It's that time of year again - Sunday-March 8th :o)

Daylight Savings Time begins next Sunday - March 8th.

Just a little friendly reminder for all of you. I love it because it stays light longer outside! :o)

Kirsten and her ??? bug ???

I took Kirsten into the clinic and saw her doctor, we have the same one, makes things much easier. Prognosis: ??? He doesn't see anything visibly wrong or any viruses, etc. Just a "mystery" as to why Kirsten keeps getting sick and throws up and runs a low grade temp.

Kirsten has lost 3 pounds. Today she is keeping things down. She actually ate a small bowl of oatmeal! Her doctor said that I've been doing everything possible. Just wait and watch for two more weeks, unless she gets really sick of course. So I told him that whenever we take her outside the house to run a quick errand or go to church, she will be sick that day or the next day. So I told him that I was going to keep her home bound for two weeks and see what happens. He said that would be fine and when I take her back out into the world and she gets sick, then there are some serious issues with her immune system that he will check on. We already know it is about non-existent!

She turns 19 years old on April 2nd, which is about 5 weeks away. That's an incredibly long time for trisomy 18 children to live, it's almost unheard of. I did say that maybe she's starting to decline in slow degrees. He said that he doesn't want to go there just yet. Neither do I. However, I have to wonder with how sick she's been this past 2 months!

On a positive note...Kirsten still SMILES a lot! :o) What a love!

Diana is admitting something...

Okay, so here it goes...
I am 58 1/2 years old. Yes! I just watched 'The Bachelor'. I hate trashy tv, violence and 99% of tv is garbage. Now with that being said, why on earth did I watch 'The Bachelor' ??? The guy Jason is from Seattle! He's also a single parent with an adorable 4 year old little boy! Okay. I only watched the last 4 episodes. I forgot to watch it last week. The most exciting week too! They were in New Zealand! Tonight's episode, the ladies tell all! It gives them a good dose of 'hey, take a good look at who you really are!' I think that is a good thing, and hopefully they will move on to better things and be better people, at least some of them. My vote was for the Canadian, Jillian. What a sweetheart! Personally I don't believe that love and marriage happen in show that tapes in 4 weeks! But whose to say!

Now to my next admission...
Dancing with the Stars starts in two weeks. Again, why do I watch it? I love dancing! Although the way my little left piggy toe feels at the moment, it is agonizing! I think I have either jammed, sprained or jammed/sprained 9 out of 10 toes! Noteworthy...none while a youngster, all happened after I had kids! Then the kids left,and I still have not gotten over the clutsies! :o/
Dancing with the stars is like athletics. They really work out! Down side...UG! The costumes, way too skimpy! I look past that and the dancing amazes me!

Okay. I have a friend who is 76 and she watches DWTS too! Plus, she watches American Idol with that not so nice Simon. I don't watch that. I know people out there do and enjoy it and I'm happy for them. :o)

Any other admissions, hmmm. Nope! That's it! :o)

Honestly, I think the flu bug is winning! Arrggghh!

This picture says it all! Do you get a flu shot and hope it works? If you don't get a flu shot, would things be worse? Do you get the shot and still get sick and wonder was the shot worth it? I really don't know. Dad and I and Kirsten get a flu shot every year. Dad and I seem to be okay. I'm not so sure it works for Kirsten. These past two years I have to wonder. I know she was sick and throwing up just two weeks ago. Today it started all over again! Sheesh! Kirsten is not complaining so I won't either. However, I hate seeing her sick again! She's lying out on the couch playing with her maraca rattle not smiling nor frowning just lying there. I'd like to kick the flu bug from here to outer space! I guess I'll just have to sequester Kirsten inside until winter is over!

A little pot of gold!

A Pot of Gold!

This is the craft that I am going to have the kids in Kirsten's class make on March 10th. I copied the cartoon off the Internet but embellished it and enlarged it and made it into what I liked and copied it onto card stock. I was thinking how neat it would be if the kids could actually have pieces of gold 'in the pot.'

I cut a slot at the top of the pot of gold just beneath the art drawn coins. Then I cut a 2-1/2-inch x 3-1/2-inch piece of card stock and taped it on the backside of the picture. It holds 4 pieces of gold milk chocolate coins. The kids will put their coins through the slot into their pot of gold. I had fun making this project. I hope the kids will have as much fun as I did making this. I showed the sample to the class teacher today and she loved it! One of the paras in class that tutor Kirsten asked if she could take a copy of it to her daughter's 2nd grade class so they could make it. I gave her an extra one that I had.

Today we were to decorate heart shaped valentine cookies. I had to 'drop off' the cookies, frosting, and toppings to decorate the cookies. There were a few kids not feeling up to par that had sneezing and coughs, so I did not work with the kids today. Kirsten was a little disappointed in that she wanted to go 'in the class.' I left her in the car just outside the classroom while I dashed the supplies inside. The teacher understood. Kirsten gets sick at the drop of a hat if anyone gets near her that is sick. It's been a tough winter.

I hope the kids in class are well in March. If not, the project is easy and the teachers will have fun doing this. They love to have Kirsten and I come in. They miss Kirsten and the kids love to see her. They also enjoy seeing me do the teaching. I guess it's a change for them that once a month someone comes in to play and have fun with the class. I love it! The teachers told me today how disappointed the kids were that Kirsten and I could not stay. They asked why I left. It's hard for them to understand about being sick and Kirsten not getting sick.

Flu Bugs - Bah! Hum Bug!

A flu bug - ug!

I have to say that I do not really appreciate all the trouble that the above infamous beast gives people!

I'm not complaining now. I've been really healthy and am so very thankful as it allows me to take care of Kirsten. Now there lies the problem. The flu bug seems to like Kirsten being its host these days.

Kirsten has had this nasty flu bug 4 times since the week prior to Christmas. This last time around she is struggling but valiantly trying to regain her strength and energy. It really breaks my heart. Kirsten is such a trooper and never, ever complains. She takes whatever is handed to her with grace and dignity and just 'endures.' Now that is the key word - endures! The scriptures tell us repeatedly to 'endure' to the end, etc., etc. Kirsten is an 'endurer!'

I just hope that this is the 'last time' that nasty flu bug visits her. It can find 'another host!' She's over the flu part. She is just struggling to get her energizer battery going full speed. You see this sweet little girl, so beautiful and so loving and she's lethargic and droopy but can 'still smile' for you. What a sweetheart!

Pray for her, please. I really want to see her back to her old self soon! :o) I will also try to 'endure' and be cheerful about this experience. :o) As my mom used to say, 'and this too shall pass.' I hope real soon!!!

Thank you!

My 'Title of Liberty'

My Title of Liberty

I finally framed this, again! It's been in another frame and it was temporary until I could do it in something that I liked. I didn't take the best photo but you get the general idea.

I went to JoAnn Fabrics right after New Years as they had a 50% off sale on all frames. So I excitedly went in and picked everything out and asked for 'an estimate.' That estimate was $164.00! Ulp! I said that I would have to think about it. I left and never went back. Now I had the $164.00. The problem was that I thought that was a bit steep, and that was the 50% off price! Cheap me, I decided I'd do it myself!

I bought a frame for $15 at Wal Mart. I bought some wide dark brown ribbon. I added gold tones to the frame and the rest is history! I spent a total of $18.00 on the whole project!

We made these banners in Young Women about 13 or 14 years ago. I think my daughter Julie was about 16 years old at the time. I have had this banner that long and have loved my 'title of liberty'. It means a lot to me, what it stands for. Well, it may be quite a few years down the road, but I finally got it done! The best part is that I saved $146.00!!! :o)