CHRISTMAS DAY GOES BY...NOT AS USUAL

I arose early this morning and made my way to Knoxville, to watch Lily and Kinsley open and play with their Santa gifts. It was a wonderful time, especially knowing how sick the two were just a few days ago, with Lily actually be hospitalized. They seemed fine and played briefly with every new toy; their runny little noses shinning above a wide smile! They still have some mending to do!

Lily made Corey and I a cup of "play" tea, with two imaginary sugar cubes, and then turned to learning how to feed a "Hungry Hippo"! Of course, we had to pay close attention to the little white balls, because Kinsley is at that age where everything goes straight to her mouth!

Tia's parents are Baptist Missionaries in Africa (I can never remember the exact country, but I think it's Tanzania...they can correct me later), and have been there for over 20 years. Tia was actually born and went to school in Africa, before coming to America to live with her grandmother and go to school to study pharmacy. She is a brilliant lady and a very good and loving mother. My son is a lucky man to have her as his wife.

Tia cranked up Skype on their computer and shared Christmas morning with her mom and dad. They talked for a long while, but Lily was just to busy playing to spend much time sitting still in front of the Mac, talking to Beebe (an African name for grandmother) and Bahbo (an African name for grandfather).

Sometimes I'm a little envious they have cool names and I'm just Papaw, but at least she knows the difference between us. Corey's mom is Granby, and Judy is Momma Judy, and Granby's husband is PopPop! They're all cool names for very cool folks!

Anyway, Christmas Day is normally when Judy and I make a big dinner for Tracy, Katie, Eddie, and my mom, but Judy has been sick for about three days now. She is very dizzy and has a terrible sounding cough. She got a shot at the doctor's office Wednesday, but it must have been a placebo since she hasn't gotten any better. So, Christmas Eve's breakfast was canceled and today's traditional supper was rescheduled for Sunday.

Not having had the annual gathering here today meant that I didn't get to visit with Tracy and her family, but at least I got some time in with Katie Bug on Tuesday (previous post). Sunday's not that far away now, so I can wait just a little longer.

It wasn't a normal Christmas, but it was still enjoyable, and it didn't rain as much as was predicted.

I think my brother and his wife are coming to mom's tomorrow, so that should be lots of fun. If we can get all the grandchildren together for photos, it will turn out to be wonderful. We'll see what happens.

See ya!

BLESS THEIR LITTLE HEARTS!

My grand daughter Lily was admitted to the hospital after medication for "walking pneumonia" failed to work break her 3 day fever of 102 to 103. After a two hour wait in the emergency room at Children's Hospital in Knoxville, she was admitted and put on an antibiotic and fluids IV drip. Her oxygen level was below 90 and it should be 92 or better.

Yesterday, while we watched her sleep (see photo included here), her fever broke and was around 97.6. She slept for over 2 hours, which was more than she had gotten the night before. She may have slept more had her daddy's cellphone not rang!

This morning I called and Lily was finally eating and drinking, and had slept the entire night! I could hear cartoons playing in the background, so I know Corey was happy too...just kidding!

Corey told me that her sister, Kinsley, was at the doctor as we were talking. She is getting sick too and Tia was making a preemptive visit to the doctor; fearing she might develop pneumonia as well.

UPDATE: Both girls are doing fine, but Lily remains in the hospital. Test came back today with this diagnosis:

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a very common virus that leads to mild, cold-like symptoms in adults and older healthy children. It can be more serious in young babies, especially to those in certain high-risk groups.

Symptoms

• Bluish skin color due to a lack of oxygen (cyanosis)
• Breathing difficulty or labored breathing
• Cough
• Croupy cough (often described as a "seal bark" cough)
• Fever
• Nasal flaring
• Rapid breathing (tachypnea)
• Shortness of breath
• Stuffy nose
• Wheezing

Infants under age 1 are most severely affected and often have the most trouble breathing. Older children usually have only mild, cold-like symptoms. Symptoms usually appear 4 - 6 days after coming in contact with the virus.

Treatment

Antibiotics do not treat RSV. Mild infections go away without treatment. Infants and children with a severe RSV infection may be admitted to the hospital so they can receive oxygen, humidified air, and fluids by IV.

A breathing machine (ventilator) may be needed.

Causes

RSV is the most common germ that causes lung and airway infections in infants and young children.

The disease spreads from person to person through contact with contaminated tiny droplets or objects that the droplets have touched.

Risks include:

• Attending daycare (there are many, but here is the main cause in young children)!

Please remember the little girls in your prayers and for all the little girls and boys who are sick and/or in hospitals. Looking at Lily lying there yesterday (as in the photo), with the IV tubes running from her left hand, and with an occasional oxygen mask over her little face, brought big tears to my eyes. Little ones should be spared the pain of illness, but...such is our earthly burden.

My best to you all this Christmas. May God bless you and yours in the coming year.

THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING

There is already one special gift under my Christmas tree, and it will keep on giving for a long, long time!

Lily has been, up until the last few months, very shy around strangers, and Judy and I worked hard at not taking it personally. We knew it was just a small child’s way of dealing with unfamiliar people and surroundings.

However, over the last few months she has finally warmed up to Papaw and Momma Judy! Hopefully you can identify with the joy we both have been feeling over the small comments she’s started making, and the displays of affection she has progressively shown.

The first thing we remember is that one day while she and her parents were visiting in our home, Lily remarked that she wanted to stay! Corey started to put on her coat and said that she should give us a hug. Lily then said, “No, I want to stay!”

It was a little thing that probably went unnoticed by her mom and dad, but to us old folks it was a sign…a sign from above…the first sign that we meant something to her. It’s taken all of 3 years, but Papaw and Momma Judy are finally on her “A” list!

Judy and I took over the watch at 2PM last Tuesday. Tia had a doctor’s appointment, and put Lily down for her daily 1 to 3PM nap. We got there at about 2, so Tia could leave, but Lily could still be heard singing to herself in her room.

She has been put down, or in her room at 1PM every day since she was born. She has learned to stay in the room, whether she goes to sleep or not. She will not come out unless told she can, and usually falls to sleep within 30 minutes.

Tia told us that if she was still awake at 3PM, that we could go and get her.

Tia left and we sat there and listened to the monitor, not that we needed one to hear her. She was singing every song she knew, and when she wasn’t singing she was talking to herself. It was quite entertaining and funny at times.

Finally, just a few minutes before 3, I tiptoed back to where I could see her bedroom door. To my surprise the door was open, and all I could see were shoes and coloring books! For some reason she had lined all her shoes up across the floor in the opening of the door!

I went back into the living room and told Judy that I was going to let her come out. She agreed it was too late for her to be napping anyway.

“Liiiillllyyy,” I started softly, “come see Papaw and Momma Judy.”

She got very quite. I then repeated myself, but a little louder.

“Dat you Papaw?” she asked.

“Yes, it’s Papaw…come see me!”

She came running down the hallway to where I squatted with open arms. Instead of the bowed head and wrinkled brow upon seeing me, as we were accustomed to, she ran right into my arms and allowed me to hug her! It was so special, a moment that will be with me until my dying day. The perfect gift for an old man that will keep on giving!

We played, sang songs, and read books together, but mostly we did a lot of hugging!

IT’S A GIRL!

Corey and I had great hopes that his and Tia’s next child would be a boy…you know, carry on the family genes and all that macho stuff…even though we’ll love a little girl just as much!

Tia and Corey left Lily in our charge Thursday (10/2) and went anxiously off to see the gynecologist. It was time to determine the sex of new offspring, to be born sometime around February.

Judy and I waited anxiously too, but also for Lily to wake up from her nap so we could spoil…I mean play with her! We listened attentively to noises coming from the baby monitor, until she finally began talking softly to herself. I went to her room and looked over into her bed. She was not there!

Corey had mentioned to us, as they were leaving earlier, that, for some reason, Lily, now 28 months old, had begun playing and sometimes sleeping behind the big recliner/rocker in her room. Corey had gone in that morning and found her looking out the window. “Deea daddy!” she said, pointing out the window at two deer browsing in the backyard.

Sure enough, I found her playing behind the chair. She bowed her head, wrinkled her brow, as she often does when seeing someone new for the first time, or first time in a while, and diverted her dark eyes. “It’s Papaw, Lily,” I said softly.

“Papaw? Whur Momma Judy?”

I hollered down the hall, “Momma Judy, come see Lily!”

From then on we had a grand old time, playing, making animal sounds on command, “Dog!” she would say, and one of us would bark, and so on down the farm list! We mimicked other weird noises she made, and after each she laughed and continued making other sounds. Little special silly things that entertain a youngster and warm two old people’s hearts!

Later, we heard the garage door open, as her mother and father returned, so we did the proper thing and hid under her “blankie” for them to find us!

Corey walked over to me and gave me a big hug, and I have to admit I thought he was going to say “It’s a boy!”, but instead he began apologizing to me.

“I’m sorry dad,” he said, half smiling, “I tried, but it’s a girl.”

“That’s great,” I said!

I think Corey actually thought I would be very upset, but I wasn’t. I already have Katie Bug and Lily, and couldn’t love them more – they mean the world to me! Therefore, having another little girl to call me “Papaw” is just wonderful.

He was remembering that my father’s first born, all his brother’s first born (he had six brothers), and my first born had been boys. We just had hopes that the sex tradition would continue, but with Lily’s birth it was not to be for him. This was his last chance to put a “stem on the apple”, since their plans are only to have two.

I have to admit that I was a little disappointed for Corey. Being the kind of loving person he is, and with his love of sports, he would have made a great dad for a boy. However, he will also be a great daddy for two little girls. So be it…my prayers to God were simply to just “consider” giving us a boy, but that we would accept his will. “Just let her be as healthy and pretty as Lily!”

I’m also including the ultrasound shots the doctor made (click to enlarge). You will note the cute little nose in one, and what the doctor labeled as “girl parts” in the other. Looks like my prayers have been answered. She is healthy and beautiful…just like me!

The only thing left to do now is to wait for her first words – “PAPAW!”

COREY CELEBRATES 34 YEARS

This past Tuesday evening Judy and I met Corey, Tia, and Lily at Wasabi’s to celebrate his birthday.

The meeting was arranged by his mother, Connie, as is always the case. Also attending was Gary, Connie’s husband, her father, Dub and his date Mary Lois, and long time mutual friends Betty Anne and Squeaky.

The food kept coming and we all felt like we would pop. It was entertainingly prepared by a skilled Japanese chef, who performed all the expected tricks, like the flaming volcano, flipping an egg around and then cracking it in mid-air on the side of the spatula, and tossing a ball of rice into each of our gaping mouths!

I love to watch them prepare the shrimp, scallops, steak, and chicken with quick sharp cuts, and then quickly add in the seasonings. It takes a lot of patience to move around that mound of rice, vegetables, and eggs, but it all winds up so temping on your plate.

Lily was scared by a huge ball of flame the chef created on the grill, so from then on he warned her before any further pyrotechnics!

Afterward, we were all invited to Connie and Gary’s for birthday cake, ice cream, and coffee/punch. It was the first time I had been back in that house in over 30 years. After the horrible experience of building that house, it holds no special sentiments for me, but things had changed and it looked very lovely.

We played a very heated and animated game of Win, Lose or Draw, with us men being constantly accused of cheating. I don’t know how they came to that conclusion, but when it was all over the men came out on top!

It is a great feeling to know that all the old animosities, insecurities, and fears are gone. We’ve all grown beyond that silly stage. It’s a good feeling to see your first wife and your current wife interacting as friends and enjoying each other’s company. We were long over these things before Lily came along, but she is now a bonding force for us and with a new one on the way, our lives can only become more intertwined. There is no doubt in my mind that we all look forward to that future.

Anyway, happy birthday son, and thank you too for being such a binding force in our lives.

LILY COMES TO VISIT

We had a nice leisurely Saturday, including a good visit with Tia, Corey, and Lily.

Lily was all over the place, investigating new surroundings as a child will do. I went to the basement and dug out some old toys of Katie Bug’s for her.

I found a 15-year old Spin’n Say, which was brand new to Lily. She was used to pushing buttons, so it took a little practice to get the hang of the slot-machine like pull handle! And, there were some plastic building blocks that kept Corey busy for most of the visit! We all made over the nice little truck he made!

It is so hard to get a good shot of a moving 2-year old. First there is the seemingly constant present Sippy Cup full of 1% milk to contend with, the hair that is fuzzed up from doing somersaults on the rug, and the spastic frequent twist and turns they make.

Finally, while she caught her second wind, I got this decent one!

We can hardly wait to find out the sex of their second baby due in February. Naturally, we are hoping for a boy, but we’ll love whatever God sends us!

It is only natural for men to want their DNA line to continue on, but they never regret the birth of a daughter. Daughters have a special love for their daddies, so it all evens out.

For my brother, with his two daughters, his line will end with him. Mine may end as well, but if it does, I’ll still have three of the best granddaughters a man could ever have.

I simply pray, “Your will be done.”

LILY TURNS TWO!

We celebrated Lily’s 2^nd birthday today (Saturday). The storms that raced across western and middle Tennessee blew themselves out by the time they reached the Cumberland Plateau, and just let us have some much needed rain. By party time at 4, the sun was out, the sky was blue, and everyone was ready for a hotdog and some birthday cake!

Corey had rented an inflatable “bouncy house” and the kids loved it.

The tradition Tia and Corey began last year on Lily’s birthday was to have everyone party on the front lawn. With a pass-thru window from the kitchen, everything was handy right on the front porch. Tables were placed in the front yard, some in the shade, and Corey prepared the hotdogs!

Naturally, as do most kids these days, Lily was showered with lots of gifts of clothes, toys, and money!

Her Grandmother Connie (Corey’s mom) and Tia (Lily’s mom) stood capturing all the activities with movie cameras, while I snapped away with my still camera.

Corey recently purchased a new Canon video camera, and he was doing his best to capture all the traditional poses. Reminded me of myself back when he was little – it comes full circle!

Lily rarely gets to eat “junk” foods, but today she ate wieners, chips, and that delicious cake! Check out the bite being feed to her by her great grandfather Stevens! Mmmmm!

Most of the older folks at the party are from Connie’s family, and they are the ones I used to share events like this with when Corey was little. It is great that we all get along, and that I can again enjoy her dad, her uncles, and aunts again. Even my old buddy Bill Powers (black shirt in the porch shot) was there and we reminisced about our college day fun, and how we used to race riding lawnmowers!

So we all thanked Dora the Explorer (the cartoon character) for stopping by and making it a great birthday for Lily!

Oh yes, we would like to thank the people down by the lake playing AC/DC so loud for us. Since they are one of Corey’s favorite groups, it added to the overall enjoyment!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE LILY!