Thursday March 31 14408

Coffee at folks The silo came down today. Wow! Was that a shock to see gone when I drove down the road to our house. Drama at school. Like always. CT and teasing. I ran the trail after school. Then stopped at Don's, I had a check engine light on. Denny is starting to move stuff back into the honeymoon suite. Nice phone call from Luke tonight. I know I didn't say that Missy started to paint in the rooms with the new floor. Looks good. My independent living class made Chocolate chip cookies, ham cheese puffs and steamed carrots today.

Wed. March 30

Coffee at folks. Brought 3 workers home for Phillip after school. CM BW KF I worked on assignments for Morningside 407 and submitted 3 of the 10 I need to have done by Saturday. Uffta. Then it was to Arthur at 7 :30 to lead Awana Games. They love to race around and play over the human hurdle. They also like human tug of war. The third winner tonight was drink the pop out of a cup while on your knees using no hands after you have run around the Awana circle. I was up too late tonight. HOW CUTE IS BROOKS?

Tuesday March 29

Coffee at folks. Anabel is very tired. After school Denny got paint to retouch the furnace room. I went to Wall Lake and exchanged a window for a larger window. I had a hair cut there at 5:45. I got a few groceries. At home Phillip and Denny were moving the big things back on the new floor. We visited a little with the Jensens after moving. E&A made a race track around the living circle. Bathroom to furnace to kitchen to living room to bath room. They did lots of laps. Now I'm ready to go to bed. Denny met today and yesterday with Pete about unit.

Monday March 28

Coffee at folks, little A came along. Chemo starts today. At school I had an IEP for JM. It went okay. There was an early out for Professional Development. When I got home it stunk!!! The new basement shower room and furnace room floor was being installed. I worked in the sunroom for a while. Missy had sunshine sauce for supper. Scott VD left about 6:30. He said the floor should be done about 7:30 and ready to move things in. Denny got a new toilet to put in. Actually we went to bed about 8. We were tired and thought the floor should "cure" before we started to move furniture back. Point to note. Missy went to a gals exercise and book club at the rec center this am. The gals were talking about me. They said I was a pioneer. When Miss told me that I laughed it off and said that really made me feel old ... being a pioneer. They were referring to me running the country roads before running can into vogue. Karen P. said I could probably write a book about all the farmers who stopped while I was running, wondering what was wrong or if I needed a ride. Gotta love life, don't ya? :)

Sunday March 27

Donuts before SS. 16 in 2-5 year old SS class. Phillip preached. We took Laura and Stephen home after church. Hoagies from Music boosters. Nap in the afternoon. I tried to organize my HS classwork and think about plans for this week. Yes, it was busy when we took 5 grands to GGny's on Thurs. am. GGny Anabel starts her chemo again Monday. Please pray for her. The shower and furnace rooms are empty and ready for new flooring. I'll post before and after pictures when it is completed.

Saturday Mach 26

Left at 7:30 for Morningside College class. 407 Math practicum. Home at 3:45. Good thing, it was suppose to go from 9 til 3. We got out early. I got $140 worth of stuff at Menard's. Hopefully, I can return some of it. When I got home Denny was out looking at the possible greenhouse. We went to folks and visited for a while, then back home to put our feet up. How can doing nothing make me so tired? We ate a supper of Ham puffs ( the recipe that the independent living class is making this Thursday). Then we started moving stuff out of the furnace and bath room. Scott VD is coming to put in am epoxy type floor on Monday. About 8 we went out and walked around the yard. Quite an exciting life we lead. The four little lambs are sure cute. We got a bid on the unit Friday. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understandings.

Friday March 25

Coffee at folks. Graham and Eric had visited them yesterday. At school it is the last day for ITEDS. CB and I went to the grocery store. Mrs. W and I had a visit yesterday. I moved my first period class down to the ICN room. I took some pictures of what goes in each cupboard. After school I went to Wall Lake and got some glass windows possibly for greenhouse. At night we visited the neighboor and had snacks... guacamole, chips,meat,sour cream cheese dip. Nice time. Brooks is really taking 10+ steps sometimes. Wednesday night kids got a gift from Grandpa Johnson from his Denver trip ... anticipation ... Then a picture with turquoise necklaces for the girls and mountain animals for the boys. (Nothing for the baby, poor Brooks.)

Thursday March 24

Coffee at folks with 5 little Grands. AT school 3 teachers were gone from the resource room. I stayed and worked on making tests, etc. I had taken off Tues and Wed nights when H&T were here. Tea party time! I walked thru Las Vegas night. What a crowd. What a money maker!

Wed March 23

Howard and Anabel met with Dr. today. She will begin radiation again next Monday. The plan is two Mondays of treatment, one Monday off. Tuesday after school I met Frank H. and got the Missouri Grands. I got pizza at Casey's and we went to IG. We played in the parks while Denny got his hair cut. It started to rain a little and so we played in the rec center toy room. At home we ate, played and had a tea party. On Wed. night it was great to have 3 grands come to Awana. At school Wed. the World history class made taco and scotcheroos because the Mexican Aztec civilization that we read about gave us tacos and chocolate.

Tuesday March 22

Sunday March 13 Pete and Carol said "yes."

Denny and Faith said "YES!!"

March 22: Karen said "YES."

Monday March 21

Coffee at folks- no news from her cat scan and Doctor- started ITED tests- When I came home Phillip had gotten the sides of the coal/green/glass/some kind of shed taken off. Kids fed lambs Sunday afternoon. Pretty cute. I worked at school til 5:30. When I got home I put assignments from 532 in my portfolio. Nice job to get done. Vicki E is going to Iowa City to have her eyes looked at tomorrow. Someone came to look at the hog unit today.

Sunday March 20

Denny left for Denver. Up at 4. His flight left at 8. I took E&A for donuts before church. After church there was a quarterly business meeting. Then home, I had yummy crock pot beef with Jensens. I worked on lesson plans for next week. Oh, I am not too good at that. Then I went outside and tried to demolish/remove the tin on my hopeful possible green house. Luke, this is the place on South Padre Island where you can kind of eat and look at the beach. The food was priced pretty fairly, but the coffee was expensive. (Of course that's what you will want the most.) I watched the kids feed the lambs. At night I went to prayer meeting.

Sat March 19

Tried to sleep in to 6:30 ... Succeeded. Anabel and I went to Carroll by 8 :15. Stopped at folks first. No news from CAT scan. Dr wondered if they did it at IG... NO SC. Later Nurse wondered if they did CAT scan in IG ... NO SC. No information. Just have to wait tilMonday Now isn't that a reassuring weekend? ... NO NOT AT ALL, but what do you do? ... just wait and see. Denny got clothes washed and packed while I went to Carroll. In the afternoon Denny made my dreams come true by moving a coal shed to the sunshine by the coop. He washed pickup and Prius and Motorcycle. AND GOT THE TRACTOR OUT TO MOVE THE COAL SHED TO A PLACE IN THE SUN. Now we'll see if I have the time to transform it into a greenhouse. Supper in the coop and Denny is busy getting ready to fly to Denver to see our baby tomorrow. She has greatly encouraged us. Love ya Mandy!!!

Friday March 18

Sooo nice to have a day off with no school. (We put in eight hours for parent teacher conf Mon. and Tues.) I finished reading the two text books for Math 407 that starts on Monday. Uffta! I watched little ones at 10. We went to GGny. Brooks took 9 steps there. Then home for a nap for Brooks. At noon we went to church where Missy was a the serving committee for Herb Johnson. We ate there and took a plate for Grandpa to eat at the Arthur park. First park time of the year. Looking forward to having Haley and Torren around on Tuesday thru Thursday next week. I came home, read some more, Ran around the square ( using the MAP your run courtesy of Luke. 4.19 miles I'll have you know. Also very slow. People can walk it faster.) After the run I walked around the yard and visited with Phillip about yard ideas. Luke called- They are in Brownsville. He left work yesterday after 5 and headed to Laurence, Before he got to Karen's he thought they might as well pack and leave for Texas last night. So they did by 10:45...Got to Four Seasons about 3:45 pm today. He called while they were out on the deck looking at the resaca (water). They had gotten unpacked, bought groceries and were chilling. Sounded great. Nothing much to do for a week except relax. At 6:30 I headed to church. Home school talent show. I took E&A.

Thursday March 17

Happy ST Pat's Day! I got a green sweatshirt from Diane W. for my birthday, so I had something to wear and not get pinched. (I didn't really worry about that when I've been working with pigs the last 16 years.) The picture is of green glass display in Spencer by Bogenrief. Lynn and Nancy and I went to tour it last spring. It had a lot of green so I though I'd put it in. After school Scott VD came and gave an estimate on epoxy for the shower and furnace room floor. I think we're gonna get it done. Ind. Liv class made cupcakes today. Denny's picture is out hunting varmits. It looked pretty green as I looked at that picture too. Denny went on line and bought tickets for a trip to Denver Sunday am until Tuesday am. He's pretty excited to go. Great phone talk with Diane W. Love you.

Wed. March 16 14050

Coffee at folks. The little ones are sleeping until 7:30 instead of 6:30 with the time change so they have not been up to go with me at 7. Missy is happy about them sleeping in a little later. This is the picture of my independent living class plus student para professional. They are a pretty exciting bunch. Really like to have their pictures taken...not. Today they are making cupcakes. Hopefully next week we will start a Ramsey dvd series. I walked for 55 min after school. Then to Awana for game time. At home I headed right to bed. So tired. Missy had planned to sub today, but teacher called and said "Sorry, it is tomorrow." It's a lot of work to get out the door, felt kinda bad for Miss ... Good to trust God for each day. This am I was thrilled to check a Morningside Email and see I still needed to submit a coversheet for practicum log for the class that ended last week. Boy, that added stress to my day. Uffta! YUCK! Hopefully I got it done. Another nightmare for me. Not having all my class work done. Good to just keep trusting God.

Tuesday March 15

Coffee at folks. Early out at school. I went the trail again...very slow, but I made it all the way, even up Hamburger Hill at a snail's pace. Parent teacher conferences from 4:30- 8 pm again tonight. We had two parents come in. I came home and pretty much went right to bed. Matt and Becky, thanks again for the great weekend March 4th-6th.

Monday March 15

Coffee at folks. I went through the car wash. Oh, what a dirty car. After early out at school at 2:30 I ran (??trudged??) the trail. 50 minutes later I was done. I went to read my SPED 407 text book. That class starts Monday the 21st, with face to face meeting on Saturday the 26th. There are 2 text books total of 600 pages to read. Uffta. From 4:30 to 8 there were parent teacher conferences. 9 students parents/guardian's came. Pretty good turn out for us. I went home,Denny was paying bills so I read some more from 407. Missy came down and chilled with us for a time. I didn't go to bed until almost 10. That's late for me.

Sunday March 14

Denny went to pick up Stangls for SS. I stayed home to get a few things done. I had devotions, finished my blog, washed a couple loads of clothes, straightened a storage place, walked outside to see van pulled out of building, saw 2 baby lambs, and walked around frozen flowers. After church Denny had meal ready. We cleaned apartment for about an hour. I worked on teaching class work. I lay down about 4. We watched the kids about 4:30 while Missy and Phillip went to talk to deacons about what they are doing with HS boys on the farm. Denny and I went to prayer time at church. It has been a good missionary conference at church this weekend. Today I got up the nerve to check my grades for Morningside 532. Out of 340 points, I have 334. 77% - passing. Still 90 points to be graded, but I passed. :) To celebrate I watched a little TV tonight, then we had a visitor. There is always lots to pray about. Emails from LW and MJ. We are so blessed to have such a great loving family who care about each and every need in our lives and who are willing to pray for each other. .

Saturday March 12

Awana Games in Orange City. Left home at 7:00 to meet kids in Arthur, them IG. Some how the girls got first place out of 2 teams. The contest has really decreased in size since our kids were going to the Olympics. I think Upwards programs in SC has taken some churches out from participating. About 35 kids and 15 adults ate pizza at the Pizza Ranch. Tim VM met us for a short visit. Thank you Jesus all got home safely. After I got back to IG I read in hospital Chapel another 40 pages in text. Then to HS to work on a few assignment for teaching. Then to church. I helped Luann make eggrolls for missionary conference. It was really nice. Lots of food to taste and visiting with church family. I came home about 8 (Really 9 with day light savings). I visited with neighbors for a while. 4 high school boys had been out to the farm to work today.

Friday March 11

Coffee at folks, Bad news. It looks like Anabel will have to start Chemo treatments again. She is tired of battling. I stand amazed at her attitude even when the news was not what she wanted to hear. She goes in for a CAT scan next week. No school today. End of quarter and work day for teachers. I already have put in 2 full work days so today I just work til noon. I met Jensens, they had a tax appointment, and took little ones to BC to meet with a home school family. After that I went to the library to start to read the text for the next Morning side class that I start in about a week. UFFTA HUGE!! How depressing to try to read something and not have a clue. Welcome to my world. How can I whine when I have such a great example of attitude in Denny's mom. Library closed at 5. I had read about 60 pages in three hours ... only 600 hard pages to go ... how depressing is that? Try to look on the bright side ... 1/10 th done with the reading (... only 30 hours of reading left and I'm sure the assignments will take no time at all extra.) Quit your whining, Faith. You are not battling cancer. You have a healthy body. You have a wonderful family that loves you right where you are at. You have a great husband who steps up and does whatever is needed. You have a warm cozy home to live in. You have a caring church family. The beauty of God's nature surrounds you. You have a God who promises to meet every need as you seek Him first. Keep me focused on you, Lord. I can't do anything without You.

Thursday March 10

This is the whole group in the training room where Becky works at 2 days a week with Western Missouri State. The college/community built this facility within the last 2 years and plans are for the college to use it 48 weeks per year and Kansas City Chiefs to use it 4 weeks a year. Coffee at folks this am. Little Anabel went along. Glad to have her feeling better. Folks go to SC today. I have another IEP in the afternoon that I am concerned about. J's. It went okay, but I still get stressed. Today is the last day of the week ... with students. I am taking a deep breath. Denny and I watched Secretariat DVD tonight, in bed, with laptop. Very nice to have a "day off" with out students tomorrow. Denny plugged in all my scores for grades in excell and helped me do grades. Thanks Denny. Nice to have a little break.

Wed March 9

This is the crew that cheered for the Upwards family. Free popcorn in the am. Now that makes kids (of all ages) happy. Coffee at folks. Anabel goes to SC for a cancer check tomorrow. After school I brought MW, CM and MT home to work with Phillip. I went to church to lead games and see who was going to Awana Games on Saturday. Planning for Awana games is always an unorganized mess. Took MT, CM and Evan home after Awana.

Tuesday March 8

Nice pix of Upwards team family. Matt and Becky are coached, Haley plays and Torren participates and everyone get a kick out of watching him. It was great to watch all of them. Coffee at folks this am. Full school day, but I can't remember what I did.

Monday March7

The pix is grandpa with Grands and leggos. We had to keep them up on the table out of the reach of Brooks. KId sure like to put things together. Coffee at folks Monday am, I had an IEP at 3 with L. that I was alittle concerned about. It went okay.

Sunday March 6

Me and my kids! Thanks for all coming together for the weekend. Special Thanks to Matt and Becky for the bed and breakfast (plus lunch and supper times 2). It couldn't have been any better (well, it would have been nice to have everyone healthy, but with 14 in one house we still count our blessing.) THANKS!!!

5 of us went to church. It was great to hang out with family when we got home. Pulled pork for lunch. Then to head home. Denny drove, Phillip and Missy had been up most of the night with Anabel. I had gotten to have Brooks share my pull out bed Sat night. It makes for an interesting night to sleep with a little one again. No wispy hair like little girls, but he was sleeping and moving, I didn't want to wake him so when he would move in my space, I would move to another part of the bed. We both did sleep some.

Sat March 5, 13873

It does not get any better for me than snuggling in and watching Little House on the Prairie on a laptop, in bed with the Grands, and having the whole family together. Thanks you, Jesus. I am happy to sleep on the pull out and be with the little ones early in the morning. (Of course that only lasted about 30 minutes then they were off to play in Haley and Torren's bedroom with the toys.) Becky had egg casserole for breakfast and chicken noodle soup for lunch, lasagne for supper with 2 birthday cakes ... Wonderful food and family. I am so blessed. We all went to watch Haley play Upwards BB at the church. Then to tour Becky's work site. The new indoor football field / training center was so impressive. We did get naps in afternoon. Plus play outside with kids. (Anabel got sick.) Before the birthday cakes the kids each read me a list of (birthday number) things about me/mom/grandma. Quite the bunch. Great funny idea.

Friday March 4

It is the last day for the students AR reading. At least 3 SPED students didn't pass the test after reading pages. (That's a F for 1/4 th of their grade. Ouch.) When I got home from school I went to work finishing assignments for 532. Well, I did not do a thorough job, but I did submit the last of the course work for the class. Kinda of a relief to get it done. I did what I had time for. Next week I have 2 major IEP's to do. I won't have extra time to work on class. We left for St. Joe. about 7:30. Phillip drove their van. Once again Brooks rode the whole way with out a peep. (That is just what he did yesterday traveling to Des Moines. ) We got to Matt's about 11. ALL MY KIDS WERE THERE. Yes, the 3 had flown Mandy to KC for my birthday. What a great present to have all of us together. How Amazing!! Thanks, kids. You are a blessings to my life. Unbelievable!!

Thursday March 3

We have a schedule to keep. In the car to go to Des Moines by 7 am. Three year picture for Anabel at Portraits Inovations. $10. Great deal. Only hard part is picking out one picture. Missy fed Brooks while E&A and I went to Trader Joes. Then off to state BB game. Missy let the 4 of us off at the corner of the Wells Fargo Arena, she parked and walked to join us. GReat Game. We won!! I got to hold Brooks all through the game. He slept most of 3rd quarter. After game we headed to Carroll. We shopped alittle and stopped to see Missy's friend, Kristy and Grace. I talked to Denny on his way home and he decided to head down to Denison for a visitation. I got home and worked on 532 assignments. I have a couple assignments not completed, but I would like to get them done. We'll see.