Lumpy's Den

St. Louis

2009-08-13T10:28:00.000-07:00

We are in St. Louis. Adam goes into the hospital tomorrow morning at 9:00. We don't know the exact time of the ablation. I would suppose that it will be as soon as they get him all prepped. I'm sure they will have emergency equipment ready just in case..... Tayler started school today, so we will be staying here in the morning to get him off to school and then get to the hospital. Adam is not the least bit apprehensive about going to the hospital. You see, he gets lots of special attention. He even asked if Rebecca (the girl in charge of the AV equipment) was going to bring him his DVD player again. I guess he has a way to block out the bad and only remember the good. Boy, if we could all do that.....Tomorrow night we get to go to the Shaq/Pujols batting battle. It is at the AAA ball park. Matt and Christal got 4 free tickets, so Matt, Tayler, and us two are going. Christal doesn't want Adam out of the house before Friday. You could say overprotection, but I would do the same thing. Just can't take a chance of him catching something or going into stress while out somewhere. Probably as far as he willl get will be to Target later today. We will call all of you or put it on Facebook when we know the outcome of the surgery.

Summertime!!!

2009-07-03T15:17:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted. Life is going by way too fast. First it was Carbondale, then VBS, then we started a major renovation of our church. We had two couples from Campers on Mission come to help up and several of our church members. The campers were only going to stay a week, but they felt sorry for us and stayed two. We quit today at 4:00 with most of the work done. It has been a very long two weeks with a break in the middle when we went to St. Louis to a cardinal game and visited Matt and Christal. Adam is hanging in there. It will be a long summer for them. He will come off the medicine that is keeping his heart regular in two weeks, then we just hope that he goes 4 weeks before his heart goes crazy. We are praying that they won't have to do emergency surgery because he is on two different blood thinners and that would not be good. Matts mom is going to get a heart monitor from work so that they can keep track of his heart. Just keep praying for all of them. It's a very stressful time right now. We are not planning anything after the 14th of this month.

Back Home

2009-05-30T08:10:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy week in Carbondale. It was totally devestated. Not like a tornado that jumps from house to house. This 100 mile an hour wind took out trees on almost every house. Some of them were about 10 feet around and at least 75 feet tall. Very old trees. The ground was so soft from all the rain that they just pulled out of the ground and landed on whatever was in their way. Our Disaster teams left this week, but the Methodists were coming in behind us, so it should all be cleaned up in a few more weeks. We were very thankful that we had some young people to help us. We old folks can't handle some of the big stuff. I've lost my digital camera, so I didn't get to take any pics, but one of the ladies did and will be sending me a CD soon.
Now, it's back to gardening at home. The strawberries are huge and loaded. Sheri has already baked two strawberry pies and I made strawberry shortcake yesterday. Today its Jam.....

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T17:17:00.000-07:00

It has been a wonderful Mother's Day. God blessed us with a beautiful sunshiney day and not too hot. Tim grilled chicken breasts and K.C. and Melissa made salads. Michael and Leah watched. Then it was so nice we all just sat outside and ate and visited. What a great day. I just wish all of my kids could have been here. I know we are all one in spirit. Butch and Tammy came through on their way home from St. Louis. It was a short, but sweet visit. I hope you have all visited Ronnie's facebook page and saw her beautiful prom pictures. Butch is ready to wrap her in bubble wrap and not let her out of the house. Any father can relate to that, I'm sure. And if you haven't heard her sing, just go on Butch's facebook and hear her sing.
Well, this week is the week of Corie's baby, so be in prayer for her and the new baby. Little Sammy will be here on the 14th. We're hoping to get down there soon. We are keeping ourselves available for Christal in case we need to get to St. Louis in a hurry. I finally did get most of the garden in and it's been just rainy enough that everything is doing great.
Please continue to pray for Adam. He still has lots of physical problems.

Home again

2009-04-23T14:20:00.000-07:00

We came home yesterday after we were sure that Christal would be fine without us. Adam is such a different boy on his ADHD meds. He sat and played computer games while Christal ran some errands. Now the challenge is to get him to eat and drink so he can get his strength built back up. He needs to drink lots of liquids for his kidneys. And he has no appetite. Tayler was really torn. He was happy to have us and Aunt Kelli and Aunt Sheri and K.C. there, but he still wanted Adam to come home. Maybe we can get over there and just visit. He's on two little league teams so he is pretty busy. We will be busy putting in our garden now. I picked up a bunch of tomato plants today. And the asparagus is coming up. Yeah!! I know that's about as exciting as watching paint dry, but, hey, it's Indiana in the spring.
Love you all

Another day in Indiana

2009-04-11T16:31:00.000-07:00

I wish I could have a more interesting blog like all of you girls, but when you get old, it's just one day after another. However, I must tell you that the strawberries are blooming and I actually got out there and cut back the rasberries. So it won't be long until we get to enjoy the bounty. And I've planted a bunch of asparagas. And I have to tell you that Papa did something for me that I never expected. He got the Major League Baseball package so we (I) can watch all the baseball I want. I can see all of the Rockies, and the Cardinals and the Cubs, and whoever else I want. I fanticised about doing fantasy baseball, when low and behold my son called today and said that he and Steve are trying to get a family and friends league going. I've never done it before, but heck, I'll try anything once. Now I have a great excuse to watch all the baseball I want. And, if I'm busy, I can always TEVO it. So you all have a great Easter because Jesus is alive and well...Praise God.

His majesty on his throne

2009-03-25T06:36:00.000-07:00

lumpy's chairs

2009-03-24T17:09:00.000-07:00

Lumpy has his favorite chairs. He loves to sew. But most of the time he just thinks about it.

2009-03-24T17:08:00.000-07:00

Recovery

2009-03-22T17:32:00.000-07:00

I guess I'd better get a blog written. We have been busy and bored at the same time....Does that make sense. The thumb is almost healed. He is down to the last brace and we go to the therapist next Tuesday and will probably be told to use it only as needed. He's doing his exercises really good.
We are both doing well. We have cabin fever so bad, though. I can't wait for the weather to warm up so that I can get out in the garden. It gets warm for one day and then back to winter. And invariably, when it's warm, we have something else to do.
Christal and the boys came to visit last week. It was so good to see them. You know it's been a while when you haven't seen Adam with teeth...His front teeth finally grew back in. And Tayler is growing into such a little man. He is doing baseball and soccer this year.
Corie and kids will be visiting next weekend. They may end up helping me plant garden if its nice.
We are so looking forward to getting our fifth wheel out and going somewhere. It's been a lonnnnng winter.

Papa, Dad

2009-02-13T05:42:00.001-08:00

We went to the hospital Monday to have the second thumb surgery. It went really well. This week has been long with pain and upset stomach. He always gets sick with the knock out drugs. They gave him something that was supposed to help...and it did till about 7:00 Monday evening...then he lost it all. And we've been fighting nausea all week. I think the pain meds might make him a little bit sick also. Other than that, he is doing all right. And I am, too. I got to go to JAM Club yesterday because Michael came over and Papasat for me. I think I'll leave him alone today and go get some groceries. I'm about out of coffee and that would not be a good thing.
I hope all of you are doing good. I thought we were going to lose power yesterday with the wind, but we didn't. Praise God.
And I think Spring is right around the corner....robins have been spotted!!
God is good!!
Some information about Adam. Christal took him for another EEG on Tuesday. He had to be sleep deprived with only 4 hours sleep. If you know anything about Adam, you know he sleeps at least 10 hours, so it was a challenge for Christal to keep him up all that time. They will get the results soon. Hopefully they will settle on a medication that he can take just one pill a day. Right now, he is taking 5 for epilepsy, and all his other meds makes about 12....It's rediculous. Pray for her as she is having migraines, and I'm sure it's stress.

Normal?

2009-02-04T06:48:00.000-08:00

Life seems to be returning to normal. We had a house full this past Sunday and Monday. Tina and Randy still don't have power. So they had been in Lexington at a motel, but decided to come this way before the next storm hit on Monday. As it did in Louisville. So them and Corie and kids came and spent the night. Then on Monday afternoon, Corie got power at her house and they decided to go and all stay at Corie and Franks until they could get power to their house. The ice broke their weatherhead and that had to be repaired before they could get power. Now they are waiting for the electric company to get the power from the pole to their house. We have one more day of freezing cold and then we will be up in the 50's. We have a ton of work to do outside because we lost two big branches. Now we know why we had underground lines in WY!!! By the way if you go on google maps you can see a ground level picture of our house there. They have really taken good care of it. No tree in the front. But very nice landscaping. Have a good day, everyone.

Ice Storm

2009-01-30T17:00:00.000-08:00

Yes, we did get hit with the ice/snow storm. Four inches of snow, then two inches of ice and then seven more inches of snow. We lost power at about 4:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning and tried to tough it out till about 10:00 and when the house got down to about 50 degrees, we set about to hook up the generator which my wonderful hubby bought last summer (just in case). It was enough to run the furnace and one light and a cell charger. So about 2:00 Sheri and Kelley came over when there house was no longer habitabal. They all stayed over here until we got power at about 2:00 yesterday afternoon. Actually they stayed till after supper because their house was 38 degrees and it took that long for it to warm up. We had a great time putting a puzzle together and playing pinocle. Last I heard Tina and Randy were out of power, too. She said it looked like a war zone down there. They were going to a motel in Frankfort. We have several trees and branches down, but they will wait till it gets warmer outside.
We got a letter today from the Dr. in Evansville. Pa's surgery will be on February 9th. We go in Monday for blood work. He is ready.
Love you all.

Well again

2009-01-27T11:06:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update on the old folks. We went over to Berea last weekend to see our son get ordained as a deacon. It was great. It's really hard for us to keep things serious, so we didn't. Papa had to bring up the time in his son's past that he was caught pushing leaves into the carpet in the foyer of the church and when he was told to apologize to the church, he gave a two word apology...."I'm sorry".... Then Scott told the church there that they needed to look at a spot in one of the aisles where he needed to say "I"m sorry"... again. Seems when he was youth pastor he caused a hole to come there. It was too funny. But it was great to hear all the people telling how much they appreciate both Butch and Tammy.
We went to the hand specialist yesterday and will hear soon whan they will do the surgery on Pa's left hand. Hopefully soon, because he really is having pain there.
And today we are snow and iced in the house. Looks like we'll be here for a couple of day. So, I will get some things done in my sewing room. I need to start a project so that I will stay away from the computer....It's my vice lately.
Love you all.

The ailments of Grandma & Papa

2009-01-08T05:00:00.000-08:00

It's me again. And I'm under the weather again or still, I should say. I've had the runs ever since I took the antibiotics in November. It finally got to me and I went to the Dr. and was diagnosed with a condition called C-diff. It comes when you take lots of antibiotics and they clean out the good bacteria in your colon, so that you are suseptible to bad bacteria. It causes a toxic infection that is a severe type of colitis. Now I have to take another antibiotic to cure the effects of the other one. I looked it up on the internet and it can be quite serious. So all of you girls with little ones need to be aware of it and be super cautious when the Dr. wants to prescribe lots of antibiotics. The toxin is becoming immune to drugs and has killed lots of people. My Dr. said I was fortunate because I was drinking lots of water and eating yogurt and taking Acidopholis, so I got a milder form of it. If this is mild, Iwould hate to see what a severe form looks like.
Anyway, enough about me. We spent the week between Christmas and New Years down with Tina and Randy. It was a great week even though I didn't feel 100%. We played lots of pinocle and watch football. Sorry about the Broncos. I did my best...wore my jersey and socks and rooted as hard as I could. The carriage house is nice because we don't feel like we're putting anyone out.
Next week we go to Evansville to see the hand Dr. again to see when they are doing surgery on the left hand. That will be fun because Papa is pretty much useless with his right hand. I'm hoping I feel better by then because we have some gift cards to Red Lobster.
Michael has moved out into a cabin in the woods. He wanted to start school this semester, but didn't get his paper work in on time, so he's job hunting again and will go to college in the fall. He is planning on being a pastor. He has a little dog to keep him company and we wish him well.

It's been a long time

2008-12-02T10:25:00.000-08:00

I'm so sorry I haven't posted for a while. I guess you all know that I had walking pneumonia and then it quit walking and just settled in my right lung. Being one who is rarely sick, I can say that I have a lot more empathy now for those who are. I coughed so much I think I damaged my vocal cords for a while. But I feel so much better now. The family wouldn't let me do anything over Thanksgiving, so I did a lot of supervising and sitting. (What a bummer!). And I have been informed that I'm not allowed to ever be sick on Thanksgiving because we forgot the dressing, the rolls and the cranberry salad.
I'm feeling much better now, so today I'm making cranberry salad and I may have to eat the whole thing. I have two more days of this terrible anitbiotic. I say terrible because it has fouled up my digestive system. Christal told me to eat lots of yogurt and I have been, but it still has messed me up. If you have any recommendations from you who have taken Augmentin before, I'm up for it.
Anyway, I hope to be back to normal soon and will be better about posting. We did have a great time over the Thanksgiving weekend. I pray that one day we can all be together on a holiday soon.
Love you all

On the mend

2008-11-17T07:42:00.000-08:00

I guess you all know by now that I have been sick. I thought Icould get over it on my own, but apparently pneumonia takes more aggressive action. I'm still coughing and have not energy, but I should be well by next week. We had our holiday dinner at church yesterday, so things are going to quiet down there for a while. We don't do much in December. I have been so depressed over the election, but I guess it's time to move on and look to 2010. So, we start to think about Thanksgiving. Also, we must keep Matt and Christal in our prayers. Her job may be in jeopardy and I just heard this morning that Citigroup will be cutting 50,000 jobs. Matt works for Citi Bank. They really could not afford that at all. So keep them in your prayers.
Love you all

2008-11-07T07:54:00.000-08:00

Just a little fun

2008-11-07T07:49:00.000-08:00

I hope this cartoon comes through. I know after last Friday Melissa will really appreciate it. This is just another wonderful fall day in Indiana. I can't believe how beautiful it has been. I hope it lasts a while longer. My favorite time of the year.

2008-11-07T07:48:00.000-08:00

2008-09-11T13:40:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Ike

2008-09-10T05:23:00.000-07:00

We didn't go to Gustof, but we are still on alert. If Ike goes into the gulf, we will be called out. Probable this weekend or on Monday. There are several teams down there now and still lots of chain saw work to do. They are going home this week, so they need replaced. We went up Monday and got our mudout trailer cleaned up. It hadn't been cleaned since it was used by the people at Worthington. It was a horrible mess. So, we are in a wait and see mode again. It's when you don't buy any fresh produce and only buy milk in 1/2 gallons.
Yesterday I picked two gallons of rasberries and made it all into jelly. And there are at least that many green berries out there. Avril, Alex, and Ireland would love it. And I'm sure the rest would too, if they could come and pick.

Windows Live Hotmail

2008-09-03T04:50:00.000-07:00

Windows Live Hotmail

Hurricane Gustof

2008-09-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

Yes, we have been put on alert. We don't know when or where we will be going, but it will be some time next week, we think. It will all depend where the need is. At this point throughout the US, there are 23 of our feeding units and shower units already on the field. The expect to serve over 500,000 meals a day. We will go when they call out the mud out units and the chain saw units. We are hoping that Papa and I can run a shower unit somewhere. We did that in Franklin, IN and really liked it. Anyway, keep those people in your prayers. You can't imagine the devastation when you lose everything you own and then we have to come in and finish tearing up their homes. Love you all. We'll try to keep you posted.

oops

2008-08-30T08:26:00.001-07:00

Somehow the picture didn't come through...I'm so computer literate. So check your e-mails....

Windows Live Hotmail

2008-08-30T08:22:00.000-07:00

Windows Live Hotmail
Meet Bennie. The lovable new pet at the Bolin house. He had gotten away this morning and this is his happy to be back smile.

Don't faint

2008-08-26T06:03:00.000-07:00

Now gang, I have a news flash for you. The Bolins have an indoor dog..that's pretty amazing in the first place if you know Sheri. The flash is that Sheri actually likes him. He's a lassa apsa (or however you spell it). He belonged to K.C.'s boyfriend's little brother that was killed in the car accident a year ago. The parents have gotten jobs that require them to be gone more and they just couldn't take care of him. And it's Nate's senior year of high school, and he's working at a store, so he won't be there, so they asked the Bolins if they would take him and amazingly, they said yes. K.C. said she even heard Tim talking baby talk to him the other day. He's really cute. I'll try to get a picture today. Also some Bolin news. Michael was offered a job at a coal mine for quite a bit more money, but 72 hours a week. He went an talked to his boss yesterday and they counter offered, so he has chosen a career over money. It would have really cut into his music at church and lots of other things. We all think he made a wise decision. He's looking for a place of his own now.

2008-08-22T06:16:00.000-07:00

Finally working on our house again

2008-08-22T06:05:00.000-07:00

Whoopee! Today there is a wonderful Christian couple who is putting up guttering and covers on our house. We have had a problem with water getting under the siding because it just runs off the side of the house. We were going to do it ourselves, but the idea of us two old people up on ladders for a few days just didn't seem good, so we did some searching and found this Christian business in Dale that will do it for just a little more than it would have cost us to do it ourselves. And they are putting up leaf guards, so we won't ever have to clean them. I know this isn't terrible exciting to you all, but it's a big deal around here.
Lumpy is doing much better. His breath has cleared up and he only has a problem when he meows too much, which is too often.
And if you haven't heard, Adam had his appointment with the neorologist yesterday. Nothing difinitive, so they are making appointments for an EEG and a MRI. The MRI is to see if he has extra white matter (whatever that is0. Meanwhile he is to be monitored as much as possible to see when he has these seizures and how long. And Taylor has been sick for a week. He has run a temp of between 100 and 102. She finally got him to the doc and he's on antibiotics, but don't know what the problem is.
Please pray for Christal and Matt as they battle these problems.

Lumpy's problems

2008-08-08T06:42:00.001-07:00

Just a little update on our house... We don't have kids at home to worry about, so we worry about our cat. People who don't have animals don't quite understand how you can get so attached to a cat, but you animal people understand completely. Anyway, Lumpy was having trouble closing his mouth after he yawned or meowed. So we took him to a vet and come to find out, he has gingivitis and infected lymph glands. We knew he had terrible bad breath, but we didn't connect that with infection. Now he is on antibiotics and we have already noticed his breath has cleared up. He still has a little trouble closing his mouth, but I think it's helping. We take him back in three weeks and they will probably do oral surgery and remove those back teeth and do some blood work. If nothing else they will clean his teeth. Who would have thought it??
Other than that, all is well here. We are getting ready to purchase guttering and down spouts for our house and while the weather is giving us a break, we just might get it up. Our garden is winding down. We've made several quarts of salsa and have lots of green peppers. And waiting for the cantalope to ripen. I hope we have foiled the deer this year...last year they got all the cantalope.
Uncle Lester and Aunt Vi are celebrating 50 years of marriage on the 23rd of August. We probably aren't going to make it. We are trying to figure out if we can come that way on Labor Day. Dad wants to fly... I on the other hand prefer to drive and fifth wheel it. We'll see who wins out. Probably the pocket book....lol

Wonderful 4th

2008-07-07T12:16:00.001-07:00

I'm sure you all have heard that we had a wonderful time over the weekend. Butch/Scott and Tammy were great host & hostess. The meals were great and went off without a hitch. Tina and Corie did a great job with breakfast. The one hitch was that so few of us knew about Tammy's new allergy which is nuts. It has just developed over the past few years and she doesn't broadcast it. So Sheri brought snacks with lots of nuts in them. It still was okay because I would have eaten way more than I did. The pinocle tournament was great...with the "old" woman winning.... again. When will you ever learn?? It was so great to have nearly the whole family together. But I will never be satisfied till we are ALL there at one time. It just isn't right when there is a missing element. So now we all start planning for next year. We were invited to stay at a family's home that has a spare queen sized bed....Maybe Papa and I will just take them up on it... And today we are getting a much needed rain. They don't need it up north of us and are getting it anyway. But we are loving it. We are through with Disaster Relief for a while. It is too wet to start the rebuild and we need to get some stuff done around here...
We love you all.

VBS week

2008-06-25T09:51:00.000-07:00

This is VBS week, so things are really busy around here. We are doing Game Day Central which based on a sports theme. Right up my alley. But when you live 19 miles away, it gets very hectic. And then our state Disaster Relief director calls and wants Papa to go out on a callout for the next two days. You know him, he'll be leaving this afternoon at 2:30 and be back Saturday, but he isn't coming home. There is a HAM radio overnight thing on Sat., so he's going to that. So, I get to be the director for VBS and do the missions study also for the next two nights. Then we get to get ready to go to Berea for the 4th. I can hardly wait. Wish you all could come. It is going to be so wonderful. Love you all.

2008-06-19T19:19:00.001-07:00

Twilly and Itsy Bitsy

2008-06-19T19:18:00.000-07:00

Pictures

2008-06-19T13:43:00.000-07:00

Here is a sample of what it looks like at the kitchen as we prepare meals to be taken out by Red Cross.

disaster relief/ the kitchen

2008-06-19T13:41:00.000-07:00

Finally home

2008-06-19T12:59:00.000-07:00

We got home yesterday after 10 days helping disaster victims in Indiana. We started in Franklin and ended up in Terre Haute. Papa/Dad/Jimmy went around and evaluated the situation to find people to help. I stayed at the church that hosted us and helped with the feeding unit. Boy, is that a lot of work. And the Red Cross sent mostly frozen food to be cooked. Usually they send canned food that just needs heated. When you are cooking for 1200-1700 meals, it takes a while to just heat canned food, but frozen is a whole different thing. The cooks were getting up at 3:30 to have it ready for the ERV's. ERV stands for Emergency Recovery Vehicle. They are the box trucks that Red Cross uses to take the meals around to victims. We came home yesterday, but they will be feeding until Saturday. Our rule is that we can only stay out 10 days...good rule! Now I have two days to get ready for VBS. We have our block party on Sat. and start on Sunday. We will be so ready for the trip to Berea for the 4th and seeing all of you wonderful people.

darn disasters

2008-06-06T08:03:00.000-07:00

We have been super busy with all of these tornados in Indiana. We were up in Indianapolis Monday and Tuesday to help clean up an RV park. We were supposed to stay till Wednesday, but there were tornado warnings, so we came home. Actually we were in between tornados as we were traveling. Well the warning was too real because today Papa/Jim is up in Moscow, IN helping clean up that town. I opted not to go because I have strawberries that are rotting if I don't get them put up. Besides, Corie and Frank and the kids are coming tomorrow. And we are told that on Monday we will be back up in Indy to help clean up some more. I don't handle the heat very well, but I'll try my best. And on the 21st we start VBS. So this week, I have to finish decorating for that. Wait, ...this week is almost gone...Oh, well, I guess it will get done sooner or later. There's always Sunday afternoon.
Love you all...

2008-05-12T05:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm so glad that you want some of the dolls. Kimmi wants Rainbow Brite and her dog, I presume..You've got it. And a couple of Mandys. And I'll start making some simple clothes. Hopefully I'll have them made really soon. Then I'll get them in the mail to you. And Corie and Avril will choose what they want when they come up on the 23rd. We will be heading to Alabama this weedend to tie balloons for a Kids Ranch We are going in a church van from Bloomington, so it won't cost us any gas money to go. They are providing a motel and all. That's the kind of trip I like to do. This gas price is killing us. But the sun is shining and the garden in growing, so God is good and we love Him. Have a great week.

2008-05-04T09:37:00.000-07:00

2008-05-04T09:36:00.000-07:00

2008-05-04T09:33:00.000-07:00

Finally!

2008-05-04T09:24:00.000-07:00

Wow! We've been without our computer for nearly a week because Papa....decided that we needed a better spy program and he put one on that was way too complicated for us. So the poor computer went into a spasm.. It took them wiping our hard drive clean after they backed up all of our files. The rule in this house now is: IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT!! But, now all is well after it took me several tries to get back into my blog. Had to get a new password and all.
What I wanted to tell you girls..which is mostly who reads this... My wonderful grand daughters! I have several dolls that I would like to get rid of. They are Fisher Price Mandy dolls and some others. I haven't put Samantha in the mix because they all want her and we have too many little girls for just one. If your little ones would like any of them, I will make some new clothes and they are most welcome to them. I will try to get the pictures of them on my post. It's a challenge for me to do it, but I'll try.
Love you all.

Shaking in IN

2008-04-19T05:06:00.002-07:00

And now boys and girls....Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri shook us up yesterday at 5:30 AM. Those of us who have lived through many earthquakes in Southern California knew immediately what was happening. but the flatlander, Tim, was quite confused. We were awakened out of a sound sleep with the trailer shaking like crazy. It even woke Lumpy up. The epicenter was about 50 miles from us to the west.
Then we spent the day out in the garden. We are getting our beds ready for planting. We plan to have a lot in the garden this year. Maybe if we grow our own vegetables, it will ease the cost of eating for a while. The rasberries are doing great as are the strawberries. Now, if God will just turn off the water faucet for a while we can finish and then He can water all He wants.
We are getting ready to go up north in a week to help open the Baptist camp with Campers On Mission. I hate being gone in the spring, but they need help, so we will go for a week or so. This coming Saturday is KC's last prom...We must be here for that.

Shaking in IN

2008-04-19T05:06:00.001-07:00

3AM

2008-04-09T00:24:00.000-07:00

Here it is 3 o'clock in the morning and Papa is snoring and I can't sleep. We have been working on the church for two days. We are remodeling the stage area and the baptistry. When they put the baptistry in when the church was built probably inthe 50's, they didn't finish it. And so we went and put trim work all around. Also there was a mural on the back wall that was way outdated. When we took the mural off, there was a painted picture of a mountain that looked like it was in Japan. Problem was, it was mostly black. So, today, I painted over it with KILZ paint and then more paint. I think we can paint it with the regular paint tomorrow. We removed the rail that they put up for the choir. I don't think chuches have put up modesty rails for about 20 years...but we had one. Now we have the problem of hat to do with all the stuff we had back there. Now it can be seen. So I woke up thinking of what we are to do. And I forgot to take before and after pictures. Papa is going to make a cross to put there. It will look so much better.
I love all of you.
I'll try to get back to sleep now....Love you

Papa's big day

2008-03-29T13:31:00.001-07:00

We have reached a milestone!! Today Papa took the test to become a HAM radio operator. He could only miss 7 questions out of 35 to pass, so he passed it with 100%. He is so very proud of himself and I am too. If he had taken that test a couple of years ago, he would not have remembered all the information, but I guess the medication he's on is finally working right and he is able to keep things in his mind. He has been studying for two weeks and it has really paid off. He bought a hand held radio and will have his call signs in a week. Then he can qualify to get on the North American Mission Board's Ham team to go out on national disasters. Sometimes that is the only communication that we have and it will be nice to have it at home. There are lots of rules and regulations to operating a HAM station, but he is good with rules, so it will work great for him. I didn't tell him, but with him working his mind so much, it helps to ward off allhymers {sp.}. Have a good day, all. We're getting ready for more rain tonight. I think we'll just build an ark.

2008-03-25T10:25:00.000-07:00

2008-03-25T10:22:00.000-07:00

finally in our home

2008-03-25T10:18:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures of our front room. It's almost finished. Just have to put the finishing touches on the curtain rods. I crotched the edge on the blinds to match the curtains because I'm too cheap to pay $40.00 for them. We have been very busy getting things put back and deciding what we are getting rid of. Then the TV went out and we had to purchase one. That was a good old magnavox. We got it in 1992 in Green River. So because our insurance was so good to us we were able to afford a nice flat screen hdtv. It should last us the rest of our lives...
Lumpy likes his new house except for the floors. We had to put a rug in front of his perch at the window because he couldn't get a grip on the floor. Now he's pretty happy.
He had to explore the shelves before I could fill them. Then he settled down and fell asleep in the box that has a quilt I'm working on.
We may be going to Missouri next to work on the flood. They are just now getting to a point where we can help. We'll know later this week, I think.

2008-03-25T10:17:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged

2008-03-15T17:28:00.000-07:00

Well, Kimmi, and all, I would love to tell you that our life is as organized as yours is....However, our life runs around what is happening in the world. But we do kind of have a schedule.

Monday is usually our shopping day. We get up whenever we feel like it, but we usually feel like it between 7&8. Then it's off to Jasper to Save-a-Lot and Wal-Mart to get our groceries and whatever else we need. Then Tuesday we try to stay home and get whatever projects done that we have going. And believe me between Sheri and me we have lots of projects. Lately it's been just moving back into the house. Tina and Corie came on Thursday night and worked like crazy yesterday to help me get the glassware and kitchen back together. They were great help.
Anyway, Wednesdays we are at church all day. I clean it and Papa does the administrative work and we visit the nursting homes if we have time. Then it's church that evening.
Thursday we go to school at 1:00 till 3:00 to help with JAM club. It's third and fourth graders. They are great.
Friday is cleaning house or whatever else I think is important. I rule, you know.
Then Saturday is taking out the garbage day. We don't have garbage pick up because it costs way too much out here. So we take our own garbage to the landfill. It's an important job, you know. But then there are Saturdays like today and we had to be at an Indiana Farm Bureau breakfast at 8:00. We tied balloons for the kids till 10:30.
This Sunday afternoon K.C. is in her last school play. They are doing God'spell. We heard that she is the hit of the show. They had opening night last night. I can't believe she is that near graduation. She has been accepted at Oakland City University and has 75% of her tuition paid with a scholarship. She will live at home and commute at least for a while. It's only about 22 miles, so it won't be too hard.

Quick trip to St. Louis

2008-03-02T16:12:00.000-08:00

This weekend we went to St. Louis to see the kids. Tayler was in a Guitar Hero tournament and it was his last basketball game and it was Adam's school's festival, so it was a good time to go. We had a good visit with them. Their life is crazy as usual with Christal's working nights and all. Matt started a new job on Friday and will stick with it until a better one comes along. He's still hoping to get back with Citibank soon. This week we will really work on getting settled back in our house. Of course, we have to go to the church on Wed and we have JAM Club and then on Thursday we have to take the Disaster Relief trailer back to where it's stored. That's a 3 hour trip up and back and Jimmy has a meeting while we're there. It seems we can't get consistent block of time to get things done. Oh well, I guess we have the rest of our lives and some things just don't matter....Have a good week all.... Love you..
Be sure and pray for Kimmi and the girls and Chris.

Life at our house

2008-02-27T19:24:00.000-08:00

Well, your Papa/Pa is falling apart. We went to a hand specialist on Monday. He has arthritis very bad in both thumbs. He seems to get problems in pairs. The Dr. said that arthritis is rated on a scale of 1-4. His is a high 3 in the left thumb and a mid 3 on the right. So he gave a shot in the left thumb....it hurt really bad.. And had the therapist make some braces for both of them that he is to wear for two weeks. Then we go back and they will decide what they are to do. Most likely they will fuze the joint on both thumbs. That will take away some of the mobility, but will take away the pain. He hurts so bad that he has trouble holding on to things. It's the pits getting old.

About Flat Stanley

2008-02-23T15:49:00.000-08:00

I said I would tell you about Flat Stanley....but first, I must yell...Whoopee!! We went and got our new washer and dryer today. Of course it isn't in yet, but it's on the back of the truck and will be in tomorrow after church. Poor Papa/Dad is having such a hard time with the arthritis in his thumbs that he can't work very long without having incredible pain. So Monday he is seeing a hand specialist...Hope he can help.
Now, about Flat Stanley... He was a good little boy that liked to travel, but his parents could't really afford it. One day he was flattened when a book case fell on him...So, his parents thought it would be a good idea to just mail him around the country so now he gets to travel. That's the story of him and the kids in first and second grade get copies of him and color him and send him to people around the world or the U.S. We got him from Adam and went around here and took pictures of Stanley at different places like in the fifth wheel with Lumpy. Then we went to Santa Claus, and Lincoln's childhood home and took pictures. Then we sent him and the pictures back to Adam where he shared them with his class. Tayler sent his to an author that I've never heard of. I haven't heard if he came back yet. It is very disappointing if Stanley doesn't come back. So if any of your kids get to do Flat Stanley when they get bigger, it would be fun to do it again.
We are just about out of the deep freeze. It was actually 33 degrees today and it was the first day I was out of the house for three days. Love you all....

Home again

2008-02-21T18:21:00.000-08:00

We didn't get to stay long down in IL because of the ice storm. We came home last night after supper because of the storm coming in. I'm so glad we did because we are totally iced in today. We have about 1/2 inch out there. Haven't even tried to get out of the house because both of our doors are frozen. I'm glad I still have the WY habit of storing lots of food. We can get along several days without going out. So, I was able to get our clothes put away and get some stuff done on the house. We go permission to go pick out our washer and dryer, but that will have to wait till Sat now. All of the cabinets are finally in, and I ordered the new curtains.
We were able to help 11 families down in IL in the day and 1/2 that we were there. We may go back the first week in March if they still need help. Or we may be doing work around here if this storm does damage. Hopefully it will be a better day tomorrow. Love you all...

2008-02-17T04:36:00.000-08:00

Back home again

2008-02-17T04:29:00.000-08:00

Well, we moved back in the "big" house yesterday. Still no blinds, curtains and it needs trim, but we moved anyway. We got called out for Disaster Relief to go to southern IL on Tuesday, so it is best for Lumpy that he is in the house. We are hoping that by the time we come back on Friday that they will have the trim done, the washer and dryer back in place and the cabinet in the laundry room. That's asking a lot, but maybe, just maybe. Anyway we get a change of scene to go do some chain saw work for those who are in worse shape than we are. It puts it in a little better perspective, I think. You all have a great week and I'll get you up to date when we get back....This picture is Lumpy and his friend Flat Stanley. I'll tell you the story of Stanley later

2008-02-12T09:40:00.001-08:00

2008-02-12T09:40:00.000-08:00

2008-02-12T09:39:00.000-08:00

2008-02-12T09:38:00.001-08:00

2008-02-12T09:38:00.000-08:00

ice storm

2008-02-12T09:34:00.000-08:00

We made it over to Berea and back safe and sound just before the storm hit. We are now covered with a layer of ice. We haven't even tried to go any where. We are afraid of falling on the ice. I have some pictures of the house so far. I really like the color. The kitchen colors don't show up quite as good as the front room

2008-02-06T07:01:00.000-08:00

Windows Live Hotmail

2008-02-06T06:41:00.000-08:00

Windows Live Hotmail

2008-02-06T06:36:00.000-08:00

Windows Live Hotmail
Sometimes it takes a cat...to put things in perspective. We moved into the house last night for the night because of the weather. Lumpy explored the whole house and then he decided that he really liked the new floor. It isn't finished yet, but enough that he could get a feel for it. This is a picture of how he just plopped down on it and made sure his whole belly was on it. We are told that the cabinets should be in by Friday. Then they can finish the floor.

2008-02-04T06:44:00.000-08:00

This is what the house looked like...The laundry room was enclosed in the plastic. There is definite progress now. They have the plastic down and are starting to put the floor down. We are hoping they show up today and at least finish the front room. We went ahead and painted the front room and kitchen area. No more white walls!! I'll take pictures when it looks good again...

Progress

2008-01-28T10:28:00.001-08:00

Well, we are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. I got some paint on Saturday and finished painting today. The green looks so good. I love Home Depot's paint department. They matched the green in our sofa almost perfectly. Tomorrow they are laying the floor and it looks great. I'll post some pictures when it's all finished. Actually, God is taking a bad situation and helping us to make it all better. I pray that the insurance company does what they have said. And we are so much better off than many others. We'll be moving some stuff in as soon as they get the floor in. Today we're going to move the closets in and probably work on them tomorrow. We can move into the bedroom and my sewing room even while they haven't finished. Actually all that is left is finishing the wall around the laundry room and the floor and putting the washer and dryer back in place. I am so excited!! Have a great day all.

Backyard vacation

2008-01-22T06:02:00.000-08:00

Another week and we are still here, vacationing in the back yard. But, we did get an extension to our electric cord so that we could plug in to a 30 amp breaker. Now I can run the electricity on the hot water heater, so that we aren't going through so much propane. And I can run the coffee pot without unplugging the electric heater. Boy, the comforts of home!!
We had a test last Monday and Friday they said it was fine in the utility room, but the front room still had mold spores. The only thing he could think of was the plants. Darn!! So we threw them all out. It hurt to throw out Grandma's Christmas cactus and the plant that Kelli sent me after my surgery. And then there was Lexi's rubber tree. But, I have to realize that these things aren't people and I can replace them. At least we didn't lose everything like the people after Katrina and the ones up north that Jimmy is helping this week. It's all in your perspective. I think God is trying to teach me to think of others now and get over myself. I pray that I listen.
But today I'm going in the house and put up some new shades...getting rid of the mini blinds. And I'm going shopping for new curtains. Maybe even paint! I'm thinking of a soft green. Might as well get all of this done while the place is tore up. Have a good day all. Love

The day got better

2008-01-16T15:36:00.000-08:00

Well, as it turned out, it was my fault. When my sweetheart was telling me about the propane tanks before he left, I'm sure he told me about turning the valves, but all that stuck was to push the little lever from one tank to another....So this afternoon, I went outside and decided that I might just try turning the valve off to the empty tank and on to the full one. BINGO!! The furnace came on and I was a happy camper once again.
So, I decided I needed to get out and went to town to clean the church and what else? Shop, of course. I didn't realize that I was really rattled, but about 2 miles down the road I realized that I didn't have my glasses on. That's okay, I say, I can see fine.... Then when I got to the main road I looked to see if any cars were coming and happened to look in the seat where my purse was....NOT....It was my Sunday School bag that I had grabbed by mistake. So, I had no choice but to come back home, get my glasses and my purse and I went shopping. Got myself two new tops and I'm all well now.

A day in the life of a camper

2008-01-16T08:59:00.000-08:00

And now, boys and girls, let me give you some advice. If you ever get the idea that you are going to live in a camper in the winter time....don't. Today Papa is in northern IN on a Disaster Relief trip. I am here alone and the furnace has decided that it isn't going to run. It keeps trying, but won't come on. Thankfully, I have an electric heater, but that won't keep the holds warm tonight. I know I have propane because the tank is full and the stove works. I am hoping that something is frozen and when it gets up to the 40's today, it will thaw. And Tim will be up in about an hour, so between the two of us hopefully we can figure it out.
Other than that we are well. They took the last reading on the house on Monday and hopefully it comes back okay and then they can start putting the house back together.
And Jimmy isn't having much fun either. The water from the power washers keeps freezing up. It's hard to clean up a flood if you can't use the power washers. That's why he's coming home tomorrow and going back up on Sunday. But, this too will pass. That's Biblical, you know....and God will get us through this. Love you all

2008-01-07T07:37:00.000-08:00

Wow, it only took till last Friday to get our pipes and sewer thawed... Now, it's so warm, we have the door open. I thought the weather was unpredictable in WY, but I think it's worse here. And they are saying snow by Sunday. Yesterday evening was another crisis...I went in the house and it was 91 degrees in there. What a shock. We tried to cool down, but to now avail. It was still 89 this morning. When we called the contractor, he said it was the dehumidifiers and they have done their job and he will be out today to take them out. So if the air quality check is good, they will start to put it all back together. Whoopee!!
We're going shopping for closets tomorrow. We're putting a closet in the bathroom to give us more storage in there. Corie has asked for the antique wardrobe, so we'll be making a trip to KY when we can. Love you all

3 January 2008 Oh MY

2008-01-03T08:48:00.000-08:00

How about another chapter in the life of living in the RV in single digit weather....it's called frozen water pipes. Boy, are we being tested. We must pass this test. God will get the glory when we do. They have cleaned the vents in the house, the carpet and the couch and chair. He said we could move back in to sleep if we wanted to. But, you see, the cupboards are in the middle of the living room and I think Lumpy would freak out if he couldn't get to his window, so we will thaw our pipes and stay here till they are done. I'll take pictures today and you can see our mess.