After a long absence, I’m back in cyberspace!  The trip to Oklahoma for my uncle’s funeral went well.  We had a wonderful memorial for him and I felt it was a fitting way to honor his life.  It was good to see so much extended family.  Chet and the kids were able to get quite a bit of work done to help mom which was good.  I was sick the entire time with a bad chest cold, so wasn’t able to help much at all, but was glad to be there in spite of that.  It was also wonderful to spend some time with Kinsey since she’s still living in Florida.  Now we are home and it feels good to be here to stay for a while!  I’ve been busy nesting and getting settled back in.  I’ve been gone a lot more than I’ve been home for the last 5 weeks or so!  

I’m happy to report that my breathing has improved considerably.  I’m out of shape after a year of not doing much physically, but I’m able to do things without getting out of breath like I was most of last year and that feels great!   I have more energy, am sleeping much better and just feel better in general.   I’m also not sure what to think about my hearing.  There have been a number of times over the last  couple of weeks that I’ve had to turn my hearing aids down because they were just too loud.  I wonder if my hearing is fluctuating a bit and sometimes getting better instead of worse, but I don’t know if that is even a realistic possibility.  Of course I know that God can do things whether they are likely or “possible” according to our medical knowledge or not.  I just don’t know what to think.  It’s all so subjective and affected by so many variables that it’s hard to say what’s going on.  I guess time will tell.  The last two times I lost hearing it was 2-4 weeks after I had a bad cold.  I’m curious what will happen now, since I just had a bad cold again.  Time will tell here, too, I suppose.  A new factor in that is that I am now on blood thinners and using the CPAP.  I don’t know if those things could change the outcome or not.

Cody officially moved into his apartment this weekend.  We are now empty nesters for the time being.  It feels different.  Not bad or good, just different.  The kids have been gone a lot more than they’ve been home for quite some time now, but knowing they aren’t coming home at all is strange.  I have some nostalgic “mommy” moments where I think about my little babies growing up and wonder where the time has gone, but mostly I’m very happy for them and looking forward to seeing where their lives go as adults.  They have all been amazing blessings to us!  They are all faithful christians and responsible, caring adults making good choices in their lives.  What more could a mom ask for?

Chet and I have decided to start a calorie-based diet today.  I’ve had to spend quite a bit of time familiarizing myself with how many calories foods have and figuring out where to start and come up with ideas for meals, snacks, etc.  I have always had an idea of what foods are high calorie vs. low calorie, but not much idea of the exact numbers for figuring into your daily limit.  It will take some time to get used to it, but I don’t think it will take too long.  I am also going to start working out again today.   Per my doctor’s orders, it will be pretty minimal, but it will be a start.  Today I will clean out the cupboards and get rid of any food that would not be good for us and our plan, and work on some meal planning for the rest of the week.  

I’m getting really excited about Cody and Jessi’s wedding!  It’s only a little over 5 weeks away!  I’m also looking forward to Kinsey coming home then.  Don’t know for sure how long she will stay, but it will be wonderful to have her back!  

That’s what is going on in my world at the moment!  I will keep you updated on things and now that I’m home again, should be blogging more regularly again.