Dad's Left Eye

 At Dad's annual eye appointment, they discovered he had increased pressure in his left eye. They offered eye drops or laser surgery to fix the problem. I was shocked when dad chose surgery.  The clinic we were at didn't do that procedure and referred us to Wolf Eye Center.  On our first appointment at Wolf's we saw a nice doctor who discovered she couldn't REACH the spot she needed to zap due to an odd cataract surgery dad had in the past. 

Dad can't remember WHEN he had the cataract surgery or WHERE...but I guessed in Eugene after he came home from the Philippines. In any event, they can't reach the spot where they could zap to relieve pressure in his eye.  They gave him an eye drop to use to see if the pressure could come down enough for them to be able to zap the spot. His follow-up appointment was today. He even saw Dr. Wolf.

Dr. Wolf said nothing had changed. They gave him two more drops to use daily. If this doesn't work, he'll see a glaucoma specialist and if he can't help him a retina specialist. There isn't a lot of hope the drops will help, Dr. Wolf said this is rare.  At 85, an oft asked question is, "What happens if I don't fix it?" 

He opted to get it fixed. After the appointment we went to The Windbreak Cafe and enjoyed lunch. 

We also stopped to watch all the ducks on our way back to his home. 

Monday Eclipse

Monday is the one night of the week when Stacia may be home to eat with us - and sometimes the weekend. We try to have a dinner she will enjoy, and we do a variety of things focusing on connecting with each other.   I made a favorite Country Chicken Pot Pie. We ate and talked and cleaned up while the hot tub warmed up. It was well into the negative temps, but the girls and I thought a nice soak would be a great idea. 

I finally fell out of the hot tub. I had swung my legs over and thought I stepped onto the top step leading from the hot tub. Evidently, I did...but the steps were icy and I bounced down three steps, hit the icy deck and slid. I was happy to have stopped before I went over the unfinished edge of the deck. Stacia was sure I'd broken something. Not to worry. I have bruises and road rash wherever my skin touched the ice...my face, my lip, my legs, my thighs... I came in and immediately took 800 mg of ibuprofen.  Michael is considering finishing the deck. I have decided during the winter I will no longer sit in the tub when home alone. I will make sure someone is out of the tub to help me in case I slip again. I don't know how you'd add a railing to the stairs but that may be nice in the winter. 

All that to say I didn't much feel like driving up into the mountains at midnight to watch a lunar eclipse. Stacia and Melia, however, were not to be denied the adventure. Off they went to Independence Mine in Hatcher's Pass to meet up with college friends of Stacia's. 

They took snacks, a thermos of hot chocolate, winter wear, toe warmers and settled in to watch for the eclipse.  They were rewarded with an eclipse, surrounded by dancing Northern Lights. Melia shares it was her first time to drive way up into the mountains. 

📷by April 

Yeah, I do kind of wish I'd dragged by aching body out. LOL  Oh, yes, they also had a close encounter of the moose kind. Stacia was driving well below the speed limit or they would have hit the moose. As was she slammed her brakes on and they stopped with Melia having an up-close look at the moose's bum. 

Archangel Adventure

 It was COLD today, but Stacia and Melia have been planning a cross-country ski outing all week. Melia now has all the snow gear, and they agreed to be wise.  They drove to Archangel and started their adventure. 

Drama queen! LOL 

Melia said she was warm to hot....score for the winter gear! Melia fell much less today, tackled some hills and is getting more confident! 

February Family Gathering

We did not have family gatherings November - January choosing to let the Holidays be the "gathering." This had pros and cons. It made for an easier schedule for some of us and created conflicts for others. We were looking forward to getting back to normal in February. Michael and I messed that up. We agreed to facilitate a parenting workshop on the Saturday.  This pushed gathering back a week...and wreaked havoc with others' schedules. We have learned. We will NOT schedule anything on the 3rd Saturday from here on out. Between traveling, moves, illnesses, rid- alongs with the police department...we ended up with our smallest family gathering yet - only 12 of us. It was STILL good to gather. 

February was a hard month for many of us. We miss Josiah and it was his birthday as well as the anniversary of the trial. It was good to meet and celebrate Josi, Nolan, Liv, Alex, and Jamin's birthdays - as well as BreZaak and our anniversaries.

Benny, Papa, Arielle, GG, Cory, Ellie, Danny, Nolan, Charles
Stacia, Melia

CoRielle brought a fun game to introduce to us...Let's Hit Each Other with Fake Swords. I didn't play but what I observed was a round of cards to determine who would duel and then duels. 

Arielle & Stacia

Benny & Uncle Nolan

Nolan, Melia, Benny, Arielle & Cory

Arielle & Danny

Nolan was the only celebrant who was present. 

Gluten Free cupcakes 

Melia's family immigrated from Japan to Hawaii. Her grandmother used to make a Hawaiian Guava cake that was most asked for at Potlucks. Melia wanted to make a guava cake for us. We hunted up the guava nectar and she baked away. I know the photo isn't great, but the cake was DELICIOUS. I could only have a sliver as its quite full of sugar...but I plan to make an 8x8 sugar free cake the next time they serve this. We sent a plate home to Bre and her sick family and they loved it too. 

Guava cake - kid approved

Ye' old Arm-Wrestling competition

Ellie liked the cake so much she LICKED the tray

It was a fun day. We dearly missed those who weren't able to be with us this month, but we are also very thankful for those who are here.  GG asked Michael to do some repairs on his walker brakes. 

Fun Outing

This is a day Melia has been counting down to for quite some time. There was a movie she was sure she wanted to watch; she'd watched the earlier ones. We had told her we weren't interested as we don't like scary. Life has been scary enough. LOL  She couldn't attend without an 18-year-old so we sort of thought it would die out...but never underestimate the power of the sisterhood. ::snort:: 

Melia and her sisters talked the mom from their new home to take them. It was a fun night for the girls. 

The three of us drove into town and made a quick Costco run. 

Next on our agenda was treating Melia to dinner at her favorite spot - Caines. 

She and I spent some quality time at Burlington's. 

The spontaneous squeals when the girls saw Melia brought smiles to our faces. 

Melia went into her theater. 

We opted to find another that was playing....I Can Only Imagine 2. I hadn't heard of the movie. It was good. It was a tear inducing in places.

Melia enjoyed herself but told us she wouldn't be going to future movies in this franchise. It was worse than she expected. 

She needed to unwind when we got home as she and Stacia donned a different kind of masks.

Michael laughingly checked out her closet and under her bed for her before she went to sleep. We circled and prayed she'd sleep well....and she did. 

 

A Momentous Evening

Michael and I were the only ones aware the evening was momentous... and that was fine. We led a small group in our home for the first time since Oct 19, 2023.

Photo from our church center profile

As we began to feel it was time for us to get back on our feet and back into the game, we discussed the things we enjoyed doing most. We did NOT want to fill our schedule as much as it was in 2023.  We loved meeting weekly in a small group. We offered to lead a group in our town. The small group coordinator felt the timing wasn't right. It was fall of 2024 and had been a year since Josiah's murder. She felt we needed to join a group and be supported and cared for, that our season of rest and being poured into wasn't over. We told her we couldn't find a group in the valley. She knew of a group in Palmer and though the group was closed they accepted us. 

She was so right. She cared for us - rather than rushing us into service. It was so needed and such a tangible manifestation of compassion. 

We loved our Tuesday night group, and they were a strong support to us through the trial and sentencing of Josiah's murderer. We even met the couple who now live in the home we had lived in in 2002.  We continued with this group in 2024 and 2025.

We loved being back in community so much that in Oct 2025 we joined a second small group when our first group need to take an extended break. Through the fall and up to Christmas we attended both - our Tuesday and Thursday communities.  

We both began to feel it really was time for us to volunteer to lead again. We contacted the Small Group Director at church, went through the process of applying and interviewing and made plans to start a 2nd group in Palmer in March. Our Tuesday night group had to disband in January, and we weren't yet prepared to lead in January. We talked with our leaders, and they agreed we should talk to the Small Group Coordinator as we are looking to start a campus out here and there will be a need for community in the valley.  

Fast forward to this week.  March is approaching. We've been praying...God has our yes, but we aren't sure how people will find us to begin attending. Our Thursday night group needed hosting this week. We stepped in and marveled that here we are...leading a life group in our home for the first time in 2 1/2 years...restoration. 

We will begin leading Sojourners - a small group for sojourners in our valley next Thursday night...March 4th - but tonight was a big step back into serving the family of God again. 

Michael has been able to do pulpit fill quite a bit the past few months and this has also been a blessing. We are back to doing the things we know we are uniquely called to do - wiser, slower, carrying a new depth...but we are so humbled to see God's guidance through the dark valley of the past few years. 

Nerf Battles of Feb 2026

Arielle has had the flu this week. She and Bre had a plan to get the kids to the homeschool Nerf Battles and Bre would do something special with Joisah and Danny. At least, I gather that was the plan.  I had hoped to spend a few hours helping out again today, but our Thursday had some unexpected opportunities.  I was happy to pick up Benny and Danny in the morning as I wouldn't be able to spend the afternoon keeping them quiet for Arielle.  Bre and her kids decided to stay away from germ. 

Melia wanted to come and got up early to come with me. We picked up the boys and arrived at the Burrough Gym before anyone else. We waited in the WARM car (negative temps lately). Eventually, the doors opened and tables were set up, bullets were spread in a pile in the center of the gym, teams were chosen and the kids had fun. This was the K-4th grade group so Danny couldn't play. I suggested we stay so Melia could participate with the 5th - 12th grade group but it didn't interest her. 

Benny in Orange

Melia and Danny

I got permission from Arielle to take the boys to lunch before I brought them home ready for quiet hour. We tried one place in town, but their machines were down and as I looked around, I knew our local McDonald's is much cleaner. The boys were asking to go see "the uncles" by this time so we headed over to McDonald's. Nolan wasn't in sight, but they enjoyed seeing Alex. 

Danny, Benny & Melia

Cheese! 

We dropped the boys off at their home and came home where Melia worked on school and I cleaned house and made soup.