8.11.2008

There's No Place Like Home . . .



We're back from our vacation and settling back into our "real" life. This means sleepovers have resumed. Several of Trevor's friends had to go to summer school this year so they're making up for lost "hanging" time. The grass needs to be cut. Jim did the backyard yesterday along with the weedwacker so that was a several hour project. The pool looks like the home of the Swamp Thing and, after three shocks, it still looks pretty bad. Our sump pump crapped out while we were away. Thankfully, my mother was staying here with her dogs for the week while waiting for her new apartment in her and Steph's new house to be painted and carpeted. She went to the basement to throw a load of laundry in and found three inches of water down there. God bless Barmore Pump and their emergency visits but it was an almost $400 bill that I wasn't expecting this month. When it rains it pours ~ no pun intended!!




Our vacation was wonderful and the boys had a blast!! We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather. We spent a lot of time in the pool and at the beach. We found some nice shells this year. Those are usually difficult to come by nowadays but there had been a big storm before we got there and it stirred up the ocean and left lots of goodies on the beach for us to discover. Of course they were nothing like the shells from Turks and Caicos but nice nonetheless. The boardwalk was full of all walks of life and certainly didn't reflect the state of our economy. Brendan and Jim went on some rides together. I opted out of the spinning ones. I've never been able to do spinning rides and it's only gotten worse as I've gotten older. Brendan loves all of the rides, including the big roller coasters. I blame Jim for that one!! Connor and Trevor hung out with the older kids and they didn't get home until almost 1 am. Thankfully, Brendan was tired and, after he got the ninja sword he so desperately wanted, we were back at the hotel before 9 pm. I love the boardwalk but can only take that much stimulation for a short period of time. I used to thrive on chaos and activity but that all changed after John passed away. Now I need a sense of peace and calmness a lot more often. When the boys and Jim went to the water park for the day with a bunch of other family members I got to go on my traditional solo visit to my favorite antique shop in Cape May. I started going there alone about 7 years ago. I take my time and go thru every booth looking thru linens, collectibles, books, dolls, etc., etc. I found lots of goodies to list on my Etsy shop and hope to do that a little each day this week. It was a wonderful vacation but we're all glad to be home. Next year's trip will be here before we know it!!




My sister, Stephanie, has her big surgery scheduled for September 9th. She will be in surgery for about 5 to 6 hours at which time the surgeons will remove the rest of the tumor in her colon and do the liver re-section on the one side of her liver and then place a port in the other side of her liver. This will enable her oncologist to send the chemo directly into her liver without having to send it thru places she doesn't need it. Steph has been feeling very tired but otherwise good. It's going to be a long recovery from the surgery but she's ready to get it over with. She won't be having any more chemo until after the surgery because the doctors want her to be as strong as possible for a quick recovery. They are going to be moving into their new house within the next week, I believe. They are blessed with the most wonderful support system. Friends and family have been over there painting, laying carpet and doing whatever else needs to be done. The two kids are going to have the most wonderful yard to play in and pool to swim in. My mother has a special area that has been fenced in for her dogs so they'll be happy too. Taylor will be attending the same school as Brendan next September and then Danny follows the year after that. The three of them in the same school will be wonderful!!




One last thing that I wanted to tell everyone about . . .




Two weeks ago my mother and Steph, Dan, Danny and Taylor all went to breakfast at the New City diner. My mother said the two kids are hysterical and talk non-stop. Later that nite, Steph and Dan and the kids went to Dan's parents' house for dinner and someone asked Danny who he had breakfast with that morning. He told them he ate with "Mommy, Daddy, Taylor, Nana and Grandpop." Stephanie asked him which Grandpop and he said "the one on the hill." Steph takes the kids to the cemetery to see my father's grave. Steph laughed and said "Grandpop wasn't there, Silly." He said, "Yes he was. He had breakfast with us." That wasn't the first time that Danny has said he has seen my father. When they first moved into their apartment Danny walked past a mirror and looked into it and said, "Look, there's Grandpop." Stephanie asked where and he pointed in the mirror. We took a picture of Danny when he was about 8 months old and my mother printed it out on her printer and it showed a white light above Danny's head. Taylor also woke up a while ago and told Steph that Grandpop told her he wants celery salt. Steph had just been talking to someone about how my father made such good Bloody Mary's and he came to Taylor in her dreams and told her he wanted celery salt. That was the key ingredient to the drinks. I love to tell people those stories and I'm sure there will be more to follow soon!!




Many blessings ~ Wendy




3 comments:

Kim Fernino said...

You can turn a daily occurance into a spiritual wonderland my dear. You truly have a gift. Make sure Taylor gets the celery in addition to the salt :)

Kathy said...

There truly IS no place like home.

I love hearing stories about little kids seeing their deceased loved ones. My kids don't see my MIL anymore. :(

Kath said...

Hi Wendy!!
Susan gave me your blog address to check it out...I love it...looks great. Im going to save it so I can read about you guys from time to time. I have a few blogs myself. One for my pictures, one for my crafts, and one for my family. Check out the craft one ( the other sites are listed on that blog ), the address is:
http://kath-homemadecrafts.blogspot.com/

I'll see you at the shop soon.

Take care =)