Ready for the new year

Well, after the longest leave I have taken since starting the blog (10 or so days), I am finally back. The Christmas season has kept me extremely busy....the last celebration with my brothers and sisters took place yesterday. In addition, my grandmother has been in an ICU and still remains hospitalized with very little hope of recovery from pulmonary fibrosis. As she slowly prepares to leave this world, I have made a couple of trips to Des Moines (about 4 hrs. from here) to spend some time with her.

While gone Tom has once again blogged some great posts, which can be found here and here. I hope you look forward to Tom's posts as much as I.

I am excited about getting "back to work" blogging and hope that this site remains a valuable resource for you in 2006.