The Return of... Pod-Molly!

Now, my 13 yr old daughter, Molly has never been remotely organized, (and of course, she gets it from her mother)....so this was a nice surprise. She has rarely gotten out of bed for school on her own, in fact, we have usually had to yell up the stairs numerous times to rouse her each morning...and then you never knew if she was actually going to get up and catch the bus. Well, for whatever reason, the night before St. Patrick's day, she wrote this on the white board in our kitchen:

And she's been using this check-list daily, ever since then, changing the date and info each night. She's been getting herself up every morning, and has not missed the bus even once during that time. I used to have to bring her to school at LEAST once a week. Ray brought her to school this morning, but that was only so she could pick up some stuff for a lunch for her field trip today. Otherwise she's gotten on the bus every morning before 7AM. This is huge for her...and a welcome change.

She's made some other steps in a positive direction too. Last Friday night, she offered to babysit for free for a young couple, so they could go out with us. She did say that "free will offerings" would be accepted...but I'm pretty sure she was joking. She also decided to join the Youth Drama Team at church, which I think she will really enjoy. She's always been a natural drama queen actress, and a very good narrator. I can't wait to see the skits they will put on.

I'm very excited about these positive changes in my daughters life, and I hope that she will keep up the good work! Good job, Molly!!

Wordless Wednesday # 28 ~ How Tall is a "Typical" American 12-year-old Girl?

About this tall... (the one on the right is actually 4 months OLDER)

Mother's Day 2009

I had a very nice Mother's Day this year. To begin with, my husband brought me a dozen roses on Saturday. They're a very pretty yellow-orange color. He had also bought me a rechargeable battery pack and charger for my camera last week, because I told him that's what I wanted for Mother's day. Ray, Molly and I went to church on Sunday morning, where Molly and I took our turn watching the toddlers in the nursery. There were no kids in there to begin with though, so I was able to participate in most of the worship part of the service...which is my favorite part. There were also two baby dedications on Sunday. One of them was a little guy we watch in the nursery on Wednesday nights, "Little C." He's the Youth Pastor's youngest son, and is a sweetie!

(Little C, being pushed by Middle C last Wed)

After church, Jessica and CJ met us at "Shooters", which is a local bar and grill, but on this Mother's day morning, they had a special brunch set up. It was very good food, and the price wasn't bad. The cost for kids 12 and under was only $6.95, and I was afraid we'd have a hard time convincing them that my 5' 9 1/2" Molly was actually only 12 years old...but thankfully, they took my word for it.

(my 5' 9 1/2" 12 year old)

When we got home, I got a Happy Mother's Day phone message from Ruth. She was the first of the kids who don't live with us to call me. I felt bad that I missed her call and I wasn't exactly sure what number she had called from, since it had come up on my phone as "no number." Molly bought me a package of cantaloupe seeds...she's always loved cantaloupe!



My daughter, Jessica got me a gift from ebay. She hasn't received it yet, but she sent me an email of what it is. A couple of years ago, she had gotten me a blue Starbuck's travel mug that I just loved...but I lost it. She found one on ebay for me, to replace it. Everyone seems to think I collect travel coffee mugs, I really don't...I'm just always in search of the "perfect" one. The most important thing to me, is that if you happen to knock the thing over, it would be really nice if it wouldn't spill...or even slowly leak, like most of them do...even the one I got from Tupperware, but this one didn't. I can't wait to get it! After a bit, it was time to make my pasta salad and then head out to Mom and Dad's to celebrate with the rest of my family.



Jessica, Molly and CJ had driven out slightly ahead of us to my parents' house . This is what CJ was up to when we arrived. He was having a blast driving around in my nephew's battery operated "Gator." Here he is in the passenger seat with Tiegen doing the driving.



My siblings and I had all chipped in on a couple of things for my mom. We got her a large coffeemaker for when she has get-togethers, and a gift card to the nursery/greenhouse where she likes to buy her plants. Here she is opening the coffeemaker:

My mother watches my sister's two little boys, Tiegen and Grayson quite a bit, and Mom and I took a walk out to the "fort" they had made to look for something. I thought the fort was so cute, that I had to take a picture of it. The boys are 3 and 5 years of age. It looks pretty comfy, don't ya think?



While we were there, I got a call from my oldest son, Jeremy. He lives in Phoenix, AZ with his 6 year old son, Alex. He said they were doing fine, and that Alex is learning how to read and even doing some math! I was very happy to hear that. My grandson was once diagnosed as mildly autistic...so it was great news! Jeremy said that they and his cousin, Tonia (who lives near him), are thinking about coming to visit us in September this year. I can hardly wait! I haven't seen Jeremy or Alex since August of 2006! It sure would be nice to get to know my grandson again.


On our way home, at approximately 10:30 PM, my son Joel gave me a call, to say Happy Mother's Day. I told him he got in "just under the wire." Joel said he'd been having car trouble, and therefore didn't come out to his grandparents' house to join the party. However, he lives in a town that is on the way out there...so we could have picked him up if he'd called earlier. Oh well, I did get to see him a few weeks ago, and it was thoughtful of him to pick up the phone and call...even though the day was almost over.

Happy 30th Birthday To My Firstborn; Jeremy!

Thirty years ago today, I gave birth to a beautiful bouncing baby boy. He was born on a Sunday evening at 8:04 pm, weighed 8 lbs 6 oz. and was 20 " long. I had NOTHING prepared for a baby, in fact, because I was a single mom and he was obviously unplanned, I had decided to give him up for adoption...not because I didn't want him, but because I thought it would be best for him to have a mom and a dad. Back in 1979, I knew of a few single moms that had kept their babies, but no one in our family had, and I had no idea how or if that would be an acceptable option for me. I knew that I had to hold him and feed him in the hospital though, and thought that I was prepared to unselfishly give him up to a couple that could not have children. What I hadn't planned on, was falling in love-at-first-sight with my son...( This is the only copy I have of his hospital picture. I wish it was in better shape.)

When my mother came to pick me up from the hospital, I told her I wanted to go down to the nursery to say goodbye to my son, one more time. As I was looking through the glass at this little miracle, a tear started to stream down my face, with the thought that I would likely never see him again...or at least not until he was 18 and decided to look me up. (and 30 years later as I type this, they are streaming down my face again)

I said goodbye to him, we walked to the elevator...and once inside, I started bawling. I knew right then and there that I couldn't do it. I went home, went up to my room and could NOT stop crying. Eventually, I got up the courage to go downstairs and tell my mother that I had decided to keep him. She said, "I was hoping you'd say that!" All this time, she (in her infinite motherly wisdom) had tried not to sway me at all as to what to do, and just said that it had to be MY decision. I guess she didn't want me to blame her if I regretted a choice that she helped me make. I told her it was probably selfish on my part, but I KNEW that I would always regret giving him up, and I could NEVER regret keeping my own child. After all, it wasn't like I was a teenager...I was 20 going on 21...I was old enough to be a mom, wasn't I? He spent 10 days in foster care while I found us an efficiency apartment to live in, and I brought him home. I named him Jeremy Robert.

Here he is at about 6 months old. He was sooo cute! And don't you just love the huge '80's glasses on his skinny mommy?


Jeremy's first birthday, and no I did not make that cake. I had actually ordered one, but didn't get it picked up before the bakery closed. We had his party at Grandpa and Grandma's and Grandma had just happened to have baked an applesauce cake or something, so we put his #1 candle on it. The one holding him is my youngest sister, Kathy and the rest are all his cousins.

This was right around that time too, right after he started walking pretty well. People used to mistake him for a girl, because of his long eyelashes. They always said he was "too pretty to be a boy." Because of that, I always tried to dress him as boyishly as possible, hence the overalls and work boots.

Mmmmmwwwwwwwwaaaaah!


Jeremy at around 1 1/2 with his "blankie". He was just over two years old when I got married, and my husband adopted him.

Twelve days after Jeremy turned 3 years old, he became a big brother. While I was pregnant with her, he would tell everyone, "It will be a girl and we will name her Jessica." It was...and we did. Jeremy has always adored his little sister and I don't think to this day, they have ever even had an argument. Fifteen months later, he had a little brother too. Although they get along pretty good these days, I can NOT say they never had an argument. There were times when I was afraid he and Joel were going to re-enact the Cain and Abel story.

Kindergarten...here we come. He was so smart, that he always told me he was bored in school because he already knew everything they were supposed to be learning. I don't doubt it.

Fast-forward to age 8, where he is blowing out the candles on one of the many cakes that I DID decorate for him. Original, don't you think? It was about that time that he and I joined the Cub Scouts...I'll bet most of you didn't even know I used to be a card-carrying member of the B.S.A.

Here they are as WeBeLos. That's him, with the hat on, next to me. He was growing up, and I was obviously growing...out! I still remember most of these guys' names...Wow! I suppose they are all around 30 year old now too!

I'm pretty sure this one is right around age 13. The glasses look rather large, but that's the way we wore them "back in the day."

Still a cute kid around the age of 16, we finally got him contacts. That really seemed to bolster Jeremy's self esteem, and I wished that we had done it sooner. He really seemed to come out of his shell after that. While he was still in High School, Jeremy decided he wanted to join the army. I wasn't really thrilled with this decision, but he was determined and I was proud of him for choosing to serve his country.

He had to leave for basic training on June 26th, 1997, just 6 months and 10 days after his baby sister, Molly was born. We had a graduation/going away party for him. Here's the cake I decorated for that occasion.

Here he is in uniform. He went to language school in the army and learned Russian of all things, in about 14 months. I'm pretty sure I could study Russian all my life, and NEVER learn to speak it fluently, but he did. Thankfully, he never had to leave the U.S. in those four years, other than a quick trip for training to South Korea. While he was in the army, he met and married a woman, who was also in the service, in August of 2000.

On January 7, 2003, Jeremy became a father to Alexander James, our first grandchild.

Here they are about a year and a half later, I'd guess. Sometime after this picture was taken, Jeremy and his wife were divorced, but they both still live in the Phoenix area.

Now Jeremy only has Alex with him every other weekend or so. Here they are in a more recent photo. I'd love to be able to visit them, especially during our long Minnesota winters, but our current financial situation will not allow for that. Hopefully, they'll be able to afford to visit us here next Summer sometime. I miss them both very much.

(I still think he's pretty cute.)

Jeremy, I'm so glad I decided to raise you myself. As I said when you were born, I could never (and have never) regretted keeping you. You may have been better off financially with a different family, but there is not another mother on earth that could have loved you as much as I did, and still do. You're a great son. Happy Birthday Jeremy!!! With all my love, Mom.

Happy Birthday Dan~A Quarter of a Century Old!

My step-son, Daniel turns 25 years old today. Here he is with his wife, TerriAnna and their son, Hayden. They live in Portland, OR. Dan does construction out there. Like father, like son.

When my kids and I met Ray and his kids, (almost 10 years ago), my son Joel told me I had to get together with this guy because then he'd have a really cool step-brother. That first Summer the two boys were pretty much inseparable. They'd answer the questions in unison, and everything they did became a competition. EVERYTHING. We used to refer to them as "the twins". Joel is 7 months older than Dan, so at the moment, we have two 25 year old sons. How about that, their ages together add up to mine.

Dan came to visit us this Fall, with his son Hayden. He and his dad had the opportunity to work together again, for a couple of weeks. Ray was thrilled to be able to spend time with his son for a little while, and I think Dan enjoyed spending some quality time with Dad too. Can you tell they're related by the above picture? Like I said, "Like father, like son". The funny thing was, they accidentally wore very similar shirts that day.

Have a great 25th birthday, Dan!

Wordless Wednesday # 18 ~ Special Thursday Edition

I'm so tired, I can't make it one more step...

So I guess I'll sleep right here on on this one...zzzzzzzzz

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

"Wrapping Up" Christmas 2008

This past Saturday afternoon, we celebrated Christmas with our kids, or at least the ones that live in MN that were able to make it. Of course, Jessica and Christian are living here with us now, and Sarah and Brad came down from "up north". Ruth and Dan drove up from the twin cities area, but my son Joel said he was having trouble with the battery in his Jeep, and was afraid to try to drive it this far. His gifts are still under the tree. If he doesn't come to get them...I guess we'll be forced to use/spend them ourselves, and eat the contents of the basket from G & G, (including the much-sought-after "grandma buns" that are waiting for him in the freezer).
CJ got a really cool tool set from Sarah and Brad. He loves it, and has been "fixing" things and people ever since. He says he is a "workerstruction", which I believe means construction worker in Fouryearold. Here he is, sitting on the couch between Ruth's husband, Dan and Sarah's husband, Brad.

Molly received a messenger bag kit that you decorate yourself, with iron-ons and fabric paint. She really seemed to like that, and had it completely finished by Sunday afternoon.

Molly had been telling everyone that she wanted earrings for Christmas. She got earrings from us, and some from Jess on Christmas Eve, and more earrings from Sarah and even more from Ruth on Saturday. She should be set in the earring department for awhile!!

The other gift that CJ got from Uncle Brad and Auntie Sarah, was a Minnesota Wild sweatshirt. It's a bit big, so when he tried it on later, he told his mom that he didn't want to come down and show it to us, because he was afraid we would all laugh at him! She told us not to, so we tried our best not to snicker. He'll grow into it...eventually. (I'm not really sure what Ruth is pointing at here).

I ended up getting a few of the things that were on my list too. Sarah and Brad brought me a Shark cordless floor and carpet cleaner. It was not the exact one I had pictured here, but it works just great! I had also asked for the two Narnia dvd's. I got them. In fact, I got 2 copies of "Prince Caspian", (one from Jess and one from Ruth and Dan), and 3 copies of "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe"! Jessica, Sarah and Ruth each gave us one of those!! Apparently, they didn't compare notes to see what each other was getting, after they had all read my blog. That's okay, I had already opened the ones from Jess, so I may donate that one to church library or something. The one from Sarah and Brad is a 2 disc collector's set, so I'll probably keep that one. I took the two dvd's from Ruth and Dan back today, and got 2 more karaoke discs to add to our collection instead! They'll come in really handy on Tuesday night for the Youth Group's "Pre-New Year's Eve Party" at church.

After we finished exchanging gifts, we put the extra leaves in the table, and enjoyed a wonderful Christmas dinner of turkey, ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, red and green Jello, and scalloped corn. Sarah brought some yummy cookies for dessert too! So much for Weight Watcher's this week!

My daughter Jessica's corgi, "Bart", has been sleeping in his crate in the laundry room every night since they came to live with us. Sarah and Brad brought their lab/springer mix, "Buster" with them too, so we stacked the crates and made bunk beds for them. Here they are:

It was a real "three dog night", when you add to them our dog, "Jake", who is also a lab/springer mix. He thinks he's a people though, so he sleeps upstairs in Molly's bed with her. Here they are:

Ruth and Dan only came up for the day, so they didn't bring their 2 dogs. That was probably a good thing. I suppose we could have found room in the laundry room for a couple more crates, but their two pups are quite young, and may not have liked being away from their humans all night.

We all had a great Christmas here on the farm! Even if it did seem a bit like the place had "gone to the dogs"! Happy New Year!

WW #10 ~ The Stockings Were Hung From The Shelf With Care?

Eight Years Ago Today

On Sunday, our pastor did a sermon on marriage. He said that second marriages last an average of only 7 years. We were happy to know that we've beat the odds. This is the 2nd marriage for both of us, and we have made it 8 years as of today. Can you believe that Molly, (my cute little flower girl) barely came up to my waist at that time? She's taller than I am now. From left to right: my son Joel, Ray's son Dan, my daughter Jess, me, my dd Molly, Ray, his daughter Sarah, my son Jeremy and his dd Ruth.

We figured we had the perfect wedding party right there, and didn't have to ask anyone else to be in the wedding. The good news? I can actually get into my wedding dress again! Some day I'd like to be able to get into the size I wore the first time I got married, but that's not likely to happen any time soon. Oh well. Happy Anniversary Honey!

Of Grandkids, Frogs... and Little Horses

I spoke to my grandson, CJ (pictured above with Auntie Molly), on the phone again last night. Of course the first thing he asks these day is, "Gammra, you got a frog in your throat?". I told him it was getting a little better, to which his mother replied, "No, now she's just a little hoarse." I told her she's really going to confuse that boy, first Grandma swallows a frog, and now she's eating little horses! She said that's what she was trying to do. Jessica is a great mother, but really has a silly sense of humor sometimes. I think that's why she and I get along so well.

They're coming to visit next weekend. I can't wait! CJ is really excited about seeing "Gammra and Gampa", and of course, Gammra's new frog bathroom. I haven't seen him since he stayed with us for a while in February. His mother is a single mom in the Air Force, so when she has been deployed, or has been sent somewhere for training, he has stayed with us for extended periods of time. He's very comfortable with us, and loves going to church with us.

I haven't seen my Grandson, AJ, (pictured above with his dad), for a couple of years now. He is 5 years old and lives in Phoenix with my son, Jeremy. I miss them both a lot.

And then there's the new one, HD, born Dec. 23rd to my step-son, Dan and his wife Terianna. We haven't even met this little guy yet, since they live out in Oregon. He looks like a real cutie though.

I was really hoping all the kids and grandkids could be here for my birthday in June...but it doesn't sound like that's going to happen. Dan and family are coming to visit sometime in August or September, and with the air fares getting so high these days, I don't know when we'll get to see Jeremy and AJ again.