Plan B

No Indigo Joe's tomorrow night for Amy's birthday. I don't think she wants her "stalker family" to show up on her second day on the job. Makes perfect sense, actually. So I guess we'll have birthday cake while we watch the Indy 500 on Sunday. Go Helio!!!

weekend plans

Well, it was good while it lasted...good food prepared by our own personal chef. But beginning at 4pm today she'll be gone at dinner time. She's going to be a server at Indigo Joe's at Barnes Rd & Tutt. Given how hard servers work for hours at a time, I think her down time at home will be spent sleeping! Tomorrow night she works as well, and it'll be her 19th birthday. So guess where we're going for dinner (with plans to leave her a fat birthday tip.)
Bethany is now done with school, and Laura & Ian are coming down for a couple of days, too, so it'll be nice to have everyone around for a day or two. And on Sunday, the greatest spectacle in racing is on...the Indy 500!!!!! What a great weekend ahead! Hope yours is safe and wonderful and spent with those you love, too.

The chef is home!!

For many years I've been the "chef" (I use that term loosely) and Amy has been my sous chef. She did the prep work and I did the cooking. Now the roles are reversed, and I love it! Tonight we tried a new recipe...salmon with spring vegetables. It was a very wonderful and healthy meal, which we wanted. Not much in the way of leftovers. I think I could get used to this! Tomorrow night...steak diane!

graduation celebrations...

Another weekend and two more celebrations. This morning we went to my niece, Madeline's graduation in Boulder. It was wicked hot and very, very windy, but it was a beautiful day and we were so glad to be there with her. This morning was also the graduation ceremony at JWU. Amy had a very good friend, Harry, who graduated with a degree in Culinary Arts. While we weren't able to attend the festivities in the morning, we did make it to his party this afternoon. And did I mention Harry is 71? Way to follow your dreams, Harry! Congratulations to both graduates. Dream on!

The eyes have it!

Another morning at the ambulatory office with Dad...a routine cataract implant surgery. We attempted to do this weeks ago but after having him sedated and ready to go, the machine broke. The Dr's office rescheduled for today and we were to have him there at 6:30am. Once again we walked in (nothing to eat after midnight) and once again there was a problem. It seems the Dr's office gave Mom the wrong day...we were scheduled for NEXT week! Agh!!!! Thankfully, they worked dad in and after 3 hours of waiting, we were on our way home. Dad was a bit wobbly, but otherwise seemed to be in good spirits. He wanted to go out to lunch but we convinced him to eat in until he sees the Dr this afternoon for his follow-up. And yes, Mom verified that they want to see him today and not next week!! I think mom & dad will both be tired, but now they've had each eye done and they're good to go!

Graduation and summer plans...

What a wonderful day yesterday at the Colorado School of Mines. The forecast was for rain/clouds/drizzle, but the sun came out just in time for the outdoor graduation ceremony and it was gorgeous. Brian and I met up with Laura and Ian's parents and were thrilled to see Ian walk the line...magna cum laude...civil engineering. It was a proud moment for all of us. And we were much more polite than the people sitting behind us who yelled, screamed, and set off an air horn. We just politely clapped and smiled...didn't want to embarrass the graduate. Afterward we had a great lunch and did a walk-thru of the church where Laura & Ian will be married in June 2011. (They weren't kidding when they said it was small!!!) Then we loaded Laura's things into the car just in time for the rain to begin. And it poured all the way home!!! Laura moved a few things into her temporary dorm room where she'll be for 3 weeks while she does her field session, and then she'll move into temporary housing in downtown Denver while she does an internship until she begins her senior year.
This week Amy will move home and begin pounding the pavement to find a summer job. Bethany will work for her aunt's promotional products business; she'll continue her volunteer work with the hospital and the fire department as well. And Brian and I are planning a relaxing vacation in the great NW sans kids/beagle. I suspect the summer will fly by...they always do!

A rude awakening

We got an e-mail this morning from a guy we used to be stationed with in Florida many years ago. He told us that a mutual friend recently died right here in the Springs...and we didn't even know it. She and her husband were driving thru and she ended up in the hospital with a bad infection from strep throat...and then she died. I'm just in shock, and I'm so frustrated that her husband had to go thru it by himself when we could have been with them. What a rude awakening. I don't know what they believed...whether they had personal relationships with Christ or not. I sure hope so. Just goes to show that you need to be ready...quit assuming you have plenty of time. I've already been assured of my place in Heaven....have you?

All quiet on the home front, and it's awesome!

Finally things seem to be quiet for our family. Laura only has one more week at Mines and Amy finishes up her doubles this week. Laura will go straight into her 3 week field session, and from there she'll go directly into an internship in Denver. I'm not sure if she'll get home this summer or not. Amy has a couple of leads on summer jobs which she'll explore when she gets home. Bethany is in the homestretch of her sophomore year, and between volunteering at the fire department and the hospital and working part-time for her aunt, I imagine she'll be a busy girl this summer. Her knee still hurts quite a bit. Hopefully with the knee brace and exercises it will feel better soon. Brian is on the road once again but was able to get the shed installation about 98% done while he was home. With good weather over the weekend he ought to wrap that project up. I keep busy trying to stay on top of the master calendar. There's SO much going on this time of year. One exciting thing is that Ian will graduate from Mines on the 14th with a degree in Civil Engineering. He's already working toward his Master's which he'll finish in May 2011...just a couple of weeks before the wedding. Unless anything noteworthy comes up, I plan to stay off the blog for a bit and just enjoy some peace and quiet. Thanks for staying with us in thought and prayer thru some rocky times. We're so thankful for God's love and provision for our family. We're so blessed!