Insomnia

Well, frustration from not having posted for awhile will now be alleviated and replaced with eye strain and exhaustion, as I am having one of my normal bouts with insomnia. It happens about once or twice a month, and after 3 or so years of this, I'm pretty used to it.

I didn't get a chance to post yet about our HopeKids event. It was on Sept. 27 and it was at Classic Family Fun Center (or something of that sort). It was a great success- over 100 attendees, 40+ volunteers, donations of time, money, energy, and a generous discount on pizza from a local restaurant. We had the whole place to ourselves for the majority of the morning and it was so much fun to see families connecting, kids laughing, and people serving. I'll post pictures soon. Please be in prayer for our second event, a weekend camping trip in a couple of weeks. Cabins were donated, as were meals, snacks, and again, time and money. Despite desperate times economically, people are still willing to give and serve and that is so encouraging!

This past week our good friends Michael and Joanna and their 3 kids (Jessica, James and Christopher) came up for a visit and boy, were they a sight for sore eyes! The children picked right up where they left off as if those 3 months had never passed. We enjoyed every minute of their stay. We spent Friday afternoon (Lindsay's 11th birthday!) at Antelope Island (for those of you non-Utahns, that is an island in the Great Salt Lake). The causeway is right off the road near our home so it was only about a 20 minute drive. The weather was chilly, but we had a wonderful time. Friday night Joanna, Amy and I were able to tour ye ol' Bountiful so Joanna could see where I grew up. We also went to dinner at Robintino's-mmmmm. Saturday was supposed to be spent touring SLC, the temple grounds, Fort Douglas Museum, etc...but instead we played in the snow! It started snowing early Saturday and didn't really stop until Sunday night. We had a record-breaking amount of snow. We had about 5 inches at our house and after we dug out all the Lands End boxes from last year (no stickers inside telling us not to eat them- I guess sometime in the last year that need came about...) the kids headed outside in all their gear and had a blast. Sunday, after church, we celebrated Nathan's 10th birthday and Amy's 40th birthday and then the kids spent even more time in the snow. Michael and Joanna left late that afternoon, and we were sad to see them go. It was a wonderful week, and now I'm yawning, just thinking about how busy it was! :)
We also were gifted with an afternoon touring the LDS cannery, dairy, and bakery in downtown SLC where they make all the food for welfare recipients and for charity. What an amazing operation. My neighbor is the overseer of all those operations and he graciously offered to take us on the tour. He even arranged for a large van to tote 3/4 of us together! All but Joanna, Lindsay and I were also able to tour the Kaysville LDS grainery and see flour and cake mix being made. Lindsay had an earache so we took off after the first tour. The kids all had a great time and learned a thing or two, also! This same wonderful neighbor had us over for a bbq (before it snowed!) and allowed the kids to pick melons and veggies from his huge garden. The next day we had a wonderful feast of stew made with his fresh veggies. Watermelon from his garden was dessert- it was delicious! Almost makes me want a garden...almost. I need to learn a thing or two about it, first.
Well, my eyes are actually getting heavy so I'll go to bed now. I'll post the pictures tomorrow.