Friday, Feb. 24, 2012, Nashville, TN.~

Deidre Brownwood writing.  Hope this finds you well and happy.  As for me, I have my good days and bad, but lately, it's been more good, which I am very thankful for.

I am happy to report that Kaylee's attitude has changed for the better.  She is currently attending college (Ball State) and loves it.  She wants to be a pediatric neurologist when she graduates (probably in the next 10-11 years; she'll be in school for a while).  It's keeping her focused and that is what she needs.

Sam is still ... well, Sam.  He still hates school as much as he did when I last wrote.  Still trying to get away with doing his assignments, trying to skip classes, but I, his mamma, am onto his little games.  He is not very happy with me right now, but at the current time I don't care.  Sam has got to realize that he cannot take advantage of me and that school is important!

Sam is now 15 1/2.

Forrest, our youngest, is 12 and nearly as tall as me.  He is a very handsome young boy, but still has that impish grin that I love so much.  He is full of joy, love, and compassion: he's the type of kid who would give the shirt right off his back or bend over backwards in order to help someone else in need.  I am very proud of him.

Robert, my husband, is still in the nursing facility.  His health is too precarious to be able to return back home to us.  He can no longer care for himself and has been in and out of the hospital for one thing or another.  He has developed severe stomach/digestive issues and recently had a colostomy done because he had a major blockage, which pinched off part of his colon, destroying it.  It's been really hard on him (and us too).

I will be surprised if Robert lasts the year.  I have been praying for him but it really doesn't seem to be doing much good.

The kids are worried about their dad, and I don't blame them.  Robert has really had a tough row to hoe these past several months, in regards to his declining health.

Thank God for my church family at Christ Community Assembly of God!  I don't know what I would do without them!  They've all been wonderful and check up on me, asking me if I need anything and are more than happy or willing to keep me in their prayers.

Remember when I said that I'd gotten rid of all of our Maine Coons because I couldn't keep up with them when Robert's health got so bad?  Well, we have two new Maine Coons now and it feels good to have furry critters in our midst again!  We have acquired an all black male Maine Coon which I have named "Noir" (black in French), and a female tortoiseshell with white that we have named "Brandy Sue".  Both are beautiful and we are hoping for kittens sometime later on this year. 

I'd like to get back into the cat business again.  I miss the shows and I miss the comraderie between cat afficianados such as myself.

With Robert being in the nursing home, maybe I can do just that.  We could always use the extra money, especially with the ever-rising cost of gas, which, in kind, makes the price of everything else go up (excepting for the paychecks, that is; that always seems to stay the same!).

The weather is stunning today: highs in the seventies.  A sharp cold front is supposed to come in later today, which will then knock temps back into the forties and fifties, with below freezing temps at night.  Last week we had snow showers; now we have springtime temps.  Crazy weather we've been having these past few weeks!

Well, Noir and Brandy Sue are both meowing their heads off, so I'd best see what they need.  I will write in here again soon; until later, this is Deidre Brownwood saying so long; may God bless you always!

~Love, your friend in Tennessee, Deidre.

P.S.: The picture is one I took the other day of Noir.  Isn't he a handsome boy??  :)