Back from the South

Well, one would think going to Louisiana would be a wonderful escape from the cold weather here in Iowa...let me just share that about the only thing we missed out on was the 4" of snow Iowa experienced while we were gone. Other than that it was in the 40's and 50's most of the time. Really put a damper on a lot of our plans.

We did not make it to the Gulf like we wanted. Alex didn't get to go fishing. And we were advised to stay away from the French Quarter. I guess the level of crime down there has escalated to a dangerous level and one doesn't feel safe there. This info came from my cousin, Kevin, who is a Deputy Sheriff in Slidell. Things are not as safe there as they once were. It's really a shame. There is so much to see and experience but not at the risk of getting into a bad situation.

Kevin
I have to say it was great to see Kevin, even if he didn't say what I wanted to hear. Don't think I had laid eyes on him since his wedding!! We had a great time visiting with other family and friends. My Uncle Bill's now fiance', Denise, is a lovely lady and was so nice to talk to. It was a real pleasure to meet her and her son, Rob.

I did get to spend some quality time with my Uncle Bill's son, Brian, who just got back from a tour of duty in Iraq. He was very open about the conditions over there and shared some of his experiences on missions with 'his guys'. He's a Naval Medic assigned to a Marine unit. Currently they are here in the states in North Carolina. He signed on for a 4 year...two years active and two years reserve... stint in the Navy. So pretty soon he will be going back to Ohio to continue his college education. He says he's not sure what he's going to go for, but he knows it will be in the medical field. I'm hoping Doctor/Physicians Assistant...but whatever it is he will be awesome at it. He's just got that type of personality.

Aunt Carol & Brian

My Uncle Bill works at a fitness club there in Slidell called Cross Gate. I'm not much for going to a fitness club, but I'm telling you, if I lived there I could get into this one. Everything was top notch. Not just clean but the facility was a lot more than just a weight room and a pool. The women's area had a hot tub, a dry sauna and a steam room. Believe me the hot tub was the best!!! The lockers(if you want to call them that) were wood and everything was in warm rich tones and ceramic tiles. Very Nice!!! The club had a coffee shop and cafe where you could get hamburgers and other stuff, an area where you could just sit and visit or be on the Internet & a gift shop. The pool was outside & heated. The boys had sooo much fun swimming! They really hated to leave!

My Aunt Carol looked good and it was great to visit with her too. She works for the Prosecuting Attorney's Office. Sounds like she's a paralegal or a legal Secretary. Heavy work load too from what she tells me. Kevin, the Deputy Sheriff, is her son. Law Enforcement must be in the blood!

Aunt Carol, Dad, Kevin, Joanne & Bill

My dad is/was a chef in his younger days and quite accomplished at his craft! I think we all came home about five lbs. heavier!!! Mike and Alex signed on to be Dad's Kitchen Help! It was great! I think Alex may just go back down this summer and learn some more about cooking and maybe able to get that fishing in that he missed this time around.

Joanne is a wonderful lady and quite the quilter. Oh, to be that good ...WOW! I can only wish!!
And her and Dad make quite the couple. You should see THEM in the kitchen! I guess being together and working together for 30 years makes you able to anticipate each others next move!

All in all I believe a great time was had by all and it ended toooo soon! We are already planning to go back next 4th of July! It will definitely be warmer!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!!

We are off to Louisiana to see my Dad and Step-Mom, Jo. It sounds like my Uncle Bill and his Lady friend, my cousin, Brian, (who recently returned from Iraq) and my Aunt Carol will all be there for Thanksgiving dinner along with some other family friends. I'm sure we will have a wonderful time reconnecting.

I'm planning to go to the Gulf of Mexico and at least put a toe in the water, the boys like doing that too!! Hunter doesn't care what the temp is, he just wants to get in the water...so I guess I'd best pack his swim suit!! We have a hotel room at the Best Western in Slidell all lined up... with a pool and everything! Maybe Hunter will get enough of water there! I would also like to make a journey down to the French Quarter. I never feel like it's been a complete trip to Louisiana if I don't make it down there for at least a couple of hours!

Alex has put in his request to go fishing...hopefully he will get a chance to do that. When Zac stayed down there a couple of summers ago he was able to go fishing and caught a 5 foot Alligator Gar. A really big UGLY fish!! He was so excited!!

Zac won't be going with us, but he will be spending the day with his Geat-Grandma Newsom and his older brother, Wesley and his foster family. He's pretty excited about doing that. And I'm glad he will be with family too.

I hope you all have a Wonderful Thanksgiving Day, full of family, friends and lots of yummy food!

Shannon's Nursing School Success

Don't know if anyone is aware, but Shannon (my oldest) has been going through the DMACC Nursing Program and has been doing pretty well. She's been able to maintain A's and B's and last semester she made the Dean's List and the President's List. She was also put on the National Dean's List Registry. She also has been nominated to be a delegate for the International Scholar Laureate Program (ISLP), in the Nursing field. The program sends hand picked students from America to South Africa for 11-14 days, to learn more about the health care crisis in South Africa and the Aids epidemic. Here is a link to the program's site.
http://www.scholarlaureate.org/nursing/index.cfm

I'm very proud of her! She has two children she's raising (with Nick's help of course.) while she's maintaining stellar grades. I know how hard that is having gone back to school when I was 29. But I also know there is a shortage of nurses out there and Shannon has the personality and ability to be a good one. I hope she continues to be able to succeed in school and achieves her dream of becoming a Physicians Assistant. How awesome would that be!!??

Shannon is currently looking for any help with or ideas for fund raising for that trip to South Africa. She's not looking for personal financial help. She's going to be contacting businesses and local hospitals and writing to some influential people to find sponsors for this trip. She has until December to come up with half of the money. So if any of you know anyone to contact or think that their employer might be willing to think about being a sponsor, please let me know. If you don't want to be connected with the sponsorship, she says she can just write a letter without any mention of your name. She is going to apply for the scholarship. According to her instructor (who is the trauma coordinator for Iowa Health Systems) it is a HUGE honor just to be nominated. This will look really great on her resume' and portfolios, as well as help with school.

Any ideas for fund raising would be most welcome!! I came up with the bright idea to put a cookbook together and sell it. Any good recipes are most welcome. The way this works (in case you don't know) when the books are published, the person who donated the recipe gets a by-line and the recipes are printed in the books and sorted and all that by the company you recruit to publish it. We did one of these at work and they sold so well we about had to re-order! I think this would be a great way for her to get some funds for her trip.

Either way, your prayers and well wishes for her would be most appreciated too!

Exciting October Family Events

The month of October has been filled with weddings and birthdays galore! Thankfully, the weather, for the most part, has been wonderful! This Fall has really been great!

My good friend, Carmen, got married on the 6th, at the age of 40, to a wonderful man, Terry. They seem very well suited to each other and we wish them many happy years together.

Mike's niece, Alicia was married on the 13th to a really great guy, Matt Warner. She made such a beautiful Bride!! Matt's been around for a while and he and Mike get along well...they are so funny together! I'd explain, but you really don't want to know!!
On Monday, the 15th, Rhonda came to where I work with a wonderful announcement... She and Jeff are expecting a new little bundle of joy in June. I'm personally hoping and praying for a sweet little girl, but I know Heavenly Father will decide that, not me! So everyone help me, THINK PINK!!
On Thursday, the 18th, Lisa's son, Zachary turned 8 years old. He's such a cutie!! Zachary likes all things John Deere. I'm thinking he'll be a farmer one of these days!

On Friday, October 19, 2007, at 11 AM, my 71 year old mother and her consort of 5 years, Ralph, tied the knot! It just goes to show...you're never too old to find true happiness! I'm so happy for her and Ralph. Rhonda and Jeff stood up with them in a small ceremony at the Little Brown Church in the Vale in Nashua, Iowa.
My granddaughter Rissa took most of the pictures. I think she did a great job!!








Also that day, Brighton turned 2 years old... yes...already!! Mommy and Daddy took him to Chucky Cheese in Waterloo to celebrate!

And if that's not enough, On Saturday, October 20th, Hunter turned 9 years old and we all went to TOKEN'S Family Fun in West Des Moines, to celebrate. We had great tasting pizza and cheesy bread sticks. YUM!! All the kids played Laser Tag...including Jeff. Rhonda, Jeff and Rissa found this game that caught their attention. It's like Guitar Hero, but you dance instead of play the guitar! They had sooo much fun! And Brighton found a little mechanical horse to ride. He almost wore out Papa Mike with keeping it running for him.
Hunter's best friend, Sammy, came to join in the fun and then spent the night at our house. Josie and Josh were there, having spent the night with Grandma Sue for the first time! The boys' oldest brother, Wesley brought their Great-Grandma Newsom. Hunter had a wonderful fun filled birthday. Way too much excitement!
Of course, after Hunter's party, we all went to Ames to Happy Joe's for a birthday party for Brighton! His Grandma and Grandpa Glaspie and Jeff's brother's family came to Ames from Waterloo to help celebrate. A great time was had by all! By the end of this day we had had our fill of pizza, I think! And we all were glad to get back home for a little R & R!
Let's just say I'm kind of glad October is over. November may not be so crazy!! One can hope!
I'll add some more pictures later...they are still on the camera!

Zac

Without getting into too many details, Zac is currently staying with an acquaintance of mine from work, who just happens to be a licensed foster parent. After a lot of problems with Zac at Rhonda and Jeff's and few bad choices that Zac has made over the past few months, we(we being our family and Zac's Therapists)have come to the conclusion that he needs more intensive therapy than he has had in the past 5 years. From the life that he was forced to live prior to living in our home, he has a lot of emotional scars and it's going to take more than what our family can do to help him become a successful functioning adult. We only want what is best for Zac and we are doing everything we can to make that happen.

Hunter and Alex miss him, but they also know that Zac has made some really bad choices and he needs help to improve his life. He is still going to Ames High School and will continue there as long as possible. And as long as he does what is expected of him, he will be able to stay with my friend, Carol, until arrangements can be made to place Zac in a good situation for his needs. I will keep you updated on Zac as soon as we know what's going on.

This has been a really hard thing for our family to endure. Mostly for me...I've really had to do a lot of things to even find a good place for Zac, even temporarily. The other two boys have had to go to Day Care after school(which they do not like!) while I've done the things necessary to get Zac settled. All the time I've spent making phone calls, 'knocking' on doors, 'tap dancing' on the right desks to get people to do what is necessary as quickly as possible. Bureaucracy can be a real PAIN to deal with sometimes! That's not to say it's been all bad...most of the folks I've had to deal with have been kind and considerate to work with. It's just all the red tape takes time to sort out and believe it or not, I'm not always the most patient person...imagine that!! :-)

Long story short, my entries in this blog have been like, non-existent. I will try to do a much better job of keeping you all updated in the future.