Hola from San Diego!

We are praising the Lord for a safe and complete removal of Marcus’ cyst from his brain. He is still in recovery which is slow but normal for such an operation. Shannon has been taking good care of him and made sure that he was taken care of while he was in the hospital by being by his side all the way. I am thankful, so thankful that they have each other. Here’s a picture of Shannon cutting Marcus’ hair the night before the surgery so he wouldn’t be “lopsided” after the surgery.

Meanwhile, I got to be grandma to the four girls, we had a great time together,(except when Grandma makes them pick up their messes.) We made trips to the library, went roller skating, had Jaxson and Ellie over for an overnighter, and just enjoyed each other’s company; giving and receiving many hugs. One of my favorite pictures you'll see in the slide show are the soon to be famous NOSEWARMERS! Yes, these kids say they really work and keep your nose warm while you're playing the the crisp fall air. In fact they plan to crochet and sell them, maybe even on EBAY!!! I love it! They are sooo cute! When we went rollerskating, Kathy met us there and brought her granddaughter, Kelsey. She and Abbie really enjoyed skating together. Later, Daniel and Jessy met us bringing along little Matthias, so we had a regular little cousin’s party going on.
I did have a bit of time Lani and Brad, Jax, Ellie, Vance & Lilah….what a rowdy, funny bunch of kids, so fun!
I also spent some time with Mom and Dad. We had dinner together and Dave and Lorie joined us. Dave seems to be doing very well considering he just had a major heart attack. Thankfully, he did not have any damage to his heart.
Mom and Dad indulged me in a drive to gather Elderberries so that I could make some Elderberry Jelly which I have been missing since I moved to SD. I got to juice them there in Idaho and then brought a half gallon of juice home to make the jelly. In fact, that is what I did today, yumm….I had forgotten how delicious Elderberry Jelly is!
Many, many years ago, my kids made me this apron as a Christmas gift inspired by the purple Elderberry juice that turned into one of their favorite jellies, so I wore it today while making the jelly.

Friday we packed up for a fishing trip, spending the night on the boat before heading out early in the morning. It was a beautiful day. We caught fish early on, but after that had no more action except a stray bonito. But we caught four 30-35lb yellow fin tuna (that’s called Ahi on menu’s.) They really are a great fish to catch and eat. The boat did great, it was pretty choppy out there but we had a relatively smooth ride. I’ve also included a picture of the sunrise as we were headed out.
By the way, for those who have been asking what we are naming the boat…….Net Gain…..yes, that’s right.
Love to all,
Mom AKA Leslie, Ruthie, Grandma