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Friday, Mat's birthday

I spent alot of time cleaning up. A lot. 50-60 ppl went thru that house everyday. I had quickly inventoried things and had a list of things to buy a walmart in preparation for the influx of ppl. So I got up Friday and we told Mat Happy Bday and I got busy vacuuming, emptying the dishwasher, doing towels (we were going thru hand towels like water) and working on the kitchen.

FIL's brother came over and WHAT A BLESSING! We got him to get FIL out of the house. FIL had a watch being repaired at a jeweler and it needed picked up so his brother took him there and to get some coffee. Mat went along for the ride.

FIL is a frugal man at heart. To a fault. Several years ago MIL had a short stint in the hospital and cleaned out he frig then and found salad dressing bottles many, many YEARS old. Same was true on that day. I asked DH to help me by telling me what food had been brought in yesterday so I didnt' pitch the fresh stuff and we tore thru the frig and got a ton of stuff cleared out adn taken to pgSIL's so that he couldn't pick back thru it and put it back (what he's famous for!LOL). By then pgSIL was there and we got rid of all the meds, hospital paraphenalia and other 'cancer reminders' as they called them. FIL would walk around and see something and pick it up crying saying that he should've done more and this was her pills for XYZ and he should've made her take more or something. So in the hour his brother kept him out, we got ALL of that kind of stuff done and I ran it into town to get it totally out of hte house (some things needed taken back to the pharmacy, some dropped off at friends, etc). It was honestly one of the most needed things there was and it was good for his brother, too.

They have another (youngest) brother and he and FIL haven't spoken in a LONG time and he came out Thrusday night. FIL told him that all he wants now is his brother back..........the brother made several appearances and was civil and seemed geniune so we are hoping that this might be a road to repair their relationship.

SIL also has a wonderful friend who bought LOTS of clothing for those who needed, took suits to cleaners and pressed clothes too! In addition to all of that, SHE BOUGHT MY BOYS BDAY GIFTS!!!!!!! She was so wonderful.  We had told the boys that we probably would not do anything on their bdays and this was a big surprize! MIL had told them what she was going to buy them and the poor lady went to FIVE radio shacks trying to hunt down a metal detector for Mat!

I don't know how many trips I made to walmart that day. There were many ppl who stopped by and DH and his sibs were trying to get thru pics and finish up funeral details (yes, still!). SIL is an avid photographer and I don't even know how many pics they went thru......it took 2 days in all to get thru them!

That night some more of FIL's family came over and we sat outside talking and enjoying and someone had brought a pan of brownies and that became the 'birthday brownies'. I had bought some plates and candles at Walmart and each of the boys picked out a small gift for each other and so they all sang Happy Birthday to the boys and they  opened their gifts.

It was again a late night and lots of clean up, but worth it all.