We have had a lovely week with Dad and Mum visiting old and new family and old and new friends! Dad and Bob Holdstock hadn't seen each other since their grandmother's funeral back in England 50 years ago (they have some catching up to do!). And "old friends" included Asher and Suzanne Motola who have been attached to our lives both on the Smith side and the Holdstock side for many years.

It is odd how the world keeps shrinking. In Fort St. John in the late 70s there were three families who knew each other in different and meaningful ways; the Holdstocks, the Motolas and the Henry Smiths. They were raising children, working, going to church, loving on each other... but eventually all of them moved away. In the early 90s however, the son of Henry and the daughter of Marshall got married. For Asher and Suzanne this was a double family blessing. I'll never forget Asher's encouragement and confirmation when I told him we were engaged.He said, "Of course! Now I have only one family to love!"As the Holdstocks, Motolas, and Smiths continue their attachment, the blessing of more "family" continues to grow... Claire (my newly found cousin) also knew Asher and Suzanne through our church in Chico - before I knew her as my cousin!How fun is that?