Christmas “Vacation”

Joyce and I began our Christmas vacation on December 17th as we boarded our flight through Japan to San Francisco and then on to Redding and El Dorado to spend time with family. The plan was to go on to San Diego on Christmas night, and to Cincinnati on New Years Day to visit Matt and Mike and their families. Our plans were aborted when I arrived in San Francisco with a “serious” (Doctor’s word to  describe it) case of edema. We went to urgent care and discovered that I have a “serious blood condition” called eosinophilia which, as the doctor said, “you must take very seriously or it will kill you.” So we took it seriously and planted ourselves in El Dorado where we have access to excellent medical and, hopefully not necessary, university hospitals  that can handle serious illnesses. I am now awaiting a month of tests that will determine what is causing and what must be done about it. Joyce and I would ask you to pray along with us as we move through this.

Though our plans were changed we were still able to celebrate Christmas with my family in El Dorado. Our daughter Missy and grand-daughter Leila were able to fly from Texas and spend a few days with us. My brother and his family came up from the Bay Area and most of my sister’s family was there with us. We enjoyed the usual Owen conversational repartee and had a good afternoon together. The white elephant gift exchange was a lot of fun. My sister Jayne’s gift to my brother Doug was unanimously acclaimed as the best white elephant of the night (right). I am sure we will see it again. The picture above, top, is my parents with some of their grand and great grand children.