When I last wrote, we were worrying about rising waters. Turns out we were advised to move to higher ground after the next round of thunderstorms. We would have been okay, but I slept better knowing we wouldn't be swept downriver overnight! We moved back the following day. It's astounding how much water can pour into a river in such a short time!

Normally, the water is beyond all those trees in the foreground, and there would be beach and grass where the water is. For perspective, see the tree leaning in the background on the right? Fritz was sitting on the rootball of that tree just a few days earlier.

Since Maddox has been born, there's been less of a demand for my help as Mike took two weeks off to help the family adjust. We still try to get together a couple times a week. One day, we all met at a state park that used to be an old homestead where a photographer friend of the family offered to take photos of the Lindstrom clan. They sure are a good-looking bunch of people!

Later that evening, they joined us at our campsite, where we roasted hot dogs and made s'mores over a campfire. What fun!

A cloud hanging over the family's head since Maddox's birth was the knowledge that he has a whole in his heart. He was referred to a pediatric cardiologist in Little Rock. Tracy and I made the seven-hour round trip on Wednesday. The dr. ran an ECHO cardiogram on Maddox. He was such a trooper! The result: a Praise-the-Lord 'tiny hole' that may close on its own, but even if it doesn't, it should have no impact on his lifestyle! Follow-up in one year, just to see if it has closed. We enjoyed lunch and a beautiful drive home through the Boston Mountains near Fayetteville.

With all this free time on our hands, Fritz and I decided we ought to float that river behind our motorhome, the Elk. Today was the perfect day: 83 degrees and sunny! We set out before 10 a.m. and had a most pleasant float! Because the wind was contrary, there were times we were at a standstill, but in general, the river ran at about 2 miles per hour; a perfect speed. We were on the river about 5 1/2 hours, which was about an hour longer than we would have liked, but enjoyed it immensely.

Can you spot the blue heron on the shore?

Lunch on the Elk River

After all that sun and fun, we're ready to plan our next adventure. It may be catfishing on the Elk......

Til next time......abundant blessings to you and yours!
 

After kissing a lot of toads, so to speak, from Fayetteville, AR to Pineville, MO, we finally found a decent and affordable RV park to call 'home' for the next few months. What a load it has taken off us to have that settled! Unfortunately, our park is in Pineville, a good 40-minutes from Tracy's. Still, it's a nice location, grassy and on the confluence of the Little and Big Sugar Creeks that come together to form the Elk River (a popular rafting river). We understand there's catfish in that there river, and have been eyeballing some fishing gear to see if we can catch any....

Right now, we're a little nervous about being very close to the river, as flash flood warnings have already raised the level by 2-3 feet. There's a sign on an electric pole as we enter the park that marks the flood level on April 25, 2011. Where we're now situated would have been under several feet of water. Nice that we can move our home if we have to! Folks on the other side of the river weren't that fortunate....

On to more important news: After several weeks of waiting for Tracy's contractions to get serious, she was finally scheduled to be induced on Maddox's due date, October 9th. Doctors were concerned about his size, as she was measuring at 42 1/2 weeks when he was 40 weeks! I was home with all five grandchildren that day, as Jack and Kate are on a 2-week school break. Tracy went in at 6 a.m., and Maddox Frederich Lindstrom was born at 2:01 p.m. weighing a whopping 10 lbs. 3 oz and 22" long! He has a full head of jet black hair, and is just perfect! He has mom and dad's long fingers and toes and, apparently, their height! 

I loaded up his five siblings and took them to meet their little brother. They were so excited! Of course, so was I....

Today, two days later, we stopped in to see Mike, Tracy and Maddox on an otherwise kid-free weekend, and Fritz's birthday present was to get to hold his 14th grandchild (along with getting a yummy treat Tracy made for him!)

So....it's recovery time for all of us. It's been an intense few weeks and I've been to Tracy's nearly every day, leaving Fritz a virtual widower. We can expect to achieve a little more balance as the Lindstrom/Little family adjusts to its new equipoise. Mike is home for two weeks to be the guiding force behind that adjustment. We're so grateful for him! He's the calm in the storm, much like Fritz.


Speaking of storms, our last week at the "Hilton" RV park, as I was returning from Tracy's, a tornado siren went off. I was only a mile from home, so made a dash for it. The other RVers joined us in the laundry room until the all-clear sounded. More severe weather is expected tomorrow night. There is also a sturdy restroom/shower area here, if needed. Between severe weather and the rising waters of the river behind us, I don't think we'll be able to really relax until the skies clear early next week!