cheeseburger trees

Last night we got an email that my favorite uncle in Ohio had suffered chest pain this last week and severe pain yesterday morning. He was taken to the hospital, the Doctors had discovered earlier this week that 3 arteries are close to 100% blocked. He was in the midst of making a decision if he wanted #1 do nothing. Or... #2 Have surgery. Because of the severe pain he experienced yesterday morning and because of his health being a good candidate he is having triple bypass surgery tomorrow.

He is one fun guy! With him...I always pick up right where we left off the last time we talked. This is one guy who doesn't act his age...Uncle Leonard is 89 years old! You'd never know it if you spent any time with him, he seems he is starting his 60's. He loves to harass me and I love to give it back. He also loves to pick on my boys and they love it too. He has a nick names for both of my boys...Jack is "fritz" and William is "shorty." For some reason he leaves the girls be. Jack got his name about 4 years back. This was before I knew what a turd he was. And I would love if he reads this and gives me his feedback on my choice of word for him. :) We had spent the night at my aunt and uncles (before my aunt died) and while she was making eggs and toast we were at the table talking. Uncle Leonard spoke to Jack and said, "Hey fritz will you pass me the butter?" We thought the poor guy was losing his memory, going senile, or maybe starting Alzheimer's....and forgot Jack's name. So Donovan and I looked at each other wondering if we should correct him or not. Donovan did. He said, "well actually Uncle Leonard...our son's name is Jack." He said, "yeah, o.k." So pretty soon he called Jack, "Fritz" again. By this time we are thinking the guy is really going into memory loss here. After the 3rd time he smiled and then we knew this was his game. He had been playing us. Which is great. I can play along. That weekend is when I got to know him in a better way...and have loved trying to get the best of him. I remember my sweet Aunt Wilma on that weekend...apologizing for him and saying, "he just likes to have fun...I hope you aren't offended." Occasionally Aunt Wilma would nudge Uncle Leonard and tell him to ease up on me. I assured Aunt Wilma I could take it and love it! Just thinking of her sweet spirit makes me miss her even more. I sure don't wish her back...I'm sure she is enjoying the sweet presence of Jesus and her siblings...one of her sisters being my mom, Faye.
After being with Uncle Leonard we spent some time visiting with my cousins. There was a great sitting area for family to use just down the hall from my uncle in the hospital. I love these people. I love connecting with family, it's too far and few between. It was flattering for me that these people take time to read up on us through my blog. They had known about Suzy's fall, our building project, and everything else happening the last few months. My disadvantage is that...I can't keep up with them.

This is Karen and Sharon...twins of my Uncle Leonard and Aunt Wilma. These sweet ladies took the kids down to the gift shop, to the cafeteria for ice cream, and to the play area to burn off some energy. They also got to take turns just pushing elevator buttons to random floors. It's like a dream come true to anyone under the age of 10. How sweet to visit without interruptions.

This is what was happening before their field trip with my twin cousins.........running, hiding and horsing around, and potential for fighting to break out at any given moment.

In one attempt to settle the restless natives....I let the 5 year old loose with the camera. Here is one picture that actually turned out pretty good. A view from the 8th floor of the Toledo Hospital.

One last hurrah before heading back to the cabin of our white mini bus....

What a beautiful day for a road trip. We saw some really pretty sights there and back. So glad we were able to go and spend time with my Uncle and his family. It's far and few between that we take days like this and life is just too short not to make time for your family.

quote of the day:
For lunch we stopped at Burger King today and after inspecting his sandwich...this came from the backseat....
William: "Dad, if I plant these seeds on top of my hamburger bun, will it grow another one?"
Donovan: "You mean another cheeseburger?...William, cheeseburgers don't grown on trees. You've never seen a cheeseburger tree, right?"
William: "NO DAD! Like just the bun...does it grow in a garden? Can I put the seed in a garden and grow a hamburger bun?"