Cousin Abby

Sweet Moments

Words cannot express how grateful our family is to June, Jerry, and Luckyboy. They have all been staying with us in St. Joe since Tim's surgery and just left last Friday to go home to Colorado. It is no small act of kindness to ask someone (even your parents) to move in and help you recover from surgery but then to also get help cooking, cleaning, and chauffeuring everyone around is more than we could have hoped for. There are so things they did that we are thankful for but the one that Mommy appreciates the most (other than helping Tim of course) - is that June potty trained Katiebug while she was here. I never anticipated taking on that monumental task while Tim was recuperating but June was undaunted. There were moments that I wanted to throw in the towel but she would not give up. She knew that getting beyond diapers is what would help us the most and she was right. Life is so nice! Not that we don't have our occasional accidents but we aren't looking back. The most unexpected event of their visit was how close Mary and Kate got to Grambug and Jerrbear. The trips to the museum, the picnics, the moments "singing in the rain", the rides in the van to get ice cream in the evening, the trip to the dairy farm, the list goes on and on. These are moments that they still talk about incessantly and will impact them always. Just more amazing reminders of how truly blessed we are.

Sweet Dreams

Lily and Katie drift off to sleep after a long night playing at Grandma's house.

Erinn and Mary

Mary's best friend is Erinn. She lives three doors down and is one month younger than Mary. They are great pals and have matching big girl bikes.

All grown up

Our little Mary is looking so much older - it is hard to believe four years has gone so quickly. She gets more beautiful every day especially when her hair is pulled back.

SURPRISE!

One of the girls favorite things to do is hide in this oriental cabinet from Great Grandma Alice. You never know when one of them will jump out when you least expect it.

Our loyal friend

Lucky Dog keeps a watchful eye on the girls from the front porch.

Papa Jerr with Mary Mackenzie

Mary shows Papa Jerr her new baby Belle from Julia and the boys.

Mad about Miguel

Fabulous Four

Mary turned four years old on August 6th. As they say, time flies when you are having fun. Tim and I agreed everyday we love her more and everyday brings new surprises and more fun!

Summer Heat

August is here and so is the extreme heat. The only way to beat it is to head to the pool and hang out in the water which we do A LOT! Even daddy braves the high temperatures despite the sling. p.s. that is not mommy sitting behind Kate (for those who have not seen me in a while)!

My little monkey

If anyone doubts the theory of evolution they just need to watch a two year old with their mom for a day. If I am anywhere near the ground both Mary and Kate crawl up and hang on like it is the most comfortable place in the world. It makes mopping the floor a little more difficult but to be honest I love the feeling too!

Lovebugs

Grambug with all of her treasures - Kyle, Ethan, Mary, and Kate. I love to see such joy in their faces!

Surgery #2

On July 9th Tim underwent his second surgery - it was a total shoulder replacement for his right arm. We had our two week follow-up today and the surgeon said and I quote "It looks beautiful!" For someone who has seen Tim in so much pain for so long I can't tell you how emotional it was to hear those words. We have three more weeks of immobility and then we start the physical therapy. The surgeon, Dr. Saterlee, in K.C. has a lawyer in St. Joe who will forever be in his debt. From the first x-ray that he saw to his review today, he has said that there was nothing average about Tim's shoulders. They were as bad as he has seen and should have been done ten years ago. I might add that we sought help ten years ago and was told that nothing could be done. Dr. Saterlee literally had to rebuild the entire shoulder. This process has been excrutiatingly painful to say the least for Tim but I can't tell you how proud I am of him to face this daunting process and keep his spirits high. He is an inspiration and keeps reminding all of us that it could be much worse. We simply could not have gotten through it without everyone's help. Mom and Dad Meyer came out from July 8th to the 11th to lend lots of support during the surgery week. June (otherwise known as Grambug) has been here since July 8th and "rented" a room at the hospital to be with Tim 24/7 until he was released on July 12th. Jerry (Ouchy Pa) arrived on July 13th with the beloved Lucky dog. June and Jerry remain in St. Joe offering endless support and tons of home cooked meals. As so often happens during difficult times, we have been humbled at how much love and care we receive from our parents and families. The inspiration to endure this continues to come from Mary and Kate who have been tremendous about helping daddy and being quiet (most of the time) because daddy has a big boo boo.

Walking Lucky

As you can see Mary considers formal attire appropriate for any occasion whereas Kate believes that you can never be too casual.

Birdfeeders

One of our favorite pasttimes is feeding the birds. We hang our feeders in the tree in the frontyard so that we can see them as they come to feast. I am convinced they are actually pigs disguised as birds since I can go through a ten pound bag of birdseed in less than a week.

Bathing Beauty

It's a rough life but someone has to do it.

As they say - girls just want to have fun!

Our beautiful girl

On a rare quiet moment I caught our Mary in a moment of contemplation. I treasure these times watching her absorb the world around her and discover who she is in the process.