Where To Begin?

Shock, shock..we are all still alive here in the high desert! So much has happened since my last blog..hard to choose what to talk about, so will try to stick to the main points, so as not to write a mile-long blog.

Firstly, the Ms Senior AZ pageant was a vast learning experience for me. Although I did not win or even place in the top five, I learned quite a bit about pageantry, made many new friends and qualified to become a member of the Cameo Club. So, why is that so great, you ask? Now my friend, Shirley, and I can perform duets at their shows, which they have to earn money for Alzheimer's. Who knows, maybe I'll try again next year, "God willing and the creek doesn't rise."
Maybe next year, I will not be sick as a dog with a horrible cold at pageant time, as I was this year.

My three CASA cases are moving along towards permanency of adoption, some more smoothly than others. With my poor health and busy schedule on top of it all, I have been a bit remiss spending time with my CASA kids. I, now, plan to correct that, beginning with taking them all to the circus in the next few weeks. My thirteen year-old and I did go on a hike three weeks ago, which was great fun..she is such a dear young lady. In the next couple weeks, I have three court hearings and two foster-care review boards and three child-family-team members to attend and three CASA reports and two reports to the judge to write, files to organize and dispose of and then I will make an attempt to organize the office.

The best happening I have experienced in the past six weeks, or so, is my visit to Illinois to see all my babies, big and small and, yes, even the tiny one! Where to begin? My time was very busy there for two weeks doing movie going (the Narnia Movie), mini putting at Volcano Falls (my favorite course!), attending and providing transportation to My 12 year-old's three girls fast ball games, attending and providing rides to swimming lessons for Brennan (5Th level) and Kristina (junior lifeguard) classes, lots of eating out (especially great to see and eat at my friend's restaurant, yum, yum!), lots and lots of shopping...praise God for Marshall's dept. store, where one can buy great quality for half the price), cooking a few good homemade dinners, which my 14 year-old grandson informed me about, saying even though he loved me and enjoyed my visits, two weeks of homemade food and no fast food was really hard for him! Sorry Brennan, I really fear your health on all that fast food and hope your liver doesn't begin to fail like the guy's that ate only at McDonald's for 30 days! What else, oh yes..took a ride up to see my son and daughter-in-law in Kenosha, WI. It was great to see where they live now temporarily one block from Lake Michigan..cooked goulash for them and one would have thought I made fillet Mignon! They were both sooo delighted! Took a 12" stainless steel fry pan for a gift and have since heard back from them that it's the best pan they have It browns so well and even their hamburgers taste sooo much better! Ah yes, tricks of the cooking trade passed onto the young by the elderly. I slept on their 3rd floor guest room air mattress. The bed was fine, however the climb was a challenge, at best! I do believe, however, it did make my heart stronger from the experience.

I had the opportunity to see my great-granddaughter for two weekends as her mommy and daddy had to work, along with spending an afternoon at my granddaughter's apartment, swimming and eating Subways...YUM, YUM! Aubrey, was quite ill the last weekend and just wanted her Grammy to hold her for three hours, sure brought back a lot of memories of raising and holding and cuddling all my babies when they were not up to par.I cannot express how much I grew to love her and her mom more during that time. In fact, now that I am on the subject of love..let me say that .."One always loves family, because they are family..even from a distance", but when our lives intertwine in close proximity, we acquire a bond that cannot be broken. A bond that brings us sooo much closer and helps us to relate to one another's feelings so much more intensely than loving one another from a distance. I have always felt that way, especially since in the past, I had 4 grandchildren nearby and one 500 miles away many years ago. Today, having just spent two weeks with my children, 4 grandchildren and a great-granddaughter, I feel such great love for them and their families and a much closer bond to them than I feel for my granddaughter and great-grandson, who I haven't seen but only twice, I think, in the past two or three years. I do worry so about them and our lack of contact, however I cannot control the situation and have put them in my "God Box", knowing He is in charge. I love them both very much, want the best for them, and wish we could be closer...maybe, some day.

Next to lastly, even though I was quite sad to leave my family in Illinois, it was great to return to my loving husband in Arizona and structure in my life, again. I have been home almost four days now, and with each day, things are becoming a bit more organized and I am beginning to feel my head above water a bit from my neglected duties caused by my two week absence. Some calamities that needed caring for were not caused by my neglect..just by my absence and having had to leave them up to Larry..such as watering my little plants on the coffee table that were over watered, causing the dark brown water to leak on the coffee table,and rip down onto my off whit carpets..through the area rug and onto the big rug underneath, along with the bottom drawer of the freezer being left open an inch for a week, causing the thawing of all the food in it, a big ice build-up which would not let the drawer close again until it was defrosted, and probably, as a result, a huge electric bill on its way here! Other than those major events, all went pretty smoothly in my absence.

What's coming up in the next few weeks? My CASA Belle group is performing about 6 times..making pretty big bucks each time..$75 to $150 per performance, A lot of yard work, painting inside house walls..revamping master and guest bedrooms, more tests ordered by my Cardiologist yesterday, and hopefully, a visit to the Arizona Heart Institute to get a second opinion, clean all closets..removing clothes to big for me and too small for Larry..organizing office..much, much ironing...replacing missing roof shingles before the monsoons start..just for beginners. A busy summer ahead.

Lastly, Larry and I so very blessed with loving families and friends and, also, for an abundance of material acquisitions and a sufficient income, at this time. We pray daily for all the troubled people in the world and especially for those folks close to us, knowing that even though their lives are experiencing trauma at this time, that they are all in His tender loving care.

Bye for now and much love to all my babies, big and small and tiny..mom, grammie and nana