Happy Monday

Howdy friends! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! We had a non-stop weekend, but it was all fun stuff! Here's a recap:

• Friday - Since our van is not working properly, Kenny drove Nathan and Lizzy into Livermore. Nathan had speech class, and Lizzy had a birthday party at Claire's house. I stayed home with Dan and Tim, and boy was it QUIET here. :) Lizzy spent the night with Claire, so we had a nice evening here with the boys; pizza and XBox filled the time.

• Saturday - Our annual church workday. The Kempers kindly helped us all make it into Livermore, by letting a few of us ride with them and Kenny drove his truck. We did some cleaning, and then came home for a little bit. In the evening, we went to the Betti's house for a YUMMY dinner of corned beef and cabbage. Thank you Jane and Emile! :) We enjoyed our time there with the Bettis, Arnolds and met some friends of theirs too. Very nice.

• Sunday - Again, the Kempers helped us shuttle to church, and we spent the afternoon at the Clappin's while Nathan spent the afternoon with the LRBC Youth. They went to visit an older couple in our church who are home bound. Thank you Clappins for letting us invite ourselves over; the steak chili was delicious. :)

This week Kenny hopes to get our van working for long distance driving again, so it won't overheat anymore. It's a beautiful day today too! We have dance class for Lizzy and TaeKwon-Do for the boys this evening. Let the week begin!! Hope everyone has a great week!

~jac

ps...Carol, we missed you yesterday. Hope all is well!

Back home again

Good morning friends...we are back home again. It was a quick turn-around, with 5 hours of driving in each direction, and only being there 24 hours, but it was worth the trip. Everyone seemed to be handling Kenny's Dad's death well...it was a blessing in many ways, b/c he did not have to suffer for a long time.

His Mom was doing well, but last night was her first night alone, so I hope she did okay. She told me that she was there when her husband passed and she seemed very at peace with it. But, after 62 years of marriage, there is going to be some major loneliness and grief coming soon. :(

We all actually had a really nice time with all of the extended family around. It was the first time in 9 years that Kenny had been with all of his siblings; he is the youngest of 6 kids. There were 9 of the 12 grandchildren present as well (we left two of ours at home, and one of Kenny's sister's sons could not come), so my older two boys enjoyed meeting some of their cousins (all adults).

Anyway, long story...and too many relationship twists to try to tell you all about it! :) It was nice to get reacquainted with many people that we had not seen for years.

I have a pile of laundry to deal with plus putting stuff away. We got home at midnight last night and pretty much crawled into bed and left the pile in the middle of the family room.

• HUGE thanks to those who cared for Dan and Lizzy while we were gone:

Emily Betti, Clappins, Kempers, Mackanics and Stevensons - and thank you to all of those who offered to help as well. We were blessed by the fact that we could leave our children in the care of many friends, and know that they were being well cared for. THANK YOU.

Thanks also for all of the prayers. God is a good and sovereign Lord.

Sad....

Hello friends,

Sorry that we haven't updated this week (for you Carol). We are having a rough week, and for those of you who have not already heard, Kenny's father passed away last night (Weds night). We will be traveling to his memorial service this weekend.

Kenny was able to spend time with his father last Saturday and Sunday while he was still conscious and somewhat alert. It was a special time for Kenny, to have had that time with his Dad and he is very thankful.

We appreciate all of the prayers, phone calls and emails.

More later....