Nov. 5th- Bill and Paula

So, you may have noticed I didn't write a double doozy last night... and tonight is not looking too promising either.... perhaps tomorrow? I promise to get caught up... eventually!

Nov. 5th- Bill and Paula
I got really lucky with my in-laws. There are so many horror stories out there of horrible in-laws, and if half of them are true then I firmly believe I hit the jackpot. Not only did they raise the incredible guy I call my husband, but they love me like a daughter as well. They have both been so supportive of me, our marriage and Nathan as we have gone through the past year.

Bill is pretty much the closest thing to a human teddy bear there is. He's so sweet and like my own dad, the strong silent type. Bill is also a workaholic, like my dad. He works for the postal service and has for longer than I've been alive. He has some good stories of things he has encountered over the years, including an old lady that gave him alcohol for thank you presents. (Bill and Paula don't drink.) They used the beer as slug killer and I'm not sure what they did with the other stuff. He loves electronics and gadgets and many a time he has tried out some device only to buy one for us after being impressed with it. (Or buying one for himself, too, if he was just researching for us!!) He is very thoughtful and always thinking ahead. This does tend to make him a worrier, but as one myself, I can relate. Bill always pays attention to the names of the waitstaff when we are in a restaurant. This is a habit that Nathan has learned from him over the years and I think it's so nice. I'm sure the waiters/waitresses appreciate being remembered as well.

Paula is a spitfire. She is constantly doing something, be it Words with Friends on her iPhone, or getting things done around the house, or even just reading a book- she puts everything she is into the task at hand. She has a great sense of humor, and we have gotten pretty close over the past year. There is just something about getting lost in the streets of St. Louis and ending up at the closed zoo that will really bond a mother and daughter-in-law- especially when it ends in White Castle, which are officially the grossest hamburgers known to man. She stayed in Springfield last year from the end of Sept to the end of Nov while Nathan was in the hospital and was able to take leave to stay with Nathan during the bone marrow transplant and immediate recovery period when he had to be in St. Louis. I don't know what we would have done without her. The picture above was taken at the Corn maze this year. Paula had been reading books to her students (she's a school librarian) about corn mazes and got really excited about them, so when she heard we had one she decided to come up for a visit. Unfortunately this foray into the maze ended in disaster, as she stepped on a corn cob which rolled right out from under her. She got a couple of cuts on her chin and hand and sprained some ligaments in her arm, meaning she had to wear a sling for like a week and take a whole lot of Tylenol. After we got out of the maze, we ended up having to go to Urgent Care for her. But the thing she was really upset about was "ruining our fun."

I haven't had as much time with Bill and Paula to amass a story trove like I did for my immediate family, but here a few goodies. Bill brought home a white kitten and named it Shadow. Sometimes, Bill creates different names in his head, and one time he called the cat Snowball, but it's name is Shadow. I digress. Anyway, one day Paula came home to find Bill wrapping up his toe, which was bleeding quite a bit. He had other scratches, too. She asked him what happened and he replied, "Well.... turns out Shadow doesn't like being vacuumed."

Did you get that?

He tried to vacuum the cat.

But you know, I may be getting the story wrong... because Bill learned the hard way that Shadow doesn't like to take showers, either.

 Paula was there for the best New Years party to ever take place inside a hospital. This story shall mainly be told via pictures. It included much sparkling grape juice and nurses.

 and scarf twirling
















Drs orders to wear party hats

 And people who didn't need no stinkin' orders












 A 1AM trip to the cafeteria- (Nathan came, too!)

And this face... Which was pretty much worth the price of admission on it's own.