Dear Kids,
         Great news! Tom and Kim are going to have another little Ackerson, due in March. That will be grandchild #33 for us, and a wonderful addition to their family. We’re very excited for them.
           Other news? Probably the second most interesting thing is the marathon Bevan ran yesterday morning. Originally, he had signed up for the High Uintas marathon, coming down from Mirror Lake to Kamas, but it was cancelled. Donna scrambled to find something else, since he was all prepped to run, and she came up with the Mid Mountain Marathon, on the same date. They start at Deer Valley, at the top of Deer Crest, and run up and down mountain trails, around the far side of Park City to the Canyons. Who knew that it’s, "like, the hardest marathon out there!" There were world-class runners. Bevan was 40th out of about 300 runners, with a time of 4:22. He only fell down once. Some of the runners had several falls, and crossed the finish line all skinned up. Dad and I waited with Donna and the kids at the finish line. It was a beautiful morning, and we enjoyed the gorgeous scenery. We were so proud of Bevan, finishing, and with such a good time.
          My face almost looks normal now–just a little dark on the left side, where it was bruised. I still have tooth pain and bronchitis. My right hand has been hurting me for a long time, (since we moved in 2013, and I used a tape gun non-stop) and I had a cortisone injection in January that helped for a while. But the joint (below my thumb) is so bad that the doctor can’t even get a needle in there any more. I’ve decided to have the surgery where they fuse the area. Sometimes it leaves you with a short-looking thumb, but I don’t care–I only want to get rid of the pain. Funny thing–the morning I had my appointment with the hand doctor, I woke up with my left thumb feeling the same pain. I didn’t think that could happen, since I’m right-handed, but the doctor said anything can happen. I’m having a hard time doing anything, with both my hands hurting, but things should get better down the road. Or maybe I’ll have to wait for the resurrection to get everything put back together again. Either way, life is very pleasant, especially with the wonderful family we have!
           Lots of love, Mom