Boys are back in town....

Well it has been awhile since I last posted so I thought before the begging becomes too much for me to handle I would drop an update out here. First let me say I am truely a blessed person. I drove last weekend 14.5 hours to Ohio all by myself with a two year old. He was great except once we crossed into Ohio. I excitedly shared with him that we were almost there and that we were in Ohio. Each time I would tell him that he would angerily respond "No we not in Ohio, I said!". Finally, I gave up. Then as we pulled into Marion I called my wife to let her know we were in town and had safely arrived. I explained to her what Tyler had been doing so I thought it would be cute if he repeated it for her. So I said Tyler we are in Ohio now. This time he thoughtfully looked outside the windows and said "Yep, we are in Ohio". That was about the last time I really got a chance to see him sit still for the rest of our trip. From there on he was constantly on the move. He loved playing with his cousins Joshua and Samuel. They instantly became the best of friends! He also loved hanging out with his grandparents and Uncle Tom and Aunt Kim. He, like the other kids, loves Uncle Tom maybe its because Tom is able to fix all the toys that they break or maybe its all that pretty hair.

Tyler and I also got to spend sometime with our counsins Kelly and Sue(Sue's not really my cousin but she has been around so long that she has gained honorary status) Aunt Marsha and Uncle Keever. I had not seen their new addition to their house and all I can say is WOW! Next time I come into town I am bringing a towel and my rubber ducky and hitting their gigantic pool...I mean tub. Tyler could have taken swim lessons in there. Tyler loved Kelley and Sue's dogs. As soon as he hit the door he dropped out of my arms and let the dogs lick him all over the face, neck, arms and anywhere else they wanted. He spent the rest of our short visit chasing them around the house. We now wants mommy and daddy to buy him a puppy.

On Sunday, I got to sing at the Dayspring church. It was fun seeing everyone again. It seems like this church has really changed since I was a kid running in and out of the basement of the old Bennett street building. My cousin Andrea came up from Columbus I would like to think just to hear me sing but I think it was because Marsha was making one of her famous Sunday dinners. Anyway, the facility there is great and it is good to see that it is still growing. After a great lunch at grandma's we went over to see my dad. If you have read my previous entry you know that my dad recently found out that he has brain and liver cancer. For the first time in a long time all of his kids were in the same room and as if that was not emotional enough for him my sister surprised him with a redone picture of his parents. He has no actual pictures of them and his mom passed away almost 20+ years ago. His dad is very sick and with my dad being as sick as he is it was too much for him to handle and he broke down. I don't remember the last time I saw my dad cry or even if I have ever seen him cry but on Sunday he must have teared up about 15 times. Every once in a while he would look around the room and it must have hit him that it might be awhile before we would all be in the same room again. About half way through our visit Tyler was exhausted and he collapsed and slept on my dad for about two hours. That was one moment that I am sure I will never forget. My sister was able to capture a few minutes of it for me and I will always cherish those pictures. Finally, it was time to go and I as I leaned in to tell him goodbye he and I both shared a good cry. I don't know how much time he has left and really only God knows that but we made up for a lot of time over those couple of days.

To give everyone a quick update on my dad he started radiation on the brain tumors on Thursday and he seems to be doing okay. The doctor's are giving him somewhere in the 1-2 year mark provided everything goes the way they think it will. So we are blessed to have the time we have.

We are busy here. Kaitlyn and Kristena seem to have survived Tyler being gone. I truely believed that they missed him I am not sure they even knew I was gone. Tyler slept a ton on his first day home and slept with mommy and daddy his first night home. Kaitlyn got her first interm report card and is getting straight A's. She and my mom have decided to be pen pals. Kaitlyn sent her a card with a picture of my mom she had drawn. The best part of the picture was the hair she gave my mom. It was a big black football helmet. I nearly lost it when I saw it. She did not understand why I was laughing but it was great. She has started brownies and that means girlscout cookies are coming up. I plan on buying her into a great prize!!!

Well that's it for now. Kristena and baby grape are doing really well. The baby is starting to kick hard enough that I can feel it. We go on Thursday to find out if we are adding a boy or girl to the herd. Well I have to run to the store Kristena will shoot me if I go out to lunch again. Good night to all.