Mother's Day 2012

Happy Mother's Day!  Tania and I spent the morning at Laycee's (our daughter-in-law) college graduation from Metro State University.  The ceremony for the approximately 1800 graduates was on the athletic fields in downtown Denver.  The weather was chilly so we dressed accordingly.  We enjoyed the day that included fifteen people for lunch.

Tania's primary home care aide is off work for a while due to medical issues so we are scrambling to cover the days I am at work.  Tania is still participating in various therapy sessions, but progress is slow.  We hope you enjoyed your Mother's Day.

Rollie

Palm Sunday in Highland, IL

Tania and I took our first airplane trip with just the two of us since the summer of 2009 this weekend as we flew to St. Louis to stay with good friends in Highland, Illinois. Unlike Colorado, spring has come early this year in the Corn Belt and the trees and flowers were beautiful. We worshiped at Highland Community Church and saw many friends from when we lived in this area fifteen years ago. Tania continues to make slow progress, but she would say that she still has a long way to go. It has been great fun visiting with dear friends on this "get away weekend" trip.

Rollie

40th Wedding Anniversary

Tania and I celebrated 40 years of marriage with a wine and cheese open house this afternoon. Our daughter, Tara, and Tania's home care aides (Mary and Jacquie) were hosts for a fun afternoon of visiting and reminiscing. We were blessed to have neighbors, friends and family join together to celebrate the occasion. The afternoon was even more delightful to watch the Denver Broncos win (as the underdog) their first NFL playoff game in many years. The attached photos with our granddaughter Saydie capture the before and after look of our anniversary celebration.

Rollie

Christmas Eve

'Tis the day before Christmas and with the blast of 18 inches of snow received a couple of days ago, it will indeed be a "White Christmas". In addition to the usual December activities of preparing for Christmas, this year we also attended my Dad's funeral and my niece's wedding in Nebraska on successive weekends. Tania did well traveling to Western Nebraska by car and to Eastern Nebraska by plane. She enjoyed visiting with family and friends. The photos show a visit with Saydie and Santa, as well as the cousins that attended my Dad's funeral.

Have a Merry Christmas and a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year.

Rollie

Thanksgiving in the Mountains

For the first time in four years we were able to enjoy our time-share condo in Avon, CO this past week. Although Ryan had to work on Thursday, we were still able to have a family Thanksgiving dinner when he got off work in the evening. As shown in the attached photos, Tania helped a little with the food preparation, but she much preferred spending time with Saydie viewing photos stored on the i-pad. Tania continues to keep her left eye closed for much of the time and she is going to receive a special contact lens this week that will hopefully help correct her vision handicap. She is also continuing with physical and speech therapy. She has started to help me with our sizable Christmas card list and home decorations to get into the Holiday spirit. Thanks for your continued prayers.

Rollie

Travis and Laycee's Wedding

Yesterday afternoon in near perfect weather, Travis and Laycee were married in a beautiful wedding ceremony in Pueblo, CO. Tania stood up in front of the assembled friends and relatives and read a portion of the Bible's love chapter in I Corinthians 13. Following her first dance with the groom at the reception later in the evening, she received a standing ovation for her recovery progress that allowed her to enjoy the privilege of dancing with Travis at his wedding. We continue to be amazed at the healing miracle she is experiencing.

Rollie

Summer Vacations

Today as we remember the horrible events of ten years ago on 9/11, I thought that it was probably time to update the blog on some of our summer activities. Two years later than we had planned, we were able to enjoy a train ride through the Royal Gorge in Southern Colorado. We then spent a week in a condo in Steamboat Springs. Tara spent three nights with us and my cousin and her husband from Wyoming also spent three nights with us. Last week we took a plane ride to Spokane and drove into British Columbia for a few days to enjoy the scenery, orchards and wineries. After a couple of tasting room visits, Tania informed me that at the next stop she wanted her own glass instead of sharing one. Now that we are back home, it is time to focus on therapy, Bible studies and Travis and Laycee's upcoming wedding. Tania's recovery is continuing to show progress, but it is easy to grow impatient and want improvement to come more quickly.

Rollie