Goodbye to Winter

Christmas Cookies

J's cookies

G's cookies

F's Cookies

Basketball Anyone?

Mouse Poison?

This past weekend was the fall edition of "Huff work day". Mom's big job for us was the clean the garage.
Lee got called into work, so he couldn't make it. It was us three girls, Ryan & Ward. Mel is PG. Jodi is nursing.
The pickup truck would start. Ward was able to jump it & then drove it into town where he planned to purchase some parts for Mom's kitchen into garage door. It wasn't shutting or opening when it should. Well, the truck stopped working. Ward was able to get it into a parking lot. Melinda went & rescued him.
At this point, the children (my three, Mel's 4 year old and Jodi's baby) are in the house. Riley is tied out in Mom's back yard.
Ward proceeded to go to Wal-Mart and get parts for the door. He tried to get a new battery for the truck, but didn't have all the information (make, model, etc). He went back to the truck to get the needed information (Chevy Silverado 1500).
About this time, we had the garage mostly cleared out. The idea was to move everything out of the garage, sweep it, then wash it down with the power washer. Mom's garbage day is Friday. We thought we could just take a load of trash to the local landfill. On Saturdays the landfill closes at 11:45 AM. Don't push it. If the gate is closed, the landfill is CLOSED.
Where was Ward???
Well, back at Wal-Mart, Ward was working with a hard of hearing gentleman. It seemed they also needed to know what year the truck was. Ward called Mom & got the information AND the battery. He installed the battery into the truck & drove back to Mom's.
It is now after 11:00. Remember the landfill closes at 11:45!! We load the trash into the back of the truck & hurriedly put a tarp over it. The tarp isn't tied down very well. One side of it is secured by the passenger door. I happen to be the passenger.
We make two or three stops to secure the tarp. The landfill is 15 minutes or less away from Mom's house. It is after 11:30. I don't think we're going to make it.
While on the road (keep in mind, this trip should take NO more than 15 minutes), Jodi calls to tell me that Riley has eaten mouse/rat poison! The poison was in the garage.
Oh, I forgot to mention that Ward & I are annoyed with each other. That makes this ordeal more interesting!!
Another call from Jodi. They've called the vet and given Riley peroxide. It should make him vomit the poison up.
Guess what? We make it to the landfill. The lady working is THRILLED to see us. She waves her arms at Ward. What does that mean? Well, Ward goes in. The lady is annoyed that Ward doesn't know their procedures. We weigh, then drive up to the drop off point.
After unloading we proceed back to be weighed out. The total is $90. Keep reading.....
We drive back to get the van (which was where the truck had died). We drive back to Mom's. Riley is again tied out in Mom's back yard. There are several piles of vomit around him. He seems to be fine.
The landfill fee really wasn't $90. It was $2. However, Ward, who is now friends with the lady at the landfill, had a false receipt written up.
The remainder of the afternoon we finish cleaning the garage. I don't remember anything of interest that happened.
Towards evening, maybe after 5:00. The Hicks family stops by. Now our task is putting things back into the garage. Josh & Moriah help us. Annika is playing. Oh, guess what? She eats some mouse/rat poison! They go home, to get some syrup de Ipicac. However, after calling the poison control hotline, she didn't eat enough to be poisoned.

I have the time to write all of this because today we're having a new water conditioner/system installed. It is called RainSoft. There is also an air purifier. Currently the duct work is being cleaned. Riley, who is very healthy, is FREAKED out!
I'm going to try to blog more often. However, I can't guarantee that it will be this exciting!

State Fair

Here's a sampling of pictures from the State Fair!!

Riding the shuttle to the Fair.




Future Nurses











Supporting Pork?

Moved in AND Fish update

We're all moved in. Boxes are everywhere. However, the van is in the garage. That's good news.

An update on our "pregnant" fish. Turns out she wasn't. We think she had a virus called dropsy. She died. The girls say she's now swimming in the ocean. Well, she's fish food for someone!!

We're trying a new church tomorrow (Sunday)!

Pregnant Fish

Here's some pictures of our pregnant fish. Well, we think she's PG. She might have a tumor.

One picture is with a flash. The other is without a flash, but Ward is shining a light on her.

Knowledge from Pictures

Mom has been looking/sorting old pictures. They are from both sides of the family. I'm glad she's doing it. I don't think I'd be sane if I had to do it. Most of the people are old and/or dead.

Today she talked to a man that is 10 or 11 years older than Dad was. This man's parents were friends with my grandparents (Marvin & Lora).

You may wonder why am I blogging this??

I never met my grandfather, Marvin. My Dad never remembered his father. Marvin, my grandfather, took his life when my Dad was 2 months old. No one ever talked about it. There are various reasons that people commit suicide. The list of nasty reasons is long.

People always had good things to say about Marvin. People always say good things about those who are deceased. We tend to "forget" the bad. My Dad was so much NOT like his mother. We wondered what was his father like?

This man that Mom talked to today, said that he remembered when Marvin died. He, too, only had good things to say about him. He also said his parents only had good things to say. One other thing he remembered: He remembered why Marvin took his life.

It appears that Marvin "took the fall" for something that his brother had done. I don't know what that was. Again, no one in the family has ever talked about it. I still don't understand how something could be so bad as to end your life. However, it appears that Marvin, my grandfather, was a good man.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. My Dad was a good man.

Adventures in Moving

So, the moving process is progressing along. We've listed our house For Sale by Owner. We've had two open houses. Each had one person come through & look at the house.

Saturday we were gone all day. Riley was in his kennel from morning until 9:00pm Saturday evening. I go downstairs to let him out. He isn't wagging his tail. I smell..... BAD!!! He's had an accident. Well, that's the nice way to say that he's pooped. Our basement now smells of dog poop. We have an open house less than 18 hours. Who wants to buy a dog poop smelling house!!!

Thanks for the internet. I'm glad that Al Gore created it. I found a recipe to "freshen" the room. It was vinegar, cinnamon, and cloves. http://www.ci.richland.wa.us/RICHLAND/enviro/index.cfm?PageNum=72
You can check out link above. That's where I found it.

Ward washed out the kennel. Riley was banished to the basement for the night. I'm not sure if we'd left him too long or if he had an upset stomach.

Let me know if you want to buy our house!!!

More Pictures

This is a picture of Ward's room... I mean the garage!!!








Here's the exterior of the new house

Moving Timeline?

Everyone is asking when we're moving....

We have a couple of things we want to do to our house before we show it. Ward put in the "surround" around the tub in the bathroom. We also want to re-paint in there. I've started putting up a new wallpaper border in the kitchen (Thanks, Vic S.). We also need to de-clutter. I've been packing. The girls are finished with school June 1. Then I plan to get a dresser out of J & G's room. Their room is pretty small. The less furniture in there, the better...

Jodi came on Tuesday. We've been working on the kitchen. Today we "branched out". We took down & cleaned all of the blinds & curtains.

We have had a few people ask about our house. I've just prayed for the right buyer. We're going to have new appliances in the new house. I think it is a nice selling point to be able to leave our existing appliances in this house.

So, when are we moving? We've set a closing date on the new house for August 1. However, that can be flexible depending on when our current house sells.

House Pictures

Here's a drawing of the house. I haven't thought to take a picture of the front. The garage sits back further than the right side of the house.






This is going to be Mom's favorite part of the house. This picture is taken from the entry way. From this point you can go into the laundry room (not pictured), go down the stairs, go up the stairs to the kitchen. There is also access to the garage here.









Here is a picture of the room next to the Kitchen. This wall is opposite of the kitchen wall. There are sliders pictured on the right. The kitchen table will sit by the sliders.






Here is a picture of the Kitchen. The appliances will be black. I want to paint the walls yellow.

New Day, New Attitude

Yesterday I was feeling pretty lonely & like no one cared. Don't tell Ward, but it might have been hormonal.
Last night a friend offered to come over next Tuesday. This morning a friend called to ask if we needed boxes. So, yes, God is good. I do have friends!!!

Tomorrow Ward & I are going to meet with a builder. He's told Ward that they can have a house built for us before school starts. We'd still LIKE to purchase the house we looked at last Sunday. However, we aren't ready to for our house to be shown.

We're just praying that God will show us. AND we know that he will. I just read this verse this morning: 1 Thess. 5:24 He who calls you in faithful; he will surely do it.

Moving

It seems that I'm not very good at this. I also have an account on facebook. However, I think this gives me more of an opportunity say what's going on.

Ward & I went on a cruise during Spring Break. Upon arriving home we found out that he could transfer to a different unit. He's wanted to transfer to this unit for about 3 years. Needless to say, he was pretty excited.

The "catch" on this transfer is that it is in Cedar Rapids. So, we're preparing to move....

It looks like we're going to end up in Atkins. It is a small town west of Cedar Rapids. It is in the same school district that Ward attended.

I'm pretty stressed trying to downsize (so we don't have to rent a semi to move) and pack AND keep our household going. I could use some prayers!!!

It seems that some of us "Computer type people" are procrastinators. In January, we've received two "Christmas" letters from computer type people. So, in my first post, I've continuted the procrastinating...

This is a picture of the girls. I'll put some more up.

It has been an eventful year for us. I guess every year is eventful in some regards. I pray that your family’s year has been eventful, too. I’ve enjoyed reading your letters and/or seeing your pictures.

Most of our events flow around my Dad. Actually, it started in the summer of 2005. Dad was diagnosed with inoperable cancer (renal cell carcinoma). It turned out that it was operable. In August of 2005 Dad had his right kidney removed as well as both adrenal glands. You probably don’t know what your adrenal glands do. Believe me… they do a lot!!!

He recovered well. He was released for University of Iowa hospitals on their 39th anniversary, August 28, 2005. His type of cancer is known to spread to the brain. We had a good Thanksgiving in 2005. Just yesterday I saw a picture of Dad coloring with the grandkids. The Tuesday after Thanksgiving Dad had a tumor hemorrhage. He was air lifted from Oskaloosa to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines. We didn’t know if he’d make it through the surgery. However, he did.

This time recovery was harder. The tumor was in the part of the brain that affected his balance. He had some ups and downs. However, his life was pretty good.

In March of 2006 we helped Dad celebrate his 60th birthday. We had a soup dinner, then a Gospel concert with a group called the “Marshalls”. All of this was at Mom & Dad’s church.

In August 2006 we helped Mom & Dad celebrate their 40th anniversary. Mom had always wanted to have a big celebration. However, when it came time, she just wanted us kids there.

Shortly after that Dad began failing at a quicker pace. He & Mom did come over for Joelle & Gabby’s birthday (6th) in October.

Dad went to Heaven to be with Jesus on November 19, 2006. I still miss him a lot. However, I’m so thankful for Christmas, the birth of Christ. Without Christ I wouldn’t have the assurance that Dad is, in fact, in heaven.

Well, this letter was going to be short. Moving in to our family.

Ward continues to work for the State of Iowa. His work responsibilities have changed. He’s out of the gaming (Gambling boats) unit. He now works in the Intelligence Bureau.

I continue to stay at home. Although Mom usually calls me on my cell phone. She says that I never answer my home phone. I do teach some computer classes at our local community college.

Faith is almost 8 and in 2nd grade. She takes piano and dance lessons.

Joelle & Gabby are 6 and in Kindergarten. They also take piano lessons. This year they’ve lost a lot of teeth. The Tooth Fairy has done her duty several times.