The Amazing Mind of a Child

We got to keep Colin this weekend. He is growing so fast. I got tickled at him when he first came in....his little mind went into overload. He saw the dog, the cat, the Rangers (on TV), Granny, Pops, his toys, and pizza all at the same time. He was just kept repeating, Buddy, Kitty, toys, pops, over and over.

I am so amazed at his memory. We all went over to Jan and Kelvins to visit. He remembered that when he stayed with us this summer, he and I went went over to Aunt Jans house every morning to go walking. We turned down her street and he started saying, "Aunt Jan's house...go walk". We got out of the car and he went to the garage door (which is where we used to go in) and waited for it to open. We finally got him in the front door but he kept saying "Aunt Jan...go walk". He knew the routine....Jan would get water out of the fridge and then we would go back out the garage door. He kept going to the fridge trying to open it and then going to the door saying "walk!". I finally decided to take him on a little walk, so Jan opened the garage door and we started out on our walk...well we got to the driveway and he went to the back of the car and said "stroller".. he always got to ride in the stroller on our previous walks. We went down to the end of the street and turned around. When we got back to Jan's house he went back to the garage door and said "open". I kept trying to get him to go to the front door with me but he wouldn't do it....he just stood by the garage and said "ready, set, go!!!" I guess those were supposed to be the magic words. I am just amazed that he remember all of that from a couple of months ago.

We all got a good laugh from him....when he was ready to go home he meant it! He must of gotten tired of trying to tell me that he wanted to get in the car....he went over to Jan and said, "I want to get in the car Janice". He has never called her that...it is alway Aunt Jan! It was so funny!

I enjoyed him so much this weekend...of course Jenni and Tim were here too and we had a great time with them also. Tim is in the doghouse with me...I forgot why but he is still there just in case he asked (tee-hee).

This and That

Well, you would think that I would post more often now that I am unemployed! I am surprised at how quickly time is passing. I was laid off a little over a month ago! I was afraid that I would be going crazy being at home after working for so many years butI find that some projects that I was going to do right away are still on the back burner.

I am enjoying my daily walks with Jan, it could only be better if Aarilyn could join us. We are walking a little over 4 miles a day now. One day we were really adventurous and walked 6 miles! I was able to put my toe onto the Grand Prairie side of the trail. That one time convinced me that my foot was not up to that many miles a day so we settled back into our 4 mile routine. I am a slow walker so I appreciate Jan slowing down for me.

I got to keep Colin (my little monkey) last week while Jeff and Sarah took their youth to camp. I had a great time! Jan and I even took him on our walks each morning. We had to adjust our route so we could take him by the park to play a little each morning. That little boy loves baseball...everything he picks up is a bat. He is always swinging. Sometimes you can't tell if he is batting or pitching...the motions are pretty much the same! In the evenings he would point to the TV and say "Rangers". He really watches the players and imitates their moves. It is so cute. I bought him a little T-Ball set but he just took out the extension pole and used it for a bat too. I guess we will put that aside for a little while!

Since I am home now I have been helping Charles mow in the evenings. I am very slow ( this darn foot thing again) but I hope I help a little. The only thing is....he doesn't pay well!! If ( no, when) he gives me a hard time (jokingly of course) about how I am mowing, I tell him he gets what he pays for! That keeps him in line!!

I am a person who has this terrible fear of rejection and this job hunting thing is testing my self esteem!! I have had 2 interviews and nothing came of either one of them. I have sent out many, many resumes on-line but there is just not a lot out there right now. I am really wanting to get out of the banking industry but when that is all you have done it is very difficult. I would like to work in an office somewhere but people don't equate banking with office skills even though I have typed, filed, answered phone, etc just like you would in any other business office. Oh well something will come up. Like I said I am enjoying being a lady of leisure but I just received my last paycheck and reality will soon hit me right square in the eyes!

The month of June is one of mixed emotions for me. On the 23rd Charles and I celebrated our 30th anniversary. Charles really wanted to go on a trip somewhere to celebrate however this unemployment thing kind of messed things up for us. This day now however is also the anniversary of David's (my brothers)passing. It has been 6 years now and we all still miss him so much. One of the things that I can remember so vividly about him was how he would always just shake his head and say "my sisters". Poor guy he had 3 sisters who sometimes would just flat out perplex him. He would just give us this look...Jan, Aarilyn, Mom, & Dad...you know the look! As a matter of fact if you have seen the Geico commercial ( the stack of money with the little eyes staring at you) where the guys are roofing a house...one of the guys gives "the look" when the other guy tells him "that's the money you could be saving with Geico". That's the look...and the guy even looks a little like David!!!!

Of course June is also the month that we lost little Nathan last year. His brief moment on this earth has touched so many lives....more than most of us will be able to touch in a lifetime. Josh, Taylor, Jan, Kelvin, and Kristin I am so sorry for the grief you still feel. You are always in my prayers.

Well like I said this was really a little bit of this and little bit of that. Nothing really exciting happening right now....but great and exciting things are coming in the near future!!
Eagerly awaiting the arrival of Miss Raegan Hannah Stapleton!!!!
Going on to Port Aransas in August with the kids (if I don't have a job)!
New job...somewhere sometime!!!!

Job Update

So this is why I have been awake since 2:00am...
We had a meeting with our boss yesterday concerning our job situation. We have gone from a department of nearly 30 people to just 6 (+1 EVP). We were told yesterday that in mid March 2 more people will be laid off. It is really getting tough. I received about 30 minutes of training on a job function that I will have to start doing by myself on Mondays. Also on Mondays I now will have to work the late shift (not too bad really). There is pretty much no way we can take any vacation time from now until we close up shop. We will still have to have the phone on from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm and was told that was not going to change. It is difficult to cover the phones and get your job done plus we have to start boxing up our records and getting them ready for storage. Our manager is still working with other departments to try to find jobs opening for us however there are hiring freezes in most departments.

Please pray the 7 of us that somehow in this terrible economic situation we can all find jobs quickly. While I am concerned for myself I am more comcerned for my coworkers most of whom are single (some single with children) and do not have a spouses income to fall back on.

Sorry if this is too rambling to follow....serious lack of sleep.

Rules are, you must list 5 addictions and pass it to 5 people!
Addiction -- an abnormally strong craving

1. My family...I need to know that they are happy and safe.

2. Colin...he is family but he is extra special...I was born to be a Granny! I get really depressed if I haven't seen him in a while...I really do just ask my husband!

3. Books...I always have at least on with me at all times.

4. Word games....If I am not reading I am working on a crossword, word find, or word twister puzzle.

5. Jesus...I had kind of "drifted away" for a while. I have really felt the need to get back into fellowship. I have been craving to be in and active in church again. We know what church God is leading us to join however we just haven't done it yet. As I said in addiction #3 I always have a book with me....well today I left mine at home. I had a puzzle book with me however as I sat in my car eating lunch I just really wanted to read the bible. I have several at home and I have one in my desk drawer at work but not one in the car. I am going to fix that in the morning so I will have one handy at all times.

1. Two Names You Go By: GRANNY!!!! & Aunt Kril (just 2?? are you kidding me!!!)
2. Things You Are Wearing Right Now: Jeans and comfy shirt
3. Two Things You Want Very Badly At The Moment: To see Colin & another baby for Josh & Taylor
4. Two people who you look up to: My Mom & Dad
5. Two things you did last night: Went shopping with Jenni and fell asleep early
6. Two things you ate yesterday: Chicken and fries
7. Two people you last talked to: Cheryl & Ethan
8. Two Things you're doing tomorrow: Cooking and going to Granny & Pops
9. Two longest car rides: Arlington to Knoxville Tennesee & Arlington to Lubbock (not really the 2nd longest, it just seemed that way!)
10. Favorite Holidays : Christmas and Easter
11. Favorite Vacations : Port Aransas (Stapleton Family Vacation I-IV) & Branson (for our 25th Anniversary)
12. Last trip: To Marshall to see the kids and C-man
13. Two favorite beverages: Dr Pepper and Orange Soda

My Amazing Mom!!

As you all know my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer last month. She had a double mastectomy last Thursday and the preliminary results show that she is now cancer free!! They did send some of the tissue off to have more extensive tests ran (we will have the report in a few days) however the doctor feels strongly that the cancer did not spread outside of the breasts. No chemo or radiation is all tests come back negative!!

I have to tell you that mom handled this with such unbelievable calmness and courage. She has amazed everyone with that way she has handled this diagnosis. So many of her friends have commented on this in the past few days. She says that she knew God would take care of it so why worry...it's there and there is nothing we can do about it, we just got to get it taken care of. She also amazed all the nurses and doctors with her health...she is 73 years old and this is the first surgery she has ever had. She doesn't have to take any medications except for baby aspirin and osteoporosis preventative.

The one downside was that the anesthesia made her very sick. She was in surgery for about 7 hours so she got an extra dose of it....Poor mom was so sick she had to stay in the hospital an extra day. We didn't even talk about food around her and had to make sure that her door stayed closed because any mention or little whiff of food really made her nauceous. Mom & Dads 55th wedding anniversay was Friday...needless to say there was no romantic dinner. The hospital brought them a cake but they didn't get to eat it either. Dad did get her some beautiful roses and she was able to enjoy looking at them.

You know that she has to be hurting but she never complains. We have to really coax her to take pain meds...you know how it is, if that pain ever gets a grip on you it is hard to get rid of so we try to encourage her to take it even if she just hurts "a little bit".

I have learned so much through all of this...but the one thing I had never heard of was that since she had some of her lymph nodes removed from her underarm she should never have her blood pressure taken on her arms, have blood drawn, or get injections in her arms. Doing this could cause her to get lymphedema. From now on they will have to put the blood pressure cuff on her foot or calf, draw blood and give shots anywhere else but her arms. Who knew???

Please pray for mom as she heals and goes through the reconstruction process. She will eventually have to have a day surgery in order to complete the reconstruction (in 2 or 3 months).....my prayer is that she will not get sick when they put her under anesthesia again. Also pray for Dad...he had spent a lot of time at the hospital and I know that his back and legs were really bothering him.

Questions

1. Where is your cell phone? -- purse
2. Where is your significant other? -- hunting
3. Your haircolor? -- reddish brown
4. Your mother? -- has cancer
5. Your father? -- recovering
6. Your favorite thing? -- Colin
7. Your dream last night? -- got lost
8. Your dream/goal? -- comfortable retirement
9. The room you're in? -- Colin/Jeff/Computer room
10. Your hobby? -- reading
11. Your fear? -- rejection
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? -- working
13. Where were you last night? -- home alone again
14. What you're not? -- thin
15. One of your wish-list items? -- lose weight
16. Where you grew up? -- Cool Texas
17. The last thing you did? -- ate lunch
18. What are you wearing? -- sweats
19. Your TV? -- on the cowboys
20. Your pet? -- Buddy/Rio
21. Your computer? -- on..obviously
22. Your mood? -- unsettled
23. Missing someone? -- family
24. Your car? -- paid for!
25. Something you're not wearing? -- rings
26. Favorite store? -- Linens & Things
27. Your summer? -- long
28. Love someone? -- my family
29. Your favorite color? -- green
30. When is the last time you laughed? -- yesterday
31. When is the last time you cried? -- Saturday (a week ago)

Rules:list 6 things I value and 6 things I don't and then pass this award on to 6 people!

6 things I value:

1. My relationship with God
2. Colin
3. My family
4. Honesty
5. Books
6. Integrity

6 things I don't value:
1. Cancer
2. People who "talk the talk" but don't "walk the walk"
3. Coworkers who lie
4. Drunk drivers
5. Leg cramps
6. Beets