Love the One You're With Because Life is Better with Friends

Last weekend was busy! We really packed a lot in --
David golfed in two tournaments, we had people
over for dinner, I had a friend over for a fourteen
hour crafting session, and we got two phone calls
with big news. It was just a weekend full of
surprises.

The biggest and happiest surprise was the call we
got from Jim and Sandy telling us that they had a
new, baby granddaughter!

Eryn and Jeramie had their first baby together
last weekend. Her name is Logan Mary Shaver.
Mom and baby are healthy and at home now.
Logan's proud grandpa sent these photos our
way. I think this is her first of many, many photo
shoots ahead.




Congratulations, Eryn and Jeramie. She's beautiful!

We threw together a last minute dinner party at our
house Friday night. It turned out to be a great evening.
Everything just sort of unfolded accidentally. Brian
Moroney came home with David that evening -- D
golfed in a tournament on Friday and they all met
afterwards for a drink to kick off the weekend. I
planned to make the three of us chicken enchiladas.
Then, we got a phone call from Justin and Betty
who had a babysitter for their kids but no particular
plans. So, they decided to join us. Good food,
great company.

After dinner, we headed to the backyard where
the boys entertained us from the pool...


Our weekend water warrior, the one and only,
Killian Ewing Link.


Cheers!


David trying in vain to get Killian to stop and look at
mommy for a photo. He was just way too excited to see
passed his daddy.


Killian and Justin


David and Brian


Betty


Brian and Killian in the middle of a little stare down.

So, we all hung out Friday night. Then, on Saturday
morning, I got things around for my scrap booking
day with Kim! I had really been looking forward to
this. We had a great time. She came over around
10:30am and was there until after midnight. Now
that's dedication to the cause. I made cards and she
worked on a scrapbook album for a friend of hers.
We had fun getting caught up while we worked on
our projects.

David and Brian came home around 7pm that night
after their twelve hours of golf and dinner. Brian
played cameraman -- so I was actually in a few of
the photos! These were literally taken on our tenth
hour of scrap booking. So, we weren't quite as fresh
as we had been that morning. We were happy though!
It was a super fun day.



















Saturday was such a marathon of a day that we designated
Sunday a day of rest. I made a few more cards but we
mostly snuggled and watched movies. Saw The Last King
of Scotland. Very good.

But we also got some really sad news on Sunday afternoon.
The man I've been taking care of for the past seven months
committed suicide. He lived a challenged life filled with pain
and physical limitations. But I sometimes think he suffered
almost as significantly from the isolation and loneliness he
experienced. He lived alone and didn't get out much. His
weeks consisted of nine hours a day with a caregiver
and the rest was just maintenance -- grocery shopping,
cooking, eating, going to the chiropractor. I often wondered
how much more he would have enjoyed life if he had a
better network of friends and support. Being alone as
much as he was is no way to live a life.

I've taken some time this week to say good bye to him
in my own way. Working with him has been a great
experience for me. I learned a lot and have also grown
to appreciate life a little more -- how precious and fragile
it is and how important the people in our lives are. While
working with him, I also had to be mindful of living in
the moment, finding joy in the little things, taking things
one step at time, and practicing patience. I hope I was
able to make some of the time he had at the end a little
brighter than it might have been otherwise. I won't
soon forget him.