her ministry at our church. I feel she is accomplishing so much. She has such a wonderful ministry and opportunity to minister to the ladies of our church who have grown up in the church. She is "light" or "yeast" to a great number of us ladies who have grown up in the church and already have a vast Bible knowledge base. Casandra is teaching us how to get the "meat" out of scripture, thus enabling our lives to be more like Christ. "Meat" is such a desired thing.

I continue to take care of Karsen each morning as Ramona sleeps after working from her 11p.m. unitl 7:30a.m shift at work. I enjoy taking care of Karsen so very much. We are now friends as we get ready for each day, feed the fish and eat breakfast and play together . We then eat lunch and then his mother takes over around 1 p.m. She is being appreciated at her job and is being used to teach her co workers on different machines in the lab. She even has co-workers who come to her to have her explain and teach them how to use machines more expertly. She is reveling in this job. She continues her training to prepare he to take the teacher exam and thus enable her to apply for a teachcing position for this next school year. Her desire is to be approved to teach science and or math to junior high children. I am confident she will be a grand teacher.

Matthew continues to go to school with plans to enroll as a full -time student attending the University of Houston for the fall semester 2009. This past fall semester, he was once again on the President's list as a student taking at least 12 hours with a grade point average of 3.5. He is , obviously, doing well. His plan is to graduate and be an engineer and Ramona's plan is to be a teacher. I am wishing them the very best as they pursue their goals and dreams.

I am enjoying my life at this time and am looking forward to my accomlishment of my goal of having a healthy body and being able to participate more completely in life.

My nieces all seem to be in good places at this time and I am happy for them. My nephews are dong well also. I love the role I play in their lives. My sisters are also doing well and I love them more with the passing of each day.

May God richly bless you my loved ones. jk

Happy Valentine's Day.

This morning I met my three long-time friends, Ginger, Bobbie, and Pamela for breakfast at Denney's. As usual, we had a better-than-enjoyable time together. Our plan is to meet the second Saturday of each month, and for the most part, we do meet each second Saturday. I have taught with them at some point in my life. I was Bobbie's Assistant principal at Ault and Pamela's and Ginger's principal at Lowery and we are very good friends and each others big fans. Such a good time with them. I do love their friendship and the time we dedicate to being with each other.

Then whileI was eating with them I received a call from Matthew inviting me to go out to eat breakfast with him, Ramona, and Karsen. I met them at IHOP for a cup of coffee while they ate their Valentine breakfast. It was Karsen's first time in a IHOP and I got to sit by him and we had a good time.

When I got home, Karsen had bought me some sugar-free Valentine candy and he gave it to me. It was so unexpected and I was thrilled for him to give it to me. BTW, sugar-free is "good eatin", and the way to go for a diabetic...of anyone else for that matter.

Now I am going to attempt to finalize getting my taxes together. I have been working on this since the end of January and I haven't made any progress for the past two weeks. Hopefully, today is the day I will continue to work continually until I have completed the task.

Some friends from church invited me to go out with them last night for dinner at Carrabba's and then to go to their house for dessert and games. I did not go. I intended to go but developed head-ache and called and declined at the last minute. There were going to be nine of us, so I didnt feel that I had ruined the get together. I appreciate them so much for inviting me, but I continue to feel sort of like a lone wolf sometimes. I must get over thinking it is all about me and learn to try to attend events for the benefit of others. Oh well. I will see them tomorrow at church and possibly we can go out tomorrow for lunch.

Life is good.

May God richly bless you, my dear ones. jk

This is the day that the Lord has made and I have been rejoicing in it.

Man, I do enjoy taking care of my grandson, Karsen. My usual duty is from the time his mother returns from her night shift at Polaris' Lab and brings the sleeping baby down to my room until he is ready for his afternoon nap. this time is so precious to me He will lie beside me in my bed for about an hour until he is ready to get up. We get up together and i go get ready for the day. Today, i got him a cup of milk and then we both went into my bathroom for me to get ready. He gets his "bathroom toys"out of the green bag and begins to play with the toys inside while i get ready.

After I am ready with my hair/ face done and am showered and dressed, we go and make my bed. Karsen helps me by opening the shutters on my window while I make the bed and arrange the pillows and turn on the lamps. Then we head outside to feed Helen, Oscar, Robert and Vern. Next we went inside for breakfast.

Yesterday, for the first time, he put his little hands together for the prayer before we ate. This morning he did it again, and he didnt pull his hands apart, but patiently remained for the duration of the prayer. This is the first day he used his little plastic fork to feed himeself. We had scrambled eggs with cheese, he ate all of his and since there were no more eggs and he was still wanting to eat, I cut up a banana into little fork bites nd he fed himself all but an inch of that banana. This was a grand day of accomplishments for that precous little boy. He was proud of himself, I could tell. Great times.

This morning after breakfast, I got the dishes ready to put in the washer and put out a load of wash. He went into the laundry room with me as I placed the wash in the washer. Then we went into the family room and turned on the lamps and placed him in his playpen where he played.

After a little less than the hour I wanted him to stay in the playpen, it was time for us to read the new books I purchased for him that aired yesterday. He went over to the couch, where we sat yesterday and he patted the cushion for me to sit on it and he sat beside me as we read the books three time each. They are picture books and it was fun. Then he played a bit more with his puzzles and then it was time for lunch.

We went into the kitchen and he was ready for the prayer again and he ate applesauce and one bite of his macaronni dish. then we played a bit more in the family room and Matthew came to get him for the balance of his day to be pent with his mother and his daddy too.
Although his mother definitely takes over the bulk of the "Karsen job".

Now I am catching up on my e-mail and mail and going to go to Walgreens for a few things. I enjoy my activity with Karsen so much. I also purchase a CD of little childrens church songs: Jesus Loves me, Jesus Loves the little Children, Climb, Climb Up Sunshine Mountain, Deep and Wide, This Little Light of Mine, etc. This is the second day we have listened to it while we are in the family room. I am experiencing such joy.

I have decided to attend my high school reunion in Fort Worth this first week end in May. I am always sort of nervous about this, but I have Vicki and that always gives me courage even though I will act like I have a lot of courage anyway....my close friends know I feel I am nothing without Vicki and always have felt this way.

Yesterday's Ladies Bible Class was so up lifting and our study directs my vision to look for God in everything of beauty I see and in the good things I see others do throughout the day. My teacher, Cassandra Martin, is such a blessing to me and to all of the ladies in our class.

My postings are so infrequent because of the new work load I have undertaken that is taking up a large part of every day. Life is good and God is so faithful.

May God richly bless you, my loved ones. jk

Yesterday was Ramona's first day at work and my first day to take care of Karsen --with Matthew--, but mostly me. Ramona has to be at work at 7a.m. so she brought sleeping Karsen downstairs to my bedroom at around 6:20a.m. She put him in bed with me, where we stayed until 7:30a.m. when we arose for the day. He is so sweet.

Then we went into Grammy's getting-ready-for- the-day groove which begins in my bathroom. Next, I say, "Let's make up Grammy's bed" and he rushes over to the bed and I make my bed. He usually looks out the window whileI put the finishing touches on my bed. Then I say, "Let's go feed the fish." at which point Karsen dashes to the door to the patio. As he fast-toddles, it is so cute, because he slants his head in the direction of the left turn to the door. It is sort of like when one is riding a bike and making a turn--"leaning into a curve"

I open the door to the patio and we go out and feed the fish. He is thrilled with this. Sometimes we stay out there for a while, but yesterday morning, he desired to" go get breakfast", so we did. I put in those quotation marks because this is what I ask him. Once, more he is fast-toddling to the door to return to the kitchen. Again, as he comes to the open area of the kitchen, he leans into a right curve as he enters the kitchen.

I prepared him oatmeal and milk, while I drank my protein drink. He continues to pull his hands from mine as we say the prayer before eating, but I believe, I can detect a bit less "tug" on his part, at the "Amen section" of the prayer. When he signals that he is through eating (He uses the sign language signal for "finished") , I get him out of the high chair. Sometimes I let him play while I clean up, as I have stated in prior posts, bit his time I said, "Lets go play with toys", and he fast-toddled to the family room.

I go around and turn on the lamps in the room as Karsen walks with me while I do this. Then I put in the Kidz Praise songs and he plays in his playpen. While Karsen is in his playpen, I begin to dust the furniture. It looks so pretty when it is shiny and freshly dusted. I also emptied trash cans and dust-mopped the foryer. At some point, I realize that Karsen needed a nap and I rocked him to sleep in the rocker. He napped for about an hour, while I watched "The View" on tv. When Karsen awoke, Matthew was interacting with us and playing with Karsen. I left to go to the bank and deposit some checks and go by Walgreens to pick up a prescription.

When I returned, it was time to fix Karsen's lunch. While Matthew was with Karsen, I fixed Karsen's Hamburger-Helper lunch and placed it in two dishes for it to cool. Matthew was preparing to feed Karsen. When I came in the kitchen, Matthew was feeding Karsen, and Matthew informed me that Karsen had grabbed the bowl on the counter and splattered one of the dishes of his lunch on the floor. I continued feeding Karsen while Matthew cleaned up the floor.

After lunch, Karsen returned to the family room and we played puzzles. He is very good at puzzles. He likes to dump three puzzles on the floor and then mix up the pieces and then put the pieces where they go. He is so good at puzzles. After about thirty minutes, I could tell he was ready for a nap and both of us went to bed for a nap.

He slept for a little under two hours. BTW, I changed three diapers, two wet and one of them dirty prior to his nap. Then he had another dirty diaper and I changed it. Matthew brought down clothes because I had never changed Karsen out of his p.j.s. Matthew dressed Karsen. Karsen played around a bit in the family room and his mother came home. It was about 4. They were both very happy to see each other.

Today Ramona is going to be gone all day because she has her teacher-training-class this evening and she decided that it would be easier if she just went there straight from work instead of returning home and then having to leave in 30 minutes to go to class. Matthew is in school today in the morning until about1 and then again in the afternoon until about 9p.m. so it will be just Karsen and I for the entire day. I will be fixing his breakfast, lunch, and dinner and putting him to bed. Matt and Ramona, both, will return home around 9 or 10 or later, I am not sure.

I am thriving with taking care of Karsen. Isnt this somethng? I went to Newburgh and was rejuvinated by taking care of my three Indiana grandsons, and now I am revived by taking care of Karsen. I am really enjoying it and it gives me something to look forward to every day and some goal to accomplish before the day is done.

Next week, Ramona begins her 11p.m. to 7:30 a.m. shift and I will only take care of Karsen in the mornings. Ramona is going to try to get her sleep in the mornings and she will take over Karsen's care when she arises for the day. I will continue to go to Ladies Bible class on Wednesdays, but our proposed routine is for me to take care of Karsen every morning.

Life is good.

May God richly bless you, my loved ones. jk

Today is Mother's birthday. I am so happy for her as she is in Heaven with her Father God as I write. She was not a perfect woman, however, one didnt have to be around her for long to know she loved her Lord.

She continually honored our father, Frank M. Cardwell, and she taught us to honor him. (Our daddy was a jewel of a man, husband and father.)

Mother began her love of the scripture when she was selling houses at a new construction site, and sales were slow. Vicki and I were in college and, as she tells it, she made just enough sales each month to pay for our college bill. We attended Abilene Christian College, a costly private college. I remember when Vicki and I left to go to college, our family did not have the money to pay for us to go. Mother said she believed God intended for us to go and we were to prepare to go and drive out there and she knew God would provide the necessary monies for us to go. She said we would go out to Abilene and if we didnt have the money, then we would turn around and return home. She believed that God would provide. This was the first strong demonstration of faith lesson I remember, and what a demonstration of faith it was. We both graduated from ACC in 1968. Our baby sister, Suzy, graduated in 1970, I think. So obviously God did provide.

Mother taught us to seek the Lord and to turn to Him in every situation and to always thank Him for all of the good things in our life. I remember anytime I had a concern about anything that I shared with her, she always turned me to the Lord. I remember her telling me that Jesus was my friend who sticks closer than a brother.

She was heartbroken for me when tragedies struck in my life as a wife and mother. She loved me fully, I know without a doubt. I am so thankful that I had her for a mother. She provided a home for us that was a loving home where we all enjoyed each other. She had such a hard childhood. She didnt feel loved as a child. She was not a perfect person and she would be the first to tell you that. I remember telling her, when I was a child, that I wanted to be like her when I grew up. She immediately told me that I must not desire to be like her for she was flawed and would disappoint me. She told me if I wanted to be like anyone, it should be Jesus because He is perfect and He would never disappoint.

I thank God for the family in which I was reared. I love and miss my mother and I thank God that He allowed her to live on this earth for 88 years. Happy birthday, Mother.

This is the day that begins my renewed efforts to gain a healthy body. It is now 2:31 p.m. and I have been able to handle the temptation to eat something that is not healthy. I know you probably think, "Very little time has passed in this day and what in the world could be your problem that you are fighting temptation so early in the day when you know you must lose weight to live?" Just know that I have a major problem and I have to fight it hard. I am feeling that I will be successful. I must be successful. It may turn out to be the hardest thing I have gone through in my life. Can you believe that?

Yesterday evening I attended a support group meeting for people with weight issues. After the meeting, I met with Erika, the weight coordinator for my doctor. She said that she will work with me to get me back on track to gain and maintain a healthy body. Erika also said she would get in touch with me today to set up a meeting with the dietitian and set up for me to return to the physical therapy place to resume my exercise routine. So far she has not called me, but I am doing what I can do right now. I know what I will eat for dinner and I am looking forward to seeing results that should make my mobility improve.

In a bit, I plan to get my income tax info ready for my tax man. I hope I can find all of what I
need. By that I mean the papers to show my benevolence and copies of things I can deduct. I am sort of excited about doing this.

I wonder what the senate is going to do with the bailout bill that is going to go before the president to help our economy. Is it going to really help? I am praying for them and for President Obama.

I am watching Fox News while I am typing this and I am getting so distracted with concern about who will head up the RNC, if Blogjovich is going to get his pension, and what is going on with the bail outs and the bonuses and what in the world our government is going to do with the Democratic Pelosi and the others? I need to end this post.

I hope you have a fruitful day and a delightful evening at home.

May God richly bless you, my loved ones. jk

Nothing much is going on here. I continue to have great difficulty getting around. I must have a cane, and probably should be using the walker. If I were in Newburgh, I am confident that I would be using the walker, but as I have told you, my pride might prevent me from using a walker in Houston and it has and I dont use it. I just keep my "goings" to Walgreens every once in a great while, and to the "nail" place every two weeks and to Ladies' Bible class.

Boy, that Ladies' Bible class is wonderful . Casandra Martin is a member of our congregation and she has taken the responsibility to teach this class. I was too late last week and the door was locked, but I was two minutes early for class this past Wednesday. This class is such a blessing to me. I know it is also a blessing to every lady that is in attendance. The class participants are all ages and various races but, we are all one in Christ Jesus. Our study this spring is "Through the Eyes of Jesus". God is everywhere, and we are encouraged to look for Him in our daily walk as we go in and come out. We work to notice Him in His creation and in the actions of people as we view them interacting. For the Bible says "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart." Jeremiah 29:13. Also, John 13:34,35 says, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." So I am actively looking to see God's hand in this life I live, and to demonstrate His love to those whom I encounter. What a glorious day this is.

This morning I watched Karsen, as I have requested to do many mornings. While I am with Karsen, his mother, Ramona, uses the time to do whatever she determines she needs to accomplish. Karsen stays with me while I am getting ready for the day. He plays with some "toys", actually little plastic bottles and other useless items which I meted out to him as I was clearing out some of my drawers in the bathroom cabinets. These "toys" are kept in a large green purse and Karsen only plays with them while I am getting myself together in the mornings. He plays quietly with occasional interaction with me. Regularly, he wants me to open something for him and he regularly smiles at me with a desire, I feel, for me to reciprocate, and I do. What fun times we are having.

Then we both go out to feed the fish. When I am through getting myself together, I tell him "It's time to put up the toys." and he puts them in the green purse. Then I say, "It's time to go feed the fish." He then "runs" out of the room to the door to the outside and we both go out to give Helen, Robert, Oscar and Vern their food for the day. If the weather is nice we will say outside on the glider for a bit. Lately it is too cold for that so I say, "Let's go get breakfast" and he dashes to the door and we enter to the kitchen.

Then he plays around in the kitchen and possibly in the pantry as I prepare our breakfast. This morning we had egg beaters with cheese (cheesy eggs) and he also always has milk. I put him in the high chair and we say a blessing prior to eating. I take his hands and put them in the "prayer pose" while I thank God for our food. I must admit that I am holding his hands a bit tightly at the end of the short prayer for he is really ready to eat. Then I release his little hands and we begin our meal. It is such an enjoyable time and I enjoy so much his anticipation of each step of our morning. I look forward to the day he does not try to pull his hands apart before our prayer is over.

When breakfast is over, I either take him into the family room and put him in his playpen, or I clean up the kitchen while he plays around. Actually we always go into the family room, but one time we really did remain in the kitchen while I cleaned up and he played around. My back and knee wont handle this anymore so we regularly go into the family room and his playpen.

Ramona got the job. She will begin her paid training this coming Monday from 7 to 4. Her job is as a lab tech for a company named POLARIS. The week after her training, she will begin her regular shift which will be 11p.m. to 7:30a.m. They have told her that she may have to work overtime some mornings if they have not reached their quota of lab tests that they have contracted to complete. This will be hard on her, but is really best for someone with a child. She will put Karsen to bed each night and she will be home to get him up in the morning if I have not already done so. Then she will determine when her "night" will occur and Matthew and I will take care of Karsen while she rests. I am so happy for her to have a job, because she has worked so hard to get a job and applied for so many jobs. She realizes that she is under-employed for someone with a degree--her new "boss" told her the same thing. He said that this was all they could offer her at this time. This company is 5 years old and they do lab work for other business all over the nation. This is the Houstyon branch and I believe they have a location in Indiana, one in the western U.S. and one is possibly located in Canada. They provide her a lab coat and allow her to wear jeans and tennis shoes on the job. The head guy from Indiana found her resume on some internet location and called her and asked her to go to the Houston location for an interview. He then called her today to tell her she has the job. The Houston interview-man had told her she would know something by Friday and she knows today. She is so excited. It will be March before her benefits kick in and I dont really understand that unless they need her to show she is serious about working for them. Anyway, that is how it is. Another great thing is that this job is 7 miles from our home. she doesnt even hae to get on thefreeway. God is do good to His children. Please pray for her and for this company while she is working for them. Thank you.

I have resumed my evening tv watching-- of Fox news-- and am enjoying it. Bill O'Reilly is my favorite because I feel when I look passed his brashness, I get to hear what I really feel is unbiased reporting. He has liberals and conservatives on there too. Of course, he takes the helm in every conversation and if he has a side, he allows himself to over-talk his guests. Sometimes his guests are prepared for this "over-talking" and they "over-talk" him to the best of their ability. I continue to pray for our country and for our president. The economy woes have touched me. I must remember that this world is not my home, and that God is truly the only one who reigns. Then I need to be a good steward of the monies He has entrusted to me. We can pray for each other.

May God richly bless you, my loved ones. jk