Busy!

What is it about going away for a few days that seems to signal to the house that it's okay to get itself dirty, and the laundry to 'be fruitful and mulitply' while you're gone?

Anyone out there hearing me??

Maybe it's because I was so preoccupied with the wedding, and having 7 guests in my home...yep, those excuses work...LOL...

I've spent this whole day cleaning, doing yardwork, laundry and errands, and I'm still not done. Gee, that makes it sound like my house is a real pigsty doesn't it? It really isn't though. I'm just one of those people that kicks into high gear when I see that something needs to get done.

I've decided that the 2 last loads of laundry will wait till tomorrow. I'd have done them today, but one of my cats decided that the middle of my freshly laundered/made bed would be the perfect place to barf up a hairball....UGH! And having a king-size bed, you do not put a quilt and a sheet in the same load....

Got some weeding and watering done in the yard early this morning while it was still cool out, then showered and ran around town doing errands. Next on my to-do list is grocery shopping. I'm sure Jim will appreciate groceries in the house!

Jim got the wall hangings up in the guest bath, and it looks really cute. Next I think I'll get some of that fishnet with the seashells attached and kind of drape it over the doorway-and that should finish off my beach/seashell theme.

I got alot done today. A couple of things to do early in the morning, and I'll have the rest of the day to rest, play, or both!

There's no place like home......


Blessings~

Laughlin

We just got home from Laughlin today. Had a wonderful time! It was SO good to escape reality for a few days, but now it's back to the 'real world'

Laughlin was HOT! 115 both days....whew! But....'it's a dry heat'...LOL...and it was. We were surprised when we went to Bullhead City, AZ and saw the temp gauge. It felt hot, but not THAT hot.

We got to Laughlin about 3pm on Tue, and basically just stayed at the hotel for the remainder of the day. That evening I needed to go to B of A to make a withdrawl, and soon found out that the little ATM drive-thru that we've visited before is no longer there. We figured surely there must be a B of A across the bridge in Bullhead City, so we popped on over there, and after quite awhile looking, we pulled in and got directions. Not being real familiar with the area, we assumed that the bank would be on the main drag....NOT. We found the bank eventually, I went to the walk-up ATM and made my request. They wouldn't give me my money! Did an inquiry and found several hundred dollars LESS than I just KNEW we had. Short of a complete meltdown at that point, while we high tailed it back to the hotel where the checkbook was, I'm telling Jim, 'Honey, there's obviously a horrible mistake, and NOT on MY part!'...I was thisclose to tears. Paid a fortune to go online and check my bank account. Ah HA!! There it is! I'd paid my cell bill that morning, and on my bank statement it was listed THREE times! I hopped on the phone to AT & T, and, remembering that it is NOT the person I'm talking to's fault, I explain my situation, calmly....sort of....ok ok, just shy of panic and rage.... He assures me that only ONE transaction went through, and that I should call my bank, which of course I did as soon as I hung up with him. Talked to a rep at B of A, who saw the obvious boo-boo....(yeah, a HUGE 'boo-boo'!), and of course he fixed it, and assured me that the funds were there should I need them. Geez Louise! Nothing like a near nervous breakdown on the first day of vacation, huh?!

Wed we played a little, and shopped ALOT. They have this really cool Outlet Center in the heart of town, and it's a MUST for me when I go...gotta shop till I drop...and I did, but hey, I figure what I bought over there I didn't gamble away, right? I've been wanting to finish the decor in our guest bathroom, a sea shell theme, but could never quite find what I liked. Wed. I was successful, and now my guest bath is about 99% complete, decor-wise. I'm thrilled! Jim got a much-needed pair of work boots at half the price that we would have paid for here, and a new pair of tennis shoes too...

The hotel was nice, but it's at the end of the strip, up on a hill, so in order to go where we wanted to, we had to drive to the center of town, park, and walk. Next time we'll get a hotel in the heart of town-not so much driving that way. The riverwalk was beautiful, as usual, and a good way to work off dinner, at least walk off dinner to the point where you have just enough room for an ice cream cone before calling it a night ;)

It was SO nice to not have the distractions of everyday life, and Jim & I have some of our most meaningful conversations on long road trips. We decided to beat the heat and leave early this morning for home, so at 6am we were on the road. Stopped for breakfast about 9, and got home about noon. It's been busy ever since, unpacking, laundry, checking/answering email, oh yeah, and getting the new things set up in the guest bath. A trip to the post office to collect the mail we had held, and a short trip to the store for dinner tonight.

Tomorrow I'll finish up laundry, and wash the icky gross bugs off my van. But for tonight, I....am....DONE.

It's so good to be home.

Until next time....blessings!

Jimmy & Jessica's Wedding~

Wow, I can't believe the wedding is over already!

It was absolutely beautiful. Jess was a stunning bride, and Jimmy was such a handsome groom.

We are all happy, but exhausted. I'll blog more details later, but for tonight, I just wanted to share some photos that we took. I hope you enjoy them.

Until next time....blessings!

Surprise!

Wow, did I ever get a BIG surprise yesterday!

We had our family dinner at Jimmy & Jess' place last night. Had to be there at 5:30. But what I didn't know is that the 5:30 time was only for Jim & me. We pulled up & I said 'Geez, are we late or something? Everyone else is here, on time for a change!'

We made our way to the back yard, and greeted everyone...I picked Peyton up to say hi, and then someone took her from me and said 'Someone else is here too'....so I turned around, and who is standing there but my baby brother! Ok, so maybe NOT a 'baby' (It's HIS turn for the 'Big 5-Oh' this year), but he'll always be 'the baby' to me. Dave lives in Oklahoma, and I haven't seen him in nearly 10 years, since our mom passed away. My family thought it'd be neat if they flew him out here in time for the wedding, and to spend a few days with us. So that's what they did!

We had an absolutely wonderful family dinner, full of hugs, laughs, last minute wedding plans, an announcement that a new baby is on the way for my niece Willow and her hubby Kevin, and good food to boot! Brian says I'm easy to surprise....probably because I'm 50% deaf, so I don't hear half of what anyone says during these gatherings. LOL...ah well, it is what it is, right? Maybe someday I'll be blessed with hearing aids, huh? There's always hope!

In the meantime, what an awesome surprise....and and even MORE awesome family. Thx you guys, I love you, and I love how you love me....YOU ROCK!!

Termites! AARRGGHHH!!!

Yep, we've got 'em.

Never in my life have I had termites...until yesterday. I was sitting here at the computer when I noticed one of my cats playing with something on the carpet, so I investigated. A funny little bug. No problem. I scooped it up with a kleenex and gave it a burial at sea....my cats don't usually eat the bugs, they just play with them. Well....except for Butterscotch. Sometimes he slurps them up before I have a chance to scoop them up. Xtra protein, dontcha know? Anyway, to get back on track here....I come out from the bathroom to find Sassy staring intently at something on the carpet, so once again I check it out. ANOTHER one of those funny little bugs....hmmm....oh wait, there's another one....and another....and more! Oh CRAP! What ARE these??? There's LOTS of bugs crawling around my carpet! CRIPES! How do I get rid of them? What the h-e-double hockey sticks ARE they???

So, I did all I knew to do....I grabbed the can of ant spray and sprayed not only parts of the carpet (away from my kitties, of course) but the window sill as well, then I hauled out my vacuum and started sucking those lil suckers up! I did manage to scoop 5 or 6 into a zip lock baggie, and had NO idea what to do with them at that point but to show Jim when he got home from work. So I stuck the nasty little critters OUTside, and vacuumed up their relatives.

Jim sees them and says, 'Looks like termites to me'...oh great, just what we need.

Off to Kmart I trot, and got some super-duper (I hope!) bug killer that includes termites...sprayed some inside, and will souse the outside once the winds calm down...

So today I make the trek down the hill (my 4th trip in 2 days) to Lloyd Pest Control in El Cajon, with my little baggie of bugs. I can't believe that after nearly 24 hours, 2 of the 5 are STILL alive! Sure enough, termites....UGH! It's swarming season, the guy says. Also said they could be just passing through, or we could have an infestation (Oh Lord, PLEASE no!) but they set me up with a free termite inspection 2 weeks from now. In the meantime, he says, my super-duper bug spray will keep them at bay, but ultimately won't irradicate them altogether.....

Got back up the hill a little while ago, and did the only thing I could think of to make me feel better about this situation. I went to Mickey D's and got me a vanilla soft serve cone. I earned it. Then I laughed, because I remember Shannon writing in her blog recently that sometimes I'd surprise them after school and them them to Mickey D's for a treat, and she recalled how funny it was that I always had to lick my cone fast to keep it from melting while I was driving home....well Shannon, some things never change...LOL...thx for the chuckle!

Blessings to you~

Memories

My firstborn is getting married in 3 days....it blows me away, as I reflect back 33 years, when our firstborn son James Robert King was born.

A healthy 6lbs. 15oz. LONG labor, but SO very worth it. Jimmy was my 'trial and error baby'. Most of the mistakes I made as a mom, I made on him before I made them on Brian & Shannon. Jimmy & I had a few crying sessions together, although he doesn't remember them. A few cases in point:

Case #1
I was going to save money and use cloth diapers. So after the bazillion boxes of Pampers ran out (that's all we had back then. No huggies, or whatever else there is out there now. Just Pampers) that I'd received at my baby shower, I switched to cloth, and promptly proceeded to pin my baby's diaper to his skin! I just couldn't figure out why he was screaming. He'd been fed, burped, and changed, so I checked his diaper to make sure it wasn't on too tight. OMG! I pinned him to his diaper! I felt so bad-I'd hurt my baby, dear God forgive me! We cried together.

Case #2
Clipping the baby's fingernails. With baby clippers. I wasn't good enough. I clipped the very tip top of his baby pinkie right off! Oh it was a tiny tiny piece, but for THIS mama it may have well been half his finger! HE didn't cry, but I sure did! He just kind of looked at me like, 'why are you crying, mama?' So I bandage his poor little mama-induced owie and in a couple of days it was fine.

Case #3
Jimmy was slightly club-footed as a baby, due to his position in the womb, so at about age 3 months, our family Dr ordered foot braces for him. Basically what it consists of is 2 hard soled shoes, but on the opposite feet, with a steel brace in between. To be worn at night while he slept. Well, one morning I took his braces off to bathe him, only to find that the skin underneath his big toe had somehow stayed too moist, and was peeling away, leaving an ugly, gaping wound. It honeslty looked like someone had taken a knife and sliced his toe. I totally freaked out, and ran him straight to the Dr, bawling like a baby myself. Once again, I'd hurt my baby. Or so I thought. The Dr assured me that I had not hurt him, but rather the shoes were wrong for him. Of course, being a novice at this mommy business, I didn't have a clue. So the Dr suggested just getting a regular pair of shoes, and putting them on the wrong feet, which I did. It worked perfectly.


So many mistakes I made with him...and I worried that somehow the mistakes I made would scar him for life. Thank the Good Lord, they didn't.

So, as our son pledges his life to his bride, I'd just like to say how very proud we are to be his parents. My little baby, married. Wow. It blows my mind, and puts a knot in my throat the size of a heart-mine.

To my firstborn: I love you son, and I wish nothing but blessings for you & Jessica as you embark on your life together, as husband and wife. May God provide you with decades of blessings, good health, and prosperity.

Until next time....Blessings~

Family Ties

No, not the sitcom....the REAL thing!

We're 10 days out from the wedding. Everyone has been so incredibly busy the past few weeks, and the other night as I was sitting on my porch swing, I was thinking about how nice it'd be to have a family night again, where everyone could be together and just kind of reconnect and regroup as a 'unit'. Lo and behold, Jimmy called me tonight. 'Hey mom, we were thinking it'd be nice to have a family dinner next Wed night. You know, just to hang together and relax and decompress a little'....I couldn't agree more!

You see, that's what our family does. We regroup on a regular basis. Whether it's getting together to watch a football game, or getting together just because....it's what we do. Good times AND bad. If a little too much time passes without a family get together, someone always makes the comment 'it's time to get together again', and plans are immediately in the works to try to figure out everyone's schedules, and also a day where Brian & Shannon actually have the same day off so that we can ALL attend.

It's the same way with holidays. We pick a time where everyone can be here, and we plan accordingly. Sometimes we have Christmas on Dec. 26th...even the 23rd if need be, as long as it's a time that works for the whole family. That's one of the things I love most about my family-we're all pretty flexible....

I'm thrilled that my family loves spending time together-there's just no better feeling in the world.

Family ties that can never be broken. What a gift.

Until next time....Blessings~

Fall is almost here....

Fall is 2 weeks away. It's my favorite season. It's a nice cool-down after a long hot summer, although THIS summer has been alot milder than summers past.

I love everything about Fall. The cooler evening temps means that it'll be later in the day before I have to turn the A/C on, if at all. It's also better sleeping weather, just cool enough to pull up the sheet, but not so cold that you need your snowman jammies to keep from freezing.

The leaves on my trees are changing from green to yellow. That's the only thing about Fall that I'm disappointed in-my beautiful shade trees going naked. Although it can be a good thing in the winter, because my Texas Umbrella trees look like giant twigs poked into the ground, but on a chilly winter day, the missing leaves allow the warmth of the sun to penetrate my living room windows, and that it heavenly.

Fall also means another family trip to Bates Nut Farm/Pumpkin Patch. Oh, we have such a wonderful time up there! Going on the hayride, watching the kids pick out their pumpkins, playing games, riding rides... and the store...oh man, that is the highlight of my trip! And, of course, the traditional King Family picture just before we leave. Afterwards, it's over to someone's house to carve the pumpkins, and just enjoy family time for the rest of the day. I love family outings like that...

I love the Fall colors too-the reds, oranges, yellows, all the colors that make life bright on a sometimes dreary day. Fall is also the smells of baking goodies...cookies, pumpkin muffins, hot apple cider, pies...oh yumm! My hope is to bake alot more this year, now that I'm down to just the one job. I love baking in Fall-it helps heat the house up...LOL...and thus becomes energy-efficient! A two-fer!

One of these years Jim says he wants to take me back east, to his early childhood hometown, to experience Fall in a way we west coast natives never imagined. I can't wait. I'd love to visit New England and see for myself how beautiful it is in the Fall...maybe someday...

I want to enjoy Fall for a couple of months before I get into the Christmas crunch/rush....you know....'the calm before the storm'.....have a Happy Fall!

Blessings~

My Sons

Ok, so after the blog about my beautiful 'girls', I realized that I have yet to brag about my handsome sons....my bad! My firstborn, belonging to Jessica, is Jim, there on the left. My 'baby' boy, on the right, is Brian, and he belongs to Katie.

What can I say about these two? Best sons ever, for starters! Best big brothers I could have ever asked for, for their 'little' sister, best husbands to the women who love them, and best daddies to their children...they make me SO incredibly proud.

My 'boys' are so special, and very near and dear to my heart. I am blessed to have such a wonderful relationship with each of them. They look out for their mom & dad, a quality that thrills me! They've both told us that if there's ever a time that mom & dad need to be taken care of, they're there for us, and that as long as they can help it, neither mom OR dad will ever end up in a 'home'...our future is secure.

They're men of integrity, always striving to do the right thing. The bond that I share with my sons is something that I cherish beyond words. It's said that most times, sons are more strongly bonded to their father than they are to their mother. I beg to differ. I've had heart-to-hearts with my sons, and trust me, we've covered it ALL. Above all, I love the honesty that we share. Yes, at times, the truth DOES hurt, but we always get past it and move on.

I watch my sons with their children, and my heart is thrilled. They're very hands-on daddies, and my heart swells with joy as I see them interact with their kids much in the same way their own father interacted with them. I know they will be awesome fathers-they already are!

I am blessed with these sons that God has given to me, and my hope is that Jim & I have trained them up well...so far, it seems as though we have.

Thank You Lord, for my precious sons. May they, as parents, be as blessed by their children as we have been.

Blessings!

My Beautiful Daughters

Here they are-my 3 beautiful daughters. I took this photo today at Jessica's bridal shower. We had lots of yumm-o food, great conversation, and fun games....sweet prizes too!

I am blessed among mothers. Not only do I have the most wonderful daughter in the world, but I also have the 2 best daughters-in-law that God could have provided me with. My sons have chosen wisely, and God has blessed them with women of integrity, intelligence, and talent.

Katie & Jessica are such welcome additions to our family, and the sisters that I was never able to provide Shannon with. We have so much fun together, and I know beyond doubt that the love we share is genuine.

We look forward to decades of happiness, laughter, and love.

Thank You, Lord, for blessing me with these women.

Until next time....blessings to you~

T.G.I.F.!

I've been looking forward to Friday since Monday! Seems like every day there's something going on. Maybe it only SEEMS that way because each day is a day closer to 2 very important events in my life. The first being Jimmy & Jessica's wedding, in 14 days!! Yippee!

The second being that it's now only 17 days till my vacation....DOUBLE Yippee!! I am SO ready for a few days away. Booked a room at Harrah's in Laughlin. Gonna spend some time just relaxing along the river, and going shopping at the HUGE outlet mall they have there. I may 'play' a little, but will no doubt spend more at the outlet mall than I will feeding those little one armed bandits! The whole point of my trip is to just get away from reality for a few days. No, there's no escaping reality, but there IS reprieve, and I aim to make the best of it!

I've been fighting a stupid sinus infection for about a month now. Already went round one with antibiotics, but am thinking it may be a good idea to go back to the Dr for round two, and tell him I NEED to get better-my son's getting married!

Had a sick kitty too, who, after spending a SINFUL amount of money on, is hopefully on the mend. He started losing weight-a good thing since he was overweight-but he lost rapidly, so off to the vet we go, and after xrays and bloodwork, decided that it's a bad tooth that needed to come out...he still isn't eating his crunchy food, but is gobbling up the wet food happily, and is now getting REALLY spoiled on canned food 3-4 times a day. How do I explain to my other 'kids' that their brother needs it, and they don't? LOL...you should see the looks of disappointment I get when I call Terk into the bathroom to feed him, and shut the others out...

I've discoverd another reality show that I really like. It's called 'Wife Swap', been on for years, but I accidently ran across it the other day, and boy lemme tell ya, it can get REAL hairy REAL fast. Talk about reality check! Nice to see things change for the better in a family, and some of those husbands & wives can really tell it like it is! 4pm Mon-Fri on Lifetime...one of my favorite channels...Reba ROCKS!

I'm so glad it's Friday. I'm tired....

Until next time....Blessings~