Thanksgiving Reunion

Thanksgiving Gathering at Brimhalls

Parting with our loved ones and new-found friends was hard, but arriving home was wonderful. To our great surprise, the stateside portion of the family (save only our eldest granddaughter, the lovely Megan) assembled to greet us in Portland for Thanksgiving. They came from down the street in Portland, OR, from Kennewick, WA, from Boise, ID, from Logan and Provo, UT, from Dallas TX and from Cleveland, OH. They overwhelmed us with their welcoming love.

The beautiful sun-shiny days of fading autumn were spent in the best of company – days of laughter, of hiking in the woods, of swimming, of sampling Voodoo Donuts, of dining at McMenimans, of tennis, of a 5-K race, of preparing food, of making pies, of eating food, of eating pies, of singing together, of playing piano, of praying together, and - did I mention?  - days of laughter, and then of tortured good-byes. We have a hard time remembering a more joyful experience in all of our lives.