On the Road Again!

We had a very nice Thanksgiving Weekend. We left Sunday and went to Gerald's parents house. We dropped the kids off and then Gerald and I went to the city to enjoy some time alone. We had a very nice dinner together and enjoyed some quiet time. We also did a little shopping. We were back at Grandmas before the kids even went to bed.

Monday we celebrated Thanksgiving with the family.

My mom has been in the hospital for the last week. Her first round of chemo just about did her in and she has been slowing recovering in the hospital. The pneumonia is still a concern, but there are rumors that she is about to be discharged. The kids and I are going to head down to Montana in a day or two (depending on when the discharge happens) to help take care of her. Her doctor has ordered her to rest and not do any work whatsoever! So we will be there to make sure that she follows those orders. We are so thankful that she is doing better and that we once again have the privilege to help take care of her. That will be her one and only round of chemo - she has decided not to take any more.

Gerald will once again hold down the home front. It is never fun to be separated as a family. If you live in our area please check up on Gerald now and then while we are gone. In September when we were gone I heard that he ate several meals of cheese sauce and chips. :(

The kids are excited to see Grandma and Grandpa Pust again. Pray for our safety in traveling, to stay connected even though we are separated, and that my mom would continue to improve.

Thank you very much,

Sandy

Mental Health Day

I am more behind than ever!!! Have you ever felt that way? Some of the lists are in my head and some are actually written down. Today I feel overwhelmed with it all and so far haven't done a thing except teach school. Don't get me wrong - we have been busy. We've canned apple juice and apple butter. We have also canned pizza sauce and salsa. There are tomatoes on the counter and tomatoes in the freezer. There are cut up peppers in the freezer and way more peppers sitting in the garage waiting to be taken care of. There are also several stalks of celery sitting in pails in the garage waiting to be taken care of. I've made desserts for fundraisers, watched my nephews for a weekend, supervised piano practice, taught school four hours every day, picked apple for the children to host a fundraiser, completed all the necessary paperwork for police checks and child abuse registry for helping out at Awana at the church down the street, said no to directing at Awana. I've harvested seeds from my flowers and stored them away for next year. I washed, dried, and folded countless loads of laundry. I've taken Andrew to the doctor and then onto the pharmacy to get new asthma medicine. We've been to the library to check out books, and driven kids to birthday parties. We've attended a presentation on Noah's Ark, got together with our home school group to kick off the year, had our first gym night, and I've attended two mom's meetings.

I've been busy!!!

But the list doesn't seem to get any shorter. The bathrooms desperately need to be cleaned, I need to make an appointment for flu shots and for Andrew's vaccination (I'm only a year behind on this one). I am always working on lesson plans and making sure that I haven't forgotten anything - although I did discover today I am about a week behind in assigning a science project to Caleb. I am always planning meals, cooking, or doing dishes. The house hasn't been dusted in - well, I can't remember since when. The extra bedroom has become a catchall room that is starting to look like - well, one of those houses that you read about where authorities enter the house to find only a trail accessible. The rest of the room is covered in junk. Those peppers and the celery in the garage need to be taken care of in the next day or two. Floors need to be cleaned, living room picked up, and still piano to be practiced. The garden plants need to be cleaned out as do the flowers. And then there is the quilt that I would love to finish and the next child waiting for theirs to be started. When is there time for that??

So today I am going to curl up on the couch with a cozy blanket and do nothing. That list isn't going to run away and I need a day off. It is a mental health day for me. Maybe I'll make a cup of hot chocolate and look at the quilting magazine I checked out from the library. Everything will seem better in the morning.

Sandy