How to Tell If You Are Getting Older

 I have never made any secret of my age.  I'm 56.  I will tell anyone who asks me what my age is.  I don't really feel old - most of the time any way.  But today as I was working in the kitchen I realized that I may be getting older.  Here are a few of the ways you can tell.

1)  You actually use the step stool in the kitchen for it's intended purpose.  I have always been one to just pull myself up on top of the counter and walk around the counter to clean cabinets, etc.  No big deal.  If I wanted a step stool, I would get the wooden high chair and balance myself on the arms.  It always worked.  I've noticed that if I cannot reach something I actually pull out the step stool and climb up it.  This allows me to safely balance on a step while cleaning the hood area above the microwave/stove.  I also will hold onto the top of the step stool as I step down. I used to just jump down from the high chair.

2) Before accepting evening engagements you mentally go through that days activities and the next days activities to determine if you will have time for at least one nap on at least one of those days.  You then calculate in your head how many naps you might actually be able to work in on both of those days.

3)  You actually stop and think before automatically agreeing to any activity that your grand kids suggest.  It doesn't mean you won't do the activity but you think about it before you say yes.  No more automatically agreeing to street hockey in 118 degree weather.  No more automatically saying "I'm in" when the kids ask who wants to go sled riding. You actually stop and contemplate before agreeing to two on two basketball with 3 teenage boys. 

4)  Before eating some of your favorite foods (sauces, gravies, shrimp) you ask yourself if it's worth the pain that will surely follow when your gout flares up.  Doesn't mean you won't go ahead and have two helpings of shrimp with yellow sauce - you sacrifice because Gary doesn't like shrimp.  You just make sure that you have your gout medicine refilled in anticipation of the flare up that is sure to happen. 

5)  You rearrange your cabinets for better ease of access.  Any item you use frequently is put in a space that does not require you to get on the floor to get it out. You determine that you don't need near as many of the dishes or utensils that have always been a staple to use in the past.  If they are required you require someone else to get them out of the back of the cabinet for you.  Same goes when it's time to put them away - it's someone else's job. 

6)  You pick your seating depending on the ease of getting up from said location.  You don't sit in the middle of any sofa.  You know that you need an edge so you have something to hold onto and push yourself up.  If you are required to sit in the middle of a sofa you try to be certain that there is a coffee table nearby that you can use as leverage.  When choosing which side to sit on you stop to determine which side or limb of your body is giving the most problems that day.  You also stop and determine which knee hurts the worst before you decide which one to put weight on when rising. 

Yep, these are just a few of the ways you finally acknowledge to yourself that you are getting older.  Doesn't mean you consider yourself old - it just mean you are acknowledging that you are 'getting older'. 

A Little Ice Storm

Well today is the first day of winter.  And we are having another winter storm. We don't get much snow here in Tulsa but we sure do get the ice, and right now we are having an ice storm.  Started last night and continued through most of the day today.  Our one and only tree is covered in ice.  While pretty to look at it is not very safe when the limbs start falling out of the tree from the weight of the ice.  The poem below describes the scene in our front yard.

                  THE ICE STORM

     Trees covered in ice, while pretty to see
     Makes walking the path a hazard for me.
     Limbs are dangling lower than ever before
     They won't be able to handle much more.
     A crack from above sends my eyes high
     And I dodge the limb falling from the sky.     
     Ice crystals shatter as they hit the ground
     Like breaking glass is the sound.
     It's eerie and scary and I don't want to be
     Anywhere near the ice covered tree.
     I go back inside and settle myself down
     But I can't help hearing that scary sound
     A crack  and a thud as limbs keep dropping
     The noises alone just keep me hopping.
     Each limb sounds louder than the one before
     And each one sends me running to the door.
     The night wears on and still the limbs fall
      I'm not sure I will get any sleep at all.

 Kathie Marrs
December 21, 2013
                    

    

Winter Memories

Gosh time sure does go by in a hurry doesn't it?  I don't know what I'm doing with my time but it's obviously not been spent blogging.  So thought I would get on here and share a few thoughts.

I have had a few conversations with a couple of my brothers recently.  I really enjoy those.  I love texting also.  With the aid of his phone one of my brothers was able to share pictures and a video of the snow they are having.  I miss snow, typically we don't get a lot here in Tulsa. 

I was remembering winters from when I was a kid.  Yes, I know some of you are thinking - wow that was a really long time ago.  Well, it doesn't seem that long to me.  We lived in a basement house.  It was built into the side of a small hill - two of walls of the house were kind of underground and two were open. 

My brothers and I used to make a fort at the bottom of the hill -- kind of igloo like.  This was always fun.  Sometimes we would go down to the pond and play ice hockey or go ice skating.  Keep in mind, we didn't really have any ice skates - we just skated with our shoes.  Our ice hockey sticks were actually sticks that we found around the edge of the pond. 

We lived next door to the grade school.  The grade school had a really awesome sled-riding hill.  You could go down the hill and across the flat area (ball field).  If you were lucky enough to get a good slide you could go all the way across the flat area and down the next little hill into the woods.  My brothers and their friends would come over and they let me hang out with them. We had sleds but we used whatever we could find also.  One time we used a car hood and all of us, Wayne, Bub, me, Leon, Butch and the Hansel boys all piled in we really went far. 

We had snowball fights too.  My brothers and I paired up for this like we did for football.  Steve and I on one team and Bub and Wayne on another.  This is were the fort came in handy.  I used to play short stop so I can throw a snowball pretty good. 

I was making some candy last night for work and go to thinking about all the candy my mom used to make at Christmas time.  I don't do near what she did.  Never have been able to make fudge - I quit trying many years ago.  Never have tried divinity as I remember Mom saying it was hard to make.  I do make Coconut Joys usually and Tiger Butter.  Sometimes I make cinnamon candy and Peanut Butter Bon Bons.  I like to make Oreo balls also (Lily calls these dog turds).  I like to do sugar cookies and my personal favorite is Maraschino Nut Cookies.  Unfortunately, I am the only one who likes these cookies and it makes a humongous bunch of cookies.  Gary has recommended I try cutting the recipe in half but I never do.  Why?  Because my mom didn't. 

I also remember drinking hot chocolate out of our big brown mugs.  I still have those mugs.  Some people call them antiques - I still use them on occasion.  I have a lot of 'antiques'. 

Hope you enjoyed my winter memories.  More to come later. 

Branson Memories

So it's been probably a week since I posted on here.  Sorry -- we were busy with a short Branson get-away and a snow storm.  Anyone who knows us knows that if we plan a trip to Missouri (especially in the winter months) then it means a storm will probably occur.  One time it took us 13 hours to make the 5 1/2 hour trip to my in-laws.  This latest trip has been planned for a couple of months so the snow storm that came in should not have taken anyone by surprise. 

We planned a trip to Branson.  With the weather forecast we left a little earlier to get ahead of the storm.  We rented a van for the trip so all nine of us could ride together.  We had a great trip -- didn't run into any weather until about Springfield.  Then we really hit the weather.  We had our day planned to eat at The Burger Shack in Branson.   We were going to ride the Polar Express that evening and go to Burger Shack afterwards.  We decided that since it was lunch time and we were in Springfield we should go to Lamberts.  Since it was lunch time there is always a concern about how long the line will be.  No worries here today.  Because of the storm there was absolutely no line at noon at Lambert's.  We got right in to an almost empty restaurant.  As usual, the food was excellent.  Remington really enjoyed talking to the guy who threw the rolls.  Remington now wants to be the roll-thrower at Lambert's when he grows up. 

Onward to Branson we go.  Roads are starting to get a little bit slippery by now but we made it with no problem.  Checked into our hotel (a little place off the strip that Gary and I found).  We unload the van and head down to Branson Landing to look around until time for our train ride.  Due to the weather several of the shops were closed but we still enjoyed ourselves.  Finally we go to board the Polar Express.  Perfect evening to be riding it as the snow is falling big fluffy flakes.  If you haven't seen the movie you should.  The ride was great!  Hot cocoa (well mine was kinda warmish but still good) cookies.  They read the book Polar Express to us.  We sang Christmas songs, Santa paid a visit awesome experience.  When Santa visited he gave the kids on the train a jingle bell (watch the movie!).   Remington and Lily happened to notice that the bell said 'made in China'.  They asked the conductor where Santa got his bells from.  The answer the North Pole was given and they asked why it said made in China?  LOL  Quick recovery - the job was outsourced so the elves would have more time to make toys for Christmas. 

But the most exciting part of the trip for Remington was when the hobo came on board (again - watch the movie if you haven't seen it).  He was beside himself with excitement!!  Yes, our Polar Express train ride was very successful. 

Off we go to Burger Shack.  It's closed!!   And part of the road is closed also due to icy roads.  If you aren't aware, Branson is nothing but hills.  We go another way around and end up at Pizza World for supper.  Good food - bellies full ready to head to hotel.  Our plans did include a ride through the Trail of Lights but it was closed due to the weather.  Our hotel involves a turn that goes straight up a hill.  Well, we slid a little bit and hit the guard rail.  No accident to us but rental van doesn't fare as well.  Gary backs out gets turned around and we try again.  We make it part way up then get stuck.  Gary, Michael and Chris get out to push.  Not having much luck K.C. also gets out to help.  K.C. is checking direction of my wheels when 3 guys show up walking and offer their assistance. 
Lily is in the back seat.  She held her jingle bell up and says: "If they only believe in themselves I know they could do it.  If they only believe they have to believe!"  She then jingles her bell and sure enough - we make it up the hill!!  She said:  They did it!  They believed!.  

Whew!  What a day and our adventure has just begun.  Next day most everything is closed as it has continued to snow all night.  Guess we won't be going to Silver Dollar City today.  We decide to head back to Springfield and go to Bass Pro.  This was an excellent idea and we all had lots of fun.  Gary said the drive was a little rough but we made it safe.  We go back to Branson and head to Burger Shack for lunch.  This was excellent - just like we were expecting.  We then head off to the Wax Museum for the afternoon.  What fun we had here.  They took our picture as we went in and when we finished and were looking at our pictures the kids saw that their Elf on the Shelf Doug was in the picture!!!  What excitement!  He hadn't shown up at their house yet.  Word was that he was training some new elves this year.  We started looking at our pictures from Bass Pro and saw that he had snuck into one of them also.  Man!  We never even saw him around.  Remington was pretty sure that when they took our picture at the Wax Museum he saw something red out of the corner of his eye. 

Back to the hotel to rest for the adults and the kids played in the snow.  We then decided to 'put on our Sunday best and head to Wal-Mart'.  Had some fun there when we found some elf hats that lit up and played a song.  I have videos of Lily, Remington and K.C..   I'll share K.C.'s if the price is right. LOL  We had checked and Trail of Lights was still closed so we decided to pick up a board game to play.  Good call on our part.  We then went to ShoGuns to eat and then back to the hotel to play Quelf. On the way we stop at Wal-Greens (not my choice I boycott this store) to get some snacks.  Gary and Michael go inside and the rest of us stay in the van.  Chris was playing around with my seat and got the back titled way back.  I then became victim of the Seat Attack.  Stow and Go seats and I don't mix it seems.  I unbuckle and move to the edge of my seat and turn around.  I find what I think is the handle to move the seat back into position.  All of a sudden the seat attacks me!! I swear it slammed itself forward, the head rest folds down, I get hit in the nose, my glasses fly off!  Wow!  

We finally make it back to the hotel and start to play Quelf.  This game is so much fun.  Hard to explain but we have some excellent videos.  I do believe though that Michael and I got the worst cards of all and had to do the most stupidest stuff.  And I gotta say - when I performed the Rockette moves for 30 minutes I surprised not only my family but myself as well.  I may have arthritis and a fake knee but I did some high kicking.  LOL  I can vouch for the fact the Remington's socks stink BAD!  Michael does a great job thumb wrestling (we were able to see how he spends his days at the office), Lily can make a paper airplane that will fly farther than Chris', and K.C. makes a great mummy. 

Saturday - time to check out.  Silver Dollar City is supposed to be partially open but we decide to do some shopping then head home (sorry Michael - thought you knew the plan.  I want to go back and see the lights if we can).  We make it up some slippery hills (small mountains) to find out that the Branson Mills we want to go to doesn't open till 11.  We head back to Branson Landing where we spend some time at Brookstone.  Remington and I loved the sand box they had there.  Wish I could afford it but no way am I paying $60-$80 for sand to play with.  Everyone except me enjoyed trying out the massage chairs.   Back to Branson Mills to walk around then lunch then we head back home.  As we drop off Michael, K.C. and the kids Lily tells me that she also fell victim to the Seat Attack.  You might know it would be her and I that get attacked. 

We had a great time, made great memories.  Not the vacation we had planned but we still had fun. 

Christmas at the Ranch

I don't know if I have mentioned this before, but when my older girls were little we had the opportunity to be dorm parents at Cal Farley's Boys Ranch outside of Amarillo.  I have always been grateful for the opportunity my girls and I had at the Ranch.  Plus, I have always been very thankful for "my boys" from that time.  Through Facebook I have been able to reconnect with several of them. 

I don't know how things are run at the Ranch now but when we were there Christmas was special.  Most of the boys went home to be with their family for Christmas.  Every boy received a new set of clothes (Christmas issue).  A Cantata was presented the night before everyone went home and after the Cantata every dorm had a Christmas party.  Santa visited each dorm and everyone received a Christmas present from him. 

This past weekend while looking through my recipes for my Pumpkin Roll recipe I came across some poems I wrote at Christmas time when we were at the Ranch in the mid-80's.  I want to share one of these poems with you.

     Twas a few days before Christmas and all over the Ranch,
     Boys had trimmed every bush and branch.
     The boys were busy, they had suitcases to pack
     And all were wondering what Santa had in his pack.
     Dorm parents were dressed in their very best,
     Praying for even a minute of rest.
     When down at the Dining Hall we heard an uproar.
     Everyone fell down trying to get through the door.
     A jolly old man in red passed us by
     As he brought his sleigh down from the sky.
     "I just stopped at the Ranch to give the reindeer a rest.
     And to wish all of you the very best.
     I'll be back for the party tonight have no fear
     But had to stop while I was so near.
     I see you are ready, Cantata practice is through
     And everyone is wearing his Christmas issue."
     He walked among the boys and shook every hand
     Gave candy canes to boys from Carter and Frying Pan.
     "The reindeer are rested, I must be on my way."
     We heard him exclaim as he jumped in his sleigh.
     We heard him say in a voice cheery and bright.
     "Merry Christmas to all.  See you at the party tonight!"


Note: Carter and Frying Pan were the 'little boy dorms' for boys through Kindergarten age.

So here's wishing a Merry Christmas to my boys from the Ranch -- love you. 

What Tools Do You Use?

Almost everyone has a toolbox of some kind around their house.  You may be the totally organized, have everything in it's place, humongous toolbox person.  I love those tool boxes!  They come on wheels have sliding drawers and all kinds of compartments and they usually have the most awesome tools you have ever seen!  I know -- my dad had one.  It was fantastic -- I was not supposed to touch the tools inside.  It was hard because they were awesome!

You might be the person with a little bitty tool box that really is just a box and have an assortment of odd tools but never really have the tool you need to do the job you need to do so you have to go borrow from the neighbor.  You know just enough about how to use tools to create more of a problem when you try to fix something.

Gary and I are not 'tool people'.  LOL  This is funny because we have an indeterminate number of tool boxes.  We have two or three in the shed.  Not sure what tools are in these as we never really use them.  They are bigger tool boxes so the tools must be bigger.  By this I mean they probably have a longer handle on them and are over sized for big jobs.  We have two smaller tool boxes inside the house with an assortment of screwdrivers, hammers, pliers, etc.  We also have a small tool kit which comes with a handle and an assortment of screwdriver ends that can be attached to the handle.  We also have various tool kits that have been given to us.  You know an assortment of screwdrivers, or maybe pliers, or who knows what.  They come packaged and we leave them in the package until we can't find the right size screwdriver so we open the package, pull out what we need and then throw them all in one of the toolboxes.  When the toolbox gets to full we relegate it to the shed where it will never be seen again and proceed to start and fill up another tool box. 

My dad would be so ashamed of me.  My brothers would be too.  Now, it's not that we don't know how to use tools - we just prefer not to if we don't have to.  Gary does a lot of his own repair work at his store so doesn't want to do it at home.  I know how - my dad made sure I learned how.  I can do electrical work (thanks for helping me learn this Uncle Larry), and some basic plumbing etc.  Yep, my dad and brothers taught me how to use tools but they never really made me use them. 

I have my personal favorite tools I like to use.  I keep them in my silverware drawer.  I have a knife that the tip has broken off.  This is perfect to use for a screwdriver - either flathead or Phillips.  Flathead just use it - Phillips use the pointy side of the knife.  This little tool can also double as a hammer by using the handle part.  I also have a butcher knife that was my Mom's.  I use this to open boxes and cut cardboard boxes - works as good as a saw for little things.

Everyone has tools.  Everyone also has access to other tools that they may not realize.  God has provided each of us with unique tools that are our very own.  These are talents or gifts.  They have been give to us by God.  They have been given to us to use - not to sit on or throw into a toolbox to collect rust.  The Heavenly Father is not like my dad was.  He didn't give me the tools and instruct me on how to use them but not expect me to use them.  No!!! It's the exact opposite.  He expects us to use the tools He has given us. Trust me on this - the tools you have been given will not wear out.   

You may have the ability to be a leader.  Perhaps you are a servant.  Maybe you a teacher or an encourager.  Whatever God has given you USE IT!!! And use it generously!  Give of whatever gift you have.  Don't be stingy with it, God will replenish it.   

Slow down

Life is hectic.  We have so much to do and so many places to be and we feel pulled in every direction.  Some of us have children and parents needing us.  Some of us have jobs requiring more and more of us.  What is a person to do?  You can only spread yourself so far before you break. 

I myself feel very fortunate.  Yes, I have demands on me and things to do (not as much as I used to).  Some of these demands I put on myself.  I have learned not to sweat it and have never let things bother me to much.  But that's me.  Not everyone can do this. 

With the holiday season approaching many of us will switch into high gear or overload status.  Shopping, decorating, entertaining - all of which will put stress into our lives.  Remember, you can only do so much.  Do what you can, don't fret what doesn't get done, enjoy your family. 

Take time for yourself each day and enjoy a cup of your special coffee or tea.  Spend an extra 10 mintues really listening to what your child is telling you.  It may not be anything but the fact that he wants to sing a song he made up.  Just focus on him for 10 minutes - you won't regret later. 

And when things get to be more than you can handle just read the following poem. 

ONE STEP AT A TIME

One step at a time

A pilgrimage to make.

One step at a time

That’s all I can take.

One step at a time

That’s all God asks of me.

One step at a time

How hard can it be?

 One step at a time

Draw me closer to You.

One step at a time

Teach me something new.

One step at a time

That’s all that is asked.

One step at a time

Not a difficult task.

 One step at a time

God has set the way.

One step at a time

Don’t let me go astray.

One step at a time

I’ll take with my friends.

One step at a time

To the journey’s end.

 Written by: Kathie Marrs

          April 7, 2008

 

No Twelve Step Program for Me

My name is Kathie and I have an addiction.

Got your attention, didn't I?  LOL  I do have some addictions but not the kind you might be thinking.  

I have an addiction to Christmas. Yep, in case you didn't already know it I will admit to it.  I love Christmas!  I love Christmas lights, I love to look at them on the tree, I love to see them in the snow.  I love going for drives and seeing the lights.  I used to have some singing lights that I put on my tree and I could sit and listen to my tree. I finally had to get rid of them because they quit working.  Sad, sad day for me. 

I have an addiction to Christmas music. My singing Christmas lights were awesome because they filled two of my Christmas addictions  LOL.   I listen to Christmas music all year round.  I love it when the Christmas radio station here in Tulsa starts playing nothing but Christmas music.  Now, when I say I listen to Christmas music all year round I am not joking.  I just love it!  When I had my stereo system I would put my music on shuffle and would always have one of the CD's be a Christmas CD. 

I have an addiction to Christmas trees.  I do not remember how many I have but I do have four full size trees ranging in size from 9 foot to 5 foot.  Last year I only put up two of them but am hoping to put all four up this year (sorry Gary).  I also have an assortment of decorative Christmas trees.  These are various sizes and I purchase at least one new one every year.  (So far this year I have already purchased two).  I have planning in my head for at least a month where I want to place my trees this year when I put my decorations up. 

I have an addiction to Christmas drinks.  This would include egg nog (or egg milk as my grand kids call it), Christmas tea, Candy Cane tea by Celestial Seasonings, Peppermint Mocha - just about any type of drink (not alcoholic) that represents Christmas.  I have a hard time deciding what I want to drink. 

I have an addiction to the movie Christmas Vacation.  I watch this movie all year round.  Once a month is what I aim for and it would probably be more if I knew how to work our remote controls better.  Anytime I have a surgery I get excited because I secretly plan to spend one of my recovery days watching this. 

I have an addiction to Christmas traditions.  I love Christmas traditions whether they be family or church traditions I love them.  I love knowing that we are going to have cheeseburgers and homemade French fries for Christmas Eve.  I absolutely love knowing that if we go back to Missouri to my in-laws we will be having Gojo's on our way home.  I love the tradition of Christmas Eve service at church.  This has always been one of my favorite traditions. As we have moved and our lives have changed our traditions have changed a little bit but we have tried to keep some of the same maybe just change them up a little bit. 

I have an addiction to Christmas cards.  I realize most people don't send them out any more but I love to choose our Christmas cards and make our list.  Gary always helps me address them (he says it's because my handwriting is so bad).  I love to receive Christmas cards.  I love hearing from family and old friends and far away friends. 

Yes, my name is Kathie and I have an addiction.

Christmas times a-coming

The holidays are quickly approaching.  Now if you follow my posts on Facebook you are thinking - Duh!  You post something along this line almost daily.  I admit - I do post a lot of Christmas countdowns, Black Fridays, etc.  But believe it or not - the holidays have snuck up on me this year.  Guess I was a little bit   to pre-occupied with a wedding to actually realize how close they were. 

It just occurred to me this past week that I have a lot coming up.  Church Thanksgiving this coming weekend, family Thanksgiving (which is the actual Thanksgiving Day) next week, week after that a trip to Branson to enjoy lights and magic and Silver Dollar City.  Yep, a lot going on and I haven't even planned a Christmas Vacation movie night!! 

Now, it may not surprise you if you know me at all to know that I am already planning on where I am going to put my Christmas trees this year.  I'm not talking the little decorative ones I'm talking my big ones.  I have a huge 9 foot tree to go in my living room - and of course this calls for some re-arranging of furniture.  The tree itself goes in front of the window - but the furniture has to be moved around.  My next smaller tree (I think it's 6 foot) goes in the dining room.  I have to decide where I want to put it and of course - re-arrange the furniture.  Do you see a pattern here?  Then there is the small 5 foot tree I try to put in the kitchen and let Remington and Lily decorate -- still requires a small amount of re-arranging.  And this year - I have a red tree that Lily wants to put up in "her" room.  Yep, I have lots to think about!  And I love it. 

We sat down yesterday and planned our Thanksgiving menu.  To make our new son-in-law feel welcome we are going to have pecan pie.  For Gary we have chocolate pie, for K.C. we have pumpkin roll and of course we have pumpkin pie because it's Thanksgiving!  We have a tradition we have started of going to a movie on Thanksgiving day - so we have been trying to decide which movie to watch.  I think we have settled on Free Birds.  Sounds appropriate I think. 

Now, because of the wedding plans and my surgery I got a jump start on my Christmas shopping this year and have actually already done quite a bit.  I am however, looking forward to some of our traditional shopping places for Black Friday (Mardel's, Gordman's, Dollar Tree maybe Garden Ridge).  I sometimes take Remington and Lily out to do Black Friday shopping later in the afternoon.  I kind of like this too.  Perhaps this year we will hit up the Dollar Tree and let them choose some items for that red tree they want to put up in Lily's room. 

I have also been making some mental notes about decorating.  I have a couple of ideas for my dining room table (from Pinterest no less) and cannot wait to pull out all of the to numerous to count tubs from the attic and start putting stuff in place. (And I'm not joking about there being a lot of tubs - perhaps ten maybe more). My problem is I think I need more display space and I don't know where that will come from.  I do have a little bit of concern about my outside lights as this is typically done by my father-in-law while his wife and I go shopping on Black Friday. 

And I am so excited about getting to drive around and look at Christmas lights.  When we moved to Tulsa it was so exciting for me!  We moved here from a small town (Bethany, MO) and quite frankly driving to and from the grocery store of an evening you pretty much were able to see most of the Christmas lights in town.  When we moved down here it meant that if we wanted to we could pick a different neighborhood every single night to go drive through!  Such fun!   I quickly choose my favorite house (on 21st and Harvard) which is closely enough that I can see it every night if I want to.  I love to go through Rhema (a walk-through display) which I refer to as a Winter Wonderland of lights. 

Yep, I'm excited.  Wonder if I could get away with pulling those boxes down early to start sorting my decorations so I could get them put up earlier? 

Giving Thanks

A lot of my friends are doing the Thankful November on Facebook.  You know, each day they post something they are thankful for.  It's nice reading them and getting a perspective on people.  I, however, do not do that.  I do have a lot to be thankful for and I thought I would blog my thankfulness.  These are not in any particular order. 

I'm thankful for my children, each and every one of them.  They have all grown into wonderful adults.  I'm proud of them and what they have accomplished in their lives and the way they contribute to their community.

I'm thankful for my grandchildren.  What a blessing.  I'm thankful that their parents allow me to spend time with them.  I love it.  My older girls grew up without grandparents and I was always so sad about that.  I'm glad that I get to enjoy my grandchildren and even better - I'm glad that they enjoy spending time with me (or at least put up a good front for me to think they are glad). 

I'm thankful for the people who have helped me with my children.  When my older girls were younger we lived in a small town.  My girls had no grandparents but God blessed us with two wonderful couples and a widower who 'adopted' my girls.  Thanks to Harley and Blanche Joiner, Penny and Helen Bennett and Sammy Bain.  Each of them took one of my girls and treated them as their own.  My girls had someone they could go to and feel special and they were blessed by this.  Sammy even went to Grandparents Day at school with Charlie. 

I'm thankful for my parents.  While they have been gone from me for more years than I was able to have them be a part of my life, they made me who I am today.  From them I learned my love of reading, to be honest and dependable, to stand up for your family.  I learned to always do my best and never buy things you cannot pay for.

I'm thankful for laughter.  I love laughter.  I love the laughter of little children - it always makes me laugh.  I love the laughter of family - in our family I call it contagious laughter.  When we are together and one laughs you can almost guarantee that an attack of giggles and laughter will ensue for at least 10 minutes.  And sometimes we aren't even sure why we are laughing.  I love the fact that I can amuse myself and start laughing without warning just by thinking of something funny or sometimes even my own writing.  Most of all, I love the fact that Gary and I have laughter with each other.  As I have said before, this is a huge part of our marriage. 

I'm thankful for my in-laws.  I know that I was not what they expected to have for a daughter-in-law but they accepted my and my girls and made us a part of their lives.  They raised an exceptional son whom I am proud to call my husband. They bring laughter, joy and love to my life. 

I'm thankful for the friends I have had.  This includes friends from school through adulthood.  Some friends I have lost contact with but think of often.  Some were in my life for a short time but I treasure the time I had with them. 

I'm thankful for Facebook.  Facebook has allowed me to 'find' and reconnect with some school friends I had lost contact with.  I may not see them but can reconnect through Facebook.  I have made new friends through Facebook (thinking of you Gabe as I write this) and I cannot wait until we actually can arrange to meet in person. 

I'm thankful for the Sunday School children God put into my life.  While I was their teacher, I feel l learned so much from each of them.  Several have already graduated and I follow them through Facebook, some are still in school but I can tell that each and every one of them will have an impact no matter where they end up. 

I'm thankful for my brothers.  They were my friends growing up, my playmates and co-conspirators.  We may have had occasions where we did not agree but I know that no matter what, I can count on them.  If there was anything I needed, I know they would do it for me if it was within their power. 

I'm thankful for texting.  This one may seem silly but I enjoy it so much.  I am a texting fool  (and for my daughters - you come from a long line of texting fools LOL).  I love it for sharing amusing antidotes, I love it for sharing photos, I love it for keeping track of everything.  You can send a quick message and the person to whom it goes can answer at their convenience.  I will admit that sometimes the texts I receive (or perhaps even send) will bring out some of that laughter that I also am thankful for.  Gotta love it when you open a text and spit out your coffee because you laugh unexpectedly.

I am thankful for my husband.  It took me a while to find him (and to accept his marriage proposal) but he was persistent and I am so thankful for that.  He brings me so  much happiness and has taught me so much.  God put him in my life just when I needed him. 

I am thankful that I have Jesus in my life.  My faith has brought me through some difficult times but through everything, Jesus has always been there and I have never questioned where He would lead me.  I have never doubted or questioned if I would get through anything because I knew that Jesus was there.

I am thankful for chocolate and coffee.  I don't think this one needs any explanation. 

I am thankful for my health and the doctors I have had.  I have gone through many surgeries and health scares but my doctors have always provided me with excellent care.  I do have instances of aches and pains but overall, I really don't have anything to complain about.  There are so many people with more severe health care issues than mine. 

I'm thankful for the gift of writing that God gave me.  I have always enjoyed writing and making up stories.  I don't utilize it as well as I should but I am so thankful I have it. It brings me joy and I hope to a small degree that I can bring joy, laughter or comfort to others who ready my blogs or poems.   

Finished Wedding

So, I've done a couple of blogs about the ongoing wedding saga we were dealing with.  This past weekend was THE BIG DAY!  Our youngest daughter got married. 

We wanted a very simple ceremony for her and her husband.  They are both special needs and complicated can be a little to much for them to take in and try to comprehend.  Gotta say - our pastor Art Rogers nailed it when he did the ceremony.  Simple, sweet and beautiful.  He emphasized that this was 'forever'.  It was just perfect for them. 

The final week before the wedding was crunch time.  At least for K.C. and I.  The oblivious bride had no clue still as to what it meant to get ready for a wedding.  She knew she had her dress and that was the main object for her.  K.C. and I had spent over a month working on a backdrop for this wedding.  It consisted of fan shaped medallions made out of craft paper.  Basically we folded fans, stapled them in the center then unfanned and stapled two together to make a medallion.  These were made in an assortment of pinks, black and white craft paper in various sizes.

Now these fans all had to be made before my hand surgery.  So I spent the entire month of September working on these.  I had my half folded and in a box ready to be stapled together.  I start working on them and guess what?  I spilt a glass of Pepsi in the box!  I jump up and dump the box upside down and spread these fans all over the living room floor, take a towel and start trying to dab at any wet spots on paper and floor.  Whew! disaster averted.  K.C. brought over the fans she had folded in a paper bag.  So I start stapling them and guess what?  Yep, once again I spilt Pepsi on the fans!  Same process - dump these on the floor, spread them out, dab at wet spots.  What can I say - I'm kinda clumsy. I also gotta say that although I have a fake knee and bad hand and arthritis, I can move pretty fast when I really need to. Well, I finally get the medallions all stapled together before surgery.  This was accomplished and the Sunday before the wedding K.C. and I prepare to make the backdrop.  This consisted of Gary and Michael preparing two pieces of ply board for us which K.C. covered in white paper.  Our medallions were then scattered over the boards (saving some for pew decorations) and then stapled on to the boards.  Gotta say - we were pretty impressed with our results! And I felt tremendously relieved that our biggest project was complete and turned out so well. 

Family started arriving on Wednesday for assistance and we made up a couple of batches of mints for the wedding. At this point I still have no idea what the cake will be like or anything as this was part of what the Group Home wanted to do for Amanda and Robert.  Upon trying to find out information I am told that it is a two-tier cake and also that there will be a Groomsman cake.  His job coach wanted to make this for him and she was also going to bring some food to have!  What!!!  Oh my word!   

Finally it's Rehearsal Day!  We go to the church and start prepping food for rehearsal dinner (you know Gary loves to cook and prepare food so we did the rehearsal dinner and the reception food).  Amanda calls to ask if I will rent a hotel room for her and Robert so that after the wedding they can go watch a movie.  My response was no!  I did not know that anyone wanted me to do that and I certainly didn't have time then to do so.  My daughters, grand kids and other family members were making sure everything is in place for rehearsal , church is decorated and we are just waiting on the members of the group home to appear so we can proceed.  Finally, they arrive and rehearsal goes off without a hitch, rehearsal dinner goes well.  We send the guys back to the group home with instructions to be back at 1:00 the next day to get dressed and take pictures. 

Now we really get into gear because we have to set up the reception area and decorate.  Tablecloths on tables, decorations hung, table scatter is scattered, plates, napkins, etc arranged on food table and cake table.  Since this was to be a simple wedding we went with a simple theme.  We used pink and black tablecloths on the tables and then put white paper on top. Each table had an ivy bowl filled with shredded bits of pink, black and white  crinkled paper.  Every table had crayons on them so people could write on the paper.  Each table was also set up with an assortment of games.  One table had seven or eight Slinky's on it; one table was set up with four checker boards, one with various card games like Old Maid and Crazy Eight; one was set up with suggestions for charades in a glass. 

The bride and her bridesmaid went back to my daughters house where all the girls were spending the night for some "sister" time/advise.  They were going to make sure that Amanda was prepared for her wedding night.  I have not been provided to many details of this but it seems it all went well. 

Wedding Day!!!   K.C. fixed Amanda and Susan's hair and did a wonderful job!  The girls come to the church and start getting dressed.  For fun Amanda had chosen black sequined tennis shoes for comfort and I had dyed her underskirt a dark pink.  All colors of the wedding in her outfit!  The van from the group home arrives with the guys and guests attending the wedding.  I am immediately surrounded by clients telling me they are the videographers where should they be, one guy telling me that he has his CD so he can sing.  (You should know that the gentleman who was going to sing knew only one song and I had already vetoed it when I found out it was Have Thine Own Way). 

Amanda puts on her dress and she has lost some weight since she last tried it on so we place a call to my sister-in-law asking her to bring us some safety pins.  The guys need a little assistance getting dressed as I don't think any of them have ever worn a tux before.  I am going here and there checking on food, getting changed, seeing what needs to be done, etc.  That is when I discover a major problem with one of the groom's tuxes.  He cannot keep his pants up!!!  Seriously, if he did not hold them with his hand, they fell down.  I discovered this as I walk into the church to check on something and see him standing there with his pants down to his knees!  I give a questioning look to the pastors wife and she kind of shrugs her shoulders.  I get the groom, take him to the kitchen and tell him that we are going to pin his pants.  So I try pinning a couple of darts in.  He still cannot keep them up.  I finally take four pins and literally pin his pants to his shirt.  I assure him that there is no way he will loose his pants now.  Poor guy - at least now he can enjoy himself without worrying about losing his pants.
   
Finally, everyone dressed, food set up (a huge thanks to our friend Annette for assisting us in this area), bride ready for this to just be over so I go out to check and see how things are going.  I find the groom and his groomsmen escorting people to their seats (Amanda's brother was assigned this job). We get everyone in place and it's time for the ceremony.  Amanda's sisters from Arizona sang God Gave Me You and did a beautiful job!  Instead of having a Unity candle or sand we went with a Unity Plant for Robert and Amanda.  Each of them put a little bit of dirt on top of the plant that was chosen and this was worked into the ceremony.  You need to nurture the plant and it will mature just as you nurture your marriage.  Very nice. 

Reception was fun for all - games - food - music.  Everything you could want.  Amanda surprised all of us and got up and thanked everyone for being there, her family, etc.  (This was a total surprise as this is not like her at all).  It was wonderful.  Ceremony over time to leave and before I know it everyone from the group home is trying to take all my stuff!!!   They pick up my glass bowls that held mints and nuts and say 'This would make a nice bird bath.  Can I have it?"  "Do you have any food I can take home?  I really liked the mints?  Is there a bag I can put some in?"  "Can I take this home (my ivy bowls)?"  My response was 'Hold on!   This is my stuff you can't take it home.  You have your stuff at your home this is mine.  We need to check with your staff on what you can have in the way of food.  If any decorations go home it will be Amanda who chooses what she wants to take."  (No I was not being mean.  Our experience is that most special needs people are hoarders and collectors of anything they can get.  They will keep it a week or two then it's gone).  They took leftover cake back to the home for those who were not able to attend the wedding. 

Finally all is cleaned up, church is put back in order for church the next day and we go home with all our family to relax with pizza and games.  The newlyweds went out with a staff member for dinner at Olive Garden and a movie. 

Our Little Nut House

Well, the wedding I have been talking about is over.  It was a very nice wedding, everything went reasonably smoothly and I will probably blog about it later.  But today I want to blog about our family. 

Yep, my three older girls were all here and we spent a week together.  How much fun can we have!!!  To Michael (my son-in-law) and Perry (my daughter's boyfriend) what can I say?  You obviously have been around at least one of my daughters and you realize what they were like.  Perhaps you have had occasion to be around two of them at once.  You should have been a little bit prepared.  To the general public who had the opportunity to see us together - please keep in mind that we try to maintain a small sense of decorum when we are out in public (but only a small sense).  You are not able to experience the full force of our personalities - I'm sorry.

We affectionately call ourselves The Nuts and I guess maybe we do get a little squirrely when we are together.  Now; add in the fact that it has been five years since we have all been together and you cannot even begin to imagine what being around us is like.  Keep in mind - my girls have very outgoing personalities and love to express themselves. 

Now, we devoted the first four days to wedding stuff.  My poor grand kids were so bored by the second day.  They saw me walk into the kitchen and asked me: Hey, Grandma, can Aunt Charlie come play with us?  Aunt Charlie is a very fun aunt.  I had to tell them:  Sorry Boys, she has to help me with wedding mints.  So I had three nine-year-old boys and one eight-year-old girl tired of being  stuck at Grandma's house.  I kept telling them that it was going to be pretty boring until after the wedding but I promised I would have fun with them afterwards. 

So we did wedding work during the day, made mints, prepared food, decorated etc.  In the evening we would all gather together and play games either card games or board games.  Now this can be pretty entertaining.  We have a new game called Say Anything. This game is hilarious and our answers were hilarious.  We could put digs in on each other in this game.  Now we are typically loud and this game made us louder.  And  my girls and I have a tendency to laugh.  Now when one of us laughs it tends to make the others laugh - I call this contagious laughter.  Yep, we suffer from this to an extreme degree.  We don't care though.  You know that you are having way to much fun if the grand kids are asking you to be quiet  they can't sleep.  Did this stop us?  No!  We just shut the living room door and continued to have our fun.  This went on every night. 

So finally the wedding is over and now it's FUN TIME!!  At least that's what I told the grand kids.  The adults obviously were already having some fun time.  First order of business after lunch on Sunday was a park! Aunt Charlie wanted to go along because she is still such a kid at heart.  Since it was such a nice day other people had the same idea.  It appeared the park was to busy for some of the kids so we decided to go walk around Turtle Pond (most Tulsans refer to this as Swan Lake) and then to another park on the way back home.  So we start walking around Turtle Pond and discover that a couple of swings have been added across the street.  YAY!  That was exactly what all the kids were wanting.  So we went over there and everyone took turns swinging - well except for me.  I politely declined the offer.  Now it happened that these swings were on a small hill area which had been built up to be level and there was a small concrete wall around the area.  At one point the wall is about maybe two feet high.  We thought it would be an awesome photo opportunity to catch all the kids jumping off the wall.  I did not snap in time for the first shot so a second attempt was made.  This turned out to be a good picture but a bad choice for Aunt Charlie to make as she came down on her leg wrong and hurt her bad knee.  (Guess she kinda takes after me in that respect.  I told her though that she learned a lot earlier than I did that you can't always do what you think is fun when you get older).  Yep she hurt her knee and couldn't walk.  Chris and I help her hobble to a bench to sit down and I go get the van so we can head home. 

We pass the other park on the way home and all the kids holler: Why aren't we stopping?  You said we could go to another park.  I advise them that Aunt Charlie is hurt and needs to get home.  Their response? Can't we at least stop and play for a little bit first?  Such sweet youngsters and they show so much concern.  LOL  When we get home I send the kids inside and tell them to get a pillow for Aunt Charlie's leg and send someone out to help us.  They go running in yelling and since it's our family they assume a joke is being played and don't respond.  By this time Chris and I have been able to get Charlie partway to the house.  Tarinda comes to the door to see what's going on and I assure her that yes we are serious Charlie is hurt could someone help? 

Now fast forward a couple of hours.  The sisters are going out for some sister time.  Grampa and I are going to be awesome and we take the grand kids to Krispy Kreme while the hot light is on.  We advise them that this is dinner!  Yep, that was a hit with them.  They each had three or four donuts for dinner.  Can we say 'sugar high'?  LOL  What fun. 

Now it's time for Grampa to go back to work. Boo Hoo Hoo.  I'm still on vacation, though so on Monday we decide to go to the Center of the Universe and the Blue Whale and we will also have lunch at Grampa's restaurant.  We finally head downtown to find the Center of the Universe (look it up on the Internet if you don't believe me but it is in Tulsa at 1st and Archer).  Cool place - you stand in the center of this circle and whatever you say echoes back to you.  However, I kind of forgot that Monday was Veteran's Day and the parade was going on and streets were blocked and we couldn't get where we needed to be and so we had to change our plans a little.  Now keep in mind, I have one daughter and some of the kids with me in one car and everyone else is in the van following me.  They thought I was totally bonkers with my driving but it happens.  So what if I kind of forgot that some streets were one way and some weren't I never actually went down a one way street the wrong way.  I knew where I was all the time just not how to get to where I wanted to be.  So I did a little Fall Foliage tour as we decided to postpone the Center of the Universe for later in the day.  We go return tuxes and tablecloths from the wedding then head to Grampa's for lunch.  Nothing better than fried chicken.  Nothing better than taking ten very loud people into the smallest Church's Chicken there is (seating capacity of maybe twenty) and taking over the restaurant.  Charlie did apologize to the two gentlemen sitting beside her and said she hoped they hadn't planned on a quiet lunch.  It didn't help that Charlie and K.C. started a straw blowing war with the kids.  I'm sure that the entire place was glad when we left. 

On to the Blue Whale in Catoosa.  What a neat place.  The kids enjoyed climbing on it and hiking around the pond area.  And we saw a sign for The Nut House.  How perfect could this be?  Yep, we went on down the road and checked it out.  To bad all the nuts weren't with us - well maybe not for the people who were there.  Then we head on back to find the Center of the Universe again.  On the way we decide we need chocolate cokes from Sonic.  So we have our cokes and make it to the Center of the Universe and things are going well.  We head towards home with the intention of spending about 30 minutes at the park on the way.  Wouldn't you know one of the kids pokes a hole in the bottom of his cup and now we have chocolate coke all over the back seat - a lot of chocolate coke.  I find a blanket and put on the seat but when he poked a hole in the cup  a whole lot of it went on his pants.  It looked like he had a really bad accident and didn't make it to the restroom.  Of course, we all got quite a bit of enjoyment out of his discomfort.  When we stop at the park, the kids say: But what about Billy?  He looks like he had diarrhea.  Billy said he didn't care what anyone thought about him or what they said.  Good attitude Billy.  I think they played a total of five minutes then decided it would be fun to walk home.  We adults sat there a little while and decided it might be best if we left the park since we had no kids there.  Everyone made it home safe and sound and we went down to pick up the newlyweds and go out for a family dinner. 

Yes, it was a great visit even with all the mishaps we had. We have some wonderful memories of laughter and fun and to my knowledge none of the adults got into fights although there were a few incidents with the little kids (it's hard when there's one girl and three boys so close in age).  But any misunderstandings didn't last very long.  I  hope we don't have to wait five years for all of us to be together again. 

Continuing Wedding Saga Stories

Well, the big wedding is this Saturday.  Yep, it is down to crunch time for all the final details.  And I am so ready for it to be over!   Don't get me wrong; we are very happy for our daughter and soon to be new son-in-law but oh my word!!!   Trying to coordinate and plan a wedding for 'special needs' children and having some of their care givers wanting to help has been challenging to say the least.  And then try to do it in two months.  Then factor in that I had hand surgery thus putting a time frame on anything I had to get done.  But it is all working out as far as I know.  Anything that doesn't - oh well!  This is a special wedding and will not be typical so we will adjust. 

Just a few highlights from the last couple of weeks for your amusement.  My daughter, bless her heart, is totally oblivious to all that has gone into preparing for her wedding.  She spent a couple of days with K.C. and I doing some shopping then she has spent the rest of her time just doing her same old routine.   Lucky her - every bride should be this oblivious and unstressed about their wedding!

Some of the items that the caregivers at her group home are responsible for are some of the big items for the wedding -- such as the cake  and getting the guys measured for their tuxes. You know - big things in regards to the wedding. .  I have spent an entire month trying to determine if any of this has yet been accomplished.  Within the last week I was finally able to talk to someone about this.  Yes, the cake did get ordered.  Oh, the guys need to be measured for their tuxes?  Where do they need to go?  I will see that it is done.  Yes, the bridesmaid dress was ordered - I just did that myself today.  Yes, the rings are ordered, I have Robert's tucked away in my desk right now.  Well, what a relief to know!  But the drama doesn't end. 

About two weeks ago my daughter calls to say:  hey, Brittany is going to be a bridesmaid.  She wants to be part of the wedding.  My response was:  No she is not!  You cannot add anyone to the wedding at this late date.  You are having Susan and Cady as attendants and that is all!.   She responds:  OK. 
A few days later she leaves me a message on my phone: Hey, Mom, Becky is going to do my makeup for the wedding, Is that OK?  I call her back and advise that: No, it is not okay for Becky to do your makeup.  Becky wasn't even going to be at the wedding.  Perhaps, Becky can do your makeup for rehearsal before you come up for that.  She says: oh, that's a good idea. 

I call the person responsible for the cake to get a few details so I can work on how I want to set up the cake table.  I have been under the impression that we were having a small layer cake and cupcakes.  Well, I guess that has been changed.  It appears that we will be having a two-tier cake.  Hmmmm - hope it works out.   I called the tuxedo rental place to be certain that they did get measured and get an idea of when we can pick up tuxes, etc.  They advise me that they have a measurement for Matt and Larry but not Allen.  I say "Who is Matt?"   I have never heard this name mentioned!   I tell them I only need a total of four tuxes, one for the groom, one for the father and two groomsmen. 

My daughter calls that evening  and says: Are you off Friday?  Me:  As in next Friday before your wedding?  Yes, I normally would be at work but I took the day off, why?  Amanda:  How about 2 o-clock?  Me:  For what?  A:  to rehearse.  Don't we have to rehearse?  Me:  Yes, you do need a rehearsal but how are the others going to get there at two?  Are you bringing them?  A:  No, I just thought it would be a good time.  Me:  Well, I'm trying to get hold of someone down there to see what time they can get everyone up here.  But I'm going to say that we will have rehearsal that evening not that afternoon.  A:  Okay:  Me:  Who is Matt?  She responds: Oh, Larry decided he didn't want to be part of the wedding so Matt is going to.

Allll right.  At this point we are a week away from the wedding.  We need to stop these changes!   I didn't tell her that but felt like it.  LOL It probably didn't help that earlier that day when I called to try and get some details on the wedding cake, which I had been told was going to be a small layer cake with cupcakes, I was advised that it had been changed to a two tier cake!  What!   When did this happen?  Can I have some details of size, etc so I know how to arrange my cake table? 

But to top it all this is by far the best.  Amanda calls several times a week.  I am out running errands for the wedding Saturday, picking up napkins, etc. when Amanda calls.  I had just talked to her the night before so I answer and ask what she needs.  Her response:  I'm bored.  Me: don't you have someone there you can talk to, games you can play or a movie you can watch?  Amanda:  Yeah.  Me:  Well, I'm out running errands for your wedding.  I don't have time to chit-chat because you are bored. 

Seriously, though, we are very happy to do all this for Amanda.  All the family here in town has been busy working on this wedding for her, flowers, food, decorations, backdrop, hemming wedding dress -- and she has missed all this stress.  Out-of-town family will start arriving on Wednesday and they also  will be put to work.  We have rehearsal dinner and reception food to prepare and final decorating to do.  And in the end, we will have one very happy bride and groom and that is all that matters. 

My Best Friend

Earlier this week Gary and I celebrated our wedding anniversary.  We've been married nineteen years.  And when I titled this My Best Friend I wasn't being facetious.  He truly is my best friend.  He knows me better than anyone - even better than I know myself.  He is truly an amazing man and taught me so much!  A friend of mine from high school who is on Facebook sent me a private message a while back saying that he read my posts and he could tell how happy Gary and I were from our posts.  Yes we are happy and it made me feel good to know that this came across in our posts. 

Let me tell you a little bit about how we got to this point in our marriage.  We have never made any secret of the fact that I am older than Gary.  Thirteen years older to be exact.  This has brought us a lot of amusing responses sometimes when people realize our age difference.  One of my favorite is from a former Sunday School student who upon learning that I was 13 years older responded "Way to go, Mrs. Marrs!".  We went together for two and a half years before we got married.  We never intended to end up in a relationship, but then nothing ever goes the way you plan when God is involved. 

When we got married I had three teenage daughters (ages, 12, 14, and 16) and another teenage girl (16) living with us as her parents had moved out of state and she wanted to continue in the school she was at.  I thought I almost had my family raised and was on the downhill slide of parenting so to speak.  I thought Gary was young enough (he was only 24) that he should consider having a family of his own.  So when he asked me to marry him I told him no.  I told him no many, many times.  It was to the point where the girls were asking me daily "have you told Gary yes yet?"  I accused him of paying them off.  LOL  He finally convinced me and you could say the rest is history but our relationship is anything but typical. 

When we got married Gary started a job with a new company (Wendy's).  They were building a new restaurant in town and it was supposed to be open within two to three months.  He would spend that time training and opening up other new stores until his was ready.  We knew this and thought we could handle the two - three months.  Surprise!!!  Construction issues set that time frame back and we spent the first year of our marriage apart from each other.  He would typically work ten days then have three-four days when he would come home.  He opened stores in Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas.  Depending on where he was at we might meet in Kansas City to spend an afternoon together.  We survived and finally were able to actually 'start' our life together. 

Another surprise within our first year of marriage -- we welcomed our first grandson!  How many people are so lucky to be able to have a grandson at such an early age?  And what a blessing he and all our other grandchildren are to us. 

We have added two more children, through adoption, to our family and that first grandchild has increased to seven.  Through all this Gary has been my rock.  He has been there when we have gone through the miscarriage of grandchildren, through the hurts and pains of children in general, through deaths in the family, through numerous surgeries and always always he has been there for me.

He has taught me patience and understanding.  He has taught me to be myself.  He has encouraged me and loved me unconditionally.  He has been an amazing step-father and father.  He has shown me what a true friend is.  He has been a Godly example to our children and to me.  He has shown me what it is to really serve with your heart.  He has taken care of me, supported me and loved me. 

One of the things I love most about our marriage is our laughter.  There is not a day goes by that we do not share laughter either with each other or at each other ( and to be honest most of it is at me).  I consider my day a good day if I am able to make him laugh -- thankfully almost every day is a good day! 

So although our anniversary was a couple of days ago - I still want to wish my best friend a Happy Anniversary.  

Irritating Things

Well, I haven't written a blog for a while.  Part of the reason was because I had hand surgery and one handed hunt and peck is kinda hard for much typing.  LOL  Anyway --- I'M BACK!! 

Don't you all have things that irritate you?  Come on now, be honest.  You know you do.  I do and just because it's my blog and I can write whatever I want I thought I would share some of those irritations with you. 

One thing that truly annoys me is perky people!!!  Especially early in the morning.  And have you ever noticed that if they have a woman weather person she is waaay to perky!  Yep, makes me just want to reach into the screen and slap that perky little smile off her face and tone her down about 20 notches.  Perky people in general just irritate me. They are quite annoying..always smiling and they usually have some sort of irritating voice to go along with all that perkiness. 

Speaking of weather people -- we recently switched news channel that we watch.  So this new station I have noticed some strange things with the weather guy in the last couple of weeks.  It's the way he reports the weather.  He says things like - 'if you are used to warm days they might be cooler and if you are used to cool days they might be warmer'.  Really?  Then a few days later he says 'we have a chance of rain today this means maybe you will get wet but maybe you won't'.   Yeah - I could have deduced that for myself  - don't need any type of meteorology degree for that brilliant observation!

What about texting?  I love texting.  Such a great way to send a question that doesn't need immediate response.  Person receiving can answer at their convenience.  Perfect way to share amusing things to a group - and I do that a lot.  But why does my phone think it knows better than I what I want to say?  You know what I mean.  You are typing along and your phone just auto-corrects and puts words in your text for you.  Really?  I know what I want to say and it wasn't what you just auto populated.   So you have to backspace, backspace, backspace (although to be honest - my phone makes a cool noise when I backspace so sometimes I just do it to hear the noise  LOL).  But when you are tyring to type something it's a total pain.  And heaven forbid if you don't catch that it has changed a word and put in something totally wrong or inappropriate!!  This can be very embarrassing!  Trust me - I know it has happened to me. 

And some commercials are just plain stupid!  I'm thinking specifically of the ear vacuum commercial.  That stupid guy in the commercial always irritates me!  Always!!!  I don't know if you've seen this commercial but it talks about how you always put a Q-tip in to deep if you clean your ears and this handy little ear vac will eliminate that problem for you.  It goes through a little demonstraton of how water goes in and you vacuum out the water and all the ear wax comes with it.  Then it has this stupid guy with a Q-tip putting the Q-tip in way deep and he always says "OUCH!"  And I always say, "Idiot!"   Yep, this commercial irritates me way much. 

And commercials that don't make any sense irritate me. When a commercial is over I should not have to ask "what was that a commercial for?"  And I've noticed that I do that a lot recently.  The thing is a lot of these commercials don't have actors it's just different scenes they show and I'm sitting in my chair shaking my head wondering what's going on?  And Gary isn't always able to explain to me what the commercial was about either.  And if commercials irritate me you can bet that I won't be using that product or that business for anything.  I can't get past the stupidity of the commercials.  So I know there a couple of car dealers here in town that I will never ever use because I hate their commercials and there's also a realtor I won't use because of her past stupid commercials. 

Okay - enough of my rant for the day.  I'll try to do better about not waiting so long to post again. If you have something you want me to write about, let me know or even if you have something you want me to write a poem about I'll do my best for you. 

Duck Dynasty Poem

Here it is Wednesday again.  One of my favorite days of the week!  I love Wednesdays!   This has become our family night.  My daughter and her family come over.  Sometimes we have dinner together - sometimes not -- depending on what's going on and what we are having - LOL.   We play games - maybe just the adults playing cards but sometimes a family board game.  Then we get our snacks and watch Duck Dynasty.  I love this show! 

The following poem sums up Duck Dynasty.  If you don't already watch this show you need to start. 

DUCK DYNASTY

Today is a day we look forward to with glee

It’s Wednesday today and that means Duck Dynasty!

 You might say we are crazy and some would agree

But Wednesday nights are the best for me.

 The show is amazing, clever and funny

The family down to earth in spite of their money.

 Phil and Miss Kay, Uncle Si and the brothers

The wives and the children all love one another.

 Their antics are crazy their work ethic is too

But each week I look forward to something new.

 Whether hunting for ducks or looking for turtles

Nothing for them is too big of a hurdle.

Hunt down an alligator that has come in the yard

Nothing for them will prove too hard.

 Phil will give advice in his quiet sort of way

And they all look forward to food from Miss Kay.

To God they give credit for all their success

And they all consider that they have been blessed.

 They believe in God and end each show with a prayer

The message that comes across is perfectly clear.

Love God and love your family

And that is why I look forward to Duck Dynasty!

Written by:  Kathie Marrs

October 9, 2013