All in the family

January has turned into "family month" here at Boulderneigh!

My dad and his wife are spending tonight with us after completing a nearby job for a client friend and before heading home to Spokane. That means Jackson and Dozer get a visit from their little buddy Fritz as well. :-)

Rick's mom arrives for a visit on January 28 and stays until February 2. She plans on bringing some citrus (oranges, lemons and grapefruit) from her own trees. Yum!

My Texas folks talked about coming for New Year's, but that never materialized. What has materialized at the last minute is a short-term mission trip to Zambia! They leave January 25 to help with this project, and will get to see some dear friends in neighboring Zimbabwe who used to live in Texas and attend the same church. This family returned to Zimbabwe to spread the gospel among their countrymen before things completely fell apart in that country, and have been just surviving since then. My parents send what they can and we have contributed, too; it's very humbling when you send a some money and learn they used it to be a ton of maize to live on through the year.

Rick's brother-in-law, an orthopedic surgeon, has answered a plea to go to Haiti to help with medical relief efforts there. He's hoping to fly out tomorrow but has to get his expired passport in order. Not sure how long he'll be in Haiti; I'm sure the first-hand reports will be even more sobering than what we've seen on the news.

Finally, I learned this morning that my sister is coming for an interview at a Portland hospital in February! I am trying not to get too excited at the prospect of her and her husband living nearby. But she is one of my best friends, so it would be wonderful to have her close enough to see more than once a year.

That's it for now from . . .