One heck of a week!

About a week and a half ago, I came home from my class to find Garth leaning on the counter in pain. His back had gone out while he was in the shower and both Preston and I were gone. He rolled out on to the floor and laid there for about an hour before he was able to get up and crawl into the kitchen. I massaged his back for about 1/2 hour and realized we were not going to be able to make it through the night the way things were going. Luckily for us we have a good friend who is a sport/med doctor and he came and gave Garth a shot and me a couple of prescriptions for him. We were very grateful for all night pharmacies that night!

Well, Garth made it through the next week, he was moving kind of slow but he was doing pretty good. Then on Easter Sunday in the middle of church, his back went out again. It wasn't as bad as the first time and he did make it to work the next day but not for the whole day. But that night about 2:00am he got up to go to the bathroom and ended up with huge back spasms that put him on the floor. He tried several times to get up but was in such pain that he spent the night on the floor. About 7:00 am the next morning our friend was over again giving Garth another shot and telling him to get into his office that day.

After a crutch, back brace, more shots, lots of meds, an MRI and a physical therapy visit, Garth was able to make it through the week. He sleeps on the floor because the bed is too soft and he moves very slowly and carefully but he is able to move and get up and down. We did find that he hasn't got anything wrong other than the same problems that have plagued him for years which was a relief. The physical therapist hopes to give Garth some new exercises to strengthen his back next week and prevent future problems. Personally, I will just be happy to have him put on his own socks and tie his shoes!

My baby's having a baby!

Last Christmas, Lonica and Scott announced to the family that they were expecting a baby. They asked us not to tell anyone for about a month, which I didn't, Garth wasn't as accommodating with their request. I have had a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that I was going to be a grandma and as a result I haven't shared it on my blog. Plus, with Lonica thousands of miles away her pregnancy is kind of surreal to me.

Well, today they found out that she would be having a little girl the end of August and I figured it was time that I faced reality, accepted the fact that I really am old enough to be a grandma and my daughter was old enough to have a baby and I needed to start getting excited.

It just doesn't seem that long ago that I was pregnant with Lonica and yet at the same time that seems like a completely different life. What an exciting time it was - having your first baby and realizing that you have no clue how to be a mother.

This is a picture of Lonica when she was a year old. Could there have been a cuter baby on Earth?
We have always laughed and wondered what Scott and Lonica's children's hair would look like, since both of them have an over abundance of curly and in Scott's case Afro type hair. I invision their little girl with tons of beautiful curly locks that will drive Lonica crazy as she tries to tame them.

My hope and prayer for Lonica and Scott is that they have a beautiful, healthy baby like Lonica, who slept through the night from the time she came home, who loved playing and was so excited to learn new things and have her daddy come home. I know they will be great parents and I will try to be a good -- GRANDMA?! Can I really do that?

Free give away . . . of sorts

I have been very lazy lately about new posts. I just haven't had any great ideas - not that any of my posts are very great anyway. I considered a post on the 10 ways I know spring has arrived or on my son's most recent accident or my latest essay grade or I really should have done one on my birthday last week (special dinner at Arby's and a story telling festival) but I didn't.

Today I was reading my cousin's blog and liked her idea. So here it is...I copied this from her blog.

Pay attention everyone!

Here's the dealio: The first five people to comment on this post will get something made by me.

My choice.

For you.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make.
2- What I make will be just for you.
3- It'll be done this year.
4- You have no clue what it's going to be. It may be a story. It may be photography, I may sew or stitch or bake something. Who knows?
5- I reserve the right to do or make whatever I want!

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must re-post this on your own blog and offer the same deal to 5 of your own lucky blog readers. So, the first 5 people to leave a comment telling me they are in, win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me!
Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it.

Good Luck!!!

My Essay

I have been going back to school the last year or so but all of the classes I've taken have been on line. This semester I'm actually sitting in a classroom every Thursday night with a bunch of other much younger students studying American Literature. I have thoroughly loved this class, the stories we've read and trying to get my old brain to work again.

Several weeks ago we had our first essay assignment and had two weeks to get it written. It was the first paper I'd written in over 25 years and the first literary analysis essay in probably 30! The cold sores on my mouth and the sleepless nights attest to the stress I put myself under. I sent my essay to Lonica (our in-house editor and expert writer) and she tried to reassure me that it wasn't really the piece of crap I thought it was.

Well, tonight was my moment of truth - we got our papers back. It was incredible the anxiety I felt as my teacher began to talk about the papers. I was transported back to my school days when you were so nervous about receiving your grade on a test or paper. I was sweating and just wanted to run out of the classroom.

My teacher began by saying there were several papers that were excellent examples of what he wanted and he proceeded to read one of the student's answer to one of the short answer questions we also had to do. As he read the paper, my doubts were confirmed and I just wondered what in the world I was doing thinking I could succeed in this class let alone become an English teacher. He picked up another paper and said it was a great example of what he wanted in the essays, especially the way the quotes and support blended into the writing. He then began to read my essay! I couldn't believe it and hearing it read out loud, it sounded much better than I remembered writing. My self doubt vanished and I thought maybe I can "grow up" and become a real teacher.

We left class with our next essay assignment in hand and when I got home and reread the topics we have to choose from all that anxiety and doubt quickly returned. But hopefully, I can get through this essay without any cold sores!

Friday the 13th

While Friday the 13th is supposed to have an ominous shadow over it, my last Friday the 13th was great! I subbed in a 1st grade classroom that was well organized and the students were well behaved. Or a least as good as they can be on the day of their Valentine's party.

It has been years since I attended a first grade Valentine's party and was I in for a treat. All day long I had students asking me if it was time for the party yet. Of course I had announced to the class several times what our schedule would be, but when you are six and there is a party - you just can't wait.

Finally, it was time to pass out the Valentine's and I got such a thrill watching them carefully drop their cards and candy into each others bags. At last they all sat down, well some couldn't even sit they were so excited, and began opening them. The joy on their faces and the sounds coming from their mouths was what childhood is all about.

There was a darling little boy named Jose who kept coming and showing me the Spiderman cards he kept opening - they were holographic - nothing could be better. As I stood watching them, Jose came up one more time and asked me if I had any Valentine's cards and I said no but that was okay because I was just a substitute. He then handed me one of his cherished holographic cards. When I protested he said that he didn't want me not to get any cards and that he had a lot. Jose then proceed to offer me some of his candy. I was amazed that this little boy would think of me, really a stranger, in the middle of all this excitement.

We ended the day with sundaes covered in chocolate syrup, carmel, sprinkles, candies, nuts, and topped with whip cream. The students thought they looked SO good and had to make sure their sundae had EVERYTHING on it. Then they took three bites and promptly threw them away. The joy was in the anticipation and the making - not the eating.

After spending this Friday the 13th/Valentine's Day with this first grade class, I was reminded of the joys of holidays, childhood and the goodness of a child's heart. So in the midst of home foreclosures, the stock market crashing and rising unemployment, life is great especially when you are a kid or with them!

Catching Up

So it took me FOREVER to finally finish all the blogs from over the holidays and I figured I would catch you up real quick with what has been happening since then.

Preston played basketball with our ward during the month of January and every Wednesday Garth and I got to watch him play. The last week of the month his team won the tournament with Preston sinking quite a few 3's to help them win. They were hilarious to watch because only Preston and one other kid could even dribble the ball (kind of tells you about the competition they had). Several boys were soccer players, one was a football player and one thought he was a basketball player but only in his dreams. Preston was by far the best ball handler they had and we were proud of him.
Over Martin Luther King day my friend, Cindy, invited me and my friend, Wendy, to go hiking. I had a million things to do that day but I was so glad to take a little time and hike with my friends. We went out to Ussery Pass and the day was perfect. I miss hiking with my friends all the time, they are so great!

We were selected, as usual, to host the Super Bowl party this year. Our numbers were few with much of the family on a South American cruise (you can see those who weren't invited - they were at our party!). I had it easy this year, Uncle Paul did most of the cooking. He made beans, enchiladas and green chili wraps and I just made some appetizers, a salad and cornbread. Frank and Dawna brought a bunch of food also. We definitely needed more people to eat all the food we had.

We were excited to have the Cardinals playing in the Super Bowl but at half time a lot of those hopes had died. The Cardinals ended up putting on a pretty good show though and came back in the fourth quarter. It got really exciting at the end and we actually thought we had it won until the last minute or so. Such a heartbreaking loss.

I started back to school again and have been taking two classes that I really have enjoyed so far. We celebrated Jason's 21st birthday without him and are starting the count down until he comes home - just 4 1/2 months. And Dave celebrated his 29th birthday by getting a new puppy, Elle. Life is good, you can't beat the weather here in the winter. In just a couple of weeks we will have five huge orange trees loaded with ripe oranges. Come and visit and you can have as many as you can pick and carry!

Fiesta Bowl Parade

Our day began early with taking Anita, Rob and the kids to the airport at 5:00 am. Rob had forgotten his most important luggage - his golf clubs - so while Garth ran home to get them I was able to spend a few more minutes with one of my best friends. We had had such a great time having them all here. It was busy and fun and we hope they will come again.


Our next stop was Paul and Judy's house for their annual Festivas brunch. We never miss that because the food is to die for. After filling up we headed to the Fiesta Bowl parade. We were disappointed that Anita and her family couldn't go to it, so most of these photos are to show them a little of what they missed.

Since Ohio State was playing the Fiesta Bowl, we were anxious to done our OSU apparel and show support. Notice who isn't wearing the red? The Ohio State student! It took us a bit to find the parade route because it had been moved since the light rail now runs down Central Ave. where the parade always went. The parade just isn't the same without all the tall buildings surrounding you and even though we were late, we found a great spot to watch from. It looks as though we are about the only ones there but we are behind a couple of rows of people sitting in chairs Disappointment was on the horizon though when we found out that we had just missed the Ohio State marching band - the the one entry we really wanted to see. But we showed our spirit by doing the OHIO sign and yelling to any other Ohio fans we saw.
Of course the Fiesta Bowl queen and her court came by in their carriage.
And as you can see, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade isn't the only one with big balloons.
There were some entries with some pretty crazy costumes like this one from the Caribbean.
And no Arizona parade would be complete without the Mexican dancers in those dresses Lonica always coveted.
Since we had just had Dutch visitors we were especially aware of the marching Dutchman band from the Midwest.
Check out these "wooden shoes", I can't imagine walking the whole parade route in them.
The Bill William's Wild Man always have to appear in the parade
along with their counterparts, the Wild West Women.
But our favorite entry of the whole parade were the Star Wars characters. Check them out! Darth Vader and the storm troopers,
C-3PO, Princess Lea and Hans Solo,
Chewbacca, and every other Star Wars character you could think of.
It didn't matter if you couldn't walk or you were very short, there was a character for you!
All in all, another great day in the Valley of the Sun.