It had been a while since we had been there and I had big hugs to give. I had yet to congratulate Greg and Stephanie on their pregnancy and John and Emily on their engagement in person.
We stopped by Greg and Steph's new house in Effingham Friday evening. They have nice things-nice things that would be costly to replace. They don't have kids....yet and some of these things are well within reach of little hands. It didn't take long before Owen grabbed a decorative glass pumpkin from the coffee table and pitched it across the living room. After it shattered into three thousand pieces, we decided we had better go before one of the boys decided to lick their flat screen.
While picking up pizza at Joe's, we ran into my cousins, Diana and Ann, who were finishing their dinner. We invited them to stop by my parents and continued our journey to the cornfield where Grandma and Papa live. We popped Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles into the DVD player for the boys and their cousin Wade. The boys don't just watch TV, they become the characters. Ben and Wade adopted the Ninja Turtle names Leotardo and Monticello and were off fighting mutant crime. Before settling down and getting comfortable, I hear, "Uh-oh, he's bleeding". Instinctively I knew it was Ben. Gracefulness is a trait that I passed to my offspring. Just last week I gave myself a black eye by bumping into a wall. Apparently his ninja skills need a little work as the corner of the wall got the best of him too.
Jeremy and I decided to err on the side of caution and took him back to Effingham to the emergency room. I was glad that it wasn't serious since it took a good 35 minutes to get to the hospital. Ben kept us entertained for our 3 hour visit which ended in the Doctor using Dermabond to glue his head together. I might as well invest in the stuff now.
We spent Saturday and Sunday playing cards and watching the boys run with their cousins. I was able to congratulate John and Emily on their engagement and see the ring. They met with the priest at her church to make sure that they were compatible for one another. Inevitably the priest found what we already knew-they are perfect for one another.
We were missing an important member of the family this weekend. Julie is at Barnes in St. Louis getting ready for another round of chemo, a second stem cell transplant, and radiation. Our hearts are with her as she undergoes her inpatient stay for the next four weeks.
I hope that we didn't scare anyone during our stay. Between Ben's visit to the ER and me running after a naked Owen saying "stop him before he loses a turd", we definitely gave Greg and Steph a realistic look at parenthood. John and Emily got to see that even the best of marriages are not always free from strife as Jeremy and I were involved in a "spat" much of the weekend.
We may seem a bit nutty now but they will be joining us soon. Hugs!!!!
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