I need to wake up! Weird day yesterday.

Another beautiful day in paradise. The sky is such a pretty blue. There is a slight breeze. The hummingbirds are hungry. And I got to wake up to two amazing grand daughters at my home. We were suppose to have 3 but Madi wasn't feeling well last night after the game and didn't come home with Riley and Lauren to my house. She is ok today. I worried about her.  Not often she would miss a sleepover with her cousins. It was pretty late when we got home so the girls ate and watched movies. I


I went to bed and before I did I gave myself my first insulin shot.  I was scared.  Lanny and I went to the doctors and my friend Beth, who is a nurse there, showed us how to give myself a shot. It was easier than I thought it was until last night. Then I was afraid I forgot everything last night when it was time. I was trying to read everything and Mr. Nondirections is rushing me through it. I did it with the girls watching. Lauren laughed, of course.  I have to give myself a shot every night. I can't believe it is gotten to this. My prayer is when I get my levels down I will start to feel better. It only makes sense, right?

Last night Karla's team had two games on Varsity Field.  First game we won by a couple points. The second one we lost.  The second one was against Derence and Jessica. Love those guys! It was a fun game and Dylan had played great!  The first game was not so fun.  The pitcher on the other team ran over to home plate to tag Dylan out (who was running home).  When the 3rd baseman threw it to her it flew in REALLY fast, missed her mitt and smashed her right in the face.  It sounded like something cracked and she got knocked down on her back (like someone punched her in the face...but it was a softball).  It was unreal how quickly it all happened. She was pouring blood and I am surprised it didn't knock her out!  Everyone was pretty shook up.  A guy on their team took her to the doctor.  My friend who owns Blue Sky Printing with her husband facebooked me this " Hi Joyce. Just saw your comment on a string of comments regarding a softball player getting hit in the face and some people were wondering who she was and if she is okay. It sounds like it was one of our employees, Amy Miller. She pitches for a local Poulsbo team and she took a ball to the face last night. X-rays determined no broken bones, but she was quite bloody and swollen in the photo she sent. She's a tough one, and came in offering to work today even though I told her last night not to come in! We sent her back home, of course—she could barely talk because of the swelling and the pain. Thought I would share this with you since I was unable to post a comment with the info..."

I am so tired today  I was on the phone until after 11 just talking with one of my grandkids. What a blessing that is.  Today I spent some time on the phone talking with another one. It love it. I am tired today.  I may need a nap for sure. I don't have a picture to post today...but I did want to update about my health.  Hope you have a great day!!! xoxo

Happy birthday Kitkat and thoughts on church

I am so blessed!!! I really am.  I love the mornings. I sit in my recliner sipping coffee and I look out my window at the blue skies, sunshine, hummingbirds looking in and then feeding off the feeder.  The window is open and I smell the fresh air. Animals and papa are all back sleeping.  It is peaceful and is the best feeling in the world. I feel safe and loved and blessed. Everything is right in my world. Thank you, Lord!

There are times I get blue thinking about days gone by when I thought they were the best times of my life and I do miss them.
I miss when the grandkids were younger and I used to take care of them...

I miss when our kids were teenagers...

I miss when they were younger and we would go camping and on car rides...

I miss my parents and rides with them.

But I look at my life today and I love it too. Someday I will miss it and have another part to love (hopefully) and life goes on.

I had a weird dream last night that I went back to Martha and Mary Learning Center where I worked and asked for a part time job. Tammy turned me down.  I was upset. I went from being hired as the Site Coordinator to Site Supervisor plus teacher and now they won't hire me as a part time assistant. It hurt me.  Kind of reminds me of real life.

It is strange how much the church family can hurt people.  It is sad. I don't think it is what God intended. And most of the time it is hidden behind "We prayed about it and...." or "I don't think the Lord wants us to move in that direction."  The worst one being "I don't think it is a good fit."  Really?????  The last time I let a church hurt me was when I applied for a receptionist job they had open.  I passed through all the receptionist, I passed through 4 pastors and everyone thought the job was mine. Until the Senior Pastor came back and said "I don't think you are a good fit." That sure hurt. I fit well enough to be in charge of Children's Church and teach (his own children) but not good enough to answer their phones. Made no sense to me.  We don't attend the church anymore.  I lost respect for the leadership and the other moves they had made removing one of the Pastors who was a great person but apparently didn't fit either?  I understand churches are filled with fallible people. But it is hard to attend if you don't respect.  We have had to leave churches over the years because of different beliefs, our kids, and other leadership problems. We have no church now. I am a bit afraid to involve myself again.  Don't get me wrong....I have made life lasting and life changing friendships from many of these churches. I have people I love and will always love! People who have helped me get through rough patches, people who have supported and loved me unconditionally.  My problem has been leadership...not the friends I have made.  Here are just some of them...

My relationship with the Lord is stronger than ever!  I have grown and been strengthened through so many things Lanny and I have been through over the past 10 years. He is there all the time and all the way! Things I never thought I could survive He brought me through. Having such a close relationship is the best way to live. I believe when He knows I am ready for a church relationship He will take us there.

Today is our cat's birthday!!!! Or as close as we can figure! He is 2 years old!!!! Sure love our kitkat! He makes us laugh!  He is so fun unless he gets outside. Not so fun. Totally spoiled!

Well, tummy is growling. Must be breakfast time.  I hope you have a great Saturday and Sunday! We don't really have plans. Last weekend was so busy it is nice to be calm again!  Thanks for stopping by and reading my mind.  Please feel free to leave a comment below this post. Love to hear your mind too!

Love and hate. Good and bad.

Thursday noonish. I have a love / hate relationship with pay day.  We get paid once a month with retirement checks and social security.  It is nice to just pay all our bills at once. That actually is the love part. Got them all paid.  This pay day was a bit rough because water, garbage and van tabs were all due this month (by this month I meant August). I cannot believe the price of groceries.  Everything is going up so much. We buy for the whole month and fill the cupboards and freezer. What is funny Lanny and I both have a list and on the way home we always think of about 5 or 6 things we forgot to put on our lists... like jelly. He went back this morning. (Brought back Central Market's Biscuits and Gravy too) Money comes in and goes out so quickly around here. lol! That is the hate part of this relationship. Well, shopping and bill paying is done for next month and I can relax.

I did research before I bought my pocket camera.  It seemed like it was a perfect camera for the price. It was an Olympus.  I hate this camera so much!!!! Sometimes it takes really great pictures (actually rarely) and other times it doesn't.  Examples:

Good photo

Not a good photo

Same camera. Maybe I just don't know how to use it. I would love a simpler better camera.

Tonight is a softball game! I am excited about it!  I really like to go keep score for them. It is a lot of laughs.  I have to remember it is all for fun. Sometimes I can get a little frustrated. Papa goes to all the games with me and helps me keep score. I have the score pad and he has his own tablet and he keeps count of the runs too. Sometimes there is so much going on and people run in and score while I am watching where the batter and runners go and where the ball is and who is going out etc... I am SO thankful he helps me. Makes it so much easier. And fun!

Today is my great nephew's birthday...Aaron.  Tomorrow is one of my bff's birthday.... Candice.

Saturday is Brad's birthday (he is a great guy and has been a friend of Kevon's since middle school.)

It is also Kristy Davison's birthday....but the most important birthday on Saturday is KITKATS!!!!
He will be 2 years! Love that cat!!!!!

I hope that the rest of your week goes great!!!!

Anniversary, Great Reunion Weekend and Stupid Scammer

It is Monday morning again and it sure feels like it.  I am exhausted from the weekend.  It was so busy and fun!  But before I post about it I want to say Happy Anniversary to Ryan and Amanda!!!!! We love both of you and are proud of you!

My weekend started on Friday having coffee with Nell.  It was nice.  We had good conversation for over an hour.  I came home and should have taken a nap but didn't.   That night I picked up Karla and went to the casino in Suquamish for the 40th class reunion "Break the Ice"!  It was an amazing turnout. Saw a few people I hadn't seen in 40 years!  Karla had a good time. Won $90!  She is so lucky. There was a lot of laughter and hugs!!!! We got there around 6:30 and left after 8:30. Pretty early. I was done. My friend, Sherri is in the first picture. The blond and I have been friends since 8th grade! Love her!

Anna Collins came to her first reunion (in the black). She was our class president and has lived all over the world AND wrote a famous play called The Angry Housewives. Good to see her again.

 Took Karla home and was in bed by 10. Still woke up tired.

Got ready for the Worship/Testimony part of the reunion in the morning. Papa scrambled up a bunch of scrambled eggs to bring. Couldn't find her house at first but finally made it.  Great food, great testimonies by Idar, Norene, Marty and Adrianne. Bob gave a great message. Kathleen sang a beautiful song. And the worship songs were awesome. It is nice spending time with fellow believers loving the Lord!!!!  I was hoping more would come. There were only 14 or so classmates with spouses. My spouse didn't go. Maybe next time.

I went to Albertson's for food and headed up to the picnic. Now that was a turn-out!!!! I was shocked. Over 74 classmates alone..not including spouses. So much food!!!! Shirley made burgers and hot dogs. There were tons of dishes, chips, chicken, fruit, salads, desserts, etc... We could have eaten for a week! Our Class Reunion Site has tons of pictures. http://nkclassof74.blogspot.com/  I am posting a few here.
We had 70's music playing in the background which Ted provided plus he played his guitar and sang! That was pretty cool.  We had two teachers there...Mr. Harney (teacher, counselor and the basketball coach) and Mr. Taylor (teacher and baseball coach and asst. football coach). Very honored to have them with us! They are both legends at North Kitsap High School!!!!

Ann, Mr. Taylor, Sherri and myself

Mr. Harney and Ann

Averil did memorial windmills with their names on them.  We left them for kids to enjoy.

Our crazy class. Partyers to the right, confused on the left!

The lady on the right... Adrianne stepped up to the plate and planned so much of this!

grumpy cat came!

Reunion committee: Cindy, Shirley, me, Adrianne and Kathleen

Judy brought memorabilia 

Sherri and I!  Friends for 45 years!

Yesterday I lazed around all day! I was so tired!!!!  Today looks like the same!  Nell and Jael are supposed to stop by on their way back to Montana and say goodbye. Jael wanted to see me.

Had some good news...my niece Alyssa is joining Karla's softball team.  They needed someone to help out. With injuries we seem to be running out of bodies during a game. She is a great little player too. I am excited! She's played for the high school since her freshman year and on a select team, too.

Now my complaint corner: Last night I was in bed reading and the phone rings at 9:30 p.m.  It is "out of area" so I figured I best answer it. It was some foreign woman telling me my computer has a virus. I was not happy with her...in fact I was quite rude. First of all, Microsoft isn't going to "call" you at 9:30 at night or any time to let you know you have a virus. So I knew it was a scam. She finally hung up on me. Here is some info on it: http://greekgeek.hubpages.com/hub/telephone-scam-computer-virus

Nell and Jael just left.  It was good to see them.  They are off to catch the ferry to Seattle and then the interstate takes them all the way to Montana. Hope they make their boat...I saw the bridge is just opening so it has been closed for car traffic.  I looked at the camera's and it looks pretty clear already. http://www.wsdot.com/traffic/hoodcanal/default.aspx?cam=9202

That is all I can think of at the moment. I do want to say this. The reunion did me good.  Yes, I have grey in my hair, my teeth aren't as white as high school, I have wrinkles, I am a lot heavier (understatement), my vision isn't as good, jumping for joy doesn't come easy, I am more tired, and I am not sitting on the ground to have my picture taken.  But I found a whole group like me!!!! That made me feel better!!!! Thanks to my classmates for making me feel loved, accepted and not so bad.

Let me call you sweetheart...

It is Thursday and I cannot decide if the week has gone by fast or slow.  Depends on the minute you talk to me.

Today has been lazy day.  Yesterday was busy day.  Started out with Madi calling me. She was bored. So I went to take a shower and the drain was gurgling (yes, spellcheck! It is a word!) a little bit. I called papa to tell him and so he flushes the toilet. Water overflows all over the bathroom and my tub isn't draining. So I hurry my shower and papa checks a few more drains and confirmed we were having trouble with all of them.  I went and got Madi. We went to Walmart. She tried on clothes and had fun with it. We bought some Drano stuff. Then we ran to my house . Papa ran the Drano through and it did nothing. Madi and I leave to get more and because there was no potty facility to use! We took Lauren's key to her house and used the potty.  She finished her chores and went with us for lunch. Of course we couldn't agree. I like a McDonald's burger. They wanted Subway.  So that was lunch.  Ran to Poulsbo and got some more Drano.  The girls wanted to go to Big 5.  I sat in the shade in the van at the entrance and they went in. I called Ryan. He went and fixed our drain problem. Apparently when they put the septic in they put it in backwards.  We haven't had trouble with it until now.  Ryan pulled grease out of the drain at the septic.  Poopy, stinky, dirty, nasty.  Such a wonderful son for doing this for us!!!! After a hot day at work and he came over dug up the poop place and got icky. Such a sweetheart! I love him so much!!!!

  We have great kids! Tomorrow my daughter agreed to go to the reunion with me.  She didn't have to...it is not her 40th. But she knows I don't want to go alone. Lanny doesn't even go to his own, let alone mine.  Karla is a sweetheart too. lol!

Whenever I hear the word "sweetheart" it always makes me smile and think of when Lauren and Madi were small and I babysat.  This is so funny how an argument can just flare up out of the word "sweetheart".

I am looking into putting the rest of my parents cremains in the Kingston Cemetery.  I need to put them somewhere and it would be nice to have a marker acknowledging their life and death.  Mom's cousin, Uncle Eddie, is buried there...as well as dear friend Leon Rayment.  Mom and dad lived in Kingston so many years it seems only fitting.   Have to see the expense and who would like to help with it first. They need out of my closet and into a place of honor. They would think this pretty funny.

 
We went to the kids games last night.  Not too good.  Joel isn't feeling well so he had a hard time playing. But he played the first game (pitcher) which is more than I thought he should do. But a guy is going to do what a guy is going to do. Right?  A woman named Charlie (catcher) got hit in the forehead with a ball. She had to leave the game and Kristen took her place. Our other pitcher (Chip) got hit by a ball right below the chin. Payton got slid into at second base and bruised her ankle bad (she was out part of the first and the second game). Jay was still sore from last week plus had a little water inner tube mishap last weekend with his head. Some of our team was just tired, sore or off their game. It was a rough two games.  We lost both.  When our players are on their game we are amazing (like last week).  It just breaks my heart to see anyone in pain.  Their next game is Thursday of next week. Please pray for healing.

Today is Lanny's cousins birthday. His name is Dave Brazeau. Him and Lanny used to have such a great time when they were kids! BB gun fights, strawberry picking at Fukazowa's (JB jr. got kicked out for sitting on the plants) and they just hung out. Lanny love his Aunt Arlys (Dave's mom) ... she was so special.

Pete, Dave and Lanny

Dave, Pete and Lanny

Lanny's cousins; Dave, Pete, Joe, Cheryl

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAVID!!!!!!

This will be a very busy weekend!!!!  Tomorrow I am meeting up with Nell.  I don't know if you remember her...she is Jael's mom.  Jael was Andrew's friend.  Jael is in the area playing "gigs" and so I'll be hooking up with her mom tomorrow morning and catching up on our lives.  We really clicked when we first met.

I really miss Jael. I am pretty sure I won't get to see her this trip.  I got to last time (above). The other night she was singing on Bainbridge Island and no one told me about it so I missed it.  I was pretty sad when Lauren told me the family went.  Andrew and Jael hadn't seen each other for a very long time so they got to talk and catch up. Whenever I hear this song, I wonder if she wrote it about Andrew. Lauren does too because of this picture when he offered her his sweater (or coat).

So, anyways, Friday night is the first part of my class reunion!  A Break the Ice session at the casino. Karla is my date and I will be her designated driver.  Saturday morning is the brunch / worship / testimony segment of the reunion! We are the only class I know that does this and it is such an amazing time of fellowship!!!!  I wasn't a Christian in high school but love spending time with everyone who has given their life to the Lord like me!  I am hoping Andrew will come and take some pictures! Then in the afternoon is the busiest part of the reunion..the picnic. Ted is bringing music from the 70's, someone is doing the memorial, I have the sign and someone is bringing a ladder.  This is the first reunion I didn't head up in 40 years.  Feels so weird not to be involved!  I actually got it started but Adrianne and Kathleen agreed to take leadership of it for me. And Shirley is doing the Friday part.  It is nice to be able to just enjoy it this time.  My mind just isn't clear enough to really get into planning right now. And my body isn't able to do all that needs doing.  So a big huge thanks to everyone who stepped up to the plate! we have a great class!

Pictures to come on Sunday!  xoxo