Pregnancy Update, Daycare Kids, Baby Shower

Ashley is about 38 weeks pregnant now. A couple weeks ago, it was discovered that the baby is frank breech. They've checked her every week and the baby has remained in frank breech position. Ashley has an appointment this week and then another next Thursday. If the baby is still breech, they will do a C-section that Friday, September 11th. We're praying the baby turns and a C-section won't be necessary.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Ashley works at our church daycare in the room for 3-4 year olds. Lydia is one of the daycare kids. (In the room for 2-3 year olds. There's a half door that separates the 2-3 year old room from the 3-4 year old room.) I usually clean the church sanctuary on Thursdays (I clean the rest of the building on Saturdays) and when I'm done, I'll go to the daycare room Ashley works in to see them. Lydia is always excited to see me. She'll usually excitedly say, "Mema!" and come running to me with a big smile on her face. 

 

The other kids are usually happy to see me, too. They'll smile and a couple of them will hug me. A couple weeks ago, they were drawing and coloring on construction paper and a few of them asked me to write their names on their papers. One of the boys (I can't remember his name) came up to me and said, "You look like a princess." Which cracked me up. He probably thought that because of the pink dress I was wearing - Talbots madras print sleeveless shirt dress; I was wearing a white knit shrug over it.

 

Sunday the 23rd, after service, I was talking with Tykeisha (she's in her 30s; I've known her most of her life) and she complimented my dress. (A green chiffon Jessica Howard with white flowers.) I said, "Oh, thank you." Then she said, "You always look like a princess in your pretty dresses and your pretty updo." That made me laugh a little. Especially after the little daycare boy had told me I look like a princess the previous Thursday.

 

Anyway, I didn't go into the daycare this past Thursday because I had gotten there a little later than usual and most of them left when I was almost finished. Not long after I'd gotten there, Ashley texted me to ask if I was coming to the church and I told her, "I'm here now." Then she texted me back that Lydia said she wanted to see Mema. They came into the sanctuary when I was almost done. Lydia kept hugging me while Ashley and I talked. Sean got there around 5:30 to pick them up and bring them home. He usually hangs around for awhile talking to me, but he was really tired that day and didn't stay long.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

August 15th, two of Ashley's friends held a baby shower for her at the church. She got a lot of clothes for the baby, a few boxes of diapers, and other things like wipes, baby shampoo, Desitin, lotion, bath tub, etc. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Songs purchased for my iPod since my last entry:

 

Chains We Wore by Warr Acres

Withholding Nothing by William McDowell 

 

*

This and That, March Through June

In March, Lydia was finally able to get tubes put in her ears. We were all nervous about the surgery, but it went well. And no ear infections since getting tubes.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

Sean's 29th birthday was April 9th. We bought him a new suit. (He wears suits to church.) There's a store in Greensboro that sells good brand suits for discounted prices. Sean tried on a few before choosing one. I think it was Calvin Klein, but I really don't remember.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Kelly's friend/my "second daughter" Rene had her second child in April. A little girl named Atalaya Hadassah. (Her oldest is a boy named Anthony. I think he'll be 3 this year.) She is so adorable!

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

I brought Effie to the vet a month or two ago for a check-up, including one or two shots. She's healthy, but the vet would like for her to lose a pound. She already seems pretty little to me (I think she's 8 or 9 pounds), but maybe that's because all of our other cats were/are bigger.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Charlie had to go to Indiana and Illinois the week of May 18th. He doesn't usually work on cranes on the rare occasions that he travels for work. He just has to basically do customer/client relations. He really doesn't enjoy that at all.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The week of May 25th, Charlie went with Sean, Ashley, and Lydia (in his truck; they drove their car) to the Outer Banks. He asked Kelly and I several times if we wanted to go and we couldn't. We were both expecting to start that week and we don't have anyone to take care of our cats while we're gone. 

 

Years ago, we'd have my mom do it, but she didn't come over often enough to let our dogs out, fill bowls, clean out litter boxes, etc. So we don't ask her anymore. After we quit asking her, we had Rene house sit/pet sit, but she got married in 2019 and has two little ones now.

 

The only way we could go is if Sean and Ashley don't go and can take care of our cats for us. When they're out of town, Kelly and I take care of their cats.

 

Anyway, they had a good time. There was some rain for a couple days, but they did mostly indoor stuff on those days. Like going to the aquarium. Charlie and Sean were able to do a little fishing. And they all went to a couple lighthouses, the Elizabethan Gardens (Charlie wasn't feeling good when they went there, so he stayed in his room), etc.

 

Kelly and I enjoyed our week at home (except for AF) and really didn't miss not going to the coast.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

June 3rd, Kelly and I went to The Depot antique mall in Concord. That place is huge! We were there for about four hours. We had to hurry towards the end since they were about to close, so we didn't see everything. They have a lot of neat stuff. My favorite booth was filled with weapons, helmets, and other military items from WWI, WWII, the 1800s, etc. It was so cool!

 

After leaving the antique mall, we got something to eat (I don't remember the name of the place; the food was okay) and on our way home, we stopped at the North Carolina Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which is at a rest stop.

 

 There was a man there with a very friendly pit bull. He (the dog) came running towards us, off leash, tail wagging, tongue out. The man hollered at us, "It's okay. He's friendly." The dog started to walk away and then I made the pss-pss-pss noise and he excitedly came back to me and started to jump up on me. So, it works for dogs, too. lol He was a sweet dog.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Saturday, June 13th, Kelly and I went to an antique store here in Greensboro. It was bigger than I expected and, again, we ran out of time before we could see everything. They had some nice stuff, but their prices were higher than the antique mall in Concord.

 

The reason I'm going to antique stores is because I want/need a larger, better quality trunk (real wood!) to keep our bedding in. (We don't have a linen closet.) Not only do I need one a little bigger, but I expect that Lydia and her baby sister at some point may want to sit or stand on the one I have and that one is made of thin, cheap material. It would likely cave in under their weight.

 

There are a couple thrift stores and a few more antique stores I'd like to check out. I've also done online searches. Hopefully I'll find one soon.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

I had a doctor's appointment on June 17th. A regular check-up. I was going to get the shingles shot and tetanus shot at that appointment, as well as have blood work done, but after getting the shingles shot (which hurt like crazy! - it bruised and has now turned yellow), I told them no more needles for the day. I almost fainted and the nurse had me lie down. She fanned me with papers in her hand for a few minutes. Then I moved to a chair and she brought me a small bottle of water. I felt better after a little bit.

 

I went back to the doctor this past Tuesday the 23rd to get my blood work done. I went to Rack Room after that and got some new tan sandals (I've needed new sandals for years) and then got a cute pink top and shorts for Lydia at Belk for half off. 

 

Oh, my blood pressure is a little high, so I'm having to check that a couple times a day at home. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

There's been almost no movies worth watching for several years now, but I've watched two really good ones so far this year - Remarkably Bright Creatures on Netflix and Project Hail Mary on Amazon Prime. Both made me cry a lot. If I had known how much I would love PHM, I would've gone to the theater to see it in IMAX. One of the best movies I've ever watched.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Songs purchased for my iPod since late March:

 

The Warrior is a Child by Twyla Paris

We Want Revival by Red Worship

Ask Me Why by David Jennings

Take Control by UPCI Music (featuring Draylin Young & Rayne Libby)

Show Me Your Face/Yahweh by Red Worship

Show Me Your Face Medley by Indiana Bible College

Making a Way For Me/Waymaker by Indiana Bible College

Nothing Else by Indiana Bible College

Everything For Me by J.J. Hairston

For Christ Alone by 2819 Worship

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

I will post about dress purchases in a separate entry. 

 

*

This and That, November Through March

Sean, Ashley, and Lydia went to the Outer Banks in early October. I always worry when they take a trip, but they had a great time.

 

I think this was at Bodie Island Lighthouse.

 

At the Roanoke Island Aquarium.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

I'm not going to go into a lot of detail because of how much time has passed and because I don't remember most of the details lol, but we had a great Thanksgiving (desserts were pumpkin pie and apple pie), Anniversary (31 years), and Christmas (desserts were pumpkin pie again, key lime pie for Charlie, and homemade chocolate chip cookies). I don't remember what gifts were given. Lydia had a great time though. She loved the talking, singing tea set we got her.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

December 27th, Sean called me so that I could hear what Lydia calls me. (She hadn't called me anything prior to that.) He and Ashley were showing Lydia pictures of me and saying, "Who's that?" Lydia said, "Mema". It melted my heart to hear her say that with her sweet voice. She gets excited when she sees me and says, "Mema!" And when Sean's talking to me on speaker phone and she hears me she says, "Is that Mema?" Charlie is "Papa."

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

On January 9th, I had to bring Loki to the vet because of blood in his poop. Thankfully it wasn't anything serious. He had a full anal gland, which the vet took care of. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Saturday, January 24th, it was forecasted that we would get a bunch of ice with very cold temperatures, and probably have power outages. We didn't get as much ice as was expected and we didn't lose power, but it was very cold (single digits and teens at night and in the mornings; 20s during the day). 

 

Sean, Ashley, and Lydia came to stay with us (they live about a mile or so from us) in case they lost power. I had bought a lot of food for all six of us (I had to go to five different stores to get everything we needed because people were buying up everything; I went to Walmart, Food Lion, Dollar General, Lowes Foods, and Harris Teeter) and ended up spending over $600! But at least I didn't have to worry about us going hungry.

 

We have a generator, so I cooked up a few meals ahead of time that we could heat up and have a hot meal each night for supper.

 

We got ice and sleet that Saturday evening and Sunday morning, which meant the roads were iced over. Sean, Ashley, and Lydia left sooner than we felt like they should have (Sunday afternoon) because Sean was going to try to go to work that Monday. They made it home safely, but Sean wasn't able to go to work.

 

This was taken on January 27th.

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Saturday, January 31st (and I think into Sunday, February 1st), we got 13 inches of snow. The biggest snow we've had in awhile. Again, I had go to three or four different stores to get what we needed because of people clearing the shelves, but I didn't spend nearly as much that time.

 

 

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Some time in January, Sean and Ashley told us that they're expecting another baby. On February 28th, we found out that it's a girl! She's due in September.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

My 53rd birthday was February 7th, Kelly's 26th birthday was February 8th, Charlie's 57th birthday was February 21st, and Lydia's 2nd birthday was March 11th.

 

Lydia is such a sweet, smart, funny, sassy, adorable little girl! She is a joy to our family and friends. She loves cats, dogs, horses, buses (yes, buses), dinosaurs, and frogs. She knows her ABCs, colors, can count to 10, knows some words in sign language, and is learning to count to 10 in Spanish. 

 

She's at that adorable age where she can't say many words correctly and has such a cute voice. Fish is feesh, car is caw, bus almost ends with a lisp, she can't say the R in horse (well, she can't pronounce the R in any words; Ls are also difficult), Kelly is Keggy or Keh-yee, dragon is gaggon, frog almost sounds like the F word. She says our cat Effie's name really well, but can't quite get Loki.

 

Anyway, I could go on, but I'll stop now. :-)

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Tomorrow (technically today), March 21st, is Sean and Ashley's 6th wedding anniversary! 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

Lydia is supposed to get tubes for her ears this Monday. She gets an ear infection nearly every month (except for the summer) and had two in one month last year. They've had to reschedule the surgery several times because if she gets sick (like a cold or anything that causes congestion), they can't do the surgery. As of today, she's not sick. Here's hoping and praying she stays well. 

 

* 

This and That

Our a/c quit working in the middle of the night Tuesday. I noticed some time around 3:00 or 4:00 AM (so, technically Wednesday morning, Sept. 17th) that it was getting hot in the house. By the time Charlie got home from work a little after 3:00 PM (he had hoped to be home before noon) and could try to fix it, it was about 78 degrees in the house. Which wasn't too bad. I had fans going all over the house, so that helped.

 

Anyway, he managed to get it working again. Though it took longer to cool down to the 73 degrees he had it set on than I would've expected on a day that was only in the 70s.

 

He had contacted the home warranty company, but since he fixed it himself, he cancelled the request. I think he should've had them come look at it anyway just to make sure everything looks okay, just to be safe.

 

Our unit is 27 years old, so I really don't expect it to last much longer. I'm surprised it's lasted this long.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Lydia had her 18-month check-up last Friday. She's very healthy, everything looks and sounds good, and she weighs nearly 26 lbs. now.

 

My heart fills up with so much love when she sees me and her face lights up and she comes running to me with her arms raised. I love that little girl so much! What a blessing she is to our family.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Dress purchased since my last entry:

 

Talbot's dress. Purchased from someone on eBay. This is not their photo or mine. I found it on Google search and/or someone else's listing, but I can't remember where. I don't know what the original price was, but I paid $30.83 after shipping and tax. 

 

Funny thing is, I used to have this dress. I bought it for Easter 2009! lol But, I bought the petite version and even though I'm short, it wasn't quite long enough for me and I ended up getting rid of it. I've been trying to find this dress in the right size and length since I discovered Poshmark and other thrift sites in 2020 and I finally did!

 

There are a few dresses that I've noticed over the past five years tend to sell quickly and this is one of them. When I finally found it on eBay I was so excited and bought it immediately after checking the condition.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Songs purchased since my last entry:

 

Glory by The Pentecostals of Katy

Bendiceme by The Pentecostals of Katy

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Oh, I did get a new bar stool for the older gentleman to sit on in the church foyer. I bought it at At Home. (The height is adjustable and it has a gray faux leather cushion.) I wasn't going to say anything to him about it, but since Kelly and I had to put it together ourselves (I bought it before going to clean the church the Saturday evening following the blog entry where I mentioned wanting to buy one) and I wanted to make sure it felt comfortable and safe. lol He said he loves it. 

Ring Cameras, Birthdays, Lydia, Church Cleaning

We ordered a Ring doorbell camera from Amazon and it arrived on June 10th. A few weeks later, we ordered a Ring camera with motion detector lights (are those called something else? can't think of it right now) and it arrived on June 28th. That second camera is on the corner of our house by our garage facing our driveway, yard, and the street. So far, nothing nefarious has been detected. Just deliveries, joggers, walkers, dog walkers, sales people, neighbors coming and going, etc.

 

 

Speaking of June 28th, that would've been my dad's 74th birthday. Hard to imagine him that old. He died a little over a month before his 55th birthday.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

July 21st was Ashley's 29th birthday. We gave her money and a card. I forgot to ask her what she got, but she loves dresses and books. So maybe that.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

July 24th, I bought some new perfume for every day. Well, not every day. Just for days I leave the house that aren't for church on Sunday. I had been wearing Daisy Dream by Marc Jacobs for several years and was getting tired of it. (I still have about a half a bottle of that left.) So I went to Macy's looking for something new (or new to me anyway) that was kind of light and floral. I chose Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet.

 

My Sunday church perfume is I Want Choo by Jimmy Choo.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

July 25th was my mom's 74th birthday. She didn't want anything, so we just got her a card. I may grab something for her (non-cluttery) if I see something she might like. Especially if it's purple. She loves purple.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

Lydia has been getting ear infections nearly every month this year. Why the doctors haven't done anything about it, I don't know. At her last appointment a couple weeks ago, they said she had fluid in her inner ear. She was supposed to have tubes put in her ears on the 11th, but that didn't happen for some reason.

 

By the way, she gets more and more freakin' adorable every day! Yes, I know I'm biased, but it's true. lol

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

I've had to take on more cleaning duties at church. The couple who used to do it had to quit doing it a few years ago. So another lady and her sister started doing it. But then she started having health problems. When she had to quit, I thought someone must have been doing it (bathrooms - there are 2 big bathrooms, men's and women's - the main bathrooms, and two single toilet bathrooms that only people who work at the church or are in the choir know about; hallways, foyer, windows) because it didn't look bad at first. But then I started noticing that things weren't as clean as they usually are, so I started just doing quick checks of the bathrooms - mainly the toilets and checking the toilet paper and paper towels. But as time went on, the worse things looked.

 

The daycare ladies actually normally do a good enough job with the two main bathrooms and the most I usually have to do there is vacuum the floors, and sometimes they mop the hall that the daycare is on. But, as I said, things just weren't as clean as they should be in other areas. (Including the two smaller bathrooms.) So I started doing a little more, sometimes with Kelly's help - vacuuming and mopping the halls, vacuuming the foyer, cleaning windows. Then I noticed that the floor in the foyer was looking dingy. Something most people probably wouldn't notice if they didn't really look. So, now I also mop the foyer.

 

Since cleaning the sanctuary (which I've been doing for over 10 years), halls, bathrooms, foyer, and windows is a lot to do in one day, I now clean the sanctuary on Thursdays and then the rest on Saturday nights. It takes me 2-3 hours to do the sanctuary (vacuuming, straightening rows, cleaning spots on chairs, etc.) and about 3-5 hours to do everything else. Oh, I also check/set thermostats throughout the building, make sure all lights are off (except the outside lights), and make sure all doors to the outside and office doors are locked on Saturday nights. 

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

There's a bar stool in the church foyer, off to the side, that one of the men in our church always sits on after service on Sundays. He's a tall man and one of his feet has been amputated because of diabetes. Anyway, that bar stool is looking rough (there's a tear in the cushion, for one), so I'm hoping I can buy a new one somewhere today. Things should look as nice as possible in the church. Plus, I don't want that gentleman having to sit on that ugly, old bar stool anymore.

 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It's been two years yesterday since a tree fell on my car during a bad storm. I sometimes still can't believe that happened.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Songs purchased since my last entry:

 

Lift the Savior Up by Chicago Mass Choir

Better by Calvary Tabernacle

Friend of a Wounded Heart by Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir

It's Revival Time by UPCI Music

Been So Good by UPCI Music

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Dress purchases since my last entry:

 

Boden Selina dress. Purchased from someone on Poshmark. (This is their photo.) Originally $198. I paid $49.05 after shipping and tax.

 

 

Boden Mischa dress. Purchased from someone on eBay. Originally $180. I paid $32.99 after shipping and tax.

 

 

Tommy Hilfiger pink, eyelet shirt dress. Purchased from someone on eBay. Originally $129. I paid $31.75 after tax. Shipping was free.

 

 

New Kitty, Songs, Death in the Family

I've gotten behind again. I wanted my next entry to be about Milo. I always write an entry all about a pet when they die. But I haven't been able to bring myself to do it this time. I would get to thinking that I need to get that done for Milo, but it's going to be hard - I know I will cry. His last few weeks were so sad and pitiful. Just thinking about it as I'm typing this is putting a lump in my throat. I do need to get that done soon though. I've done it for other pets; I need to do it for Milo, too.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

On March 15th, Kelly and I went to Juliet's House's adoption fair at Petsmart on Bridford Parkway. They have an adoption fair every Saturday. Mostly cats, but there are also some puppies. We wanted to adopt a kitten. We had been to the shelter a couple weeks prior, but there were only a few kittens available (in the cages, anyway; they probably keep some in the back until they're ready to be adopted or until other cats and kittens are adopted) and I didn't feel a connection with the few that were available. The one I really liked was already being adopted.

 

So, anyway, we went to the adoption fair at Petsmart. There were lots of cute cats and kittens. But this one I fell in love with as soon as I saw her from a distance. (Her foster mom had named her Petunia.) I let them know that we were interested in her and they said that we could spend time with her in one of the rooms, but that someone else was coming to look at her and one of the other cats (Desiree, I think was her name). "Petunia" was six months old and so cute! Desiree was 8 months old, but much bigger than Petunia. We also spent time with her, but I didn't feel a connection to her and she didn't seem very interested in us. lol But she may have just been nervous.

 

After spending time with both kittens (both are torties), we then waited for the couple who were coming to see Petunia and Desiree to arrive and meet both kitties so that they could decide which one they wanted. I was so nervous. I really wanted Petunia. The lady helping us was rooting for us. lol She could see how much we already loved Petunia.

 

The couple arrived and chose to meet Desiree first. After spending some time with her, they decided to adopt her without spending time with Petunia. I was so happy! (For us being able to adopt Petunia and for Desiree getting adopted.) I immediately filled out the adoption form and after a couple hours of being at Petsmart (much longer than I expected to be there), we got Petunia and brought her home.

 

Kelly and I had come up with a list of names for a new kitten a few weeks before this and Kelly started reading off the girl names on our way home. I don't remember most of the names on the list, but we narrowed it down to Valkyrie and Effie (after Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games). Petunia seemed much more like an Effie to us, so that's what we named her.

 

Effie will be 9 months old this Saturday. She seems little to us for her age (such a sweet, tiny face), but she's healthy and very playful. She loves to play fetch and is so sweet! Loki tolerates her, but she often gets on his nerves. lol The pesky little sister.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Lydia took her first steps on March 29th. Just a few at a time for awhile, but she's doing great now and is trying to run. I know I'm biased, but she is so adorable! I love her so much.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Songs purchased for my iPod since the last time I included that in a blog entry:

 

I'm Walking by Donnie McClurkin

When All God's Children Get Together by Minister Keith Pringle and The Pentecostal Community Choir

Victory by Yolanda Adams

Holy by David Jennings and Shara McKee

Famous For by Indiana Bible College

No Other Name by Indiana Bible College

Better by Tye Tribbett

More Than Enough by Gary Oliver

Your Majesty by Steve Lawrence

Revolution by Kirk Franklin & The Family

That Name by Shara McKee

Holy by UPCI Music

Heaven on Earth by Indiana Bible College

Hallelujah to Your Name by Tye Tribbett & G.A.

Bless the Lord (Son of Man) by Tye Tribbett & G.A.

Still Alive by Kirk Franklin

All Things New by Tye Tribbett

I'll Sing About Jesus by Indiana Bible College

Heaven by Michael English

I'm Not Afraid by The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir

Alive in You by Jesus Culture

The Anthem by Planetshakers

We Are the Free by Indiana Bible College

Take Me There by Chad Erickson

What a Beautiful Name by Indiana Bible College

But God by The Pentecostals of Katy

Send the Rain by William McDowell

Resurrection Day by Indiana Bible College

The Blessing by Kari Jobe, Cody Carnes & Elevation Worship

Let It Rain by Jesus Culture

Let It Rain by Anthony Evans

Let It Rain by Bishop Paul S. Morton

Excess Love Remix by J.J. Hairston

I Know a Name by Elevation Worship

Hosanna (Be Lifted Higher) by Israel Houghton

Holy Forever & Agnus Dei by The River Worship

Worthy of it All by Cece Winans

John 1 by Indiana Bible College

God's Been Good (The Church Song) by The Pentecostals of Katy

Cry Holy by Salvador

Mighty God by Clint Brown

 

Yes, Let It Rain by three different artists. I couldn't decide which one I liked best. But since getting them, I listen to the version by Jesus Culture most often.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Some time between 11:30 PM, Saturday night, May 31st, and 2:00 AM Sunday morning, June 1st, Sean's father-in-law Doug passed away in his sleep.

 

Sean heard Doug's alarm going off around 3:30 AM, but it kept going. At first, Sean thought Doug overslept (he did that often), but after awhile, Sean went to check on him. He called his name a couple times, then tried to shake him awake. Doug was stiff and cold.

 

Sean called 911 and they told him to do chest compressions until EMS got there. It took them about 15 minutes to get there. (Including police and fire department. Sean said he didn't see an ambulance. He thinks it may have been the coroner's van or something.) Sean said they tried for about 30 seconds and then pronounced him dead.

Doug was 59 years old. Ashley is of course taking it very hard.

 

I can't believe he died that way. And I can't believe my son had to do what he did. He told me that the image of Doug dead and having to do chest compressions on him is always on his mind. He tries to distract himself and get it off his mind, but it's difficult. 

 

The funeral is today at 2:00. 

 

Doug left behind his mother, Fran, a sister, Kim, and his three daughters - Alyssa, Ashley, and Hannah, and five or six grandchildren. (I can't remember if Hannah has two children or three. Alyssa and her husband have two - a girl and an infant son. Ashley and Sean have Lydia.) 

 

I didn't see Doug much over the past couple years, but he seemed nice. I had done some work on his family tree for him. He thought the information I found was pretty cool.  

 

I'm dreading today. I know it's going to be so incredibly difficult for the family.

Brief Update

I don't think I've ever taken this long to post a new blog entry. (Except maybe for the time when my computer quit working.) I just haven't felt like writing. I don't really feel like writing now either, so I'm going to keep this brief. I'll try to write in more detail at a later date. Hopefully in the next week or two.

 

My car: Charlie is still working on it. Slowly. :-/ The major stuff is done, but he keeps re-sanding and repainting parts of it. And he still needs to add some trim pieces.

 

I've bought some clothes since my last entry. I'll probably write about that later. I'm currently trying to find something for Easter.

I got a jury summons, I think for some time in October. I told them that I couldn't because I watch my granddaughter Lydia, but instead of getting out of it, they postponed it to December. (19th, I think.) I didn't know if they'd give me a hard time about it if I told them I still had to watch Lydia, so I didn't try to get out of it again. Thankfully, when I called the night before, they said I wasn't needed. Yay! I despise jury duty.

 

Hurricane Helene hit the NC mountains (as well as SC, TN, VA) in late September after slamming into Florida. The devastation is unbelievable. All these months later and there's still so much destruction up there. :-(

A few weeks before Helene, there was a lot of flooding in and around Southport. 

Ancestry had a DNA update in October. 

 

My results:

 

England & Northwestern Europe 58%

Wales 12%

Cornwall 6%

Denmark 6%

Scotland 6%

Germanic Europe 5%

Ireland 2%

Finland 1%

Charlie:

England & Northwestern Europe 68%

Scotland 13%

Germanic Europe 11%

Cornwall 2%

Wales 2%

Benin & Togo 1%

Norway 1%

Eastern European Roma 1%

Sardinia 1%

Mom:

Scotland, Scottish Highlands & Northern Isles 44%

England & Northwestern Europe 36%

Wales, northern & western 11%

France 3%

Germanic Europe 3%

Ireland 2%

Finland 1%

An update on my aunt Wanda's DNA results. When I'd checked her results last March (because her DNA is the only one that shows where our African ancestors came from), it said 2% Cameroon, Congo, and Western Bantu Peoples. Now it says 1% Nigeria. The rest of her DNA is England & Northwestern Europe 61%, Wales 15%, Scotland 14%, Ireland 5%, Cornwall 3%, and Iceland 1%.

Milo had a vet appointment on January 9th. We had to have Milo put to sleep on January 16th. That was very hard. I'll post more about that in a post just for him.

We had a few snow days this winter. More than we'd had in awhile.

Friday, December 13th, my car died on my way home. I had just been to the DMV/license plate agency to pay my vehicle tax and my car was sounding awful on the way home, so I pulled into a gas station on the corner of Holden and Vandalia. It was then I noticed it smoking from the front. I turned it off and called Charlie. It wouldn't start anymore after that. It was big ordeal that ended up with Charlie having to run jumper cables from my car battery to another battery in the back floorboard of my car. I think Charlie said it was the alternator or something, which he ordered a new one of and replaced.

Charlie got a raise in December, plus extra money (each month?) to keep his truck maintained since he drives it for work.

Lydia started crawling on December 26th. She started standing some time after that. She's not walking yet.

January 5th was communion at church and Lydia's dedication.

 

 

My aunt Kathy died suddenly Sunday morning, March 2nd. She was one of my dad's sisters. Her funeral was this past Saturday, but I was too sick to go.

And, of course, our 30th anniversary on December 17th, Christmas, New Year's, my birthday, Kelly's birthday, and Charlie's birthday. Lydia's first birthday was yesterday.

 

Again, I'll try to give more details later.