This is my latest layout. I will post more later today. I was up at midnight with muscle spasms so am very tired this morning. I can't type much without lots of mistakes:)

I did this layout for a weekly contest at the scrapbook store.

Kael enjoying the easter egg hunt. He is so expressive. His smile faded later that afternoon when he didn't get to be the character he wanted to be in a game they played. I felt so sorry for him....he ended up falling and hitting the coffee table on his ear and it's all black and blue.

Isabella has made up with Wayne. I'm still trying to work my way into her life a little bit:(

Caden put his own shirt on after taking it off because it was too hot. We all tried to offer to turn it around but he liked it just the way it is.

This is taken right outside the door at Tyler and Caden's house. I tried to get one nice picture of the the two boys but finally gave up! Notice that the shirt started out the right way:)

We made up bags for Easter for the grandkids. Everybody had gotten theirs by Easter except for Isabella. We got her the sunglasses, the broom and a baby doll. We've had the baby doll for a while and I was going to use it for a bribe tool to get Isabella to come to me...haha! Kaleb grabbed these right away and put them to use. He is so jealous of her that he probably thought he was pulling one over on her.

Isabella with her new baby doll. She's just SO cute!

Kaleb with Isabella's sunglasses. Do you think he put them on by himself?

Caden is going out for the Easter egg hunt. Notice his feet...we couldn't find his shoes so he went out with just his socks.

Look at those eyes....the windows to the soul.

I thought I'd finally gotten a good one until I got in the car and saw Caden's mouth:)

I really enjoyed Easter. I felt fairly well and was able to go out to eat and go to my Mom & Dad's and see the Easter egg hunt and see my brother, his wife and their son, Connor. They live in Indianapolis but I rarely get to see them. They are just so busy with their lives. He is a doctor in psychology specializing in the brain and she is a nurse. Some of the things he tells us he's learned about the brain is fascinating. He actually turned out to be a pretty good guy instead of the little brat that I once thought he was. I was 10 years older than him and didn't welcome being dethroned at that age. He was so little and so cute and I was growing to be awkward and into that tween age that can be so difficult to feel good about yourself.

I had a pump refill yesterday and was so thrilled that the doctor listened to me about the back pain I've been having. He actually bumped me up 2 miligrams a day. That is the biggest increase he's ever given me and I can feel it today....thank you Dr. Grove:). Since it's dilaudid in the pump he has to be careful not to bump it up too high or I could have breathing problems and just stop breathing.

Don't remember if I blogged after the neurologist appointment but he bumped up the medicine for my feet and they have been quite a bit better. Every day I would call Wayne and beg him to come home and rewrap my feet because it helps my feet so much. I know it makes him feel torn but he has to work to pay the bills.


American Idol lovers....who'd you like last night? I'm so disgusted...Wayne picked David Cooke to win and I picked David Archuleta. David Cooke really did a much better job last night than David A. Wayne was right again and I'm supposed to be the one who knows music:) Tonight will be interesting who goes home. I really don't have strong sense of who it will be like a lot of times that I do. I love the group numbers....hope they do another tonight!

The above picture is of Isabella at just a few weeks old. Her Mommy keeps her looking so cute and it's usually in some shade of pink...that will probably be the first color she knows.

Today is the day I dread out of all the days of the week. Wayne works a very long day on Monday's. I always try to think of something to make him postpone it but it rarely works. He is the only one who knows how to wrap my legs and that is the secret to keeping my feet out of pain. He also wraps my toes in guaze...I have never figured out how or why that works to keep me out of pain when I can't even wear socks. The therapist said it's because each toe is wrapped individually instead of grouped all together. I have learned to wrap my toes but do a horrible job at it...I usually get it too tight. It's really hard to work on your own toes.

We never fully appreciate something until we lose it. This foot problem has really left me debilitated....or for easier words....can't go anywhere. It is much harder to accept and harder to deal with than the back pain. It makes the back pain look like a piece of cake.

I can't remember if I said this before but I am at the point where I'm probably going to get rid of all my shoes. I love them and it's going to be very difficult to do. I might have to give Wayne a sack and say go to it and just drop them all off at Goodwill. I cannot see a time where I will ever be able to wear them again. It looks like it will be crocs forever for me. I know there are many worse things that could happen to a person but right now this is what I am dealing with and it seems pretty yucky to me.

Don't forget to wear green today:) It was always such a big deal when I was in school to have that green on or get pinched! Happy St. Pat's Day and Happy Monday!

Our middle daughter, Kristi, is married to Eric and they have a 3 year old son and they all live in Memphis. Eric's grandmother passed away last week so they all drove to Chicago for the funeral. I was talking to Kristi today and asked her if they took Jacob in for the viewing (or wake, whichever you call it). She said they did and didn't make any big deal about it but Jacob did have two questions. 1st....he wanted to know what guys got her which gave Krist and Eric a good opportunity to explain that Grandma was old and died from being old. When he saw her in the casket he wanted to know if she could move her arms and legs...what a good time to explain these things casually and not make a big deal of it.

Late Friday afternoon I called the company that makes the machine I've been using on my feet with a couple of questions. He didn't say but I think I talked to the inventor. He was so patient and so knowlegable about the machine and I'm so glad I called!! I was using the machine wrong. I read about 3/4 of the directions when I got it and then was ready to get moving with it!! I put adhesive pads with electrodes (?) on them and hook them to this little machine...looks a lot like a tens unit. The signal is supposed to go up one leg and down the other. The way I had been doing it I was blocking the signal. Lesson learned? Read the entire directions!!

The way I understand creation is that everything has a purpose. I would like to know what purpose dust has. It sure seems like we could have dne without it!

I have continued to use the "Rebuilder" on my feet 2 times a day and am seeing an improvement all ready. I wonder if it's from the unit or something else?? I will continue to use it and hopefully it is living up to its claims. What a thrill to wake up without that terrible nerve pain. Wayne continues to wrap my legs and toes 3 times a day because of the lymphedema. I will have to have that done for the rest of my life....a life sentence!

This morning I got up and my whole right leg had no feeling and I had no strength in it. I used 2 canes to walk out to the kitchen and when I got to the kitchen I took a step alone on that leg and I went flying backwards and ended up on the floor. Well, I tried as hard as I could to get up and couldn't so had to crawl back to the bedroom. I kept trying to move the leg and it took about an hour to get the strength back in it. I would like to know what is causing this. It is the 2nd time it's caused me to fall and it's really scary.

Our oldest grandchild, Rhebeca, came here for the afternoon. Did I feel like having her? No, I didn't but didn't want to refuse her. I am glad she came because she really lifted my spirits and we had a great time together and did a lot of laughing...good for both of us. We tried doing several things but we ended up doing a game together on the internet... one where you have a picture and have to find objects in the picture. We had fun looking and trying to find the objects. There was a story line behind it which made it even more fun.

American Idol alert:) Just a little bit about American Idol to close this today. I pretty much agreed with the elimations last week except for one. I really hated to see Danny leave so soon. I loved his voice and liked his personality. He was really funny and Idol could use that personality! Oh well....I'll have to watch and see what happens with him. Maybe some company will sign him and he'll have a CD out in the near future!

There are certain things that you look back on and wonder what was going on in your mind. These pictures are both our middle daughter, Kristi. The picture on the right is the one I am talking about. That piece of furniture is our chest that goes with our bedroom suite. She is standing on the middle drawer and hanging on the doors and there I am taking a picture. Everytime I look at that picture my skin crawls. Thank goodness it is a heavy piece of furniture and didn't fall on her. But even saying that it's heavy and if it did fall on her I don't want to think of what could have happened. I just have to think that God spared her life many times.

The other picture is just for Kristi. She is at the point in her life now where she has a little guy making all kinds of messes and wanted her to see that she's getting her fair payback...ha ha!! I love that picture of her with chocolate all over her face, hands, and everywhere. (By the way, that was in 1976 and the wallpaper and flooring were in style, believe it or not:)

I found a company on the internet when I was searching neuropathy which is what is wrong with my feet. It is called "The Rebuilder". It is supposed to rebuild the nerves that are causing all the pain. I have had a lot of pain in my life and I think this pain in my feet is the worse pain I've had. My back still spikes into terrible pain but it still isn't anything compared to the nerve pain. This unit is supposed to rebuild those damaged nerves. I have a 30 day trial on it and if it doesn't help in 30 days I can send it back for a full refund. So far, things are just a tiny bit better. I drove myself to the scrapbook store which is a real indication that things were a little bit better. My toes and the ball of my feet are where the worst pain is and I can't stand to have anything touch them...not socks, shoes or a blanket. So, I wear crocs and as soon as I get into the scrapbook store I take my shoes off and put them in the bottom of the cart. I know people wonder what kind of wierdo I am to be going barefoot but since it helps my feet I really don't care what they think! Back to the Rebuilder....their claim is that this unit will repair the damaged nerves...I certainly hope that is true.