Exhaustion...

Jesse and his siblings spent the day discussing options with their dad. They were able to take his keys away and lock the vehicles in the shed so he will not be driving anymore. He wasn't too happy about anything that was going on. So far he is going to be able to stay in the house and hire someone to help him part-time. Jesse and Deb will stop morning (Jesse) and evening (Deb) to give him his meds. Truthfully, I don't know how long this arrangement will last. We are taking him to his church tomorrow and then for lunch. Jesse was so beat when he came home. He rested for awhile and then we decided to take the kids bowling. Everyone had a great time. Garrett loves to bowl and does a victory dance after each set. His ball was bubblegum pink (the lightest one) and he looked so cute in his fancy bowling shoes. The kids had soda and are still up, so that is why I am still up, lol. Taking care of Jim really brings home the lesson of turning the other cheek and loving your "enemy". Why I refer to him as that is a long story. It is easy to love someone who is good to you but to help and love someone who has done great evil to you is all up to the Holy Spirit. Jesse is a good example and trying really hard to do what is right for his father.

A depressing post...

Yesterday was the day from H###! Some days you wish you could just rewind and start again....It began with a horrible case of cause of effect. I went to start the Suburban to take some paperwork over to the school and it was dead, someone had left the lighted mirror open. So we decided to walk...it isn't far. I got the wagon out, Thomas climbed in and the others walked. We walked past our neighbor's house and their little black dog was running around without a leash. I didn't think too much about it, he seemed like he was going to stay in his yard. We cross the busy highway, semi's are zooming through there so fast, and here he comes across the road. He is super fast and super hyper...there is no catching him. He ran toward us and then back and got hit by a semi. It was so tramautic to see it! I ran across while the kids were waiting and picked him up and took him to his house. I wasn't even sure anyone was home. She said she was going to take him to the vet. I talked to her later and she said he had died before she could go. She was devastated. I guess her little boy had let the dog out and she didn't know he was outside. On another note that is the place where the kids are supposed to get across for school....so I will be driving them or walking them across everyday. There is no crossing guard in the town or even a school zone that I know of...insane!

Next, Jesse's dad is suffering from Parkinson's disease and has been having hallucinations, which are par for the course with the disease. He is living by himself right now, doesn't want to go back in to the nursing home. On Wed. he thought someone was in his car and trying to take it. He also sees people in his house constantly. I don't know how long he will be able to live by himself. Debbie took him to the doctor yesterday to make sure he was still on his meds. Jesse stopped there after work and checked on him. Jesse thinks he can do okay for awhile as he is still lucid and can pretty much do what he is supposed to, he doesn't want to force him to move back into the home right now. They instructed him not to drive anywhere at night. That has been very stressful for Jesse. They always talk about the crossroads of raising children and taking care of ailing parents; looks like we are smack in that zone.

Ultrasound yesterday!!!!

Yay! We're so excited!! It has been over 7 years since I've had a little girl!!! All the big sisters are over the moon, too!!

Baby

I heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time yesterday. I am slow to get to a doctor due to the move and other factors, so it was such a sweet sound at 31 weeks. I can't wait to meet this new little person. I was browsing for baby things on the web and found some neat and weird things. If I had lots of dough I would have this for baby "Gazmo" (Garrett's name for him/her). Pretty different but cool. Also found organic hemp sneakers for baby....huh? The byline said if you can't smoke it anymore you can wear it!!!

Pie

Summertime is a good time for pie....any kind of pie with lots of ice cream. I made a cherry pie yesterday with nice tart cherries. I am not a crust making whiz...I know the purists use lard, for nice and flaky crusts. I used a jiffy mix. Unfortunately the picture is not my pie. Mine looks like it has been thrown up in the air against the ceiling and then dangled from the light fixture for a while. It still tastes good...I just need to work on appearance. I love those beautiful pies where people use tiny cookie cutters to cut out pieces of crust and decorate the top. That is beyond my abilities. I found a recipe in a cook book that I checked out from the library for a gorgeous pie called Rasberry Ribbon pie. I haven't tried it yet but want to for the holidays.

2 pkg (3oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup confect sugar
dash salt
1 c. heavy whipping cream, whipped
1 pastry shell, baked
1 pkg rasp gelatin
1 1/4 c boiling water
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 pkg frozen raspberries in syrup, thawed

Beat cream cheese, sugar and salt until light and fluffy. Fold in cream. Spread half in pie shell and chill for 30 min.

Dissolve gelatin in water; add lemon juice and raspberries. Spoon half over cream cheese. Chill for 30 min or until set.

Set aside remaining gelatin mixture at room temp. Spread remaining cream cheese mixture over top of pie. Chill for 30 min. Top with remaining gelatin and chill until firm.

More from our outing....

Ollie had fun on the drive, too. Colton decided to stay home...he had blisters from a long walk with bad shoes. Ollie has eaten out both of Colton's insoles...yumyum. We found an old park with a see-saw; those are rare in modern parks. The one room schoolhouse was neat, too. The best part was chowing down on icecream. Jesse had $5 in his pocket and was able to get a half gallon of soft serve at an old-timey dairy queen. She also threw in a bowl of hot fudge for free. We poured it over the icecream and all dug in!

Fun with the kids

The vacation is officially over for Jesse who started work today. The kids will start school next Wednesday...where did the summer go???!!! Here are some pictures of the fun we had going to Preparation Canyon, Loess Hills visitor center and other fun places recently. The hike about killed me, they way back was all up hill. It is so gorgeous there, I can't wait to go back in the Fall when the leaves have changed color.