Thanksgiving Week

Sunday 25 November 2018

Happy 19th Anniversary to Miranda and Dan on Monday!
Happy Birthday to Kristy Fox and achieving over the hill status Tuesday!

Monday was busy:  I had lab work done for my upcoming physical and then went to paint the rooms at the house I have been working on. Also met with the heat and a/c man about running ducting into those rooms. That is about when Sandy called to inform me that her 97 year old mother had passed away the previous night in her home. It is always so sad to lose someone that has a strong positive influence on your life; she was a great lady!

Tuesday, after accomplishing a lot of items on the need to get done list, we loaded the car and headed off to Branson to do some shopping. Sandy was capable of doing more than she had thought; maybe spending money is good for your health. We dined at Olive Garden and she had healthy servings of their salad and salmon. We spent the night there so we could shop some more before heading to Jonathan's on Wednesday.  Again, Sandy was able to walk to a variety of shops without feeling weak. We did find a lot of things on the shopping list to purchase. And she spent a lot of time at 1/2 of 1/2! She stated that it is easier to walk than just stand still. I had to make a supreme sacrifice to bypass Andy's Frozen Custard so I could connect with Miranda and Dan just west of where Jonathan lives to pick up a BioMat they had picked up for Mom (they were on their way home from the Kansas City Temple).

We spent an enjoyable evening with the Fox family, trying to get caught up on all the news and family happenings.  Thursday morning Isabelle and I participated in a local 5K run. She has been doing the couch to 5K routine and had never run much further than 2 miles, so this was new territory for her.  And she did amazing! I was not familiar with the course and my watch did not synch properly, so I just ran without any time reference and let my body set the pace, and we ran together.  About the 2 1/4 mark, Isabelle had trouble breathing and had to slow for a short time to catch her wind.  I kept on going, finishing 48th out of 277 registered runners; she was not far behind.  I placed 1st in the over 70 male group (the 3rd place guy was 80); Isabelle was 3rd in her age group.

We came home to help with dinner preparations and relaxing.  Jonathan and Kristy have fine dining down to a science and are great cooks; each has their own area of expertise and the older children have their own specialties they cook.  They had invited another family over for the Thanksgiving feast; lots of yummy good food to enjoy. And we had wonderful fall weather as well.

Friday we were up and busy with farm chores.  Actually, I spent a good portion of the day helping Jonathan attached a very bright LED light to his tractor; it took some time to mount it on the roll bar, run the wires and such.  And it was cold!

Saturday we finished the tractor light and worked on a malfunctioning exterior outlet that powered the pump for their fountain.  While it worked prior to the fire, there is no juice there now.  I traced the wire back to the house where there was still no power.  Who ever installed the exterior outlet in the beginning, placed it at ground level facing up.  Even though it had a sealed box, it was still full of water.  We were able to extend the wire about 18 inches above ground, install a GFI and a new weatherproof box.  Now it is time to call an electrician so he can determine why there is no power.

Kristy has a 40th BD this next week and we could not pass up this opportunity to properly recognize this milestone in her life.  Jonathan tried to get her out of the house so we could arrange a small family party, but she wanted to stay home and visit.  So, we had to clandestinely make arrangements around her presence. The older children went shopping for the appropriate black party favors; one of them made a cake, but told her mom is was brownies. Then while Isabelle distracted her outside with the animals, we where able to make a chocolate truffle cake and hide it in the refrigerator.  Then after dinner, Jonathan took her to the barn to show her the lights on the tractor, and everyone stepped up and decorated for the occasion. You will have to wait a few days for the pictures.  Anyway, Kristy was greatly surprised and was most appreciative of everyone's efforts. And the cake was delicious.

Sandy stayed busy this week reading, talking, playing games with the children and other sedentary tasks and remained in good spirits the entire time.

Today we attended church and enjoyed the various meetings.  They have a great ward with a lot of good people. Heard some great council on gratitude and the blessing it is to show gratitude.  After a turkey sandwich, we headed home in some cold nasty weather.  We arrived about 7 pm and are glad to be on our own warm and snug home.

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and we thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the MO Fox family.  We are truly a blessed family!