Sorry this is so late tonight, I almost forgot!

We arrived home Wednesday afternoon and were watching the weather all the way. It was nice and sunny until we were about 2 hours out and the clouds had arrived. The "weather" wasn't supposed to get here until early evening so we were able to stop at the store and pick up some milk and bread. I had some pot pies in the freezer so once we were in we didn't have to go out. We did have a few snowflakes when we were about 6 miles from home but the sleet didn't start until we had gotten the car unloaded. We ended up with mostly rain, a little freezing rain and sleet on Thursday, but mostly rain so again we were lucky.

We didn't do much Thursday. We were both tired, even after going to bed at 7:30! I iad a nasty headache by the time we got home and woke up with it Thursday. It was mostly from sinus pressure but I didn't feel well most of the day. Must have been from all the driving.

McKenna was sick Wednesday and Thursday. Although she tested negative for the flu, and she has had her flu shot, they are still treating her for it as a precaution. Her aunt tested positive for it and she had been around her. Brianna and her friend Megan came over after school Thursday to kill some time before softball practice. The girls don't get the fieldhouse until 4:30 (the boys have it for the last 2 class periods AND after school until 4:30) and the girls aren't allowed to even sit in the gym. Since it was cold and rainy they came here. For those of you who don't know where we live, we're only about 3 blocks from the high school.

Yesterday started the year of ORDER. We're giving our old bedroom set to Ryan and Amanda so we started cleaning out dresser drawers. Or I should say Bill started cleaning out his dresser while I did laundry. He did more looking through things than anything, but he did find a bank envelope with his name on it in a drawer...with $206! I told him it was probably left over from a trip and he just put it up for the next one! I also told him he had to take me out to eat tonight!

I met a friend for lunch today and spent a nice 2 hours catching up with her. We did go out to eat, but we had gotten a gift card for Perkins for Christmas so used that instead. Bill still owes me a dinner!

Tomorrow is dinner at church and I'm cheating with a store bought cake. But, I just didn't feel like making anything this time.

All for tonight. The movie Bill is watching is almost over and we've both already had our medicine for the night. Hope everyone has had a good week and good week-end.

OK folks, here's the results of the biopsy (drum roll) NO REJECTION! They are also making no med changes so we have been switched to yearly visits starting in May! Stephanie said that all of his numbers looked good as far as his labwork went.

We headed home this morning and have made our stop for the night. I learned something on this leg of the trip...Florida's rest stop restrooms ARE NOT heated! It was a little uncomfortable stopping, but when you gotta, you gotta! It was 27 this morning in Jacksonville and it's only 30-32 here in Alabama. It's also windy. Hopefully tomorrow it will be a little warmer. At least it wasn't raining or snowing and the traffic was very light after we left Jacksonville.

All for tonight. I'll have a regular post on Saturday! Enjoy your day!

The biopsy today went well. Dr. Yip himself came to get us, 45 minutes early! Usually we have a short consult with Stephanie first, but Dr. Yip said since he was there and could see that we were checked in that we would go ahead and start early.

He didn't anticipate any problems and actually gave us some good news. If there is no rejection and there are no problems with the bloodwork, this is the last neck biopsy he will have. He will go to yearly in May instead of every 6 months. He actually told us that we would now be able to put health issues on the back burner and be able to plan fun things to do without worrying about making a trip here every 3 months!

The trip down was uneventful, but tiring. It's also gotten cold here, not just in the Midwest. It's 12 at home and it's already in the upper 30s here. Yesterday when we got here it was 78, it was 66 this morning and then the wind and rain arrived. It's supposed to be about 20 in the morning. But, we have warmer clothes to wear home so we'll be fine.

We haven't done anything since the biopsy but veg out in our hotel room. We've been to get something to eat and we're waiting for bedtime. A program I've been interested in on television is showing it's season finale tonight. It won't come on until 9 here and it's a 2 hour program tonight. I don't know if I'll make it through it. I may have to watch it on hulu later! But, we don't have to get up and leave early in the morning. We're going to wait until after rush hour. That will still get us in rather early so we'll be able to rest up for the tough drive on Wednesday.

Since we don't have the biopsy results yet, I'll update again tomorrow after we arrive at the hotel. We should hear something tomorrow afternoon.

Stay warm!

Early post this week since we are leaving tomorrow for Florida.

Bill has had a nasty cold all week. It was apparently starting on Sunday because he didn't want to go to church Sunday night. He woke up with a constantly streaming nose Monday and was sneezing. I called Mayo Tuesday morning when he wasn't any better and talked to Kim about rescheduling his biopsy and she thought it would be better to keep the appointment. So, I started pumping him full of cold medicine. He can't take very much, only Tylenol cold/sinus/flu. He finally said he felt a little better yesterday afternoon. He also started with a little diarrhea yesterday morning, so I was afraid he was also getting the stomach bug going around, but I think now it was from the medicine. He slept better last night, so hopefully he has turned the corner. With his immune system compromised, he's more susceptible to everything.

We didn't make it until midnight for the new year. We didn't even make it until 11 to watch the ball drop in New York! The gunfire started a little after 7 and was pretty sporadic until 11 but then...oh my goodness! It sounded like a war zone and it sounded like it was in my front yard! Don't these people understand that the bullets have to come down somewhere even though they are firing in the air?

I thought I was trying to catch Bill's cold Wednesday. I started feeling bad with a sinus headache and sneezing. So, I started taking the medicine I take for colds and felt much better yesterday. I woke up at 5 raring to go. Bill had to get up at 7 for medicine and by 8 we had eaten bacon and eggs and I had laundry going. The laundry was finished by noon, completely folded/hung and put away.

I did watch it snow before the sun came up. Didn't get much but it was really coming down. It's cold this morning, only 22 and supposed to be much colder while we are gone. We're going to see if Ron with check the pipes while we are gone. All we need is to come home to water everywhere!

I read an extended weather forecast and Wednesday, the day we are supposed to arrive home, we could get freezing rain/sleet/snow. So, we may end up staying somewhere on the road. I'm hoping we can make it home, or stay closer than where we are staying Tuesday night. We could possible extend the stay there, but there are only 2 restaurants (at least that Bill would like since he's not fond of Mexican). And, that would mean that the weather that we get at home Wednesday would be in that area on Thursday. If we could make it almost home before having to stop, I wouldn't mind. But, the forecast also said that it was too far out to be sure.

So, there's this week's update. The plan now is to leave in the morning (Saturday), arrive in Jacksonville Sunday afternoon, have the biopsy Monday morning, start heading home Tuesday morning and get home Wednesday afternoon. Of course this is always subject to change depending on results and weather. I'll update again on Monday after the biopsy since we're just going to sit around the hotel and rest. We're not even planning on seeing our friends while we are there.

Hope everyone has a good week!

I hope everyone had a good Christmas. Ours was the Christmas that almost wasn't. If you remember, I was worried about Emily, Bryan, Amanda and Ryan being exposed to the stomach virus. Well, guess who came down with "something"...that's right ME! I don't know if it was the virus or not because I did not have the fever that goes with it, and I didn't vomit any, but something was going on Monday and Tuesday. So, no baking/candy making got done. Between us, Bill and I got the dining room rearranged the little it needed to accommodate the extra people, but that completely drained me. However, Christmas morning I woke up feeling much better and Christmas was on. By the time everyone got there I was pretty tired and felt bad again after eating. But, the grandkids were all happy with their gifts and seemed to have a good time.

We had McKenna Thursday and Friday. Bryan's department decided to work a few hours while the plant was shut down. She was pretty good but she's at the age where she can entertain herself most of the time. It was still tiring so we're playing catch-up on sleep. And, this morning, Emily ended up at the ER with vomiting and diarrhea! They aren't sure if it is the virus or not, and she really doesn't think so either. I sure hope not!

Bill has become a demon with the vacuum! If he sees 1 little piece of lint or paper on the carpet, out comes the sweeper! He put away all of the TV trays/folding chairs and swept everything up Thursday. That was good because it took 2 dishwasher loads to get all of the dishes done!

I have a little story to tell on him that my mother should appreciate. He was making coffee yesterday and I asked him if he got enough coffee out of the canister because I knew that it needed filling. He said he did, 1 1/2 scoops. I told him it took 2 heaping scoops and he gave me a look. I told him he was turning into my grandmother and before long he would just be drinking hot water! That's what she did. She started making her coffee weaker and weaker until she decided just to drink a cup of hot water in the morning! She decided she didn't need the caffeine, she just needed the warmth!

He had a headache Thursday night into Friday morning. He said he had it all night but he didn't want to wake me up for some Tylenol. I could tell by looking at him that he didn't feel well yesterday morning. I gave him some Tylenol and then, after he took his morning aspirin it finally went away. He said he also thought he had a fever earlier, but when I took his temp it was normal for him. He's had several headaches in the past 3 months and I wonder if it's due to his blood pressure. It isn't high by any means, but it is for him. His usually stays in the 110s/sixties and it's been more low 120s/seventies. That would be normal for most people so it's something for me to put on my list for Stephanie.

I finished reading through the Bible this morning. It was supposed to end Tuesday, but I just kept going this morning. It's the first time that I've read it completely through. I have a study of the women of the Bible that I've been wanting to do, so that's my next project.

I'm getting my haircut this morning so I'd better get a move on. Happy New Year and may you be blessed in the coming year!

This is just crazy! Two weeks ago we were socked in with ice and snow and extremely cold temperatures for early December. Today, the first day of winter we have extremely high temperatures, flooding rains and a tornado watch!

We've had a good week. We are totally finished with shopping/wrapping/shipping. Cards are all mailed and now all that's left to do is cook/bake/make candy and get ready to be invaded Christmas night. But, there's another nasty stomach bug going around. Emily and Bryan may have been exposed to it last night, or it could just have been a case of car sickness, and Amanda has not been feeling well, although that could be pregnancy related. Anyway, if anyone gets sick, they are being banned from the house! It's too close to going back to Florida!

I talked to Stephanie this week. We haven't seen her the last 2 times we've been to Mayo. She was talking about his yearly in May and didn't realize we would be there in a couple of weeks. Bill's due for a colonoscopy this year and he also needs to see a dermatologist again. We're having it all done at Mayo. Our local dermatologist has retired and we would have to go to Memphis for the colonoscopy, so we're just going to stay an extra couple of days and get it done then. Of course this isn't until May.

Bill has decided that he can't go shopping alone anymore. He didn't get into trouble, but being in the store, with a lot of people, he gets overwhelmed. I've known this for quite a while now, and I'm really glad he brought the subject up. We've pretty much decided that we aren't going to exchange gifts with each other anymore. We're blessed to be in the position financially that we can buy at any time. So, we've decided, at least right now, that if there is something we either one want, we will just get it.

I've been going through winter clothes this week and Bill was pleased when I came out of the bedroom and said that I didn't need any winter clothes! Remember, these clothes have been packed away for 2 years. When we came home last year I just pulled out some sweatshirts and that was that. Now I'm going through sweaters and some dress clothes. Since I'm not working anymore I've been wearing the few things I had with me in Florida to church. I've enjoyed pulling things out and thinking "Oh wow!" So, the washing machine and dryer are going to get an extra work-out!

Bill's been doing a little more around the house. He's not been more active in as far as exercising, but, he's fixed breakfast (granted it was just toast and cereal), emptied the dishwasher and put the dishes away (most of them where they go), and making coffee. He's also taken over sweeping and vacuuming. Since we only have small area rugs it's not a strain for him to push the vacuum and sweeping or swiffering the hardwoods doesn't take much effort.

We were blessed with another great-granddaughter this week. Miss Brynley Marie Leahr arrived on the 15th. Now I will really have to sit and figure out how many there are. We also saw a video of William counting the balls he put on the Christmas tree. He was stuck on 5 and 6, but for someone who's not quite 2 that wasn't bad!

It's getting quite dark again with a few rumbles of thunder. We've just been put under a flash flood warning, along with the other warnings and watches, and the dryer just buzzed.

I wish each of you reading this a Merry and Blessed Christmas!

Here's the extra post for this week. I also forgot to mention a milestone in the last one, so it's another reason to have the extra post.

First the milestone...we've been home for a year now, and it still feels good. We got home December 13 of last year.

Now for the word of the year. If you look back over the posts from December 2012 or January 2013, you will see that I was going to try something new this year. Instead of making resolutions, that I never keep, I was going to find a word to live by. The word I picked was FREEDOM. After living with so many appointments, doctors, etc. for the last couple of years, freedom sounded very appealing. Picking this word gave me the freedom to do what I wanted and not feel guilty if something didn't get done. So, if I wanted to sit and craft all day instead of cleaning house, it was OK to do that. At the same time, if I wanted to clean everything, that was OK too. And for the most part it worked. Of course there were still appointments and obligations that had to be kept, but if I wanted to stay home from church, that was OK too.

As I was looking over the list a couple of weeks ago, the word ORDER jumped out at me. I started thinking about that and, even though it's almost the opposite of the freedom I've had this year, order sounds very appealing to me this year. And, even though we lived by the appointments and obligations before, it was still chaotic at times. So, now I'm ready for the order.

For people who really know me, they know that I've always been a carefree housekeeper. Clutter didn't bother me and, if there were piles of things stacked everywhere, I usually knew what was in each pile and why it was kept. Now, that bothers me. So, I'm going to de-clutter my life, not just my house, but my life. But, I'm also going to remember my new-found freedom of this past year. Creating order is my goal, but, at the same time, if something doesn't get done, I'm not going to stress or feel guilty about it.

There you have it, my word for 2014 is ORDER. I'll let you know how it goes!