Happy Birthday Grandpa...

I'm up at the hospital...Max is thinking hard and they're catching it all on video. I just heard a helicopter fly in...I used to like to see helicopters up close...now I just think of sick babies in them. We should be out tomorrow, I'll be glad to not be in here for more than we need.

Steve got back this evening, so that is a huge load off for me. He can manage things at the house finishing up while we are here doing the EEG test.

We've finished all of our appointments this week. I feel ready to go now...I just want to get on the plane and go. That has nothing to do with leaving behind anyone...I just want to get on with it!

Today was my Grandpa Yandell's 80th birthday. I got to talk to him for a while as they were getting Max all set up for his test.

I've always felt extra very special lucky to have him for a Grandpa. There really isn't another human on this earth that holds the place in my heart that he does. I was trying to think of what to write about today to talk about him on this special birthday, and I remembered a comment I put on Leanne's site some time ago in response to a picture she had posted of an open field with trees. It had reminded me of a special morning walk I had with Grandpa. I thought it was appropriate to bring that comment here, for my Grandpa today.

"I see me walking with grandpa on a cool morning up at our lake house in Oklahoma.

He's telling me the story of jonah...one of my favorite told by him...or maybe esther...she was a queen you know.

He has a big stick he'd found along the way snapping it apart by his big strong hands and tossing the little bits aside.

I have a smaller stick, using it to steady my step while trying to match his enormous stride.

We pick up rocks along our way. Some of them are stuffed in my pockets to take back to Grandma to paint on, others are for our rock garden, and others still are to put in the tree stump at the end of the road, where Jack the donkey lives. We put rocks there to see if they are still there on our next walk.

And once we put the rocks in the rotted out stump we stop to take a breather before walking back up the road to our place. And that's when I look up and see the sun breaking through the trees. Just like in this picture. And Grandpa says, God made all of this...just for us this morning. Isn't it beautiful? He's such a great God. I want you to always remember how much he loves us...and how he sent his son to die for us...to cleanse us of our sins. And it is my prayer that you love and follow Jesus every day of your life.

And then we sit there...soaking in God's warmth...until the sun has just about reached the tops of the trees. That's when we head back home, where Grandma has prepared all the fixings for breakfast.

Grandpa start up the fire in our big fire pit outside...and we each pull up our little tree stumps that he made us stools out of. And we help bring the food out.

His eyes are crying from the onions..."wheeeew! These onions are gettin' me!" Then go in the potatoes. And next is the bacon and then the eggs.

I'm pulling out my bounty of rocks and lining them up for everyone to see. My older sister is helping Grandma set the table. My brother is helping Grandpa by killing any bugs that might enter the sanctity of our cooking and eating area. And my little sister is helping Grandpa cook by singing him songs.

And when it's time to eat we sit together at the picnic table and we hold hands and pray for the food and for the family and for fun.

And little did I know that 20 years later, a picture on a friends blog would bring back every aspect of that day."

That was just one day of my childhood...just one story. A whole book could be written full of days and experiences just like that.


(Little Deana sitting on Grandpa's Lap)