Riley 11-10-08

Handsome boy!

First Halloween

Its been ages since I've posted anything....Life seems to be flying by!!! School is going well and so far I think I have all A's in my classes. Math is getting a bit harder and I'm so thankful I have Jill, my sis-in-law, to help with any questions I may have. She's such a goddess!!!!

I get to watch Riley twice a week and am really enjoying it! It's hard to believe he is going to be 3 months old next week!!! WOW!!! He's discovering his voice and is such a happy baby!! I'm constantly taking pictures and videos of him to send down to Grandpa Dave.

Dave will be up here Dec. 7th. Jim and I arranged it because we feel it's very important to see Riley in person. We're all excited he's going to be here....even if it is only for 5 days!

Tonight is snowing like crazy. I know...I know....I live in Alaska and should be used to it but....I really get to disliking this kind of weather! It's just so sloppy!!!

I had my check up on my hips today too. The doc is so pleased with everything that I dont have to go back until 2010 to see him and get xrays!!! I'm so thrilled!! Now....if only I could drop a number of pounds.......

Hope all is well with everyone. Until next time.......

2 days old

I'm such a lucky grandma! I got to watch my beautiful boy for most of the morning and part of the afternoon! He's such a good baby too! Mostly we went to Jim's work, my girlfriend's house, and over to see Uncle Drew. Everyone turns to mush when they see him! It's soooo sweet!

He was awake today for a while and I tried to get some pics of him with his eyes open. He was really good about it for about 5 minutes. Then I think he got mad at seeing spots! LOL

I hope to keep him again really soon!

He's here!!!!

Riley Allen McNeese made his appearance at 6:33 am 8-18-08. He's 8 lbs and 14 oz and healthy as can be!

I'm soo happy and excited that my grandson is finally here! He's so precious and beautiful! I love the smell of new babies. They smell like a little bit of heaven. When he was sleeping, he would sigh and make little noises. It's so cute!

Mom and Dad are both doing fine even though they haven't had any sleep in the last 24 hours or so. They'll be coming home tomorrow and with any luck...I'll be able to babysit so they can get some rest!

Im in love!!! :)

Down to the wire....

Well...there is one more day before we take off to go down south! I'm verry excited to be going and cannot wait to see my family!! It's been waaaay too long since I've seen my sisters!
I've been crazy with cleaning and getting the house into shape before we go. I shampooed the carpets yesterday and overdid it a little bit. I'm taking it a bit easier today and just washing walls and getting all the blankets done. Tonight I'll have Jim and Josh help with the bathrooms and the kitchen. I should be close to being done by then!!!
Then...it's getting everything packed and wait to go to the airport!
It's going to be neat getting my husband together with my sisters. They have never met before and Im very excited. Jim is excited too! He's heard so much about everyone, he's dying to meet them!
I'm looking forward to the time spent with everyone in northern Indiana. My family and Jim's family are both HUGE and I think we'll have a blast! We'll be in the middle of farm country where they grow corn, soybeans, wheat, and mint! It'll be green and luscious! And I know we're going to have a lot of fun with fireworks and swimming!
I have my camera on the charger so it will be raring to go when we get there! =)

Counting down

Only one week to go! Im getting so excited to be heading down to Indiana and seeing a lot of my family! On a sad note, my brother, Mike, and his family won't be able to make it. There has been a lot of hardship in their lives and they are having to deal with a terminally ill family member. My heart hurts for them and my thoughts and prayers are with him and Sara during this tough time. I'm really going to miss them too!!

The weather has been very nice here. Sunny and mostly warm. I got to mow my lawn the other day. Which sounds funny but...it's a small lawn and it's also something I haven't been able to do for a long time. So, I know it wont be exciting to do after about the 10th time of doing it....but right now...I'm loving it!!!!

I'm registered for most of my fall classes now. I'll be taking math (as usual), Intro to Psychology, and, with any luck, Communications 111. I'm not looking forward to Comm 111 but...it is a general education requirement class and I'd like to get it out of the way.

Im off to take care of the lawn...it's weed and feed time!!!

Trying again!

I dont know what has been happening with my computer. I've been trying to post something and it wouldnt let me. :(
I guess today my computer likes me cuz.....here I am!!!

Things have been going well up here. Time is closing in for us to go to Indiana. Im SOOOOOO excited! I can't wait to see my family!!! Especially my siblings and neices and nephews!!! It's been way to long!

I've been working hard at my physical therapy. I even walked 1.5 miles the other day. Granted I still had my crutches with me but...I didn't really need them. I'm currently trying to leave them behind all the time. Learning to walk "normally" is hard work! There is so much to remember! I just want to get this all behind me and start to do things I've missed for years such as; hiking, skiing, horseback riding, bowling, etc.

Today I have a wedding to attend. I have no idea what to wear!! So, I guess I should start rooting around in my closet.

Wow.....

Tomorow is the big day. Surgery is scheduled sometime in the morning. Im feeling extremely anxious about the whole thing. A part of me is looking forward to it. Another just wants it all to go away.
I have to run out the door in a minute to do the last minute "sign my life away" papers that all doctors seem to have to do nowadays.
I've been trying to spend some time outside when the sun is shining. I know I'll be a captive audience after today so...
I wish family was closer.....

SNOW!!???!?!?!

That's right. It's snowing (again). This last weekend we got about a foot of snow. Then, thankfully, the weather started warming up again. The roads cleared and things were getting back on a spring schedule.
Then, I woke up this morning. Guess what?? Yep, more snow!!!! It's coming down thick and fast. I've had a few friends call and tell me there are ditch divers and fender benders everywhere. How do people forget how to drive in the white stuff so quickly?? I really wish I didn't have to go anywhere today.
Oh well. That's life for ya!

I just wanted to vent for a second before I head out into the winter wonderland. :)

Spring

Today is a really nice day! It's in the high 40's, low 50's and mostly sunny. I love this kind of weather!! You can actually drive down the road with your windows rolled down and not freeze to death!!! :)
I can't wait for all the snow to be gone. I love the snow but only for a little while. I'm ready for some green (and not spruce green either!!)!
Things have been cruisin along without anything out of the ordinary going on. All is status quo.
I need to get busy and take some pictures. I'm awful about remembering to do that.

Time flies...

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last posted anything! It seems like just the other day Drew came over to celebrate his 19th birthday!
I don't get to see him much. He's busy with his new "adult" life and I have school and Josh and Jim to keep me busy. He dyed his hair orange! I have no idea why but...it looks really strange! It reminds me of when he was little and used to get spaghetti sauce in his hair. LOL! I wish I had taken a picture of it. Maybe he has one I can have for posterity's sake.

My spring break was nice. I really didn't do much of anything. Played a lot of computer with Josh and Jim. We all have been sucked into World of Warcraft and enjoy meeting new people online. Most of our friends live in Australia. I think it has to do with the fact that everyone in the US are ahead of us timewise. We do have a group of friends that live in Tucson and a few around California. A lot of them are teenagers and Jim and I are the "adopted" parents. They all seem to think it's really cool that parents play the game.

School started again yesterday. Bleh! I can't wait for this semester to be over with! I don't know why but I'm just not into it this time. I really don't like one of my teachers and one of the other ones likes to make the exams really, really hard and confusing. Speaking of which, I have an exam next Tuesday.

The weather is getting a little nicer. We can see the pavement on the main streets now. My rooommate, Bill, chipped all the ice off the driveway and that is soooo nice! I'm ready for spring!!! I can't wait to throw open all the windows and air the house out!!

Well, off to study a bit!

Sick :(

I've been sick for the past week. I had to miss all my classes this week and am really bummed about it. I hate missing school!!! I feel like I'm sooo behind because I haven't been there.
I'm really lucky to have such great professors! I missed my exam in biology and normally there are no make ups. But, my professor is going to let me take it on Monday. Whew! I'm so grateful for him! It's worth 100 points.
I'm not sure what else I've missed. I'm waiting to hear back from my math and asl teachers.
What did we do before email?
The weather here has been really strange. It's been verrry windy and warm. A lot of snow has melted and at night, the water freezes. It makes for a lovely skating rink. (Can you hear the sarcasm??) I wonder if we're actually going to have an early spring! (I WISH!)
Time to head off for physical therapy......

...

Ok. So I haven't gotten back into the groove of blogging. Life just seems busier of late.

I went to the doc's on the 31st and have gotten the next surgery scheduled. On May 9th I'll be getting the left hip replaced. Hopefully, by this summer...I'll be a new person! My husband keeps calling me either "borg" (cuz I have so much metal in me now) or "R2D2" (cuz I still have to charge my spinal cord stimulator by plugging into the wall). Who knows? Maybe I'll be bionic!! LOL

School is going well. I took my first math test (got a 93/100) and have my first sign language test tomorrow. I'm going to be doing a lot of studying today just to make sure I have all the signs down!

I got an invitation to see my neice's blog today! YAY! I really miss being a part of her life. I miss all of my family a LOT! I really enjoyed catching up on what's going on in her busy, busy days. She's is so beautiful and full of energy and charisma!

I guess I'd better hit the books......

Wow!

I can't believe it's been over two months since I've last posted anything!!! Time sure flies!

A lot has happened in that short span of time. I passed my fall semester with flying colors (all A's), Jim adopted Josh, I had my right hip replaced, my mom came up to Anchorage to help out and visit for the first time in 20 years, and I started my spring semester at college. And that's just the major points!!!

In December, we were starting to wonder if we were going to get any kind of snow. You could still see grass until about a week before Christmas! That's VERY unusual! We had some snow before then but the chinook winds blew and it rained and melted everything in sight! Since the beginning of the new year it's snowed A LOT!!!

This is our back porch and the view we have now. I think it took less than a week to get this snow.

Things are going really well for us. My physical therapy is going great and I'm looking forward to the day I can get rid of my crutches. I'll be going thru this again in the spring for my left hip. After that....I should be able to get my life back to "normal" and be able to vaccuum, ski, climb, etc.

One of my resolutions is to be better about my blogging. (okay, so I got a late start) I know my family appreciates it and they are able to keep up with the daily goings on around here.

So.... until next time!!!!