Happy Birthday Steve!

Happy 30th Birthday Steve!!

You are a great son - and we are so very proud of you!

I could go on and on with the embarrassing stories of things you have said and done - but since this is your birthday I will spare you this time!

Instead I will remind you again,

We love you and and are so proud of the man you have become!

The best laid plans....

Michelle and Mark along with Sydney and Kaitlyn left for the Orlando area yesterday morning for a week of rest and relaxation. Due to Sydney's food allergies they rented a vacation home near all the fun activities - that way they can cook the things she can eat. Got there fine - beautiful home - built in pool - Princess bedroom for Sydney - all the amenities! They enjoy their first partial day and evening. About 9:30 Mark gets off the sofa to lock up for the night - and bing bong his back is out! He made it upstairs but was in great pain all night. Michelle thought they would have to call 911 to get him back downstairs - but he managed to make it down the stairs and then use one of the strollers as a walker. Off to the hospital on Sunday morning. It seems that he has a herniated disc and pulled muscles - so they are having him enjoy a drug-induced happy party right now! The docs have cautioned him to not lift or drive, and to sit, lay or stand only short times. To visit Disney he will need a motorized wheelchair - since he cannot roll the wheels himself and Michelle will have 2 kiddo's under 3 to push too. Also Michelle will have to pack all those bags and get them down the stairs and into the van too - and yes, they had to bring 2 car seats and baby paraphernalia along with all the clothing for 4 people for a week!

All the plans we make......can change in a moment!

Praying that Mark feels better soon !!

Megan Moments

We enjoyed having Megan today while Kari was working.

She was quite busy checking out flowers and helping Grandpa!

She got out the kiddie lawnmower and was trying to help out!

Grandpa was vacuuming up leaves and Megan was right on his trail! He turns and she turns, he zigs and she zags!

She was helping get all the leaves/winter gunk out of the patio pond here.


And of course she remember to stop to smell the flowers - except she was pulling them instead!

What a great day we had!

Fun with Grandma!

Thursday I had all 4 grandchildren for most of the day.

Thought I would try to get a good picture of all of them sitting together.

Megan was ready in this one - but Karsten though Kaitlyn needed his attention and Sydney was wondering what he was doing behind her back!

After several attempts I realized that this is as good as it gets!

Sydney is usually the one who looks and smiles in the pictures (she is our budding photographer) but she was busy this time putting her arms around Megan and Karsten! Megan rarely looks but she is laughing, Karsten wasn't looking either but he was laughing and

Kaitlyn is just wondering what is going on!

Maybe this was the shot where I told them there was a monkey on Grandma's head and they had to laugh to get it off!

Make a difference in someone's life!

March 29 picture

We had a great time on Russ' birthday at the Piston's VS Cavaliers game at the Palace!

This is a picture of the Patterson Clan -

Michelle, Kim, Karla, Russ, Kari & Steve

We LOVE it when Michelle's boss thinks we need a family night out!

Two in One Day!

Whooo-hoooo - Kari was released from the hospital! She is on the way home to do some serious resting! And Megan was very glad to see her Mama!

Kari Surgery

Kari had surgery this morning to put a stent up into her kidney. Hopefully that will give her the relief she needs from this kidney stone! The stent will stay until the stone passes or until after she gives birth. This whole thing came on suddenly and hits like a ton of bricks! Please remember her in prayer!

Correction: While it SOUNDS like a kidney stone - no actual stone has been sighted on any of the scans.

When it Rains...

When it rains....it pours!

As I try to recoup - our daughter Kari is in the hospital! Kari is due in August and suddenly has terrible pains - she suspects a bladder infection. No, that would be too easy - seems it is maybe kidney stones! They have done a couple of ultrasounds on the kidneys (baby is fine) and may do a procedure tomorrow. She is on pain meds too. Only one "attack" today - but if you touch her in the kidney area she is jumping! Please pray for her - and also for Megan (who spent the night with Aunt Michelle and then has been at Grandma Shirley's house) and for Rich too.

Kicking - not quite!

Well, I am surely not "kicking" yet - but I sure am hobbling around! Surgery came off without a hitch - even took me in a little early. They gave me a great little cocktail in the iv and I don't even remember kissing Russ goodbye! When I came to a couple of nurses were admiring my pedicure! Always nice to have your feet admired! haha Anyway - wrapped from my toes to my thighs with an ace bandage which keeps me from making the leg straight and from bending it too. So long story short - I am mending and will be trying not to overdo!

Hugs to all of you and thanks for the prayers!

Bumpy cake cupcakes!

Wow - what a treat we had today for Kim and Steve's birthdays! We had bumpy cake cupcakes! My favorite thing to eat is cake - so right up my alley!

We enjoyed having the whole family here together - and the grandkids enjoyed seeing all the cousins too!

Will post some pictures as soon as our official photograher, Michelle, sends me some! ;-)

On a side note - I will be out of commission for a couple of days - having arthroscopic knee surgery on Monday, April 14. Tired of having my knee dictate where I can go and what I can do! Please pray for a sucessful surgery and a quick recovery!

See you soon - and make a difference!

Hello Mudder, Hello Fadder

Seems like yesterday sometimes - seems like a million years ago other times.

Today is the 9th year anniversary of the day my mom left us and went on to Heaven. And today is the 9 month anniversary of the day my dad followed. Funny how they both died on the 12th day of the month (she in April and he in July).

Mom died on Kim's 26th birthday - there was no celebration for Kim that year. But we knew that Mom would want us to always celebrate Kim's day and we have. Tomorow, April 13 we will all gather to celebrate the April birthdays of our family - for Kim, 35, and Steve, 30. We look forward to all being together - and we know that my mom and dad will be with us in spirit! They loved birthday celebrations!

Make a difference!

Happy Birthday Kim!

35 years ago today we had our first child - a beautiful 8 pound 8 ounce girl!

As the story goes, I awoke with back labor at about 1:45 a.m. but didn't wake Dad until about 6:00 a.m. when he would normally wake to go to work. So we got ready to go to the hospital - but with a stop off at work to open the building and get things straight for the day. Dad was inside with all the customers that were arriving and finally some of the other employees began arriving. All the while I was in the car having contraction after contraction after contraction. Finally one of the older employees came by the car and began to tease me about when was I finally going to have this baby - and I began to cry telling him any minute now! He went inside and had customers move vehicles and told Dad to get out of the place and get to the hospital now! And then you were born about 6 hours later - how was I to know that things had not progressed as much as I thought they would in that time! ;-)

You were well worth the loss of sleep (for that night and many others) and the fun 12 hours of labor!

We love you Kim - and are so proud of the great woman, wife and mother you have become!

Erica

Join me in making a difference in a young lady's life!!

Erica - the babysitter for Sydney, Karsten & Kaitlyn - has not felt well for awhile. All the sickness was attributed to her pregnancy. But then it continued after the delivery of her beautiful baby boy. After much pain she was finally diagnosed with a problem with her gall bladder and had that removed. And then even more pain. They discovered then that she had a gall stone in her liver - so they cut away part of the liver to remove the stone. Then they found the pancreatitis - and then pneumonia. She is one very sick cookie! She has been in the hospital now for 2 weeks - and they say she will be there for quite some time. She is still in major pain, very swollen, high fevers and has infections of her entire gastro tract.

The grandkids really miss Erica and the fun they had with her.

Are you wondering how you can make a difference in Erica's life? You can Pray, Pray, Pray for her health! You can pray for the medical staff that is working with her. You can pray for her infant son who needs his mommy. You can pray for her fiance who has a new job. You can pray for her parents who are beside themselves with worry for their daughter and are taking care of baby Christian too. Your prayers will make a difference not only in Erica's life - but in yours too! Thanks everyone!