I am so glad that we bought Kurt a digital camera before he left on Westpac. He's sent me four photos already, showing me his rack (where he sleeps), the inside of his rack with all his photos of Grace lined up, the sea that his ship is cruising through, and a photo of himself in front of the consoles he works on. It helps me deal with him being gone because through his photos, I can almost be there with him. I can imagine the folks he is talking about, I can see the sights he's seeing, I can share with him the excitement of seeing new places. Here's the photo of Kurt in front of his console:

Isn't he handsome?! I thought so. He could have smiled, though. I don't think that boy ever learned how to smile on demand.

We went to have our photos taken when we had been dating for a year. I am not sure why we did so because I didn't do that with any of my other boyfriends; maybe I knew we were getting married anyhow. We went to the Walmart down the street from us and actually had decent photos taken (which is surprising; most Walmart photos I've seen have been either out of focus or way off center). The photographer had to get Kurt to say "hot apple pie" right before she snapped the photo in order to get him to smile instead of grimace. Oh well. He's handsome anyhow.

I am rather annoyed at my mother-in-law right now. I love my MIL, I really do. She's a nice woman who treats me not like a daughter-in-law, but as her own daughter. She called me today to tell me she'd gotten the photos of Gracie that I sent in her Mother's Day card. That's when I found out she'd gone in on Monday for a hysterectomy. She didn't tell anyone! Her reasoning was that she didn't want to put any more stress on our family because of Kurt's departure, but I can't believe she didn't tell me something like that. Fortunately, they didn't have to cut her wide open to remove whatever they removed (not everything, I gather); they went in the same way a baby comes out. How's that for a euphemism?? And because they didn't take everything out, her recovery is going to be a bit easier. She sounds like she's doing wonderfully, but I wish I had known ahead of time. I almost feel like I should have asked more questions and been more aware of her problems. But on the other hand, I am not a mind-reader, and if she doesn't tell me, then I can't be expected to know.

Good news for our family is that Kurt's aunt, his father's twin sister, who has been waiting a few years for a new lung, has gotten one! Here is Aunt Linda with Grace and me over Christmas:

Grace has grown so much since that photo was taken. My, don't they grow quickly! :o)