Bellhaven Farm: Thankful Thanksgiving

Dear friends and family,

It has been an uneventful couple of weeks for us, but unfortunately not so for many others in our family. Though we always strive to be thankful on Thanksgiving, recent scares and losses have caused us to be even more thankful than we might have been two weeks ago.

Last Thursday Nate’s uncle Alister suffered a small stroke at his home in Maryland. Luckily, Aunt Joan was there and noticed right away, and they were able to get to the hospital and get treatment very quickly. We are especially thankful for scientific progress, as Alister was able to get a stroke-busting drug into his system right away, and has fully recovered! There may be some continued problems with a blockage in his carotid artery, but now the doctors know that it is there and are able to decrease later problems with preventative treatment. Everyone get familiar with the signs of stroke and keep a bottle of aspirin handy!

As the wonderful news of recovery was coming in from Maryland, we got a call from Molly. Grandma Marjorie Cope passed away in her home in Mill Valley, CA. By all accounts she had an active and fun-filled last day with her caretaker, taking a long walk and playing games. Then, after dinner, she sat down to watch television. When the caretaker arrived in the morning, she found that Grandma had not gone to bed as she normally would have, but had instead passed away watching her shows. She was just shy of 90 years old. Though none of us could ask for more than a long and active life, and to pass away quickly, comfortably at home, it is still difficult for friends and family left behind. We find both joy and intense loneliness in remembering all of the wonderful times we’ve had in Mill Valley.

All of this has left us with a powerful desire to let all of you know that we love and miss you and are thankful for your presence in our life.

Our addition to Thanksgiving - Pumpkin Cheesecake

We did have a wonderful Thanksgiving. The MIBells and the Kahler clan piled into the van and headed for Muskegon, MI to visit with Steve's family. We are back on the same schedule as Mark and Dawn and their three beautiful children; Danielle, Alexis, and Grant. We shared a wonderful meal, trimmed the Christmas tree, and just enjoyed each others company. We decided that we must be getting old, because as soon as the desserts were gone, all we wanted to do was sleep!