The Hotel Love Field Adventure

What a trip! In all of the trips that we’ve taken, this was our first time to spend the night in an airport. To recap, we woke up to bone chilling cold and snow and our flight is scheduled to depart at 12:50 pm. When we left our house at 10:00 the snow in Graham had stopped and the roads were clear but about 5 miles from the airport the snow started and was heavy, the roads started getting slick, but airplanes were still taking off. We dropped our luggage off at curbside check-in then Bill took the car to the parking garage while Tonya waited for him to make their way for security.

Since Tonya had her knees replaced the trip thru security can be a little time consuming, so traveling without Bill is not often an option (someone needs to be able to grab her stuff off of the conveyor belt while she is being “wanded”) but it is a system that we have perfected.

Our flight was postponed to 1:15, then 2:30, and then they thought we might have a plane in range. When it came time to board it was 3:30 still not departing (de-icing) until nearly 4 o’clock. The plane was packed like sardines and by this time we know we will have missed our connecting flight from Kansas City to Dallas.

Our pilot came on the loud speaker and announced that the weather in KC had deteriorated and it appeared that we would be diverted to St. Louis but he would let us know more as soon as more information becomes available. We did land in KC about 10:00 pm, and we knew we had missed our connection to Dallas but a “pit stop” seemed most important at that time.

Once we had settled down we discovered we had not missed our connection afterall. Flights had been delayed all over the country. We boarded our plane to Dallas about 11:15, then we sat on the tarmac for a bit, waited for the deicer fairy to come sprinkle our aircraft with fairy dust so we could actually depart at midnight.

We landed in Dallas to a balmy 68° at 2:00 am on Friday morning. Our 2 bags made it just fine, but we couldn’t locate our box… this would be the box with all of our Christmas presents in it. It was a special box, and we couldn’t find it. It seems that SWA thought our special Christmas box was cargo and took it to their cargo area. By this time it was 3am, we were exhausted and the hotel we reserved was another 30 minutes away when the 2 of us developed a plan B.

Plan B—Flight #2009 to Amarillo departs at 6:35 am (we were booked on a 10:00 am flight), we shall try to catch some sleep in Love Field, be in line as soon as the ticket counter open and get on the first flight out to AMA as we could. We were successful and we landed in Amarillo about 7:30 am. and made our way to Mom's house where a clean, warm, king size bed was waiting on us.

LESSON'S LEARNED:

• The best made plans don't always cooperate with Mother Nature!!!
• Benches at the airport can never compete with the Marriott

The Power of Prayer!

We believe. We believe in the power of prayer. In the past months we have asked our family and friends to pray for us and our family during the employment obstacles that we seem to be facing right now. We have also been added to prayer chains. We believe in prayer and we know this is how the interview for Bill came so quickly. Both of the boys in Texas have been looking for a job for several months. We are asking again for all to pray for us and our families. Jeremy & Dae hope to have permanent job news for each of them at the beginning of this week, please keep them in your prayers that the outcome will be a positive one. Christopher continues to pound the pavement.

Also, our daughter-in-law, Dae has accepted a part-time job in what we understand is in a not so good neighborhood, we pray that God will keep his loving and protective arms around her while she is there and that she will be safe.

We are still praying that Bill will hear something from the company he interviewed with. We have not heard anything yet, but we also know this time of the year the hiring process tends to slow down.

Thank you for all of your continued prayers for us and our family

This is our backyard today.... we are due to have the coldest temps here than there have been in years.... we are schedule to travel to Texas this week, we just pray that the weather calms down a bit by then. Did we mention we typically do not get snow like this? And if we do, it turns to rain and melts it all away.... hmmmm how's that story again about global warming?

And Santa is working hard in his shop to finish last minute Christmas gifts.

We leave soon to travel to Texas for Christmas. Pray that we will all travel to Borger safely.

Leavenworth Village of Lights Adventure

Today we did something that we have heard so much about since we moved out here and has been “on the list” since we moved to the Pacific Northwest. We went to Leavenworth (that would be Washington, not Kansas) to see all of the Christmas lights and decorations.

We had a great time. Knowing that we were forecasted to have one of the most severe winter storms in the PNW this week-end we were not thrilled with the prospect of driving over 2 mountain passes and fighting traffic but we totally lucked out. Tonya’s employer offered tickets for sale that included touring bus transportation to and from (a trained professional that knew all about driving on ice and snow covered mountain passes) as well as a hospitality suite at the Enzian Inn (lots of Old World charm with authentic Austrian furnishings) was decorated so nicely. They even have a 2 story Christmas tree that goes through the ceiling and continues on the floor above. When we got cold and were tired of walking the streets of Leavenworth we would go back to the suite for a bite to eat and warm up with coffee and cider. The suite also had a great view. We just wished more of our family members had been there with us, what a perfect way to start the Christmas season.

For those of you not familiar, Leavenworth’s central Northwest Washington location and Bavarian town atmosphere it provides the ideal setting for a unique Winter Wonderland getaway. The history behind this village is an interesting one since there was once a sawmill and had a healthy logging industry that eventually fell apart, however, when the Great Northern Railway Company pulled out of Leavenworth. The re-routing of the railroad and the subsequent closure of the sawmill sadly converted the town from a bustling, thriving hub of commerce into a hollow, empty community. For more than thirty years, Leavenworth lived on the brink of extinction.

But in the early 1960’s, everything changed. In a last-chance effort to turn their precarious circumstances around, the leaders of the town decided to change Leavenworth’s appearance, hoping to bring tourism into the area. Using the beautiful backdrop of the surrounding Alpine hills to their advantage, the town agreed to remodel their hamlet in the form of a Bavarian village.
On Lighting Festival weekends, Father Christmas arrives at the Front Street Gazebo late Friday afternoon to much excitement and fanfare. Saturday morning, the aromas of food booths and roasting chestnuts begin to drift through the air. Holiday music fills the village while kids play and sled in the city park. At dusk on Saturday and Sunday, everyone gathers to sing “Silent Night” and witness as the Village is decked out with thousands of twinkling lights as it is transformed into a winter wonderland.
LESSON’S LEARNED:
·We really miss having our family share these events with us this time of the year that it physically hurts! (okay not a new lesson just a refresher course)
·Professional Drivers- They deserve every dollar and then more they make and more people should tip these professional that had you life in their hands for 6 hours.
·The box lunches provided by the bus drivers were a nice touch but not necessary due to the amount of food available in the hospitality suite

Bill’s Surgical Adventure

After all the waiting and all testing and all the restless nights the adventure of Bill’s gallbladder removal is finally over. As some of you know the surgery was originally scheduled for Halloween, but due to concerns of the anesthesiologist they opted to move the procedure from the surgery center to the hospital. While we were glad extra precautions were being taken, it did move the date out nearly a month.

This was only Bill’s second surgery in his entire life, the first being in 1958 when he (as so many other children back in those days did) had his tonsils removed. And to add insult to injury, not only was the surgery a month out, it wasn’t scheduled until 3:00 pm, pretty much an entire day without eating and nothing to drink since mid-morning. But he’s handling the whole thing like a trooper… after all with the 2 big losses he’s already suffered this year (his sister and his job) the loss of his gallbladder seems like a piece of cake.

He made it thru surgery just fine. He was very groggy and wanted to go home, they finally let us leave about 8:00pm. We got him home and tucked away in bed, that was when the fun really began, getting a prescription filled at that time of night!

I wish someone could please explain to us the complete job description of a pharmacist. To me it seems as if the most time consuming thing of the whole process would be to decipher the highly educated doctors handwriting, but I apparently am wrong on this assumption. I stopped by the Rite-Aid closest to our house on the way home, hoping that I could just run in, drop the scripts off, get Bill home and in bed, go back and pick up the drugs; I was wrong. Granted we had not had a prescription filled at this drug store before so when I dropped them off I had to give them our information; address, insurance card, allergies; I get all of this and the attendant said it would be close to an hour before they would be ready for pickup (did I mention that I was close to being the only person in the entire store?) to which I replied, no problem, I want to get my husband home and in bed, that I would be back.

Once I returned the store our scripts were NOT ready...now I have to deal with the pharmacist (apparently her assistant had left for the day), she asked me for the address, insurance card, allergies to which I explained that I had given all that information to her assistant, she then asked me, where did she put them??? I wanted to say, HELLO??? don't work here you'll do, but I didn't. She finally found the insurance card and I gave her all of the other information again. She then tells me it will take about 20 minutes!

The pills are already made all she had to do was count out 30 pills put them in bottles print a label and slap it on the bottle and let me go home, all of which I'm pretty sure could be accomplished in half that amount of time. Can anyone explain what I am missing in the whole process here? Finally got the pills, finally got home, drug the patient up for the night and fixed myself a stiff drink!

LESSONS LEARNED:

• Whether it's Wal-Mart or Rite-Aid, there is no such thing as a quick fill for a new prescription
• A new appreciation of our prescriptions by mail plan (too bad it's only for refills or 90 day supplies)
• Gallbladders are now removed with a laparoscope

Job Search Adventure

We received some really exciting news Friday, Bill has an interview on December 4 with a large construction company. This just so happens it is for the very job that he applied for the day he was laid-off. Coincidence? Fate?

Also, he is also now officially "in the system",,, the Unemployment system that is. Although we have not received that first check yet, but we understand it is "in the mail" which is a miracle knowing how he fought with their website (we all know Bill has the paitence of Jobe). We are not concerned yet but just in case our search for a second income continues:

Just in case, keeping all of our options open.

PLEASE pray for us...

The Adventure of Lewis River Falls

Yesterday afternoon as we were out running our weekend errands the sun was shining and the skies were clear as a bell. Mt Rainier was just beautiful and we had a crystal clear view of the Cascade Mountains when Bill said he would like to get of the house for a while and next weekend it would be nice to go for a day trip photo safari, Tonya agreed. We discussed going to Olympic National Park and up to Hurricane Ridge when we remembered that there was a waterfall in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest that we had planned to go to at some point this past summer and we never made it.

As we relaxed last night and were listening to the weather forecast for next weekend we decided to just get up in the morning and go today (instead of getting out in the yard as we had originally planned, as Bill said, “those leaves will still be there on Monday or better yet maybe they will find their way into the neighbor’s yard), so we begin to drag our stuff and get ready to head out first thing this morning. After perusing the newspaper (Bill) and Internet (Tonya) while having our morning coffee we put some bread, peanut butter and jelly (our homemade strawberry of course) in a tote bag and headed out.

It was a bit further down there than we had originally thought, but it was a nice day to spend together. The day was so clear that we could actually see Mt. St. Helen’s from Interstate 5, likely only the first or second time we have seen the volcano from the freeway.

We have always loved the Gifford Pinchot (or as we call it, “the GP”), it is one of the older national forests in the US. It was included as part of the Mt. Rainier Forest Reserve in 1897. The forest was named after Gifford Pinchot, one of the leading figures in the creation of the national forest system in the United States. It is located in a mountainous region between Mt. St. Helens in the west, Mt. Adams in the east, White Pass in the north, and the Columbia River in the south. The region is noted for its topography and volcanic geology. It is quite a wierd feeling being in the middle of three active volcanoes.

It was so pretty down in that area, not only were the falls big, so are the firs and cedars in the splendid old-growth forest. The Lower Falls drop 35 feet into the Lewis River with a powerful whoosh. There is lots of mist in the air and we even caught a rainbow in some of the photos. We checked out the campground at the falls and decided that we will definately put this one on the "must do" list for next summer. We would love to return to the area to explore more of the river and the waterfalls.

Since it was going to start getting dark soon, we decided to head back toward home. That is the bad part about this time of the year is the short daylight hours. It starts getting dark by 4:30 or so this time of the year. So next weekend we will try to do another "photo safari, if the weather permits.

Lessons Learned:

Spur of the moment trips are fun, but don't forget that the days are shorter in the winter.

The Week of Up & Down Adventures

This week has been quiet the adventure for our family, similar to the stock market lately up and down. Friday 10/31 thru Friday 11/7 has been full of one thing after another. Bill was scheduled to have surgery on 10/31 which was postponed (the surgeon decided he should do the surgery in the hospital rather than the surgery center), Halloween was fun (see below) Whit was here for the weekend. Monday Bill turned 53 (post of 11/3), Wednesday we learned our daughter-in-law’s employment contract had not been renewed (lay-off #2 for her & J) and then Thursday Bill was laid off from his job (post of 11/7). It’s been a week but we are all healthy, happy and blessed in more ways than we can count.

HALLOWEEN 10/31
Since we moved into the house back in 1998 we have always had more than our fair share of ghosts and goblins and this year was no different, 120+.

Bill was originally scheduled for surgery today (now postponed to the 11/25) so our plan was to forgo handing out treats this year but Whitney wouldn’t hear of it. She volunteered her services, we bought the candy, she made the treat bags (120 of them), she made the jack-o-lantern and she ran up and down the stairs time after time to each time the doorbell rang. It was also seemed like a good chance to have Family Game night, so we played Rummycube in-between Whit’s constant trips to answer the door. By 8:15 we had run out of candy bags as well as handing out part of “our chocolate stash”, so we turned off the lights and played like we were not at home.

All of our "surrogate" grandchildren stopped by for their special treat bags (since these kids have a special place in our hearts, they get a special treat bag full of all types of goodies) as they do each year and this year we had 2 new additions to our family, Kayla and Ben (no pix of Ben he was sound asleep in his Daddy's arms). This is our favorite part of this day, when each one of them (and their parents of course) stop by to show off how cute they look in their costumes!

Cinderella & Batman (J&K)
Skooby-Doo (Blayne)
Little Monkey Girl (Lexy)
The Little Mermaid (KMR)