I always intend to blog more often, but then one day runs into another and before I know it, a month has passed. This time of year is always interesting. . . a bit boring and hum drum as the holidays have passed and Spring seems forever away. Alas, here I am using the same old excuses for my poor journaling habits. Enough! I've made some progress--this blog's over a year old and so let's get blogging.
I titled this post "Two Weeks" because I recently returned from a two week journey to visit friends and family. Brent had to go to Australia for the annual board meetings, so I took this opportunity to check on my loved ones. Let's organize this chronologically: (Oh, and lame little ol' me, I didn't take a single picture as I forgot my camera. The photos below are with my cell phone.)
Days 1-4: I traveled to Mountain Home, Idaho to spend a few days with our dear friend Sheri Bird who is staying with her daughter and son-in-law, Lindsay and France Nielson. Sheri is fighting brain cancer and is spending some time with them in their home. It was so good to see her, to talk, laugh, cry, watch chick flicks, eat wonderful food, play with Sam (one of the cutest babies on the planet), visit Walmart, travel into Boise, and just "be." Camille came up on day 3 to visit as well and to pick me up to go down into Utah. We had a great visit. Sheri is hanging in there--she is one strong woman and Lindsay is doing a fabulous job caring for her Mom.
Days 4.5-6: On Saturday I enjoyed dinner with the kiddos and then it was off to Lehi to get some sleep. Sunday after church with Camille and Russ, we invited Jerry and his family to join our family for dinner. We made yummy chicken enchiladas (Camille's recipe) and it was good to visit with Jerry, Nate, McKayla and Megan and Sean. Little baby Lincoln is growing fast and is darling. They all are doing reasonably well considering the loss we all still feel after Lisa's passing. My "little brother" Jerry has a new found wisdom, compassion, and understanding that only those who have walked in similar shoes understand. I think of him often and pray for him and his family daily.
Days 6-11: I went down to Richfield to check on Mom and Dad. We had last visited at Thanksgiving, and I try to get there about quarterly. I got the house in shape, helped Mom thoroughly clean out her closet, cooked some much-appreciated meals, and enjoyed a couple of lunches with Dad. On Thursday I was lucky enough to be Dad's date to the BYU vs. Gonzaga basketball game. That was awesome! I'm still a bit irked that "my two teams" now have to play one another and somebody has to lose, but this time BYU won handily. That was good--they needed the win more, especially being the home team. BYU puts on quite a pre-game/half-time show in the Marriott Center. At the last minute, Dad treated us to dinner, as coincidently Craig (my oldest brother from Tennessee) and his son Zac (and a friend) were in town for a few days to do some skiing. Also, Mark (youngest brother in Logan--they were headed south to do some snowmobiling), and Shayla and Kara (Craig's daughters) were there as well. All in all there were about a dozen of us--Brittney and Stuart and Camille and Russ were able to make it, but Jace was unable to change plans on such short notice. It's been a few years since I've seen Zac (he's a year older than Brittney), and it seems that lately Craig and my paths cross quickly, but it's better than nothing. We had a nice visit.
Day 12-13: Well, here's the story. . . Poor Brent arrived in Spokane from his Australia trip after 10 days. Not surprisingly, he had a lot of loose ends to catch up at home, but was only able to stay 2 days before heading out again. He was needed to follow up on some sales calls. He left for San Francisco, and then was headed to Las Vegas for a couple of days over the weekend. Coincidentally, my flight home went through Las Vegas, and since he wasn't going to be home for another full week (traveling on to a few more business meetings), I decided to alter my plans and stay a few days with him in Vegas. We enjoyed good buffet food, went to church on Sunday, and just relaxed. We walked alot both evenings--LV is a crazy city--just look, we saw the Eiffel Tower! On Sunday evening the streets were pretty quiet--I think everyone was in watching the Super Bowl. It was the best time to be on the strip in Las Vegas.
So, after two weeks I arrived back home. Brent will finally be home for a while tomorrow. He is really busy right now with work, but we're not complaining--it's kind of important to have a job. I loved my time with friends, the kids and my parents.
And now, February is almost half over. Wow, here I go again. . .
