Nina has been in Orem since Sunday staying with the grandkids while our daughter and her husband were in England on a quick business trip. She was going to come home last night, but the weather intervened. Yesterday mid-morning it started to snow. Now, the weatherguy on TV was pretty clear yesterday morning that the clouds overhead had little, if any, moisture and there wouldn’t be any snow out of them. As usual, he was wrong. By 3 p.m. we had about three inches on the ground and the roads were pretty bad. According to the newspaper, the Pocatello Police responded to some 44 accidents between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. yesterday! So, Nina decided to spend the night last night in Orem and drive home this morning. She’s arrived home safe and sound! Welcome home!
Last night was the Ward Christmas Party. Since the party featured a free meal, meaning that I wouldn’t have to cook anything, I went down to the building and joined the festivities. The food was good and there was plenty to eat. The Gate City Singers (I think they’re from Pocatello High School) provided the entertainment. They were very good and reminded my of the show choirs in Chardon, Ohio, when the older kids were growing up. The whole event lasted about an hour and a half. It was a nice event and I’m glad I went, even if it was for the free food….
The year is ending and it seems like we just got started with 2004. I’ll be working through tomorrow of this week and then four days next week as I’ve used up all my vacation time taking cruises this year. The office is very quiet with most people using up what’s left of their vacation time over these two weeks. That gives me a lot of time to catch up on all the old e-mail and paperwork that needs to get done. It actually gives me a break as well. Mom and dad are coming over for Christmas Eve. Heather and Ty and the kids are coming up from Orem, but will drive back that evening. So we’ll do a Christmas Eve dinner in the afternoon before they drive back south. Heather and Ty should still be quite jetlagged on Friday! Meanwhile, Jared has driven out to the midwest and arrived yesterday at Jim’s house. He’ll spend Christmas with Dawnmarie and family and then drive back to Denver. It’s a lot of driving this time of the year, but he’s made half the trip with no problems! It kind of reminds me of the joke where the fellow says, “I plan to live forever. So far so good!”
We’ve also had a tragedy in our neighborhood with the suicide death of a neighbor. He had serious back problems coupled with severe pain causing a dramatic degrading of his quality of life. It’s a very difficult thing for his family, but at least for him, the pain is gone forever. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this Christmas season.