"Honey, I'm Home!"

We got a surprise today. Cliff came home from South Dakota. The job he took there was not what he expected. It was a disappointment. They weren't upfront with him about some expectations he wasn't willing to risk his life with.

He has another job in the works in Iowa at a grain mill. Hopefully he'll be there by Monday. All was not lost though! He told me on the phone the other day he is ready to get this house on the market. So after hemming and hawing for a year about the basement, this morning we got started on the work that needs to be done down there! We brought furniture up and other furniutre is being taken tomorrow by people in need off of freecylce. I'm really pleased with all we accomplished today. We ripped up the nasty carpet that was trashed when we moved in and even worse now! We still have a ton to do! But it's a start.

The boys were very happy to see their dad this morning! He was here when we woke up. Later on in the day Cliff was going outside for something and Camden thought he was leaving. Camden said to Cliff, "Daddy, come here." Cliff knelt down and Camden gave him a big hug. Cliff smiled and felt so loved. Then Camden looked him square in the eyes and said, "Daddy, don't leave." It was so beautiful. I wish I could have gotten it on video! I was glad I was there to see this moment. There are lots of these types of interactions in our house. These are the moments that I wouldn't trade for anything!

Other than working on the house we have been watching our library movies and playing on the computer with some learning CD Roms Vicki's kids have outgrown. It's been a lot of fun to have something different to do inside. We have been mostly indoors since the weather has been cold and windy. When it warms up this weekend we'll certainly find something else to do before it gets cold again. Although, our goal is to get more done on this house so we can be somewhere else this winter. Maybe someplace warm???

For now, it's good to have Cliff home again! Maybe he can help me get some of the leaves out of the yard. Almost all the leaves on the trees in our area have blown down. It's incredible! Just last week I was admiring all the colorful trees. I will miss them when we move, but I won't miss how bare they are for so much of the year.

I will end this rambling post with this: I am feeling grateful for all that is in my life and all that is yet to come. And I'm grateful Cliff's latest journey brought him safely back to us.

Photo: Our family, fall 2005.