Romance

June 29th is Stuart's birthday.

He is finally 53.

 

 

I am 2 months older and he likes to remind me of the fact.

In honor of his birthday

 I am sharing one of my favorite stories ...

starring him.

He is a romantic.

He brings me wild flowers and leaves them on the table

for  me to find.
I often wake to find notes tucked in my coffee cup

or by my coffee pot.

He calls several times a day

to just say "hey and I love you."

He is a good man.

I decided to push for a little romance one day.

I asked him

"if you could go back in time what day would you go to?"

Now I expected his answer to be...

"oh the day we married"...

or "the day we had our first baby and became a family"

or even better

 " the first time I laid eyes on you" 

(actually gagging a little here on that one).

What I got was...

"I would go back to senior year,

the night we played Vandalia in football

blah blah blah yada yada yada"

I zoned out.

But seriously???

HS football.

I have left such an impact.

Apparently so has the birth of his children.

(However, I was sporting a pretty sweet cheer skirt that night...

so I'll give him that)

Happy Birthday Sweets.

I adore you.

You make me cackle and

you still bake my cookies. 

Life is great with you by my side.

 

Annie Marie is 30

 Annie keeps harassing me

 that she didn't get a birthday blog

on June 10th

dedicated to her fabulousness. 

Both her sisters got blogs about them on their special days.

 I cannot be blamed. 

The first year after I started blogging she had Ollie,

 who had open heart surgery 

the day before her mom's bday. 

Um, way more important news. 

Then this year we had the big "heart anniversary" party 

the day of Annie's birthday. 

Still the girl won't let it go.

She's relentless.

She will beat a topic like a dead horse. 

Daily beat it.

So without further delay, here goes.

She arrived on June 10th...

just a mere three weeks late.

She was supposed to be here on May 17th.

She weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs. 15. oz.

after pooping all over the table.

She spent her early hours looking a lot like John Belushi

but her drained mother thought she was beautiful.

 Blessedly, she morphed into a gorgeous baby in a matter of days.

 (one week old)

She made me a mom for the very first time and

 gave me a bladder that drags in the dirt behind me.

She made our couple-ness into a family.

Unlike Abbie or me( who converses with every face we meet)

and much more like Maggie, 

Annie is a shy one.

She takes a bit to get warmed up.

Once she does, she is a goof 

and usually gets so tickled she cries.

Things seem to come easy to her.

She's one of those girls.

You know the kind that you wanna hate. 

Smart, pretty and good at everything she attempts.

 But nice enough you have to like her.

 

But best of all,

she cranks out pretty babies. 

A "man pretty" husband helps too.

(pix by jme)

Now she's a mom to three.

Aubrie is 6, Ev is almost 5 and Ollie is 16 mos.

Annie quit her job doing software support

to stay at home with the kids.

After Ollie had her heart surgery and got well,

Annie put her health goals into motion 

and started with Beachbody.

She now has several coaches under her,

coaches multiple teams,

leads a free fit club and

 inspires many to take control of their health.

She is a huge advocator for Down Syndrome awareness.

She is teaching others that love doesn't count chromosomes,

and  Down Syndrome isn't to be feared.

Instead, it is a blessing. 

Annie knows Ollie can do anything 

she sets her mind to do.

Down Syndrome is just one part of who Ollie is.

She isn't a Down's baby.

She is a baby who happens to have Down Syndrome.

It does not define her. 

Annie makes us proud.

This year our first born turned 30.

Happy belated Annie.

We love you.

 Sometimes beating a dead horse pays off.

Word up.

 

 

 

Father's Day

Dear Dad,

     It has been a tough year this year.  Alzheimer's has changed our relationship. It is a thief that has stolen so much but it can't steal our love. I feel so blessed to be able to come hold these hands. 

These hands that worked so hard to make my life a happy and fun one. You inspire me to work hard and to love even harder. You loved Mom like a husband should. You taught me to work for what you want and treasure it once you get it. You worked the land and took care of your family.Thanks for setting the bar high so when I went looking for a husband and the father of my children I knew what to find.  
Happy Father's Day Dad!! I love you so.

                                                                              xoxo
                                                                         
                                                                                   Janie 



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My review

In case you were hanging...

I got pills from the doctor.

My finger is healing pretty fast now.

I was a bit disappointed when my inquiry

of needed bed rest was denied.

He didn't deem it necessary.

Pfft  Dr. Chuckles.

In other news,

I have seen the Dallas premiere.

I have this to say.

1. Jesse Metcalfe is the new John Hamm.

2. Charlene Tilton...what the what? Same hair, same wardrobe...may not be working for her.

3. Regardless of Stuart's and by bff Michelle's insistence ...Larry Hagman is not dead. He is alive and kicking with mustaches above each eye.

4. I still want to live at South Fork.

5.  Linda Gray is 71. She is rocking the same hair and she is pulling it off. Weird teeth though... like me, she has chipmunk chompers. She could afford to have veneers though. To which I say why not spend that oil money?? 

If you don't have cable or satellite you can view at tntdrama.com.

The rest of my weekend is going to be busy.

A date with my farmer, hand holding with my dad,

and pool time with my grands.

I hope you have lots of fun in store too.

Have a great one friends!!

poor me

I missed the whole  Dallas premiere.

Me in my designer gown 

and stuck on a live call-in class.

It is all comfy cozy waiting on me 

in my DVR.

Tonight I hope to have the date.

If you got to view and you see me,

don't tell me anything...

even if I pursue it.

If you do, I will have to cut you.

Today I have a doctor appt.

I have a cuticle infection.

It is not lovely.

I had a hang nail,

then I gardened naked.

Well, my hands were naked.

I mean be real people.

Then, I scrubbed them with a nail brush.

 Saturday it looked red.

Sunday the unanimous diagnosis was ...yucky.

Everyone said go to the doctor.

Monday ...gross.

Tuesday I couldn't get in to the doctor. 

Wednesday I couldn't go fit an appt. in.

So I may show up today and he will call me a wuss.

I can't care. 

All the single ladies,

I wanna put a ring on it. 

My  Dallas-inspired viewing gown begs for a bauble.

However, I cannot adorn this sick digit.

For those of you who have been saying

"Gee you have had a lot of sickness this Spring."

Yes, apparently my immune system is in my fat.

AND I have admitted to being a whino.

Tear my arm off

( and I tried washing windows, remember?)

and I don't complain much

Give me a paper cut and I will gripe.

It's how I roll.

Bring it!

With the season finale of Mad Men over

(and it was a let down)

I am so excited about this.

Some of you are probably saying...

"Who are they?"

Some of you are probably saying

"Oh, Tales from the Crypt."

I say "shuttie haters."

I am thrilled to catch up with JR, Sue Ellen and Bobby.

Come Wednesday night

I will be front and center with frozen blueberries

getting my SouthFork on. 

TNT Wedneday 9/8c

Booyah!

 

One year later...

Today, June 9th

marks one year since Ollie had her 

open heart surgery.

It is an emotional day for us.

A year ago we were scared.

We trusted God

and put her into the hands of a surgeon.

It was a hard day for her parents.

It was a hard day for the parents

of those parents.

Truly, it was one of the hardest things 

I have ever had to do.

I couldn't fix it for my kid.

But Jesus did!

He gave that surgeon the knowledge and skills required.

He held us while we waited.

He gave us strength while we watched our baby moan in pain.

He listened to our prayers and  

he never left us.

Today, we cooked the ribs for our fundraiser.

Tomorrow, we celebrate with a bunch of our family.

What a difference a year makes!

I am so glad Jesus loves me.

I am so glad I know it.

I am so glad he showed me even more depths of his love 

through the gift of our sweet little Ollie.

I am so glad for all of you too.

 Thank you for your love and support.

Thank you for loving this sweet baby 

right along with our family.

Words can never express how much

 it all means to us.

Here is the link to:
Annie's blog today 

Quote for the day

My theater season has begun.

A group of friends and I attend

The Little Theater in Sullivan, IL.

We meet up,

 dine out, and then go to the musical.

It is always, always a blast.

They make me cackle.

Our first show was Grease.

It was really good even though I kept nodding off.

Feed me, prop me up and get  me warm...

you get what you get.

On the way to the show,

Jade's mom, the infamous Ruby picked us all up.

After we picked up our last pal,

Audrey( Jade's aunt)

she said she had a quote for us.

She said "Who said this?"...

"Life is not always pretty but Jesus loves me."

We guess...

I guess "Patsy Clairmont?"

Nope.

Hmm. 

"Joyce Meyer?"

Nope.

I say "okay I give, who said it?"

She says "you did."

HUH?

"you did, Janie Fox"

She said "I loved it and wrote it down by

my other quotes. 

You are right beside Teddy Roosevelt."

I said "well, yeah that's me...

so much wisdom, so little memory."
Pass the pills.

A weekend in pictures

Stuart and I hit St. Louis on Friday evening.

Dinner out and a little shopping.

Saturday we met the kids at

the City Museum.

We played like kids and 

we got lots of snuggles in.

And I didn't even pee a little!

Yuck..I took her straight to the Purel.

 I looked out from a third story window. 
Who, but Everett was climbing up there.

He knows no fear.

 I may have peed a little.

We rested up a bit and then went to dinner.

Caroline used my phone to capture the meal.

with a 2 year old's perspective.

Baby butt in skinny jeans.
Awesomeness.

Her mom and daddy.

We took a carriage ride after supper.
Stuart wasn't keen on the idea of a carriage in traffic.
We girls and kids all loaded up and the horse took off.
Annie yelled "we don't have a driver!"
Before I could go all Calamity Jane and
ride the rig to a standstill ,
the slacker driver ran up alongside
 and caught us just as we rammed into the wheel
of the carriage in front of us.
It was fine.
We were fine.
We all did our princess's wave 
throughout the ride.

Sunday, we headed to the Down Syndrome event.
Step Up for DS

It was wonderful.
There were bouncy houses,

slides,
face painting, 

Or hand painting if you are tough.
Kitties are tough when on your hand.
 

arts and crafts,
a bubble bus,

free food and drinks,
 and of course the walk.

Stuart should have sat this one out.
His ankle was pretty sore.
He was starting to hobble by the end.

We had lots of family time
and raised money for Ollie's cause.

Thank you to all who sponsored us.
 I am a blessed and happy girl!

* UPDATE:  We are sold out on ribs!! Thanks all!!

We had 100 racks of ribs to sell...
we have about 17 left. 
If you are local and interested
it is $22 for a rack or $100 for 5 racks
Each rack feeds between 3-4.
They come prepared and wrapped to be eaten immediately
or frozen with re-heating instructions..
Email or call me A.S.A.P.
Sorry to keep rubbing you un-local's noses in it.
(Joy you can hit me later)

Check in

Thank you for all your kind words regarding Harley.

You were so sweet.

I wanted to let you know what is up around here.

I have answered very few emails.

Why?

Because I stink.

I stink like a 1983 country blue and mauve plaid couch

that smells like pee on Craig's List.

Interested? HA!

Things are busy around here.

I sit littles today then we are heading out early this evening

for a fun time is St. Louie.

We are tearing it up with family.

Sunday is our Step Up for DS walk..

The tee shirts arrive today for those of you who ordered

but are not attending...

I will get them in the mail Monday.

Poor Stuie rolled  his ankle yesterday getting off a tractor.

It is swollen and has him hobbling.

I don't think he will be tearing it up at too quick of a pace.

 I may be carting a huge man around on my back.

Shuttie doubters, I work-out.

 Next week we are gearing up with a ribs sale.

E-mail me if you are local and interested.

Also we are having a huge family party next weekend 

to celebrate

the one year anniversary of Ollie's heart surgery success.

We are having a huge Healthy Heart party.

I am down to a little over the  last 2 weeks of my bootcamp.

Then I have a bunch of "end" stuff to do...

 a video about my experience, 

a 500 word essay, 

and submit final pictures.

I should be working out right now,

 instead of blathering here.

I wanna win this competition.

I have the list made of the charities

 I am donating the prize money too.

They all include children.

Reese's Rainbow, Operation Smile, World Vision.

Please pray I finish well.

I plan to give it my best.

I am down over 36 pounds.

I want to really carve my abs these last few days.

I have little desire of ever rocking a bikini.

However, I really want to look good in the after pics

so I can claim the moolah and then

share it with the causes near and dear to my heart.

I will share my after pics (clothed)

not the bikini ones.

You can re-swallow the bite you just regurgitated. 

Life is good around here.

We are blessed.

So that is what I am up to.

Whatcha doing?