A Big Work Week!

This past week turned out to be a big work week for both Steve and me.  Steve spent his time in Phoenix for regional meetings with his CNH group.  I spent my time in a flurry of appointments, showings, etc.  These two photos show one of my listings that we had staged.  It really turned out nice.  Here come the offers--we hope!  I also spent a lot of time helping my cousin, Liz, get a condo she loves under contract and helping her get her house ready to sell.  She is downsizing to move closer to her father, my uncle Bill, so she can help him.  He is about 90 years old now.

Friday afternoon, after showing houses to some of my buyers, Steve and I drove up to a ski resort NE of CV where our neighbor hosts an annual ski night and dinner.  They have been doing this for about 30 years.  Carrie took over the tradition from her parents.  Everyone brings potluck food to share and then those that like to ski get the reduced night ski passes so it is more affordable for families.  This year we were able to watch Jameson so both Hilary and Adam could ski.  Korinne stayed pretty close to one of her parents but quickly managed to become a ski racer.  Jenna and Britton were confident to ski with friends and do their own thing.  Steve and I brought our share of food,  a big crockpot of minestrone soup and a huge pan of carmel krispy treats that proved to be a big hit.

It was chilly but beautiful.  I was very content to sit by the fire with Jameson when he wasn't outside on the deck looking for his daddy and mommy.  He could spot them when they were barely specs in the distance and he was never wrong.  We left about 7:30 to head back home to put Jameson in bed for the night.  The skiers stayed until closing at 9.

Steve is chatting with our neighbors.  The gal on the far right is the hostess for this annual neighborhood event.

 While Steve was in Phoenix, his boss surprised him by honoring him at a retirement party one evening.  They had a decorated cake wishing him well and gave him gift cards to purchase tools for his shop.  Of course, the cake was served after the steak dinner.  When we arrived in CV, there was a box for Steve.  It was another gift from the training department of his company.  It included some really nice, quality tools branded by Case.  His fellow workers have been very generous and very complementary of his service.  He is finally being appreciated for  all of his hard work and his contributions.

 This is what his countdown calendar looked like tonight.  He has less than six days left as an employee of CNH.

 Another thing that happened this week, was that the young mother of one of our former Sunday school students, passed away very unexpectedly.  Our hearts have been aching for this family.  The mother,  Debbie, was Heather's age and was the captain of the swim team and water polo teams at Murray.  It has been a sad time.  Her funeral was lovely and her husband shared many spiritual entries from her journal.  What a wonderful gift this will be to her four daughters and husband as there was no doubt about how much she loved them.  I came to realize how significant a journal can be for grieving family members. At difficult times like these, I am so grateful for the gospel and the Savior's atonement.  It is so comforting to know about God's plan of happiness and how this life is just a segment of His plan.

On a happier note, I am laughing tonight at a pattern we have developed over the past several weeks.  A grocery store clear across town from us features a daily special throughout the week.  For the past month of so, they have been featuring our favorite, creamy, delicious ice cream, Tillamook, on Saturdays.  It is so funny because we have gone for months and months without purchasing any ice cream.  We don't eat that much and it goes stale, so if we really wanted ice cream, we just go out for an ice cream cone  Well since the Tillamook ice cream has been featured for less than regular, not so great ice cream, we have found ourselves driving across town and stopping along the way to do any errands we have.  We usually stop at Lowe's which is nearby this particular grocery store, to pick up any supplies we need--ie furnace filters, etc.  Today I needed to get some duplicate keys made so of course, I stopped by and picked up some ice cream.  I knew we had at least one carton left in the freezer.  When I went to put away the ice cream, I realized I had a total of 5 unopened cartons.  Too bad you aren't nearby so you can join us for an ice cream social.  Ha! Ha!  It is so cold that when we eat some, we have to follow it with a hot chocolate chaser.

We also want to acknowledge and say "Happy Birthday" to our second lovely daughter, Heather.  We are so honored to have her as our daughter.  We are extremely grateful that my grandmother, Annie, was in tune with the Spirit and acted promptly to arrive in Minnesota early to tend Tiffany.  She literally saved Kristen's life which allowed us to raise our children together.  We have so many blessings to be thankful for during January!