Good morning Delaware ! Oh yes it is early Monday morning. I can not sleep so thought I would do the roll call . I don't know what today will bring. Bob can not last much longer. As far as I know he is pain free. Alexus is dealing with alot. Last night she broke down and cried her heart out. She sang the song to Bob that she is going to sing at his funeral. I think it all has finially hit her. We talked and cried for hours. My house was full of Bob's relatives this weekend. It has been very busy. With everyone's help our roof has ended up in 1st place. I will post if I hear anything about it.  Everyone worked so hard with votes,emails and calls. It has really showed me everyone can pull together in a short time and make things happen. Thank you to everyone !  I hope everyone has a blessed day. Please let us know how you are doing and what you are up to today. I saw more people posting yesterday then I have seen for a long time. YOU GO ALL !!!! See You Lighter. Joanne

Diane, Thanks ! I will let her know. She is here by my side everyday. Please tell everyone at Victory that we think of everyone often and we will be back very soon. We thank everyone for all your prayers and support.  Thanks to everyone who voted our roof ended up in 1st place. See you lighter. Joanne

Hi BJ...
EWWWW on the bronchitis.  I hate that stuff because it takes so long to recover from it.

Yes, things are very precarious these days.  I've been looking for work aggressively for weeks and so has Ed.  There's just nothing out here. That new diner by Giant hired 25 people before they evern -looked- at my application.  I was really upset because I was the very first person to apply as a cook.  When I told the guy that, he said "oops, sorry."  I'm afraid the mortgage company will not accept that kind of reply from me when I can't make the payment, right?  BUT, on a more positive note...something always comes through when we get this down.

We put some ads up in Bayside and here in Creekside for Ed to do some basic mechanic work and got a couple of calls from those.  His Scout leader friends are bringing their cars to us, so that brings a little money in.   We sold the golf cart too, although we didn't get what we wanted.  The guy checked it out and said it needed a controller, so we gave him the works---cart and charger for a whopping $300.  The batteries alone are worth almost $400 so we took a huge loss but the mortgage payment is ready for the bank.  That was our objective. 

The hardest part is realizing that before Ed got in trouble, we were financially ahead by about 5 months.  Having to clean out the checking AND the savings to bail him out put us back all by itself, but to lose his job too...wow...now we go week by week and sometimes day by day.  Makes one panicky at the very least.  I have also told my kids that Christmas will be very lean this year.  We will get a few things for the grandkids and if we can, the adult kids.  We haven't been this strapped in about 8 years.  BUT----if you need chicken, let me know!  Ihave a freezer full and you can make alot of different dishes with it.

Last week, I made homemade split pea soup.  Some of it is in the freezer, and yesterday I made homemade bean soup with bacon, sausage, and ham.  I don't even care for the stuff, but I ate it twice, it's that good.  I will freeze some of that too.  My next soup adventure will be a chicken stew with lots of meat and veggies, like a cream soup.  I don't do well making noodle soups so I will make it a chowder type thing and use potatoes.  I want to try a vegetable beef soup too.

With all of the financial worries, my ulcer acts up alot.  At this moment it hurts so time for the meds.  Dr. Jeha was a bit disappointed that I had stopped taking all of my heart meds due to the ulcer pain, but she did say to wait another month before starting them again, to give the ulcer a chance to heal.  I am going to the lab today for the iron/anemia studies and a urine micro and culture.  Pending the hemoglobin results,  I will have my procedure to stop the monthly hemmoraging. That alone will correct the iron deficiency.  Bonk.  "Stop the cause, cure the illness"  I wish doctors would listen to me.  I've been telling them that since April.

Good luck in your new place.  You were meant to take that wrong turn you know.  Why else would it have happened but by divine intervention??  When you give your trouble to the Lord and pray that He show you the way, well...the rest is history. "I was lost, and now I'm found."  We don't always get our answers the way we expect them and things are not always clear to us but an open heart and mind makes a huge difference in what we decide to do with the hand we are dealt.  Take care and keep us informed on how things go, and if you need anything, let me know.

Joanne, I voted and will vote often.  Please know you are in the prayers of everyone from the Victory Church support group.  Please tell Debbie we said hello.

Diane Savage

Debbie,  I think of you often and am sorry to hear that you are so down now.  It is hard to stay up when your body hurts.  Please take care and know we are all here for you.  Please write whenever you just need to vent.  We will listen and send you hugs.  Are you going to the party on the 5th?  I would love to see you and Tim and catch up.  Take care and know you are loved.

Ellen