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In the meantime

I for sure can't give you a full update.  After Monday last week, I don't have a really clear of what else went on last week.  My back kicked up SO badly.  Monday and Tuesday were bad but I felt better on Wednesday.  Because I felt better, I tried substituting Ibuprofen for the muscle relaxers on Wednesday.  BIG mistake.  Thursday was wretched!!!!!!!! Erica arrived Thursday afternoon and I was in SO much pain.  She and Joe ended up cooking dinner with me trying to supervise as much as possible, sitting on a nearby chair, doped up with muscle relaxers and still unable to even take a step without muscle spasms shooting through my back.  This started another few days of muscle relaxers and more lost days.......  I did a few mor days taking 1/2 of a muscle relaxer every 3 hours.  Then, finally I graduated to Ibuprofen again.  I've honestly spent so much time lying in bed that I'm hurting from being in bed.  It's STILL sore, and I'm STILL taking mega Ibuprofen but I'm reasonably mobile.....I can walk from one end of the house to the other without holding onto the walls.  I'd BETTER be doing better......I have an assignment tomorrow.

Seems Jason has an evaluation meeting tomorrow morning at 8AM.  I have to be at Jen's by 7:15 to watch Will and then take him to "Mad Science Camp" in Green Valley by 9AM.  This will be my first time driving since all the back crap started, so I'm going to see if I can take Joe's car.  Since it's got an automatic transmission, it's a lot easier to manage. 

Jen and Jason saw one of the neurologists today.  According to him, Jason's brain has healed in all areas except the frontal lobes.  The neurologist says that it can take up to a year for healing.  But, most of the healing takes place in the first 6 months.  He's still on the anti-psychotic drugs, the anti-seizure drugs, and the drug that is supposed to help with emotional control.  I guess they will start by trying to wean him off the anti-psychotics sometime in the next few weeks.  ANYWAY, according to the neurologist, there is a possibility that Jason's brain will never heal, and a possibility that he will be completely well eventually.  So, we're back to faith and prayer because, as seems to be so often the case, medical science doesn't know.  That's okay--God does.

Erica left today.  She and joe did a few Vegasy things but I was in no shape to participate.  In fact, my "excursion" for Will tomorrow will be my first trip away from the house since we came home from Arizona.

Oh, and for those of you who don't already know, Jennifer got the ultrasound results and it's a boy!  I  think everyone but Jen and Will was disappointed.  Jason, Joe and I were all crossing our fingers for a girl.  But, Jennifer says the little guy showed his stuff on the ultrasound and there's no doubt.  I'll adapt.......the most important thing is that all the tests are showing that this is one healthy baby and that's all that really matters.

Okay, one final news blast and then it's scrapbook pages.  Yesterday at 6AM we were rousted out of bed by an ungodly noise coming from the roof.  Erica thought Santa was confused and having Christmas in July.  According to her, Santa had a bit too much to drink and couldn't control the sleigh.  No, not quite.  What it really was was the roofers.  The tear off team, more specifically.  They got the felt on and all the shingles up onto the roof yesterday.  This morning at 6AM they were back.  The roof is almost done; they are saying they need about another 2 hours to finish.  So, new roof, complete with solar attic fan.  What a great thing.  I've prayed for this new roof for a good 6-8 years.  And.......finally........

Okay, scrapbook pages and I'm out of here and on my way to bed.  The first is a two page spread and is a gift for my mother.

This one's for Mom. I'll post it on my blog and then she'll get her own hard copy next time I visit. I used Kelly Shults's Simply Divine page set. This was Mom & Dad's 25th anniversary. I hate doing all that typing again, but, here goes. Page 1: It was July 15, 1971. It was a day unlike any other day. A day that did not turn out as expected. Yet, it was a special day. It was their 25th wedding anniversary. When they arrived at the appointed place at the appointed time for the anniversary party a relative was throwing, they got an unpleasant surprise. There was no party. Worse than that, the relative, who had a drinking problem, had gone on a bender and was totally unprepared to be around other people. They did what they could and then they went home. They were sad and disappointed. But it was a special day. So they invited another couple over to spend the rest of the evening with and set the table with the new silver service Mom had gotten for her anniversary, and took these pictures. They even posed for a cake cutting picture, even though there was no cake. They went on. In fact, they went on for another 29 years, minus 16 days. Fifty four years of marriage and then Dad passed away. Mom has forgotten and forgiven, but when she looks at these photos, she remembers her 25th wedding anniversary as a day unlike any other day...... Page 2: In 25 years of marriage, they raised a baby girl and watched her graduate college. They pastored 3 churches. Dad had completed 15 years as a school teacher and a Master's Degree. Mom had been mostly a SAHM with a few part time jobs thrown in. They had moved at least 10 times and finally purchased their dream home. They had made many life-long friends along the way. They had celebrated together, and mourned the passing of 3 parents together. They had built a life together. It was a day worthy of celebration.

My friend's brother has a horse farm. I thought you'd enjoy these gorgeous pictures! I did this with Lynn Grieveson's Old Farm Kitchen, on sale at SBE today. Flourishes are by Michelle Coleman, cut from papers in the kit. Flowers by Jen Wilson. Horse shoes from Cottage Arts.

Another horsey layout. LOVE these photos. I used Kay Miller's Colors of Paradise kit. The "wood" circular ornament is by Christy Sturn at Butternug Squash Designs in her Conservatory--The Yellows kit. The key is by Lynn Grieveson in her Live Your Dreams kit available at The Digichick. Font is Marker Fine Point.

I was digging through photos last night and ran across this one. I love the capture on this--it's pure, unadulterated joy! This was Easter, 2002, and there was CANDY--a joyful event in any child's life! I used Nikki Meador's Summer Fun on this page. I kept seeing layouts with this kit and kept leaving praise on them. I finally decided it must be that I liked the kit as well as the layouts so I bought it. The paint smear is by Michelle Coleman, and the ribbon is by Anita Stergiou (recolored).

These photos were taken on a visit to one of my favorite places in Southern Nevada. A great place to hike and the "red rock" has to be the envy of both Colorado and Utah. The rock formations are utterly intriguing. I used Deb Fisher's new kit, Breakaway, on this layout.

The Swamp Monster is Dead

Well, it was a disgusting weekend.  We spent the bulk of it without running water.  Felt very 18th century......The water was turned back on for just a moment here an there to allow the water boxes on the toilets fill up.  It was very strange to have to schedule time to brush one's teeth.  Anyway, this morning, the plumber showed up.  I swear, I have to get a job as a plumber.  They were here, literally, 3 hours.  The cost was $3600.  That's $1200 an hour folks!  I am absolutely in the WRONG profession and so is Joe.  But, tonight when I go to bed, the carpet will not make sloshing noises as I make my way across it to the bed.  And tomorrow when I get up, I can brush my teeth without sending Joe to the curb to get me two minutes worth of water.......

I couldn't get over what PIGS they were.  It wasn't enough to soak us (pardon the pun) for $3600 to repair the leak..........He tried to convince Joe that the water heater was original equipment and at 22-23 years old was on it's last leg.  It plainly shows on the water heat that I replaced it in 1996.  We elected to ignore his great idea that we replace it right now at an additional cost of $1100 plus labor.  We'll pray over it and trust the Lord to "rebuke the devourer" as He's promised. 

In other news, I guess it's time for an update on Jason.  There are a number of stories which illustrate what is being dealt with here.  First, the Target story.  About a week and a half ago, Jen had both Jason and Will in Target.  Will made some comment to Jason about his stomach.  Perhaps he said Jason had gained weight; perhaps he said Jason had lost weight.  In any case, when Jennifer turned around, Jason had his shirt tucked under his chin and was unzipping his pants, ready to drop them to show Will his stomach!  Not such a great idea in Target!

Next, the knife story.  The other day Jennifer was working on something.  When she went to check on Jason, she found him sitting on the couch with a pair of drawstring pants on his lap.  He was sawing away at them with a sharp kitchen knife, pointed at his stomach.  Seems the drawstring had been pulled inside the waistband and he'd decided on this unique method of "fixing" it.

Next, the "I wanna ride my bike/Let's play catch" story.  Yesterday, at lunch, when Will was hot, tired and hungry, he wanted to ride his bike.  Of course he wanted Jason to "help" him ride his bike.  But, Jason wanted to play catch.  So, in spite of the fact that it was lunchtime and Will was hot, tired and hungry, Jason took will to the park to play catch.  Well, the trick here is that Will does  not catch well.  We saw that for ourselves at his ball games.  And catching well takes practice and coaching.  But practicing entials the possibility of not getting it right and coaching entails continual comments about how to stand, holding up the glove, etc.  A few balls were thrown and the catching didn't go well.  So, Will decided he'd rather play on the slide.  Jason brought him home and they were both crying.......Will because he wanted to play on the slide but was forced to come home, and Jason because he was trying hard to do his "dad" thing and Will didn't want to play catch.

The bird story.  Joe got a call this morning.  Jennifer needed him.  Seems RD, the cat, had gone hunting again.  She'd caught a bird which was injured but there was no telling how badly since there wasn't a vet on site.  It appeared the bird was in a bad way.  And, it appeared that the best way to deal with that was to find a way to put it out of its misery.  Jennifer certainly wasn't going to do it, and Will certainly wasn't going to do it.  Jason was crying because the bird was hurt; he was crying because it needed to be put out of its misery; he was crying because in such a circumstance, it was a man's job to take care of it, but he was crying and couldn't.  Will was crying and telling RD what a bad cat she was.  So, Jennifer wanted Joe to come and do the dirty deed after she got Will delivered to swim camp and Jason to wherever he was headed.  Fortunately, by the time she got home, the bird had flown away so all the upset was for naught. 

Jason goes to work story.  Jason has returned to work for a few hours two to three mornings a week.  Of course, his work is reviewed and he is closely supervised which is only appropriate under the circumstances.  He succeeded in getting it exactly backassward the first week.  He took a case to the 9th circuit court a few months back and won.  However, the Supreme Court was considering a similar case so further action on the case was delayed until the Supremes ruled on their case.  Well, Jason's arguments were supported in the Supreme Court in the other case.  However, this happened while Jason was hospitalized and/or out of work and another attorney was assigned to the case and the client was advised that Jason was no longer his attorney.  But, Jason decided to contact the client anyway, a definite no-no.  Meantime, he'd been assigned a brief to write with a fairly short deadline and he didn't write the brief.  So, his first few days back at work weren't exactly what we might have hoped.

In the meantime, believe it or not, the temporary guardianship has expired and Jason is now independent again.  No comment on that.......

Well, that's all the jabbering I'm going to do for now.  We had to unload the closet in order for the plumber to do his thing.  In that process, I popped about 3 vertebrae (I heard/felt them go) in my back.  I'm making good use of the generic SOMA we got in Mexico and, to tell you the truth, not too sure what I've written makes a lot of sense.  I want to take some pain pills and crash soon.  So here come some layouts for ya and then it's goodnight for me. 

Another layout with my collection of deteriorating photos from Jennifer's early days. This was Easter of 1981. I loved this little outfit on her! Everything here is from Roberta D'Achille's "Galoshes" kit.  Journaling says:  I thought Jennifer looked so cute in this little outfit with its old-fashioned bonnet that matched the panties and dress.  I couldn't help but call her "Poke Bonnet Jenny".  She looked as if she would fit right in on the set of "Little House".

This photo was taken by my son-in-law's uncle who actually got to go on a 5.5 mile hike in this part of Oregon. Isn't it gorgeous? I used Christy Sturm's Conservatory 3--The Blues. It will be available at Butternug Squash on Friday. Isn't that word art to die for? 

This was done with a stock

photo.  Worked great with Christy Sturm's Conservatory Series--the yellows. Available today at Butternug Squash Designs. TLF, Marci

I'm still working through my deteriorating photos from Jennifer's early days. I loved her "big brown eyes" in this photo. My mother is holding her. Had to use a little VP on it even after I spiffed it up in PSE. The kit is by Deb Fisher, her Serendipitous Days. This is a scraplift of 1967 Jodie's layout at http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/pg.asp?cmd=display&layout_id=900286

Somebody started talking about Starbucks today and it drove me wild. I wanted some so bad. I did this page and it helped. Only credits are to Fee Jardine for the flower doodles. TFL, Marci   One of the funny things about this page is that it is one of the most popular pages I've done for a LONG time!  Guess everyone wanted one of these!

My friend's brother has a horse farm. I thought you'd enjoy these gorgeous pictures! I did this with Lynn Grieveson's Old Farm Kitchen, on sale at SBE today. Flourishes are by Michelle Coleman, cut from papers in the kit. Flowers by Jen Wilson. Horse shoes from Cottage Arts.  The guy who sent me these photos has been my friend for about 15 years.  LOVE these pics! 

Adventures and Mis-Adventures

Well, the last few days have been full of adventure.  We tore out of here Sunday at 10:30AM and went to the rental car office to pick up our rental car which was reserved for 11AM.  Imagine our surprise when we realized that the darn place wasn't open til noon!  We turned around and came home, then went back.  For reasons I don't understand, Joe picked this moment to turn thrifty.  He'd reserved a small car.  So, we were to spend many hours in a very small car instead of a larger one which would have been much more comfortable.  We drove to Tucson, arriving, finally about 9:30PM.  Of course we'd stopped for a while in Laughlin and got lunch and watched the boaters and jet skiers run up and down the Colorado River.  I ended up doing the last 200+ miles of the driving with Joe snoring next to me in the passenger seat.  We finally got to our motel, having been routed about 15 miles out of our way.  It was yucky, but we were too tired to care.  We dragged ourselves next door to a Denny's and asked around there about the little town in Mexico where we were headed, but got no information from anyone.  We got up early the next morning, prepared to make the border crossing at Tucson.  But, we still couldn't find anyone who'd ever heard of Algozones.  I finally used my cell phone and tracked down my client only to find to our dismay that we were supposed to be in Yuma (on the west side of AZ) and not Tucson.  Apparently she mis-spoke when she told me Tucson in April.  We quickly threw our stuff into the car and headed across 234 miles of AZ most of which is uninhabited.  We called and rescheduled my dental appointment for 2PM and made that nicely.  We parked in a parking lot operated by the Quenchan Indians.  All day parking costs $3.  You walk about 100 feet and you're at the border crossing.  Then you walk about another block and there is the dental office.  En route, you pass a zillion dentists, optometrists, and pharmacies.  And street hawkers, passing out business cards and trying to entice you into THEIR dentist, optometrist or pharmacy.  The office was small but very clean and nicely appointed.  The dentist worked on my tooth, and put a temporary crown on it.  Since we'd arrived in the afternoon, not in the morning as planned, I could not get the permanent crown the following morning.  Instead we had to wait til Wednesday.  Monday night, I had a lot of pain, I think because the dentist had to give me extra novocaine in some painful places to get me numb enough.  But, we'd bought a bottle of 800 MG Ibuprofen at one of the pharmacies and I took that and it eventually took the swelling and pain down nicely.  Tuesday was a quiet day.......since it was a holiday, there weren't many options as to what we could do.  Mostly we laid around the motel and Joe slept a lot which was good for him.  I did get to see some fireworks, but only by standing outside the hotel room and looking off into the distance.  Wednesday AM we went back to the dentist.  Everything went very well, I have my crown, and the bill was $140.  Then we headed home, leaving about 12:30 and arriving home around 3:30PM.  All in all, we drove about 900 miles.  My butt was very tired when we finally got home and we were bleary-eyed and tired. 

One of my favorite restaurants for breakfast or lunch is Cracker Barrel.  Of course, there isn't one in Vegas.  But there is one in Yuma!  In fact, it's right up the hill from our hotel.  So, I got to do some shopping for fun tee shirts there and we enjoyed an excellent breakfast there Tuesday. 

We did go to the Yuma Territorial Prison and tour it.  It was SO hot.  Of course it's hot in Vegas, but it's very dry here.  In Yuma, it was hot AND humid....the worst of both worlds.  The prison turned out to be quite interesting and a real history lesson.  Of course, I took pictures.

On the way to Tucson, we went through Lake Havasu.  Joe stopped at the London Bridge and I was able to get some photos.  I also got some fun photos in Laughlin of the jet skis and river boats.  So I'll have some fun photos to scrap. 

Joe turned off the water to the house before we left, but even in 4 days, the carpet didn't dry out completely.  But, he turned it back on when we got home yesterday afternoon and now the closet, my bedroom, and the hall are wet..........We tried to call a plumber this AM, but he never called back.  So, we'll have to call someone else tomorrow.  It's beginning to look like we're going to have to just turn the water on for short periods every now and then, just to keep from sloshing through water.......

This morning, I took Will to his therapist.  I liked the man a lot.  He had a lot of positive feedback for us about Will--how smart he is, how well he communicates, etc.  He asked me some questions which I answered, but he was going to call Jennifer to bring her up to date on Will.  I'm anxious to hear what was said......  Jason spent the day taking Neuro-Psychological tests.  When they came to get Will, Jason was wiped out.  I think it will be early to bed for him. 

Well, for now, I don't have much more to say.  I should post some layouts, but I think I'm too tired for that.  I've been living on allergy meds since we got home and I'm wiped out.  Maybe tomorrow......  G'night......  Marci