An Easter Story - sort of

I have a friend who shall remain unnamed.  He is a good person, kind and loving, caring and gentle.  A number of years ago his wife divorced him, and somehow in the process, she convinced his two children that they wanted nothing to do with him.  I cannot imagine what she said, but it worked, and for the past twelve years or so he has had no contact with his kids.

He remarried and made a good life for himself and his new wife.  But the specter of his kids was always there, and we wondered if he would ever see them, meet their spouses, and meet his grandchildren.

About a month ago, he received some difficult medical news that would require a very serious operation.  It was not something to be trifled with, and he and his wife aggressively pursued options, finally settling on surgery mid-March.  It was a stressful few weeks, but once it was settled, it was settled and he made peace with it.

One day, not long after the decision was made, he received a phone call.  I cannot imagine his reaction when he heard his child's voice on the end of the line.  A grandfather had passed away, and suddenly the kids realized they didn't want to remain estranged from their father.  Timing, of course, is everything, but my friend was able to tell them about his surgery.

Long story short, the kids brought their families to meet my friend, and then after the families left, the two kids remained to make sure their dad pulled through.  He did, the results of the surgery were very positive, and he is now recuperating.

The best part of the story is that he and his kids have reconnected, they have accepted his wife very well, and their family will have numerous opportunities to celebrate together.  We prayed long and hard for this to happen, but never in my wildest dreams did  I think it would, especially with the kind of timing they had.  God works in mysterious ways.  And one thing I know for sure - His hands were all over this one.  So very happy for my friends!

The Hungry Little Caleb-pillar

Hard to believe little Caleb has turned one.  The year has been a blur, but when we were invited to come to his birthday party, we were there.

One of the favorite stories Kenneth and Melinda read to Caleb is the Hungry Little Caterpillar, but they have changed it to Caleb-pillar."   So it was appropriate for the birthday to center on the Calebpillar theme.  Melinda did a delightful job of having fun Calebpillar accents around the house.  The kitchen window had a Calebpillar on it, complete with a picture (or more) for every month of his life.

The bannister for the stairs was the backdrop for balloons that looked like the Calebpillar.

She had signs around the house of various pages from the book and she had a darling synopsis of Caleb's accomplishments his first year of life.  He wore a Hungry Calebpillar shirt,

we ate a Calebpillar cake,

and our two salads even sported the motif.

Birthday hats,

a tunnel that looks like a caterpillar,

and lots of time with the family made for a fun, fun time with our little guy.