Spanish, 76%, three weeks out, potential sales

Nate, Cori and the kids are continuing to learn Spanish – and progressing very rapidly. Cori has had the kids quote Bible verses to me and Mama in Spanish and they are learning choruses and songs to sharpen their hearing. Savanna even sang Jesus Loves Me in Spanish to me and Mama last night: however, there are moments that temper the enthusiasm and realign focus on the needs of the kids in this transition. One such moment happened when they all got home from church and Grant asked his daddy if he could do a lesson in Spanish, so they could understand it. His daddy happily complied. We do not, as adults, see the disconnects our children struggle with so it is nice to have them pointed out. That way they can be properly dealt with. As the children learn the written language as well there is a tendency to superimpose Spanish phonetics onto English words. Cori did not think too much about it until one of the kids pronounced Italian as “it-e-lee’-an.” Mykenzie told her mommy that every time she sees a double “L” she wants to pronounce it as a “Y”. She has some work ahead of her. Savanna seems to be ahead of the game. The other day when Coir was struggling with a question in Spanish, she started with “Como..” and hesitated. Savanna quickly helped her out. “Mommy, do you mean ‘Como se llama?’” (What is your name?) I imagine she gets asked that a lot.

Mama got both good news and bad news from the doctor and the physical therapist yesterday. First the physical therapist news. The bad news. Mama is now only at 76% of the bending motion she needs from the repaired joint. Manipulation under anesthesia is unavoidable. The therapist suggested they wait until after Mama’s upcoming surgery to continue the regimen they have been on in physical therapy. That way he can help Mama after the knee is more pliable. He was not discouraged by the measurement, but he knows it needs to be corrected in a way he cannot do through therapy. Last week Mama was at 74%. This week at 76%. With all the effort the two of them have put into exercising and attempting to flex the knee they only gained 2% in one week. That is progress, but Mama has only a couple weeks of therapy left in the agree upon plan set out by our insurance company. It is assumed that the internal scar tissue is what is causing the pain that is hindering the motion. So, the next surgery is on the schedule for sure. That surgery is only three weeks away.

Now for the potential good news. Based on x-rays taken yesterday at the doctor’s office, the doctor believes he can do a full repair to the right knee and get Mama another seven to ten years of function on that knee – avoiding a total knee replacement for now. That would be a blessing. The recovery time is much shorter with the knee scope than with the replacement. Hospital time is reduced to more of an outpatient basis or overnight at the most. Another blessing. Mama is excited about that possibility. She will have to get another MRI done to confirm his diagnosis. That should happen this week. Regardless, she will have one surgery or the other on the 18^th. That timeframe will allow her enough time to recover fully before we head to Honduras. She will still need to be careful, but the trip will be more pleasant when she is able to sit comfortably on the plane.

The timing of the surgery will still keep me from going to any of the Arkansas sales, but there is always next year. Mama and I are working on post-auction lists in Arkansas as well as Florida. We are also looking at the foreclosure list for Comanche County Oklahoma. If we keep at it, we will find what we are looking for. Also, Mama was talking to Becky last night and she mentioned someone Mike had talked to that wanted to sell his house in town for a price Mama and I might be interested in. The price was about what we would have in a house going through a tax auction. We will see what comes of that. We asked for pictures and a physical address. You never know.

We have a man coming to pick up the stock trailer today and we had a local man come by and look at the flatbed trailer yesterday. Selling those will bring in some money, most of which we have already assigned a purpose. We still have the utility trailer which I use far more than the other two. When we need to move our cattle, I will borrow a stock trailer if Mama and I do not find a smaller one we like. We are not planning on doing anything with the cattle until around Thanksgiving.

That gives us time to look.