A Quick Trip to Georgia and Decorating at the Holidays

The Smokies

We recently took a quick trip down to Georgia to be with family at Thanksgiving. It was kind of last minute. We wanted to get away and then realized we hadn’t been with both of our kids, for this particular holiday, in seven years! So off we went.

Tennesee

The minute we arrived we realized our daughter was very ill. 🤧Honestly, had we known sooner, we probably would not have even travelled down there. She had been to the doctor but like I had guessed, probably was a virus and meds wouldn’t help. So I tried my hardest to help her get some kind of rest, but we were up each night till around 4 AM as her hacking cough just would not quit. (Poor thing, I know how that is…a nagging cough can just drive you completely mad!) She’s still my baby, so me trying to sleep in the next room and hearing her hack away …just not possible. I couldn’t handle it, and kept trying everything I could think of to ease her misery. Nothing worked. 😞 I looked like the walking dead. 🧟‍♀️

Which reminded me of a particular story when she was little, and I had a horrible asthmatic bronchitis with a cough that drug on for over a month. Absolutely nothing would help me sleep. NOTHING! I had even pulled muscles near my ribs from hacking so much. I remember one, long night finally thinking I’m just going to run out in that snow and no one will even find me! 🤪It just drives you crazy, doesn’t it?

And of course driving down to Atlanta the same old scenario, we hit lots of traffic, came to complete dead stops, and again accidents were witnessed. We literally see an accident every single time we drive through there; sometimes I think we’re going to be in one ourselves as people just race by us going 100 miles an hour!

But It was all worth it getting to see little grandbaby Chloe. Oh my, she is so doggone cute! “They’re” all so right when they say a grandbaby is like nothing else! 🤗

We went to a Christmas light show in a park one night and the baby was mesmerized by all the action and bright lights. I’m sure next year it’ll be an even greater level of excitement for her.

I brought matching hats for her and her mom to wear. They both looked so cute! The baby just turned 5 months.

We also had Thanksgiving dinner with my husband’s mom and brother now that they have moved down there. She is 81. And his sister, and cousins came over with their younger kids and there was a sort of a “kissin’ cousin” play date going on. 😁



Hey Ma! What the heck is goin’ on?!

Chloe wasn’t quite sure what to think!

My hubs also would turn 56 on our drive home, so while we were there the kids surprised him with a cookie cake.

It was fairly warm, so after dinner we walked downtown Newnan, Georgia and saw more lights. They have a quaint downtown square much like we do here in our town.

We left a day earlier and it’s good we did because as soon as we got home, my poor husband got deathly sick and has been sick ever since. Hes just laid around hacking and tried to work later but ended up having to take off some time. Now he’s counting down the day to retirement come spring. (Too bad it hadn’t been sooner.)

But Yay! 🤗

I recently talked him into letting me re-paint my daughter’s room that has been bright aqua for over a decade! We had an ordeal with the paint store and finding the right paint initially, but now I’m loving how it tuned out. I was actually thinking of more of a BoHo style and painted the walls white. He wasn’t sure about all white walls, but I assured him decorators everywhere were doing it and it’d be fine. Guess what, we BOTH really love it!

But you would not believe how many different shades of WHITE there are! I have a second decorating Instagram account @morgie_and_me where I share decorating ideas AND get ideas, so I am already enjoying this new decorating and photography space.

I couldn’t wait to decorate it for Christmas. I don’t think I’ve ever fully decorated an entire bedroom for Christmas.

And to be real honest, I believe all the decorating helps my mind find rest as I’m forced to think of other things. I’m just not dealing well with what has happened to my mother among other bad news I received this year. It all really affects me. I just can’t turn it off. I think about the suffering my mom is going through, along with missing out on so much life and it just really gets to me! And for my own mental health, I think I decorate to try and force myself to escape because I literally think about her 24/7.

I guess decorating is less damaging than drinking or drugs so that’s how I try to give my mind a break.

But after 20 years in this particular house, I’m now itching to change everything. We’re still not sure what we’re doing in retirement. We actually had our house sold this past summer (we were selling it ourselves) then, at the last minute, we changed our minds and backed out. A long story maybe to share later!

Meanwhile, I’ve been decorating like a crazy woman for Christmas and with this new room, the kids soon to arrive, taking care of the hubs while also trying not to catch any germs from the hubs, it’s kept me pretty busy. And in full hasmat attire. Ha.

My husband actually went to urgent care last night. Poor guy, he is really sick this time. I don’t think I have ever seen him this sick in 32 years of marriage!

Have any of you caught this horrible bug? I’ve been using hand sanitizer and walking around the house grabbing things with my shirt sleeve instead of my hands. 😷

PS Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I was going to share some of my Thanksgiving decor initially, but didn’t get around to it as we headed out the door so quickly.


Items found for home decorating at: #Pier1, #AtHomeStores,#Walmart,#T.J.Maxx, #Menards, #HomeDepot, #HomeGoods #RossDressForLess #Target

Take care!

And have a Merry Christmas!🎄

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College Bound

The Indiana University students are back! We observed many a mom and dad walking alongside their new college student. Boy, that sure brought back memories of me choking up all the way home from Missouri and Georgia.

My kids both left home within a year of each other and I found myself walking by their bedrooms to say something then would quickly realize they weren’t there.

I ended up just shutting their doors. 🗣😭

Leaving our babies behind, wondering when we’ll see them next is a difficult transition. And many of us are/were going through menopause at the same time! 😳 I always said it was God’s cruel joke! We put in all these years of hard work, making lunches, sewing costumes, throwing parties, working in their classrooms, for all of it to come down to moments like this. This is when we do double duty praying that our kids meet professors that align with their upbringing, meet encouraging friends that have the same morals, that their minds only be open to things that will help them grow and become the people they were destined to be.

We’ve worked with college ministries as well as international students. And can you imagine leaving your child in another country? 🙀

We pray our young people come to know God and make a change in this world just by being who God always intended them to be.🙏 .

Big Sky

I pulled over to take this pic after going up to an appointment for my mom. I call it “Big Sky”.😍

Have No Regrets!

Do you constantly see things in the news or feel frustrated with hearing issues you wish you could change? 😿Well, you can… in your own, little corner of the world. Bloom where you’re planted. 🌻You may not be able to help everybody, but you can help that one person.

Do good. 🌾

Even in your own struggle and pain; REACH OUT to others.

It’s very hard at times, with all that life throws you, but oh so rewarding!

You were designed for a purpose. Don’t leave this earth regretting you didn’t do more to help mankind or to be God’s hand extended.

Waste no time.

Leave this earth knowing you made it a better place!

🙏💕

(pic taken along a walking trail with my hubby)

My Backyard

My backyard in Indiana facing the woods and a quarry hill during winter.

This is a picture right outside my bedroom, looking into my backyard.

I saw the sun, opened the slider, and took an iPhone pic. (5 that is..not the greatest camera, but I try.) I have a Canon Rebel, but I dropped it and messed up my wide lens, so I only have the telephoto to use now and sometimes that can be tricky as I have to back up to Michigan to capture anything, ha.

But, these clouds, right? Seeing two layers, just behind and higher above the trees, caught my eye right as the SUN CAME OUT! Yes, the SUN! Did I say the SUN?!!!

Yes, we get occasional sun, but when it’s 30 degrees it’s kind of hard to go OUTSIDE and stay OUTSIDE to enjoy it like you want to enjoy sun.

Although, I did go back to the creek (just behind those trees) to capture some photos as the snow was falling, and waded the creek, and stayed out till the sun went down and my fingers were red and reaching a hypothermic state.

I will have those pics next time. They need editing and this darned eye disease is giving me fits since returning home from Florida. UGH!

But, I captured some cool shots. Many times they hit Instagram first, so if you want to follow my IG there is a link here on my sidebar and below.

ENJOY!

*PS Hubby made it to his hotel and before the snow hit Maryland real hard. YAY!

Biking & My Back

Eight months ago, I developed yet another physical problem.

It seems to be every time I turn around…geez.

Severe back pain with pain in both hips, a knee, and sometimes down my thighs.

It felt like I had been run over.

EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

Even my lower ribs would hurt to touch.

Biking, cycling, walking in Farmland in Bloomington, Indiana

Bloomington Indiana bike trail

 

Oh, I’ve had back issues throughout my life, and saw the chiropractor every month,

But this was…

can’t walk, can’t sit, can’t sleep, can’t even focus..because the pain was so bad.

PAIN all day; all night.

I did everything and went everywhere trying to  find an answer.

To. Everyone.

X-ray, MRI, CT scan, back therapy.

Nothing had helped. 😦

[I thought maybe Magnesium, Potassium, upping my Vit. D, multiple Epsom salt baths…oh, I don’t know, ANYTHING???]

I hate opioids for pain. So, I just tried my best to cope.

But, I wasn’t coping very well.

I’ve been grasping at straws.

I’ve carried hot water bottles, tucked into the waist of my pants, used hot and cold compresses, wore a back support brace, smelled like Ben Gay, bought up heat activated capsaicin pads at the $store, tried foam rollers, a Thera Cane massager, tennis ball…

You get the idea.

Nothing was helping!

I’ve come to learn these last few years that chronic pain is a whole other ballgame.

I pray a lot for those people. It is plain torture.

I get it.

It takes a lot to want to do anything, and I sure feel for people who deal with it.

Bless their hearts!

They’re heroes in my book, that’s for sure.


So, for me to go on a long, long, L    O    N    G  car trip, (over 2,000 miles) was a real act of faith!

(I was tagging along on a business trip with my hubby Story Here)

But, to not only get home in decent shape but to then go on a bike ride today?

NO FREAKIN WAY! 
But I did just that…

On my beachcomber. It felt so freeing after not being able to ride since last year at this time.

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The trip east, the bike ride…

It was no short of a miracle. LITERALLY!

(Let me also say, I HAVE had a lot of prayer going up for me!)

I had a little pain in my knee today, when I woke, but hey, what a victory it’s been for me these last couple of weeks!

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Can we say, HALLELUJAH?!

I sure hope I’m on the upswing.


In honor of getting back on my bike today, and answered prayer…here are a few pics of a trail near our home.

Rails to Trails.  Link HERE

The colors are a changin’!

Bike hike or cycle bloomington Indiana trails.

We thought about upgrading to gears, but these beachcombers really make us work harder. 🙂

You should see the way these young kids look at us as they speed past us on their geared bikes. I want to yell, “Yeah, I’m huffin’ and puffin’ but I’m 53 and doin’ this without cheating like you, ha! ;)”

Do any of you ride? Where are your favorite places to ride?

Rails to Trails Bloomington, Indiana

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img_6198img_6190Taken with my iPhone 5, all pics property of ©thentherestwo.com. Follow me on Instagram! NOTE: I will be posting more info on particular trails in the area, come on back!