Thursday morning and sorta dreary weather here in St. Louis. I shouldn't complain though. Jana has been talking to some of our relatives in Kansas (Manhattan and Salina and other places) who are still without power from the ice storm this past weekend and don't expect it to be restored for several more days. Jana, John, and Ellie went to Kansas this weekend but stayed just ahead of the bad weather.

We are all relieved that the favorable report on Margaret's scare is so very reassuring. Norman and the kids really rallied around with much moral support and lots of prayers. She's back to her cheerful self now when you talk to her. She was tired of Norm's cooking which consisted of a lot of frozen pot pies. [Hard to imagine POT PIES at Margaret's house!] One wonderful note: The church three of the Abbott offspring attend brought food regularly for a couple of weeks. Nice.

Rose and I went shopping yesterday for something to wear to Mark and Karen's wedding. After walking around the Mall and looking at several different stores, we came to this conclusion. Skirts have gotten shorter and heels have gotten higher. Longer skirts and lower heels were hard to find. We're just too old for these current fashions.

Shirley and Rose made their monthly trip to Chicago this weekend. They, too, dodged the bad weather. I spent the weekend with Doug and Suzanne and felt as welcome as rain (and according to Grandpa Madden, that's pretty welcome.) Lucas mostly played video games but Josie and I had some tea parties. She's a Hannah Montana fan and I'm learning about Hannah - Billy Ray Cyrus' daughter. Goldman took me to the Hollensbes' and brought me home. He parked the Cadillac here and drove the Lexus while Rose was gone. He says other drivers are much more polite when he is driving the Cadillac than when he is driving the Lexus.

Jana left St. Louis this past weekend, stopped in Salina, picked up Karen and Ryan and went on to St. John. They visited with a lot of our Kansas relatives while they were there. They went to Betty's and saw Bob's Debby and Joe, Cathy and Gary, but Sandy wasn't there. Sabrina was there with Junior and Martesia. I'm looking forward to their all coming back to the lake this summer and, Junior, you'll be in charge of the trash again. You're still the best yet. Everyone else, especially my own boys, need more prodding. By the way, the boat is in the shop and should be fixed by summer.

Scott took the boys to chop down their own Christmas tree last Sunday. It was cold, rainy, and stormy. Jalen did not have a good time, no doubt remembering the terrible storms of their camping trip. He just wanted to go home and spent most of the time there sitting inside the truck. On the other hand, Brayden was in his element and couldn't help Dad enough. Brayden is sometimes fearless.

Our little family (John, Jana, and Ellie) will be leaving us soon. Their house in Lenexa is almost done. They're going to celebrate Christmas in Atchinson with John's parents this weekend and then in St. John on Christmas. I think I have the little towns in Kansas right.