Surgeries, big family news, and a train to Chicago

Once Christmas was over, Mark and I turned our attention to surgeries, both expected and unexpected. Well wishes from friends and family, and especially a visit from Bonnie, really helped my recovery post-revision, and then Elizabeth surprised us for a weekend in Austin, too. Her beautiful flowers and those from Bonnie and Amy and Mark brightened the days. We hunkered down in Austin for a freeze, and a sprinkling of snow, before Mark learned he had to have plastic surgery of his own. It was a shock to see the 50-plus staples on his bald head, but he was reassured that his hair would grow back. It was not long after we got the news from Amy that Claude Jr. was planning to get engaged that I drove down with Bonnie and John for the announcement party, hosted by Amy and Liz. We knew it was the first of exciting events to come. And keeping our promise to Jack and Benjamin, we took them to see the Terracotta Warriors at the Natural Science Museum. Meanwhile, Taylor ran the Austin Marathon before leaving for Japan with Seth, and Mark took his week-long train trip to Chicago. It was the architecture blitz he carefully planned for. Honestly, it’s hard to believe that we packed all of this in the one month of February. And in between those big events were our simple days of routine, no less fun, with Jack and Benjamin at home.