Okay so now it has been 10 months.  It amazes me how great the rest of you seem to do so well at keeping your blogs up to date and I do so poorly.  It isn't that difficult but I have some sort of brain block.  Anyway I am here now.  I will try to catch you up on the main things.  Rick's dad came in October and we went to Mammoth for fishing.  We also did a bit of hiking and had a great time.

My grandfather passed away in December, very peacefully in his own home.  My sister and I and all the Great-Grandkids sang at his memorial.  It was a great celebration of generations of faithfulness in Christ.

We went to Canada over Christmas and had a great visit with family and friends.  We were able to present World Impact a few times and are always encouraged.  One tough place to present was just outside of Banff.  We even had to stay in a Bed and Breakfast where the church had us stay.  The hardest part was the time was too short there.

 This is all the kids packed in the van on our trip. 

While we were there we visited friends who have some property in the country.  They have a river that runs through their property so we walked it.  It was like walking through Narnia.  This is a frozen pipe that goes under the road. We all crawled and slid though it there and back on our walk. 

It was soooo coooool and cold of course. We skated indoors and out.  It was great once your face got numb and that didn't take long.  The air doesn't get any fresher or cleaner. Rick's sister married a farmer so we've stopped there several times over the years and have a blast riding ATV's in the summer and walking around the farm.  So freely unlike living downtown.  Here the kids are in the barn and feeding calves.

On the way home we visited Zion National Park and it was breath taking.  I would encourage you all to visit if you ever get the chance. Okay so you are caught up through Jan and it may have taken forever for this to load. So I will try to catch you up tomorrow or sometime soon.  Blessings, Sharon

The Browatzkes are alive and well.  We just finished another year of school.  I can't believe we are starting Jr. High in the fall.  Jake is getting tall, his voice is starting to change and our conversations have more and more depth.  This past weekend we went camping at Lake McClure with a bunch of families.  It was a blast.  It was cool enough to sleep in the evenings, but hot enough during the day to want to be in the water.  We were blessed with the use of three boats and two jet skis.  Some had their first ride ever on a boat.  We swam and hung out and ate. We played and watched kids and had a blast.

One Saturday night we sat in a big circle, sang, heard about being the light in the darkness and enjoying God in his creation. 

Blessings to all,  I will try to update more often.  It really is so simple.  Sharon

Thannks for letting me know my info on the Christmas Event was incomplete.  The Event runs from 5-7ish, with volunteers coming about 4:30.  The staff will be setting up on Friday during the day.  Call me if you want more info. 

At this moment, I am entering this blog from Palm Springs.  It was warm enough to wear shorts, but is cooling down fast.  We are visiting Rick's brother who runs a hotel with some business parnters.  Their father is visiting for Christmas from Canada, so we drove him down so he could be with two of his four kids. Our kids have loved the pool and tomorrow we plan on going to the Zoo of the Desert.  Nate's not feeling well today so we are hanging out around the pool.  It's tough I know, but we were forced to make the sacrifice for the sake of the family.  Blessings.