Change of Plans

Last week, we were all excited about spending the weekend with Joe's sister, Rita, and her family. The icing on the cake was getting to see Joe's dad, also known as Pop Pop! We did spend the weekend with them; however, more time was spent at the hospital than at their house. : (

Unfortunately, Pop Pop had to have emergency surgery to remove a damaged portion of his colon. This made all of us anxious, as he is ninety-two, but he did amazingly well!

Joe drove down to be with him on Thursday, and we joined him on Saturday, as we didn't want the kids to miss their first two days of school.

 

We met Joe for lunch on our way to the hospital. We ate at a local pizzeria, Elizabeth's ~ they had a gluten free pizza for Jonathan! He also enjoyed a special dessert ~ a treat for all of their gluten free customers! He felt special!!

I love these boys! I took several pictures and each one was funnier than the one before!

When we arrived at the hospital, the sweet nurses were getting Pop Pop all cleaned up and moving him to a chair, so for about twenty minutes, some played games (what would we do without iPod touches and iPhones?) and some took a nap.

While visiting with Pop Pop, Lauren enjoyed some cuddling with Andrew. Lately, he has become Jonathan's little shadow, so Lauren cherishes every second he will give her! Precious!

It was fun to spend time with Jim, Rita and the boys. Jonathan and Andrew loved playing with Jack and Colyn. Andrew kept asking Jack if he could play in his room, and Aunt Rita brought out all of the Thomas trains she has saved through the years. They enjoyed playing with the trains and Legos in Jack's room, while lots of Spiderman, sword fighting, and gun shooting (play ones, of course!) took place in Colyn's room. Fun all around!

Colyn is absolutely amazing to watch with a Rubik's cube! He spent a couple of (frustrating!) months memorizing all of the algorithims. Joe scrambled it up really well, and his fastest time for solving it was 58 seconds! We made him do it over and over! Incredible! Jonathan was hooked ~ Colyn loaned him one of his Rubik's cubes and gave him some pointers. He has been working on it all week!

Jonathan loved their sweet dog, Obi. Andrew enjoyed him too, but on his terms! He loved it when Obi chased him, but when Obi got too excited he would start barking, and that scared Andrew to death ~ he would start crying. After a while, he learned that Obi was just wanting to play. Obi also loved giving him kisses ~ his face was easy to lick! I think Jonathan would have brought him home if he could ~ he wants a dog sooooo bad!!

It was so much fun reconnecting with family! Everyone is just so busy that we don't have enough opportunities to spend time with one another. I cherish every minute we have together! I cannot believe how fast they are all growing up! Jack starts high school this week and is excited about getting his driver's permit! That's just crazy!!

I wasn't sure that I wanted to take a picture of Pop Pop in the hospital, but I wanted one of him with the kids. He just lit up when they were in the room ~ they gave him new energy! On Monday, after we had already come home, he asked Rita when the kids were coming back. Friday, Pop Pop ~ we'll see you on Friday!

One thing I want to remember ~ Frank has never been one to say, "I love you" very freely (we know he loves us regardless of that!), but when the children say it to him, he will always say it back. I can only remember a few times that he has said it to me, even though I tell him every time I see him. When we left the hospital on Saturday, I said it and he said it back! I will cherish that moment forever!