Grandpa is a Champion

First things first.

Grandpa is doing SOOO well. I want to thank everyone on here that has sent us well wishes and prayers. I am truly amazed at what can be done these days. He went into surgery yesterday. The doctors took out his esophagus (because of cancer cells) and then stretched his stomach up... so the stomach becomes the esophagus AND the stomach. So it's kind-of like getting your esophagus out and your stomach stapled all at once :) We're gonna miss that big belly of his :)

But the surgery went wonderfully and now the long road of recovery has begun. We were there with him this morning for his first "walk" after surgery. Whew. What an ordeal. But he did so well. And he looked right at home with his army of ladies fussing over him :) There were 2 nurses and a doctor and Grandma all with him. Tamara, James, and I stayed in the room and cheered him back to his finish line. :) And I dropped off a pie for the nurses before we left to give them even MORE incentive to fuss over him :)

Things worked out perfectly for James and me to be in Iowa. We are so grateful we could be there with the family for the surgery. Tamara (James' ma) is a doctor, and she is able to stay for the next couple of weeks to help out. Again - SOOOO great she can be there. It's such a comfort to everyone.

So keep the prayers coming!!! We want to get the tubes out and the pain away!!! But Grandpa has already been giving the nurses a hard time... so we know he's gonna be ok :)

James and I worked on the set lists for next year for about 7 hours in the car tonight. It was pretty awesome. We have so many ideas and plans. It doesn't seem like you could talk about set lists for 7 hours straight.... oh but you can! We talked about everything from order... to song selection... to seamless transitions... to optional versions. It's pretty amazing what all you have to consider when it comes to the set list. It's time to breath some new life into the show. And we're very excited to do it!!! Can you tell??

We're home now. We're sleeping in our own bed tonight. Cinnamon is a very happy little pup.

Love you Grandpa!!!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

Nurse Monkey Bear

My puppy, Cinnamon, has been soooooo sweet to me this whole time. She has taken really good care of me and has stayed by my side the whole time I have been sick. She would only leave to go downstairs and say hi to James and my parents, and then she would come back and lay back down in bed with me. Sometimes she would get a bit antsy and play with her wooly mammoth and lay on a pillow down beside the bed. But most of the time, she was curled up right in my arms, licking my face, and nursing me back to health.

My dog is awesome.




Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie