"Happy 2008"

This is how we spent our holidays; with family from afar. Papa and Ciara became best buddies and it was sad to leave her behind after two weeks. We would have loved to stick her in our suitcases without her mama knowing and bring her home. Now we are home after a truly amazing visit to Arizona. Nothing like spending two weeks in the sun in the middle of the cold winter her in Walla Walla. We were able to see daughter, son in law, granddaughter, mother, brother and sister in law all in one visit. Of course we stayed with my mom and had Christmas at her house. After two very lonley Christmas's without her husband, my father, it was so heartwarming to have the house full of her daugher and her family and her son and daughter in law. She just kept saying "Dad would have loved this" and how right she is he would have. Tom was able to be "Mr. Handyman" and do lots of things she needed done and I took care of some of her needs. It was fun to be there and it was ever so hard to leave there. Two weeks seemed like a long time but it flew by so fast I could hardly believe it. Then we are home to the reality of life. Tom had a MRI but hooray we learned yesterday that there worst nightmear (and ours) was wrong -- he has no tumor in the brain. He has something that can be fixed with drug therapy and that made my heart jump. My mother in law is ill and it looks like it could be something more serious but we are praying and keeping our fingers crossed that it isn't more serious. What a week it has been but we will know more on Thursday. Please keep good thoughts for us on that one. Since I blog rarely then I wish you the best for the rest of Winter and remember Spring is just around the corner.