Our 2020
I must say, as 2020 comes to an end, it has been an interesting year. John and I reached a major milestone in our life as we completed our 50th year of marriage on April 1st. For those of you who know us, keeping God 1st is the trick for making it all of those years. I pray we will continue to have grace, mercy, and lots more love for another 50 years! (Well, maybe 20 would be great!)
Unfortunately, our 50th anniversary coincided with the passing of John’s mother, Lucille. She had a car accident on February 29th, and passed away on April 1st, at the age of 94. The covid virus had a big impact on how we were able to deal with her and her care. We were going back and forth to Albuquerque for several months. We had to empty her home and get it ready to sell. We were happy to have Niki, Mindy and John’s nephew from Texas, Shiloh and his wife Jessica come to help. John is still working on settling his mom’s estate. We finally sold her house first week in Oct. We were able to go back to Albuquerque June 16th (her birthday) for an outside memorial service at the cemetery.
Took John’s brother back to Ft Collins. We continued to go to Denver to celebrate (Joy-Hara- Joy to the World, or as my mom says Jesus Others and You) my mom’s 94th birthday. Had a wonderful lunch at my sister Connie’s house. It was quite a celebration. With covid, we were happy to be able to be together. My mother was crowned with a tiara. She loved it. We also enjoyed going to Cousin Jimmy’s restaurant. (Jimmy’s Jersey Street Café) My favorite, and my mom’s too.
The first part of January we spent a week at a time share in Palm Desert,
Ca. I had my first date shake. Yummy! Played golf with neighbors of John’s mother, from ABQ. Lots of fun! From there we went to Arizona, (my mom’s condo) in Mesa. More golf and skydiving with friends in Eloy, in the warm Arizona sun. My mom and her care giver, James met us in Mesa. We picked lots of Lemons from the Lemon tree that my dad planted. We also met up with my mom’s godchild, Mary Anthi and her husband Tom. They invited us to the Greek festival, ate good food, and went up in a tethered Hot Air Balloon. Went up 40 feet or so. It was thrilling! Interesting how we got her in the hot air balloon basket, and out of it, when we landed. (leave it to your imagination!)
End of August we went on a raft trip in Idaho. It was a bit cold, and late in the season for rafting. Refreshing…after everything else that had happened in the middle of the year. We ran the main section of the Payette River, from Banks almost to Horseshoe Bend Idaho.
We had some time at home to paint our garage. My arms still hurt when I think about it. We have 10 foot ceilings. John did all the ceiling! Wow! That was a big job. Had to match our beautiful Professional acrylic floor.
In September we went to California for Mindy’s birthday, (which we missed) Phoebe turned 16, Graham turned 49, and Harper turned 13. Because of covid we had not seen them in months. Very blessed to see them again. Niki started her own counseling business in July, called Niche. She still works for the University Of Utah in counseling also. She also is into Mountain Biking. Hurt her Leg/ankle, coming off her bike. Two surgeries later, she is getting better each day, and Praise the Lord, walking pretty well. Nicole,24, is in Australia, starting her 2nd 2 year visa. She really enjoyed her 1st two years. She has learned to scuba dive, bought a car, and drives on the other side. She is full of adventure. She has worked hard and has done many different jobs.
We plan on coming to Denver to see my mom and family, and see John’s brother if all goes well. Stacy, thank you for thinking of a way to unite us.
Y’all have a blessed Christmas, and a prosperous New Year! The Lord is Good …..Blessed is the one who takes refuge in HIM, Psalm 34:8
In gratitude,
Paula and John