80th Birthday...........

My grandma, "Mamaw", turned 80. We road tripped down to her hometown of Hodgenville, KY to visit her for the occasion last Saturday. This was Ben's longest car ride and first visit w/ my mom's extended family. My grandma was in happy tears to finally get to see Ben. It was very touching.

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Great grandchildren were fighting to 'help' Mamaw open her gifts. I felt like a referee as I helped her read cards and identify gifts before the kiddos grabbed them and stuffed them back in their wrappings in order to hurriedly hand her the next package. I think she was at least as overwhelmed as I was!!


Ben did a lot of visiting, sat in many laps, and drooled on countless shoulders.The above pictured shoulder being that of my older brother, Chad. Perhaps it is not a coincidence that Ben came down w/ a scary but short lived illness on Tuesday involving ghostly paleness and projectile vomiting. We took him to the pediatrician who assured us that is was most likely a stomach bug and advised us to watch for signs of dehydration and nothing more. Brad stayed home from work w/ him yesterday and by last night Ben was 100% fine.

In other news, I am happy to finally update you all on Nate. He had surgery a few weeks ago to remove several infected lymph nodes as well as a salivary gland. The biopsy was negative for malignancies and the culture and sensitivity are still pending to specifically identify the infective organism so that the docs can make sure he is on the most appropriate antibiotics. He is back to playing and attending daycare. We are very thankful!