2014 Week 9: Pain and Beauty

Pain was the first word that came to mind to characterize this week. Three family members are dealing with physical pain.
But as I uploaded the photos, I recognized a good amount of beauty as well.

Sunday I woke to a new dusting of snow and spotted nine beautiful creatures parading through our woods quite close to the house. 

After church Diane and I went out to eat and enjoyed some good laughs.

Michael arrived back from the golf trip early Monday morning and has been dealing with pain all week. While down in Myrtle Beach he had to visit the ER and they found a kidney stone. He survived on meds, but missed one day of golf. He's been to his doctor here and they are still trying to figure out what to do.

I have been cooking more than usual and have really enjoyed using the excellent knife Stephan gave us. Notice the leather case he made and our names engraved on the knife. Beautiful!

Meanwhile Stephan was in Alaska carving a stunning piece of art entitled Teaching Breaching. This time the design was Aaron Costic's--his fellow carver, the captain. Stephan's part was to sculpt water, the wave!

We all enjoyed watching the Ice Alaska website and following their progress. You can see Stephan Koch, bio here which includes photos of previous years' sculptures. And visit all 50 sites to enjoy exceptional art. 

I had to look up the meaning of breaching: "To leap from the water: waiting for the whale to breach."

Thursday was Leah's first root canal procedure. To face the dreaded ordeal she wore her lovely birthday jewelry.
She was very brave throughout but the after-pain torture hangs on days later. 

Friday morning was Sam's surgical procedure to clean out the incision that stubbornly refuses to close properly.
He had to be there three hours before, at an unearthly hour, so I picked up Kristie and the little ones and drove down in time for her to drive Sam back. 

The boys and I waited in the car. When I turned around to entertain them and take pictures, Jude knew exactly what to do--smile and say "Cheese!"

In the end the boys rode back with Kristie and Sam, and I came home concerned about Mike. Pain seems to come in waves.

The next day, I caught Sam doing dishes. He also obliged me with a smile for the camera. His back was hurting from whatever they did and he'd had a headache. Today his face is swollen. They are hoping it is a normal part of the healing process. 

Saturday we needed to go to Sam's again to pick up a vehicle. The weather was okay so I finally got to keep my birthday promise to Elijah, a month later. We follow the Garfield trail and visit a different statue each year. 

The best part is just spending time together with my delightful grandson. By the time we complete our series "Growing up with Garfield," Elijah will be taller than grandma!