11th - Steve and I left for the long drive to Colorado. We spent the night in Albuquerque, NM rather than drive all night. The room was adequate and cheap. The biggest plus was that our dog Christy was allowed in the room. It was pretty cool traveling with her for the first time. She was all over the back seat at first trying to see everything out both windows. But eventually she tired and settled in her bed on the back seat.
12th - We arrived in Colorado Springs around 12:30 pm almost one hour earlier than expected. Steve had made reservations with Hampton Inn & Suites. We had a beautiful suite, which allowed dogs, too and made it easier to have Alan, our son, and family to visit without sitting on top of each other. We met Alan, Liz, Jeremiah, Lainey, and Josiah at a Chinese restaurant and met several others who were sharing the program with them. It was a fun and boisterous evening. I think we actually disturbed the other restaurant clients due to our large group and excited conversations. It was great fun for both Steve and I, the grandparents, to see our children and grandchildren again.
13th - The next morning our family joined us early. Liz, Alan's wife, had thoughtfully kept the March Gramma's Box until we were all together so that the grandchildren and the grandparents could enjoy making hot cocoa together. It was just as if the grandchildren had come to Gramma's house and we made the hot cocoa mix together. After that sweet fun time, the children went swimming in the indoor pool with Grampa, while the rest of us sat and talked.
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| Lainey helping to mix the cocoa while Daddy (Alan) watched. |
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| Mommy (Liz) making sure the bag is securely closed before shaking the ingredients together. |
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| Jeremiah shaking the bag to mix the ingredients together. |
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| Jeremiah |
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| Grampa and Lainey |
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| Josiah |
Then we drove to the ministry training building and saw where our "kids" were staying while taking classes in preparation for leaving to China in June. The last few weeks had been spent in a program called Pilat. This particular weekend was between that study and the next one to start on Monday called Splice.
We ordered pizza for everyone and enjoyed fellowshipping while we ate. I was stuffed. Then later after the settling down, we shared the April Gramma's Box, which was the ingredients for a Movie Night. There was a DVD with 10 movies, from which one could be chosen to watch. There were individual bags of popcorn for each person and the children each received a box of gummie bears. The grandchildren decided to watch The Borrowers, which was a very old version I had never seen before. We didn't watch all of it because the children's behaviors in the movies were not what Alan or Liz wanted their children to see and possibly emulate. So we stopped that movie and then began watching Ed, a movie about a chimpanzee that played baseball. Frankly, it wasn't much better. Sigh! We called it a night and left.
On returning to our room in the motel, we were ready for sleep but kept up most of the night because of the celebrations from a wedding party.
14th - The next day only Alan and Jeremiah came to our motel suite. Liz and the other two were ill during the night and still vomiting that morning. We really missed them but understood. While Jeremiah swam in the pool, Alan sat and explained to us the process of his calling from being in the military, working with The Navigators, and now moving to China. It was so wonderful to hear his testimony. Soon it was time for lunch and we took Alan and Jeremiah to The Mate Factor Cafe in Manitu Springs where Steve and I had lived for 9-months with The Twelve Tribes who own the Cafe. After lunch we drove to Seth's house, Alan's friend from Alabama. Seth had graciously carried the grandfather clock in the truck with his household belongings when he moved to Colorado Springs two months earlier. We packed the clock into the car and then started back to the ministry building. While the door was open, Christy however decided to leave the car and take off. So we spent time driving through the neighborhood chasing her. Finally, she returned and we were able to leave. We stopped at McDonald's and bought some dinner sandwiches to share with the others. Our visit was short because it was late. We said our goodbyes while loving on the grandchildren and reluctantly left.
15th - We slept in late this morning. The wedding part was gone and we actually had quiet most of the night. We left after breakfast to drive to Aurora, CO, a suburb of Denver, where my brother Ron lives. We arrived around 12:30 pm and went into his house to wait for his arrival an hour later. What fun to visit with him. I hadn't seen him since the summer of 2011 when our parents and siblings met for a few days in Gatlinburg, TN. Ron was excited to see me too.
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| Ron and I |
This visit was wonderful. I was able to see Ron's house that he renovated. His son, Reno, came by after school to see us. Ron fixed a dinner for us that was sublime - grilled chicken, beef, and sausages with baked potatoes, sautéed onions, peppers & mushrooms, hot bread and cherry pie w/ice cream for dessert. Yum, yum, yum!!! Ron and I caught up on each other's news and just shared loving each other.
It started snowing while we were there and before we left at 6:30 pm 4-inches had fallen. Steve and I were very thankful we had replaced the old tires with new ones before making this trip. It was almost 2:00 am before we arrived in Alburquerque, NM that night. We were exhausted. I was feeling pretty rough from "coughing", which was from allergies I suppose. I was also quite tired from the cramped seating in the car. The grandfather clock took up one-half of the car requiring me to sit behind Steve in the back seat. All I wanted to do was to lie down flat and couldn't. Once we arrived at the motel, we slept like babies. Christy has loved this trip because she was permitted to sleep in the bed with us each night. I expect we will have a little trouble reminding her where her bed is once we arrived home.
16th - We drove all day. We were pulled off the road in Winslow, AZ for 3-hours until a dust storm cleared and the police re-opened I-40 again. We finally arrived home and went straight to bed without unloading the car.
17th - Steve and I spent all day unpacking, doing laundry, and catching up with the mail and such. I was still coughing and finally went to bed early.
18th - I spent the day in bed, coughing and sleeping. Steve packed everything he needed for his tour and left that evening.
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I did some knitting while I was gone, but didn't spend any time on it that would require my attention to shift from the family. It was too cramped in the car on the trip home to knit. But since Steve has been gone and I was "laying low" I have been knitting several more squares. I have, as of today, completed Section II - Mosaic Patterns.
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| Square 13 Greek Cross |
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| Square 14 Chevron |
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| Square 15 Stepped Fret |
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| Square 16 Double Scroll |
Well that completes Section II of my afghan problems. Now I will begin Section III - Slip-Stitch Patterns.
Today was a highlight for me in another way. The quilt I made for Bruce was delivered to Vickie's, his sister's, house. Bruce arrived there today to open the box but called me first to tell me he was there. While he was talking to me on the phone, he opened the box and found the surprise I made for him. He was delighted to say the least.
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| Bruce called me to let me know that he was at Vickie's house and was ready to open the box I sent to him. |
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| His first view of what is inside the box but not really sure what he is seeing. |
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| Bruce told me that he could see something with U of K on it, but he still didn't really know what it was. |
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| He is telling me that he had forgotten he asked me for a quilt. He is realizing that I have made him the quilt he requested. |
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| Pulling it out of the box, he told me "This thing is large". What size did you ask for?, I asked. A kingsize! "That's what you got", I responded. |
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| "Wow, this thing is HUGE!" |
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| My son is pleased! So am I! |
The girls, Vickie and daughters, loved their purses. They each sent me an email "gushing", easy for me to understand they liked each purse. I am so pleased. Ahhhhh!
Well, that's it for now. I am tired and ready to sit and knit some more. Catch you again later.
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