Cold Wednesday

Gosh, I am so ready for this weather to change for spring and summer, it is cold here and dreary.....does not help when babies have to play inside:((( Olivia and Blake started mother's day out, they love it, they go form 9am till 2pm which helps me get my work done:0 Hannah has had a ruff day today, she is just miserable:( mother has had a hard couple of days, just feeling insecure, she was not sure of Faye again today, she came and sat with me on the couch, which she always sits in her chair, she said, I am going with you, so I took her and Faye and April to lunch, then when we got to her house went in, got her settled, she was ok, then later was afraid of Faye, but Faye had a good talk with her and mother was ok. Mother is just worrying about things and has some paranoia and fear going on, so please pray for her. I am not sure what to do, other then just try to help her feel secure and be there for her when she is afraid......On a different note, April is going to Haiti on a Missions trip in June, she will be helping build a orphanage there, she is going with Summit church, this is where Alica goes to church, Belinda Holiday is going so she will be with Belinda, she is excited bout it. I am excited for her::0 It is in June of this year, she will have to raise about 2000 dollars, so pray the money comes in:) The children went to bed by 7ish and asleep by 7:30 tonight, school helps:) This weekend it is suppose to be warmer and nice, Hannah has a baby shower this Saturday, so that will be fun:)) maybe it will help her feel better. She is a trooper in all this:) Well best get to bed, morning will come early, started with me awake about 6ish to have some quiet time, within minutes little pitter patter of feet were right beside me:) reminds me of when my babies were little, you can never get up ahead of them, they just tune in and know, not sure how but they do! I did manage to get a loan closed today, I really need my listing to sell, so pray they do! hugs and nite!

Tuesday and yes it rained!

Seems like it rains most Tuesday's, we have property tour rain or shine, today it was cold and rain! I will be so thankful when it warms back up! I have froze all day. I did the sales meeting today then went on tour then had a Brokers meeting then listed ahome in Maumelle, came home and my sweet Jill had cooked dinner, I was so glad cause Tuesday is always a full day for me, Got the babies bathed, Mark had left to go back to Van Buren, Hannah was PG sick to her stomach, we all appreciated Jill's good home made dinner, sour cream chicken and a real good green bean dish with home made rolls:))) yum yum! we chowed down, Jenn is at her Nanny's so Jared finished the chicken dish off:) He and Steve are watching basketball and I am ready for bed, it is 9:30ish and my day started at 6am with feeding babies and getting them off to school and mother's day out:) Max has done well in school, he adjusted so good to the move, he did cry today when Mark left, it is probably harder on him then he lets on:( Hannah went to the Dr. yesterday with contractions, she was thinning out but all was ok and it was braxton hicks contractions, she will go again this Friday. On a sad note, I have a cat nala, she is missing, I am not sure if she decided to leave due to all the commotion here and Hannah's dog or what, but I pray she comes home, she is a out side cat. Well it's bed time for me...so nite

Living life totally different

Long gone are the quiet days or nights, we have three grand babies and Hannah, on the weekends Mark and of course the dog Dually here with us. We totally enjoy all of them but at times feel a bit over whelmed with it all, in which Hannah is doing better she is 34 weeks now and she is able to do more to help, but the week has been full of cooking, cleaning, laundry, baths, and kids squelling, playing,crying,just full of life:) I am trying to balance it with my work, so glad Steve is retired or we could never pull this all off, I am ready for sun and warm days again, the rainy ones are a little much;00 We called Belinda to pick up Olivia for the night on Saturday which was a much needed break, she and Blake are a hand full together, but very funny! Alicia took Max today to Jack's baseball tournament, he had a great time, he will start school tomorrow and Blake and Olivia will start mother's day out, this will help. I have to get some real estate sold, so please pray I do, I need some pay checks! I have a home I am listing this Tuesday so that is great, it will be a busy work week for me, so I pray it goes smooth. Mother is doing about the same, just Kay and I coping with the fact she does not know us most of the time....:(((( but she is doing good physically. All is well here just hanging in there, I will miss all this when they are all back home:( I do feel better, my sinus have been infected:(( I did read a great book, Heaven is for real about a little boy who went to Heaven, easy read and good book!! Hugs and nite

Making it:)

Worked hard first part of the week, came home to babies and cooking and cleaning and getting babies in bed:) Mark was here and his mother Regina so it was not too bad. Today took Hannah to get her hair cut, it looks real cute, although she got sick while there, she has had a hard day today, contractions and sickly, Mark left to go home and Regina left today to go home so its just us. I am reverting back to when my babies were home, gotta have a schedule and be the mother right now, so I do have m y wooden spoon:) Regina ask me last night was I going to spank Blake, I said yes, I am, he was told not to get out of bed:) she does not spank hem but if I have them here this long its more of a mother role and I have to take charge or they will run all over us all! They are good children just getting settled to being here. Peyton has loved having htem to play with, Victoria was here and that has been a big help too, now if anyone one wants Max, Blake or Olivia to come play all you need to do is call me and I can get them right over:))) Went to the store today, and did some work but its was a pretty easy day. I am tired and taking one day at a time in all this life change for me, but for now its going ok. Regina got all the baby clothes washed up, and she and Hannah sorted them, so we are getting closer to being ready. Jenn and Belinda are giving Hannah a shower the 2nd of April, she has most things but more to honor her:) I took Laila to mother's this afternoon, she just loved on her, she really enjoyed the visit, we had her deck power washed and stained, it looks so good:0 We were to go and meet Connie and Mama tomorrow and I am sad that we are not able to do that, but with Hannah in the shape she is in, I could not get that far off, so we changed our plans. Hannah has made it another week:)))
Taking it one day at a time;))0 hugs and nite

My Favorite Child

Years ago I heard a story about a man and his friend, the man had several children, his friend and he were sitting out in the breeze of the evening, the friend ask, you know you have several children, I know you have a favorite child, which one is it? The man thought and thought for a few minutes, then slowly said, well, I guess it would be my Oldest, Alicia Jean, she and I work together, she is always a inspiration for me to watch her, she is driven in the midst of Real Estate deals, recently she had to tear out all her sub floor and in den and some in the kitchen and most in the bath, she was so down about it all, she had such anxiety, I was able to walk with her through thiis ordeal with her, I guess you could say she......well, now let me think, my son William Sean he may be, he is going through a struggle right now with his work, he is hanging on by a thread, I encourage him to keep hanging on, it will get better, Sean is one of my children who struggles in some of the same ares I do, so maybe I would say he is my favor......well, again Alexander Steven my son, he just took on a new career, he is having to be out of town alot and I see him struggle to juggle all his plates in life with being a Pastor and work full time, a daddy and husband, my heart broke with his several times in his life, he is so blessed with his wife and daughter, I guess I would say Alex is my favoooooo, hummmmmm, now let me think Hannah Elizabeth, is having such a hard time in her life right now, she is 32 weeks pregnant with baby Luke, she has been told by her Dr. not to leave town, house rest for now, she has had premature labor twice now and ended up at hospital, then bed rest, she and her family live in Van Buren, 2 1/2 hours away, this means she needs to uproot her family, leave Mark her husband at home, live with us right now, she physically is not able to care for her children and not go into labor, it is too early for baby Luke to be born, I am here for her in the midst of her struggle, so its her for sureeeeeeeeee, Gosh! I have a son Jared Louis, he has struggled with having to work long hours being away from his family, his sweet wife has had her hands full with three girls, I love helping them with the girls, such a blessing Jared just changed positions in his job and will have normal hours, Jared is my child who holds it all in, but when he has had enough he blows, so maybe he is my favoriiiiii, NO, I really think it is my youngest daughter April Rebecca, she is trying to find her way in life right now, she struggles with making the right decisions, my heart hurts for her when I see her struggle in so many areas, April lacks self esteem in the fact she is smart and can do anything she desires to do, she has proven that this week in helping her sister, becoming a mother to three children, she is for sure my favoriiiiii, let me think, in saying all this, I realize they are all my favorite, they are my life, I love them all, may look lke I love one more then others sometime because I realize that when each of them is at a point of need, then they are my favorite at the moment and get my attention as their mother.....so when your a mother and being torn between what to do in life, sometimes the "need of the one out weight the need of the few"( advice from Spock) you have to know which child is in real need, be there for them the others will be fine, they will have their turn in your favoritism:) this works in friendships too:) In my life right now I am doing a fast dance with Jesus, trying to not step on His toes and lead:) I just want to keep my hand in His as he twirls me so I will not fall:) hugs

Thankful Thursday!

Today started with me making Blake some pan cakes, then Hannah was nauseated so she had Sprite, she woke up not feeling good:( having some contractions but not bad or real ones. I had a class I was to do at 10:00 on Motivation, I had thougth OK Lord you are going to need to help me be motivated, then the song I love, God is unchangeable, unstoppable, HE IS OUR LORD!! just lifted my spirits, I went to the class shared some of that song with them, said you know if you are offended when I teach, because I talk about the Lord then just do not come to my classes, because with what I have going on in my life, God is my motivator and He is the one who gets me going, so I can not help them if I do not rely on Him:) It was a great class, I was so encouraged by the agents.....I was blessed by doing that class today!! Then had retirement party for Francille Turbeyfill, such a wonderful lady!! Enjoyed seeing some good friends! Mother had to go to dr. today she has a rash, Kay was able to take her, she weighed 126 pounds! She is at her healthy weight, so we do not want to gain any more:) He gave us some cream to put on the rash. She is doing well, its just hard to see her not know us sometimes, she is changing fast in my opinion. Then came home and cooked diner, took some to mother and faye, I had put a roast in the corck pot so we had creamed potatoes, roast, mac and cheese and corn, salad...ate real good, so do mother and Faye:) Now mr Blake is ready for bed and so am I, Hannah is in bed, we see dr tomorrow:) Mark will be here Saturday, Hannah is missing her other chidren and Mark, Regina, Marks mother comes Sat. till Monday so she Will get to visit with the babies:)) of course Hannah can not do much but sit, lay and rest and drink lots of fluids:)) well best run....oh yes, I forgot to say, I got a offer on my million dollar listing today!!!!!

Wednesday

Well I did sleep real good at the condo Monday, got up Tuesday, worked Real Estate and took pics of the condo I listed, then went and had a massage,so I could walk from cleaning:) went by this neat store in FFB and got a bright yellow spring/summer purse:0 I love that shop! Its the sweet Shop there in the Bay. The we got the phone call form Hannah that she was having contractions and on her way home, driving her self! Now this is not because Mark did not want to come, this is because she felt she needed to come right then and could not wait on him to get off work and ready, I told Mark next time something like that happens, she is not thinking clear and tell her no:) Steve and I left FFb and went and met her on the freeway, because her contractions got worse:((( so she and I went to labor and deliver at Springhill Baptist, her Dr. is there and she is to deliver there, this is the Dr. who has delivered her babies, so she wanted to keep him, knowing she was 2 1/5 hours away, normally Hannah has no problems and knows when she goes into labor so based on previous pregnancies, this should of worked ok:) but Baby Luke has his on mind. Hannah was not able to keep hydrated which would cause her to contract which was causing her to dilate, so they gave her two bags of IV's and watched her, knew the baby was fine and with fluid Hannah would be ok, they got the contractions stopped, she did this Friday and went to ER in Ft. Smith, she knew she was 32 weeks and its too early for Luke to be born, he could not suck yet or breath on his on at 32 weeks, he needs to stay where he is for a couple more weeks, so that is our goal:))) This is the first day in two weeks that she has not contracted and actually feels better, she has had a lot of fluids, her hand is never empty:) She brought Blake with her and let Max and Olivia with April and Mark, Mark will come when he gets off Saturday till Tuesday, then he will go back to his home and Hannah stay here, she will go to her Dr. Friday, she will probably remain here until she delivers, this is hard on Mark and Hannah and the kids, so pray for them, next week is spring break, they had planned to come, just not to stay. We will see what her Dr. says, but trying to get here in labor is about unbearable for Hannah and makes me a nervous wreck:((( Glad I had everything ready! Today I did take her to get pedicure and manicure, and tomorrow a pg massage, I am a firm believer the touch is healing and makes you feel better:)) Needless to say my trip to see Mama and Connie is off, I do not want to be that far away and something happen, just to much stress for me.....Tomorrow I am doing a motivation class at 10 am, I am about 360 from feeling motivational, so the Lord needs to do something:) and He will:) guess that is motivating! Then have a retirement lunch for a Realtor who is a icon in Real Estate, then work, have a roast to put on in the morning for dinner:) Best run, I am so ready for bed:) HUGS!

Hope I can walk tomorrow:)

You would think I am having a baby, I have been nesting all week, and now have all in order for Hannah to come home and Baby Luke to get here:) I went to the store last night, then cleaned, painted and washed today, I am totally ready, but my elbows are killing me and my back is trying to go out, I can barley walk from all the cleaning, but you can eat off my floors, there are no cob webs, and all sheets and bedding have been washed, my windows clean and so are the blinds, closet is straight:) I have fresh flowers in guest room, kitchen and den and a pot of daffodils on my porch....so I am ready:) My cleaning friend was to come on Tuesday but she had a painting job so that came first, so I decided I would do it:( and now I know why I do not do heavy cleaning any more:) Then we left to come to the condo and I really need this time, I will list a condo here tomorrow and take pics, get it ready to be on the market, a great deal for someone wanting a place to retreat to, its wonderful in FFB, the pool is state of the ark, lake ten minutes away, life slows down here:) so come and be my neighbor! I did call the Heart Ctr. to get a massage tomorrow, just a Swedish one to relax and help me keep my back form going out:) It is so cold here, and I did see some little snow flakes:) I about froze, I did not bring a coat with me but had on warm ups with a t-shirt on too. My mind can relax tonight and sleep well, mother has Kay there so I know she will be fine:)) Mother is usually always on my mind and I never turn my phone off, so when Kay is there or April it seems I rest better:) My word it is sooooooo quiet here, only the stars and deers around, the brush of the trees when the wind blows....boy am I gonna sleep good! Night and Hugs

Sunday and full of sass!

Today has been a full day, started with me going to the office to get five five agents open house material ready, they are holding my listings open:) Then went to Journey church, which was real good, Alex is preaching on Worship:) then lunch with my boys and their babies and family, except Sarah and Cole, Cole was sick:(((( we went to Carrino's, then I went and picked up a high school friend and we went to a planning meeting for our 40th reunion. Went to mother's when I got home, Faye had cooked so I ate with mother and visited for a long while. Mother was ok, she said she is lonely, that she was happy to see a familiar face, which meant she was not realizing she knew Faye:(( we talked about the same thing we always do :) when I left she was happy and asking me to come back tomorrow, in which I will:) Kay spends the night tomorrow, so mother will like that:) after that I went to the store because I had time to do it, Hannah and family will be here the end of the week so i got everything I will need to cook all week, then the 24th I am taking mother to meet Mama and Connie, we will spend the weekend together:) Alicia and Steve will go with mother and I, mother will love seeing mama and her sister Connie. I am looking forward to that time;0 Tomorrow I am going to Fairfield Bay to list a condo and work form that office for a couple of days then back Wed. and have to teach on Thursday and Board meeting Thursday, then Hannah will be here:) for a week, so it Will be a busy time with work, Hannah and mother:) but Hannah is a priority because it is too early for Baby Luke to arrive here:) Well best run and get to bed while the house is quiet:) hugs and nite

Just In case Luke makes his appearance early!

Today I decided to get ready for Luke in case he decides to come early:) with that said, Hannah is better, she is on bed rest and April is doing a great job caring for her and being a wonderful Aunt and sister! I got the room ready for them, Hannah will come here the 18th for the week then before her due date come here and stay here a few days after Luke is born. She is having a shower April 2nd., so I waited on buying too much, it was hard:))) Today was so pretty, I loved being out side, mother is much better today, I pray we do not have many of those episodes. We went to Dondeys?? in Des Arc for Sarah's birthday with Sean and Sarah and Cole and Anna, it was really good, catfish, shrimp. all the trimmings, its on a river boat that is docked on the White River....and it was worth the drive! Tonight clocks roll forward and church comes early so just wanted you to know, I am better and so is everyone else!! hugs and nite

Heart to Heart Blog

This morning I am just thankful I survived yesterday, it started easy and suddenly turned into a over whelming day, but ended peaceful, which I know is from prayers. I think today I just need to cry so I am. I did not realize it till I started to blog, have a lot of emotions swimming around in my head. Hannah was in a lot of abdominal pain yesterday, she thought it was gas, then got a hot bath and laid down, it got worse, Mark called about 11:30 to see what we were doing, he had to come home from work and his boss had pressure on him to get some reports out that day, I knew I could not go right then, I had work and the weekend was full with work, so April went down, before she could get there, Hannah's pains were worse, she did not think they were contractions but gas, Mark took her to Er in Ft. Smith, with all the babies tagging along, Hannah was in a panic and pain, I wanted to be with her so bad but was 2.5 hours away, right when all this was going on, Mother's care giver called and said mother was afraid of her and I needed to come over, I talked to mother on the phone, she was trying to be nice and not say anything in front of Faye but she wanted me over there, at this time, I was to be in Cabot for a walk through inspection before a buyer closes on their home, the buyer was already there waiting on me, I called Kay and she went to mother's,in which she had just left 15 minutes earlier and all was fine, for some reason mother will think Faye is a man, and has these past few weeks, Faye will tell her she is a lady, mother will think she is Walt sometimes and call her Walt, Faye is a black person, she will tell mother, she is black and Walt was white and that she is a woman, we all just adore her, mother has had a fear of black people and I almost did not hire Faye in June last year because of thinking mother may be scared of her, but we did and mother has loved her, Faye has been with us a family gatherings and mother will hold her hand and make sure every one knows her, but for yesterday she thought Faye was a man and did not want to be alone with her, she was afraid she would have to stay up all night because since Faye was a man, he might rape her......now in saying that, mother had a hard life and was abused as a child by her mother, (Mama ( Billie) is her step mother) and was raped...so she may have valid reasons for those feelings but I do not know why she thinks Faye is a man, Faye wants to quit if she is scaring mother, she loves mother and does not want to see her scared......please pray mother will know Faye as a woman and not be afraid. Kay got to the bottom of this when she went over there, so I am thankful we know why mother is afraid of Faye sometimes. Mother is agitated if you correct her in any way, such as If she is in the freezer looking for tea, or in the trash looking for water, you have to be very careful how you tell her, its not there, she is tired of the changes in her life, having someone with her all the time but is afraid to be alone, and really could not be alone. Every night about 4ish to 5ish she will start in on going home, she will worry that she has no money and want to go home, which is where she use to live before Walt died, she will look around her own home and not recognize it, then when you say, this is your home and your furniture, she will say are my clothes here? Then she will look around again and recognize her things and say, I do remember this........then it starts all over again till bed time. She has been getting up after going to bed and just asking the care giver weird questions, or bringing them something from her bedroom. I wonder if I just totally quit her meds. if it would be any different? Although she has been on the same meds since June and it was not like htis then......so many questions in the best way to help her. It just hurts my heart to see her scared, not understanding her life, wanting things to be back like they were......so many questions come to me, am I doing this right, should we just live together now so she will feel safe, if so can I do that mentally.......I just do not know and feel over whelmed by it all. so pray for me. My home is a busy home with grand babies,work, etc. can mother handle living with me? It maybe time to find a home where we can all fit, I just do not want to move, guess I could add on for mother......who knows, as you can see, I need wisdom and prayer:0 I am excited, we ( me, mother, Alicia, Steve are meeting Mama and Connie, mother's sister and mother in Memphis March 24th, 25th., I am excitedbaout seeing them and hope mother will still know htem, she loves them so much! I told her and she said she was ready for a trip, for me to get her some money out of the bank and we would just have a good time, foot loose and fancy free:)) she can be so funny! Hannah is home and resting, when she first got home she was vomiting, but things settled down last night for her, Hannah has no help in Van Buren, they do not know anyone they can leave the children with, or just have someone help her. I will be glad when they are closer, even though that is not that far away, it feels forever when she is in need of her mother and I can not get there:((( totally upsets me too:)) Today is a beautiful day, showing property, need to go to store and may take mother to Jacks ball game:) we will see ho the day goes, its still early nd I have not talked to anyone on how they are today yet:) hugs and thank you for listening to me and praying for me and my family! Keep Cole in your prayers, he came home form school sick yesterday, Sarah was in class and they could not reach her, so Sean left work early to go get him, he got written up for leaving early and will probably be suspended for three days he said, COlehad fever and coughing, he was to come over today and spend the night, but with him sick he will stay home:(( plus I am just getting over all that crud and do not want another bout of it. Pray for hi to get well and for Sean and his job, Sean is struggling with it all at work. Pray for April as she helps Hannah and seeks God's will for her life, That is a heart to heart blog too:) Steve is doing good from his last surgery, he is healing good, just still not up to par on energy level.

Fat Tuesday

Big Day for New Orleans! I am having a Realtor Open house today, that is where you feed the Realtor's in the area and they tour your listing, you have lunch at the house:0 Of course we are having Jambalaya, I have a Cajun Mortgage mender who is cooking for us! I have had so much going on, and feeling my body struggling to keep up, I have started my work out program, and wondering if it is worth it:0 but yesterday I was in Tuesday Morning, in which I maybe go in two to three times a year, I bought some candles, when I checked out, I wrote a check and had my DL out, the girl said, OH MY Linda I did not even recognize you, how much weight have you lost??? So that helped me keep on keeping on! Now she must have known me from Real Estate because she ask me about it, anyway it made the day better when I was hurting all over from working out:) Steve left to take Blake back to Van Buren, so I had the day and night to my self, I thought I would sleep so good, but I was awake every two hours, then phone rang at 6:15 and I got up:( so it may just be me not sleeping, I thought it was Steve waking me up:))) I will show property this afternoon, then tomorrow Jenn and Jared are getting new carpet and we will have the girls for the morning then showing property tomorrow afternoon at 1:30, so hope to write offers!
Kay is with mother today, I went last night and took special hot dogs from scoop dog, mother is not much on hot dogs but she did eat it, she is doing well, seems to be laughing more and at the same time missing Walt. I read the best thing on Alzheimer's, I will have to find it and share it. The Dr. said it is like taking a piece of paper and making a line from one corner to the other, then start erasing the line form the bottom up, this is what happens to the memory's, and this is why it is hard for them to have a time frame of incidents of their life, I can see this with mother on Walt's death, she has no time frame there. As time goes this effects all parts of her body and brain. But for today she is doing well, she is healthy, and happy:0 Well guess i need to start my day....hugs and have a great day!

Running shoes on today!

My new listing on Beck road in LR, it is stunning! has its own pond, 8 bed rooms, made for two families , 1,250,000.....7750 sq.ft...need a buyer:) showed property today to three different buyers, showed form 10am till 5pm, tired and going to bed;) hugs and nite

Friday and ready for bed

This week March 1st., I started working out, lifting weights and working on lean body mass......then joined women who run, on Tuesday night and Thursday night, I walked/jogged every day a little bit, and really feel like crap....I am sore and cranky and just flat tired. I know this will pass but I am thinking maybe its ok to be where I am at and just stop.......which I do not think I can do either, because my dumb butt ask our company to pray for me this month as I really work hard getting into better shape and getting 10 pounds off! So the end of the month I am to wear my blue top that is snug and it needs to be loose:) I have to have accountability to continue this journey, it has not been easy and the last pounds are hard to get off:(( so keep me in your thoughts and prayers. Hannah came into town Wednesday, Mark got to spend the night with his brother in the hospital, his brother is doing so much better, thank you for your prayers it was serious, his little bother Jacob who is 25 years old has CF, so pneumonia is major for him, this is the first time he has ever been in the hospital, he was pretty sick, God was faithful! Thursday Sean came over with Cole and Hannah's children were here, Jared's three girls and Jenn, we all played out side, it was a beautiful day. We cleaned out flower beds and trimmed my crepe myrtle, they were a big help! April was here too and she was for sure a huge help! Today I worked and then came home and griped, just down right fussy, tired and ready for bed. Blake stayed with us,he is just too sweet, I got him some new clothes today and he just looked so cute, his blue eyes just shined, he played at Peyton's most of the afternoon, I came home from a meeting and my tummy was upset, so just sat in chair drank some sprite, Steve's sister Patsy and her husband Donald came by and brought pics of Steve's mother and daddy and baby pics of all them, we will get prints made fro us:) Steve loks like his daddy. Then I finished setting appointments for showing tomorrow, I have three different buyers to show property to and its suppose to rain...ugh!! Maybe it will hold off, although I start at ten with first buyer, second at 1pm and third at 4:30, exciting to be able to show property with buyers!! I am thankful! best get to bed...hugs..oh yes, Victoria made Cheer leader at her school, this was a major thing for her, she did not think she would make it, of course I knew she would:))) Steve got his stitches out of his arm and is doing well:) hugs nite