Update 3/23 9:13 a.m.

Ronda talked to the nurse this morning. Dad is still bleeding more than he should be. They had to bring the doctor in during the night and they gave him two units of blood. They are not sure why he is bleeding this much. It could be from the cancer that he has, or they could have nicked another artery during the surgery. If it hasn't slowed down by noon, they will run some tests to try and determine the cause of the bleeding. There is a possibility that he could require more surgery to find or fix the problem.

Ronda said to pray that Dad's blood clots soon. Also pray for Grandma. She is having a hard time watching Grandpa suffer.

Update 3/23 7:55 a.m.

I just talked to Grandma. She said that Grandpa was really miserable when she saw him last night. He said that until he gets better he doesn't want any visitors. She is going to see him again this morning. When I have an update, I'll let you know.

Also, RC still is not doing well again. Ralph is taking him to the vet this morning. But, we are not going to tell Grandpa about that. If he asks, Grandma is going to tell him that he is doing about the same.

Keep praying. Things are going to be tough for Grandpa and Grandma for a while....

Surgery Scheduled

Dad's surgery is scheduled for 7 a.m. on Monday morning. It is supposed to take about 5 hours. We are going to have a family fast this weekend. Many of us are going to fast starting on Saturday and ending at Rob's luncheon on Sunday.

I love you all. I know that Dad has had a lot of visitors and is feeling the love from so many family members. It is a huge blessing to be a part of such a close knit, loving family.

Grandpa Bob

I think all of us were worried about Grandpa last week when RC was so sick. We all know that his health is very bad. Well our fears were realized. He is in the hospital with chest pain. It doesn't look like it is a heart attack. They are running more tests and I'll post here as soon as we know anything.

Keep praying.....

Update....2:06. They are admitting Grandpa. He will be having a procedure in the heart Cath Lab. Not sure when. I'll post more when I know.

Update 4:47....Still waiting for the Angiogram. If it is a new blockage another stint will be put in. If it is more scar tissue at the site of the previous stint, then Grandpa has to decide if he wants to attempt bipass surgery. The doctor said that it might not be technically possible to do bipass surgery. The diameter of the artery could be too small. If that is the case, Dr. Chambers will do his best to open it back up. Grandpa is very nervous, as you can imagine. He doesn't want surgery, but the doctor said that if it is possible to do it, then it would be his best option.

It's March.....Hooray!!

We made it through January and February. Spring will soon be here. The winter actually has been pretty nice this year, except that I got the flu a couple of weeks ago....then it turned into a sinus infection. But, I am feeling much better now, which is great!! Didn't get the flu shot this year. Guess I should have.

The other night I told Amber that she should go skiing with Jason so Jaden could have another time on the slopes. I kept the twins. It is always an adventure when they are around. Since the skiers would be late getting home, I volunteered to keep the boys all night. It was great until 5:15 when they got up ready to play!!



Melissa was having some computer problems. She brought it home to me to look at. It was full of Malware and viruses. I had never had to deal with that kind of problem before...but thanks to google, I was able to find some fixes for the problems she was having. It took a lot of hours, but seems to have worked. I just love solving those types of problems.

Luckily the computer was fixed by early Saturday morning. Greg is feeling very stressed out from work. They are having their big yearly audit at work. He had to work on Friday and Sunday, so Saturday was his only day to get some rest. He wanted to go snowshoe in Teton Park. I'm so glad he wanted to go there because we had a fabulous time and some great exercise.

Here is what it looked like from the trail head. Out hike would take us over the hills in the middle of the photo and we would end up at Taggart Lake.



Standing on a bridge, we could hear the stream underneath the snow. It was so beautiful there. Wish the photo had sound.



We definitely dressed too warmly and quickly started shedding coats, hats, gloves...





The lake is still frozen over, but was a nice place to stop and put my feet up.



I could even find evidence that spring really will get here. The snow is melting.



We wanted to hike the loop, so coming up out of the lake was a big hill.....But we made it with no problems. Working out at the gym definitely has strengthened my legs.



Late in the afternoon, the light shining on the mountains turned really pretty and most of the clouds burned off. It was spectacular. I could have just stayed there for hours looking at the beauty of it all.





Then as we were coming down, it clouded up again. One last stop on the bridge before heading home.



It was a perfect day.

Winter

This winter has been a pretty good one for us. I have been faithfully going to the gym, which has helped me so much. I have the flu right now, but hopefully it won't last too long. We've been lucky and have avoided a lot of the junk that has been going around.

We are accomplishing some home improvement projects. Greg made some wonderful drawers to go inside of my cabinets. Things are so much more organized now. I love them. We are putting in new countertops and tile backsplash soon. We opted to go with Formica since our cabinets are 23 years old. They are in great shape and look fine, but I couldn't see putting expensive counter tops on cabinets that are that old. We have ordered our edging strips and as soon as they come Greg will install them. They make some very beautiful Formica now, so I am really excited about it.

We painted our laundry room last week. I wanted to do a tan color (the same that is in the kitchen, living room, and family room). But, Greg and Melissa talked me into doing something more bold. We chose a blue color. At first, I hated it, but now it has grown on me and I actually really like it. Once I got some pictures and things on the wall, I think it looks really nice.





I still have two rooms I want to paint before spring. Then we are going to do a huge project and repaint the outside of the house. We will certainly change the color to some sort of brown or tan. I can't wait to have that project underway!!

Of course, the highlight of our lives is our family. Melissa is doing so well in school. She makes us so happy!! The kids and grandkids are such a joy as well. We've had a great time celebrating birthdays and Valentine's Day. I love them all so much.

I Got a Scolding

Melissa scolded me today at being lax at blogging. Seems like I have been getting more and more behind on reading and posting. I'll admit, I have been bad about it. I guess I've spent too much time on Facebook connecting with people I haven't seen for a long time.

Anyway, the highlight of my winter has been the snowshoe trips we've taken. I blogged about our first trip already. The very next Saturday we took Ronda and Melissa to the same place and had a great time. I enjoyed it just as much the second time and I think that Ronda and Melissa had fun as well.






Last Saturday Greg and I went to Teton Park. We drove all the way up to Colter Bay to snowshoe along the lake. It is not an area that very many people use. You can see from the tracks that not many have been here. It's so interesting to me that we have this treasure so close and not many ever see it. We only saw four people on our three hour trek.



We made it to Heron Pond. Of course, all the lakes are frozen over now.







You would think that being out in the high country in January would be cold, but I always get too hot. Snowshoeing is hard work, plus I have some pretty warm gear. Look at Greg.....he doesn't look cold, does he? Just a fleece jacket that is unzipped to let him cool down.



After we finished on the shoeshoes we drove around to the main area that people enjoy in Teton Park in the winter to take some photos. It was gorgeous. Who would have thought that I would love the outdoors so much at this age. We didn't get out nearly enough when the kids were growing up, but now that we have the freedom to do more things, it is the activity that we nearly always choose. God certainly created a beautiful world for us to enjoy.







Of course spending time with my grandkids is always the highlight of my life and I've had a lot of time with each of them lately. That will have to be the subject of my next post!!