The morning after --

I spent much of my life in the midwest where, after a snowstorm, the snow and ice last forever (it seems).  However, in Colordo, this is what happens the next day:

The sun is already at work and the roads will soon all be open.  There is more snow forecast for tomorrow, but that's ok, we'll take all the moisture we can get.

It's snowing --

And we're so thankful for the moisture!  We're supposed to get 8 - 10 inches  out of this storm, and every single snowflake is welcome!  I'm not sure if it classifies as a blizzard yet, but the wind is pretty strong already.  It meant we couldn't go to church this morning, and I really miss it when I can't go to Sunday School and the worship service.  I wasn't able to go last Sunday either; I was babysitting at my daughter's house for three days, and Carly was not feeling well all weekend, so we stayed pretty close to home.

This is what it looks like outside now:

And Paul has his tractor ready to go -- probably some time tomorrow -- to clear the roads.

At Tanya's house, Carly and Joey are all bundled up to go outside with Daddy:

A few days ago, a dear friend of mine passed away; she would have been 92 in May and had been in good health most of her life.  Last April she had a stroke and was in a nursing home ever since.  We were surprised how well this very active, very outgoing lady adjusted to the nursing home; after all - she hadn't been to see a doctor since 1952!  But last week she had a second stroke and she didn't survive this one.  But she often talked about how badly she wanted to go to heaven and see Jesus, so now she got her wish.  There was supposed to be a "viewing" at the funeral home this afternoon, in spite of the fact that she wanted a closed casket and was very adamant about that; well - because of the snowstorm, no one will go to view her and so her wish was granted in spite of her family.  The funeral is tomorrow.  I remember the first time I saw Evie, it was January 2000.  Paul and I were looking for a church home, so one Sunday morning we visited a church in Northglenn.  When the choir entered the stage, she led them in -- and "led" is not quite the right word; she "strutted" in and had a lot of movement with every song.  I wondered to myself "who is that strange woman" -- never imagining that she and I would become close friends.  Her husband and Paul also became close friends, but Bud died in 2001.  I have many happy memories of the times we spent together.  She was one of the four of us who always celebrated our birthdays (and any other excuse) by going to a tea house and then going shopping.  I have been feeling very sad the last few days, even though I'm happy that she's no longer suffering.  I will miss her.

I am now in the age group where my peers are having strokes, or getting Alzheimers, or dying of cancer or any of a hundred other things that happen in our "golden years".  I don't quite know how time passed so quickly and there are definitely times that I wish I was young again - but there are no "do overs", so here I am.  However -- my mind is still very sharp, I manage to stay quite active even with my arthritis, so I have much to be thankful for. 

We'll be seeing a Cardiologist this week; Paul is to have surgery but first has to have his heart evaluated to make sure it's ok to have surgery.  He has three bad heart valves, so it's a little iffy.

We're planning a trip to Nashville in a few weeks to visit Paul's younger son and his wife.  But first we'll drive to my home town for the annual "Schmeckfest", and then my cousin Goldie will join us for the trip.  Her daughter lives in Asheville, NC, so she will go on to visit her family.  She went with us last year when we went to the Outer Banks of NC, and she's a good traveling companion.

I'm working on scrapbooks this weekend.  Because we know so little of my grandchildren's lives before they were adopted, I have been documenting their lives since then in scrapbooks which eventually will belong to them.  They love to sit and look at all the pictures. 

I may have mentioned this before; but when Joey arrived here on Christmas Day of 2008, a reporter from a local TV station was at the airport, looking for a story, and did a story on Joey's arrival and it was on the evening news that day.  My stepson recorded the story, and Joey and Carly both love to watch it.  He watches it over and over!

And now -- back to my scrapbooking....