Most likely this will be our last fairly quiet weekend as a family of five. Next weekend is Riverboat Days, which will be packed with dance performances, other activities, and Cory unfortunately delivering pizzas. Well, I suppose I could go into labor or have the baby already, but I'm going with the assumption that I'll make it to my due date and beyond.

I think I'm going to have to make an extra trip to the chiropractor this month - hopefully Monday - because I have been in such pain from sciatica. It hasn't been a huge issue this pregnancy, but I've been hobbling around for the past few days because it's been so painful to walk. It's hard enough just doing the basics, but it's even more difficult to get motivated to do extras toward preparing the house for the baby when each step hurts.

Yesterday we were up in Sioux Falls for most of the day for Myron's shoulder surgery. Once again he's had the rotator cuff repaired. I think this may be the third surgery on that shoulder. Now he needs to have the other shoulder repaired because he blew out both shoulders at the same time trying to remove a blade from a riding lawn mower. Cory and I both hope Myron's more cautious with physical activity from now on because it seems pretty obvious that his shoulders aren't strong enough to handle certain levels of push and pull.

Cory's brother, Mark, and sister-in-law Shannon also came up for the surgery, so we were able to spend most of the day talking with them. None of their three kids were along, though, so the kids missed out on seeing their cousins. In a bit of a coincidence, Cory's uncle Rich (married to Mary's sister Pat) was in the same hospital having heart stents put in due to blockage. We haven't seen either of them for about three years since the funerals of Mary, Mary's step-father and Mary's mother. They hadn't ever met Ella either, but Pat has always said from seeing pictures that Ella looks just like Mary did as a child. When Pat saw Ella yesterday, she told Cory that Ella was the spitting image of Mary. I wish we had pictures of Mary as a child, but their family was so poor that having a camera was a luxury they couldn't afford. Anyway, Pat and Rich had three of their daughters (Cory's cousins) along, so we were also able to see them for a while. That was really nice.

We're going to have to make a point to head up north to visit Pat and Rich after the new baby arrives since we don't know how much time Pat has left. I mentioned a few months ago that she was diagnosed with amyloidosis. Along with that, Pat also has multiple myeloma, which is a cancer that often goes hand in hand with amyloidosis. Unfortunately, multiple myeloma, affects the bones, making them very brittle, and Pat recently broke her ankle. She's supposed to keep her leg elevated at heart level or higher but isn't doing a very good job according to her daughters.

We made it back from Sioux Falls just in time for Cory to rush inside and change to go off and deliver pizzas. The kids and I spent a fairly quiet evening hanging out at home, with quick trips to the store and a short visit from the neighbors. Everyone was tired.

Today Cory does work for a few hours in the evening, but I'm not sure what we'll end up doing during the day. Right now I'm just making sure Cory gets to sleep in since he hasn't been able to do that in a long, long time.

Cole's asking to play a computer game now, so I'm going to turn over the computer to the little guy.