In September Dan took up residence in Oregon full time and the girls and I have been working to get the house on the market and join him very soon. Dan has continued to travel and work some long hours but he still misses us. Mostly.
October brought Halloween and all of the fun associated with it. Church trunk or treat, costumes, pumpkins, and of course trick or treating in the neighborhood. We also spent a lot of time raking leaves, cleaning the chicken coop and the shed, ripping apart the back deck, putting up trim, painting the school room, putting foam squares on the basement floor, filling a dumpster (my personal favorite), canning apple butter, applesauce, tomatoes, butter, peaches (although that happened in September).
November brought Kiah's 14th birthday which I missed because I flew out to Oregon to see Dan for ten days. It was a great trip. I went to California to help him with an install he was assigned to work on. It was fun to work with him again. Of course everything is now digital and I now nothing about it so I'm only good for putting the racks together and wire tying cords to the walls but it was good to spend time with him and just talk face to face. After we were done with the install we headed up to Goldendale WA to see family. We didn't get there until very late or perhaps I should say very early Sunday morning. We went tot church with mom and dad and then off to dinner with the fam in Hood River. It was good to see those who could come. Some of whom I haven't seen in years. The return trip to Massachusetts was more difficult then the trip out. But I did manage to make it eventually.
That brings us to the end of November and Thanksgiving, we had a very quite celebration with the smallest turkey I could find and a lot of Christmas movies. We have begun the decorating and preparation of the Advent and Christmas season. We look forward to having Dan with us in a couple of weeks to celebrate the birth of our Savior and King. The girls are beside themselves with anticipation, they haven't seen their dad in several months. We have much to be grateful for and we are looking forward to the traditions we share as a family and with our closest friends. As we wind up our life in New England, we are in awe of the many friends we have made and the things we have learned. We will cherish every memory we have made.
Happy Chanukkah, Happy Advent, Merry Christmas
