Happy birthday to my dad!

Happy 84th birthday to my dad! We are so blessed to have him in our lives. He leads our family with character, warmth and laughter.

Some comments left on Facebook for him today include:

Happy birthday, Mr. Wilson! Thank you for everything that you did for my daddy.

HBD, WW! What a special legacy you have made with your life. Lots of us sure do love you, friend. Blessings.

Happy birthday Grandpa! You are one of my favorite people, and I hope you have the best day! Thank you for your wisdom, for the laughter, and for not laughing at my poor guesses during Wheel of Fortune 

Remember the guy in the middle from Pecos. A true man of God.

A man [for whom] I will always have the highest respect! Happy birthday!

Love your dad, happy bday to him! Please share my good wishes for him!

Happy 62nd Anniversary

Happy anniversary to my parents!

A friendly noogie

Mimi gets a noogie from "Uncle Grandpa." She likes that a lot. These two get along pretty well. Mimi is very selective in whom she allows in her circle of friends, but he and my mom both make the cut. 

Mimi turned 11 in January. She's still pretty spry for her age. 

Oh happy day!

Eighty years ago this evening in a small town a few hours west of Houston, a cute little baby boy was born. (I wasn't there of course, but I've seen pictures.) He, the youngest, made his family of five complete. 

Eighty years flies by too fast if you ask me. I'm sure to him it seems like just yesterday that he was walking through a creek full of alligators on his way home from school. 

58 years ago, something wonderful happened

Happy 58th Anniversary to my parents! They were married on July 1, 1955 at the First Baptist Church in Rosenberg, Texas. I am blessed beyond measure to have them as my parents and to share the journey of life with them. It's fun to be in my family. 

Photo in their backyard by me. But not taken this year. Obvs.

Update on my parents

My Mom:

As you know, my mom fell in early December and broke a vertebrae. She had back surgery and returned home. About a week later the pain became so excruciating that she couldn't (and still can't) walk any further than about 50 feet.

Yesterday, an x-ray found out why. A piece of the L3 vertebra (the one that was repaired) has separated from the main body of the vertebra and is sticking out where it doesn't belong, and when my mom tries to stand and puts her spine in compression, this fragment presses on nerves and is causing the excruciating pain.

They can't surgically repair this problem, but are hoping the broken piece will re-attach itself and heal over time.

PLEASE SPECIFICALLY PRAY FOR GOD TO HEAL THIS VERTEBRAE IN MY MOM'S BACK. Pray that the bone will re-attach itself so my mom can walk pain free.

On a positive note, she sounds really good and chipper on the phone.

My Dad:

My mom can hardly walk, and certainly can't bend or do anything strenuous, so my dad is taking the lead on most projects around the house and in town. He does grocery shopping, cooking, etc. My mom feels bad that he is left doing so much of the work, but he reminded her of their 1955 wedding vows where they promised each other to stick it out "in sickness and in health," "in good times and bad," and such as that. 

My brother J and his wife and son live 3 miles down the road, and though they work (and attend school, in the case of my nephew), they pitch in quite a lot too. 

Thanks for those who asked about my parents' situation, and please keep them in your prayers as they deal with this challenge.