Update on Jim

Well, Jim goes to see a Hand Wrist Surgeon on the 8th of January. From there he will find out about his options. He went in earlier this month for a MRI on his wrist and the Dr. confirmed that the bone was not healing on the inside. So, now we take the next step. Will keep you posted.

Guess What I got for Christmas

OK, I know I have told a lot of people but here is a photo of it. I was so excited when I opened the box. I have been wanting one for many years. And I could not buy it myself. I felt it was a want not a need. I have all the appliances to do what this one machine will do so I just figured it was a luxury for me. Now I can say I have a KITCHEN AID. Not, I want a KITCHEN AID.

Back in Routine

Today I went back to work. Wow how things change in two weeks. My company is very slow. There for we will be asked to take time off to save on costs. And then I was in formed that more than likely I will workinmg 5 8hour shifts verse the 4 10hours I do now. There are alot of pros and cons in that for me.
It was a long day I wished I was cheerier. I just was very down today. Everyone was good to me lots of hugs and stuff. I am off to bed. One more day to go.

Just Babble.....

Yesterday I avoided going to a family gathering because I did not want to hear "How are you doing?" As I explained to my husband I am getting to the point that beginning to make me angry. I know people ask with good intentions but, how should one be doing? I am saddened, I am lonely, all I think about when I go to sleep is the last words I heard her say as she pulled my hair while we were in the hospital. How I could not just take her home.
Now, I sometimes I feel lost. I imagine how hard this is on my father and my sisters. We all have our own ways of coping with things. I sometimes feel like drowning my sorrows with a good bottle of wine. So, with that thought I have avoided the " Holiday Cheer "per say. (many years ago I got in a bad rut and was drinking every night of the week to not feel things and I do not want that to happen again)
I return to work Wednesday. I that will be tough. I have not been in for a full day since the 6th. I am hoping people will understand that I may not be the cheerful person I am known to be for sometime. I will do my best at what I do and come home to see my family.

Minnesota Beauty

Curlies New Girlfriend

OK, I want you to meet Lola.(Curlies future wife) She is a beautiful puppy.(no I did not get a new dog). Her new mom is Nikita. She is Maltese. (now to convince Nikita to let them be mom and daddy)

Now I have decided to try some recipes to share so be on the look out for them to come. Starting next week.

Someone Turned 6 today

Today Was Michael's Birthday. Grandpa called to wish him a happy birthday and we all made him feel special. Here are photos from his night out at Chuck E. Cheese. I am the Coupon mom so I would go for the great deals they have to offer. Isn't he cute

Can you guess he wanted Transformers

Me with my girlfriend Nikita

Then this evening we celebrated again and had cake and candles.

See you can read that face

"Come on people lets get this over with so we can eat"

Yep, Mom did save a present

Sweet more Transformers "mom rocks"

Continue to move forward

On the eve of my moms memorial service I now have to try and bring normalcy back to my household. Begin by getting the kids back in the normal routine of preparing for school and bedtimes. For me it is getting things settled back to normal. My house back in order, I have been in and out all week. Take a day and a deep breath to catch up on the world around me. Attempt to get sleep in my own bed. Pray that things go well for the kids.
The hardest thing will be when ever something came up whether how small it may have been I would call mom to tell her. Now, I will not have that so my dad will be getting the calls of goofiness from me. Whether it be Michael or Brittany doing something that I just have to share or Jim's up and coming surgery.
My life has changed dramatically and now I have to learn how to adapt to this change.

What I have to say......

My mom has been in the hospital since Monday morning and with great hope we will get her home on Thursday. To see her in this state is very hard. I know she is with out pain. Yet I feel my heart cry out for her with the hopes that she will respond and say its ok.
It was the hardest thing for me to come home this evening I wanted so much to be at her side. But I have not seen my children in a couple days. Seeing them would make me smile and that was what I needed. Both the kids spoke to her today on the phone and told her thay loved her. For Brittany it was really hard. Michael is still so young that he does not fully comprehend what is going on. I explained to both kids this evening that Grandma was not going to be with us much longer and she loves them both so much and will be smiling on them from heaven.
That was on of the hardest things for me to do as a parent.
Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.
Sarah

Reality

I have not talked alot about my mom and my feelings about what is happening with her because I feel they are mine and I do not want to share.
I have in the back of my head had the sense of denial. That my mom will make it she is the strongest woman I know. But, hearing my dad on my voice mail today made me break down and cry. I try to be strong and not let any one I work with see me crumble but today it happened. I could not hold it any longer. All I want is for my mom to be here with me for ever. What will I do with out my Friday phone call 's and her telling me what a good job I am doing. And to have her to talk to when my kids are acting like I did. And my childrens achivements not able to be there and cheer or cry with joy with me. I need her and that is why I do not want to believe that this is happening Because I do not know what I am going to do with out her.
I still cry for her when I get bad head aches only she could really make them feel better. With my head on her lap and her brushing her hand through my hair.
My Mom who sings "Good morning to you, Good morning to you were all in our places with bright shiney face good morning to you. "

Update on Jim and the goings on here

My darling husband is still not back at work the doctor ordered a CT scan this week and we are now waiting on the results of that test to come back. For the time being he will be at home.
The kids are excited about christmas and break from school.
Work has been slow on my end not much going on other wise. Baking cookies today. Have a great day.

Christmas Decorations

Hello, Yes I am still here

Yes I am cold
they are out there..I just can not fine them
Isn't this a great view
Yep, I am bored
Long way down
I know it has been sometime since I have blogged. Deer hunting takes alot out of you.

No I have not got one yet but we have 2 in the garage from one of the other guys I hunt with.



Update on the job I did not get it. Thats ok. That just means there is something else for me out there.



So thats all for now

Show and Tell

Welcome to show and Tell hosted by Kelli. If you would like to participate jump over to Kelli's blog and jump on in. What a great way to make lots of new friends.

this week for show and tell I am showing a gift that my husband gave me about 4 years ago. Now it is an item that I only use a couple times a year. But it is one of my prized possessions. I had been wanting a gun for sometime. So, Mr. Wonderful went And got me one for Christmas. I am all about the right to bare arms and I believe in firearm safety. I took the class at 28yrs old just so I could hunt in Wisconsin. But I will not get on a roll about that today.

Remington 870 20GA

I know I am keeping you in suspense. So, I have this week is my Shotgun. And the reason I decided to put it on my show and tell this week is because tomorrow is opener morning for DEER HUNTING. ( I am so excited). I am also nervous. Because Jim is not going this year due to his broken arm. So it is just me(and some other guys that I know.)( Notice I said guys not GIRLS). So, I have everything ready to go Blaze hanging out side. Picked up license. ($27.00)

Extra Shells (13.99X2) New heat seat (5.00).

So I am ready for Saturday morning to get here. So please pray I am safe and that I can hopefully get a nice size deer for this year. Thank you for stopping by and visiting.

Halloween town from my phone video

Here they are

Michael and Curly( can you tell who is who) Brittany and Amber
They four of them
The girl went on a hayride with church tonight and

Michael went to the School Trick or Treating.

Carving Pumpkins

Oh look at the scary pumpkins

Everyone working hard
Everyone getting dirty (Amber and Jim)
Now here are the adults (Terrie and Greg)
Jim working his best with one hand
Now the girls are bored waiting on the adults

So what do they do but pay with Jon's hair

Now there is no sound and it is kind of dark but it was the coolest house. After we got do with our pumpkins we took the kids to this house in town The people put on quite a show for the holidays. I took another with my new phone but still trying to figure out how to decompress the file.

Pictures of the kids tomarrow in thier outfits( Puppy too)

Up to my Ankles in.....

Yesterday morning was a normal Sunday to begin with. I was preparing to boil my pumpkin meat to make pies when I was looking for my big stock pot and could not find it.
The first thought was it "its in the basement". I loath going in to the basement it looks like an old dungeon. I just loath going down there I usual make Jim go down there. So, I entered the basement and began to head down the stairs. I stopped dead in my tracks. my basement was flooded. With what.....YUK. My sewer line backed up in to my basement.
Of course what is the first thing that I do is run up the stairs an wake Jim up. "The basement is full of ......."
Now I realize that no one can use the bathroom. So, I call my girlfriend and no answer. Going through my head was "crap, this is going to be bad". After, getting the kids to my girlfriends , I run to the hardware store and rent a sewer snake ($40.00). It is 85 feet long. Get it home and it is not long enough to clear the problem. Now, the dreaded phone call. "Hello, Roto-Rooter I got a problem" After Wayne the Roto-Rooter man clears the clog took 120 feet of snake and over $300.00 I can now begin to clean my basement. Most of my stuff has been in Rubbermaid's but I still had some in boxes. And my Christmas tree is lost along with Jim's "charlie brown Christmas tree".
So, you ask have I learned anything. Nope because we still do not know why it was plugged.
But, I do thank the lord that it was fixed. And that it was not a collapsed line and that I did not have to get a contractor to come out to lay new line.
So here was my fun day.

In Their Shoes

Yesterday was a day that made me think back on my childhood and realize my parents did love me and were not out to make my life hell. When I was told I could not do something because of my grades or my behavior. ( I now see why ). I always remember them saying we do this because we love you.
My oldest has been having issues with her grades , getting to class on time, and some attitude issues.
So, last night there was a dance at the school for 7th and 8th grader and she had asked last week if she could go. I told her that I would be sending a form to the school the Friday of the Dance and asking all the teachers if Brittany has been doing and turning in her work. ( this is also been going on for our newest child also Amber she is temporarily staying with us to help her with some of her issues) Now Brittany needed to get one of her teachers to still sign hers so she missed the bus so taxi mom had to pick her up. I spoke with the asst. principal and she said thing were going much better.
Now when I looked that the report she had 3out of 5 assignments missing in one class and 3 out of 7 in another class. When I saw she was missing assignments she was told because of the agreement she would not be going to the dance. Boy, oh boy did I see myself back in the day.(sorry mom and dad). I looked at her and said your really mad at me right now and I know it because I used to do the same things. Explained what I did and almost got a smile out of her. Now, here is the problem Amber did all her work and earned the right to go to the dance. Now, I did inform them that if one did not get a good report then the one who had a good report will be going and the other will not. So, now I was a really bad mom in Brittany's eyes. (today things are back to normal). So, here I was in their shoes.

Child support battle

Well I had brought up a couple weeks ago that I wa s dealing with child support issues.
Well, court was this pasted Monday. And still things have not been worked out. Now in the stated of MN. They have changed the statue for how child support is determined. Now in the past they went by the fathers income and determined the amount my a percentage of what he made. Now my income is also looked at. And because he says he can not work a real job.(issues that I would right for hours about) With this new statue he would only have to pay $50.00 per month and not be responsible for Medical support.
Now here are some facts that both the Judge and the County Attorney know.
He has conflicting statement
He has a condition but has not given proper proof of his work ablility(which he was to do if he wanted a modification)(not done)
Can afford a lawer but not pay his support.
Can buy a $500.00 guitar but not pay support.
To be continued........

Show and Tell : The New Phone

Welcome to Show and Tell Hosted My Kelli at There is no Place like Home. This week I am sharing my new cell phone. I have wanted to get a new phone for sometime. But instead I got a new phone for my husband. So I had to wait.


We use Nextel for our carrier. And now Nextel and Sprint are together. The phone I wanted is a Sprint phone and because we do a shared minute plan I was informed that I could not get this phone which is a Sprint phone because I would be breaching our contract. Now the way I look at it is I write the check out to Sprint there fore I should be able to get what I want. I am staying with the same company. But no one was able to work with me. So with a little help from a nice sales guy from one of the mall Sprint stores he gave me the number for the Dispute Resolutions Center. I called the number and spoke with a nice man named Mike. And he was able to make all my wants come true. With his help I was able to order my phone at no cost to me. And he will be helping me with the switch. We will not be breaching our contract plus We will not be spending more we will work it out to it will cost us the same each month. So here is my new phone.

old phone

New Phone with all the bells and whistles(MP3, Camera)

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

Story From the Heart

I wanted to share a story that was in the the Pioneer Press News Paper. This is a close to home story since the young man in this story is one who I feel I can call a friend. We spend 10 hours a day together and joke around and have a good time. I had know that his fiance had been in Iraq and he was always thinking of her. I also remember we would all say to him how may more days till you see her.

Now this story is about love, trust and everything that make a relationship work. I feel so honored to work with such a man. And I want to share this with all that I know. So please pass on this good story about soldiers.

And a special note to Amanda. I know we have never met in person but thank you for what you have do for my family and for being a great role model for my daughter and other daughters out there.

Moment When you just have to laugh

Today I wished I had a video camera going. The kids were sitting on the floor getting their sock on when all of a sudden I hear a fart.
Michael says "Brittany !!"
Brittany in turn responds " Michael it was not me. It was you. "
Now they are going back and forth about who farted. Then Michael looks at me and says "mom, was it Brittany that farted?"
I told them both "I heard a fart but have no clue who did it."

Then with out any words being said Michael bends over and SMELLS Brittany's BUTT.

I just looked at him and said "yep you love her. Because if you did not there would be know way you would be smelling her butt. "

During all of this all I could do was laugh. Kids do the funniest things.

Also watch for our up and coming photo Christmas List. Thanks to the idea that I got from my sister I now will be taking the camera to the store and photographing wants and needs.
Thanks for the idea sis.

Updates on what is going on

I have not had a lot of time this week to Blog so here is all that I have been up to.

Went and spoke with a lawyer about my up and coming court hearing for child support. She told me things I already know and she said she would advise me not to use her.(wow an honest lawyer).

Next we have a young lady staying with us for sometime. We are helping her get through some things in her life and with her moms permission we have decided to work together to help her the best we see. ( more on this at another time)

I have applied for a new position at my current employer. Right now I operate a Double end Tenoner. I enjoy what I do but am now ready for a new challenge. I applied for the CNC Shoda operator position. So , as you can tell I am kind excited. If I were to get this job I would go from a level 4 to a level 5 operator. In other words more $$$. I will keep you updated on the Job.

I got some new software for my computer this week so check out the pictures

Before Photoshop

After Photoshop Just learning how to play with it a little more to come.

The cutest picture

Last weekend my parent renewed there vows and we spent time with family and I was able to get this shot of my husband with our nephew.

It was so precious. I just had to share it. We do not get a lot of time with him so when we do I treasure it dearly.

Here he is kissing Uncle Jim's boo boo. I think it is the cutest picture.

Please join Me

Today I opened the coolest email. It was from Microsoft. I use windows live for all my searches. Now I have signed up for this club that give donations to the charity of my choice for every search that I do. Each ticket I earn gives 1penny to my charity of choice. Now how cool is that. If you would like to join this Club use my link I have set up.
I have choose American Cancer Society as my charity of choice. Due to how cancer has effected my life. But there are lots to choose from. Please let me know if you have joined. Thank you
Sarah

My Husband - Also known and the One handed wonder

I had some people ask me why I have not blogged about Jim's latest accident. To me it is par for the norm. Jim has had a rough year this year. He has several oops.

Here is a list just to give you a little history about how accident prone he is :

• He almost cut his leg off with a chain saw( nope he can not have one)



• Broke his arm when he was a kid



• Fell out of a moving car



• cut his wrist by dragging it across a bumper of a car



• almost electrocuted himself at work



• fell down the steps of our home by tripping over a extension cord(severally sprained ankle)



• hit himself with a sleg hammer in the leg



• had carpel tunnel surgery



• severally burned his arm



• AND MOST RECENTLY HE BROKE HIM ARM(the one opposite his surgery)

He is now out of work for up to 10 weeks. He has applied for short term disability and we are waiting on that approval.

So how did he do it. Well, by proving his manhood. He was driving a demo truck. (yep he is planning on running next year)

So that is the latest on my most accident prone one.

The Tickle Me experience No haha here

So I came a cross this contest asking pretty much how far would you go for your kids on things they wanted or need. I could win a $200.00 gift card or even a book from http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780061240867/Dangerous_Admissions/index.aspx. I found it on : http://blog.parentbloggers.com.

So here is my story:
When my daughter was two years old Tickle Me Elmo had just come out for the First time and you could not get it anywhere. I say an ad in the local paper for K-Mart. That said they would have it. I called the store to verify that they did indeed have the toy I was looking for. I was lucky enough at the time to live right across the street from a K-Mart. So I began to look out my bedroom window from 2am on to see if anyone was in the parking lot. At 4am I got up and decided it was time for me to go and wait in the parking lot. I went to a close by gas station for coffee and when I got back there were two people already in line. It is now 4:15am. Store does not open till 7am. I then decide it was time to stand in the cold for hours. By 6am the manager arrived and there was quite a line out side the store. I asked the manager how many they had. He told me 5. Now we had been hearing about people fighting in stores over these toys and that was the last thing I wanted to deal with. So , with the big mouth that I have I pretty much told the manager how to hand this headache he was about to have. I told him there was no way I was going to fight with someones Grandmother over this toy and the logical thing for him to do was put them behind the service counter and give numbers to the first 5 people in line. That way we could be the ones to get the toy. I said I have been out here since 4:15am and am not leaving this store with out the toy. He agreed with me and did as I instructed and I had a happy two year old that Christmas. I felt bad for the others that did not get one but I cared only about my child happiness at that time. So this is what I did for my child. Now if you ask me where it is to this day I could not tell you given to good will?

Arrowwood with Mom and Dad

Scroll down for this weeks show and tell: Here are photos from my weekend with my family at Arrowwood Resort in Alexandria, MN This me with my sisters and parents(mom looks like a rookstar)
my favorite photo of my parent from this weekend.
Now that I have my wine cooler I have to fill it. Right?!
We missed the stopping of the grapes

My husband caring my wine. What a great man he is.