Well we went to Mississippi Friday because we had been invited to a wedding on Saturday.  Some of our friends who used to live in LP moved to Kosciusko (pronounced coz-e-ess-ko) Mississippi some years ago.  Their second oldest daughter got married back in November and we went for her wedding since Erica was one of the bridesmaids.  Saturday, their oldest daughter, Kathleen, got married.  It was a very simple but beautiful wedding.  Here are some pictures I took with the digi camera:

The bride and groom … Kathleen and David … aka, Mr. & Mrs. Roy

The mother of the bride … Carole … and her other 3 daughters.

All the girls … (left to right):  Erica (19), Sara (20), Kathleen (23), Erin (14) and Becka (17).

And this is Erica and Sara … best friends always!

All in all, we had a great trip.  It was good to see Carole and her husband, Doug, again.  (I miss them so much!)  It was a fast trip, though.  We put 1123 miles on the car in just under 36 hours.

On our way home we took an alternate route and drove to Longview to see Chase.  We took him and one of his friends out to eat since it was dinner time.  Then before we got back on the road to head home, they took us back to the campus (Chase is on staff at LeTourneau University as is Collin … who happens to be a flight instructor in their Aeronatical Engineering Department).  Collin had been telling us about a new flight simulator the university recently bought.  It was absolutely the coolest thing I’ve ever seen, too.  Mike sat down at the controls and tried to fly and land a jet successfully … well, we won’t discuss that part (ha ha) … then Erica sat at the controls and surprised us all with her expertise.  Even Collin was impressed.  I took some pictures with Erica’s camera in her cell phone and as soon as she downloads them and emails them to me, I’ll post a few.

Now … well I’m exhausted!  We got home about 1:00 this morning.  I’m much too old for all that traveling in such a short time.  And poor Mike … he had to fly out to El Paso this afternoon.  With all the extra security measures going on right now that meant he had to be out there about 3 hours before his flight was supposed to leave.  I’m sure he’ll arrive in El Paso and be pretty tired, too.

So that’s all for now.  Hope everyone has a good week.  Talk to you later.

Click on this link to see a slideshow of pictures I put together of Spike ...

http://773472256.slide.com/p/0/My+First+Book

Yipee!!  My sister found out today that the insurance company has decided to total their house which means they will soon be getting a check and can now begin to plan for a new house and contents.  No more being in limbo …

I made a trip to Giddings yesterday.  Glenda and I met with a new doctor who is going to be handling our mother’s medical care.  We liked him a lot.  His bedside manner was very good.  He’s on the “same page” as we are when it comes to what we do and do not want done medically to treat our mother.  Of course we would love to have her with us for many more years.  But considering her age (93) and the Alzheimer’s disease as well as the fact that she is wheelchair confined and has no control over her bodily functions … well, we feel quality of life is more important than quantity.  I know that may sound harsh to some who read this blog.  But that’s just the way life is sometimes.  We all have to make decisions that we wish we didn’t have to make.  It’s a part of the cycle of life.

So after we drove to Bastrop and met with the doctor, we drove back to Giddings and ate some lunch before our 2:00 meeting with the nursing home.  It was our quarterly “care meeting” where they update us on mother’s condition, i.e., what medications she’s taking, her dietary habits, and any changes in the progression of the Alzheimer’s.  It seems the Alzheimer’s is beginning to affect her ability to eat, so they are hand feeding her.  She eats well when they do.  She just doesn’t have the cognitive ability anymore to get the food from the plate to her mouth.  Of course, this was expected because of the disease and the way it progresses.  So it was no surprise to us.

Then after the care meeting (since leaving to head back to LP at that time would have put me smack dab in the middle of Houston rush hour traffic), I went with Glenda back to her house … or rather, what’s left of it since the fire.  It was kinda strange in a surreal way.  When you drive up to the house it looks pretty much like it always did … on the outside, that is.  But when you walk inside it’s just hard to believe that smoke damage can be so bad.  I’m not exaggerating when I say this but there was absolutely no place inside that house that did not have smoke damage on it.  I’m talking about from the floor to the walls to the ceilings to the counter tops to the dishes inside the cabinets … well, I could go on and on.  I helped Glenda look in the extra bedrooms to decide if there was anything she wanted to salvage before the insurance company steps in and takes it all away.  I was surprised that even having had the doors closed off when the fire started, there was still smoke damage in those rooms.  I guess it seeped under the doors.  I mean, even in the closets in those bedrooms, too!  You’re talking about a bedroom door being closed and a closet door inside that bedroom being closed … and still the smoke got to things in the closet.  Simply astounding.  Then after we went through the house and picked out a few things, we went back to my neice’s house, where my sister and brother in law are living for now.  I got to visit with Donna and get caught up on her emergency appendectomy surgery 2 weeks ago where she nearly died.   Talk about a lot of things happening in our family … well, we’ve definitely had our share this past month.

By that time it was 6:00 and I left to drive home.  It takes me approximately an hour to get from Giddings to the west side of Houston … then another hour and 15 minutes to get across Houston to the southeast side where I live.  That meant that by the time I hit Houston city limits, it was 7:00 and most of the major traffic problems were over with.  I pulled up in my driveway at 8:40 pm.   Needless to say, I was pooped!  I was supposed to meet some of my friends at a restaurant in Kemah but I was just too tired.

Anyway, I slept good last night (probably because I was so dang exhausted!) and today was a pretty uneventful day at work.  And speaking of work, I put in an application for a full time, permanent job where I’m now working contract.  The position just came open about 3 weeks ago.  I don’t know if I’ll get it or not and that’s not a major concern of mine really.  But the steady hours, benefits and pay would definitely be good.  So I know I’m still in the running for the job in spite of the fact that there are about 5 or 6 other people who have sent in applications and/or resumes.  I guess we’ll wait and see what God wants to do.

Well I better close out this blog.  I didn’t intend it to be so lengthy but I had a lot to say.  Hope all of you are well.  Check in or email me if you get time.  Later …

“Ahhh … life is good … laying here on my grandma’s bed watching the ceiling fan go around and around and around and around and … oh, my!  I’m getting dizzy!”

Seems like Spike is trying to live up to the reputation that a name like “Spike” probably has because he is one busy little kitty cat!  I took some more pictures of him Saturday and thought I’d share them with you:

He decided he was interested in my glass of iced tea …

Then he discovered a “tree” in our living room …

And of course, he had to try to climb the tree …

His older “sister” Jasmine, doesn’t look too happy to have him around, does she?  Pay attention to that “look” on her face …

But how could you not love something that looks this sweet???

I know I said we wouldn’t take anymore kittens but I lied … this momma cat showed up at work with 3 of her babies and I convinced Mike to let me bring one home.  Erica has been wanting a kitten of her own that she can “bond” with, so this little fella is hers.  Yes, it’s a boy, and I think she might name him Spike.  She’s wanting to name him something connected to orienteering … anyway, here are a couple of pictures of him:

Isn’t he cute???

These are things a Hallmark Card won’t say … but maybe they should!  Enjoy!

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My tire was thumping,
I thought it was flat
When I looked at the tire
I noticed your cat.
Sorry!

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Heard your wife left you.
How upset you must be.
But don’t fret about it …
She moved in with me.

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Looking back over the years that we’ve been together
I can’t help but wonder … “What was I thinking!?”

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Congratulations on your wedding day …
Too bad nobody likes your husband

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I’ve always wanted to have someone to hold, someone to love …
After having met you … I’ve changed my mind!

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As the days go by, I think of how lucky I am …
That you’re not here to ruin it for me

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Congratulations on your promotion.
Before you go … would you like to take this knife out of my back?
You’ll probably need it again

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When we were together you always said you’d die for me …
Now that we’ve broken up, I think it’s time you kept your promise

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We’ve been friends for a very long time …
Let’s say we stop?

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I’m so miserable without you …
It’s almost like you’re here

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Hope you enjoyed!  (Hope nobody was offended either!)

I dialed a number and got the following recording: “I’m not available right now but thank you for caring enough to call. I’m making some chanes in my life. Please leave a message after the beep. If I don’t return your call, you’re one of the changes.”

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Aspire to inspire before you expire.

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My husband and I had words … but I didn’t get to use mine.

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Frustration is trying to find your glasses without your glasses.

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The irony of life is that by the time you’re old enough to know your way around, you’re not going anywhere.

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God made Adam before Eve so as to give him time to think of an answer for her first question.

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I was always taught to respect my elders … but it keeps getting harder to find one.

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Life may not be the party we hoped for but as long as we’re here, we might as well dance and enjoy it.