LifeTrain

With the boys, the big hit this week has been "going on vacation" with their luggage. Toys and pillows and blankets are loaded up into their bags and they haul them around the house while declaring out loud, "We're going to Texas!" or "We're going to California!" or "We're going to England!". Each destination played out in full, with me having to prentend to be Grandad or Grandma or Ethan or Greatgrandma.

The funniest thing is that Greatgrandma has a British accent, and Grant knows this (although he doesn't know that the word for it is 'accent'). So he is very insistent that I adopt the "sound" of greatgrandma. "Greatgrandma, your sound!", he'll remind when I fail to stay in character. I have a terrible, possibly nonexistent, English accent which makes the whole thing rather painful for me. Grant and Dean love it, though, and giggle like mad at my Greatgrandma voice. And then they hop in the plane and fly to California and I have to be someone new.

I talked to my grandma this week and told her about the craziness in this house, with the accents and the lugguge and the pretending. She loved it. She also admitted that she couldn't do an American accent to save her life. I love talking to my grandma. We talked about knitting (I'll have to post pics of the gorgeous sweaters she sent Lael this past week), and the kids. She was so proud about my pattern, and I told her I'd send her a copy.

We also spoke about her health. I haven't written about it here before for two reasons. Firstly, every person is entitled to their privacy. Secondly, I didn't really know many details. While I still feel that a certain level of privacy is important, I also know that our family could use the prayers of my friends during this struggle. My Grandma has recently been diagnosed with cancer of the bowel and will be undergoing surgery in the next few weeks. Routinely, this is one of the most treatable cancers, and it would seem that it was detected at a good stage. I am praying about many issues that this diagnosis carries with it, but will you also join me in praying for my grandma's speedy recovery from surgery? To top it all off, she broke a bone in her foot last week and is in a cast. She was lamenting the ability to go to the end of the garden where the runner beans and courgettes were ready for harvest. She's such a fighter; it took a cast on her leg to keep her away from her garden. I love that woman!