Hi, I have been trying to think of different places I can go to write. Personally, I like to change things up a bit and in doing so, this energizes me with ideas for blog posts! While thinking of different places I can go to write, I thought of our farm cabin.
We have lived on the farm for six years now. Kevin had been renting the pasture 4 years prior. How we came to purchase this farm was during the time Kevin was renting. The original owners would go South for the winter. During the winters, Kevin would make sure the house water pipes would not freeze, bring in the mail and other odd things that needed to be done. He was there anyways, so this was not an added chore. Well one winter, the original owners called Kevin and told him they want to live in the South, would you be interested in buying the farm. Kevin (I agreed) said yes! Here we are now.
Oddly, the only times I visit the cabin is at our summer party when we shoot our fireworks.
Preparing for my cabin adventure, there is no electricity nor internet. I will definitely need to make sure my laptop and iPhone have been charged to the brim. My external battery charger will also be completely charged and in my bag!
Hi, welcome to Gma’sPhoto! This post was inspired by our trip to St. Joseph, MO for our summer party fireworks purchase. On our drive, we always stop into one particular Chinese restaurant. It was here, in May 2011 our journey with men’s mental illness began. I call it our dark days.
Thank God, I am being totally sincere. Not at all saying HIS name in vain. We are out of the dark (as long as our son is taking his meds). Occasionally, there may be a cloudy day, metaphorically. For this I am very grateful.
I want to share our experience as parents of a young male adult child at his onset of mental illness. I had felt like I missed something when he was growing up. The what if’s consumed me. This is the beginning of our story, Kevin and Debra’s story.
One of my favorite photos with me and Adam.
Telling the story now, I have the hindsight. Just wish what I know now, I had known earlier when Adam was still in middle and high school. Adam tended to be more emotional than our daughter. While Adam was in his senior year in high school he worked on the senior slide show for the class graduation. Adam and a couple other guys were part of the group. One of Adam’s comments was that this other kid was getting all the credit. He mentioned it several different times. According to Adam, Adam was doing most of the work. Okay, nothing too unordinary right? On with my story.
Graduation comes and goes. Summertime is here. Adam was getting nose bleeds. Not too uncommon, especially when he experiences allergies. He goes off to college. All is going great. His grades are better than when he was in high school. He was able to focus on his interest, arts. First year of college was fabulous. Summer rolled around. Adam wanted to live in Lawrence for the summer. Grandma and Grandpa said it was okay that he stay with them, with conditions. Those conditions were he could not smoke, do drugs and stay out late. No problem.
“Age of onset of mental disorders. Roughly half of all lifetime mental disorders in most studies start by the mid-teens and three quarters by the mid-20s. Later onsets are mostly secondary conditions. Severe disorders are typically preceded by less severe disorders that are seldom brought to clinical attention.”
Our son was graduating from community college May 2011. We were proud, are still proud parents. We invited family to attend the ceremony and after for dinner to celebrate. Kevin and I had drove North to Hiawatha where Adam attended community college. When we got there, Adam was no where to be found. One of his roommates said he had already left. We were confused. We called Adam and he said he did not want to go to graduation. He was driving back to Lawrence to my parents home where he was going to stay for the summer.
We called Kevin’s parents, Kevin’s sister and her husband, our daughter and her family. My parents already knew so we did not need to call them. Luckily no one else drove the whole way to the graduation. We had them meet us at the Chinese resturaunt. What an evening.
During the summer Adam became more paranoid. My parents had Adam go to the doctor office for drug tests, on more than one occasion. Each were random. Every time the tests would come back negative. One night Adam’s behavior was such that my parents called the police. Adam was taken to the hospital. Erika had gone to the hospital to be with Adam. Upon his release from hospital, Kevin and I had to acknowledge we would be responsible for Adam and that he would be in our care. This is when we observed his behaviors we only heard of from my parents.
Adam had many different behaviors. More than I can recall. Just that his behavior was not right. Adam did tell us he had been taking drugs and knew which ones helped him to concentrate and stay focused. Adam’s doctor is the same doctor I went to and the one my parents went to. This was a major factor in the help we received for Adam. Kevin and I went to this doctor. The doctor said drugs was not the concern at this time, it was his mental state. A few recommendations for the best doctor for Adam were given to us.
Adam began his treatment. I had previously sought legal advice about guardianship. The attorney asked if we had doctor statement that this would be in Adam’s best interest. At this time we did not have this and the attorney said it would be very hard to get guardianship granted.
Eventually, Adam had a ‘team’ that consisted of his Case Worker and therapist. Adam made a few poor decisions that resulted in his therapist to refer Adam to a psychologist. The psychologist (Dr.J) did an intensive session with Adam and ultimately she provided a letter stating it would be in Adam’s best interest to have a guardian. Once we had her letter, the family doctor also wrote a letter supporting the guardianship. Adam’s therapist wrote her letter supporting guardianship. The psychologist (Dr.E) who prescribes Adam’s medicines wrote his supporting letter. With the four letters Kevin and I hired a family law attorney. We are now Adam’s Co-conservator, Co-Guardians.
This story is not complete, however this is where I will end my post. Eventually I will return with more of the story. I wanted to share in case someone else may be going through a similar struggle. If so and you have questions, I would be willing to go more in depth with you in a one to one conversation. Send me a message using my contact form.
Hi, May Day brings back fun memories. Did you ever make May Day baskets, filled with flowers picked from the yard. My baskets were filled with grass and dandelions!! I would make my baskets using construction paper and glue. Then I would take one over to Mrs. Barkley. She was the elderly cool lady where all the neighbor kids would go and we would all be in her living room playing with many of her toys she had. I’d take this basket I made, hang it on her door. Then I would dash to hide. Mrs. Barkley would always come find me. Once found, I would go into her living room, talk and drink tea. Good times.
01. May 1st is my favorite Aunt’s birthday. Adam and Aunt Phyllis
02. Movie and Dinner night with Adam. Dinner was Ziti. The movie, The Great Wall. Adam did select the movie this time. I must admit, I really enjoy the time we spend together more each time.
03. While getting gas, I went into Casey’s to grab a cup of their Hershey Hot Chocolate. Some of the best right there!
04. Morning began with the weekly Weight Watcher meeting. After the meeting went to Hobby Lobby to pick up some items for my Happy 60th Birthday Party to me, party 🙂 Not only will I be 60 this year, I am celebrating 20 years cancer free!!!
05. I met with my good friend, Cris. Ate lunch at El Portro and then went to Michael’s to select the flowers in the bouquet she will be making for my birthday party.
06. Monday, back to work.
07. Tuesday, I was tired. Made for a long day at work.
08. Movie and dinner night with Adam. Tonights feature, the Peanut Butter Falcon. Dinner, ham quesadilla. Adam scored with this movie selection. Definitely a family friendly movie. I enjoyed it!
09. Visited the cows on lunch break. Beautiful day, sun shining.
10. It’s finally Friday. George Jones, It’s Finally Friday.
11. Erika and her family visited today. They even brought lunch for us! It’s always good to see the grand girls. They change so much.
12. It was a nice Mother’s Day. I visited my mom and dad. My mother does not like to. have her picture taken, so today was a picture less day. Once home, I finished working on the labels for my old age bottles. These will be the party favors for the ‘Happy Birthday to me’ party. This month I am celebrating my 60th, plus my 20 year cancer free (with God’s grace). The party favor- M&Ms in a pharmacy bottle.
13. Monday, again. Back to work.
14. Tuesday, another typical day at work.
15. Dinner and movie night with Adam. Dinner, ham steaks and green beans. The movie, River Wild.
19. Relaxed. Started working on my thank you cards.
20. Finished writing my Thank You notes. I sent each guest a thank you letter and a printed 4×6 of our selfie.
21. A typical Tuesday work day.
22. Attended my grand daughter’s 6th grade promotion.
Briella wanted to celebrate at Sonic for ice cream!
23. It’s my mom’s birthday today. She’s now 78.
Happy Birthday, Mom!
24. My internet went out. Called the provider and it was reported as an area outage. I had to take unplanned PTO from work. Had dinner and movie night with Adam. We went to Subway for dinner. The movie, Rust Creek.
25. While Kevin went to mow at our past house (small house on 20 acres) his truck broke down and could not bring the mower home. I had to rescue him 🙂
26. Spent a quiet day at home.
27. Memorial Day. Worked on the blog and visited many other blogs with wonderful tributes to the people who sacrificed their life for our wonderful nation, me and my family.
28. Linda was not able to walk tonight, so I had a relaxing evening, working on my own blog.
29. Movie and dinner with Adam. I did not feel like cooking. We had our favorite Casey’s pizza! Movie, Luther: The Fallen Sun. Adam’s choice. Not a family movie. Save this one for parent’s night.
30. Typical Thursday work day. Virtual walk with Linda.
31. It’s Friday and after work I will be going to my grand girls house to spend the weekend with them while their folks are away!!
May was a fun filled month. Looking forward to what June brings!
Hi, I am so ready for spring. During the cold months, I fall victim to the blues. Working from home has presented a new level to the blues. The thought of requesting a higher dose of meds does not sound appealing to me. After giving this some thought, I want to work on habits.
Working at home, I have created some bad habits. The biggest bad habit I have gotten into, staying in my pajamas all day, every day through the week. Weekends I do leave the house, regular clothes and makeup are a must. To start my new positive habits, I will use a journal. My Weight Watchers teacher inspired me with hers. Planning to incorporate her style with a monthly post of one line a day. And, this will knock off my #58 on my 101 in 1001 list!
March got off to a late start. Beginning with Saturday, March 9, 2024.
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09. My WW instructor’s suggestion of a journal style book already has brightened my day. The journal supplies I purchased are shown in the post feature image above.
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10. Amazing animals that touched my heart.
11. Monday, a typical day of working remote. After work watching Wheel of Fortune with Kevin, I keep telling him he should try out. He always figures out the puzzle.
12. This was a fun day. I took personal time from work and had to run an errand for my son. Which took me to Topeka, our state capitol. The grand girls were on spring break and they went with me.
13. Thankful for indoor plumbing, especially at nighttime.
14. Each day my feet touch the floor is a good day. I choose to be positive.
15. Had a fun movie night with Adam. We had Mac and Cheese with little smokies and watched the movie, Damsel on Netflix.
16. First went to my WW meeting. After, went to Best Buy. I had purchased the Zagg screen protector and paid the fee for Geek Squad to apply the protector. Both are a bit pricey when you think of it as a one time purchase. However, I had dropped my phone and the protector cracked. Well, Best Buy will exchange the broken protector with new and even apply again at no charge. This is the second time I needed to have a replacement.
17. Happy St. Patrick’s Day. The shamrock green is not a color in my wardrobe. However, I love to accessorize! This is how I wore my green today!
18. My new favorite Weight Watchers friendly dessert is frozen bananas.
19. Spent a fun evening with Adam. Our weekly movie and dinner night. This week the movie pick was Unthinkable. Definitely not family friendly. Rather a dark movie. If you have seen it, would be interested in knowing what you thought of it.
20. Not too much to say, regular work day and did a virtual walk with my friend, Linda. We meet in the evenings at 7:30 pm and FaceTime while we walk on our treadmills.
21. Cut up several bunches of bananas to freeze. From bunches to freezer!
22. It’s Friday, the best part of the weekend. The beginning!
23. The local grocery store has a wonderful deli. The food is good and very reasonably priced. Kevin and I each got a chicken dinner. Kevin got the white and dark meal and I ordered the 2 piece tender meal. Our total was 15 and some change.
24. Had breakfast with Kevin, Erika, Shaune and the grand girls. The grand girls wanted to come back to the house and see the calves! Twins!
25. Linda was not able to walk this evening, so I ate some cookies instead!
26. Drank 3 cups of hot chocolate. It’s still cold in Kansas. Walked with Linda tonight. Needed to walk off the hot chocolate and cookies!
27. A rollercoaster ride with my website disaster. Oh my, I was working on my website (this one) just Monday evening. All was fine when I went to sleep for the night. The next day I went to update a post and my site was gone. Vanished. I panicked. Today all seems to be back and working. Thank goodness! If you were wondering- I did pay the bill……. This was not the issue. I had to call the tech department and they were able to fix.
28. Had movie night with Adam. We had ham and cheese quesadillas. He chose the movie, Blood & Gold. This is not a family friendly movie. I think Adam will not be selecting next week’s movie night movie!
29. Sometimes I just like drinking my water from a glass jar instead of my insulated cup. Absolutely the best way to drink water!
30. Kevin wanted to go shopping. This is a rare experience! Actually, our dear neighbor is not in the best health. Kevin wanted to shop for a jacket. Kevin’s shopping spree!
Hi, Happy New Year to you!! My New Year’s resolution is not the typical ‘need to loose some weight’, which I have done in previous years. This year I have chosen to strengthen my Faith. Number 50 on my 101 in 1001 is to go to church once a week.
I had created this 101 in 1001 list back in February 2023. Since doing so, I have decided to tweak my going to church once a week to going to Bible study once a week. Have you heard of Joel Osteen? Some people like him and other’s not so much. My father is one who is with the not so much group. That can be a different story! 🙂 Today is about how I decided to strengthen my Faith.
#50 goal of going to church every Sunday was really on my mind for the whole month of December. It was on one Sunday that Joel Osteen’s program came onto the TV I had been watching. Joel, in my opinion, is an excellent presenter. I enjoy his uplifting words. At the end of his program he says to get into a good Bible based church. What I heard, Bible study. That is when I decided to change the going to church to bible study (Sunday School).
As I was preparing for my ‘Bible study’ group, I realized the only Bible I had was this beautiful, huge Bible my husband’s brother and his wife gave to me and Kevin as a wedding gift. I was on a mission :), find a Bible!!
I just didn’t realize how many different Bibles there are. One recommendation I would like to share, go to a Christian book store when you are searching for your Bible. At the store, you can actually compare the verses in one book to another. Genesis 9:4,5 was the one I used for comparisons. I bought two of mine from Amazon. It took 5 purchases before I found the one for me. Consider the print size and the age group. One suggestion for the retail marketers, change the age 6-12 to beginner. One of my preferred Bible that I have, is the kids’ version and it would be nice if it said beginner. And, I had to literally go to the kids’ section to find it.
This Bible needed to be more of a personal size book. I had gone to the Christian store, Mardel. There, the sales lady, assisted me with selecting the version I was more comfortable reading and understanding. I had selected the NKJV, New King James. It was my second visit to the Christian store that I had gone over to the kids’ section for the right Bible for me 🙂
Later, I was in Wal-Mart and happened to check their book section. And guess what, they sell Bible’s too! They had a super sized Bible, the font was much bigger. All the better for me to see! So I bought it. Well, later I was speaking with a friend and she was telling me she had gotten her (now grown) boys a children Bible and that is what she takes to her Bible study group. As you may have already thought, yes- I bought a kids’ Bible too 🙂
For anyone who is just beginning to read the Bible, I recommend the kids’ version. In the below image it shows what resources the kids’ book provides. The super size Bible is good too. As I began reading the Bible, there have been so many words I need help with. Webster wasn’t cutting it for me. This is when I ordered the Student Bible Dictionary.
I must say, I am eager to begin my studies! 🙂
In summary, the Christian book store is a one stop shop. Plan on spending a long time in the store. Look at more than one Bible version. There are large print, comfort print, and the age level options to consider. A reference book should be included for studying. Bible book tabs are good too.
Hi, I am amazed at how many new foods I have tried. Not all new, but new ways of preparing foods. This is all because of Weight Watchers. One example is the simple banana.🍌 NEVER did it occur to me to eat frozen bananas until I was introduced to delicious smoothies! For sure, today I am grateful for discovering how delicious frozen bananas taste.
Freezing bananas is really simple.
My freezer is not large so I used a regular dinner plate. Peeled the bananas and cut into chunks. Stood the chunks on end on the plate. Set the plate in the freezer for 1 – 2 hours. Placed the banana chunks into a zip lock baggie. As I was sealing the bag shut, pushed as much air from the bag as possible. These will not last long in the freezer!!
