Picture of the Year

 Besides the death of a spouse or a child, the death of a parent is a watershed moment in a persons life. In my case, losing both parents in the span of five years and at such a young age was a deeply profound loss. Being able to be with each of them in their last days and hours on earth was an incredible privilege. This picture that was taken moments before I delivered my mom’s eulogy in May is completely heartbreaking. Seeing her Little Lamb escorting her body on her last hours before being committed to her new “neighborhood” is both comforting and also heart wrenching. My life, my brother’s life, and our family’s life will never be the same. I mourn mom everyday as I remember her gentle spirit, her love for her family, her love of the Lord, and her trust in our family as she spent her last years here in Greeley. I love you, mom. 

2022 Part 4

 And here we are, wrapping up 2022. Lots of memories were made in October, November and December…

2022 Part 3

 All of a sudden, the year was half over. Here come July, August and September!

2022 Part 2

 Here is some memories from April, May and June…

2022 Part 1

 One of the new traditions I started here on the blog last year was selecting two pictures per month that brought happiness, joy or positive memories. I tried to pick just one picture each month, but that was too tricky. So, since I set the rules here, two per month it is. Might break this post up into 4 parts, so here is January through March…

Concerts

 One of my goals this year was to be able to attend at least one concert a month. It didn’t matter what kind or how big/fancy the concerts was. The point was to be able to see live music at least once each month. I came close…10/12 months! Add it to the goals for next year! Here are pictures from at least one of the shows each month. 

                                            Andrew and his band at the Moxi (November).

                                        Steven Page at the Armory Fort Collins (June). 

Tool at the Pepsi Center (January)

                                                Bumpin’ Uglies at the Moxi (October)

                                                        Trevor Hall at Red Rocks (April)

Steve Miller Band at Red Rocks (August)

Dave Matthews Band at Fiddlers Green (September)

Dirks Bentley at Cheyenne Frontier Days (July)

Battle of the Bands at the Moxi (December)

Mountain Goats at Washingtons in Fort Collins (May)

Distance

 As you have probably guessed, this year’s Christmas celebration was much different then in year’s past. We were really missing the Portland kids. As it turns out, it’s probably for the best that their flight was canceled by Southwest early on in the entire travel weekend debacle. So we video chatted and Snapped the kids throughout the weekend. The apartment is in pretty rough shape…frozen pipes and no running water. Also the heat doesn’t really work. We did get to watch Wes bring a very powerful Christmas Day message from the pulpit in South Dakota. Still, distance from family sucks. 

Merry Christmas

 It was a pretty chill Christmas morning compared to years past. I got up early to start the brisket on the Traeger. Kids and grandpa played a board game, and Nathanael passed out presents. Thank you to every one for their kind and thoughtful gifts. We were missing a big part of our family, with the Portland kids surviving in Portland, Wes and family in South Dakota, and of course the first Christmas without both of my parents.