Grateful for visits & seeking sleep.

Vern and I spent some time tonight visiting his dad up at the hospital. It was really good to see him. He's looking much better now and seeming more like himself. I was a little wrong in what I understood about this week's operation. They put titanium rods in that are supporting his broken femur, but didn't remove anything for now. They'll have to go back some time after his back surgery for a more permanent solution, but for now they have it stabilized. He's obviously in much less pain, which is awesome. Special thanks to Brandon, who watched the other kiddos - making them dinner, getting them all cleaned up and into bed while we were gone.

Actually, tonight I asked Vern to be a little more patient with Brandon, who's really been trying to help but can't always do everything as quickly and efficiently as Vern would like. I pointed out the similarities between the two of them. They're both the oldest child, the one who feels the weight and who steps up when mom and dad are struggling. I can't imagine how my little family would handle struggles without Brandon. He deals with stress and responsibility admirably and has the compassion to step in with the younger kids really well. Meanwhile Vern is doing his best to be there for his mom and dad. It's a little harder as an adult with various responsibilites, but both of these guys have my love & appreciation. Hopefully Vern will be little more aware of how things affect our own kiddos. Understandably he's been just a little busy on the flip-side. It would be nice if he'd be a little less short with us when he comes home though. We're all trying. We all love grandpa Vern and are dealing with things in our own individual ways.

I wonder if I'll be able to sleep tonight. I tried to last night. I even went to bed much earlier than usual, but ended up laying there checking the clock every half hour or so. I wish I knew how to shut my brain down at night when I'm stressed out. (Preferably without drugs. lol Vern's been threatening to make me take tylenol pm or something. :p No thanks.)