4 December 2016
Hello all you nice people!
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Some had to work and some weren't where they had originally planned to be, but hopefully we were all able to feel grateful for how very fortunate we are.
Thank you, Ben and Aimee, for your letters this week! Aimee, I'm so glad you're feeling better and I'm grateful you have good neighbors and friends to do things I'd like to be able to do for you. Your family has been so busy...it's nice to here some of what goes on! It sounds like you will be a big support to the rest of the Primary presidency; it is kind of nice to have had some experience though.
Ben, we will all be living vicariously through you once again as you go on this next work trip. We will be thinking of and praying for you. What a neat opportunity and responsibility!
Had a nice long talk with Sam and Maddie yesterday...thanks for the call! :)
Just a day by day synopsis of Gran's and my trip:
Nov 22- Dad took us to the IF airport at about 5:30 am. We flew on Delta, changed planes in SLC and Atlanta. We arrived at the Ft. Myers airport, got our rental car and drove to Naples. We got to my cousin Colleen Gonzalez' house about 8pm Eastern time.
Nov 23- We spent some of the day with Aunt Joyce, at my cousin Laurie Hartung's house. Then we helped Colleen get ready for Thanksgiving dinner at her house. They eat Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday because her husband, Abel, is a chef and has to work on the holiday. Colleen and Abel had a lot of people over for dinner. Colleen's friend, Lisa Hare, Abel's parents, Abel Sr. and Rosa (originally from Cuba), Colleen's daughters Alyssa and Cendall, also her son Cort's daughter, 6 year old, Nadia and her other grandmother, Eliana. Cendall's friend Frankie Mancini and her parents and several others, I can't remember all the names.
Nov 24- We were able to relax much of the day, then went to Laurie's and Phillip's around 4, for dinner. It was just the 5 of us, much quieter than at Colleen's, but still very nice. I enjoyed getting to know my cousins; it's been more than 25 years since I've seen them and we seldom saw each other as children...maybe every 5 or 10 years.
Nov 25- We drove to Ft. Myers to pick up another of my cousins, Annette, who had flown down from Binghamton New York, to see us and to be there for Aunt Joyce's birthday. Joyce's other two daughters, Kim and Bettina, weren't able to come while we were there. Kim lives in Tampa Florida and Bettina lives in Louisville Kentucky. Almost every night we stayed up late, talking and playing Scrabble.
Nov 26- We had Aunt Joyce's 86th birthday party, although her birthday wasn't until the 29th, but we would be traveling home by then. I went decoration shopping with my cousin Annette and with Colleen's daughter, Cendell (pronounced with a hard C). Cendall is a really great girl; she'll be 13 in February. I was very impressed with her. She is polite and easy to have around.
Nov 27- Gran and I went to Sacrament meeting at a Ward building just 5 minutes from Colleen's house. Originally, Colleen had planned to go with us, but her granddaughter, Nadia, had a rough night and neither one got much sleep. I don't know the name of the Ward, but it was a terrific meeting. We met a missionary from Rigby, Idaho. Then when we got back, Colleen and Cendall were having Bible study and I was able to join them in that. We each took turns reading; I think my King James version was only slightly different than theirs and we had a nice discussion. Then Phillip took Mama and me for a drive down to Everglade City and the surrounding area. So beautiful, so different from anything I'd seen before. We had lunch at an outdoor restaurant, went to the Smallwood museum and stopped to visit his friend, Dick Jay. Dick is retired from the government and recently lost his wife, Marilyn. He is now a freelance artist and his whole house is his art studio. We really had a lovely day with Phillip. That evening we sat around the firepit in Gonzalez' yard and made S'mors. Not what I'm used to doing during Thanksgiving...but I could get used to it!
Nov 28- Mama and I went for a drive, just the two of us. We found a post office and mailed the postcards. Then we went through a couple of Thrift stores. Next we went to the beach and enjoyed seeing the Gulf of Mexico. Beautiful white sand, pretty little birds, lots of small sea shells, very pretty. That evening we went to Hartung's for dinner and spent a very nice evening. Then we said goodbye to Laurie, Phillip and Aunt Joyce. Mama and Joyce hadn't seen each other in 11 years. I don't know if they will again in this life...I guess we'll see.
Nov 29- We left Gonzalez' house early, about 5ish for our flight from Ft. Myers to Atlanta. We had uneventful trips both ways. Mama held up quite well. All the people who pushed wheelchairs for her were very nice and took good care of us both. Mama's feet and ankles got quite swollen during both days of travel, but by the next day she was pretty much back to normal. Dad picked us up at the IF airport and brought us home! It's always good to get back home.
The next day, Dad had to leave for a trip to Boise. So I will have seen him only one day out of 17! Today in Sacrament meeting, as we sang Hymn # 172, In Humility, Our Savior, I could hear Dad singing the Tenor part he does so well. It was really a sweet comfort to me, even though I was missing him, I could hear him in my mind and at the same time was happy that he could be attending church with Heidi's and Dixie's families.
Happy 2nd birthday to Stella on Friday, the 2nd; we love you so much!
This evening, Grandma, Gran and I will be going to the Haeberle Christmas party at Jake's and Lisa's house. I have rolls in the oven right now, almost ready to take out, and just took two pumpkin pies out.
Sorry this is such a long one! I miss you all and love you.
Philemon 1:4 Mom/Johanna/Nana
P.S. This is a video of Colleen's husband, Abel. It's an advertisement for the restaurant where he works.
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Some had to work and some weren't where they had originally planned to be, but hopefully we were all able to feel grateful for how very fortunate we are.
Thank you, Ben and Aimee, for your letters this week! Aimee, I'm so glad you're feeling better and I'm grateful you have good neighbors and friends to do things I'd like to be able to do for you. Your family has been so busy...it's nice to here some of what goes on! It sounds like you will be a big support to the rest of the Primary presidency; it is kind of nice to have had some experience though.
Ben, we will all be living vicariously through you once again as you go on this next work trip. We will be thinking of and praying for you. What a neat opportunity and responsibility!
Had a nice long talk with Sam and Maddie yesterday...thanks for the call! :)
Just a day by day synopsis of Gran's and my trip:
Nov 22- Dad took us to the IF airport at about 5:30 am. We flew on Delta, changed planes in SLC and Atlanta. We arrived at the Ft. Myers airport, got our rental car and drove to Naples. We got to my cousin Colleen Gonzalez' house about 8pm Eastern time.
Nov 23- We spent some of the day with Aunt Joyce, at my cousin Laurie Hartung's house. Then we helped Colleen get ready for Thanksgiving dinner at her house. They eat Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday because her husband, Abel, is a chef and has to work on the holiday. Colleen and Abel had a lot of people over for dinner. Colleen's friend, Lisa Hare, Abel's parents, Abel Sr. and Rosa (originally from Cuba), Colleen's daughters Alyssa and Cendall, also her son Cort's daughter, 6 year old, Nadia and her other grandmother, Eliana. Cendall's friend Frankie Mancini and her parents and several others, I can't remember all the names.
Nov 24- We were able to relax much of the day, then went to Laurie's and Phillip's around 4, for dinner. It was just the 5 of us, much quieter than at Colleen's, but still very nice. I enjoyed getting to know my cousins; it's been more than 25 years since I've seen them and we seldom saw each other as children...maybe every 5 or 10 years.
Nov 25- We drove to Ft. Myers to pick up another of my cousins, Annette, who had flown down from Binghamton New York, to see us and to be there for Aunt Joyce's birthday. Joyce's other two daughters, Kim and Bettina, weren't able to come while we were there. Kim lives in Tampa Florida and Bettina lives in Louisville Kentucky. Almost every night we stayed up late, talking and playing Scrabble.
Nov 26- We had Aunt Joyce's 86th birthday party, although her birthday wasn't until the 29th, but we would be traveling home by then. I went decoration shopping with my cousin Annette and with Colleen's daughter, Cendell (pronounced with a hard C). Cendall is a really great girl; she'll be 13 in February. I was very impressed with her. She is polite and easy to have around.
Nov 27- Gran and I went to Sacrament meeting at a Ward building just 5 minutes from Colleen's house. Originally, Colleen had planned to go with us, but her granddaughter, Nadia, had a rough night and neither one got much sleep. I don't know the name of the Ward, but it was a terrific meeting. We met a missionary from Rigby, Idaho. Then when we got back, Colleen and Cendall were having Bible study and I was able to join them in that. We each took turns reading; I think my King James version was only slightly different than theirs and we had a nice discussion. Then Phillip took Mama and me for a drive down to Everglade City and the surrounding area. So beautiful, so different from anything I'd seen before. We had lunch at an outdoor restaurant, went to the Smallwood museum and stopped to visit his friend, Dick Jay. Dick is retired from the government and recently lost his wife, Marilyn. He is now a freelance artist and his whole house is his art studio. We really had a lovely day with Phillip. That evening we sat around the firepit in Gonzalez' yard and made S'mors. Not what I'm used to doing during Thanksgiving...but I could get used to it!
Nov 28- Mama and I went for a drive, just the two of us. We found a post office and mailed the postcards. Then we went through a couple of Thrift stores. Next we went to the beach and enjoyed seeing the Gulf of Mexico. Beautiful white sand, pretty little birds, lots of small sea shells, very pretty. That evening we went to Hartung's for dinner and spent a very nice evening. Then we said goodbye to Laurie, Phillip and Aunt Joyce. Mama and Joyce hadn't seen each other in 11 years. I don't know if they will again in this life...I guess we'll see.
Nov 29- We left Gonzalez' house early, about 5ish for our flight from Ft. Myers to Atlanta. We had uneventful trips both ways. Mama held up quite well. All the people who pushed wheelchairs for her were very nice and took good care of us both. Mama's feet and ankles got quite swollen during both days of travel, but by the next day she was pretty much back to normal. Dad picked us up at the IF airport and brought us home! It's always good to get back home.
The next day, Dad had to leave for a trip to Boise. So I will have seen him only one day out of 17! Today in Sacrament meeting, as we sang Hymn # 172, In Humility, Our Savior, I could hear Dad singing the Tenor part he does so well. It was really a sweet comfort to me, even though I was missing him, I could hear him in my mind and at the same time was happy that he could be attending church with Heidi's and Dixie's families.
Happy 2nd birthday to Stella on Friday, the 2nd; we love you so much!
This evening, Grandma, Gran and I will be going to the Haeberle Christmas party at Jake's and Lisa's house. I have rolls in the oven right now, almost ready to take out, and just took two pumpkin pies out.
Sorry this is such a long one! I miss you all and love you.
Philemon 1:4 Mom/Johanna/Nana
P.S. This is a video of Colleen's husband, Abel. It's an advertisement for the restaurant where he works.
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