Successful operation

David and Joyce met with the surgeon today and received very good results. The prostate was completely removed and the lymph nodes showed no evidence of cancer. This was the best news and the news that they had been eager to hear. They thank everyone for the thoughts, prayers, cards, calls, and flowers. This has been a blessing.

Poppa is home

David returned from the hospital on Tuesday afternoon. He says that he feels better than he thought he would. He has been a terrific patient -- doing the required walking but not overdoing. Family and friends have helped him through this with their prayers, calls, cards and gifts.

Sitting in his favorite chair with his remotes.

Friends Ron, Carole, Bob and Virginia sent a neat incredible edible basket of fruit, which we have both enjoyed.
He does like his recliner!! He has talked to lots of people from this chair, everywhere from Anchorage to Myrtle Beach. All of the kids have called every day.

Ready for lunch on the deck. The beautiful flowers are from our church. He also received beautiful flowers from Rick and Monica.
The grandchildren really know their Poppa and sent him a basket of cookies!! Thank you Joseph, Hannah, Ava and Campbell!!!!!

New pictures of Hannah and Joseph

Kara posted some new pictures on her blog. We loved them so much that we decided we had to have a few of them on ours. We hope Kara doesn't mind...

Our beautiful Hannah - with her tongue stuck out of course.
Joseph looks so grown up!
We understand that the gauntlet has been thrown. The word is that Hannah is rolling over (with a little help from a pillow). Ava and Campbell are being encouraged to practice. :)
Now here is a young lady who knows how to find a beautiful best friend!

Darcy and Riley take a shower

We received some terrific pictures of our great neice and nephew Darcy and Riley. They are obviously having a wonderful time.

Daddy loves his little girl.











Mommy and Darcy, two beautiful ladies with beautiful smiles!




Darcy considers wearing her celebrity specs.
Riley has no problem. He shows her how a celebrity does it. Wouldn't he look good on the red carpet?
Riley and Darcy take a shower. Riley looks like he really likes it!
We're not sure that Darcy likes it quite as much...

Our Doll Baby Ava

We received some new pictures of Ava today. What a doll baby!!

I am almost getting the hang of this rolling over stuff. (Actually, I could do it any time I wanted to, I'm just making my Mommy wait...)






Daddy makes a pretty good kangaroo, don't you think?


I found my toes! I found my toes!


I am soooo big. I now even take a bath in the big girl bathtub!
What is that crazy toy?
This is better. But why do they keep calling me "drool face?"

Mommy, I love you.

Avery turns One!

Our wonderful long-time friends Ken and Cindy had their first grandchild last year. We were thrilled when they visited us, along with Mommy, Daddy and Avery a few months ago. Now we received some terrific pictures of Avery's first birthday. What a celebration!

Ken and Cindy with Avery.


Daddy, is this all for little old me??
Two beauties as happy as can be.

Joseph Does Great!

Our little Joseph was so brave today. He had surgery to put tubes in his ears and was a wonderful patient. He even waved bye-bye to Mommy and Daddy as the nurse took him in for surgery. Afterward he felt a little bad, probably from the anesthesia and he was probably scared. But Daddy was there to take care of his boo-boo.














Since he hadn't eaten since the night before, they were eager to get him home so he could eat - and they could as well! Everyone is doing well. He will probably have a little pain today, but should be fine by tonight.

Three Prayer Requests

First, for our friend little Daniel. We talked about him in an earlier post. We received an update this week and he needs all of our prayers. Daniel's granddad reports, "Bottom line on what's up is that Daniel simply is not sleeping, and his eating is also becoming a challenge. He gets maybe 4 hours of sleep per night, and sometimes less. And his naps during the day are sporadic and erratic. It's amazing to Carol and I that Mike and Laura (M&L) are awake at all, because their sleep is practically non-existent as they deal with this." We ask for prayers for the entire family including Granddad and Grandmom.

Then our little Joseph. He has had several ear infections with temperatures that rise to 104 or 105. On Monday they will be operating on him to put tubes in his ears. We ask for prayers for Joseph, for Kara and Brandon, and for the doctor.

Finally David. On Monday, September 15, he will go in for an operation to remove his prostate. Cancer was detected at a very early stage and the doctor and surgeon agree that the chances that the cancer has spread are minimal. This is the same operation that his brother, Rick, had 2 years ago. Rick is cancer free 2 years later. The recovery is initially about 3 weeks, with some prolonged after effects. We ask for prayers for David and Joyce, as well as for the surgeon.

We are Proud

We received a couple of messages from Kara today. In one she told us her grades in her final three courses. She did great and has now finished all coursework toward her Masters Degree in Public Health at Emory University. She still has to complete her project and write her final thesis and she will be totally finished. We are so proud.

We also heard about our son-in-law, Brandon. While he was in Iraq, he worked to get his interpreter moved to the United States. He had facts that showed that she was in significant danger in Iraq. He received an email from a Lieutenant Colonel in Iraq letting him know that she is now in the United States and congratulating him for bringing her to their attention. It's easy to be proud of someone who has such strong character.

We are proud parents of three wonderful kids and their three fantastic spouses. It's hard not to just want to spend all of our time (and our blog) telling everyone how great they are.

Gaylord Opryland

Here are some pictures of the Gaylord. It is a beautiful, very large resort. We loved our time there and would go back any time. There are four Gaylords. In Washington DC, Orlando, Dallas, and Nashville. Nashville was the first. We have also seen the Washington DC Gaylord National, where Jean works. It is also beautiful. I guess we need to visit the others now!

The Pool at the Gaylord

We spent part of one afternoon at the indoor pool at the Gaylord Opryland. It was too hot to have the babies outside. Everyone enjoyed the pool.


Mom-mom relaxes with Hannah.












Carl and Ellen explaining to Campbell the fine points of swimming.











Ava takes a break.












Joseph was doing a great job of kicking and swam around to all of us.










Ava and Campbell resting.

Joseph loved the water.

Campbell has learned all he needs to know about swimming and now he can enjoy the pool.
Well almost everybody enjoyed the pool.

Nashville Zoo

We went to the Nashville Zoo. It was very hot but we saw some neat sights.