After a great baptismal service Sunday evening and a fun time at Pizza Hut with some friends from church - I totally lost it on the way home and cried from the airport to my house - and then more at home - missing Mike BIG time. Then I got sick during the night (spent a lot of time in the bathroom) and ended up missing work Monday which wasn't good.
Wednesday night our small group visited Hope Ministries facilities (Bethel Mission and more). This organization is absolutely amazing in how it helps homeless men, women and families. Check out their web site at the bottom of my home page under Good Seed.
Thursday night some girlfriends and I met at The Tavern for dinner and to experience some of Valley Junction's Holiday Open House on 5th Street - I walked down to it. I hope my doc and grief counselor are reading this post to read that I WALKED down to it :) I was able to get pizza twice this week - which is something I don't do at home - so that was definitely fun. 5th Street was all lit for Christmas, there were some musicians playing Christmas music outside (a bit nippy for them but not too bad) and there were free carriage rides. There was a beautiful brown team of horses with the carriage and a beautiful black matched team pulling the wagon.
Today I had mixed emotions attending a retirement ceremony for one of my Lieutenants from the WDMPD - Jeff had put in 31.5 years - wow. As I got closer to the PD I got excited to see everyone - I consider these folks a second family since I have history with the PD from being a reserve police officer and then again as a part-time civilian employee. Several retired employees attended Jeff's ceremony and it was fun seeing them - and I got tons of hugs from lots of people which was awesome! I think I wrote on Mike's CaringBridge site that the guys of the PD that were on the force before I became a reserve are all very special to me - they accepted me into their world. I was the first sworn female officer (reserve) to carry a weapon in the city of WDM so I was definitely entering a "man's world" back then. There aren't many of those guys left. And then the guys that came on the force after I became a reserve and until I resigned from the unit are special to me too.
Tonight is a typical Friday night - get caught up on emails, organize Mike's side of the bed that has become my upstairs "desk", get my grocery list ready and figure out all the errands I need to run tomorrow. One stop will be Home Depot to talk about my bathroom floor project. And...right now I'm watching da Bulls for the first time this season playing the Lakers. 4:05 left in the 4th and they are up 82 to 69 at home. Kyle Korver (the Pella fella) is hitting 3's like crazy. Go Bulls! Oh my 10.7 seconds left and Bulls 86 -83 and Kobe Bryant just fouled a Bull player. Make those free throws!!!!! One made. Second free throw made. Phil Jackson (Laker's coach...used to be the Bull's coach) calls timeout. Heavens 10.7 seconds can take two minutes...... Foul 0.7 seconds by a Bull on a Laker 88 - 84. Korver's going in..... Nope - game over - Bulls win!!!!!!!!!
We saw the Gatlin Brothers and Lennon Sisters Christmas show in Branson.
A fun Christmas light display to drive under.
Shot of morning fog the day we drove to Eureka Springs, Arkansas.
Looks like the road goes into nowhere.
Our condo was cabin themed and we loved it!
Although we found the eating area bench interesting :)
