Hey All!

It's been a busy couple of months! The kids are back to school, Kaylie is a senior, Jayson is a freshman, and Kevin is in the 7th grade. It is hard juggling them all, as they go to three different schools. Not sure how I am going to split myself into two, when Kaylie and Kevin have games on the same days at different schools. Kaylie will be starting volleyball soon, tryouts are next week, and Kevin is currently playing modified basketball. He had his first scrimmage this past Saturday, and he made a couple of baskets. He is pretty good at this sport, if I do say so myself!

Jayson chooses not to play sports, he is more of a homebody than the other two. If there is something to join, Kaylie and Kevin are all over it, where Jayson would rather come home after school and go hunting or ride his bike.

I ran away from home Friday night. Went up and saw Jennie for a bit, and then traveled over to my father's house to see what was up. Julie was there, and finangled me into helping her cut up a bunch of garlic, as she was cooking two pigs that night to donate for a benefit to help out someone she works with that has been diagnosed with breast cancer. So we sat there for about an hour cutting up garlic. That stuff is STICKY! After that, she told me to get my coat on, so I did, and off to Walmart we went. Apparently she had bought pepper for the spices to go on the pigs, but left it in the house. When she went outside, Jay grabbed the pepper and promptly filled up all the pepper shakers in the house with it. So, we had to go and get some more. Julie and I both thought that was kind of funny! While I was at Walmart with her, I decided to pick up the meat for groceries for the week. So it worked out good that I had stopped over at Dad's to visit.

Hunting season (for guns) starts down here on Saturday, November 20. Forgive me for this, but I am so sick of hearing about hunting, that I could hurl. Both boys and my husband are going hunting this year. Kevin has a basketball game at 9 a.m. on Saturday, so I will take him to catch up with the other two after it is over. I hope and pray that they all three get a deer on opening morning, so they will be happy!! But, then there is the downside to that too....That will be all they talk about afterwards...........Insert BIG SIGH here.

I remember as a kid, when Uncle Fred and Donnie were down one year for opening day. They got a deer, and Fred cooked up the liver and dared me to eat some. Never being one to back away from a dare, I did it! I ate every piece of liver on my plate, with a swig of grape juice with each and every bite I took. I think there was more grape juice than meat in my mouth. He laughed at me the whole time I was eating, and I was never so happy to finish a meal as I was that one!!! I miss Uncle Fred. He was such a character, always smiling and happy.

As always, I will put a picture on here. This is my girlfriend Sammicat. She is the only one in the house who doesn't talk back, or make a mess. She loves to see me coming, and always has a kiss for me. She is pretty good at smiling too, sometimes she gives smiles with an open mouth. She is quite a unique cat.

Life is BUSY!!

Ok, So I was just reminded in a not so subtle way that my blog is pretty old. It has been a very long time since I have updated, so here goes.

The first week of August, my cousin Kandi and I packed up the boys and headed to Buffalo to pick up Kaylie from staffing a boot camp on the Little Rock and Sullivan ships for Navy Sea Cadets. We stayed for the graduation, packed her into the car with us, and headed for Michigan for an awesome visit with Aunt Dawn and Uncle Butch (my Dad's sister and brother-in-law). What a great time we had! We made the pact that we were on vacation, and were not going to be pressed for time. What should have been an eight hour trip turned into 14. By the time we went to Buffalo and saw the graduation ceremony, and then got something to eat(we met Uncle Larry in Buffalo at Duff's Wing House in Buffalo, it was just about 3pm before we got on the road to Michigan. We made frequent stops and finally made it to destination Clark house around 11pm.

Aunt Dawn got up early every day and made us a great breakfast. Boy, could a person get used that! At night, the kids, and the adults, minus me, played a cut-throat game of Phase10. I don't know what it is all about, I had quiet time while they were playing every night...lol, I made a good choice!! Dawn and Butch took us to the Hudson Car Museum, to the Henry Ford Museum, to the Ford Rausch Factory(they make Ford 150's there) and to Greenfield Village(an early 1900's living museum where the people dress and live like they did back then). Kandi and I tried two or three times to take them out to eat, and lo and behold, they picked up the check each time. Finally, we told them that WE were going to treat them to dinner, so we could thank them for putting up with us! I cannot thank them enough for giving us a vacation that I am sure my kids, Kandi and myself will remember forever!

The kids loved it, and before we even left their house, they had already said that next year, we need to make it a whole week long. They had such a great time and really got to know their Great Aunt and Uncle, which pleased me, as they had not really gotten to spend that much time with them over the years.

We got back, and back to work I went. I work for an eye surgeon out in Liverpool. He specializes in cataracts and glaucoma, plus we also have another optician there. It is a very busy practice and so fast paced that it sometimes makes my head spin. My job is to check out the patients as they are finishing up, collect the moolah, schedule their next appointment and post their charges in the computer. Also have to put their charts back together and put them on the cart to file later(which the others and I share) A new demension has been added to my job in the last three weeks or so. I now have the responsibility of making sure that the patients who are scheduled for surgery have their preop appt, and make sure they are cleared. It is in no way, shape or form that simple. Sometimes it takes ten tries to get another office to get the needed information to me, and then if the pt was not cleared, I have to figure out why and try to fix it, or move them along to my boss who ultimately decides who will be cancelled or rescheduled for another day.

That, my friends is why I love my job so much! Some days more than others, but normally, it is a very nice place to work. When I first started there, I hated it, so much so, that after being there for a month, I put in my notice. The day before my last day, my boss and I had a very long conversation, and I ended up staying there. I have not regretted staying for a minute! I really like the people I work with, and my work days speed right by!

The kiddo's have gone back to their schools. Kaylie is a senior at Chittenango, Jayson is a freshman at Boces in the Career Academy, and Kevin is a seventh grader at Boces in a program at Cortland Alternative High School. Three kids, three different school districts...I do not like the high school in town, so have come up with alternatives for my children to get the best education that they deserve. All three will graduate with regents diplomas, and have skills that they need to either further their education or in the boy's case, have a trade that they can start a career with. Jayson's school, has the opportunity in the junior/senior year to shadow four different job paths, such as carpentry, mechanics, medical and landscaping. Whichever he chooses to follow in his later years in high school, he will come out with that trade already in place, and be able to find a job in that profession at that time. Kaylie has gone from wanting to go to law school, to wanting to go to school for a history major to wanting to go to school for general studies and then to pursue nursing. She cannot make up her mind. She has until December to make it up, then she needs to know what she wants to do, so she can get her college applications out and in the mail! Kevin is loving his new school. It is a small class, where he can get the individual attention that he needs to retain the information put in front of him.

Jayson rides to work with me in the mornings and then rides his bike the mile or so to his school, then bikes back to my work and hangs out either in the waiting room at work, or in the car. Not sure what we will do when winter comes, will have to figure that one out soon!! The days are getting shorter and colder.

I have added a couple of pictures of our vacation. I think I took about six hundred pictures, truth be told. The kids were packed pretty tight in the back seat of the SUV we took, but still had fun. The others are us at the sights I mentioned earlier.

Ok, ya'all, I have typed enough for one night. I will try to get updates a little closer than two to three months apart..hee hee, Aunt Lori! P.S.. Jayson's eye is better, actually took him to see my eye Dr. the bruise is still there, much lighter now, but we were told by the Dr, that it was bruised into the bone, so it may take a very long time to heal. He is doing much better!

Ok, off I go, LIVIN MY LIFE~

Love and hugs!

Joanna

Life

Hey! To all of you that have graduated this week, Congratulations! What an accomplishment! I am very proud of you all!

This has been an interesting week, to say the least. It was my last week at my job, I am starting a new job tomorrow. Going to an eye surgeon's office. I have worked for so long in primary care, that it is foreign to me to be able to work in a specialty office. Have no fear though, I am not afraid to learn new things. The pay at a specialty office sure does beat the crap out of primary care pay! That is about the only reason I am going to the new place. I really loved my job at the office in Manlius. But, I am sure that I will love this one just as much.

So, Friday was my last day, and it was an amazing day to say the least. Until I got the call that every mother dreads getting. It could have been much worse, but it was bad enough to make the goose bumps come out instantly. Kaylie called me, yelling into the phone that Jayson had been beat up, was bleeding, and his eye was swollen shut and he was dizzy. "You gotta call 911, Mom!" (Note to self...have conversation with daughter about calling 911 first, and then calling Mom....) I had to tell her to calm down, and tell me what happened. Apparently, Jayson had gotten a call from a supposed friend who wanted to buy his IPOD Touch and said he had the money for it. So, Jayson jumps on his bike, goes down the road, to sell his IPOD. The kid punches him in the face twice, shoves him over a guardrail, and leaves him there. I cannot tell you what this does to the mother in me. So anyways, he gets up, calls his father, and rides his bike back to the house. Billy called the police, and they come, and lo and behold, the kid plays the race card. It had nothing to do with race, it had to do with Jay talking to a girl, who ended up being this kids girlfriend. As soon as the policeman heard race, he turned on Jayson, until my husband told him to knock it off. What a way to let a victim know that the police are on their side. So, I am posting a picture of what Jayson's eye looks like right afterwards. It actually looks worse now that it did, with all the color that has collected in it. I gotta tell you, my son is a lover, not a fighter. He had no time to block his face before this kid came at him....Didn't even cross his mind that this would happen.

So, that is my story for the week...Hopefully, next week is much better.

This handsome guy is my middle child, Jayson. Jay, as he likes to be called, will be fifteen at the end of July. Jayson is named after my brother Jay and my Dad, Keith.

Jay has a passion for the outdoors. He loves hunting, biking, four-wheeling and just plain being outdoors. He would spend every waking hour outdoors if we let him. Just the other night, Jay and his cousin Aric spent the night in the old Jeep parked out back. Bad Mom that I am, didn't even know if until the next morning when they came inside. His sense of humor is great.

Jayson can look at me with a grin on his face and I just start laughing. His smile is contagious. I think the only drawback to Jayson being Jayson, is that I have to yell and holler every morning to get his butt up for school. Jayson is the kid that couldn't care less if he ever stepped foot in a school building again. He goes to a program at BOCES that is a different learning atmosphere for kids that dont care for school. He really likes it. The problem is just getting him up in the morning to get him to go there. Next year, he will be enrolled in the Career Academy at BOCES. This will show him four different career paths that he could choose. Carpentry, mechanics, floral design, and I am not positive on what the 4th one is... He would like to follow carpentry or mechanics. He will know after he takes the classes which one he will be doing in his Junior year of high school.

With all the things going on with Kaylie and Kevin lately, I felt like I had slighted Jayson. So now I feel better, hope you all get to meet this amazing kid someday! I sure do love that boy!

The Week Is Over!! Phew!

It has been an interesting week, to say the least! Monday morning, Kevin didn't feel good, so I told him he could stay home. He is 12 now, and my father-in-law was going to be home, so I thought, "What the heck, I'll let him stay home." He had been complaining of a stomach ache for a couple of days. But at the same time, spent the weekend at my father's house, went four-wheeling, went with my Dad to work and rode in the truck, jumped on the trampoline, etc. As I am getting ready to head out the door to go to work, Kevin started saying his stomach hurt so bad, and I did a double take, he was all pale and not looking so good. I called my boss, whom I told I would not be to work. I showed up at the Doctor's office, un-announced (I work at a Dr. office, and I can tell you that I absolutely hate when people do this, unless it is warranted.)and they sent us to the hospital to get a sonogram of his right upper quadrant. That was negative. So, I called the doctor's office and they suggested that if he was in that much pain, still, to take him to the emergency room. So we walked over to the ER and Kevin was seen and they gave him a prescription for his bowels to calm down(they were spasming and causing him to not digest his food) and we were told that he needs to see a GI doctor. So we get through the rest of the week, the med is helping a lot. No complaints from him since he started this med.

Last night, Kevin fell off his bicycle onto his hand. He came in the house at about ten o'clock, my kids had a four day weekend, and were outside being kids. He told me he hurt his hand. I looked at it, told him to get some Tylenol and go to bed. I didn't think anything of it until this morning when he got up and his thumb was twice the size it should be. Billy took him to the emergency room for the second time in four days to have some xrays done. I figured it was just sprained. NOPE!! Broken thumb, broken in 2 places. So they splinted it, and told Billy to have a surgeon look at it next week. I called, and they were of the opinion that he needs to see a hand surgeon. I asked her how she knew that, and she told me that they can look at the hospital records and xrays through a portal on the computer. Pretty neat! She made a special appointment for Kevin first thing Tuesday morning, as they are closed Monday for the holiday. They are hoping the swelling will go down before then, so that they can take a closer look and xray it some more. I am hoping that he just needs a cast, and not surgery. Now the kicker of this is that a 12 year old boy is not supposed to do a thing with that hand until Tuesday. Nothing, Nada, hold still, don't move it. How the heck does a doctor expect a kid to not do anything for four days??? It's not going to happen. At the moment, he is outside playing tag with the boys, Jayson, and my two nephews, Aric and Marshal. When I got home from work, he was in the creek with the boys, Billy had plastic bagged his splint that is wrapped with an ace bandage over it. You tell me.....can I keep this kid down? Nope, even when it is throbbing, he is out there having fun and being a kid, not complaining.

The other photo is Kaylie, today, taking her very own car for a trip to Burger King. This was the first time she has gotten to drive it, Billy went and put it on the road for her today.

My poor husband. Between the hospital, a trip to the DMV, a trip back to La Fayette to have his uncle sign on the right spot of the form for the DMV, back to the DMV again, and dealing with Kevin and his hurting hand, I think he has had it!! He looks like a train ran him over!!

All in all, I am glad this week is coming to an end. Holy Cow!! I would like to pass on the drama button to someone who has a boring life...Any takers????

Kaylie had an absolutely fantastic time at the prom. After months of planning and tanning and "Mom, I need more money!," it is finally over. Mom and I were wondering if the prom would be a let down after all that planning, but Kaylie said no, it was definitely worth it. I am so glad!

It certainly was not such an extravagent thing when I was in school. Ten of them went in on a Rolls Royce limo to the tune of $650.00, thus costing each of them $65.00. Tanning 2-3 times a week for about three months before the prom, and daily the week of the prom...I guess if you have a light colored dress, you don't want to look like a pasty-face! I understand that part...The dress and shoes were, well I won't tell you what that cost, but let me just say that I could have had a new wardrobe for what she paid for it! We had to go jewelry shopping, that part was fun. We had a blast checking out all the different things she could have gotten to go along with that gorgeous dress. We had to go looking for a clutch for her to carry her things in. Nothing was what she wanted, so I don't even think she had one. The day of the prom, Kaylie and her friend went to get manicures, pedicures and of course we have to have our eyebrows waxed! That was another $83.00, and then off to the hair salon, where the makeup application was $25 and the up-do was another $50. Dinner at Delmonico's, I have no idea how much that cost, but she said it was good. I also have to add that Mom and Chuck gave Kaylie money multiple times too, when she needed things and was at their house. Thanks Mom and Chuck!! I love you guys!

Kaylie got out of the limo first I was absolutely blown away when my beautiful daughter stepped out of that limo. The picture above of her standing alone is the moment she got out of the limo. Every penny spent was so worth it by the look on her face. I would have spent ten times what I spent just to see the look of self confidence and "I know I look good!" on her face. She was absolutely breath-taking! All the parents that were there, gasped and were saying how beautiful she looked. I was a proud Momma!

Pictures were taken at Chapman Park out in Lakeport, on the pier. Great idea. The lake was a great background. The kids had a blast getting their pictures done. After all the pictures had been taken, it was time to head back up to the limo (which had a red carpet rolled out every time they got in or out) and get on their way for the biggest night of their lives, thus far.

So, off to Delmonico's and then to arrive fashionably late to the prom. Afterwards, they all camped out in tents at one of the kids house. She told me today that there were about forty kids camped out there. The parents were present and took all keys, and blocked all the cars in the driveway. Thankfully, they were not naive, and know that kids are going to be kids. Good thinking on their part!

First thing this morning, she was at Walmart, getting her pictures developed, and also had a CD made for me. (Mom, I will send it home with her so you can download it too.)

So, that is the prom story!

Adam

This handsome guy is my younger brother, Adam, and his girlfriend Courtney. They went to Courtney's prom Friday night up at Highland Forest. Adam is 19, and out of school. Courtney is still in school, so he went to her prom.

Adam is a great kid! Full of spunk, and he has a teasing way about him that just draws you to him. My boys love going up to Grandpa Keith's house, always asking first, "Is Adam gonna be there?"
Adam works at a farm up the road from Dad's house. Actually, my Dad works there too. He is about the hardest working kid I know. He has a great sense when it comes to responsibility. He, at nineteen, has already bought a really nice truck, a four-wheeler and a snowmobile. I was not smart enough when I was younger to save any money, so I am proud that Adam had the foresight to think ahead when he was younger.

He loves to tease everyone, and in turn, we all love to pick on him. Wonder where he got that from? He is not afraid to get down and dirty rolling in the mud with my kids, wrestling them to the ground. Jayson loves it when Adam comes to pick him up to go up to the farm. (I think it is a guy bonding thing....) He takes them four-wheeling, snowmobiling, bowling and watches movies with them. Sometimes I wonder if the kids think of him as a brother, or cousin, as they are so close in age. He is a really good influence on my kids. They take what he tells them to heart.

Adam is the youngest of five kids. Julie, Jay, Joanna, Jennie and Adam. We all love having him around. He is definitely an asset to the Searle Family.

Settling Down for the Day

Hey all. I am just settling in for the night, Today was a good day. Work was smooth. Kids behaved. Jayson called me at work and told me he found this little guy. He almost ran him over with the tractor. Jayson sent me this picture, so I showed the girls at work, and woo hoo, one of them wants him. So I am taking him into work with me tomorrow so he can go to a good home. I have two pretty kitties already, Sammi and Mandi. They are a handful all by themselves. I cannot handle another cat! Sammi and Mandi are full of hell and run the house all night! They think that this is their house and they just let us occupy it when we are here.

Kevin had his first baseball game tonight. I stayed home to cook dinner and clean up the house. Billy texted me that they were winning 10-0, about a half hour ago, so it looks like the first game of the season is a hit. Kaylie had a softball game tonight. Mom and Chuck went to that. Kaylie says they lost their game. Her season is over within two weeks and she plans on getting a job. She wants to put her car on the road, and needs to have gas money.

That's all I have for today. Not too much going on tonight. I am going to get my book and read for a while, before the boys get back. Have a great night!

My Favorite Girl

This is my favorite girl in the whole wide world. Officially, she is Kaylie Elizabeth Rose Searle. She was born on April 30, 1993 at 12:20 p.m., and weighed in at 7 lb., 1 oz. She was absolutely beautiful. She is a ray of sunshine in my life.

Kaylie is now 17, and a junior in high school. She is an A student. At the young age of 11, she came to me and asked me if she could join the U. S. Navy Sea Cadets. I asked her how she had heard of this, and she said she had looked it up online and went on to tell me all about the things she could learn. I called the people that run it, in Mattydale, and lo and behold, the gentleman I was talking to used to deliver feed to my father's farm. So we went and checked it out. She spent a weekend there, to test the waters. I figured she would say.."No Way Mom!", but she didn't. She absolutely loved it!

In the six years that Kaylie has been in the Sea Cadets, she has traveled quite a bit. She started out with a one week tour in Buffalo, on the USS Sullivan and the USS Little Rock. They loved Kaylie and her friend Nate so much that they have asked them to come back and staff boot camps every year since. Her very last boot camp this year will be to staff again at Buffalo. She has gone to New Jersey to a two week boot camp aboard the USS New Jersey. Last year, she went up by Fort Drum, to a Sea Cadet unit called Camp Clark, for what was supposed to be a one week tour, and ended up staying there for almost six weeks. Every time a boot camp was getting close to being over, she was on the phone telling me that they asked her to stay and staff another one. This goes to show that my girl knows her stuff!

She has learned so much doing this. She has her marksman award for shooting rifles, she did culinary boot camp, she is qualified as a master at arms, and the list goes on and on. The things she has learned, have made her a better person. She is very intelligent and is not afraid to try new things out.

Last month, my girl was promoted to Chief Petty Officer of her unit. This is as high as she goes in the Navy Sea Cadets. This photo is of her being sworn in as Chief. We are so proud of our girl. She wants to go to law school and become a civil attorney. I know in my heart that this is one kid that can go all the way!!

Happy Mother's Day

Today is Mother's Day! This photo is my mother Rosalee and my daughter Kaylie in their matching T-shirts. My Mom is not only my Mom, but my friend, my sounding board, my voice of reason, my savior, my reason for staying positive, my "Hey - Can you do me a favor?" person. Not only is she all of those things, she is also my best friend.

Mom grew up on a farm in Ogdensberg, NY. As one of thirteen kids, she was one of the youngest kids. She speaks fondly of her brothers and sisters.

Mom married my Dad, Keith, and had us four kids. Julie, Jay, Joanna and Jennie. We lived on the farm, in Navarino. When I was around eleven, she and my Dad split up. Later on, she met and married Chuck, who has a daughter Teri.

Very rarely is it, that I hear anything negative come out of my mother's mouth. She is one of the most positive people I know, always finding a silver lining in a cloud. No matter what problem I call her with to listen to, she puts a different perspective on it. I always look forward to hearing what she has to say.

Mom was present for Kaylie's birth. It was a long, hard labor. Almost 3 days long. Being the first baby and all, I was not so happy with the length of it, but Mom kept saying to me, "Pretty soon, Joanna, you will have the best thing in the world to hold!" After a while, I just wanted to belt her one, because it just wasn't going fast enough for me!! But, again, she was right. All that time and pain just melted away as soon as my daughter was put in my arms.

Mom has a faith in Jesus Christ that I admire. She tries to live by His word. As far as I am concerned, she is doing a very good job of it. As kids, we were taken to church and attended Sunday School. I, myself, believe in Jesus Christ, but I don't attend church. I believe that He has a plan for all of us, and attending church is not necessary, because He sees all. I credit my mother with my faith.

Mom has Kaylie during the week, so she can attend Chittenango School, and we have her on the weekends. It is hard having her away five days a week, but I know she is taken care of by the best Mom in the world, so that makes it a little easier. Kaylie is such a joy to have around, and I know that my Mom sees that too. I think she is making Mom and Chuck a little younger. They go to her games, let her drive them around, (she has her permit) take her shopping, and by spending all this time together, I think that it benefits both Kaylie and them.

So, Happy Mother's Day to all you Mom's out there. I feel pretty lucky to have mine! Love you Mom!!

Grandma Searle

I love this lady. She is awesome. She is my father's mother. My Grandmother. I love spending time with Gram. She always makes me smile.

One of the memories I have of Gram is when I was about 12 years old, and I spent the night at her house. Mom and Dad had split up by then, so I spent a lot of time with Gram. I had bronchitis or something like it, and had a high fever. Gram, being Gram, tucked me into bed, put a glass of orange juice on the nightstand and kept a watchful eye on me. I fell asleep. In the middle of the night, I woke up and to my embarassment, thought I had wet the bed. I started crying and Gram heard me. She came in, told me to go into the bathroom and change my nightgown. I did as I was told, with a heavy heart. I was so embarassed! As I came back down the hallway, Gram turned around, looked at me, stuck her hand on the bed, then proceded to smell her hand...EWWW! I just stopped, and was ready for whatever she was going to dole out...She said, come here. I did, dragging my feet. She said that there was no way I had wet the bed, because it didn't smell like pee. She went on to tell me that my fever had broke, and the dampness on the bed was because I had been so sweaty. Boy, did I feel better. She then tucked me back into bed and told me, "Now go to sleep!" I don't know why I remember this so vividly. But, it just goes to show how caring and thoughtful she can be. I mean, who else would stick their hand in a bed that you thought had been pee'd in? My Grandma, that's who.

Gram took all of us, one at a time, on vacations during the summer. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world the summer Gram took me to Georgia to see Great Lizzie, who was Gram's step-mother. What a trip we had. Gram made sure that the motel we stayed at had a pool. so I could go swimming after a long hot day in the car. There was no air-conditioning in her car. Just the old roll down windows. We took her green station wagon, if I am remembering correctly. She had packed a cooler with sandwiches, potato chips and Pepsi. We ate at rest stops along the way and went out to a restaurant at night. Great Lizzie was standing in the driveway waiting for us when we pulled up. Gram had the biggest smile on her face when she saw that Lizzie was waiting for us. We stayed there almost a week. We got to go to the Laser show at Stone Mountain. It was the best thing I had ever seen. I sat there in awe. I remember looking over at Gram and she was just as much in awe as I was! We had a great time. The trip home was just as good as the trip there.

Gram has 5 kids. Bradley, Keith, Dawn, Larry and Eileen. Bradley is the father of Kandi and Chris. Keith is the father of Julie, Jay, Joanna, Jennie and Adam. Dawn is the mother of Bill and Jeff. Her great grandkids are as follows: Jay has Rebecca(11) and Keith(6). Chris has Brooklyn and Dillon(2 months), who are twins. Joanna has Kaylie(17), Jayson(14) and Kevin(12).

I see a lot of Gram in all of us Searle's. We are a stubborn lot. Yet, none of us knows where it came from! She is an amazing lady. Her career path was first and foremost, a mother and a farmer's wife. She also drove school bus, and from what I understand, she ruled her bus with an iron hand. Not surprising! She is an awesome lady, full of spunk and spirit. I am proud to say she is my Grandmother.

Cold, Dark Saturday Morning.

Good Morning! It is a cold, damp morning today. The weather forecast is calling for possible snow tomorrow. Tomorrow is Mother's Day.
Plans for today include visiting my grandmother. Have to stop and get her a Mother's Day present, on the way. Getting my annual mammogram, grocery shopping for Poppy, and making dinner tonight.

My husband Bill, daughter Kaylie and son Kevin are here this morning. Billy and Kevin are watching the morning news and Kaylie is still sleeping. Kevin is chattering on about the big fishing derby in town today. He is very excited to go to it. Last year, he caught a 15 inch trout, so he is hoping that this year he will get the same size or even bigger! My other son Jayson is off on a jaunt this weekend with Billy's brother - and sister-in law, Lee and Toni, to go on a four-wheeling trip with his cousin Aric. He just texted me "Good Morning Mom." He says it is the same weather up where they are. I think he is in Hastings, or somewhere close to there.

I am hoping to get into this blog-thing and share some of my life with you. Frequently, I read my mother's and her brother Leo's blogs. I walk away from them with knowledge of their lives that I wouldn't have had if they had not taken the time to sit down and type them in. I feel like I find out things about my family that are very interesting. Maybe someday, my kids can share my blogs with their kids-Wow, that would mean I would have grandkids! Double Wow! Hopefully, that is not for a long time to come!

Kaylie is getting excited about her prom. It is two weeks from last night. The limo is paid for, the dress is bought and hanging in a bag in her room, the shoes, jewelry, and whatnot are here. The hair appointment is made....They will be dining at the Scotch and Sirloin before the prom, attending the prom and then she doesn't know what they are doing after, (YET!!) I made arrangements at work to get out a little earlier than normal that day, so I can go and see my pretty in her dress, and take pictures. There are ten of them going together in the limo, and it is a Roll's Royce limo with a "disco" theme to it. There are strobe lights and a full bar,(which will be filled with soda...)

That's all for now. Have to jump in the shower to get ready for the mammo...
Hope you all have a wonderful day!
Jo