New Year!!!

Just sitting here thinking and watching the posts on Facebook. As I think back over this year, I have to say it was a pretty good year. David did manage to get his disability increased some and that has helped our financial situation. I am working part-time to help with what the VA does not cover.

James has truly blossomed at College America. He has 4.0 GPA and is tutoring in his spare time. Ben has been doing very well at Hinkley but does not like the schedule or the size of the student body. In October, we were told about APS Online, an online high school, he decided to enroll and will begin classes in January. He got his computer on Monday and has begun the preliminary tests to see what he knows, he is doing very well. I think he will pass some of these tests and be able to skip some classes. He is looking forward to being able to progress at his own pace instead of staying with the class. He might even graduate earlier than May of 2011. He is also checking into taking classes at Community College of Aurora while attending high school so that he can graduate with an Associates degree.

Beth is living in Trinidad with her fiance, Derek. No wedding date has been set, but that is ok, they can take their time and plan the wedding they want. She is working two jobs and seems to be making it on her own.

Life is starting to get better little bits at a time. GOD has Blessed us in so many ways. We pray for all our family and friends to have a great New Year and the receive some of the Blessings we have and that we continue to receive.

God Bless Everyone!!

Christmas 2009

We had a great Christmas this year. First, we were in our new home, even though we bought it in May, it still feels like new to us. Being the first Christmas in our home, we celebrated by having Christmas morning here instead of going to Mom and Dad's. Although, we should have spent the night there since the heat went out in our house. We just added more blankets and turned on the oven to take the chill off. Christmas morning was great, we opened gifts and laughed so much.

We loaded the car about 11 am and drove over to Mom and Dad's for the big family gathering and Christmas dinner. What another great time, with all my sister's there, even though Jenni had to leave early due to just having had surgery on the 22nd. Tanya has a new man in her life, he brought his three boys and his parents, Candy and Mike are great fun to be with. We sure enjoyed Thanksgiving with them and were glad to reciprocate with dinner at Mom and Dad's.

On Saturday, we got someone to come out and look at our furnace, took a bit of time but he got it working. Then we waited for Beth and Derek to arrive to open gifts with them. It was a late night but we had such a good time. Then on Sunday, we went over to Jenni and Mark's to open gifts there as Larissa had been gone over Christmas and did not arrive home until late Saturday night. After the fun of opening gifts, we played Balderdash and watched the Bronco game. What a wonderful day it was with all the family packed into their small home, so much love and laughter.

Can't believe Christmas has come and gone, the New Year will be upon us very quickly as well. Time is just flying, I can't believe it will be 2010 in just a couple of days.

May God Bless you all in the coming year and always!!!

Getting Older

I just celebrated (mourned) the passing of another year in my life. This year was particularly hard for me. Usually I don't mind getting a year older, usually I am truly celebrating it. This year, I just wanted to sit down and cry, something I have done many times the last few months. With no medical insurance, I am not able to go to the doctor to confirm my suspicions, I believe I am going through menopause.

I have many of the symptoms that others have mentioned they experience. Night sweats, sleepless nights, hot flashes, severe mood swings, and extremely irritable, just for starters. On the recommendation of my Mom through her questions to her doctor, I have started taking Black Cohosh Extract. I know it will take time to work but I am struggling with to have the patience to wait. I hate the hot flashes and night sweats, but I love the thought of never having a period again. I only wish I could blink my eyes and it would all be over with tomorrow. I don't know if I can hold out for the years it may take and worst of all, I don't think my family can hang on that long. I know there are days I am a complete Bitch (for lack of a better word) but I can't control this. There are days I want to jump out of my skin and days I want to sit and cry all day long.

If anyone reading this has a better suggestion for helping with the symptoms, please email me at zehrfamily@msn.com. I welcome all suggestions, just put in the subject line something about this blog. I wish all of you the very best and if we come in contact and I am a Bitch, please remember what you have read.

God Bless Everyone!!

Thanks Veterans

A friend posted this on Facebook recently and reminded me how much I do Love Jesus!

Why do we sleep in church, but stαy αwαke through α 3 hour movie? Why is it so hαrd to tαlk to God, but so eαsy to gossip? Why is it so eαsy to ignore α Godly text messαge, but re-send the nαsty ones? Are you going to post this on your stαtus or ignore it? Jesus sαid "If you deny me in front of your friends, I will deny you in front of my fαther."

Today, and everyday, we need to THANK the men and women who have sacrificed so much to give us our FREEDOM. REMEMBER those who gave the ULTIMATE sacrifice.

Thanks Dad, Thanks David, Thanks all Veterans past and present!!!

September 5, 2009

Today, I watched one of my dearest and oldest friends get married. It was a very joyous occasion and I was so thrilled and honored to be included in the audience. Paula and I have been through so much together and it caused me to think. I am so grateful for my husband, my children even with all the hardships we have been thru, my sisters, my parents, my extended family, and my friends. I have always been so thankful for my family but I began to wonder if I ever thought about my friends. I don't know that I have ever told my friends how much they mean to me and how they have touched my life. That is going to change, from this day forward, not only am I going to let my family know more often what they mean to me, but I am going to make sure my friends know!! God, Family, Friends this is how life should be measured! Now I need to live up to that and make sure that all those that are important in my life know exactly how important they are! Thank you God for all those wonderful people in my family and who are my friends! God Bless each of you who read this and know you are IMPORTANT TO ME!!

H1N1 or Swine Flu

This wretched virus has hit our family! It all began with our nephew Chance last week showing signs of a simple cold. My sister Michelle, his Mom, had to leave town for business and my parents were out of state for my Aunt's funeral, so we volunteered to let him come stay with us. Since he and Ben attend the same school it seemed the best solution for all and it allowed David the opportunity to help tend the dogs at Mom's when he took the boy's to school and picked them up. Little did we know then what we know now.

Seems Chance has a friend that was exhibiting flu symptoms but did not miss any school, so he spread his germs all over. Chance on the other hand, was only showing signs of a cough and a slight fever, something that we thought was a slight cold. We kept him home from school at Michelle's insistence and called the doctor to see him. His doctor could not get him in until Thursday of last week, so we just kept him home as things got worse. In the meantime, Ben started coughing and having a sore throat, so home he stayed. Since Mom and Dad came home late Wednesday, she agreed to take Chance to the doctor which was a good thing for us as David had become sick on Wednesday and was not going to be able to take him. James and I were feeling great.

Friday rolled around and I was having a nagging cough in the morning but thought nothing of it, so I went to work leaving my sick child and hubby at home. As the day wore on, the body aches, fever and chills started. About 4 pm, Mom called me at work to say they got the results on Chance, "he has swine flu" is all I heard. I knew that this was not good and that what was happening at home and to me was probably the same thing. I left work as fast as I could finish up and get out of there to prevent infecting anyone else. I got home, told James to take David to the VA to get him some help and went inside to work on helping Ben and myself to feel better. You see there isn't much you can do except rest, drink lots of fluids and rest more! But with David's health condition so unstable from the lymphoma it is important that he be seen quickly. He spent over 10 hours there getting IV's and anti-viral meds for swine flu. On Saturday, Ben and I went to University Hospital to confirm if we had it also, which they did.

Since that time, the three of us have been resting, reading, watching tv, playing on the computer, or sleeping. We have been drinking lots of tea, water, grape and orange juice and enjoying the pots of chicken and hamburger soups my mom and sister made for us. Take it from the 3 of us, follow the doctor's orders, rest, rest, drink, drink, rest, rest, and don't go back to work until your fever has been gone without medication control for 24 hours. I hope none of you get this but we already know several of our family members in other states have gotten it. We love you and hope you are well soon. God Bless everyone!!!

August!

Wow this year is just flying by! It has been a year of major changes for us. Beginning in December 2008 with the move to Aurora, through hard times with Elizabeth, the death of my Uncle Wallace, the death of David's Uncle Leonard, the death of David's Aunt Anna, Elizabeth's graduation, Ben's surgeries, Ben changing schools, living in a camper for 6 months and the move to a new home of our own.

The move to Aurora was tough, afterall, after 14 years in Trinidad we had a solid foundation of friends and "family". The hardest part of moving was leaving our daughter there. She wanted to finish high school, afterall, it was only 5 months until graduation. During the last months of her high school life, things got pretty bad between all of us and her. She turned 18 in January and she wanted to live life on her own. She was living with her boyfriend and his family, they had some major health issues, she was missing her family especially Ben and trying to deal with preparing for graduation. Of course the minute she turned 18, she didn't want anymore comments from us on how she should do anything in her life. She is now an adult and we have to face that reality. Life goes on.....

Ben had the first of two operations to fix a problem with his hips in March. He says it was a great relief to get rid of the pain the excess cartilidge was causing and looked forward to the 2nd surgery in June. He was enjoying the home bound teaching he received while recuperating. He now says school is such a drag. I think some of that is due to the fact he had no summer per sey. He was on crutches most of the summer thereby limiting his mobility to go do things with his friends. I have advised him to get more involved in school activities, it truly helps make the year go by faster.

James has been working most of the time since the move. He decided to take a semester off from college to allow himself time to adjust to the new surroundings and to get his financial aid in place. He began working at Elitch Gardens in April and has continued with good reviews since then. He applied for entrance to Pickens Technical College but was unable to get things moving for the fall semester. Now he says he is going to see about CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) to get the ball rolling towards nursing school. If he gets his CNA, he can work and go to school to get his degree.

I have been working since June for a Liquor store near our home. It is good to have the extra income to help with all the expenses. I have not stopped applying for others positions as being a liquor store clerk is not my career goal...LOL! David is still trying to find work of some kind but with all the health problems with his back and lymphoma it is very hard. He is now going to see about getting his VA status set to unemployable, that should help as it will increase his monthly payment. He has been seeing the orthopedic doctors about his back pain and now they have determined he needs cervical steriod injections. They will give a series of 3, if they do not help then he will need to have fusion surgery on his back. Time will tell.

As I posted earlier we have been dealing with the loss of severl family members. We are also praying for my Aunt Fran who has been so very sick for the longest time. We are thankful for the good health of the rest of the family.

I guess this is all the news for now, God Bless each of you who follow my blog and Bless your families.