Papa K's Surgery Scheduled

My mom reported tonight that my dad is all shaved and ready to go for surgery tomorrow. They've got the veins on his leg all mapped out with marker, and apparently he's pretty much hairless... all the way down to his hands and toes. They'll take him to be prepped around 10am, then the surgery itself (it will be a triple bypass) will begin around noon. They expect him to be out and in recovery around 4pm (all of this is CDT). He'll be in the Cardiac ICU Thursday night, then as long as he can walk and they are able to remove his tubes on Friday, they'll move him to a Cardiac Care room after that. They expect him to go home on Tuesday the 22nd. Dad seems ready to "get this over with" and really likes his surgeon, so that's good. He's had lots of calls and emails from friends and family with words of encouragement and prayers, so he's loving that. In addition to that, Kyle (my brother) arrived Monday so he's getting to spend time with him, and mom took her computer in today (they have wireless internet in his room) so he got to video skype with his "Keri Doll" and Belle today. And he got to see his Kelly (my sister) on national TV last night on the ACMs (Academy of Country Music awards on CBS... see the picture of my TV? :)). So even though we aren't all there physically, he's getting to see all of his kids and grandkids which helps!

Kelly was at the ACM's because her husband's band, Heartland, was nominated for Top New Duo or Group and Song of the Year (for "I Loved Her First"). They got to sit in the 7th row right in the center, so they had an up-close view of all of the action. I haven't talked to her since the show, but we were texting during the show and it sounds like they had a great time. Kelly is the hot blonde in the middle of the screen in the attached pictures and her husband, Jason, is the good looking guy in the cowboy hat on the left of the screen. Jason got to do an "after the break" presentation before a commercial break early on in the show and the group was also interviewed on the orange carpet (instead of the red carpet... it was sponsored by Home Depot) during the preshow. Jason is such a great spokesman! It was very exciting to see not only Jason and Kelly, but also Kelly's pregnant belly on tv!

Belle didn't have her swimming lesson today due to lightning. Yesterday she swam to pull herself up on the edges and did some swimming toward the instructor in the middle of the pool. She was crying the whole time and took a bit longer to calm down afterwards, but she survived and she did well in the lesson itself. It's probably better that the class was cancelled today because Belle seems to be a bit under the weather. She started with a runny nose this morning and by the end of the day her eyes were watering from her sinuses bothering her so much. Poor baby! She's been a trooper and has still been playing and even had fun at the playground with Jackson this afternoon, but she's been so pitiful looking. When I didn't have a tissue handy, I have been using Belle's pj shirt to wipe her nose and by the afternoon when I wasn't quick enough, she was doing it on her own. It's funny how fast they pick things up... even when sick. Also this afternoon at the playground, when we got close to the trees where Belle first saw a squirrel months ago, she started making the clicking sound that I taught her for squirrel and was looking for them in the trees. Their little memories are amazing!

I'll report back tomorrow on Papa K's status. I'm sure it will be all good news! :) Also, pictures of our first couple of days with Jackson are online, and I plan to have more pictures up of our trip to the playground tomorrow.