Joinin' the bloggers...

Ducking church today, I'm sorry to say.  Just don't feel good.

I had nasal reconstructive surgery on October 10, 2008. Mostly, I think it has healed. But the last few days, I've felt this pressure on my sinuses that makes it hard to do much. It's kind of like having a constant feeling of being about to sneeze. Not fun. I've got to get down to Newport Beach to see the doctor who did the surgery for a follow-up visit. I've been trying to get past the snowy weather and the holidays before making an appointment. Now I'm thinking I'd better go no matter what.

An old friend of ours, Ralph Bobik, came by this morning for a visit. It's always nice to see him. He was up visiting family. The last time I saw Ralph was when he came to our hotel in Newport Beach and he and Kory gave me a blessing before surgery. That was nice. 

Kyle is here visiting, on vacation from Washington D.C. Erin's parents live here also; and they picked Kyle and Erin up at the airport on Christmas Eve.  They're both working in Washington D.C. now -- Erin just got a job working with their friend, Travis, who was here this morning. Ben was here too. Nice young men. Travis works for a conservative think tank in DC, and Ben is doing amazing work with children in South Africa. He is able to utilize his interest in art and his desire to help others with a literacy program in a tiny country that exists inside South Africa. I don't have the name of it in front of me but will post it another time. He said that when the nonprofit corporation is formed, he will publish a website that will allow donations and other support.  More on that later when I learn more about it.

Kyle continues to work for a real estate developer in D.C. -- apparently a much bigger firm than Kory and I realized. So far, Kyle is enjoying his job, making the most of life in the city and his independence.  

We had a nice, fairly quiet Christmas. Karynn came down with Jespen and Kiel. She's expecting a baby girl on May 16. We're oh-so-excited about that. She may be named Kjersten (pronounced keersten) and her middle name may be Avarell. We shall see!  The boys were a bundle of energy and got to use a lot of it on our dog, Pluto, who was happy to let them chase him around the sofa.  It was very fun. Karynn and the boys also stayed a couple of nights at Grandma and Grandpa Avarell's home in Crestline. Looks like they will be moving to Veterans' housing in Barstow as soon as February of 2009!  Kandi and Bryant will be buying their home and remodeling it for their family.  But I digress.

Kelly came on Monday, the 22nd and stayed until the day after Christmas. That was a nice chance for her to be at Gingerbread Day with the extended family and to be here when Kyle arrived on Christmas Eve. She got plenty of quality time with her Dad, and she shared some of her cooking talents with us, making a special dinner and a great breakfast.  It's amazing that she's so nice and slender when she has such an interest in and a gift for cooking. We also went out to dinner a few times, but the home cooking by Kelly was the best.

That's about it from Lake Arrowhead.  There's lots of snow on the sides of the road but the roads are blacktop and dry today. Blue skies, no wind. Very beautiful as always.

More later...