Friday evening at Jason and Jo's house

Dear Friends and Family,

It is so peaceful to be here parked adjacent to their home, a real live furnace is putting out heat and the motorhome is cozy. Jason and I went to vespers this evening and that was an enjoyable experience. Jason was on duty which means he helped keep the natives quiet and with the program. He started his day today at 4 am and then drove to Rio Lindo Academy to take a student who needed a special test, then back this evening to arrive only a few minutes before I finally made it here. I always have the best intentions to get here early and then reality kicks in, work that needs to be completed, checks need to be deposited, groceries to be purchased, propane to be filled... I was glad to finally get here and so were the dogs. We had a safe trip with only a couple places of bad traffic.

Last night I opened a package that Karen Cress had shipped to me. She had warned me that it was coming but did not tell me more. Well just before I headed up to bed I opened the package. I was not prepared for the beautiful tribute to Nan. She had taken the hundreds of photos we had collected, actually Nikki did the bulk of the collecting. karen took them and created a book which has been published. The beautiful book is hardbound and has photos of Nan from childhood to her last days. It is a wonderful and interesting book which is beautifully arranged. She sent us three copies, one for each of the kids and one for me. I have delivered them and the kids love them as well. What a loving and impressive thing to do in memory of Nan. Thank you Karen for this work, it is tremendous.

I'll share the link where you can click and order a book for yourself. The cost is minimal and the book is unforgetable.

I have brought the DVD's with me and hope to get them packaged up while I am here.

Nikki and Keanna are coming down tomorrow to visit so we can all be together for a bit. I can't wait to have everyone under the same roof. Since we have such busy lives it is hard to get everyone together. Jason is so excited about his new job as an english teacher. Its great news since this has been his goal for years. Yet for the next few months he will be doing even more than he does now as he prepares to teach and still does the recruiting job too. Its a good thing he is young and has unlimited energy, oh to be that young again!



Well I walked this morning and it was very cold, all the grass was white with frost and the air, well it was cold. However I find that after walking a few blocks the body adjusts for the cold and its not so bad. The sun was out in force, bright and wintery. It was a nice start to a busy day. I spent from 9 to noon to try to get money shipped to Phoenix to close an AMEX account. It took over an hour to get through a voice tree gone very bad but finally a simple Fed Ex shipment took care of it. Hopefully that is the last I have heard from CollectCorp, not a nice group of people.



I thought several times today about the snow that surrounds Roger and Carol's home. I'll bet it is very beautiful as they have lots of mature trees, rolling hillsides, lakes and little cottages. Enjoy the snow! We are so jealous.



Bob and Carrol, great great news that the new flood zone does not reach you. What a waste of money flood insurance is unless you live next to a levee. We've had to battle that same issue before. No fun.



I'm hoping that each of you will have a very special weekend, that you will get a chance to spend quality time with each other, the saying, love the one you are with in the right context is a great saying. And a special note, Wes wrote a message today explaining why he has disappeared from the scene. Seems his home computer went sideways on him and the school district started blocking the blog on his work computer. We've had that happen before in different places. It is a dangerous communication device and shares secrets, so look out when you read the blog, could be dangerous!!!



We hope Wes can soon be back giving his wisdom to all.



I'm so sleepy now, ready to make the bed and climb in for a good nights sleep. Thank you for being my friend, my family. Your prayers, encouragement and emails sure help me get through this tough time. This has been a very tough week and you've helped me through, a special thanks to Art for his constant care and listening ear.



love



tim