Thank goodness it's Friday

Jan writing: Well, it's January, storm winds are pounding on my house, and the so far the power is still on. It reminds me that Patti has often said during windy stormy nights like this, they sleep on the ground floor of their home. Here on the Oregon coast, my Christmas decorations are if not flying back into their boxes, they are trudging back into storage. It was a good Christmas for me although I often feel like we are tip-toeing through the holidays because of Dad and Doug dying close to Christmas. There are bitter-sweet memories for me during the holidays. But everyone was healthy during the holidays this year and no visits to the Emergency Room. (Unlike earlier this year when the Hoffers visited the ER twice with 2 different children in less than 24 hours while visiting Grandma!) It was great to be in Oceanside (near Tillamook) and all together in one house. The boys were playing video games in their bedroom and would sometimes suck one of the adults into the game with them (I always lost), Sarah learning to knit from Grandma and finishing a quilt with Aunt Bev, Miranda watching Pirates of the Caribbean (the 2 disk DVD!), occasional games of Monopoly (strangely enough no one played pinochle this year), adult cooking or reading. It's just fun being together. And finally it was great to have a hot tub because we marinated in the hot tub several times.

Sarah spent one morning counting her money (I gave her loose change in a decorative tin for a gift) and she separated the pennies to give to Alan for the chicken project. It warms my heart to see the heart for giving the kids have. It's easy to be very commercial at Christmas time with all the gift giving and I remember a year ago when I asked the kids what they would do if they won a million dollars. Both of the boys said as their first answer "I would give money to poor people." I asked them separately and they both gave the same answer.

Hope you all stay warm and dry tonight and no more trees falling down. The storm we had the first of December destroyed much of the urban forest here in Astoria so may you stay cozy and safe tonight.