On the road

Well bet you will never guess where we are? Yep, back in the DC area. Fred had Dr appointments and tests for the next couple of days. His numbers were coming back down last time we checked just before Thanksgiving. Pray that continues to be the trend.

About the Family photos of the Thanksgiving week. Here is a little slide show and there is a different slide show on Carrie's blog

A week ago today we headed out of Boise to El Dorado, Kansas. The first night we stopped in our old home town of Idaho Falls and parked the camper in the driveway of our friends on the edge of town. We had a nice visit with some of our dear friends that we have know for more than 30 years. Did I really say 30 years? My how the years have flown. The next morning we had breakfast with Reid, our next door neighbor for 13 years when we lived in Ammon. It was so good so spend a little time reconnecting with those people and places.

After breakfast we started driving through the area were we spent so many weekends camping and white water rafting in the 80's. We have such great memories of our times there. It was fun to hear Carrie's take on memories of our family history. We pulled into Cora, WY about 1pm and spent the afternoon with Wade and cousin Ty. We watched them work on a remodel project and after supper we played games and had some good laughs.

Friday morning Ty made us breakfast and we headed out hoping to get as far down the road as possible. We had been watching a winter storm headed our way and were trying to stay ahead of it. It was a good travel day and we made it to Sidney, NE. Carrie had seen a sign for Cabela's campground on the highway and thought that might be a good spot for us. It was a great place to stay. We got long hot showers and a good nights rest.

Saturday, our goal was to get to El Dorado for the night. I forgot how far it is across Nebraska and Kansas. We were still watching the storm closely. My sister and her family were headed to our folks in SD, into the storm. We missed crossing paths by a couple of hours. I told her at least we were heading away from it. The last 4 hours when we headed south, we were driving into high winds. It was terrible.

About 9:30pm we landed, okay, we arrived at Fred's sister's farm and parked the camper. We were surprised what a warm wind it was. We parked next to a barn to break the wind and plugged in. We had made it. When we woke up the next morning the sun was shining, it was a beautiful morning. I thought maybe we were going to miss this storm. Then about 8:20am, it was like someone turned out the lights. The sky turned dark with heavy clouds and the temperature dropped about 40 degrees.

More than once in the past week I have been glad that I took a couple of afternoons in Boise and added some insulation to the camper. We have been keeping snug and warm in our little home.

Before we knew it we were on the airplane headed back to the DC area. There were a few weather issues yesterday but we arrived here just 2 hours late. It is pretty warm here compared to where we have been in the past week. If all goes according to plans, we will be heading back to Kansas on Friday.

We plan to spend a couple weeks in Kansas with family and then our next move will probably depend on the weather. South is looking better all the time.

Fred update. He is getting stronger every day. His appetite is improving and nausea is much less of a problem. I gave him his second haircut this week and there is a lot more dark hair coming in. So much for white hair. He has also started growing back his beard this week.

Once again we praise God for His tender loving care of us as we go forward.

Thanksgiving Together

So much has happened in past couple of weeks...let's see. Two weeks ago I left Fred here and flew out to Seattle to spend some time with Shane and family. Kristi and the girls left the day after I got there to drive to her folks in Twin Falls. Shane, Daniel and I spent 5 days together shopping, visiting his work and school, plus driving back to Boise.

On Tuesday the 25th of November all of our kids and their families started to gather in Idaho City to spend 4 days together at the Knotty Pine Lodge. What a bunch we were. We had 4- two year olds, 1 - three year old, 1 - four year old and 2 - five year olds. With all our kids and spouses plus grand kids and Fred's Mother, Joy, there were 18 of us. This Thanksgiving week all together was truly a gift from God.

Our days were filled with cooking, eating, keeping track of kids, visiting, and playing games with lots of laughter. Joy, Kristi and Carrie even got in a drive one afternoon. We had lots of cameras going off so will add some photos soon. We were so blessed with good weather and plenty of room for all of us to be together in the lodge. Fred and I took our camper up so we had our own space too.

Yesterday the last of family flew out of Boise. I guess that makes about 10 days of fun. Now we are making plans for the next phase of our Quality of Life Tour.

The night I few into Seattle I tripped and fell in the parking lot of the train station where Shane parks his car. It was amazing that I did not get hurt too badly. I did jam 3 fingers on my left hand but no other broozes. Someday I will be able to put my wedding ring back on. It was pretty humbling, but I survived.

Fred has come up with an infection in his right armpit. They think he probably picked up in one of his hospital visits. The Dr had to lance it several times and keep it packed for the past couple of weeks. He just has a few more days of medication.

Fred is gaining more strength every day. He was able to win his share of games and keep up with all the grandkids this week. He is off lifting restrictions but being pretty careful about it. He is laughing more and even had an argument with me the other day. I thought it was a good sign.

We plan to hit the road next week.

Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers. Happy Thanksgiving.