Thanksgiving in Yosemite

Dear Friends, Our Thanksgiving trip to Yosemite went well. The kids had an experience they will truly never forget. I thought a lot about Jerry and missed him terribly. I also cried a lot and was rather quiet. I could picture Jerry in everything we did and missed his conversation and laugh. He would have absolutely loved it. We hiked to the top of a waterfall (I barely made it!), but it was beautiful once I got there. The granite rocks and cliff walls are amazing, and the streams and waterfalls just added a glorius touch. There were 18 of us total - 4 families. We also did a lot of bike riding - it was our only mode of transportation during the day around the park...did I say a lot of bike riding! I wish you could have seen the 18 of us in our group all biking together from one place to another. People walking would stop and watch us go by! On our last night we even biked to the ice skating rink for some skating fun. It was foggy and pitch black and our only lighting was by flashlight...dangerous I know and I can't believe we did it. Once we got into the open night sky, God's creation glowed...I have never in my life seen so many stars out at one time, there must have been billions of stars. We had Thanksgiving dinner at the lodge with our next door neighbors, the Rennick family, and it was decorated so warmly and the meal was gourmet. Still yet, there was such a huge hole in my heart without Jerry and my heart just felt so deeply wounded, but we talked about him a lot and he was definitely not forgotten. This past Monday my brother, Greg, took us to buy a Christmas tree. Joshua picked it out and it is just a tad bit taller than I am, but oh so cute. Our 3 neighbor families came to our home and brought pizza and dessert. We ate together and then all the men put the lights on the tree and all the kids helped Natalie and Joshua decorate it. It was a sweet and special time and I cannot thank God enough for the 3 other families on our street who love us dearly and are taking care of our every need. We are all one big family. It is amazing how close we all are. Tomorrow, our neighbor Bob, is putting our Christmas lights on the outside of our house like Jerry did each year. He came over tonight and asked for the lights to get them ready. I pulled them off the garage shelf and they were in a garbage bag. To my shock and surprise every strand of lights were still hooked together in ONE BIG WAD. It was exactly like on the movie Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase. I cannot believe Jerry did that and stored them that way. Needless to say, it took a while for us to untangle each strand. I was so embarrassed. Thanks Bob for your patience. Since the middle of September we have had family with us the entire time. On Tuesday my brother left and for the first time Natalie and Joshua and I were completely on our own. It felt strange and weird, quiet, lonely and sad. I am so thankful for all of you who have taken our suffering on as your own and are walking so closely with us, loving and supporting us. We continue to need your prayers, and probably will for a very long time. I am reminded morning by morning that God's mercy is new each day. His grace is fresh every morning and each day we taste HIS grace as if it were for the very first time. Although we are wounded beyond words, we are also very aware of just how blessed we are. Our hope is in the Lord and we will always continue to serve HIM. Love, Candy, Natalie and Joshua