Becca
and Caleb came to visit in January...just 10 days after New
Years. They had just returned from a cruise...and will be going
home to close on a new house. They have such a great life! We
went for a Rhino ride up, up and up on the logging roads! Jack thought he
was on a Disney Ride! Jack thought our (boy scout) camp igloo was made just for him...with a door just his size! He dislocated his elbow when he fell off of Mark's bunkbed at Melissa's, before they drove up to Camp Zarahemla. Jack loved Grandpa's tractor! We were still in holiday eating mode, even though the New Year should have had us dieting! Carol could not get enough of Becca. We needed a month of movies and rubbing each other's feet! On January 15 it started to snow. Becca and Caleb had to leave on the 16th, so they could fly out of Spokane on the 17th...a day early, because of the BIG snowstorm!
We had planned to spend my birthday in the Temple doing Linden's work, but instead we were literally buried in the snow. It snowed all that week...a foot each day! I spent my birthday shoveling cabin porches, our driveway, in front of the bathrooms, and the sides of the lodge. Chuck did not get in that night until 12:45 AM! Chuck felt so discouraged plowing 12-16 hour days, and seemingly getting nowhere! I convinced him to call Jonathan for help...Jonathan said that he would come the next day!...Chuck was so humbled by all of this, he sat down and sobbed like a baby!
Jonathan
may look short, but he is a BIG worker. It took three men (another
brother from the ward came up too) to take off the backhoe and to put on the
snow blower. Jonathan stayed the whole afternoon...shoveling paths
between the cabins and the parking areas. He also helped with digging out
the sides of the lodge. To add to our troubles, we were without power most of the
day...Jonathan helped get the generator working for us...thank
goodness the refrigerator, heat and a few lights in the house were
restored! He was a MINISTERING ANGEL! The snow blower made all the
difference in the world. The funny part was that Elder Short who served
before us told Chuck it did NOT work and that he never used it! The
small tractor blade plowed until gigantic hills of snow lined all of the
driving and parking areas...at that point, Chuck needed the blower to throw
the snow up and over! Thank Heaven for Jonathan!
