Till we meet again :)

Today is a sad day, but a good day. What I mean by this is today is my last day of class in Written Comm and the last day to see all your lovely faces. I will miss the early morning session with you guys because it was in a way my motivation to come and see you and to get to know you and learn about the different writings and stories. The different aspects of each of our writings has been a big eye opener to me due to the fact that I can step outside of my little box. I wish you all happiness and sucessfullness in each and everyone of your adventures in life. I hope to see you in the next semester and if I do meet you again I will surely say hi.

It is a good day to, because my semester is done after today, due to the fact that my family and Becci and her family and some others are going to Vegas on Monday am. We are heading to the Cities on Sunday and staying there over night, taking a shuttle to the airport on Monday am, to fly to Vegas. On Sunday we are also going to the Mall of America to see the Underground Aquarium. Most of my family has never been there, so we are on a journey to accomplish as many memories as we can make. I am so excited and relieved that this semester has come to an end and that I survived another semester. Only 3 more semesters left unless I add another certificate or degree to my list. Next semester I am taking General A & P, EMT classes, and Intro to Ethics, that will keep me busy, along with work and family.

As far as updates on my Grandpa, he is slowly recovering and getting his strength back and loving each day he gets to have with us. As far as my Uncle John, he is still in critical condition and has had one set back after another. We are blessed that he still has the strength to keep fighting and hanging on. Our family has put him on so many prayer lists that hopefully with the prayers he will be blessed. Everything is in God's hands now. I believe he will do what is best, even it means breaking our hearts.

Good luck to you all and keep your head and give a smile. Once you accomplish your goals no matter how hard it will be or how long it takes, You will feel so great and so happy. Remember to keep your hearts clean and happy because your life will be so much better. Smiles to you all and take care, till we meet again, Love Angie Happel

P.S. I will be keeping this blog and so if you ever need to talk or need to vent just blog away and I will try to respond as soon as I can, Thanks :)

Updates on my Grandpa and my Uncle John

As horrible as it may sound, 2 tragic situations has brought our family even closer and stronger with each challenge we face. My Grandpa Johnson had a stroke a week ago from Monday and my Uncle John ended up back in the Hospital last Sunday night with heart trouble and abdominal pain. My grandpa is doing well and graduated from the walker to using a cane and his heart healthy diet restrictions got decreased so he can eat a little bit more and he can use No Salt or Mrs. Dash now on the bland foods to give it flavor. He has his feelings on his left side back and his speech is coming real good. He has been recovering so well that he may get to go home on Thursday. He is here in LaCrosse at Gundersen Hospital, so I get to see him almost every day! :)
Onto my uncle John, he on the other hand is not doing well at all. He had emergency surgery last night and had his Gall Bladder removed. He is a bleeder so he has 6 blood transfusions and continues to bleed. His heart is in A-Fib again and today he was finally taken off the respirator. He is still in Critical condition and lots of prayers have been sent off to God. I shed many tears, because I cannot be with him, but our family have a very close connection of communication so I am informed about everything, good, bad, or indifferent. I was feeling selfish because I am here continuing to work and finishing up two of school in one because we are leaving for Vegas December 13th and returning the 18th. I feel sad about that also, because my Grandpa and my Uncle John were going with us to Vegas so our family could add another chapter to our lives and create memories, unfortunately they are not able to go.:(
I feel stressed out with having so much schoolwork, work, family issues, and regular family living that I think a vacation would be Great now, but how can someone have fun knowing that some family are not doing so great. My cousins told me that my Uncle John, their dad, is strong and could be ok in the long run, but it is God's will to take him not ours. Boy that was tough to hear, but they are right.
Therefore, knowing all this please keep in mind to create memories with your loved ones and show compassion to others and smile because it might make someones day! Our family is close and we are there for each other whether it is directly or on the phone, no matter what! :)

Things Work in Mysterious Ways

Another week and it did not start as a very good one. My grandpa was rushed on Monday night to Gundersen Hospital by ambulance from Decorah, because he had a stroke. His left side was affected and his speech was real slurred and his memory and comprehension was just not functioning properly. He is not a candidate to get the clot buster, because he has a blood disease. I have been there every day and he is improving each day and can walk pretty good now with a walker. They did a Temporal Vein Biopsy on Wednesday and everything went well, we will know the results today sometime. My Grandpa is my love and compassion for elderly people and I respect the elderly because of him and my late Grandma Doris. When I was younger I didn't have compassion for others like I do now, but my grandparents always told there kids and us grand kids, "Be kind to others and respect your elders, because someday you will be there." "Do onto others, as you would do onto yourself." Through prayers and patients and strong will, my grandpa has another chance to create memories with us. I cherish every laughter, every moment, and every breath that God gives me and my family to live one more day to make a memory. Someone will carry it on and hopefully each generation will keep compassion as a part of respect and life. Without it, life wouldn't be good. The man upstairs really has truly worked in a Mysterious way, when it came to letting us still have our Grandpa. My Grandpa is suppose to go to Vegas with us on December 13th and plans on still going, if he can't he will be greatly missed, but thought of. Life is too short, so be kind to others and respect your elders, because someday some will be gone in a blink of an eye. Have a great weekend and see you in class on Monday. Take Care and God Bless You All. :)

Christmas Spirit

It has been a busy week, again. I finished up a couple of papers, but need to type them up in school on Monday, then I worked this week and school till wed of last week then it was the most wonderful day on Thursday. I was so glad to wake up and there was no snow on the ground, so that meant a good traveling day for Thanksgiving. We went to my mom's and had lots of good food and good people to be around. We had Turkey, Meatballs, Mashed Potato's, Candied Yams, Green Bean Casserole, Sweet Corn from our patch, Jello deserts, Pumpkin Pie and Bars, Cherry and Strawberry Cheesecake, Seasoned Pretzels, and home made chocolate candy. I was so stuffed that I didn't eat till the next day at noon. It was great though and the memories are even AWESOME! We talked to my Uncle John that day and he is feeling real good, so we have a lot to be Thankful for. I worked all day and night on Friday and Saturday went household shopping.
But today is my best day, I call it my time day. I was home all am and midday by myself and I got a lot done. I shampooed carpets, I took out the garbage, stoked the wood stove, made a hot dish, did the dishes, and put up my Christmas Tree. I had on Christmas music and a Yankee Candle lit, called Red Apple Wreath, mmmm it smells and feels like Christmas Spirit here today. There will not be much for gifts under our tree this year, due to the fact our kids are going to Vegas with us the 13th through the 18th of December. That is there Xmas gift from us. Brady is 10 years old and Santa will have still bring him something. I feel good and love to be in the Xmas spirit. It took some coaxing, but I am glad I did it. If you feel like you don't want to decorate just turn on some Christmas music or watch a Christmas movie or bake some Christmas goodies.
I hope you all had a safe and good Thanksgiving, see you in school Monday am and God Bless You All! :)

My Birthday

Hello everyone, today is my birthday well actually in about 25 minutes it will end, but it still is my birthday today and I am 41 years old. I worked at Gundersen today and was gone from 8am till 7pm. It was a busy day, but a good day at work. I thought it was very foggy out today so I was feeling kinda bad for the hunters. When I got off of work I knew the air was still kinda damp and heavy, because the aromas from the grilled areas was not as strong when I left Onalaska. Trust me I notice the smells when I leave work at night, because I am starving and can't wait to get home to eat.
When I arrived home my husband ordered a black olive, hamburger, onion and mushroom pizza with extra cheese from GoodTimes and boy was that delicious. Sorry Jamie, that I mentioned food again, lol. Then after I ate supper my wonderful husband surprised me with a card and in it was a beautiful card and a gift certificate to the Hair Haven so I can get my hair done and go tanning before we go to Vegas Dec, 14th thru the 18th. I thought it was great and I loved my special day. I went on face book and had lots of Happy Birthdays from many family members and lots of friends. I also received many phone calls and texts too. I thought it was GREAT! When you get to be my age, well your birthday is just another day. Well it is time for me to go to bed, because I work tomorrow again the same shift and I need my sleep due to the fact I am older now, lol. See you all in class soon and have a Great Turkey Day if I don't see you in school. God Bless You and Take Care and Be Safe.:)

Updates

Hello everyone, today is a real good day. I have received good news about Uncle John. He is getting better and stronger every day. He is walking good and eating well. They are monitoring his blood level now because of his heart A-Fib flutter. He has had a real tough go this year, he had real bad M-Diabetes and he had knee surgery and his Neuropathy was getting bad. So he decided to have the Gastric ByPass done in June and that has helped him a lot but he bled real bad right after he had the surgery and it was because he had a bad bag of Heparin when he was in the hospital. Everything else has been good since the surgery, Diabetes regulated with pills now instead of injections, his knee's feel better and he can use his hands real good now too. He lost over 100 pounds and felt great till he had his stroke. They found that he has Sleep Apnea now too so he has to get a machine for when he sleeps so his heart doesn't have to work so hard. He thinks he might get to go home on Friday if he continues to improve. He will be sent home on Coumadin(blood thinner) and a C Pap machine for when he sleeps.
As far as getting rest, well it is getting better but still feeling a little sluggish and tired. I wish I could sleep and do nothing for one day. I have had tests this week and papers due and work and my list goes on and on. I guess that saying, 'I can rest when I'm dead', will have to apply to me.
My husband and the boys have been working in the fields combining corn since Sunday and it has been non-stop working from 7am till about 11pm. It is like a cloud of dust where ever they are working and smells like cooked corn at the elevators, mmm smells good. They come in and eat and off again. When they get home at night I make them a snack and a glass of milk and they shower and go to bed. Combining is short lived so that is a good thing.
Tonight I made homemade Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Sweetcorn from our garden, and Homemade buns. I cheated for desserts, because I bought a box of those Zebra Cakes and gave them one of those. I also took out fresh Strawberries from the freezer and we had Strawberries over ice cream. I was hungry for something home cooked and since I work tomorow the leftovers will be good for the guys to warm up. Well I will see you all in class and thank you for the concerns and the thoughtfulness, it sure makes it easier when you know people care. God Bless You.

My Uncle John

This week has been very busy and exhausting. I had my usual busy schedule with college and work this last week. My weekend was very scary! I went to work Thurs at 4, after I had classes all day, and I almost hit a deer on my way home, oh wait let me rephrase that, 'A deer almost hit me.' Then I did school work on Fri morning and then went to work Fri night and didn't get home till 11pm. I got up Sat am at 7 and went to work till 6pm, then I get a phone call. It was my Aunt Pogo and she tells me that they life-flighted my Uncle John to Mercy Hospital in Souix City, Iowa. My aunt's last words that I heard from her before I became num was, "He had a Stroke and he is CRITICAL." I thanked her for telling me and then I did a ton of phone calling at many angles, because I was going there (6.5 hours away). I was scheduled to work on Sunday and needed to get that taken care, I needed to get a hold of my mom and see if she wanted to ride with me and she said yes, then I needed to let my household family know and then pack and go there.
My Uncle John is doing better, they got him the clot buster within 40 minutes and he did not suffer permanent damage, but some heart A-Fib going on, but that will regulate hopefully with meds. I was with family and it was critical until about 9 am and then things decided to turn for the better. I got only 45 minutes of sleep in 2 days and I am exhausted and ready for bed. I also wanted to tell you that I got to watch my uncle's Echogram and watch them do the Bubbles on him (name for injecting a certain med to see how his heart is function in a chemical mode). It was real KOOL! I left Iowa around 2pm and got home about 8pm, so I did good timing coming home too. Doing some school work and so ready for bed. Good Luck to all you hunters out there and get them deer, because I don't want them hitting me, lol.
God Bless You!