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!!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
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!!!
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!!!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
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!!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
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!!!
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!!!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
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.
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.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Rollercoaster
Life is so much of a rollercoaster! So many ups and downs and many take your breath away. Now don't get me wrong I like rollercoasters but only when I want to ride not everyday of my life. I really wish things could be on a more even keel everyday with only special times for the highs and lows.
Things have been pretty good with Beth up until last night. It was not a fight between her and I but another problem that she has to deal with. However, she needed Mom and Dad to talk to and to cry on our shoulders. This took until almost 3 am to get her calm enough to sleep, it was nice even with the lack of sleep.
Ben is doing well in his recuperation, he is off the crutches but must be careful not to turn to quickly or get too rowdie. He loves that now he can go swimming, so maybe the last half of summer will better for him. Ben and Katie are doing good, she is a joy to have at the house to occupy him, but she is also a sweet girl to be around.
James is continuing to work lots of hours at Elitch's and enjoying it. They have concerts there and when they do and he is working he gets to listen. He and his girlfriend, Kara, are doing well. She is very sweet and we enjoy having her come over to spend time with James and the rest of us.
David and I have been working on the house very slowly so that neither one of us gets overly tired. We are going thru things and deciding whether to keep things or set them aside for a yard sale or throw them away. He continues to look for a job. I have been applying for different jobs but for now at least I have some income coming in from the liquor store. We are enjoying seeing old friends every so often and just getting out of the house.
Life is getting better slowly but surely, just watch out for the dips and peaks!!! LOL!! God Bless Everyone.
Things have been pretty good with Beth up until last night. It was not a fight between her and I but another problem that she has to deal with. However, she needed Mom and Dad to talk to and to cry on our shoulders. This took until almost 3 am to get her calm enough to sleep, it was nice even with the lack of sleep.
Ben is doing well in his recuperation, he is off the crutches but must be careful not to turn to quickly or get too rowdie. He loves that now he can go swimming, so maybe the last half of summer will better for him. Ben and Katie are doing good, she is a joy to have at the house to occupy him, but she is also a sweet girl to be around.
James is continuing to work lots of hours at Elitch's and enjoying it. They have concerts there and when they do and he is working he gets to listen. He and his girlfriend, Kara, are doing well. She is very sweet and we enjoy having her come over to spend time with James and the rest of us.
David and I have been working on the house very slowly so that neither one of us gets overly tired. We are going thru things and deciding whether to keep things or set them aside for a yard sale or throw them away. He continues to look for a job. I have been applying for different jobs but for now at least I have some income coming in from the liquor store. We are enjoying seeing old friends every so often and just getting out of the house.
Life is getting better slowly but surely, just watch out for the dips and peaks!!! LOL!! God Bless Everyone.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
To Catch You Up
I know it has been a while since I posted on here, so I need to catch you all up on things going on around the Zehr household.
As I posted before we have moved into our own home, a mobile home, but still a home. We began moving in on May 23 and finished unloading the truck on May 24. We are currently trying to make it all fit, get rid of it or store whatever won't fit and can't be sold at a yard sale. The weekend after the move in was spent putting up a shed at the back of the house to store Christmas decorations, things that we can't get rid of but don't have room for now, and things for the yard sale. In the process of getting the shed up, Mom and I were at Home Depot to pick up things, we ran into to a nice man who offered to help us load the supplies into Mom's car. During the process we learned he is an active duty Air Force Sargent who asked if we needed help putting up the shed. I gladly accepted his offer. The next day he came by and spent the entire weekend helping us get everything done. We have a beautiful shed for all the stuff we have overflowing the house at this time. This has helped with getting some room to walk around, it also allows us to unpack boxes one at a time and then bring in another one. The process of setting up the house has been slow, as of today we are still living with boxes and looking for stuff that we need.
The week before we moved we were in Trinidad to watch our daughter graduate. It was a bittersweet weekend. We were excited for her but with the past problems it was not all happiness. She looked beautiful and is now engaged to be married to her love, Derek. That was a surprise of sorts, we had been saying we thought sometime within the year after graduation they would get engaged, but we didn't expect it at graduation. We are happy for them but a little concerned that she might be rushing things, she is putting off college for now to work and plan her wedding. I pray she will decide to go back to college even it is only for her Associates from Trinidad State Junior college.
Ben had surgery on his left hip to correct the same problem he had with the right one, on June 2nd. He is doing well with his recuperation other than one set back. Just before his two week check up, he slipped on the kitchen floor and landed on the left hip. We had to take him in to see his surgeon the next day. We got the good news, seems he may have popped an internal stitch and torn a muscle but no need to go back in to fix anything. He seems to be much better the last couple of days. He is looking forward to his four week checkup when he might be able to get to go swimming. I hope this will come about as he has been so cooped up so far and is so bored.
James has been working so hard at Elitch's. He must be doing so well cause he just began a 10 day schedule of no days off. He has been having a great time when he is not working, the benefits of working at an amusement park are good. He took Ben and Chance to spend the day at Elitch's a few days before Ben's surgery so that Ben would have some fun to think about while he was recuperating for 6 weeks. Then he went to a concert at the park after spending a day there with his girlfriend, they both said it was great.
David has been playing house husband for now. I am hoping he will get a part-time job soon as he is going crazy as well as driving me nuts. I started a job at a liquor store in Watkins, about 3 miles from home. I am working for a man that Michelle works with, she recommended me for the job. Thanks Sis!! So far it is OK, not exactly what I want for a career, but for now it helps with the bills and what VA Disability does not cover. I am still submitting applications in hopes of a job that will suit me more.
That's about all the news here for now. I will try to be more diligent about posting more often to keep everyone up to date. For now, God Bless Everyone!! Come visit when you can!
As I posted before we have moved into our own home, a mobile home, but still a home. We began moving in on May 23 and finished unloading the truck on May 24. We are currently trying to make it all fit, get rid of it or store whatever won't fit and can't be sold at a yard sale. The weekend after the move in was spent putting up a shed at the back of the house to store Christmas decorations, things that we can't get rid of but don't have room for now, and things for the yard sale. In the process of getting the shed up, Mom and I were at Home Depot to pick up things, we ran into to a nice man who offered to help us load the supplies into Mom's car. During the process we learned he is an active duty Air Force Sargent who asked if we needed help putting up the shed. I gladly accepted his offer. The next day he came by and spent the entire weekend helping us get everything done. We have a beautiful shed for all the stuff we have overflowing the house at this time. This has helped with getting some room to walk around, it also allows us to unpack boxes one at a time and then bring in another one. The process of setting up the house has been slow, as of today we are still living with boxes and looking for stuff that we need.
The week before we moved we were in Trinidad to watch our daughter graduate. It was a bittersweet weekend. We were excited for her but with the past problems it was not all happiness. She looked beautiful and is now engaged to be married to her love, Derek. That was a surprise of sorts, we had been saying we thought sometime within the year after graduation they would get engaged, but we didn't expect it at graduation. We are happy for them but a little concerned that she might be rushing things, she is putting off college for now to work and plan her wedding. I pray she will decide to go back to college even it is only for her Associates from Trinidad State Junior college.
Ben had surgery on his left hip to correct the same problem he had with the right one, on June 2nd. He is doing well with his recuperation other than one set back. Just before his two week check up, he slipped on the kitchen floor and landed on the left hip. We had to take him in to see his surgeon the next day. We got the good news, seems he may have popped an internal stitch and torn a muscle but no need to go back in to fix anything. He seems to be much better the last couple of days. He is looking forward to his four week checkup when he might be able to get to go swimming. I hope this will come about as he has been so cooped up so far and is so bored.
James has been working so hard at Elitch's. He must be doing so well cause he just began a 10 day schedule of no days off. He has been having a great time when he is not working, the benefits of working at an amusement park are good. He took Ben and Chance to spend the day at Elitch's a few days before Ben's surgery so that Ben would have some fun to think about while he was recuperating for 6 weeks. Then he went to a concert at the park after spending a day there with his girlfriend, they both said it was great.
David has been playing house husband for now. I am hoping he will get a part-time job soon as he is going crazy as well as driving me nuts. I started a job at a liquor store in Watkins, about 3 miles from home. I am working for a man that Michelle works with, she recommended me for the job. Thanks Sis!! So far it is OK, not exactly what I want for a career, but for now it helps with the bills and what VA Disability does not cover. I am still submitting applications in hopes of a job that will suit me more.
That's about all the news here for now. I will try to be more diligent about posting more often to keep everyone up to date. For now, God Bless Everyone!! Come visit when you can!
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