Where has the summer gone? It seems like only yesterday I was welcoming Cara home from Cincinnati, Nate was finishing his first year of college and Danae was graduating from HS. Here it is August 20th. Cara left Saturday morning at 7 a.m. for Cincinnati…that is with a few stops on the way. First she spent half the day in Milwaukee visiting a new “friend” before she went on to my sister’s in IL to spend the night. Cara arrived safely in Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon around 4pm. I always hate to have my kids on the road, especially when they are alone. Tomorrow morning we will be dropping off our baby at college. Can it be? Like Kirk said, turning 40 didn’t make us feel old, turning 45 didn’t either….but taking your baby to college….that does!

Nate’s surgery went very well. It was a very long day …he was in surgery for 8.5 hours! The surgeon thought it would take about 5-6 hours so I was about going crazy! When they finally brought him up to his room around around 9:00 pm I just cried. He looked so “beat up” and swollen. I knew he would, the doctors warned me, but I guess you can never be too prepared to see your kids in the condition he was in. Nate was “out of it” all night …and in pain when he was “in it”. I spent the night on a chair that (slightly) reclined (it was a long night without much sleep). He had a 1-1 nurse in his room all night with us…but I did most of his care. Nate spent the next two nights in the hospital as well, and came home Thursday afternoon. He is a real trooper. This is a very hard surgery and recovery. The first week he ate all his food through a large syringe…in liquid form…even a PBJ sandwich!

Nate is back to working at the daycare again, and going out with friends. He has 3 more weeks to go until they take the splint out of his mouth. Until then, he can only eat “soft” foods. Today he managed a pancake for breakfast and a soft shell taco for dinner (cut into small pieces). I’ll include some pictures we took last Sunday of all the kids so you can see the “new” Nate.