With the beginning of Fall, we celebrated Ella's first birthday on August 23rd and in September Alexa's first birthday on September 23rd....and as usual my camera did not make the parties.....but we did learn at Ella's party that her Mom and Dad were expecting a little brother for her in February....congrats to all.....

      During the fall I also was having more problems, this time with enlarged lymph glands in my neck. Again it was back to the hospital for tests, Cat Scans, xrays, ultra sounds until finally they decided to do surgery and remove the lymph nodes and test them.
       It is amazing the conversations that you have with yourself when you are facing the unknown. The deals you make with God and the plans you make in your mind for yourself and what you need to do now and not wait. I figured whatever the outcome, I would not give up, but needed more time to complete some of the things on my own personal list.....
      I gave Amy the ability to pull my records when a test was completed and true to form, I heard from her before I heard from the Doctor.  After waiting a day or two for the results, Amy called me and asked if I wanted the Good news first or the Bad news...give me the bad news first at least I will know what I am dealing with. She then proceeded to tell me that I just spent a lot of money to have my fat analyzed....excuse me??? It turned out that what I had was an infection, Cat Scratch fever to be exact. It came from the cats that we had and inhaling the kitty litter seemed to aggravate the glands. It is then that you hit the ground on your knees and thank God for having heard your prayers and those of everyone around you that had prayed. I was lucky and extremely grateful and through the mist I heard God say it is time to ANTE UP!!
He is correct and I intend to fulfill all that I promised.
       Unfortunately, the kittens needed to go to the Humane Society and I know they were adorable and would find homes soon. They promised to try to keep them together if they could, and that they were a no kill facility. I am sorry that I put them through the trauma of living at one place and then being up rooted and into a new home. I would hope as they were farm kittens that we kept them alive longer and that they have found new homes with new masters that will love them always.....

Goodbye Old Friend

       In September, my temporary tenant at my house was moving out and it was now time to begin finishing the work at the house so I could get it rented in December. This was a lot tougher than I thought it would be. I guess I did not remember how going up and down the stairs to the basement was exhausting or how many memories would bombard you when you were in the middle of painting something. As the weeks progressed so did the work and for my kids it was the first time that they had ever seen the house empty. I finally was in a position to patch, paint and redo all the things I wished I could have done when either I or my kids were living in it. As the rooms were finishing one at a time, it left only the basement and crawl space to be emptied. I sure did have a lot of stuff. You know the stuff you hang on to so one day you can do that project you put off or the stuff you save for your kids apartment or house that you know would look great. I did not count on their tastes and about 20 years of time would erase the need for that special stuff. It appears the only one who benefited from the giant clean out was the garbage men.... The kids did come and we sorted through all the Christmas things and divided them up amongst the 3 of them.
         It just so happened that my brother Jim and his family were coming in to visit us for the Thanksgiving weekend. The house worked out perfectly considering it was empty, so we moved in a few blow up mattresses, some night stands and lamps, the outdoor furniture worked for a living room set up and the card table worked for a kitchen table. Jim's daughter Carly, her husband Jayben and their sons Grayson and Levi arrived first from New Hampshire and about an hour behind them came Jim, his wife Lori and their other daughter Athina. It was great to see them all it had been about 2 years since we saw them. We would spend the next few days on an eating marathon from Thanksgiving to a huge get-together on Friday. Jim made his homemade pizza and we cooked it along with bread, chickens and pork in the outdoor oven, bar-b-Que and fire pit.


Vicki and the kids playing math games of all things....

Mom in the Kitchen

My brothers Jim, Phil and Greg



Jim making Pizza, Katie and Ella

How the house held everyone was beyond me. There were at least 40 people inside the house and my brother Greg and I outside by the fires. Father Damien stopped by and blessed the oven for us so hopefully that will keep the burned food down to a minimum.

   We had a terrific holiday and a lot of food fun and family. Now it was time to get back to the house and Christmas around the corner.....
    I finally re-emptied the house and then tackled  the basement. By the time all the decorations were divided and everyone came back and picked up their things it was finally time to face reality and the last things to be gone through were Jonathan's.
Though my mind knew he had no use for his old High School books especially the one with the giant hole cut out of the front or his math papers, it still required one last look. When Jonathan died and the kids moved in and out of the house I just put his things in the basement to go through or deal with at a later time. Well the later time finally came and I had not anticipated how painful that was going to be. After hauling my things over to my Mom's house it was time to go back and retrieve the last few things. As I looked around the house and remembered as many details and memories as I could, I let it go. I had painted every room to seal in the memories that we made there and allow the tenants the ability to begin making their own on a fresh slate. I left the house as the woman who sold it to me did. It was clean and move in ready. The last things I removed from the house were Jonathan's shoes that they gave me that he wore the night of the accident and his coat...pretty fitting I guess. He told me he was going to live at home until he was 40 so it was fitting he should be the last one out....I turned out the lights and left...leaving behind all the good times, bad times, laughter and tears that are now sealed in the house. It is time for a new family to make new memories and let the soul of the house live again. The family seems to be very happy living there and plans to stay for quite sometime. That is fine by me because I don't want to go back for a very long time....I am moving on an taking all my baggage with me. I will miss you house but be forever grateful as you held us all together in your arms for over 31 years....