Eighty-Nine Cents

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It's Not Really About the Bacon

Two weeks ago, Cliff woke up feeling achy and had been vomiting most of the night. We thought he had a case of the flu. That was Monday. By Wednesday of that week, he had pain up his leg into his lower back that seemed to be getting progressively worse. We ended up going to the emergency room at the VA hospital. He had an x-ray & ultra-sound to check for blood clots. Thank God that wasn't the problem. I truly wondered if we were going to leave that hospital with life-changing news. We got sent home with an appointment with a physical therapist. One issue is that his hip was out of joint and that got put back in and then they think he has a bulging disc wrapped around a nerve. It's been a LONG two weeks so far and we just haven't seemed to make any progress. Things seem to have gone from bad to worse and some days it just seems like nothing is working out.

So this morning, we had to go for another Dr. appt. so they could give him a shot in his back to get the pain under control. Until he has that they don't want to progress with the physical therapy. Of course, they wouldn't give him the shot because they want him to have an MRI. They can't get him in for one of those until April 1st. Which means he will be out of work at least another two weeks!

On our way home this morning, I needed to comfort of pancakes. I ordered pancakes and bacon. The bacon was rubbery and I sent it back. The waitress brought me some new slices that were worse than the first ones I sent back. And I have to admit, I tried hard to stop the tears over that stupid bacon. But it wasn't really the bacon. That gross bacon was the tip of the iceburg. It was the last straw and I just couldn't take one more thing going wrong!!

In Honor of St. Patty's Day - The Green Dog Mystery

Came home from church two weeks ago and found a little dog with GREEN SPOTS mixed in with his brown and black ones! Hmmmmmmmmm..........

Found a little GREEN PUDDLE on the floor of my kitchen!! Hmmmmmmm.............

Found this on the floor in the livingroom. Someone was naughty while we were at church. Who could it be?? Hmmmmmm.......

There's no denying who it was! He couldn't blame the other dogs....he was caught red (er....GREEN) handed!! Oh Lou, we do love you!!!

Recent Productions

Looks like the boy played "Elvis" in a recent production. After playing "Prince Charming" and "Elvis" he's beginning to feel like he's being typecast!! I find this quite humerous!!

Poster for his Senior Project (thesis)....Should be good....wish I could go!!

Jacob and His Amazing, Incredible Week

My post title is actually a take off from the book, "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day." But in Jacob's case it was the opposite. He had the week of his life (so far.)

It actually started right before his trip to Wichita. He FINALLY got a job offer. And to his surprise and delight, it was for a store he really likes and I'm sure will be be making purchases from in the future, The Gap!

The last Saturday of Feb. he has priviledged to take part in the Kansas All-State Honor Choir. Making this choir is not an easy task. Out of the thousands of 10th-12th grade students, only 150 are selected to this choir. He had to go through quite an audition process and this year it paid off. Jacob said he sang like he never sang before in this choir. We all drove over on Saturday to enjoy the amazing concert. They were that good. Josh met us there and it Cliff and I had a rare treat....dinner with all 4 of our kids!!

The following Satuday Jacob participated in the State Powerlifting Championships for 4-A schools. He worked extremely hard in the weeks leading up to this event, losing 10 pounds which put him in a lighter weight bracket. He lifted a total of 975 pounds!! He received 2nd place in "cling" (shown in the pictures below), lifting 275 pounds! He received 1st place in bench, lifting 290 pounds and Cliff said he didn't even break a sweat on that one! That total combined weight named him the State Champ in his division!

Each of these three events in Jacob's life had a common thread. He had to work and be diligent in all three areas. In Powerlifting, they are made aware that as freshmen they had to work up to their senior year. Most kids go to meets and never medal. It's all about personal goals and doing your best personally and scoring points for the team. Jacob worked hard at this for the past 4 years and I'm thrilled he saw results. It was the same with the Honor Choir. It is HARD to make this choir. He determined last year to do the work it took to make the choir. The same thing with his job. He's been filling out job applications for at least 1 1/2 years. He's been discouraged but hasn't quit. I'm hoping he's picked up on all the life lessons that have come his way in just a week! Persistance.....Diligence.....Character.......Integrity........Not-Quitting even though it seems like you're getting no where. You can't pay for those kinds of lessons and you can't learn them from a book.

30 Day Challenge - Day 31

30 Day Challenge: Day 31:

I find it so hard to believe an entire month has gone by!

I have to tell you, I enjoyed these past 30 days and I hope you found it an interesting, if not entertaining peek into my life (and my head.)

I discovered some new things about myself and some things I already knew. I think, however, I have a greater sense of appreciation for just how "wealthy" I am. I am so blessed and I try not to take for granted the gift of God that is my husband, my greatest accomplishments, who are my children, my heritage, which is my family tree, and my greatest love, which is my God. And I'm ever thankful that God's love isn't based on my love for Him but rather His for me.

30 Day Challenge - Day 30

Day 30: A Picture of Someone You Miss:

(Top)

Grandma & Grandpa Benzing

(Bottom)

Grandma & Grandpa Adrian

Without a doubt, some of the people I miss the most are my grandparents. These two pictures capture how I remember them. Young, vibrant, full of life, and full of love for their grandkids. I was a bit closer to my grandmothers....in fact, I had such a special connection to each of them.
At my Grandpa Benzing's funeral, it hit me hard that my life with grandparents was over and that made me so sad. Today I cherish their memories and their photographs. 4 special people who lived and loved and who have passed on but have left behind incredible legacies.

30 Day Challenge - Day 29

Day 30: A Picture That Can Always Make You Smile:

As soon as I read the topic for today's picture, I knew which one I would use. I did NOT change these to sepia because you have to have the color to get the full impact. I specifically scanned these for this blog post. They are among my favorites and yes, they really do make me smile every time I look at them.

In the red is my nephew, Zachary and in the blue is my son, Jacob. They are the same age, born on the same day. They were at my house and they found Josh or Amy's stamp pads. They must have been fruit scented. Fortunately my sister had her camera.