This could be the start of something big . . .

Well, I will be the first -- and start with a big "Thank You" Bethany. It's a great idea. I'm not sure how much you want to hear about our rather routine life, but here goes.

Bob returned last night (Saturday) from a week long trip to Texas and Oklahoma on business mostly. He did go see his brother Sydney and sister-in-law Barbara in Lubbock while he was there. Sydney had a bout of melanoma cancer a few years back and it appears that it has returned. Bob was able to go to the doctor with them where it was confirmed that it was definitely melanoma again, a type they call "mobile melanoma." He has a choice of (1) interferon treatment, (2) chemo -- 1 week on, 1 week off for 8 weeks or (3) do nothing. Bob thinks he is opting for chemo, but we haven't heard for sure. We'll try to keep you up-to-date as we learn more.

I've been working on PawPaw's grave the last week or so, tryiing to get some grass to grow, getting a planter planted and some general cleanup. There will be a memorial service tomorrow (Monday the 29th) at 11:00. If Mom is feeling up to it, we will go for a little while. If it's as hot as it was today, I don't think she'll be able to go.

She's starting to feel some better after a couple of weeks of declining healrth - unknown reasons. It turns out that part of the problem was Lipitor. Supposedly a relatively rare side effect of Lipitor is deep muscle and/or bone pain. However when I looked up Lipitor,side effects on the internet, I found several bulletin boards where people told of their similar experiences with it. So it doesn't seem all that rare. She was in so much pain that she had to take vicodin. That made her "fuzzy" and pretty unstable walking, so I spent many hours with her the last 10 days or so. Her doctor put her on a low dose of prednisone midweek last week and it helped quite a bit.

I got her some new guinea double impatiens baskets for her porch and a hibiscus plant for her little back deck. She really hasn't felt up to picking anything out, but these will look nice. I put red geraniums at my dad's grave. They don't require a lot of care and will usually come back if they go without water a little longer than they should.

In other family news, Amanda (Jared, your cousin, Terry's daughter in Memphis) and her husband, Carl, had their baby Wednesday; a little boy named Cash, about 7 pounds. Carl looked so proud in the pictures Terry had. Terry and Dave are going down there Wednesday of next week to see them and help out for a few days.

Andrew and Wendy's new little one, Karleigh, is due June 22, but McKenna was 3 weeks early, so they have been feverishly painting and trying to finish the nursery.

I think I broke my little toe on my right foot this past week. Little bugger sure has been sore and since I don't like thong shoes, it's been kinda hard to find anything comfortable that doesn't squeeze it a little. At least it's not black and more -- mostly blue now, so I guess majenta, then yellow are next. I've also had a bad toothache. Got to the dentist on Thursday and have to go back Tuesday for a couple of fillings to start with, then he'll evaluate further. I have a bit of a phobia about dentists -- ever since I was 12 years old and a dentist hit a nerve. After my Thursday appointment, the scheduler said she could get me in next Wednesday. Then she said, "No, actually I can get you in Tuesday or Wednesday." I said "Tuesday!" Then I thought to myself, "I can't believe I'm wanting to go back to the dentist as soon as possible.!" That just goes to show how painful it has been!

Yesterday was a very special day -- Kaley graduated. She was Salutatorian, so she had to give a short speech. She was so good!!! She is just so beautiful inside and out and we are so proud of her. She received many awards at award night as well. Full ride scholarship to Saginaw Valley State University, the hospital scholarship, the music scholarship, best senior girl athlete, the math award, etc.... They had a wonderful open house for her and I bet at least 150 people attended. It was also a nice opportunity to see their new house. You guys are going to love it! It's so roomy and well designed. Mom made it to graduation and the open house -- maybe that's why she's not feeling so good today. But she wouldn't have missed it for anything. Just before we left the house, she started tearing up a bit and said that when Kaley was born, she and Dad had said they hoped to live long enough to see her graduate.

I've been having to water the grass "patch" on my dad's grave twice daily. So yesterday I went over there right after graduation (didn't have time to go before) and the whole time I was watering there was a bright yellow butterfly that stayed right there around the grave. It was beautiful. This probably sounds silly, but it seemed kinda like a sign from Dad that he, too, loves and is so proud of Kaley. I probably sounded psycho, but I talked to the butterfly and had a nice one sided conversation. I felt so peaceful after being there. So, late evening, I went back over there to water again, because it was quite warm yesterday. Guess what! The butterfly was there again the whole time I was watering. Then I went back today -- no need to water since we had a lot of rain early this morning -- no butterfly.

I'll close with that. Hope this isn't too long.

Love Momma K