Good Morning! Our lovely sunny morning has now turned cloudy. I'm so tired of rain, but we haven't gotten near the rain that's been in Texas, so I'm thankful for that.

We had a huge surprise Saturday afternoon! We received a letter from Bill's donor family! Until now we knew nothing about his donor and since there are very strict rules of privacy, we don't know a lot more, but it's more than we knew before! He received the heart of a woman with 3 grown children who was originally from Honduras! They knew that a grandfather had received the heart, but that's all. They have met some of the families of recipients, especially a young woman who received both lungs. We were told they donated all her organs, eyes, skin, whatever could be donated. I'm working on a letter back to them, but it's very hard, especially since I can't refer to Bill by name, or let them know where we live. All the correspondence has to go through the social workers at Mayo to be approved before they send it on. We both cried as we read the letter.

Sunday we decided to take a drive and headed east into Tennessee. We were going to go to Reelfoot Lake, but when I got off the highway, I said to Bill, "I wonder where this road goes". Well, the answer to that question is...Kentucky! It wasn't a bad drive and if we had wanted to be really adventurous we could have taken a ferry into Missouri and come home that way, but we just backtracked. We stopped for lunch at Cracker Barrel and got home about 3 in the afternoon. It was a lovely day, comfortable temps and fairly light traffic. I would imagine that this week-end would be a different story! I told Bill we should have taken the Thunderbird instead of the Journey and cruised with the top down!

Bill didn't feel well for a couple of days this week. He started coughing and had a lot of sinus drainage and low grade fever, so it was back on the cold meds. They worked quickly and he bounce back in a day. He's also had some stomach cramps, but he only complains about them in the night, or at bedtime. There has been a stomach virus going around so maybe he was trying to get that, too.

He did get up before me a couple of days this week, which is odd. I was up right after him, even if it did feel good to lay awhile. But, he had the coffee made when I got up.

The surgeries/tests went well Monday. Amanda has an infection in her stomach but her colon is fine. They did biopsy her stomach and she gets the results the end of this week. I imagine that if there was a cancer, she would have been called by now. She did find something alarming Wednesday. Her skull incision has come open in one place. The surgeon just said to keep her head covered and to be careful and watch it, but if it opens more, or starts seeping to call him back. Emily's surgery went well and she came home right on schedule. She's done pretty well and was finally able to sleep in her bed last night. She's had a lot of help and meals brought in.

My sister-in-law also had an outpatient surgery Monday and that went well. So, we're thankful for all the positive outcomes.

I woke up with a headache this morning, the first one in a long time. It's gone away some, but not altogether. I'm hoping it's just because this front is lingering and the air is so heavy. We're staying in as much as possible. We were going to go out to breakfast this morning but I just didn't feel up to it. Maybe we'll be able to go out tonight instead. 

School is out now and Brianna is officially a Senior! It doesn't seem possible that this time has come. One of Emily's nurses was the nurse who gave Brianna her first bath in the nursery. She was also Emily's nurse when she was hospitalized for 3 weeks before she was sent to Memphis to have McKenna because her blood pressure was sky high. I remember Em had to take Kenna to see the nurse after she was born so she could inspect her! She was probably surprised to see them now, especially McKenna who is all legs!

We have no plans for the holiday. When I was a kid I would go to the cemetery with my grandmother. We would get there really early and be there for the military salute. Then we would clean around and decorate the graves, We would then move on to the other cemeteries and do the same. My mother has become the "keeper of the graves" and Bill and I went with her when we were home a couple of years ago. I told Bill I wondered who would do it this year. Mom's having trouble with a leg and I don't know if she is up to it. I told him if we were there we could have done it for her.

That's about it for now. Enjoy your holiday!