The first tale is about two Dads, Greg’s and mine respectively.  Greg’s Dad turned 90 on Saturday, April 4^th.  To celebrate this momentous occasion, 15 of his family members, including his two children and their spouses, three grandchildren, and 5 great grandchildren, sneaked into Knoxville, TN on Saturday, March 28^th, to surprise him at a dinner in his honor.  The event was held at Conner’s in Turkey Creek.  The restaurant staff did an amazing job of assuring that the evening was perfect.  (If you are in the Knoxville area, I highly recommend Connor’s as a wonderful dining experience; the food and service are fabulous!). They even added birthday candles for the divine Publix birthday cake that we supplied!

It was a wonderful evening, and Dad was absolutely surprised.  Below is a picture of him prior to the cake cutting:

My Dad, who will turn 88 years old in August, was also in attendance at this dinner. He has had a rough go of it,  health-wise, in the last few years.  Besides fighting multiple myeloma (and the debilitating chemo that is used to control it), he also has an abdominal aneurysm that is at critical mass.  This blog post was written on Friday, April 3rd, in the hospital, where his surgeon performed an angiogram with an intravenous ultra sound, to ascertain the location and size of the “problem”.  Saturday, he had a CAT scan.  Now, they have the information they need, and and can schedule surgery to repair the aneurysm.  Ironically, it was exactly one year ago (4/3/2014) that he broke his hip.  :>(

The good news is that he is basically in good physical shape, and his sense of humor is intact.  All the nurses fell in love with him.  One claimed that they wanted to keep him there; that they only send the grumpy ones home.  (Clearly, she does not live with my Dad! ;>)

We love you, Dads!

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The second tale is about the two kids that were supposed to be living with LeeAnn by February.

I realized about a week ago that I started telling a story, and then left it hanging.  I assumed that you could divine what was transpiring,  but then realized that you can’t read my mind (the contents of which are often a mystery to me)!  Also, I was subconsciously avoiding reporting on the situation, because the outcome is still unknown, and the process has been painful.

Since the children are in Virginia and LeeAnn is in Georgia, there is a weenie-tug (a blunt, but accurate, description) going on between the states over who gets custody of the children.  Every time LeeAnn thinks she has fulfilled all of the informational and procedural requirements to obtain custody, a whole new set of demands is produced.  And a lot of the required information is downright redundant, intrusive, and extremely private!  But she is determined to see this through.  I told her she is my hero.  The love she displays for these kids, and the effort she is putting forth to get them, transcends any obstacle that any government agency throws at her. These kids are so lucky to have her as their Nana.

The other wrinkle is that Justin has told LeeAnn that he really doesn’t want to leave Virginia. As a high schooler, all of his friends are there, and he loves to hunt and fish in his favorite spots.  Ideally, he wants to stay with his paternal uncle, who is single.  Red flags, anyone?  That is  probably not the best living arrangement for a teen-aged boy. However, Justin says if the courts dictate that he must move to Georgia, he will.

On the other hand, Faith cannot wait to live with Nana.  The next court date is around May 10^th.  Hopefully, that is the day her dream will come true.

And in closing, since this has been a rather somber post, (I promise that the the next posts  will be all about decorating and DIY projects), I thought I would close with a favorite quote, that I even prettied up and made suitable for printing:

Thank you so much for listening.  If you think about it, could you keep both my Dad and LeeAnn in your prayers?  It would be so appreciated.