Well, today has come and almost gone, but some good things occurred today. First I spoke with Vicki, and she always has =words of wisdom for me and sometimes her words really sink in. I have hope after speaking with her. God has blessed me with such a faithful, intelligent and wise sister.

Then I received an invitation to attend a support group session regardng the importance of exercise for the over-weight or even regular person. The meeting is next Thursday at 7p.m. and I have sent in my RSVP. Next I received an e-mail message from my old support lady, Erika, who told me that she is looking forward to seeing me and "getting me back on track" to where I need to be. That is such a gift of words form e. I know that Erika means business---Vicki has met her---and Erika is a determined lady and she hepled me so much before. She is the one who got me in touch with the rehab exercise place. I trust that I will be back in the groove beginning next Thursday.

I am really excited about this. I know you may be thinking ,"Why dont you just do it yourself?"-whatever "it" may be. I am telling you I have issues and self-control is not one of my strengths, but I do trust I can get a handle on self-control and I am looking forward to being a healthy person. I am really relly excited about this.

I fed the fish this morning but they had not eaten the food I left for them last inght. Hopefully by puttng mre food in the pond will not kill them. I was a bit late feeding them yesterday ,but I was on tmie this morning.

Flash is continuing to not remember that he is "trained" to use the bathroom outside instead on on my tile and bath mat. Alas. Matthew always cleans it up, but it ticks me a bit. I do love Flash, sort of, but I have banned him frmo my bedroom and I think he is trying tp puniush me. Oh well. Dont give me a dog.

I am intently watching the actions of our new president and hoping that he seeks the will of God in his decisions. I am a bit concerned about some of the ones he has implemented already. Prayer is so important always, but especially when our president is not proclaiming alliegence to our Lord God in Heavenn.

I am watching Fox news so I am observing those who have their eye on everyone who is in charge. I have no opinion on Caroline Kennedy, in case you plan on calling me and asking my opinion regarding that matter later on today.

I am really trying to watch what I am putting in my mouth. I ma experiencing the feeling of being uncomfortably full----not excrutiatingly full, but uncomfortably full. I have honestly lately been eating things like McFlurrys from Mc Donalds which is ice cream blizzard-type drink. I drink this to get rid of the uncomfortable feeling and it does get rid of it. The only thing is that this in definitely not what I need to be doing. Now that I have admitted it, hopefully I will not do it again.


I continue to have difficulty getting around. I will call my friend to let her know that I will be unable ot meet her for lunch tomorrow. Hopefully the weeks to come will be better for me in the "walking department", and i wll feel more like going out. I am excited about the exercise part of this "getting back on track", even though i really never learned to like the exercise. It is just that there are therapists working with me when I am exercisizing at the rahab place and and they are ery matte- of-fact with me and they dont brag on me all the time like they do in regular esercise places. I need people to be straight forward with me.

I will close now so I can correct the spelling and post this.

May God richly bless you, my loved ones. jk

I am not attending church today. my back is really hurting me and I think it is because I have been bending over to pick up Karsen instead of sitting down and then standing up with him in my arms. I am feeling guilty about this, but I have decided to remain off my feet for the day.

Yesterday was an enjoyable day. I fed the fish and the day began. I took care of Karsen in the morning and later in the day he and I lay down for a nap in the afternoon. I watched him while Matthew and Ramona went to purchase bedding plants for my flower beds. Matthew pruned my rose bushes and weeded my beds and Ramona helped him with some of it. Then they went and got the bedding pants. It is going to be so pretty. If i can figure out how to take and post a picture, i will. I love a pretty yard.

I need to pay some bills too, with the smidgen of money I hvae in the bank. Oh well, at least I have some money and I have the hope of payday on the 1st. Life is good.

Right now I am sitting in my bedroom (my bed is made and is so pretty),listening to Christian music on the radio. I have had my egg beaters for breakfast and i am writing this. I hope you have a grand day and that you enjoy your fellowship with the saints where yuo wordship. I may post again if i get an opportunity.

love to you all. jk

I find myself posting later and later in the day. At least this post is not done in the wee hours of the morning.

This morning, I took care of Karsen while his mother got ready for and attended her interview with the temp agency for the lab tech job. While Ramona was filling out papers for the temp agency, her phone rang, but she did not answer it at that time. When she left her interview, she found out that the call was from the city of Jersey Village wanting her to turn in an application for a job with their city. So she came home, and while Karsen was taking his nap, she went to Jersey Village to turn in her paper work for the job. Hopefully, one of these will result in a job for her. She still is planning to get a teaching job for the fall if that works out. She looked very nice when she left for the interview. She looked like a "grown up". She is usually dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and this was a glamorous change for her.


I took over Karsen's care at 7 a.m. and returned his care to his mother when she returned at noon. Karsen and I enjoyed our morning together. I fixed us scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast. I fixed egg-beaters. I added cheese to the eggs and we both enjoyed it. This was the first time he had eaten eggs and he really went for them. We then went outside to fed the fish. Next, I played with him for a bit and then he played with his toys in his playpen. He took a 30 minute nap around 11 and he took a two hour nap from 1 to 3. These are very enjoyable times for me and he seems to enjoy our time also.

Tonight I babysat for Karsen again while his mother and daddy went out to eat. Karsen cried for a few minutes when they left, but then he played in his playpen quite contentedly while I watched Bill O'Reilly on TV. Then I put Karsen to bed at 8:15. When it is time for him to go to bed, I just say, "Karsen, it is time to go to sleep", and he just lays his head down and goes to sleep. He is really such an easy baby to take care of . I honestly enjoy it so much. I feel very fortunate to have him at my house. This way I have someone to see and spend time with every day and I cannot, and do not hibernate. Karsen is my little friend. Life is good.

I dont have any plans for tomorrow, but I will let you know what occurs, if anything at some point tomorrow.

May God richly bless you, my loved ones. jk

I have done very little today. I have done some cleaning of my bathroom and my closet.......very little, but I have the time to take lots of time to get things done bit by bit. I am enjoying my days. I have done a bit of Bible study and hopefully will do a bit more before the day is done for me.

Ramna is going for an interview at a temp agency tomorrow morning at 9a.m.. I will take care of Karsen while she is gone. Matthew will be here, but I am going to be the one in charge of Karsen. I am confident I will enjoy it.

This mornig I took care of Karsen when he first work up--I had told Ramona last night that I would take care of him for her this morning so she could get a bit more rest and/or time to do whatever she wanted to do. Karsen is so sweet in the morning--actual he is sweet all the time--but in the morning he will let me hold him and he just rests in my arms until about 9. Then he gets down. I fixed his breakfast of oatmenal and milk. I enjoyed the time with him. Then I put him in his playpen while I did a little rearranging of the items on the shelves in the family room.

I am just now realizing that i am taking care of granchildren again. Taking care of my own children was my most favorite time in my life . What a blessing that i get to do it again. It is nice for Karsen to be in my house so i dont have to go anywhere to get him. I can also do somethings around here while i am taking care of him. I played a CD of Kids Praise Songs while he was playing this morning. I am looking forward to tomorrow. I am going to bed early so I will be up and ready for the day when he awakens tomorow morning.

I hope Ramona gets the job. If she does, i will be Karsen's babysitter when Matthew is at school. Ramona's school teaching clases begin this Saturday, I think. She told me but i am not sure what she said because i was looking at her instead of listening to remember. She has a school class next Tuesday night and classes on Saturday for several hours. If she gets this job, she will probably not substitute. One of the days of classes is for subbing and the other is for getting her certification to teach. Either the Tuesday classes or the Saturday classes. Anyway I hope she gets this job. She has been working on getting a job since the new year began and i feel she is a bit surprised and a bit frustrated at the lack of ease in getting a job. She went shoppping yesterday to get an outfit to wear for interviewing. She got a good-looking navy pant suit and a white bouse and a tourquiose blouse to wear. She plans to wear pearl earrings and a pearl necklcse. She will look great , i know.

Well, i pan to do a bit of Bible study and then hit the hay. Hope you are having, rather that you had, a great day today. My Ladies Bible class is studying the topic of seeing through the eyes of Jesus. We are to read the 139 Psalm verses 1 though 18 every day for a week and meet back together next Wednesday. Remember that I also purchased a chronological study Bible and I am reading a bit of this too. Life is good and I am so glad that my eyes are able to read and that I have a Bible to read.

May God richly bless you, my loved ones. jk

Yesterday I arose and immediately began to get ready for Ladies' Bible class. As I was walking out the door, Ramona, said, "I thought your Bible class was on Wednesday." My mercy, I had been so excited about the return of LBC attendance, and anticipating being able to go to Wednesday night class at church, that I failed to realize that Wednesday had not yet occurred, and the day I was "in" is called "Tuesday". Oh well. I plan to get ready in a few minutes and go today.

Yesterday I did get my nails done for the first time since I had had them done in Newburgh, Indaina, on December 19, 2008. They looked really bad and now they look really nice. I did not go to my old place. This place is much less costly. My old place was too pricy. I realized that when I went to the nail place in Newburgh. Thank goodness for lessons learned in Newburgh.

BTW: the Joe B., who commented on my posting, is my Newburgh, Indiana, Sunday school teacher, Joe Bradford. He is the husband/father in the family who took care of my grandsons at the last minute on Christmas eve. He has a blog called the Unchurch, which is very thought-provoking and by "provoking", I do mean "provoking". (Joe's got the gift of being a provoker of thought.) Very stimulating. You might want to take a peak and make a comment. Ronnie, are you listening?

The Bible class tonight at church is taught my favorite Champions' teacher, Bill Rascoe. It is on the Song of Solomon. Our church is having classes on the topic of "Lessons from Soloman" both Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights. I am anxious to sit at Bill's feet and see what he has to teach us. When I was listening to the Bible-on-CD while on my journeys to and from Newburgh, I regularly talked to my smartest friend in the world, Ronnie Wiggins, who helped me with questions that arose while I was listening to the CD. Ronnie, I will prabably be talking with you about this study too. Bill is a great teacher and is very wise for a young man of thirty something. He is our Involvement Minister and I truly believe he is the catalyst of growth that our church is experiencing. People are placing membership regularly. I just realized that I have been gone since June, 2008, and have only been to one service, but a young family and two other people placed membership last Sunday and the auditorium is full. The minister, Larry Keele, is a good man of the word. I am a blessed woman and Joe Bradford held the spiritual baton for these Christian teachers who bless my life here in Houston. (and in Maypearl)

Ramona is looking for a job. Please pray for her. I think she is frustrated at the difficulty she is having. She is a dear young lady and she has steadfastly worked so hard to get her degree. I am proud of her and wish for her to be able to accomplish the things she desires to accomplish, and more importantly, the things God has in mind for her to accomplish.

It is time for me to stop posting and get ready for the real day of ladies' bible class. I will post more later.

I am noticing that I seem to be sort of jubilant about the day's events.

May God richly bless you, my loved ones. jk

Church was wonderful.

It is amazing how fellowship with fellow believers is so uplifting. I didnt make it to class, but I was early to the sermon time. I sat in my usual seat down front, but my friend, Jackie Thomas was not there. I will call her tomorrow to find out where she was. I saw many of my friends and it was like a homecoming to me. I do not know what was going through their minds as our eyes met, but I know I was thrilled to see them; to be able to put my arms around them and say how good it was to be home again. Some people, whom I only sort of "knew", were so nice and friendly and came to welcome me home. They asked about Michael. The church has Michael on its prayer list and they have been praying for him as I would let them know about the health issues as he was going through them. The church has been so faithful in their prayers and keeping up on Michael's condition, and mine, for the entire time I was away. I love my minister. He is not out-going at all, but a solid man of God. I enjoy getting the "meat" out of his sermons. He did not preach today--there was a presentation by three of the deacons regarding our planned "each one reach one" which is the theme of this year's evangelical efforts. Pray for this for our church. The leadership is really intent on motivating us all to carry the gospel to our neighborhood and they have a plan that we all could participate in and feel we have done something. I hope I choose to have a role in this effort this year. Anyway, when the "sermon" was over, the minister stepped up to the front while we sang the invitation song. Our eyes met and I know he knew I was glad to be back in my place. I spoke to him as I left and thanked him for his prayer he prayed for me when he answered the phone at church once when I called with a disaster--Michael's blood clot-- He is a dear man. His wife was one of the first to greet me this morning. They are Larry and Jan Keele. When my freind, Bill Rascoe, was making the announcements before the sermon, he said "Jan Kelley is here" . I could tell Bill was surprised to see me sitting in the pew. I am so proud of my self for not standing up and saying a few words. I actually relized that I was not the true focus of our assembly, and I actually sat silently in my pew. One of my friends clapped two or three times when Bill announced my presence and my return. I am telling you all that this is a wonderful group of believers and they really do care about one another and about our Lord.

The praise service at Champions is not that same as in Newburgh, but I was fortunate to be able to participate in that praise while I was in Newburgh. The singing part of the service this morning was a bit slow, but this was a different type of service this morning I was so glad to be there. God is so wonderful and His idea of the church is "genius". I dont mean to downplay our Lord's plan by giving it a "human compliment", for I know it is so much more than "genius". I am thrilled with the idea that the "church" is available wherever one goes. People, filled with love for our Savior and our God, embracing the new person in their midst and readily inviting the new one to particpate in mutual worship of our Lord. The visitor, speaking for myself, feels the arms of God wrapped around them even when they are a long way from home. This is beautiful and genius.

I look forward to attending Ladies Bible Class on Wednesday morning.

I plan to call two different church ladies and see if we can meet sometime this week for a cup of tea and some talk: Marcia Beasley Chitwood and my friend, Janet Phelps. I hope I do make these calls and I also hope I call another woman whom I met in the foyur while I was waiting for church to start. I think she is someone who has widsom that I could tap. Life is so good and I am so glad that I am able to participate in it. Fellowship with fellow believers is such a gift and such a boost for living this life.

Ramona and Karsen might go with me next week. I hope they do This church dresses up for Sunday service as most do. In Newbrugh, everyone wore whatever they wanted. A few of the older people dressed up but most wore very casual clothes. In the hot weather there were a lot of shorts on the men and flip flops. At Champions everyone has on a suit. It would be easier to ask people to come to church if their dress was not an issue, but in most places, "dressing for church" is expected and thus, an issue. Ramona had already told me she did not have any dressy clothes to wear to church and I told her she didnt need to worry about that. I told her she could wear her pants and a tup and that would be fine. And it would be fine. She looks nice and pants are worn by women. Wouldnt it be great, if clothes really didnt matter to any of the people who attended, but I am not living in that time of life I guess.

I took a long nap today and nowI am reflecting on the wonderfulness of this day. I am unable to express how very glad I am that I went to church this morning. Taking the Lord's supper with my friends and praying to God in the presence of my Champions' friends. Really wonderful.

I hope you are enjoying this day that our Lord has made today with those whom you call dear.

May God richly bless you, my loved ones. jk

I am up and getting ready for church. Vicki, I do think the difficulty with my back and hips could have been the 5 hours of sitting at Denney's . Ramona and Karsen were going to go to church with me, but i didnt know for sure if i would feel like going this morning, so they are not going with me. Hopefully i will get back in the groove of regularly gathering with the saints of Champions and she and Karsen will go with me. Pray about that. love you all. jk



will post more later,

Well I met my "2nd Saturday Friends" today for breakfast at Denney's . It was great to see them again for the first time since I left for Newburgh in June. We talked for 5 hours and the wait staff left us alone. It is so great to have freinds when you all care about each other so much. We are all ladies living alone because we were cast aside for other women and we have been through a lot, but we have not only survived, but we are thriving. Two are teachers, one is retired principal (me) and the other is an elementary school librarian. We are good women and do enjoy life and each other. Life is good. We have been through so much with each other. I have known Bobbie for 15 years, and Pamela & Ginger for 12. Lots has happened in our lives in these past years. We have shared it all and been there for each other when each of us thought the worst had happened and we would never exoerience joy or dignity again. We are all content where we are at this time in our lives. God is so good.

Next I went to Lifeway Christian Book store and purchased a chronological study Bible NIV. Sinde hearing the entire Old Testament, I have a strong desire to read it for myself. Hopefully, this desire will result in my reading it.

My nails continue to look ratty. My last manicure was on December 19, and I have needed one since two weeks ago. I am calling this manicure the "corn field" manicure, since I got it in the nation's heartland of farms.

I continue to have such a difficulttime getting around and I do not think I will be able to go to church tomorrow. I am walking with a cane and really should be using a walker. AfterI entered the book store, I had to lean up against the counter before I could walk to view at the books. Then when I got in the car to leave, I was unable to go to Walgreens because my back and hip were hurting me so badly. I am just so big.

Other than that, all is well and I am enjoying being home so very much. I am cleaning out my medicine cabinet in my bathroom, as I mentioned earlier. It is exciting to be orgnizing my home for the first time since I moved in during January, 2001. I really have been a person for so long thatIi have not had the energy to do any cleaning out of just "stuff" that was moved in boxes from the house in Fairfield to this huose And now I am pumped to be organizing and cleaning. It will take some time, I know, but I have lots of time. I am really looking forward to the order that will come.

Hopefully you are all having a great day.

May God richly bless you, my loved ones. jk

This has been a good day, I met my friend, Kathryn, at La Madeliene's at 11 today for lunch. We visited and visited and stayed until 1. I remebered why Kathryn is so dear to me. We enjoyed each minute sharing and catching up. We made plans to meet next Friday at 11 at La Madeliene's for lunch again. This may become our time together to catch up. We are both great fans of each other and we are good for each other. She is the kind of friend that allows the isit to end and you dont fee guilty leaving. This makes one want to get back together again soon. Great times.

I returned home in time to sit with the fish for a few minutes., They are not too responsive to me, but I feel they are not intolerant of me. That may be as good as it will get with the fish and me. I will be content with that. OUtsidew on the patio, I listen to my radio on the Christian station and listen to the chimes hanging at the corner of the patio and the wall. I see the sunshine up above my neighbor's roof and feel or see the result of the breese as it blows the leaves on the dainty limbs of the trees. It is very peaceful out there. Hearing the two water falls is a very calming thing. Life is good.

Then I went inside, asked and was given permission to rock my grandson to sleep for his afternoon nap. He only takes one nap a day. He felt so good in my arms and he went right to sleep. He slept for two hours. Now you may think, "Does she want to hold him for two hours while he sleeps?" and the answer is "yes". Now his mother and daddy want him to be able to take his nap by himself and not need to be held. I am just so ready to hold him sometimes when I am here. He is so precious to me. It is really wonderful to be able to see him everyday. I dont want to bother his parents and I would never hold him for a nap if they didnt to want me to, but sometimes it is so nice.

Then I went into my bedroom and talked to Vicki, which is always so enjoyable and am now on the computer, in case you didnt realize this. I enjoy my bedroom with its door, which I can close when I want to be alone...and I do enjoy my "alone" time. I have my Christan radio going all day and my lamps on and it looks so nice in here. I do have a lot of straightening up and cleaning to do, but I am pacing myself on that. I did bring the trash can in here so I can clean out my medicine cabinet of vitamins and medicine that I have had for literally years. Some of the bottles have not even been opened and I hae had them for years and years. I look forward to getting everything where I want it. I am excited about this. I have been gone for so long that I had forgotten how much I enjoyed the things I have in this room. The walls are lined with paintings form my Grandma Cardwell. These pictures are pictures I have seen during my lifetime on the walls of my house or my cousin, Betty Ruth Tynes' home. Now they line my wall behind my headboard. The room is really pretty. I had purchased a bedside table and a chest of drawers before I left for Newburgh, and they are really pretty. Also, I have my mother's coffee table in here with pictures on it. I remember seeing this coffee table in our home for my entire life. Now it is in my bedroom and I really do enjoy being in here.

Ramona and Matthew have put up most of the Christmas stuff and I am in the process of rearranging the things on the shelves in the family room to be just like I had them and how I liked them. I do enjoy my home even though Matthew and Ramona and Karsen are living in most of it. I do have my bedroom and bath area, which takes up the entire back of the house. It is my little sanctuary and I love it. It is nice sharing the house with guests that do not bother you. We can see each other and spend time with each other when we want to and then go about our separate ways when we feel like it. Life is good.

Tomorrow I meet my "Second Saturday Friends" at Denney's for the first time since I left to go to Newburgh. I am so looking forward to this. The friends are Ginger Picone, a teacher at Lowery when I was there, Pamela Zellers, my Christian sister and dear sweet friend. Pamela is one of sweetest people God ever created. Such a kind, kind person. The the piece d'resistance: Bobbie McDonald. She is the only friend I ever had that my mother liked to be arournd. Mother loved Bobbie and Bobbie thought Mother was hilarious. When mother would come down here for a visit, we would always go out with Bobbie for a meal. Bobbie is hilarious and my very, very good friend. I am really looking forward to spending the morning with them tomorrow.


I am trying so very hard to eat only healthy things and only a little bit of the healthy food. This is very hard. I was mistaken in thinking that the eating desire would be gone with this surgery. Pray for me. My knee is getting better,bit by bit, each day as the weight falls off incrementaly. I long to be healthy and be able to walk and have stamina to do something besides move from one chair to another or to take ten steps and feel like I need a break. I know the weight is coming off and I am so thankful. I am having to see my doctor monthy, and I am confident that this will result in my accomplishment of my healthy self.

Well, I will close now so I can check my spelling.

May God richly bless you, my loved ones. jk

Good Morning. sorry for the delay in posting. I went to the doctor on Monday and i had a "treatment" which i thougt went well until the night when i had great difficulties. I returned to the doctor on Tuesday morning. Throughout the day i improved slowly but surely. Actually i knew the "story" on my knee before i left Newburgh. Michael, he is a doctor, (you know, this means i am smart) and he had told me the knee was degenerative arthritis and weight loss would be preparatory to an medical efforts being done to help the situatin. Since seeing the doctor on Moday i have conscientiously made effort to lose some weight and i am being successful. The result being, a great improvement in my knee. I can now walk with the aid of a cane. It is improving every day.

YesterdayI awoke and for the first time in a long time, I felt excited about the beginning of a new day and the possibilities that lay ahead. I even went on an outing. I plan another outing today. Iplan to go to Petsmart and get a sweater for Flash if they are on sale, as i have been told by a friend. I may get a manicure if i contine to feel like it. I want to go to another nail place since my old one is so exspensive and i plan to live the balance of my life being a better steward of the monies my Lord has provided.

I finished the old Testament and am thrilled to have had the opportunity to go through the entire Genesis through Malichai. This is a first for me(I'm 62, you know) and it was so thrilling. I know that God loves His people and desires nothing but our love for HIm and our faithfulness. We are so insignificant in the entire world creation, but oh, so significant to our Father. Wonderful thought.

May God richly bless you, my loved ones. jk

Well, i seem to be in a bit of a slump. My knee continues to give me instability in my walking. The pain increases as i walk on it. Yesterday i didn't use the walker around the house at all, but this morning and in the night, I was having difficulty getting to the bathroom and such. I do have an appt with the doctor on Monday--tomorrow--at 2:15. so, hopefully, I will a plan of action and will begin to be hopeful after that. Right now i have a feeling of disgust with my self and fear of failure in my quest for a healthy body. What in the world is wrong with me? I guess i must not want it badly enough, although that is so hard for me to believe. But, what else could it be? It is really so simple, take in less calories than you did the day before or that you take in usually and only eat healthy amounts and healthy foods. disgusted with my situation that I have gotten my self into. hopefully i will have hope after my doctor's appt tomorrow,

I did not go to church this morning because i am unable to walk with any ease even with the walker. I do not want to draw attention to myself and i am telling you that i would have the whole church concerned about "what in the world has happened to Jan while she has been gone".

I do plan to go to Ladies' Bible class. I believe it resumes this Wednesday. I will go to ladies' Bible class even with a walker because there are less people and there is no rush to get to my seat. I am excited about resuming my fellowship with the saints at Champions.

I am posting this little somber sonnet, just so you will know i am alive. i will post more after my doctor's appt tomorrow. Hopefully, that post will be uplifting and funny and we can move on down the pike with a quick step and a jolly countenance.

Hope all is well with you and yours. jk

Well, evidently the ball dropped. I continue to take it easy around here and mu knee is getting slowly better. I can take several steps without aid. I have a doctor's appt on Monday afternoon and I will hopefully have a plan of action on that day. Life is good.



I plan to go outside and check out the day with Helen, Robert, Oscar, and Vern in a bit. I still have on my p.j.s and am enjoying the laziness of my existence today.

Hope all is going well with you all.

jk

Well, I did get out today. I took my car to be washed and I went to Walgreens.



I had planned to go to the Lifeway Christian Book store for a 2009 calendar--my sister, Suzy is supposed to be in charge of calendars for me, but she didnt come through this year and didnt ever warn me that no calendar was in the offing---. Alas, life is hard.



While in Walgreens, I found a calendar with scriptures from psalms on every month's picture. It was only $5. The traffic was horrendous on 1960. Businesses even had police officers directing traffic on 1960 to enable their customers to enter 1960 from their parking lots. What a mess. Anyway I was relieved to not have to go to the Christian book store. Walgreens is just down the street from my house and I dont even have to get on 1960 to get there. Life is good



I cleared off one of my sink areas before I left on my outing. My knee is still a bit of a problem and I used my walker at the car wash. I just hobbled into Walgreens and used the cart as a walker.



I enjyed sitting out on the patio today and listning to Christian music on my radio out on the patio and watching Helen, Robert, Oscar and Vern.



I am enjoying this quiet house. Now everytime, I say that, please know that I love having my renters here, but it is just nice sometime to "wall myself off' from humankind. My knee is preventing me from doing the cleaning and the straightening and the throwing away that I really want to do. I will work more at it tomorrow.

I do not plan to watch the "ball drop" as Vicki would say. I hope you all have a very safe and peaceful night with as much fun as you desire to have tonight. or the new year of 2009, I wish you the blessings of good health, friends and days filled with good memories.

May God richly bless you, my loved ones. jk

Possible clarification of the identity of the fish: Helen --red fish Robert--white fish w/red spots Vern--black and white spotted fish. Vern is the biggest fish and the most non-pretty of the set of four, but who will ever tell him, because he is the biggest, by far. Oscar--white fish with red spots on his head and other parts of his body. I get him mixed up with Helen when he is swiftly swimming around in the pond. Matthew and Ramona will further clarify when they return. Until then, I am content to be here with Helen, Robert, Vern and Oscar. Bandit and Chico did not make it to December. I never really paid any attention to Oscar when he first arrived. I may not have been here when he arrived. Some fish lost their life when Ike came to town. All of the algae-eating fish died during Ike's sojourn in Houston. Oh well.

I just tried to make the font smaller by using the techniques suggested tome in a response to an earlier blog by one of my readers, Anony Mouse. It appears to have made a difference, but I will await the font size of the posted blog.

This is my third day of being alone. Ramon, and Matthew, please know that I love my life with you all here, but it is just that I have not had any "alone" time in so long and it is nice to have it to reflect and to just do my lazy-day routine. Yesterday, I went through Starbuck's drive-though and purchased a tall and a venti decaf,non-fat, latte with shots of sugar free vanilla and splenda. I drank one yesterday and am drinking the heated up venti right now. I forgot about getting it until about 3o minutes ago. It is delish.

I just came in from outside where i fed the fish. they still remain on the bottom but do swim up a bit higher. I can clearly see Helen, Robert, Chico and Vern. They are really pretty fish. Helen and Chico are orange--Helen is all red and Chico is red around the face and the top of her/his head with a white belly and white on the underside of his/her head. Robert is white with orange spots around his back and Vern is white, heavily spotted with black spots. The pond is so pretty and I do enjoy sitting out there. It has a small pump in the center, and a small water fall coming out the side, so I am able to hear the continual flow of the water. It is nice. I sat out there as Flash did his business. Then I sat for a bit longer. I have two rocker chairs and a glider out there. Nice.

This morning has been spent in my room mostly with my Christian music on the radio interspersed with Charles Swindol, Tony Evans and Elizabeth Eliott's replacement. Good music and good words. So enjoyable to hear Christian music filling the room. So uplifting and sometimes so powerful. Praises to our King.

My knee is much improved today. I plan to rest it for one more day and then perhaps go to the Christian book store on New Year's eve--tomorrow-- to purchase my 2009 calendar. My sister, Suzy, has been responsible for getting me a calendar for the past ten to fifteen years, but I have heard naught from her this year about a calendar for me, so I guess I will have to take care of that for myself. Alas.

It is so good to be home. I am confident that I will feel even more glad to be here when I get my room and bathroom cleaned up and get the junk thrown away. I do love this home. It feels like "home" to me. I remember when I first purchased it, it didn't feel like home for a while, I do remember when I realized it was my "safety nest". A place I long to be. This is such a nice feeling. My home in Fairfield was filled with sadness and I stayed there for too long probably, but I didn't have the strength to move. This home was my refuge and place of peace in the storms of life. I remember my brother-in-law and his family visiting me and I remember him gathering all of his family--my sister, Suzy ,my nieces and nephews--around me while I was sitting in a chair. Morton prayed a prayer of blessing on this home and on me. I know God heard that prayer and has blessed me in these days. God is faithful and so very good.

I hope you all are having a wonderful time of being with your family or whomever you happen to be with, or even if you happen to be alone, I know you are in good company.

May God richly bless you , my loved ones. jk

I spent my first night alone in my home since I have been here. It was devine. Matthew, Ramona, and Karsen pulled out of the driveway around 1o'clock yesterday. Flash chose to stay her with me and I like that. I like to have dog that belongs to someone else permanently and whom I can enjoy in the interim. Flash sleeps with me. He is an Italian Greyhound, which is a very skinny and small dog. He sits in my lap when I am seated and sleeps with me each night.

I finished watching the Texans whip da Bears and then went to Walgreens to pick up my perscriptions which had been retrieved from the Newburgh Walgreens. When I picked them up, I thougt well, I am back in the grove with my meds situation .

Then I went to bed and slept for a good while and then woke up around 2.M. and checked my e-mail and Facebook info and returned to bed. Several times, I took Flash outside, or rather let him go out in my back yard to relieve himself. Life is good.

My plan is to rest my knee today to the max and hopefully be more able to get around on it without the walker. If i need to use the walker, I will. It is just so embarrassing to use it in my own hometown. I don't want any of my friends to see me using it. I think they will cry and the word will get around that I am about to croak. I don't want that. Hopefully if i can give it just idle time today, it will respond positively as it has in the past. I think i have not done it right since I have been home. I am walking on it and making it weaker and weaker. Hopefully these few days of aloneness, accompanied by inactivity, will be just what the knee needs.

Don't get me wrong, I love having Matthew , Ramona and Karsen here all the time. It is nice to know I will interact with human beings daily. I get to see Karsen and hold him and talk with Ramona and get to know her better and of course, I do enjoy Matthew and his personality and the work he does for me.

Remember the outside pond? The fish are really big now. Robert is almost big enough for one person's dinner. JK (JUST KIDDING) This morning I went outside while Flash was relieving himself and sat on .the patio furniture and fed the fish. It must have been too cold for them because they never did come to the top of the water to get the food, but they did swim around in bottom of the pond. The water is clear and I can see all the way to the bottom of the pond. It appears that I have four fish. Helen, Robert, Chico and some other fish I can't really see that well to name. Actually, I am not sure I really know anyone's name except for Helen. I do know that Bandit did not make the life journey to December. I may be mistaking Robert for Vern. I will have Matt and Ramona reintroduce me to the fish when they return, which is supposed to be on the 31st or the first. I am hoping they return on the first to give me more time to do the cleaning and straightening in my own bedroom and bathroom that I want to do before they return.

Another wonderful thing about them living with me, is my ability to see Karsen every day. I know Matthew and Ramona will move out at some point in time, but I think it is good for me to have daily company and forced interaction with those I love .

My weight has not been coming off, but rather maintaining the huge weight I was before surgery. I will go to the doctor sometime this week and determine the course of action. Hopefully, I will return to exercise and weight counseling . It is embarrassing to have such a self-control problem, but I am in a place here in Houston, to get the extra help needed to help me accomplish my goal of a physically healthy body which will enable me to be productive and do things with ease, or with more ease than I now possess.

I spoke with Matthew when he was thirty minutes from his Clovis, New Mexico destination so I am confident they completed the trip successfully. They drove from about one until 11:30. What a drive, but don't you know they were glad to be able to stop and rest?

Hopefully, all is well with you all and I trust you will have another grand day.

May God richly bless you, my loved ones. jk

It is so good to be home. sleeping in my own bed in my own bedroom with my Tempurpedic is getting better every night. Waking u and seeing my grandson, Karsen, and being able to hold him every day is wonderful. I really am so very blessed in both Newburgh,Indiana, and in Houston, Texas.



I purchased a garage door opener and Matthew installed it and moved my car into m own garage where it belongs in it own space. I look forward to being able to take it to Mr. Detail and have it be put in sparkling clean order. Did I tell you I purchased a 2005 Lexus 430 on June 18 and promptly drove my "new" car to Newburgh and didn't come home until December.



I treated the car with "Kid gloves" for the entire week I had it before going to Indiana. Once in Indiana, as you know, I stayed and stayed and stayed. Using the car to take my dear, dear grandson on every adventure we traveled. My brand new car, had a door left ajar and the battery went dead. It had children needing to be told to "not touch anything" in Grammy's car. This lasted for about a week an then they began to feel so comfortable in it. Aidan even felt comfortable enough to vomit all over the floor in the back. This required Dr. Detail, of Newburgh, to have his crew do what they thought was the impossible--get the chocolate stain out of the carpet as well as the smell out of the crevasses of the carpeted floor. A pristine vehicle was the result of his efforts. Then the garbage can rubbed up against the car and left a couple of small white smudges on the car doors. Next, the van (when I was trying to maneuver around my car in the drive way), left a red smear on the back bumper of the Lexus. Alas, my new car appeared not to be so new anymore.

I want to get it to Mr. Detail in Houston, so I can pretend I just got a new (2005) car and I can enjoy it. Also, while in Newburgh, I had to leave my car out in the elements because Michael Sr. has a one-car garage whixh he uses for storage and not cars. Now that Matthew has installed my new garage door opener, my car has an enclosed place to rest out of the elements and its paint can remain glossy and new looking. The car is black. I do like to drive the Lexus. The seat warmers, which will probably never get turned on in Houston, are devine in Newburgh. Oh the wonderfulness of the toasty feeling one can get inside of a Lexus in the dead of winter in Newburgh.

Ramona and Matthew are leaving for Clovis, New Mexico, later on today and I will be alone in the house of for a few days. This will be nice. I hope to clean out some of my stuffed-to-the-max drawers and finish unpacking from my trip home. Matthew has brought in all of my stuff from the car (I even packed and drove home with a big garbage bag stuffed with trash that I meant to leave off at the big garbage can outside Michael's home, but somehow got it inside my car for the drive home. It was so cold, nothing smelled, However,it began to smell when I left it in the car for another two days here in Houston. Oh well, at least it's not a new car.

It is good to be home and sharing life with Ramona and Matthew. I get to know Ramona better and better and of course, be around Matthew and oh, so wonderful to be able to see Karsen every day. He is so beautiful and such a good, good baby. He is walking and playing so sweetly. He is such a good baby. I got to put him to bed for the night for the last two nights as Ramona and Matthew had gone shopping to return some things. At 8p.m. Karsen just lies down so easily and is such a happy baby. Ramona has done a wonderful job of gently talking to her son and getting his routines established. Matthew is a good, loving daddy and loves his son and his son loves him, but Ramona is the one who has the most contact with Karsen and she is the one who has set the standard for the care and the type of care Karsen is receiving. He is a blessed little boy and we are all reaping the benefits of her care pattern and her care plan and her consistency with Karsen. He obeys with a soft word. He is very dear to me and I feel so glad that God has allowed me to experience such love and joy in my later years with my grandchildren.

I will not go to church today because my knee is not doing too well and I have begun to use my walker again. I haven't been using it the entire time I have been home, but I have been walking with a decided limp. I am going to walk with the walkerd for a few days and try to relieve my knee. I do not want to go to church with my walker. It is supposed to rain this morning.

Slowly, things are getting back into line.

I miss so very much seeing Michael Sr. everyday and being with Brendan, Michael Jr and Aidan everyday. This time was so very special and I will treasure it in my heart for the balance of my days. Always hoping I will be blessed with an extended time with them again in their lives.

Well, it is now 4:30a.m. and I think I will return to bed. My computer has just now been available to use. It takes my computer a few days to get adjusted to the new setting of Houston. Now it is adjusted and my computerising has resumed.

I trust that you all had an enjoyable Christmas and were able to let your loved ones know how much you care for them. This is can be such a wonderful time of year.

May God richly bless you , my loved ones. jk

I am home. Two days on the road. The first day in some of the ice that hit Indiana' s southern edge. After iI passed Mount Vernon, Indiana, and highwy 55, I was on easy street. No ice and cars driving at regular speeds. Got only as far as Blytheville, Arkansas and called it a day. It took me three hours to get 66 miles in the beginning. I was on the roa for the second leg of the trip by 5:28 a.m this morning. Made it as far as Nachidotious and was falling asleep while I was driving so I stopped and got a room and slept for a solid two hour. Felt very refreshed and drove the rest of the way home. It was only a little more than two hours. I was home by 8:30p.m. Karsen and Ramona came out to meet me. I held Karsen and couldnt believe how heavy he was. He felt so good in my arms. I held him and held him close and it felt so good.

It is good to be home. Joe Cox, my plumber from Newburgh, called me three times to see how I was doing. He called me while I was still in Michael Sr.'s house and told me not to go through Kentucky, which was my original plan, because of the ice. That was the best advice ever, because a second ice storm hit Kentucky and I would have been right in the middle of it. Thank you, Joe. went west from Indiana, to Illinois, to Misssouri to aAkanss to Texas. Great road , great trip. It is so good to be home. My bed feels even better than I remembered.

I went to bed around 10p.m. and awoke to the smells of pecan pie and a cherry pie that Matthew has made. Ramona has made the dressing. Wonderful Christmas smells throughout the home. There is no place like home.

Merry Christmas to you all, dear friends. jk

This will probably be my last post from Newburgh.

Today was our Christmas. The boys and their dad left the house to purchase rtheir Christmas tree. They returned after about four hours with a boxed tree from Walgreens. In less than thirty minutes, they had the tree out of the box, decorated and lit. The boys did the erecting and putting together will a little bit of directing from their dad. I sang Christmas carols, or attempted to sing, while the erecting was occurring. When the tree was finished, the boys and their dad, stepped back and called it "Great". Then the boys were sent down to the basement where they waited until the gifts had been brought out and placed around the fireplace and the wall. Then the boys were called upstairs and the opening of gifts began. Aidan wore the Santa hat and he was the one to pass out all of the gifts. The boys were all excited and so pleased with their gifts. Then they began to play with different gifts and with each others gifts and it was like the great Christmases we had when the noise dies down and everyone is intent on whatver they choose to be involved in.

While this was going on, Joe the plumber came by to say the wrong shower door came in for the downstairs bathroom, and he would not be able to complete the bathroom for a few days. Alas. I will not be able to see the finished product. The electician has to return to fix the exhaust fan and the lights inside the bathroom Oh well. It has been a great activity that has had me involed in it since the boys were in Schtland. If you remember, this was supposed to be completed by July 18th. Oh well, it is only the 23rd,isnt it?

Right now the boys have all gone to go get our dinner. They wanted to take me out to dinner, but I asked for it to be brought in, since I am having such difficulty getting around. They have gone to get it now. I am having grilled salmon with rice pilaf anf some other good stuff.

While the boys are gone I am supposed to be getting my stuff together for the boys to load into the car for my journey home tomorrow My plan is to get up and get ready, wake them up and have them see me off and then be on my way. I plan to pack this computer so this will be my last post utill I get home and find a convenient place to place this computern and thenn determine if there remains a need for this blog to continue.,

This has been a really really good day. Actually I can walk around the house without having to use the walker, however, I am stumbling a bit. So I will probably use the walker tomorrow but I will have the cane ready in case I can move with the cane only. I am amazed that my knee is as good as it is today. I didnt realize it until I was setting out the gifts.

Right now I have my own personal clothes in the washer. I will put them in the dyer and pack them so when I get home I will have all cleam clothes.

Usually when I trasvel this journey home, I wear the same thingf for both days. This enables me to get into th motel easier (No luggage) and out on the road the next morning. I will fix my face tomorrow and not fix it again until I get home. I am a lovely traveler.

I have already shed a few tears today at being faced with the finality of this entire venture. This will never occur again. What a wonderful time we have had. Being with Michael Sr. for so long and through such trials and being able to help him. Being with my dear, dear grandsons. Our bond has been etched in stone and will last for the rest of our lives, I am sure. What a wonderful time we have shared. I do love my son, Michael, and my three grandsons., I am truly a blessed woman. Sorry for all the smaltz of the earlier post of the day. What in the world was wrong with me. Let's forget it ,OK?


At the point where I was here in this post:
The boys just returned with the food. They came in the house with suits and ties on. They said they had planned to take me out to a fine restaurant and wear suits in honor of me. They were so handsome and of course, I cried. They wanted me to see them in their suits even though we were going to eat in. They cleared the table and Michael Sr. took pictures of me and the boys and they sat at the dinner table with me and we had conversation( Remember the initial instruction regarding"conversation") with me and ate their pizza as we ate together. What a wonderful end to a wonderful time.. They all had a little speech they said of how much they thanked me for taking care of them and their daddy during all of his surgeries. They said they wanted to honor me. Michael sr. just stood over to the side and beamed at his sons and his mother. What a wonderful time.

Resumption of my post:
I will close now. Thanks for accompanying me on the journey. Please know that you all and your comments to me, or just my knowing you were there, meant the world to me. Thank you so much for taking the time to follow me in the journey. Thank you for your prayers, The closing I have used throughout this blog is from my heart. Please believe that.

May God richly bless you, my loved ones. jk

While I have begun this post at 4:54a.m., on Monday morning, it is a rehash of yesterday's experiences.



I made it to church with my walker leading the way. I went to Bible Class, too, after church. The singing at the church service had us singing all of the verses of "O little Town of Bethlehem" and interspersed though these verses we would sing "Make Me a Sanctuary". Tears flowed from my eyes, for that is what I want to be, a sanctuary for my Lord to dwell and for His Spirit to reign in my life. A beautiful time of communing with my Lord. The sermon was about the path,(singular) to God. In the kindest of voices, the minister spoke of the sacrifice that was made on the cross and the single path to God through faith in our Savior. An invitation was offered. I pray God's richest blessing on this body of believers. Jesus Christ is the focus of every word that is said and every song that is sung. An entire service of praise. The class is studying Acts and we were in the last of chapter 5. Great discussion and thoughts were shared. The Bible is such a wonderful source of blessing and it is evident in what is gained from Bible study. The class was so sweet to me. Without my asking for it, they prayed for me and my trip, for my grandsons and for Michael. So touching and so unexpected.



I am sort of low key, for me, here. I make comments in class, but I am not so outrageous like I think I can be sometime. Here I have consciously tried to not create a scene where I am the focus. I am working on myself. Pray for me. To my family: I have led a life of desiring to be accepted and loved by everyone. That has been my focus. I have felt so inadequate around you all and like I am not as good as you all are. I realize that while my efforts may have not seemed overt to me, they have been overt to everyone around me and possibly disdaned. I apologise. I have always been so afraid I would lose your love and respect and your desire to be around me. I didnt want to be alone. I am sorry and I apologise and I ask your prayers on my behalf. I dont know why I felt this way, but I know I have felt this way for years and years and years. (I am not going to count the "I"s in this paragraph and I request that you dont either.)



Michael Jr. slept with me. Actually, I slept pretty well, although I did get up really really early this morning. Hopefully, I will be able to return to bed for a bit prior to the boys waking up. We didn't get to sleep until after 9:45p.m.



The boys' mother downgrades Michael Dr. to the boys and I ask you to pray about this. She is subtle about it but consistent. In front of the boys, Talking about Michaeol Sr. not being the one to pick me up and saying "Michael Sr should be doing this and not you" in front of the boys, and saying regularly that Grammy is the one who is taking care of you and calling the Newburgh house "Grammy's house". Subtle, but mean. She holds up, Troy, her boyfriend, as the epitome of what a man should be. She is really trying to get the boys to see him as the best example of what a man/father should be . He, of course, while he is a nice man, is putty in her hands, which raises his value in her eyes immensely. Please pray about this too. This time the boys have had with their daddy, has opened their eyes somewhat, but Michael Sr. has been so sick most of the time. The have had some great time with him, especially here at the end. I am so glad for that.



We plan to have our Christmas this evening, or this afternoon or sometime today anyway. I will need to find time sometime today to pack my car and prepare for the trip home. Hopefully this will get done and I will be able to get an early start. If it is like my usual behavior, I will not be able to sleep very well tonight and I should be ready to leave early early early in the morning. The only problem with that is that I get really really tired around 10, which is a bit too early to stop.



I trust things are coming together for you all as you prepare for the holidays with your family. My wish for you all is for you to have a very Merry Christmas and that you show and feel the love that was shown to us when God sent His son (I know Jesus's birthday is not December 25) to this earth to take on the flesh of man and live and walk this earth with us and give His life for us.

I love you all so much.


May God richly bless you, my loved ones. jk