Good Morning!

I have so much to tell you all but for the last week I have had pneumonia. I have been trying to come to work and really have only missed a day but it is still a little hard to breathe and the night sucks big time. I have to sleep sitting up and really that is not sleeping at all.

OK, lets start with Brandie's kids. They are just too cute. They are with their dad right now. 2 big men from social services went with them to Chicago to hand them over to their dad. Brianna (who is 6) just looked at one of the men, held out her hand, started shaking his hand and said
" Wow, your hands are really really big, you are buff man!" I wonder where she got something like that from. Social services had my mom and sister bring the kids there the day before they were to leave so that they could meet the men that would be taking them and therefore not be so scared. My sister said that at the airport it was awful, the kids kept getting out of line and coming to talk to my mom and my sister, crying, Brianna told my sister that she wished she was her mommy and that she loves her. Matthew just cried and told them how much he was going to miss them. The hardest part I think for my sister was having to hand that baby over. He is about 20 months and since they have been staying with my sister for about 2 weeks, he started calling her me me, so here he was in this big mans arms and holding his arms out to her calling for her. She said that they both held it together until the kids were not in sight and then they let themselves loose it. Now, since this has happened, my sister has talked to the kids and they are fine. Russell told her that she can call anytime and talk to them and of coarse that has made her feel alot better. Brandie did spend some time with them and has again said she is in therapy. She must go to court on the 14th of this month and let the judge know what she has done (therapy, rehab etc.) and if she cannot prove that she has been doing these things the judge will close the case and she will lose complete custody of her children. I am praying that she is doing what she has to be doing.

Now, even though that was good news for the most part......I have better.

My sister and my mother have invited me to come out out California on Sept 15th and leave on a cruise with them on the 17th, going to the Catalina Islands and Baja Mexico and returning on the 23rd. They think for some reason that I need a vacation...ok, I do but they are just too good for me. They are both paying 2 days wages for me because they know that I don't have much vacation time left, they are flying me out and my mom wants to buy me a bunch of new clothes. How in the world did I get so lucky, so blessed?

Anyways that is what has been going on in my world. Oh wait....my nephew just flew to Detroit to see his grandma and sat next to Gene Simmons on the plane....I want to do something like that too :)