Day 3---Monday Madness....

There is NO sleeping in on Spring Break.
Grant opened the curtains for me this morning to show me that the birds were singing and the sun was shining....so it was time to get up. Mind you, this was probably at oh 630ish. UGH.

GG made us her famous macaroni and cheese for lunch. Ryan LOVED it. It was a HUGE hit. My new goal in life is to make mac and cheese like her. No matter what I do, or how I follow her recipe to a "t" it still doesn't taste like hers.

Our afternoon Park-Hopping Adventure started at Antelope Park.
Here is my monkey hanging on the monkey bars.

Ryan loved the slides...there were SO many to choose from.
The park soon became VERY crowded so it was off to the next park. We headed to Keech Park. Which turned out to be a flop. The boys used to play at this park when they were little and it looked HUGE. We pulled up and they said "Mom, c'mon this park is for babies." Sadly they were right...the equipment looked pretty tiny.
SO..back in the car we went and headed to good ol Bethany Park. And they loved it.

Ryan brought the football and he and Grant played catch.

They really do love each other....SEE here's proof.

My little Monkey. He loves climbing and hanging around.

I tried to get more pictures of Ryan..but I was told that it was UNCOOL to take pictures of kids at the park...so there you have that.

Grant shaving in the tub. He said his whiskers were getting long...so we had to take care of that. He was very proud of his close shave. He had to be careful the razor had sharp "blazers" as he called them. Little did he know it WAS A PLASTIC RAZOR. : )

The boys rounded out the evening by watching an old silent movie with Grandpa. The boys were really entertained by this. They were laughing and giggling. They were very tired out from our day of parks...and hoops at Grandpa's neighbors house. They were sound asleep by 900 tonight.

WHEW.

A dear friend of mine sent this to me...and I had to post it. She lost her Mom 6 months after I did...we share a very unique bond. Get the tissues ready...it's a doozy.

To everyone who is a son or a mother of a son. This story is precious.Being a Mother

After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted meto take another woman out to dinner and a movie.
She said, 'I love you, but I know this other woman loves you and would Love to spend some time with you.'The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my Mother, who has been a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work and my three children had made it possible to visit her only occasionally.That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie. 'What's wrong, are you well,' she asked?
My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a late night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad news..'I thought that it would be pleasant to spend some time with you,' I responded 'just the two of us..' She thought about it for a moment, and then said,'I would like that very much.'That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I was a bit nervous. When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she, too, seemed to be nervous about our date. She waited in the door with her coat on.
She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to celebrate her last wedding anniversary. She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an angel's.
'I told my friends that I was going to go out with my son, and they were impressed,' she said, as she got into the car. 'They can't wait to hear about our meeting.'We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very nice and cozy. My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady.After we sat down, I had to read the menu.
Her eyes could only read large print. Half-way through the entrees, I lifted my eyes and saw Mother sitting there staring at me.
A nostalgic smile was on her lips..'It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were small,' she said. 'Then it's time that you relax and let me return the favor,' I responded. During the dinner , we had an agreeable conversation nothing extraordinary but catching up on recent events of each other's life. We talked so much that we missed the movie. As we arrived at her house later, she said, 'I'll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you.' I agreed.'How was your dinner date?' asked my wife when I got home. 'Very nice, much more so than I could have imagined,' I answered.A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack.
It happened so suddenly that I didn't have a chance to do anything for her. Sometime later, I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant receipt from the same place Mother and I had dined.
An attached note said: 'I paid this bill in advance. I wasn't sure that I could be there; but, nevertheless, I paid for two plates - one for you and the other for your wife. You will never know what that night meant for me.'I love you, son'At that moment, I understood the importance of saying in time: 'I love YOU' and to give our loved ones the time that they deserve.
Nothing in life is more important than your family. Give them the time they deserve, because these things cannot be put off till some 'other' time.Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back to normal after you've had a baby... somebody doesn't know that once you're a mother, 'normal' is history.Somebody said you can't love the second child as much as you love the first... somebody doesn't have two or more children.Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labor and delivery....somebody never watched her 'baby' get on the bus for the first day of kindergarten... or on a plane headed for military 'boot camp.'Somebody said a Mother can stop worrying after her child gets married.... somebody doesn't know that marriage adds a new son or daughter-in-law to a mother's heartstrings.Somebody said a mot her 's job is done when her last child leaves home.... somebody never had grandchildren.Somebody said your mother knows you love her, so you don't need to tell her... somebody isn't a mother.
Pass this along to all the GREAT 'mothers' in your life and to everyone who ever had a mother.This isn't just about being a mother; it's about appreciating the people in your lives while you have them.... no matter who that person is!

This picture is of my brother and my Mom. This was a Mom-son date. My brother came back from Branson, and had a special date with her. He took her to see RENT. Mom loved that date. She talked about it, and was so proud to have him as her date. It's something that I want to keep up with my boys....right now--being with Mom is SO not cool.

Our Adventures Continue~

What a day we had. We were (are you sitting down) in the car ready to go to church by 8:30 AM. Who knew we could do that? Uncle Michael was singing at Middle Cross Church, so we decided to go and listen to him. He did AWESOME. We even got to see Miss Beth (a very dear friend of my Brother's.) Ryan got a special treat--the worship singers surprised him with a Early Birthday serenade. I didn't know he could turn so many shades of red. ha.

After church, it was back to Grandpa George's. My cousin Scott and his girlfriend Stacy were here visiting from Missouri. The boys had fun showing Scott their basketball cards, and talking hoops with him. After they left, GG pulled up. It was good to see her. My Grandma is 87....doesn't look a day over 60, and is so amazing. I hope that I am that fortunate to be as active and spry when I am her age. Later, Karla and Dave, our neighbors came over and had a tornado watch party with us. (For thouse of you who don't know what those are....it's when you sit around and watch for tornados..usually with a cold beverage in your hand....and scout the skies--or just sit around and talk....funny how we never see any twisters...ha) Karla and Dave have been our neighbors for a very long time, so they are second parents to me. Karla and Mom were very dear friends....so whenever I get to sit down and talk with her I feel like I'm talking with my Mom again. Which I miss the most.
And this is how the boys spent most of their day....(in between riding their scooters and tossing around the football)

Grandpa George sacrificed his office tv and let the boys hook up their Playstation. Yes, Ryan was allowed to bring it. And they had a blast. Mommy even snuck in some new games. NBA seems to be the hit right now.

The biggest treat was Mommy let them stay up until 10:30...I think they were both in dream land about 10:31. ha.

Stay tuned...tomorrrow we are going Park-hopping.

Spring Break Has BEGUN...

The boys and I are spending our Spring Break aka Ryan's Birthday Vacation in Nebraska. We left Edmond yesterday morning and made it to Bradshaw, where my Grandma lives in 5 hours on a half a tank of gas. WHOHOO. And NO I didn't speed. We made AMAZING time. The boys got a little squirrelly and UGH...about half way through the trip...but they settled down with a video...and the ride wasn't too bad. Our first stop in Nebraksa was to see my Mom. We stopped at my Mom's Grave in York, and put some fresh Spring Flowers out for her, and cleaned her headstone up a bit. Grant noticed her name plate was a little dirty...so he fixed Grandma up, as he told me "She doesn't like messy." HA. Oh Grant she would be SO proud of you. Ryan added a little flair by poking some large sticks in the ground by her headstone....and he proudly announced that now "Grandma would be different than all the rest." Oh Ryan--she is SMILING down on you buddy.

Once we had accomplished that--it was back in the car...LINCOLN HERE WE COME. That mere 45 minute trip TOOK AN ETERNITY. We finally made it, unloaded, and let the fun BEGIN.

We went to Valentino's Buffet for dinner. And we ALL decided that we NEED one in Oklahoma. It was SO yummy. Growing up with Val's I CRAVE IT, and it's a MUST when I come back. We all pigged out. Ryan loved the fact you could eat as much pepperoni pizza as you want...I think he ate an entire pizza all by himself. After all...they are "GROWING BOYS." Personally, I wondered where we put it all. ha.

Grant loved the fact that you could get all of his favorite foods in ONE place. Pepperoni Pizza, PLAIN noodles, and oh lookie here............. FRENCH TOAST STICKS with SYRUP. I don't know how many times we heard "this is SO cool."

We were all pretty tired when we got back to Uncle Michael's house. However, the boys still had enough energy to eat some more...Uncle Michael's special popcorn....... and play some PlayStation Games.

STAY TUNED...more adventures from Nebraska...we will keep you posted daily (or at least that is the goal.) ha.

If you Give a Mom A Muffin~

If You Give a Mom A Muffin…..

-Based on "If you Give a Mouse a Cookie" by Laura Numeroff

If you give a mom a muffin, she'll want a cup of coffee to go with it. She'll pour herself some. Her three-year-old will spill the coffee. She'll wipe it up. Wiping the floor, she will find dirty socks. She'll remember she has to do laundry. When she puts the laundry in the washer, she'll trip over boots and bump into the freezer. Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan supper. She will get out a pound of hamburger. She'll look for her cookbook. (101 Things To Make With A Pound Of Hamburger.) The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail. She will see the phone bill, which is due tomorrow. She will look for her checkbook. The checkbook is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two-year-old. She'll smell something funny. She'll change the two-year-old. While she is changing the two-year-old the phone will ring. Her five-year-old will answer and hang up. She'll remember that she wants to phone a friend to come for coffee. Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup. She will pour herself some. And chances are, if she has a cup of coffee, her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

CANCER SUCKS!

CANCER. C-A-N-C-E-R. UGH!! I hate that word. I hate everything about that word. I hate those 6 letters like NO other. (And you have to understand that "HATE" is not used in our house...we use, "I don't like" or "I don't care for." Because hate is such an ugly word we don't use it. Well, in this case IF THE SHOE FITS... ) I can barely even type the 6 letters without cringing, let alone say it out loud.

Cancer is the topic for this blog, because it has once again struck our family. And trust me when I say that I don't wish cancer on ANY family...but c'mon, I think mine has had enough. And sadly enough, Cancer once again has taken a member of my family. And I'm sick of it.

Here is Grandpa's "fight"~

Grandpa Jim, was 89. And up until 6 months ago, he was as healthy as an ox. He drove, he camped, he lived life, and loved his family. Six months ago, at a Dr. visit, Grandpa had some heart issues. They didn't want to operate due to his age..but they had a new treatment that was offered, to my understanding, was a non-surgical procedure to force the blood back through his heart and would make him a new man. These treatments required Grandpa to go to the Hospital in Hastings NE, 20 miles from home, 4 days a week. No problem. Except for one, Grandpa had done most of the driving for the past 67 years of my Grandparents marriage. So, this meant Grandma would have to drive him into town. Which was ok, until there was ice and snow and then all bets were off. My Dad came down to Oklahoma for Christmas and stayed for a week and then went to Blue Hill (where my Grandparents live) to help Grandma with Grandpa's last 4 treatments. Which was a welcome help to them. Monday arrives and Grandpa's blood work comes back funny and they couldn't continue with the last 4 treatments. Not a problem. He would receive 3 shots of coumadin (i know that is SO not spelled right) which is a blood thinner. Dad stayed the week anyway, and said Grandpa was getting along great. He was a little fatigued, but was able to move around without any problems. GREAT news.

Then I get a call from my brother, on Friday. Grandpa was taken to the hospital, he had had a stroke. WHAT ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? UGH. After running some tests the Dr's confirmed that he had a minor stroke with weakness on his left side, and some memory loss. During an exam in the E.R., Grandpa experienced some minor stomach pain. The dr's told everyone that it was more than likely a combination of all the meds he was on, and not to worry, but just to be on the safe side they would do a CT scan of his stomach. The results start a whirlwind of HORRIBLE results. He has an anyeurism in his stomach, which more than likely is what caused his stroke. Oh, and it's very close to a major artery, so we can't operate. It will more than likely rupture and kill him. More tests confirmed that he also has a mass in his colon. So, a colonoscopy was scheduled. The results from that SUCKED too. He had a very large mass in his colon, so large the dr. had never seen a tumor that big. (And yes, in case you are wondering Grandpa had had regular colonoscopies before, and all had come back clear.) Which prompted more scans.....the cancer had spread to his brain. He had a mass on his brain stem....the worst possible case scenario. (The miracle if there is one in this case....is that it had NOT spread to his liver....which amazed the drs.) The Dr's and Grandpa decided on NO TREATMENTS. He wanted to live out his remaining days at home with my Grandma.

So, what went from 6 months to live....now went to maybe double-digit weeks. MAYBE.

Grandpa stayed in the Hospital for a week...and was transported home. Hospice had been put in charge of his care.

My family, which consists of 10 cousins, all of spread out from..Missouri, to Oklahoma, to Arizona and Nebraska, all were making plans to visit Grandpa. It had been a while since we had all been together...but we felt it was important to visit. So, arrangements were made, Grandpa was told and understood we were all coming back to see him the weekend of the 17th. And although we were told that he didnt want to disrupt our lives by going back to see him....we all were going anyway. (Sorry Grandpa)

Daily calls were made to my Dad for updates. Grandpa was getting along well and was happy to be home. Life was going along as planned.

Then a call came from my Dad on Jan. 12. Grandpa had passed away at 10AM. My brother and I were very worried about my Dad...as he just lost his wife and now his Dad. There were alot of emotions that were so familiar to him. My brother (who happened to be down here visiting) and I loaded up the car and left immediately for Nebraska.

We arrived in Blue Hill around 10:30pm monday night. Grandma embraced us and said that Grandpa wanted to make it one more day to see us.

All of the grandkids and great grandkids (minus Lily, who was born the end of November) were at his funeral. We figured out that the last time we were all together was probably over 25+ years ago. It was great to see everyone again...although it was heartbreaking to look down at the end of the table and not see Grandpa.

Our boys had an exceptionally hard time with it as well. Jason's Grandpa passed away earlier this fall, and now my Grandpa.

I overheard the boys talking at the funeral. They realized that they had no more Great -

Grandpas left. Ryan wondered why God had to take both of them away in the same year. It wasn't fair. Grant, our 6 year old, replied that "God must have needed their help in Heaven, cuz they could both do lots of fun things." That right there put everything into perspective for me. It was the worst week emotionally for me. I spent so much time relfecting on WHY GOD, and WHY US. It was awful. I was so relieved that Grandpa didn't suffer and linger in pain. For that I was Greatful. But to have him taken from us so quickly was heartwrenching. Until, I heard those precious words from my 6 years olds mouth. And then it was ok. My heart was able to heal, and I knew that it would be ok.

I'll miss you Grandpa. ~ And I love YOU.