Jeff had A Birthday

 Jeff had A Birthday, big 19 now, hard to believe how time flies. Jeff is grandson number two and has a soft spot in my heart. From the moment he came into the world he has scared me, for real. His mom had a hard delivery and when he was born he wasn’t breathing. The first hour of his life was pretty scary; as he grew he continued to keep grandma excited.

Jeff plays so many instruments I can’t keep track. In school he played a trumpet, trombone and even the tuba and what an awesome guitar player. He’s in a band now and he plays bass, this kid has a true gift. He knows what he wants but changes his mind every day, it fun watching him grow.  His first band was a jazz band and his new band well I’m not sure, I thinks its rock but they have all kinds of new names for music now and I get lost. I do know they play all original music and they write everything they do, that’s kinda cool.

Last summer Jeff got married, yes I said Jeff got married. After he and his wife graduated from High School they got married. I still have a hard time believing it can you tell? I hope they put off having kids for a long time because I’m no where near ready to be a Great Grandma!

Jeff I wish you much happiness and love! And that job at Guitar Center! Love GG

The Grinch That Stole My Christmas Gift!

The holidays have come and gone and what a wonderful time we had, with just a few bumps along the way. Not like last year when all I could do was wish the time away. I had started chemo the beginning of December last year so I wasn’t in much of a holiday spirit. As for this year I had a renewed spirit and was ready to make up for missing out on last year’s festivities’.

The day after Thanksgiving I started decorating and making plans for my shopping budget. My husband tried to bring me to reality only once and I let him know to not get in my way so he promptly started putting up Christmas lights.

I never shop early, I’m usually trying to get things done at the last minute but this year was so different, I finished it all early and was able to enjoy the entire season.

Our family enjoyed Christmas Eve together at my daughters house and then on Christmas day I cooked dinner and they all came to my house. I missed that last year and was so thankful to have the energy to prepare the holiday meal.

Then the bump in the road; I had told my husband that I was asking Santa for a puppy this year. We have two cats and the entire household is cat lovers. I like them but I prefer dogs. He kinda laughed it off and let me wish. To his surprise, and mine, on Christmas Eve when I was at my daughter’s house Santa delivered my new puppy. She was perfect, the cutest little 12 week old King Charles toy puppy you have ever seen. The kids had named her Bambi, and before the night was over I had fallen in love with her and we had bonded right away.

After taking her home I quickly decided I would sleep in the living room so she could sleep with me and not be scared. We cuddled up on the couch and spent her first night at home together.

Christmas morning was quiet as I started to prepare the Christmas fest. I got the turkey in the oven after making pumpkin pies and my daughter Rachel had stopped by with her puppy Dottie. We took the puppies into the back yard and watched them run and play. Dottie would run and Bambi would try her best to keep up with her. They soon left and would come back over later for dinner.

Everyone started to arrive around 5:00 and I was busy finishing up our dinner, my niece had brought her puppy Lucky and Dottie and Bambi were having a blast running and playing. With a house full of people, I knew the new Christmas puppy would sleep well that night because she had such an exciting day. The kids all passed her around, loved on her and took a lot of pictures. She loved the attention.

About the time dinner was finished someone noticed that Bambi was gone? She had just vanished? We have a fenced in yard with no possible way for a dog to get out? We quickly gathered up every flash light in the house and from every car and started searching for my lost Christmas gift. We searched every adjacent yard and crack we could find. After searching the next couple hours and talking to all the neighbors I had come to the conclusion she had found a hiding place exhausted from the day and had fallen asleep. I again slept in the living room in hopes she would come wondering out from her hiding place. It didn’t happen.

The next morning we were out posting lost dog fliers everywhere we could think of. My husband continued to search the neighborhood and talk to everyone he came across.

By the next day I discovered that someone had removed all of the posters we had pinned to the phone polls and they had even taken down the ones at the local 7-11. I called the city to see if they had taken them down and they informed me that the pole do not belong to the city but to PSE. They assured me it hadn’t been them, not the time of the year for clean up. Even the workers at 7-11 said they had not removed the posters??? Someone has my puppy! So I called the police and did a report. New posters have been hung and are still in place. I still have hopes she will be returned and the Grinch that stole her will have a change of heart.

A Christmas Eve Birthday Wish

Happy Birthday Jake! Jake has been a part of our family for many years, it’s like a true Cinderella story for him and my oldest daughter Amy Jo. They first met in high school at band camp of all things and quickly became high school sweet hearts. After going in separate ways they found one another again and have been happily married for many years now. But that’s not where the story ends.

 Jake was diagnosed with a heart condition that change the type of work he was doing. Back to school he went and has earned his bachelor’s degree and is now busy working on his masters. We are very proud of him.

While attending school Jake has been blessed with an opportunity that many fathers only dream of. While attending school he has been able to arrange his schedule to be home a lot for the kids. What a difference it has made. He attends every game the girls cheer at and you will never catch him without his camera, capturing every moment he can. The youngest has taken up his dads love for fishing and you can find the two of them in the water with waders doing what they love

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I use to think that Jake was too hard on the kids but he sure proved me wrong. My grand kids are wonderful Christian children that are high achievers full of love and kindness. Recently my oldest grandson told me how happy he was his dad took the time to be hard on him. He knows it’s where he got his life skills to be successful.

Most of all Jake is full of love for his family. Happy Birthday Jake, My wish for you is a year of health, prosperity, and happiness.

You are Loved!!!

Happy Birthday Mr. Zack!

Today is Zack’s Birthday; fourteen years ago he came into the world. Wow, seems like just yesterday. He was born a month early but wasn’t little. They had a hard time believing he was a preemie but knew he had to be treated as one.

Zack is my youngest grandson and is a very unique young man. He loves his sports, anything that involves a ball and he is all over it. When I watch a game with him he always commentates and helps me to understand what’s going on. For years he has been the ball boy for the Auburn High School Foot Ball team. This year was his last year for that because he will be at the high school himself and playing on the team.

In the summer time we all miss him because he goes to Olympia for the summer and any other time he can get there. His other grandparents have a farm and Zack enjoys the animals and hard work that comes with it. He plays drums with his school band and likes to play video games. Girls are starting to catch his eye and he’s not at all shy about it. His sisters love to tease him.

Happy Birthday Zack! You are loved!

If Zack could get away with it he would spend his days, just fishin!

Happy Birthday To The Other Mrs. Hutchinson!

Ruth had a birthday yesterday and it was a tough day for her. It was one of those days not because she’s getting older, just one of those days. Ruth is married to my son Joel and they have a wonderful life together. I have never seen two people be able to keep that just married feeling going on after years of being together. It’s very magical!

Ruth is in her last few quarters before she will graduate from GRCC and then will be off to join Joel at the UW. We are all so proud of her and look forward to seeing her fly.

I tease her sometimes about when my next grandbaby will arrive and she assures me it won’t be soon. I’m really happy they decided to wait until they finish school and are working but sometimes it’s hard to wait. My youngest grandbaby is eleven and holding a baby is long overdue but I can wait and it’s still fun to tease her. For now they are quite happy with their four leg furry baby Roo.

When I was sick Ruth helped me with all the household stuff that I just couldn’t get done. She’s a good listener and always has a kind word. She has a way of making me laugh! We are blessed to have her as a part of our family.

Happy Birthday Ruthie, You are loved!

Baby Its Cold Outside

This season has never been my favorite, I hate being cold but I now have a new reason for loving the winter. The hot flashes that are getting better with every day that passes are really easy to control now. When I feel one coming on I just step outside, It works instantly woo hoo! Whatever works I guess.

As I go about getting ready for the Holidays I am reminded of my last Christmas and how sick I was. I feel like I missed out altogether and so this year I plan to make up for it. I’ve been shopping, decorating and planning my cookie baking day. I had lost a lot of my Christmas spirit and couldn’t seem to find it but not anymore, my joy has been renewed. I am very thankful.

As you can imagine there are tons of breast cancer blogs and yes I read several of them. I have some I fallow closely and feel like I have gotten to know some of these people through their stories. One of them died this week and I was very sad, she left behind her young son and husband and my heart ached for them. Another has just recently had surgery to remove part of her liver. Seems her breast cancer had spread and she has been blessed with a surgery to make her cancer free. She is very sick right now and I pray for her speedy return to health.

I’ve found a new way to live with the neuropathy in the tips of my fingers. Fake finger nails, yep, I use the tips of the nails instead of my finger tips and they work much better. I do drop a lot of stuff and it’s really ok unless its eggs, that really sucks. The other day I dropped the whole carton. Ug.

I also found a great remedy for the fatigue and weight loss at the same time. For the last couple weeks I have been going to curves and it has worked wonders. I’m happy to report that my energy is slowly starting to return.

I’m also looking into returning to school. I only have another quarter and a half before I’m finished and it seems silly to not finish what I started.

As for now I’ve put up two Christmas trees and am looking forward to spending a wonderful holiday season with my family.

Wonder Woman

I guess I’m a creature of habit and have always been this way. I have routines and things I just do on a regular basis, pretty predictable. When the holidays arrive I also have traditions that I feel pretty strong about. Some are good traditions that have been in the family forever or ones we have created ourselves. Some are not so good? I have a problem with thinking I am wonder woman. I seem to think I need to work until I drop or I haven’t done it right. I’m not sure what made me this way but being sick this last years has forced me to make changes even If I didn’t want to. As I’ve mentioned in the past I am still suffering from fatigue. Some days are good and others not so good, I don’t get to pick which ones are good. I can go along thinking it will be a productive day and then all the sudden I hit a brick wall and the day is over. It doesn’t even matter if my to do list is a mile long, it just doesn’t get done. The neuropathy in my feet is almost gone and in my hand, well it comes and goes. I have a little bit of chemo brain that seems to linger but not bad and I have learned to deal with it.

This year my family and I broke a tradition, we had our Thanksgiving Dinner catered by the Long Horn BBQ! It was fantastic! The turkey was smoked and all the trimmings were wonderful. My girls both work full time jobs and have families to care for so this made it a nice relaxing day for all of us. I almost felt guilty and then had to remind myself that it’s really Ok to relax and not have to work so hard.

Being sick has taught me a lot of things and some of them have been good lessons. I have been blessed with a wonderful family and this year I learned its Ok to do thing different and take time to enjoy them.

I hope you all had a wonderful day full of blessing and many things to be thankful for. As we go into the holiday season I will look for hidden blessing and miracles, creating many new traditions along the way.