The HAND

So often we take everyday things for granted...like our health, our families, our homes, our hands.  Yes, I said, our hands.
This week Roger and I went to Rochester to be with Chrissy and Jeff while Chrissy was undergoing some very intricate, but necessary hand surgery.  This is her right HAND..her dominant HAND...the infamous HAND that creates those beautiful paintings we all know and love.  It looked perfectly healthy on the outside.  On the inside, however, it was not a pretty sight.  Two and a half hours of surgery, plus a metal plate and several little screws later, that beautiful HAND was wrapped up like a mummy.  Less than 24 hours later, we were back at the ER because of that HAND.  Now it had swollen so badly, that it was not getting the circulation that it needed.  The cast was removed.  Whew, what a relief!  A new one was formed.  And Chrissy was a tired, but happy girl once again.  We are so grateful for Mayo Clinic and all the hands that helped Chrissy get her HAND repaired. 

Easter time

Wow!!!! What a wonderful Easter we had.  Everyone was here for it, and I had a great time...hopefully so did everyone else. :)

We decorated eggs, we had an egg hunt, we watched Conference and even had a few snacks (until Blinky took them away).

Chrissy honored us with some of her art.  Family for Heidi, Joey Crossing for Joey, and a bunch of onions for me!!!  Thank you Chrissy!!!!!!!!

Dinner was delicious...so was the company...17 for dinner and everything got eaten up.  Ham, chicken, twice baked potatoes, scalloped corn, Jello eggs (mmmmm, eggs) and brownie hot fudge sundaes for dessert.

Everyone made it to their respective homes safely, and so all in all, it was a memorable and fun filled Easter.
At the end of the day, however, we were all ready for a nice, long, nap!!

Night, night, Joey.  ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

To Cascade and Back

We're back after a wonderful time compliments of our children.  First stop was to the movies.  We saw Alice in Wonderland, and that is a must see for all.  It was great.   Movies often carry us away to another time, but this one not only carried us away, but we actually felt we were in wonderland.   Great movie...go see it.

Then it was one to Chili's where we enjoyed a "guiltless chicken dinner" and a not  so guiltless trio of desserts, i.e. key lime pie, hot  fudge brownie, and velvet chocolate cake.  Yum!

After dinner we drove to Cascade, where we had a lovely room at a bed and breakfast.  It was fantastic!  We were the only ones there, so we actually had the place to ourselves.  Check out the room!

After a delicious homemade breakfast that we both really enjoyed, the propietress of the Madison Avenue Inn happily agreed  to take our picture outside her lovely establishment.

We had such a wonderful time, and we're not done yet.  We still have another movie and a dinner at Chili's

to take advantage of.   Just  to let the rest of the planet in on a little secret, we've got the greatest children in the world!!!!!!
Thank you so much guys!  We love you!!!

Windows, Windows, and More Windows

Time goes fast when you're busy and having fun, that's for sure. And, the secret is out! Roger has been working feverishly in his workshop making windows for the side lights in both Greta and Heidi's homes. They're finished. They're beautiful! And Greta and Heidi LOVE them!


Here's a quick review of our whirlwind week. We were up to Green Bay to visit and install the first window at Greta's house. Then we went back this past Monday to put a new frame up around it and finish it off. It looks great and Greta and Adam really love it. Greta played in her Celtic group on St Patrick's Day and rumor has it that she was fantastic! Congratulations, Greta! We'll be there next year. :)

Went to Heidi's on Wednesday and Roger secretly installed her window as well. We had a St Patrick's Day dinner of corned beef and cabbage...mmmm corned beef...and hung out there and even played Guitar Hero for a little bit. Thursday we picked up Lara and Jason (with Heidi and Max) and took them to Culver's for lunch. Then back to school to see Jason as the spider who chased Miss Muffet away in a little kindergarten program they had. That was fun!



Then we came home and Chrissy called to inform us that she would be having extensive hand surgery on April 8 at Mayo. Hello? Including screws and/or a metal plate. Hello? So we'll be heading over that direction April 7th and spending a few days helping out our little Chrissy. Now that kind of news is enough to bowl anyone over.

Roger and Brittany came over Thursday night for another dinner of corned beef and cabbage (did I mention we love corned beef?) We had a nice time and even played a game of hand to foot which ended in a near tie. Their house is just about the way they like it...you never finish on your house, do you? I'm still working on mine.

Tonight we're going out to dinner and to see a play with the Meke's. Whew! I need a nap. And that, my friends, is how retired people spend their time. :)

It's A Family Affair

Well, we've got Roger and Brittany moved into their newly rennovated and beautifully decorated home. We've got Adam back home from Brazil with Greta and the kids who at this moment are dining with D. Todd Christopherson, of the Quorum of the Twelve. We've got Heidi and her family enjoying an entire day of eating out, bowling, and eating some more, while saving bundles of money from the kids' coupons earned at school. Finally, we've got Chrissy's new and extremely exceptional work of art depicting a plate of china from the elegant collection of Titanic relics. It looks like a picture of a plate instead of a painting of a plate. It's beautiful!

So, here we sit as the proud parents (Dad is in this with me)of hugely successful children. What can we do to celebrate? Buy an RV and move in with them...3 months in one home, 3 months in another, etc., then repeat. How better could we show our offspring just how much we love them and how proud we are of all that they do?

No More Worries

After searching my house from top to bottom and after Roger Jr, aka Eagle Eye, joined in the search but to no avail, I have come to the realization that my two purple bath towels have disappeared, sucked into a vortex that shall forever remain a mystery.

Am I upset? Am I worried or concerned? Not me! Why, you ask? It's simple. My two beautiful jewel-toned purple towels have now become four beautiful jewel-toned purple towels, having been discovered by the family sleuth, Brittany, who searched the Internet and found a store that still carried them.

So, thank you Brittany! And thank you everyone else (Roger Sr, Heidi, Greta, Roger Jr and Chrissy) for listening to me whine about this every day since I discovered they were missing! On the upside, my closets are all cleaner and I know where just about everything is in this house after searching and cleaning it so thoroughly! So, let the games begin. I'm up for anything. No more worries. I have my purple towels back!!!!

Where Did they Go?

Roger and Brittany moved in with us a few weeks ago while waiting for their newly purchased home to be rennovated. The rennovation took much longer than they planned; hence, they moved in with us. We enjoyed having them with us so much! Now they are true homeowners and living in their newly finished house. It's so pretty! We were just there today!!!

Before they moved in with us, I removed two large purple bath towels from the bathroom they would be using. I never use these 2 towels. They are a very beautiful purple, and I don't want them to fade with laundering. So...I keep them as wall hangings basically. I hang them on the towel racks and when company comes, I lay out other towels for them to use, just like I did for Roger and Brittany. Since this happened several weeks ago, I've sort of "forgotten" where I put them.

How can you misplace two large purple bath towels, you ask? Hmmm...I don't know....Coast Guard?

Anyway, they've disappeared. I've called in the troops, but to no avail. If any of you come across two runaway purple bath towels, please let me know ASAP. I won't rest until they are found and returned to their rightful place!