We did have a nice visit with my parents. Cole, continuing in his highly emotional stage of late, sobbed and sobbed when they left. He said he just kept thinking of all of the fun things they did: swimming at the motel pool, looking over our garden, planting corn, playing briefly in a pile of dirt left by the construction crew, eating at a restaurant we rarely go to, etc.

Sunday was another hard day for him because he had so much fun playing with our friends' kids when we went to their house for supper. I reassured him that our friends weren't moving away and that we could see them again - at their house or at our house. That didn't help a lot at the time. It just seems that he has a big crying jag at least once a day lately, and I'm not sure why that is. Is it a developmental phase he's going through? Or is it all of the impending changes coming with the baby and that even though he's excited about all of it, he's still a little unsure about changes in general? Or is it something completely different? Cole's always worn his emotions on his sleeve, but usually those have been anger over play not going his way or excitement about something.

My grandpa (maternal) was diagnosed with lung cancer late last week. To get to nearly his mid-80s without a cancer diagnosis is pretty rare, but that doesn't make it much easier. He's had a small spot on his lungs for the past few years, but doctors didn't know what it was and didn't think it was cancer. The spot has barely grown during that time, so I take that as promising news. Yesterday he and my grandma, my parents, and my aunt went down to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester so he could meet with a surgeon. The spot is close to his esophogus, so that needed to be looked at. Today he's having surgery (or is already in surgery) to determine if the spot has spread at all. If it has, then I guess the next step will be trying radiation or chemo. If it hasn't spread, then they'll remove a lobe of his lung in the hopes of removing all of the cancer. Either way, it's going to be hard on him.

Today Cory left for Sioux Falls to attend a couple meetings. He'll be gone overnight. This afternoon I'm dropping off the van at a different mechanic who may actually not just put me off from doing the work but actually fix the things that need fixing. The priority at this point is fixing the passenger door so we'll have in and out access on both sides. That will be so much more convenient, especially when the baby arrives.

Speaking of baby, I'm at 36 weeks today and really wish our chiropractic appointment were this week rather than next week. I really banged my foot last week, and I can tell it shifted around some things higher up. When I'm not very well aligned, that's when I notice my feet start swelling more easily. Yesterday the kids and I went through newborn clothes and picked out all of the gender neutral stuff to wash and put in the dresser. Soon I'll get out some baby blankets and the newborn diapers so we'll have that all set out and ready. I'm sure I'll get all of that done before I even think about packing a bag for the hospital.

I guess I should get ready for the day or at least make an attempt before the kids wake up.