What a great place to spend time with family!

It is that time again. The Mahan, Sadler, Mahan, Griffith, Glem, Guzman, Esplin, and (for this year at least) Thorne families will gather in this beautiful part of Western Colorado to spend a few days getting reacquainted, sharing news, and introducing new family members and friends to each other. It has been several years since we all have made the journey and the excitement has been building for several weeks.

I lost count of the years we have been enjoying this family retreat that began at Mesa Lakes Resort (probably in the early 1990's) that we quickly outgrew as more family and friends were invited to join us. We made the move to Powderhorn Resort during a year of ownership change at Mesa Lakes and decided the comfort and space afforded by the Goldenwoods Condos at Powderhorn would be more amenable to our needs.

There have been many late nights spent playing board games, many early morning hours contemplating looming opportunity and change, but mostly just being proximate to those we love have brought us each joy in the opportunity. We have always been a close family and these shared experiences have made us more so.

This year we have Matt and Lesley Ram Thorne joining us along with their daughter Evelyn. Matt joined us one year when he and Adam (our son) were serving in the Marine Corps together. It must have been in 2002 or maybe 2003 - and he has wanted to make a return visit since that time but has not been able to work it out. We were very pleased when Lesley contacted us last spring to see if they could do so this year as a surprise to him. It is Matt's 40th birthday anniversary this September so we will add his name to the list of those we will celebrate on Sunday.

"A home with a loving and loyal husband and wife is the supreme setting in which children can be reared in righteousness and in which the spiritual and physical needs of children can be met." (David A Bednar)

I understand that there are some who do not live in this ideal family setting and they get along just fine. I wonder if they might do a little better with a two parent household. We each have the option of choosing the path we follow. I will say that my personal belief is that the traditional family structure is the best way to rear children. From my own experience it worked very well. I think the comfort of having that structure comes from knowing that there is always someone to turn to when one parent is overwhelmed with the daily grind or occasional emergent circumstance family members deal with.

Lately I have been observing the interaction between my children and my grandchildren with amused interest. I often hear them saying things that their Mother said as they were growing up (and even words from my own mouth on occasion). The reality is that she (Cindy) taught them well and they still turn to her for guidance in raising their families. I often have the blessing of sitting nearby when one of ours reaches out to Cindy for counsel about a particular situation in their home. The advice is usually sound and also makes a difference to those mothers, our daughters, who already have arrived at the answer but seek the confirmation from their Mom that they are on the right track.

Family! Joy and sorrow brought to pass in the same DNA. I am looking forward to a great weekend spent with this marvelous family of mine. I do love the people they are becoming.

Thanks for checking in. More to come soon. See you then.