"Dion and Jon go to the Norwich Antique Car Show"

Today we celebrate Memorial Day, which is the holiday whose birthplace is officially recognized as Waterloo, New York and was traditionally set aside on the 30th of May, each year, to commemorate the U. S. men and women who died while in the military service. Throughout the years, this holiday has grown to mean so much to the people of the United States and its allies who have benefited from the sacrifices of the brave military men and women, and their families, as they have fought for our freedoms and sacrificed for the good of our country. God bless them, each and every one!




Before I got into the meat of my post today, I just had to show you the collage I made of our visit to see little Noah on his two-week-old birthday! It turned out so cute. I made it using a simple, free program, that I downloaded to my computer called Microsoft AutoCollage 2008. Try it. Once you do, you'll be hooked for life!







Ok...now let get on with my news. Dion picked Jon up yesterday (Saturday, 23 May 2009) and took him to the 44th Annual Norwich Antique Car Show at the Chenango Fairgrounds. They met Drew (Dion's youngest brother) and his son, Dana (our nephew) there. They live in outside of Ithaca now, so we hardly ever get to see them anymore and I really miss Vikki (Drew's wife) and Katey, too. (our niece--she was born on Dion's birthday)

The photo that you see above, is from last year's Norwich Antique Car Show, which Dion and the boys didn't make it to. However, I wanted to give you a little bit of an idea of what it looks like at one of them. There are usually hundreds of cars, motorcycles, and trucks, etc. all lined up in rows, so that people can look at them. Some are for sale and some are just for exhibit or just there for judging. There are also flea market items in booths and on tables. It's really so much fun to go to. Dion and the boys used to go with Dion's dad every year; it was a tradition, until he died, of course. We all miss Dad so much!

Had I gone to the car show, I would have taken lots of photos. Maybe next year I'll feel like it. This year, Dion and Jon stopped at the Honda shop outside of Ithaca where we bought Dion's motorcycle, "Punkin" from. It's called RiderSport-Ithaca, Inc., and we have both been doing business with them since we were teenagers, which is a lot of years ago, and before the man that owns the business now had it.

He took a couple photos of a beautiful, old, white 1967 Honda CB77 Super Hawk that some man just had on the showroom floor so that he could let people see what one of the old bikes looked like. It's in pretty good shape, too, but not in as good shape as either of Dion's antique Honda motorcycles! We stop in there to see what they have, windowshopping, and dreaming of what it would be like to have loads of cash to buy what we need so we could go on a nice, long road trip. That would be heaven!

I hope everyone has enjoyed the long weekend, which is quickly coming to a close. I think I end this post now so that I can spend a little time with my husband (which happens to be my favorite thing to do in life).

Until next time...stay safe, stay well and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

"Two-week-old Noah's photos!"

This past Saturday, 16 May 2009, Dion (my husband) drove Jon (our son) and me out to see our other son, Josh and his wife, Chrissy and their two-week-old baby, Noah, who just happens to be our very first grandchild.

Jon had never in his life held a baby before, so when Noah gets older, I can't wait to show him the photos of Uncle Jon trying to get used to putting a little tiny baby in those great big hands of his. It was really an adorable sight! He did very well, though. I think Jon is going to make a great Dad--just like Josh and just like his own father has been.

I had never seen Josh and Chrissy's new apartment before--they moved there just before the baby arrived. It is so adorable! It's really quite big and it's really nice inside. My only problem if it were my place would be the stairs. I didn't mind them when I was in my apartment in Interlaken, just before I married Dion, and also when I lived in the townhouses in Virginia and Texas, but my knees aren't in the same shape as they were back then. Plus, I can't imagine myself being able to carry a baby up and down those stairs, but Josh and Chrissy will probably be able to handle it with no problem at all. I'll pray that nothing happens, just to be on the safe side, though. Other than that, it's an ideal place to live. I don't like living in town and this is the perfect combination of being just far enough outside of town so that it feels like it nowheres near, and just near enough so that you don't feel like you're out in the boonies. I think you can probably tell that I love their apartment, right?

I guess it must be just like riding a bike, because when Dion took baby Noah in his arms, you sure could tell that he was a pro. It's been a long, long time since these two boys were little. Jon's almost 18 and Josh is almost 22! Can you believe that?

And now, blessedly, we have a wonderful daughter, too, besides the most adorable grandson in the whole wide world!

I'm kind of ashamed that I haven't pinned Josh down on exactly when Chrissy's birthday is and how old she is, but I'm pretty sure that she'll be 22 yrs. old in December (on Christmas day, I believe). We'll see how close I am when I ask him the next time I see him--or else I'll have his dad ask him.

She let me hold Noah for at least a half an hour or maybe even a little longer, and I was so happy. It felt so wonderful to have him in my arms. I had such an overwhelming need to have a baby of my own, and I know that it will never happen. It's just too late now. Plus, with the way my health is now, I'm not sure that I could handle it. I resent my "ex" so much for what he did to me to make me lose my own babies (he was an abusive husband). I forgave him, but then I pick it up all over again. I need the Lord's help with this one, because it's such a huge ache in my heart. Thankfully, Dion understands and is very supportive and loves me no matter what. I love him so much!

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

"Query Tracker Turns Two--Let's Celebrate!"

Guess What! It looks like it's a proud parent moment--only I'm not the parent, and Query Tracky isn't exactly a kid anymore. But it's still the same excitement!

They're having a PARTY!

Copy and paste the link below the picture at the bottom of the page for more details. Oh, and there's also a little blog chain contest going on. The grand prize of this hulla-baloo is a FREE WEBSITE designed by the awesome Carolyn Kaufman and QT's daddy, Patrick McDonald. That's right. FREE. (They're the Purple Squirrel Web Designers. Check 'em out.)

You want that, don't you? Um, yeah..

You get one entry into the grand prize drawing for every contest you enter. (Details on the carnival page, click below.) You can also get another entry by helping us advertise!


Thanks, Elana!

Now here's how you do it: Simply make a post like this one you're reading on this blog. Make sure to use the wicked fun graphic and direct them to the carnival page for more deets. Then go here and leave a comment with your link and real name. Or email your link with your real name to any one of the members of the QT blogteam (listed on the right-hand side of the blog) on this page here. Use: Their Name(at)QueryTracker(dot)net.

They'll make sure you get in the drawing.

Be sure to tell your readers to EMAIL THEM (or comment here) your link and real name so they can put your name in the drawing. You can link to this post so everyone knows how to make sure they're entered for the FREE WEBSITE!

And hurry! You must have your blog post up by next Saturday, May 23 to get the extra entry.

Spread the word! Win a FREE WEBSITE!

"WooHoo--I Have Two More Followers!"

Amazing as it may seem, I have two more followers for my blog! I'm so excited about making these new friends, so let me tell you who they are, ok?

First we have: Suzette Saxton.

Suzette is the author of the short story entitled The Bone Setter , that was recently published in the popular, new Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine, called Mindflights. (Mindflights is the new magazine brought to you by Double-Edged Publishing by recently combining two award-winning magazines - "Dragons, Knights, and Angels" ~and~ "The Sword Review" - into one frequently-updated, high-quality magazine.)

Suzette's blog, entitled Shooting Stars is refreshing, informative, and packed with all kind of fun information. You'd be crazy to miss out on all the fun!

Next there is: Michelle McLean.

Michelle is an author who writes young adult novels, children's picture books and sometimes even historical romance novels. She also writes non-fiction articles about varied subjects, essays, and other works. Michelle's blog, which is entitled Michelle McLean's Writer Ramblings , is full of quotes, writing advice, tips, book reviews, and all kids of neat stuff.

Well folks...that about wraps it up. I hope I'm up to the task of keeping my "follower" happy as they go through the ups and downs of life with me.

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

"Say 'Hello' To Our Brand New Grandson!"

Announcing the arrival of our first-ever grandchild, I give you: Noah Christian Hammond Noah is the son of Joshua James and Christina Elizabeth (Scowcroft) Hammond, and the grandson of Dion Richard and Cynde Lou (Bond) Hammond, all from Upstate New York. He was born at 3:15 a.m. on Saturday, 02 May 2009, in the Geneva General Hospital. Noah weighed 7 lbs. 9 ozs. and was 20 inches long, with a head full of curly, medium-dark brown hair.

When Dion and I visited Josh and Chrissy at the hospital, Noah was in the room, snuggled in hisMommy's arms. I was so overwhelmed with feelings of love for him that tears immediately filled my eyes. He definitely looks like a "Hammond," that's for sure; he's the spitting image of Josh, and he also looks just like Josh did when he was a baby (and he looked like Dana, too). He looks like a perfect cross between Josh and Chrissy, too, which is great because they are both extremely good-looking kids. Noah looks like Dion, too, because Josh looks like Dion (his Dad) so I'm happy as can be!

This has been, without a doubt, one of the best days of my entire life! I feel so thankful and blessed by the Lord. I am thankful that Noah is well and that everything is alright with Chrissy. I do feel bad that she had to have a cesarean section (C-section) delivery, but I thank the Lord that He watched over her throughout it, and that she's going to be fine. I pray that she'll heal quickly and that she won't have a lot of pain and suffering--I love her so much.

I'll be posting more photos as I get them, and I'll probably bore you to tears with stories about my new little guy, but I promise you...the stories will all be filled with love!

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

"My Sister Made The Front Page!"

To commemorate Obama's first 100 day's in office, our local newspaper, the Finger Lakes Times, solicited ratings from the public on how we thought Obama's job performance was during that period. We were given a 75-word limit in which to describe how we thought he had done or to mention any highlights we may have noticed during that period.

Imagine my delight when my husband brought the newspaper home, and I discovered that my sister, Carol Lee Bond Harris, had written such an awesome response that hers made the front page of the newspaper! I have mentioned before that ours is a family of writers, and now I have indisputable proof! As I was telling my husband, the only way that I will ever make the front page is if there's a murder involved...probably mine!

Here is what Carol's article said:

"So much damage in so short a time with so little effort. Millions of American dollars for foreign abortions. Increased wasteful spending on failed embryonic stem cell research, disregarding successful treatments derived from adult stem cells. Irresponsible banks and companies rewarded for their misdeeds. Our children consigned into debt for posterity to fund "spread the wealth" Big Government agenda. Reduction of missile defenses authorized following North Korea launching a missile over our allies. God help us."
Carol Lee Bond Harris of Waterloo

There were three more responses inside the newspaper as a continuation of the article, but they weren't even close to being as good as Carol's.

The response that I wrote did not get published, but if it had, then Carol and I together would have covered almost every issue that had happened within the 100 days. My response was as follows:

"Attempted multiple confirmations of tax-cheaters for Representatives; mismanaged AIG’s bailout; spending Billions of non-existent dollars; insulted British Prime Minister; escaped saluting flag and singing National Anthem at Camp Lejeune: bowed to the sovereignty of King Abdullah; classified our courageous vets as a "terrorist threat;" requested removal of IHS religious insignia at Georgetown University; delayed rescue of Captain from Somali pirates; and "unaware" of Tax Day Tea Parties translates into being out of touch. Great job."
Cynde Lou Bond Hammond of Romulus

Congratulations, Carol! You did a great job, I'm very proud of you, and I love you very much! Not only was it well-written, but it was factual and it was exactly right; you hit the nail right on the head. Way to go, girl!

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

"Welcome, Elana!"

I'm always so excited when I discover that I have a new "follower" on one of my blogs, and today, when I signed on to add my new "Facebook Badge" on to this site, I found that I had another "follower."

Welcome to the family of "followers," Elana! I hope you'll enjoy the stories about my family, our travels, and our adventures. I plan on adding some recipes and maybe some arts and crafty things to my site in the near future, so I hope you'll feel free to comment. If you have any ideas or requests, I'd love to hear them, too. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your interest and support, and I hope we'll become good friends!

By the way, did you notice my new "favicon" that's located on the tab up above, next to my blog name? It looks like a capital letter "H" in a box, which stands for the "H" in my last name, Hammond, just like the one that is here on the right:

Until next time... stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

"Our Son Got Married!"

********************** Have you ever heard the phrase, "A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words?" Well, I certainly think that the photo to the left, of our son, Joshua, embracing his new bride, Christina, at their marriage ceremony yesterday, qualifies as one of the pictures that are worth a thousand words, don't you agree? He looks as if he may be thinking, "She's mine now...we can do whatever we want!"







************ On Saturday, the eleventh day of April in the year of our Lord 2009, at 1:00 p.m., Miss Christina Elizabeth Scowcroft was joined in Holy Matrimony to Joshua James Hammond.






The attendees that were present to witness the blessed event, which took place at the town of Junius Court House in the State of New York, are pictured above. In addition to Judge Brian Laird, who presided over the event, from left to right they are: Chrissy's father, Terry Scowcroft; Chrissy's mother, Linda Scowcroft; Cynde (me, Josh & Jon's stepmother--but I love them as if they were my own and I hate that word step in front of mother!); Dion (my husband, Josh & Jon's father); Chrissy; Josh & Jon's grandmother, Barbara Hammond (back row, Dion's mother); Josh; Jon (our other son); and Josh's mother (Dion's "ex," also Jon's mother.)






Needless to say, Dion and I are very happy that Josh and Chrissy decided to get married before little Noah makes his entrance into the world, as there wasn't much time left to spare: he's due on the 18th of April! It's all in the Lord's perfect timing, right?

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

"Help! I've Fallen and I Can't... "

**********************I've fallen a few times lately, but Praise the Lord it happened in the living room where the carpet is nice and fluffy, or I could have really gotten hurt!

I never know when it's going to happen. I'll be walking along, and all of the sudden, it seems like my hip just *S*N*A*P*S*! When I take my next step...my leg is like a soup ~n~o~o~d~l~e~ and down. I. go! Keep in mind that I can't catch my fall, because it would totally destroy my hands and arms if I tried. I tried anyway, because it was an involuntary reflex...and it hurt me, but not as bad as I thought it would.

I'm very grateful, obviously. But, I knew I'd have to find a temporary solution to this problem, while I'm waiting to be able to go to physical therapy for the osteoarthritis that I have in both knees, both hips and my left shoulder. My sister, Carol, thought of getting a big ace bandage to wrap around my knee, so the next time we went shopping, we picked one up that was four inches wides. I could get one of those leg braces, but I'd have to go back to the doctor's and pay for another doctor visit. No thanks. I already have enough bills coming up. I'm contemplating going to the Chiropractic College's Health Dept. in Seneca Falls for my physical therapy, but right now, we don't have a vehicle. Not even one! My poor 1990 Cutlass Supreme L/S Oldsmobile, "Rocket," (that's what the boys named her when they were little) is ill and is waiting to be fixed.

Yes, I have had this car for nearly eleven years. Now, come on. You have to admit it. She is really beautiful, isn't she? And you should feel how she handles! It's amazing! She's been an excellent car and I love her so much. I just wish that they weren't doing away with the entire line of Oldsmobiles, but alas, that's why they are...because they last too long. They are such good cars that they don't need to be replaced as often as other vehicles do. So why not charge more, then? I would gladly have paid a higher price to have kept the line alive. They were the absolute best! They definitely made a huge mistake and I think that why they're suffering the consequences right now. "Buh-Bye, General Motors GM!"

Anyway...we're very thankful to Dion's mother for helping us out. She is so good to us. I can't tell you how blessed I am to have a mother-in-law like that. And I'm going to strive to be a blessing to Chrissy, too. Speaking of Chrissy...a little birdie told us that she and Josh got their marriage certificate. If I remember correctly, you have to use it within a month. Maybe the letter I wrote to Josh about getting married before the baby comes did some good? I hope so. I didn't want to hurt their feelings...but why start out on the wrong foot if you don't need to? The baby is due soon, so I hope they hurry.

I hope we get asked to go to their little wedding (even if it's at the Justice of the Peace), for Dion's sake, but if not, it's their decision and their day. What's important to us is that they are happy! We are so excited about the baby and want only the best for our Josh and that lovely girl that he has chosen to be his wife and life partner. Chrissy is a precious girl and I love her already. I thank the Lord that He has blessed my Josh with such a sweet, God-fearing little girl from such a nice family. I knew that He would be faithful and answer the prayers that I have prayed for Josh and Jon all these years. (Jon will be next...but years from now, I pray!) Still...it has to be harder to raise girl. I feel bad for what we put my parents through. We just didn't realize...ah, but that's another story for another day. So...

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you.

"My Worker's Compensation Insurance Provider Is HOUNDING Me Again!"

******************************************************************************************* When I went to court last month to settle the Workers Compensation case regarding the injury to my left shoulder, I knew something was fishy when things went so smoothly. Didn’t I tell you I’d be hearing from the Insurance Company again soon? You don’t deal with a company for seventeen years and not learn what their habits are. I have also learned what their work ethic and their little tricks are, and they are very underhanded, to say the least. It’s a shame that you can’t trust companies like that anyone; and they’re the ones getting bailed out!

Anyway…A few weeks back, I got a big, thick, legal-sized envelope in the mail from my lawyer, Peter N. Littman of Littman and Babiarz in Ithaca, New York. He has represented me in this case since 1995—so that’s a very long time on one case, I would think.

I remember the first time I went to his office. My twin sister, Sande, took me. I wasn’t driving, of course, because of the problem with my hands, and I also anticipated that I would need her to fill out any paperwork that they would give me on a “clipboard” when I entered their office. The last time I had any dealings with a lawyer before that had been when I had divorced my physically-abusive first husband, and I was suffering flash-backs while we were sitting there. It had to be because I was so nervous.

The time in the waiting room flew by and when we were called to enter Mr. Littman’s office, my knees buckled. I was so embarrassed; I hadn’t done anything wrong, so I had nothing to feel guilty for. Sande grabbed my arm and that bolstered my courage, so in the office we went, only to sit and wait—which only made me nervous, once again.

By the time Mr. Littman finally came to his office, Sande and I were laughing, and making jokes as to how he must have gotten lost on his way to the office. I’ll never share the actual jokes here, just in case I become a stand-up comic some day; I may need them and they were that good!

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Miss Bond,” he said, as he walked into the office, reading my folder with his head down. He hadn’t seen Sande or me yet. “How are you this morning?” (I was single at the time and hadn’t even started dating my current husband yet.)

“Fine, thank you for asking,” we said in exact unison. “How are you, Mr. Littman?”

“Twins!” he said, as he tossed my folder on the desk and gave us both a smile. “Which one of you is Cynde Bond?”

“I could be,” Sande said, smiling mischievously.

“So could I,” was what I said, as he turned to look at me.

He was a very stern, nice-looking man, and this could go either way, but I was guessing that he would take it well. “I have eight-year-old twin boys, so I have to put up with this kind of stuff all the time. Wait until I tell them about you two characters,” he said, and right then, we both knew that he liked us.

We decided to let him off the hook and we told him which “twin had the Tony,” as it were, and then we got down to business.

Getting back to the present, inside the envelope was a letter from my Workers Compensation Insurance provider, which at the time happened to be Great American Insurance Company, and is now Ohio Casualty Group. They made a list of all the medications that I was taking that they covered (inaccurate, of course) and then explained how I didn’t need them or should be taking something else instead. As usual, they didn’t bother to read my doctor’s records, which they had requested in order to formulate this report, but what does that matter? We all know the real bottom line is the bottom line or translated: the only thing these people care about is saving money.

So, back to court we go. It’s all just blackmail, you know. They had threatened that they wouldn’t pay for my medications when they switched to the new provider, and that didn’t work, so they tried to sue me under what they called a #25a provision, but found they couldn’t, because my case was an on-going case. They have been trying to force me to settle early for years, but I said, “No, thank you.” Why would I do that? Are they nuts?

The next best thing, they thought, was to harass her. So they keep scheduling Independent Medical Examinations (IME’s) in the hopes that they’ll finally find a doctor that will side with them some day…but in fifteen years, it hasn’t happened yet.

It is stressful to me, which only adds to my pain level, but I’m sure they don’t care at all. Thankfully I have this voice-recognition software on my computer, plus my husband helps me so I can post these reports. My husband is an angel! I plan on keeping a record of all the things these people do to me, so when I go to get some help, it will be clear that I have been harassed for years. I’m tired of sitting back and being victimized. This has got to stop!

Until next time…stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

Where It All Began

All I can think about lately is little Noah. I can't wait until he gets here. So that made me think that maybe it would be a good time to tell the story of Sande's and my beginning.

We were actually triplets, but little Cande didn't make it. My mother never talks about it, but I know it hurts her to this day. She does love to tell the story about when she found out she was pregnant for twins—even though they didn't know we were triplets until she lost Cande: the third baby, my tiny, little sister.

My father owned a car dealership (he sold Oldsmobiles and Chevrolets) and he was away at a big Dealership Meeting in Syracuse, N. Y. at Krebb’s Inn when my mother got the good news. Ordinarily, news like that could have waited until he got home a few days later, but this was different! You see, Dad and his ex-wife had their own set of twins, and when he had left her for cheating on him, (several times!) she kept telling him that he’d be sorry—he’d never be able to have twins with anyone else. In fact, she gloated over it.

My father told my mother about what she had said before they got married, and said it was a ridiculous thing for her to say. They both laughed about how funny it would be if he and Mom were able to have twins some day, but, it was soon forgotten; they got on with the beginning of their new, happy lives together. They had both agreed that whether or not they had twins would not be the key to their happiness. However, deep inside, my mother wanted to give my father twins—she wanted it that more than almost anything!

Mom and Dad totally erased that conversation from their minds, and one year later, my brother, John was born. Four years after that, my sister, Carol Lee, joined him. Now it was another four years later, and Mom was making a phone call to the secretary at the Dealership meeting. Mom briefly told her the story about Dad’s first set of twins and what his “ex” had said, then she asked when their next break would be.

"This is too good to wait!” the secretary had said. “Why don't I just go right over and have them take a phone to his table; it'll give those boys some real excitement!" and that's exactly what she did.

My mom excitedly spoke to my dad over the phone. “Sweetheart, I have some good news for you,” she said, trying hard to suppress the giggles that were waiting to burst forth.

“Go ahead, honey,” he replied, nervously. “I’m always happy to hear good news.”

“Miles, we’re having twins!”

“What do you know!” he exclaimed. Then he turned to the men in the meeting and said, “My wife and I are having twins!”

The room filled with men was abuzz, congratulating my father and making wise cracks. Everybody in the room started whooping and hollering; my dad was the proudest man in the world.

“I’ll have to get off the phone now, Mary Ellen. I can’t hear you over all the ruckus,” he told her. “You’ve made me so happy…and honey, don’t forget—I love you!”

“I love you, too, Miles,” she had answered, tears of joy spilling down her cheeks.

When our father put the announcement in our hometown newspaper five months later, it read: "New Models Arrive At Local Dealership," and he proudly heralded the arrival of their twin girls, Cynde and Sande. Boy! was his was ex-wife ANGRY!!

For your enjoyment: (This reminds me so much of our childhood. There is so much love in this home. What a blessed family!)


Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

41 Days and Counting!

It's hard to believe that in shortly over a month's time, our "little twinkle," Noah Christian Hammond is due to arrive, thus making Dion and I become first-time grand-parents,
and changing our lives...forever. Neither one of us can wait!

I find myself daydreaming about what he'll look like, smell like, and feel like in my arms. I already love him so much. When I think of how much I have loved Josh and Jon, and now to add a child of one of these gifts from God, I have to wonder what it was that I did that was so good, in order to deserve being blessed like this.

From the moment that I fell in love with the boys' father, I have been happier than I have ever thought possible, and I thank God every day for such wondrous joy. I pray that Josh and Chrissy will find that kind of happiness in their marriage, and that Noah's childhood will be one filled with safety, love and happiness.

Children of divorce, like Josh, carry hurts with them that they oftentimes can not express, and we do not want that to ever happen to little Noah. When Josh's mother dissolved their marriage, it was rough on the children and his father, but things could not be undone. I will never understand what she saw in another man, when she had perfection right under her nose, but I am more than happy to have him for my husband.

"I, Cynde, take thee Dion, to be my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part, In Jesus' name, Amen."

He's a wonderful husband, a wonderful father, and he's also going to be a wonderful grandfather! I can't wait to share this adventure with this man I married. It's bound to be filled with more love than we could ever imagine...and we're both ready and waiting for it, with our arms wide open!

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you.

It's Official: They're Engaged!

Well, it's official, folks! Our eldest son, Josh, and Chrissy, his girlfriend of three years (they had their three-year anniversary on 06 March 2009) are now engaged! He has even given her the Hammond family diamond, an heirloom that has been passed down through the family, originally belonging to my husband's Great, Great Grandmother Hammond. (I'll insert the photo of it on Chrissy's hand as soon as she emails it to me.)

I was finally able to meet her some weeks back when I went in to the P & C grocery store where she works. Dion and I had spent the day together doing shopping and errands. I had a doctor's appointment and blood tests earlier in the day, so we stopped to get a few things on the way home and when he noticed she was working, he took me right through her line and introduced us. Both of us are shy, so I was relieved that we hadn't had to plan our meeting and make a big deal out of it. I always worry that people won't like me, or that I'll embarrass Dion and the boys in some way (low self-esteem left over from my abusive first marriage, I guess).

She's a delightful girl and I liked her right away. As you can see from the photo, she's very pretty. She's also just as sweet as she can be. I think that she and I will become great friends. If she and I can get along a fraction as well as my mother-in-law and I get along, then we'll be doing great!

I'm so blessed because I have the best mother-in-law (MIL) in the world, and I want to be that way with Chrissy. Dion's mother is like no other MIL that I have ever heard about. I have never heard any of my married friends rave about their MIL's like I do about mine. She is so sweet, generous, loving, and I love her so much!

They always tell you that it's easy for a mom to get along with her daughter's husband, but that nobody is ever good enough for her little boy. I can see where that would be true in some cases, but I think Josh made a great choice in Chrissy. Furthermore, for added insurance, I'll be praying with all my heart that these two will be happy together, and that they'll have a close and loving partnership & marriage, like his father and I do. That would be a match made in Heaven!

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.

Cynde

Please check out my other blogs:
Cynde's Got The Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

Bringing Things Up-To-Date...

One of the worst things about getting behind on posting in your blogs is trying to make some sense of all the information that you know you should catch up on so that you can bring people up-to-date. My best advice to you is this: don't get behind in the first place. That's the very reason my father used to call me "Ben" for my nickname. "Why Ben?" you ask. Simple. For: "Ben" putting it off! At the time, I had always been quite a procrastinator, and I have pretty much conquered that problem. Or, at least I thought I had. I really need to work on that.


On 12 February 2009, Dion took me to attend a Worker's Compensation Hearing regarding the injury to my left shoulder that happened on 12 December 2007. I have been fighting for over a year to get treatment and coverage for it, and because it relates to an injury that occurred in 1992 that I was awarded life-time coverage for, it made it more complicated than usual. To make a long story short, they were uncharacteristically nice to me at court and everything will be covered through New York State Special Funds (a division of Worker's Comp.) instead of my Worker's Compensation Insurance Company, which is good for me, but I don't think it is fair for New York State! It's just another one of those deals where the state gets the shaft while the insurance company gets the big bucks and they don't even have to pay out much because of some #25a provision where, even though they were court-ordered to pay me "forever" for the problem that I have, they can now opt-out. It's just not fair! I'm sure tax-payers pay the tab for this one, too!

Don't get me wrong here: I'm very thankful for the blessing that I have received here, but it's really no more than what I had already been previously awarded and what was already due me. I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Usually when they act as if they are bearing gifts with one hand, they are busy stabbing me in the back with their other hand. I'm praying that I'm wrong this time, and if so, I will gladly post a public apology and will also be very pleasantly surprised. Only time will tell.


On 15 February 2009, my twin sister Sande's mother-in-law passed away. Her name was Helen L. Smith, and she was 91 years old. Helen was very special to our entire family for many reasons. She was a very special lady, and because of that, we made her part of our own family, which is something we resist doing, unless we are quite sure that you'll fit in quite nicely with all of us. Once she moved back to New York State from her lengthy stay in Florida, she and my mom renewed their close friendship and became best friends again, frequently staying over night with her and staying up to watch movies until all hours of the night. They called each other every day, just like typical girlfriends do. I think she was particularly close to me because I am Sande's twin, and it was like getting two daughters-in-law for the price of one. This is what I wrote to be read at her memorial service (it will explain more plainly what I mean):

"Throughout the years, Helen has always treated me as though I were her second daughter-in-law. I guess it was an unusual situation, because I am Sande Smith’s twin sister. What is more, before I got married to my husband, Dion, in 2001, I used to spend quite a bit of my time with Allan, Sande, Ashleigh, Miles, Amity and Helen.

Not only were Helen and I family, but we were friends as well. I used to work for her years ago at the Happy Landing Restaurant, and I have gone on trips with her. One trip in particular was to Annapolis, MD; New York City; and thereabouts, just the two of us for two weeks—and we had a blast! I remember that was the first time that I had ever ridden in a single-engine plane. A friend of hers owned one, and she asked him to take us for a ride. We were both bug-eyed because he gave us quite a bumpy, daredevil type of ride, but we loved it.

She was so adventurous, full of mischief and young at heart. I remember sharing a room with her on another trip where I short-sheeted her bed. To do that, you have to take the non-fitted sheet and fold it in half instead of having it tucked into the foot of the bed like it’s supposed to be, so when the person slides into bed, they are stopped short, and they wonder what’s going on. Well, she kept looking at the bed, trying to figure it out, then she looked at me and exclaimed, “You dog!” That was one of her favorite sayings and we all loved coaxing her into situations where she’d have to say it again.

When I moved to Texas and Virginia and she to Florida, we kept in touch by faithfully writing to each other. Her letters were always newsy and interesting and inevitably contained coupons or a clipping about something that would be of particular interest to you. She was thoughtful that way.

One thing you could say about Helen was that she was definitely “unique.” And she was loyal. If she loved you, she would back you up, no matter what.

Furthermore, it was important to Helen that she stayed physically fit. She used to take a walk after each meal, and maintained this ritual faithfully until around age 89 when it became apparent that her dementia may be a problem.

When she fell and needed to be hospitalized, her dementia worsened, but she remained good-natured and sweet. In fact, she thought that she worked as a supervisor at Huntington’s and the girls there just loved her. They said that she was a delight to have around.

I thank the Lord for sending her into my life—she enriched it, and I loved her very much.

In the future, when I think of Helen, I know I will smile…,but I will also miss her terribly."

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and God bless you all.


Cynde

Please visit my other blogs:
Cynde's Got the Write Stuff ~and~ Usurper Exposed. Thank you!

Getting Organized!

For quite some time now, I have been in a quandary as to what to do with this blog. Without realizing it, I seem to have been going in three different directions with my postings, and it's made a mess of what I had originally intended to do with it. Now I think I have a solution: I'll split my postings into three different blogs so that I can keep my thoughts organized. Why didn't I do that in the first place? (I know the answer to that. Because hindsight is 20/20, that's why!)

This blog, "Cynde's Daybook," will contain all the postings that have to do with my personal life, such as information about my family and the upcoming stories about my new grandson that is due to be born in April (I can't wait!).

The other two blogs will be as follows:

1.) "Usurper Exposed" will contain my postings about things that are primarily politically oriented. It will talk about what is happening to our country as Obama (the man who has still NOT proven to be legally eligible to be President because he can never possibly be a natural-born citizen!) goes on a spending spree with TRILLIONS of dollars that our country does not have! I have set the site up, but not posted yet. I will do that soon.

2.) "Cynde's Got The Write Stuff" will contain any postings that are related to my writing and being a writer. I'll pass along writing advice that I've learned along the way; links for sites that will be helpful to other writers; reviews on books that I've read that I thought were exceptional; and other goodies along those lines--I think you get the idea.

Hopefully, this will organize my blog in the way that I had envisioned earlier. If not, I'll just have to make another split. (The more, the merrier, right?) Well, I do hope you'll check out all of my blogs, and I also hope you'll find them interesting enough to keep coming back.

Until next time...stay safe, stay well, and may God bless you all.