It's all her fault!

Honestly...

I have been trying to be a good blogger,

Keeping things in order...

 

I really wanted my next blog post to be about the wedding ceremony...

 

And the reception!  Oh what a great celebration (with one hitch)...

I have photos of the honeymoon (yes, Ron and I went too!),

and even Christmas with the Red Sock Family...

 

But first, do you remember this exciting little episode with my mother?

 

That's when she had major surgery and was out of commission for a month...

 

What I didn't tell you, and I don't want to go into much detail here is that

she was escorted out of the wedding reception via EMS

and by 1:00 AM, was in surgery to repair a twisted intestine!

 

That recovery was short in comparison to the last one...

We made it through Christmas, New Year and even a few weeks into the new year...

 

On Sunday, Mr K and I were getting ready to go out when I got a call...

 

It was a nurse from the local hospital with an update on my mom...

 

Update?

MY mom?

Seems she was back in the hospital,

admitted on Saturday night!

 

When we got there on Sunday, she was really sick and in tremendous pain.

 

I spent yesterday with her and am getting ready to go down there again today...

 

They aren't sure what is going on...there is much poking and prodding going on...

 

Looks like there might be more surgery in the next day or so.

 

Keep mom in your prayers?

She's 86 and until a few days before her 86th birthday, had been doing well!

 

So...if you were waiting for the wedding photos, blame her...

 

And they will come soon, I promise!

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

From my house to yours...

 

Prayers for a peaceful day...

 

Spent with good things, be it food, people, good thoughts or all of these.

 

See you on the other side of  the holiday!

 

Love,

Jan and the Redsockmama gang!

Yo!

 

You lookin' for me?

 

Wow, it's been a crazy 24 hours!  It's been bitter cold and snowy here...

 

Which gave Mr. K a chance to try out his new snow thrower...

 

 

 

Which was kind of fun to watch. 

I'm the snow baby around here, not him! 

 

And of course, last night we went to

 

 

 

Consol! for a little Penguin Hockey Magic!

 

 

But first, we stopped by the Marriott

for dinner.  They have the greatest appetizer bar...

 

The reason Ron took me there was that the last time he was there,

they had unlimited mussels on the appetizer bar.

I LOVE mussels!

 

Guess what?

 

According to the server, they took the mussels off and added mashed potatoes.

 

Mashed potatoes? 

Really?

 

But...it was good, in fact, it was very good!

 

 

Mr. K really enjoyed his!

 

 

We had great seats, and it was a sellout crowd!

 

 

Now I have to tell you...

 

My late husband's mother (or my mother-in-law) was such a sweetie.

No matter what the outcome (such as the Penguins winning the Stanley Cup)

you could count on Irene to say, "Kind of makes you feel bad for the losers."

 

I always agreed with her, and justified it by saying I was not competitive...

Someone pointed out that I kind of was...

 

 

And then I realized, it wasn't that I wasn't...

I just felt bad for the losers.

 

I posted on Facebook, just as soon as we got to our seats,

"

"I'll tell you right now, if there's a shoot out, I'm leaving. I hate shoot outs!"

 

I meant it!

 

It was a good game...

 

And lots of fun...

But at the end...

It was tied, 2-2.

 

I wanted to leave, I really did!

But then  I realized, over time might be okay.

BUT I WAS NOT GOING TO STAY FOR A SHOOT OUT

 

I had nothing to fear, Pens lost, 3-2 in overtime.

And yes, I did feel bad for the losers!

 

Then today I get a text from Noelle:

"Well, I was admitted to the hospital.  I have severe bronchitis and will be here 24 to 48 hours.

 

She went on to say, "One floor above my grandma.  I'm so frustrated but I know my faith in the Lord will pull us all through.  Prayers greatly appreciated.

 

Let's go, Prayer Warriors.  Prayers NEEDED!

 

It's nearly 11PM and I just talked to Tony.  He just left the hospital.  He said she's really uncomfortable.

 

On the home front, it's 12° out there, with snow on the way.

 

Ashley's shower is Sunday.  Her best friend, and the host of the shower is on her way from Watertown, NY.  Today the Watertown Daily Times predicted 36" of snow.

 

Prayer Warriors...can you get on it?

 

It was a busy day...

Got my nails done...

 

 

And my hair cut...

 

And bought 6 whole chickens, and 50 croissants...

 

But we can talk about that tomorrow.

 

So as soon as Tony gets here to give us an update...

I'm heading to bed, pulling the covers up over my head

and saying my prayers!

 

Keep my extended family in your prayers?

 

See you tomorrow,

Love,

Jan

 

 

 

 

 

Remembering

Sunday was the memorial service for Mark.   I was sitting in the front of the church and dare not look behind me, so I did not see how many people were there but on  Sunday night our pastor told me it was a packed house.  I get goosebumps just thinking about it.  I knew he was a special guy, but did not realize how many people knew it too.

Pastor Dave did a wonderful job.  He set the theme for the service (and THIS BLOG was mentioned) by telling some of our favorite stories.  My wonderful brother-in-law,  Mark (Debra's husband),  spoke about knowing Mark for thirty years and their son, Stephen, offered a prayer.

Afterwards, I greeted people for what seemed like hours.  Old friends who traveled for hours, customers who drove over 100 miles to meet us...

People gave us cards and flowers, sent food and even a box filled with comments from friends but the gift that sticks out in my mind today is this...

When Tony played high school inline hockey, we had a few (ahem) aggressive players who racked up many MANY penalties.  The parents bought this hat.  If your child was in the penalty box, you had to wear the hat.  It was supposed to encourage you to talk to your kids about sportsman like conduct. Josh, one of our friends who lost his own father way too soon a few years ago, brought this hat as well as a smile to our faces...

Don't wanna talk about how many times Mark wore this hat.

Note:  For a few days, I thought about this blog, about how it represented our family, our life with Mark at the head of our table and I thought of closing it.  After the pastor mentioned it on Sunday and many people commented on it at the memorial service, I reconsidered it.  We are still very much a family and Mark is still very much a part of us, if only in our hearts.  I am an older, wiser and sadder Jan, but I still have the joy of knowing the Lord and claiming his promise that we will meet again one day.  

If you will come to read, I will come to write.  If it is in your heart to pray for us, we'd appreciate it.  We will pray for you.

Love to all,

Jan