Two months...really?!

Where does the time go?  I knew it had been a while since I posted last, but had no idea it had been almost three months!  Good grief!  It's been a little crazy around here, that's for sure.  Shortly after my last post, my grandma passed away, somewhat unexpectedly.  She was 92 years old and had lived a good life, but hadn't really had any terminal health problems.  She went to sleep one night and the next morning the staff at her care center couldn't wake her up.  They think she may have had a brain hemmorage or something during the night.  She passed away two days later.  I know a lot of my family had a hard time with her passing, and I admit I shed a few tears, but it was such a relief to me.  She was a farmer and lived a very hard, but active life.  She grew beautiful flowers and amazing gardens.  I don't remember a time going to her house as a little girl that we didn't find her tending her gardens or out shoveling the snow off her sidewalk.  In recent years she had lost nearly all of her sight and hearing and had such bad knees she could barely walk.  She had suffered through some depression.  I know she must have felt like she was trapped in an old body with a very young spirit.  I was relieved to know she no longer had to suffer with those maladies.  She was also reunited with my grandpa who died 14 years ago.

We talked back and forth about going to the funeral, which was not scheduled at a very convenient time for my dad or any of his family (the only ones coming from out of town), but decided I would regret not going since I had missed my grandpa's funeral.  He died during the middle of finals my freshman year in college.  Through some miracle from above, both of my dad's kids who live out of state were able to make it.  I was so glad we did.  My dad really needed the support of his family because of some ugly drama that was occuring among his siblings.  It was fun to get to see my brother and his family for a few days and for him to meet Luke.  Living so far apart, me in AZ and him in Washington and now Arkansas, has made getting together hard.  My boys loved that their uncle Vance would get down and wrestle with them and play with them.

By the time we got home, I was completely exhausted.  It's been nearly 6 weeks and I still don't feel like I've recovered from it all.  This pregnancy is wiping me out far worse than my last two.  I get winded really quickly and have no energy to do anything.  On a happier note though, I'm nearly 17 weeks along and I'm still in my regular clothes.  Sometimes I wonder if I'm really still pregnant - I am, no worries. 

Halloween was fun for Andrew, not so much for Luke who was sick and missed out on a lot of the festivities.

Luke was Superbaby and Andrew was a pit crew worker for Lightning McQueen.  He even corrected some guy at my mom's trunk-or-treat who dared to call him a Nascar driver.  That kid is funny!

We also put up a new play area for the kids and they LOVE it!

Now we are preparing for Thanksgiving and I'm finishing up my Christmas shopping.  I bottled some pickles, which wasn't smart.  The lingering smell made me want to vomit just being in my house.  Next time the pickles will wait until I'm not pregnant anymore.  :o)

Okay, I think I'm caught up for now.  I'm hoping to do a better job of staying caught up.  But I'm not making any promises!