Ok, I'll just come out and say it, we have been bad bloggers lately!  With that said, I'll do my best to explain why.  I flew out of town unexpectedly on January 10th for a week and Stacey had single mom duty with Lauren and Ian, "the tiny tornado", while I was gone.  We got a call that my dad was in the hospital in Lake Havasu, AZ with some heart issues.  I am happy to report that he didn't have a heart attack, but his heart wasn't "in rhythm".  The top of his heart was beating at a different rate than the bottom.  The good news is that they got it back into rhythm and I was able to take him back to his place.  The Doctors are keeping close tabs on him, but he is out!  In addition, I am very proud of him for taking on some changes he needs to make head first.  He told me that he lost 14lbs since leaving the hospital on the 13th. 

To make things a little more exciting, I flew home on the 17th, gave a speech for the local ABC chapter (Association of Bridal Consultants) on the 19th, and we left for a family vacation the morning of the 20th.  Needless to say it has been a bit chaotic at the Thon house!  Despite all the chaos, it has turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  I got to spend a week with my Dad (and a lot of different Dr's and nurses :), which was nice.  Plus, I had the chance to catch up with some old and new friends.  Roger and I were in each others wedding and have been friends since 4th grade.  He was kind enough to offer me a place to crash before I flew home from Phoenix, where I ended up spending the evening with his family.  To top things off, I was able to have lunch with Melissa Jill, a great photographer and friend from the Tanzania trip.  It was so good to spend a little time with them both! 

In closing I am going to leave you with an image of a sunset taken in front of where my Dad is staying this winter.  It was the best one of the week and I was so happy to be able grab a quick shot.  Check back later for my thoughts on the ABC speech and hopefully we can post some pictures while on vacation!