Taking care of daddy

We've had quite a health ordeal going on under our roof. Several weeks ago, JP had knee surgery to fix a torn meniscus, which in and of it self was not the best news, but we gave the surgery to God and trust in His care. The surgery was done via scope so there was very little scaring. Then the twists and turns began. His calf muscle began to really hurt a few days after surgery, but we didn't think much of it. As days went by, the pain in the calf began to overwhelm the actual surgical pain in the knee.
We went for an emergency ultrasound of his leg as well as a quick appointment with the surgeon. Apparently, the surgery requires pumping some fluid into the knee cavity to make room for the scope to navigate (we knew this upfront). However, the fluid is supposed to stay in the knee cavity and slowly dissipate. What happened to JP is the fluid leaked out of the back of his knee cavity and seeped into the fibrous tissues of his calf muscle. That fluid basically forced the calf muscle to swell significantly.

He's spent time on the couch with his leg hiked up on the back of the couch with his knee wrapped. He's been in an aircast for a week to help with his calf. Now he's limping along and working through physical therapy. And while he navigates his healing we are wondering if he has a job to go back to at the Toyota plant...God only knows. But with all the craziness, Mason has proven to be a great care giver. The boys have had some great time together and that has been a blessing.

CHEESE!!

Look at the picture and notice the golden square on his head...not real sure what the thought was when he did this, but he was so proud.

Tot rider goes off-roading

Yes, we are country...we don't really regard instructions or manufacturers suggestions. Our driveway is very smooth and grass is really short (where there is grass). So I had the brilliant idea of letting Mason walk around outside in his walker. Last week, we let the boy loose in his walker in the backyard. And wouldn't you know, he walked with great determination, directly to the dog's pen and stood at the gate for a good 10 minutes. The dogs looked really confused.

Of course, by letting Mason walk around outside, we've opened up a can of worms. Later in the week, I let him outside again in his walker and we walked all the way to the cattleguard before he was ready to turn around and make it back to the house. He's fiercely determined (a.k.a. stubborn) and wouldn't veer from his course. He's had such a blast with this new-found freedom. His face simply glows when given the opportunity to be outside .

Teeth

Finally, I caught Mason's smile to show his two lower front teeth. He cut the two teeth the first week of the new year. Over the course of the last two weeks, he has cut his two upper front teeth...God help us if he continues to cut his teeth two at a time. JP keeps saying that he's concerned over the size of his upper teeth. To quote daddy "they are HUGE!!!" We continue to get confirmation that our boy is going to be a gentle giant.

Learning about Grandpa Elton

I've been working on a photo memory book that focuses on my mom's parents. I've been pondering this project for well over a year. After pulling together the photo tribute for Granny's funeral, I've wanted to gather some of the special memories and photos of Granny and Grandpa for the family to enjoy. So I've been scanning some amazing photos from my grandparents' youth and as a young married couple, but wanted to find some stories about who they were.

As a family, we had the benefit of 20+ additional years with Granny. After much prodding, she's shared some great stories of her childhood over coffee or milk and cookies. We didn't have that opportunity with Grandpa, so I wanted help coming up with information about Grandpa.Mom hit the mother-load (no pun intended) when she found some hand-written notes in Granny's desk over a decade ago. Granny laughed and explained that she and Grandpa decided to write down some of their childhood memories. Am I grateful that they did. Mom pulled out the packet of hand-written stories for me to got through (and type up to share with the rest of the family). One of the documents was an autobiography of my Grandpa as dictated to Granny back in 1985. It is a three-page, hand-written rundown of his youth. I told mom that I'd love to include it in the memory book and have been typing it up today.

I've got a pretty good memory of Grandpa, even though he passed away more than 20 years ago, but my perspective of his life was skewed through the eyes of a young grandchild. It has been a trip learning about who he was long before he met Granny. He spoke of growing up in the rough country of Black Hill, long before the fields were well groomed and the roads were smooth. He told of going to the milk cow with his mom and his baby kitten with his tin cup to get a fresh refill of milk. He shared about how he and his brother Jack took apart the family's cultivator, much to the horror of his dad...the boys got the "hickory treatment."

He also talked about his school years, working in the cotton fields and how he and Jack stripped the left over cotton one year, sold it and bought a Model A Ford to drive to high school. For the family, it would be hard to believe that Grandpa was ever shy, but apparently he suffered a great deal with shyness in high school. He also shared how he was once arrested as a crime suspect in Hollywood, California after driving around some fancy neighborhoods looking at mansions with a buddy of his. They were later released, having only looked suspicious...you can't make this stuff up!!

This project has been an absolute blast to work on. I've really learned to appreciate my Grandparents that much more and am amazed at the people they were long before our memory of them. I can't wait to get the project finished and I'm looking forward to the other nuggets that might be there for me to find. Here are a few of the cute pictures I've been able to find in the family photo albums.

Betty and her little doll

Imogene (Betty's sister), baby Betty and Gertrude (their Mama)

Elton as a toddler in front of the family home in Black Hill

Elton and his younger brother, Jack

Elton and the family dog "Mutt"

Meeting the neighbors

Had another great visit with the my in-laws last week. They absolutely swoon when they get some time with Mason. After the usual round of hugs, kisses and playing on the floor we all took a Sunday afternoon drive on the place. When we drove to the back pasture, our neighbors horses were grazing on the back fence. Bill has been dusting off his camera and snapping pictures again, so this was the perfect opportunity to catch some shots.


I bail out of the truck and start playing with the white horse...very friendly but she was hungry for finger food, which is code-speak for "she tried to nibble my fingers!!!" After assessing the calm-factor, I got Mason and walked him up to the horse. He couldn't believe the size of the animal. To be honest, I think he was more carried away with the barbed wire fence than he was with the horse, but we snapped photos anyway.

Monkeying around

Mason has continued to develop his "hamming" abilities. He is quite the poser for the camera. Just point the camera and his face lights up. I have actually had to be extremely sneaky to get some candid shots of him playing with his toys without him stopping and posing for the picture, but more on that in another post. After getting him ready for his bath last week, JP pulled his shirt over his head and left it like a long mane of hair. We quickly found out just how much Mason loves making the little boy in the mirror laugh...our hands are full!!! It was hard to keep a straight face while snapping the pictures.