Pre-Op with Dr. Fearon

Today, we're meeting with Charlie's cranio facial surgeon, 

Dr. Fearon, to set a date for surgery.  Wish us luck!

UPDATE:

Charlie had a good meeting with Dr. Fearon at Medical City in Dallas. Surgery is set for the end of July. As part of this preparation, Dr. Fearon recommended weekly injections of Procrit during the month prior to surgery to beef up Charlie's red blood cells for clotting.  Dr. Fearon was happy to hear that Charlie is having success with his physical therapy and is on the path to surmounting the challenges of his stroke. It was a great meeting and Jack and I are both extremely happy with Dr. Fearon's expertise, kindness and open heart. 

Morning in bed...

...more gratuitous photos.

Cashel Dane Smith

Today's post is actually about someone else's son.  Our dear friends Anne and Ashley Smith (whom many of you know) delivered their sweet son Cashel a week ago today.  Click HERE to see some beautiful photos of his amazing birth.

Wheels wheels wheels

On Saturday afternoon, we took the kids to Coffee Park in Dallas so that Walker could ride his bike around the park.  ...and around and around and around and around. 

Brothers and Blessings

Gratuitous photo session:

For those of you who were not able to make Charlie's blessing in Cayucos, here is the beautiful invocation and blessing as performed by Robert and Vena Norton:

LADIES and GENTLEMEN,

The Great Book informs us that " A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM "    

and a little child has done exactly that.

We have been lead here to THIS place------to proclaim the Spiritual Perfection and Earthly Manifestation of Charlie Greenman.

We are here to witness the miracle of little Charlie and his impact on our world.

We are here to witness his courage and his ability to draw upon and utilize the Love that comes TO him, and his ability to radiate it back TENFOLD...

...and to show the healing possibility of Love in Action.

YES !!!!!!!

A little child SHALL lead them -- lead them into the realm of compassion, of Unity, of Strength, and of Courage.  

We are here to witness higher consciousness from a Little Child. 
To witness the path that Life is showing HIM...and showing US --- that ANYTHING is possible, if we open ourselves to it, and believe in it.

YES!!!!!!!

We are led here today to proclaim to Charlie that we LOVE him--- that we SUPPORT him... and to thank him for joining us in the human family... for he is a Valuable addition to that family.

We are here to bless his parents, his family , his caretakers.

We are here to  bless YOU Little Charlie...

...in the name of all that is Good, all that is Pure, all that is Lovely.

We thank you Charlie for leading us here today -- to share our Healing Love with you-- and with one another --- so that we may live OUR lives in a way that allows us to be a Beneficial Presence to ourselves and to our fellow man.

We acknowledge your power and ability to lead us to THIS PLACE TODAY...

and we feel blessed by your presence.....

SO, Lead ON Little Charlie --- for we who Love you---- are WITH you --- EVERY step of the way.

And so it is.

Spring has Sprung

We've had two big days in a row.  On Sunday we worked in the yard and pulled out the swing for Charlie!  He loved it, even though his head was a bit wobbly.  Walker and Jack also had some time to crack open the sand box and dig dig dig!

Yesterday, Walker and Charlie stayed with their babysitter, Abbey, while Jack went to work and I accompanied the Smiths to the birth center where they delivered a beautiful healthy baby boy.  Cashel Dane Smith joined his parents at 2:44pm after only a few hours of labor.  He is 7 pounds, 4 ounces and 20 inches long.  A few hours after his delivery, I picked up Mackey Smith from school and relieved our sainted sitter.  Jack and I kept all three kids happy until I returned Mackey to her family in the evening.  Congrats Anne, Ashley and Mackey on your new baby BOY!

Return to Dallas via Natchitoches, Louisiana

On Wednesday, we left Atlanta in the morning and drove west all day.  By 5:30pm the boys were getting a little crazy, as evidenced by the photo below, so we stopped for the night in Vicksburg, where we visited the Civil War battlefield on our was to Atlanta.

We took full advantage of their beautiful pool and let Walker swim off some steam.  Even Charlie got in on the action and enjoyed his very first dip in a pool!

 

The next morning, we were up early.  We decided to take a scenic detour into Creole country to visit Natchitoches on the Cane River in Louisiana.  Natchitoches was established by the French in 1714 and is the oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase. This is the town where, among many other important and historic things, Steel Magnolias was filmed. 

By 10:30am, we were in town and out of the car!  

Yay for open range kids...

We had a picnic along the Cane River and Charlie took a nap, 

while Jack and Walker explored the river.

Jack and I both loved the French style architecture! 

We stumbled upon the Kaffie-Frederick Mercantile, which was a magical general store filled to the brim with old and new house wares and home improvement bric-a-brac.  This place was established in 1863, during the civil war.  I could have spent the whole day in this store.

Jack and I are very interested in returning to Natchitoches sans kids to further explore this amazing place.  Just outside of town are some of the first Creole plantations in the US and some of them are open to the public.  We drove by these homes on our way through, but need more time to get the full experience.  Here are some of the plantations we saw.  I've juxtaposed them with other homes along the route - some of them just across the road.

Melrose Plantation

Oak Lawn Plantation

Beaufort Plantation

abandoned school

Oakland Plantation Est. 1821

Natchitoches is only 4 plus hours from Dallas, so the Greenman family was home and in bed by 10pm!  It was great to get out of town for a few days and the boys were really good.