Our Anniversary

We hung pictures for them

Steve fixed the DVD player and rerouted the wiring for them

He put up the bird house he made them

We got to see their 'new' combine - look at the size of that baby!

My all time favorite farm machine of his - the Steiger

Now don't get me wrong, I must say the new combine is becoming a very close favorite, but I love this Steiger! It is always fun to go visit Steve's mom and Rod, and it was no different this weekend. We went to put up the bird house that Steve made, and did some other things they needed done as well. Rod bought a 'new' combine - well new to him - and oh, how I love those big farm machines! I alway just stand in awe of them. The size is just astounding. Do you see the Magnum (SUV) next to the machines??

It was our 31st anniversary. Not what I would have chosen as my perfect anniversary date, but we still had a nice time. If we would have done something different, it would have slowed our progression to get home - finally home. Steve needed to put up the bird house, so we went to do that instead of going somewhere else- just the two of us. We did get to go to Lucille's steakhouse for supper though and it was delicious!

Only two more days and we get to move home :-) After 14 months it is time to finally go back - the two of us together. What a change it will be!

Steph ordered crawfish for us for Saturday. mmmmm... cannot wait for that! There are a thousand things I like about south Louisiana, and that is one of them. Now the heat?? Well, I can do without that... lol'

I will keep waiting on that special anniversary trip - the cruise we were supposed to take on our 30th? Never came. Nor on the 31st. But I am so happily married, that those are only pebbles in our path. I am so blessed having my precious hubby. We may never take that cruise, but we will always be in love with each other - and that is what really matters.

So you want to see where we live...

Our room is on the top left.
Open door, look out.
Look left
... and finally look right. Notice fence and building please...


So you want to see where we live. Ok, here it is. It is, and always has been, a Guest House Suite - and there is no "Plus" to it. I have only called it an 'apartment' because it is a long term place to live.

We live on a major intersection of two major streets and one freeway. There is another freeway one mile north and one mile west of us. Emergency vehicles pass with sirens blazing every few minutes. Literally. I say "Lord be with them - someone's life just changed" dozens of times a day.

We live in a motel. The lights outside are always on. No amount of closing curtains can close out the light and noise. We have permanent inside nightlights that are always on. We cannot turn them off. Insulation? You must be kidding! This place was built 40 years ago. Did they even know insulation existed? I don't think so.


We do have a slider door - looking out onto the building and fence you see in the last picture. It also has a nice constant breeze - even in 17 degree weather. The curtains let the chill in nicely.


This is not our home. Our home has our belongings and our dirt. This place does not have our comfy well worn furntiure, our guest welcoming kitchen with my wonderful cabinet of every spice imaginable, or our tivo and dvr player. It is not our awesome backyard with our huge oak tree protecting our outside porch swing from the blazing Louisiana sun. It does not have our comfy bed or our screened in patio. There is no bbq pit - and my man is one heck of a bbq-er. His tools are safely locked up 700+ miles away.


We have smiled and made the best of it, but we are both weary of smiling. The best of it has long since passed. We are ready to go home. He is exhausted from the project - a project well done, but time to be over. Vacations last 2 weeks and are fun. This is not fun for either one of us.


Tomorrow is our 31st anniversary. We were supposed to go on a cruise on our 30th, but instead we moved up here to start this project. He will take a break tomorrow to go visit his mom on our 31st.


Hopefully we will go to our real home on Thursday. That will be a happy anniversary.


Now you know where we have been living.

Friend's Forever :-)

Or are we sisters?

I don't think any of us can distinguish ourselves as friends. We were nearly raised under the same roofs, so maybe we are sisters of the heart. Jeanie and I have been friends since 2nd grade - but it seems like we always knew each other. We might not be in touch for a year, then we visit like we never lost touch with each other. Jeanie is 24 days older than I am so does that make her MY big 'sister'?? rofl...
 

We went to lunch last week and I sat the camera on my car with the timer on and shot this picture so we were all in it. Sisters of the Heart - that will be the title of this layout. It was nice visiting, and reminiscing about our childhood. *rolling eyes* Only she could understand what we all had going on...

Thank you Jeanie for always being there. We DID get through it.

I Saw Something Horrible Today :-(

I had just sat down to drink some water and eat a bbq sandwich at the airport. A lady behind me spilled a drink and kept on walking, but an airport hostess immediately started over to clean it. Before she could get 5 steps, another lady slid on it and fell hard on her knee. I *heard* the bones shatter. She was in her mid 50's or so, and since she was only about 8 feet from me, I turned to race over to her, but there were others already helping her, so I just sat back down and stayed out of the way. There was no way for me to move away anyway, so I just sat. The airport security was on the scene radioing for an Emergency Response Unit to come that way, another was getting ice on the knee - which was already horribly blue/purple and swelling in front of our eyes. It was a horrible break.

The lady started saying "Oh God! Oh God!" to which all the emergency personel were reassuring her that there was help on the way and not to worry, but she said, "my chest..." and turned blue - just that fast. They radioed for a defribulator and laid her down and started CPR. In no time at all, the Emergency buggy was there, stablilzed her foot while still performing CPR, loaded her on the cart and was cutting her shirt off as they raced her off amid dozens of people.

That poor woman :-(

She had 4 or 5 carry on bags with her, and since we were eating in a mall court like setting with numerous tables for all the food places, I can only assume she wanted one type of food and those traveling with her went other places and were going to meet back with her to eat. The airport security took all her bags and kept asking if anyone was with her. Can you imagine??

I lost my appetite and threw my food away. I have prayed for her all day. I hope she is ok. May God be with her. I hope they found her family.

Good Morning Granny!

My morning started early. The birds outside were chirping, and I was excited to start the day. After all, I have so much to do in just a few days!

I opened my eyes to one of the prettiest sights ever - flowers on my dresser! pR and mommy had bought flowers at the store when they went shopping for necessities for granny. It is so nice not to have to race to the store after a 11 hour drive :-) Anyway, Steph said pR put them in the wrapper in granny's room. Steph and pR decided they needed water and placed them in a pitcher I have. Then Steph asked pR if she wanted to put them on the table so granny would see them right away, and pR said, "no, I want them in granny's bedroom so she can see them when she wakes up!"

See them I did Ms R, and what a smile it brought to my face. I have missed you all so much. It is little things like this that makes granny feel so loved. Thank you for making my day happy :-)

Remember Those S&H Green Stamps??

Liz and I went to Muskogee and look what I found on Main St! I had to have her turn around and go back to take a picture, but it was worth it! How fun to find an old memory. When Steph was little and we could not afford extras, we used our S & H green stamps to buy the extras. The Green Stamps were given at the grocery stores when you made a grocery purchase. Oh the memories :-)

I found square shoes!

Steve is always teasing me about my wide feet. I am always disgusted because I can never find cute shoes - especially ones that fit and don't make me miserable.

Yesterday I had made up my mind I would not stop looking until I found some pretty ones, even if that meant I would have to pay a mint for them. It must have been meant to be, because I found a pair in no time at all. I felt so good about it, I went and bought two blouses and some jewelry as too.

Did you hear that Lisa? I am making progress - aren't you proud of me? Thanks for the nudges - I sure needed them.

It snowed last night! Yep, we finally got a little bit. As much as I love snow, I am ready for winter to be over. Now I remember what seasons are like and it is so nice to have them again - even if it is only temporary for us. I can't wait for spring.

One more week and I will see our home again. What a nice thought. Even though I might have to come back up here, I can see the light at the end of the rainbow, and our girls are standing in the glow. YIPPPEEE!

I can't put a finger on what I am feeling...

Last night, I came in from our trip to Texas. I cannot put a finger on it, but I am unsettled. I have tried to figue out why. I had a great time. I enjoyed my time with my sister. I needed a break from this hell hole. I loved looking at the scenery. I loved visiting wiht John's family. I am not sure what it is. God knew I needed peace. Looking back in my rearview mirror as I left my adventure behind, I saw the sunset scene from a few posts back. I relaxed a bit and came home.

I kept getting more and more unsettled, aggitated, and I don't know why. Was I expecting something else? Was I needing to talk with John without interuptions? Did I need quality time instead of sharing time with my sister? Sometimes I feel like we don't connect - like I say something and she raises her voice and gets defensive, then I do the same. I am not sure what is going on, but I did not feel 'right' or 'at peace'. I do know the more I find out about my family, the more disturbed I get at things that happened. Maybe I just needed to put more pieces of the puzzle together with John and we didn't get the chance. Maybe I am frustrated that there is no one to help me put them together. I don't know. I cannot answer everything and unfortunately, I didn't ask when there were people alive TO ask.

Steve came in, ate, drank one beer and fell into a deep sleep. The stress of this job is eating his lunch. I try to make conversation with him and he gets 'aggitated' for lack of a better word. I think that he just does not feel like talking about it, but it still makes me feel excluded. I want to KNOW if he is working through the problems this unit is giving him - KNOW that things are turning around for him. I decided last night we just won't discuss it. Again, I am out of that loop.

Lastly, about midnight I heard Steve rustling around. When I went to check on him, he was definitely not ok. I tried to figure out what to do, tried to figure out if it was a medical emergency (like the last time I struggled with this), but when he could finally talk, he was just able to say he was ok and I did not need to call an ambulance. I think the stress is getting to him. I worry.

I... Sit... In... This... Tiny... Apartment... And... Worry...

So, I am not discussing it with anyone except these stupid pages I write.

Visiting with Family

Here we are!

Check out the SMILE! I knew I would get one!

Ooops! I cut of his foot. Will I ever figure this out??

What is not to love about these pictures?

We got to go see John Dee yesterday. I am proud to say he has not changed one bit! We had a great time and got to share lots of pictures. He has a wonderful family and his grandkids (of course) are all as cute as a button!

Some Things Money Can't Buy...

...and this is just one of them. This is God's way of telling me if everything in my world is not ok, there is always tomorrow.

Oklahoma sunset on Tank Farm Road in Okmulgee tonight.