The Holidays are here again!

 I love my family and the time we get to spend together around the holidays, but I could really do without all the added stress of the extra shopping, cooking and cleaning! On Thanksgiving I had 28 people to entertain and cook for! Lucky Me! Well I didn't have to cook three of the four turkeys we had, because the guys used their turkey fryers and thankfully didn't burn my house down!! My sister was a big help as she brought some side dishes and the ham, but after all the food was demolished and the kids (16 of them) where wore down from running throughout my house I stopped and looked around and didn't recognize my own house! It was a disaster, and I was to exhausted to deal with it! I made sure any of the leftover food was put away and went to bed knowing that I would wake up to a mess, I couldn't sleep so I got up and started cleaning wondering what I was thinking by getting a house big enough to host the holiday gatherings. I called my sister to complain about anything and everything and her answer was to go shopping like we usually do on black Friday! So we met at walmart except most of the deals where gone before we got there so we went to game stop, she had two of her sons with her and they where picking out their own gifts. I knew that my family had been wanting a new game system, but wasn't sure which to chose, the ps3 or the xbox 360! I only knew that we already have the wii and its not a big hit with my kids and husband so I turned to my 15 year old nephew for the answers and to my relief he was very helpful in assisting me on making the choice to get the xbox! Until the moment I turned to my teen aged nephew for assistance I never really thought about how mature he had become. Where did the time go? I still remember changing his diapers.That makes me grateful for all the time we get to spend together.

I Can't Live without It!!

Everyday I get up and think how bad I just don't want to leave the house today, although I know I have to and I will! Until the day you get up and realize you cant leave the house or you are stuck at work waiting on a ride because one of the two family vehicles are in the shop! I never really think about before I could drive and wanted so badly to, or when I didn't have a car and couldn't wait to get one! I have to say that I have taken my driving privilege's for granted over the past several years. I couldn't imagine not having my own vehicle to transport my kids in or run my dreaded errands, I got a rude refresher as to what that was like when our family was down to one vehicle, even though it was only a few days it seemed like a few weeks! So next time you dread leaving the house just thank god you have your own transportation, I know I do!!

Ten Fingers, and Ten Toes?

As I look at my four healthy, beautiful children running about the house and yelling out at each other as they are playing hide-n-seek in the house, I thank god they have the ability to walk and talk and breathe on their own. As I am a Personal Assistant/ Certified Nursing Assistant and I do home care for the state of Illinois, I had a potential client contact me last week interested in hiring me to care for his son which has Dushene Muscular Dystrophy and is living with a tracheotomy and on a ventilator. I agreed to interview with the family, as the family was impressed with me and wanted me to start training right away, I accepted. I'm not sure why I took on such an intense client that didn't fit my requested scheduling, I guess I just admired the mans' persistence to live, he has a great sense of humor and is very kind and respectful which is a big change compared to what I'm used to working with when someone has a debilitating disease that can and will kill them. He has a Masters degree in History from ISU and is very optimistic about his future.His family has jumped through hoops to get everything stable for his care and still participate daily in his care even though he is 34 years old. I admire his family's strength for getting through all these years with this disease. I can only thank god for keeping my children and family healthy and happy, I'm glad they can enjoy life without being dependent on machines to breathe for them, or wheel chairs to move them around because they have no muscles to move on their own.I very seldom thought about any of my children being born with a disease or cancer, I'm so grateful that I didn't have to go through anything like that when my children where born.