Lost and Found

That about sums up my afternoons with my parents. (In case you've missed it they both have alzheimer's disease.) Everyday we search, and search and search some more for something, anything, and everything. Eyeglasses can usually be found in the most obvious places. Daddy likes to put his in his shirt pocket and then start looking all over the house for them. When I see him looking for something I start asking him "what 'cha looking for daddy?" Sometimes he knows what it is but sometimes he doesn't. When he doesn't know we have to play the guessing game, for glasses he usually makes circles with his fingers and puts them up to his eyes and  then I know what he's looking for.  Dentures can almost always be found in his shirt pocket. But I have found them in the refrigerator 'soaking' in a glass of coca-cola! We look for billfolds, purses, shoes, lipstick, earrings, mail and money!!! Not long ago I was looking for mothers glasses, I picked up her purse thinking maybe she had put them in there. No glasses and no billfold! I eventually found the glasses but not the billfold. I looked and looked. I told Pat, my brother, about the missing billfold when he got home. I told him we weren't going to worry mother about this we'd just keep looking, we knew it had to be in the house somewhere. The next morning I told Linda their caregiver to keep an eye out for the billfold and if she ran across it to put it up. She didn't. She did however look for it in every spot she could think of. Now the case of the missing billfold was getting to me. I kept telling mother it was no big deal that it would turn up when we were looking for something else, as most things do! But I just couldn't quit looking. I was going through her closet when I spotted a purse in the very back corner. I finally got to it and opened the old purse and there it was, the missing billfold!! Hallelujah! I have no idea how she managed to get the purse so far back and hid in her closet but she did. When I told her I found her billfold she was so excited. She hurried to find Daddy. "Did you hear the good news?" she asked him "Kay found my billfold!" To which he replied, " I didn't know you lost your bush hog." And so goes another day in the lost and found.....

Snow Shots!!!

Finally got back to work and on my computer with my photo editing software so here a few of my favorite "snow shots". Enjoy!



LOTS of SNOW!!!




Pearl the PT Cruiser was snowed in!!



Our front yard...yeah, we like Dodge Trucks!



Our big Oak Tree!




Snow day at the Ole Shamrock!!




Norma...our unexpected delivery...born on the Saturday before the big snow came in Sunday Night!





No roping going on in this pen for a while....




The pond at sunset....




The old hollow log covered in snow with the creek running through it....



Zane Daniel and our feeble attempt at a snow man....



Kelly, Zane and Ned with the snow 'cowboy'.....



Ned: Hey Zane, I'm making a snow angel...

Okay Daddy....

Ned: Zane are you watching?

Ned: Pretty cool huh Zane?

Ned: Where'd everybody go?
Oh hey Zena.....

The finished product!

Two of my favorite fellas in the whole wide world!!!

Favorite Embroidery Designs

I have a lot of places that I buy embroidery designs and fonts from and one of my favorites is Apex Embroidery Designs. They have some of the coolest fonts EVER! I can take any of these designs and fonts and put them on bags, shirts, towels, etc., just let your imagination run wild!
Go to http://www.apexembdesigns.com/  check 'em out and let me know what your favorites are!
Don't forget Valentines Day is just around the corner and Easter will be here before you know it!

Snow Day(s)!

Between 8 and 9 inches of snow at our house and temperatures below freezing. This was okay for the first day but I think I'm over it now! I took quite a few photos but have to go back to work to download them onto my computer with my photo software. We did go over for a little while yesterday to pick up some more feed and a few supplies. We have a hurt horse and a new calf. As they say...It's always something! When we checked on Mother and Daddy she seemed to be taking it all in stride...Daddy had gone back to bed.
Saturday, Mother and Daddy each got a card from Daddy's sister Betty Ruth. She sent Mother photos and sent Daddy a dollar bill. Daddy got a big kick out that. He said if it weren't for having to buy a stamp he'd mail that dollar right back to her! They tickle me! Mother immediately started through the house looking for a frame for one of the photos of our family! We called Betty Ruth and they both enjoyed talking to her. I'm so thankful for their good days!
Mother and Pat love to watch football together. Mother had gotten to where she couldn't concentrate long enough to enjoy a game but that seems to be improving and they have been watching bowl games and playoffs since New Years day.
I guess the roads have improved today but the high temperature is 26* and with a limited heat source at the store Dan decided we'd stay at home again today...Zane has been sick with a cold for several days now and we're having a blast playing with him and all his toys!
I'm looking forward to warmer temps next week, I'll be busy playing catch up! Hopefully I'll be posting some of my snow shots!

A Little Bit o' Zane Time....

When I was going through photos yesterday to pick out a couple of Mother and Daddy I saw all these Christmas tree shots of Zane at Gran and Papa Tom's house. Enjoy!



 



Have You Missed Me?

I've missed you!
Maybe more than you realize.
In September my mother became ill and was hospitalized. Three and 1/2 months later she  has been hospitalized 3 times and spent 12 days in Senior Care rehab. She has been diagnosed with Alzheimers and Congestive Heart Failure. My Dad was diagnosed with Alzheimers 2 years ago. Never did I imagine that both my parents would have this horrible disease at the same time. It has been quite an adjustment. My brother and I have managed to take care of them at home with the help of a caregiver 5 days a week. Linda comes in Monday through Friday at 8:30am and stays until 1:30pm. This enables me to work at the feed store in the mornings. I relieve her at 1:30 and then my brother relieves me at 5:30. Throw in Doctors appointments, grocery buying and beauty shop appointments and you can imagine how fast my week flies by.
Last week Mother's cousin came by to visit and was telling about losing her beloved pet and how the best way she found to cope with it was by writing....I guess that was the nudge I needed to start writing my blog again. Many days I just simply won't have the time, but when I do I will be sharing insights into the life of my family as we adjust. I plan to keep you up to date on my favorite little guy Zane Daniel too!
This may not be your 'cup of tea' and if you are a subscriber to my blog via email just let me know, I understand and I will gladly remove you from the list. If you know others who may like to read about how we are handling this difficult time in our lives please share the blog with them.
Many of you already know of our situation and have been praying for us. Your prayers are more comfort than you can imagine, keep 'em coming please!

Mother and Daddy, Christmas 2010!



Beatin' the HEAT!!!

Hot doesn't even begin to describe this summer!
It has been very close to unbearable in the feed store. Our record high, inside the store, was set last week, 94.4*. The temp usually just hovers around 93.3 to 94 in the afternoon. We have fans but right now they are really just blowing the hot air around. We've been here for 19 years without air conditioning and we're not going to wimp out now! But it has been too hot for Zane to hang out work at the store. However, when he does come over he knows how to cool off!

Aaahhhh! Living the dream....

Hey, what's that?

Don't do what?

Wubby's a frog...of course he can get wet!

Me and PaPa cooling off on a hot day!

NEWS FLASH!!!!!!

We just tied our record high at 2:30 pm!

Tractor "Driving"

One of the many presents Zane got for his birthday was a John Deere Sit-n-Scoot tractor. Zane's NICU buddy Joyce found this for him and thought he might just like it.
He loves it! And now he's really starting to get with the program. He crawls all over it and raises the seat to see the animals that are stored there. Last week he started walking behind it and pushing the tractor around the house! We think he'll be walking on his own soon...

                                                         I'm in my pj's...that's okay isn't it?

See ya later..I gotta go...

....but I'll be back....

I like farming...

...I think...

My tractor goes bbbbbbbbb....

....when I stop I like to make my wrinkly nose face...

..and sometimes my drool is going down my chin...

..and sometimes I'm just plain silly...

...sometimes I like to try to get G-mama's camera...

Peek-a-boo!

For more info on the John Deere Sit-N-Scoot tractor click HERE!

Zane & Gran

Last Friday, July 2nd was my mother's 76th birthday!
No birthday would be complete without a visit with Zane. The smile on Gran's face speaks volumes as she talks to her favorite little fella!

It looks like Gran wasn't the only one having a fun time!

Vote For Zane!

Zane is entered in the "cutest kids" contest at our local radio station!

He'd appreciate your vote!

Voting is simple just click HERE

When the new page opens simply scroll down to Zane Daniel Smith's photo and click the circle underneath.

When you have done that keep scrolling to the bottom of the page and click the box that says VOTE! Another box should pop up and say 'thanks for voting'.

You can vote once a day!

Zane says THANKS! and tell you friends, neighbors and co-workers to vote too!

1 year check-up

Last Thursday was Zane's 1 year check-up with Dr. Colvard.
It went well despite the 3 shots...
Zane weighed 21 pounds and 14 ounces and he is now 30 1/2 inches tall!
Dr. Colvard said he is tall and lanky and looks GREAT!
He also said to stop the bottles...uh oh...Zane loves his bottles.
A week later though they are all packed up and it's all sippy cups now!
Zane has 6 teeth and has his own little toothbrush and toothpaste.
He is pulling up and standing real well, mostly holding onto something. However, he has let go a few times and stood alone for a few seconds. When he wants to go somewhere though he justs drops to the floor and takes off crawling as fast as he can! He loves to laugh out loud and sometimes I think he gets tickled at himself when he laughs!
A couple of his sippy cups have straws and he likes to crawl up to the sippy cup sitting on the floor and bend over to the straw and take a drink...never picking up the cup. Some might call him lazy...I prefer to call him smart! He knows he doesn't have to waste time picking up the whole cup!
Yep! He's changing fast and we're enjoying every minute of it!!!

You've Come A Long Way Baby...and you too "moo moo"!

                                        Remember when "moo moo" and Zane were the same size?

Maybe "moo moo" was a little bigger and a lot fatter than Zane...

"Moo moo" was our size guide. We would take photos of Baby Zane and "moo moo" every week to see how much Zane was growing. I'd post the photos here on the blog for everyone to marvel at.

Well, last week on Zane's 1st birthday "moo moo" had his photo taken again....

...and again

...and all I can think of is WOW!!

Zane goes to the doctor today for his 1 year check up. Can't wait to find out how he ranks developmentally with other 1 year olds. He doesn't walk yet but he does babble a lot. And he definitely knows how to get your attention!!

A couple of Saturdays ago Joe and Caroline Gilmore came down and spent the afternoon with us. While we were inside watching the horse race Ned, Kelly and Zane headed out to the barn. Shortly I heard the back door open and then I heard a pitter patter of little feet...4 of  'em to be exact!

Yep, the little stinker had ridden his pony into the house! (and people ask me if he's spoiled)

His mommy is the culprit...Zane and daddy are just innocent bystanders, can't you tell?

They claimed "Candy Bar" wanted to watch his "cousins" in the horse race.....

I don't think I'm falling for that one!