We Are Here Safe and Sound

We got up at 4:30am and were out the door by 5:15am for the road trip to Utah! Duff, Natalie, Shaun, Christine, Darla (of course!) and I were in the Denali, and Josh and Meredith followed us in their Honda. We were pretty loaded down, both cars, with the stuff the kids needed to bring back for winter semester, but made great time. After a stop in Primm, Nevada, and Cedar City, Utah for gas and the 'privy', we arrived at the cabin around 3 pm. (oh--4pm MST) The roads were clear, but lots of snow on the shoulders.

Here is a beautiful red barn near where we are. I got this off the internet, but this is exactly what things look like here today. They have had 3 days of snow that stopped this morning. It was clear when we arrived this afternoon, but only 19*! Our place is at the top of 2 single lane switchbacks, so the Denali was the only car that made it up today. We unloaded and went back to empty the other cars. We'll have to salt the two curves mid-day tomorrow and then Josh and Natalie will be able to drive up.

We all piled in the Denali and went to Heber to get some dinner at the Dairy Keen--Home of the Train, and then had a quick trip into Smith's for some milk, bread, and eggs, etc. to get through the day tomorrow.

It's beautiful and cozy, cold out and snuggly in! The Cocomotion has already been going with Hot Chocolate and the fire is blazing. We're in our jammies and watching movies together: Harry Potter 5 and then The Bourne Ultimatum and we have the Martinelli's chilling to welcome in the New Year.

Mike and Adrianne---we are MISSING YOU GUYS! Wish you were here with us, but we know that work calls, especially with a wedding around the corner!

(journal: Darla is doing much better. She is still on 2 meds, 3times a day for 2 more days, but her appetite is back and she is keeping it all down. I think she finished off her dinner tonight in 60 seconds! She wants to play fetch with her 'babies' and loved the snow with her new sweater on! She hopped right in the car this morning to make sure we knew she intended to be going with us--as if we would have left her home!)

Pics of David Cammack

Here is a picture of DAVID BRADLEY CAMMACK that Deidre sent me today. This is right after he was born. That is such an exhilarating thing when you hear your baby take their first breaths with those cries. You just can't describe it. I'm glad they were able to capture this precious moment.

She sent some other pictures also. I'll post those another time. Mother and baby are doing fine after a long labor and almost 48 hours in the hospital before he was born! They were glad to get home, and Brad was happy to have them home too!

Taking The Tree Down :( :( :(

Sad day! Since we are leaving in the morning--very early--we realized that we had better take down the tree. It was one of the best trees we have ever had and it was the first one we looked at at the lot. But in another week's time it would completely be a fire hazard, so down it had to come. We ate in the dining room with the Christmas dishes one more time. All 4 of the men put the food away and did the dishes and kitchen clean-up while we gals undressed the tree.

Here are the girls making sure all the ornaments are off, even between the branches. Isn't it funny how fast a tree comes down compared to how long it takes to put up? Why is that?

Since Christine had the honor of putting the Angel on the top, she wanted to be the one to take her down. Here she goes to be packed away till next year! The lights came off lickety-split and then the guys took the tree out to the street to be picked up tomorrow by the tree recyclers. Some good chip is coming!

Here is a secret I wanted to share: Aren't these poinsettias gorgeous? They have stayed just this beautiful all season. I found them at Joanne's craft store for the amazing price of $10 each. They are 2 gallon size. They are silk!!! And you can NOT tell. I've had some discriminating people through our house during the holidays and got so many compliments on them. Check it out! I'm going to wrap them up and store them until next year, and maybe even go back and get some more with my 40% off coupon!

Avonlea Marathon

We have been having a Road To Avonlea marathon for the last few days. The Duffy girls got the last two seasons and the Christmas special for Christmas from Santa.

We LOVE the King Family and the King Farm. The story is set in the town of Avonlea on Prince Edward Island. It is the same city that Anne Shirley of Anne of Green Gables was from with Marilla and Matthew. Rachel Lynde is still there as well as other familiar faces from the Anne series. The King family is center stage raising their family on a farm that has been in the family for generations. It transports you back to the late 1800's and the turn of the century before all the modern conveniences we have now. It is filled with the real life growing up of families and situations that are still relevant today. There is always something to learn from each episode about life, love, laughter, problems and how they gain wisdom through life experiences.

The first season came out in 1985 and we eagerly waited for every Monday to watch the new episode. One day about 2 years ago I was on line looking for something else, and happened upon a site about the series. We were so excited we could get them on DVD! So we've been collecting them for special occasions since and really enjoy them. They are TIMELESS.

I did learn an important detail though: I placed my first order through Canada and ended up paying more in COD taxes for them than I did for the movies! Now I go through amazon.com. Much better!

Happy Anniversary, Jan and Mike--

Happy 10th Anniversary, Jan and Mike!

Ten years have gone by in a blink! Elizabeth was just a newborn, Michael David had just left on a mission, our old van pooped out and we had to get a new one to come to the wedding! It was bitter cold. I remember one of the trees on temple square that couples like to have their picture taken by had broken under the weight of winter. It was a great day and we were so happy for you and to be a part of it all.

Congratulations, and we send our love!

Welcome To Baby Cammack!

We've had a lot of babies born this month! Here is the latest:

Welcome DAVID BRADLEY CAMMACK!

Born: December 27, 2007
Time: 11:57 pm
Weight: 7 lbs. 14 oz.
Length: 21 1/2 inches (a tall little guy)
1st time Parents: Deidre and Brad Cammack

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR SWEET BUNDLE!

Pictures coming soon! Stay tuned...

Darla Is Home And Resting

Oh Hallelujah! We got to go and pick up Darla from the hospital at 8pm tonight. She has not had anymore tummy episodes in 36 hours, and has eaten and kept it down. They're not quite positive exactly what happened, but are treating it as extreme gastritus. She is on two medications and has to eat a bland diet for the next 3-4 days.

Here she is after we got home, resting on the ottoman in the bonus room. She was sooooo happy to be HOME!

Here she is with her nurse, Bryanne, getting discharged. She just perked right up the instant she heard our voices and recognized us. We're so grateful she is better, even though the bill was--well I won't mention how much! THANK YOU everyone for your prayers for her. I often reflect on Heavenly Father's wisdom to know we would need pets. How did He know? I don't know, but I'm sure glad He did.

Christine was having a rough time. She brought the book she's been reading, Marley and Me, with her in the car. She was at a realy good place and couldn't put it down. It is about a dog named Marley. All of a sudden she was bawling. Marley died. It was just too much for her with what we had been going through with Darla. Oh those life lesson moments!

And now I'm off to bed, because it is REALLY late and I'm past tired....

Merry Christmas To One And All!

Christmas Morning, bright and early (and we don't even have little ones anymore!) Josh and Mere spent the night and Adrianne came back at 6:45am! We actually didn't get up until 7:30am after all, and the kids were so excited to be all together you WOULD have thought they were all little again! Even though I had done all the wrapping and we didn't have to stay up until the wee hours of the morning doing that, none of us got hardly any sleep because of the howling of the winds during the night. They were so strong that it broke the awning on our bedroom window and sucked up the cover to the attic crawl space in the hallway! Holy Moly!
Everyone came and got in our bed if you can believe it! The air was so dry from the wind, Christine promptly had a nose bleed.

Going down the stairs, oldest to youngest. We can never remember from year to year if it's youngest to oldest or oldest to youngest. We just know it's one or the other order. (Roberta--notice the pictures of Grandma and Grandpa Ward on the wall??? This is my family history picture wall)

Christine and Natalie pretty excited about getting the last two seasons of the Road To Avonlea series. It is the additional stories of characters in the Anne of Green Gables tales. They are such good stories and they just don't make TV shows like this anymore. They are worth adding to any collection. Timeless lessons and morals with every episode.

Josh opening some jeans and tshirts for school. Meredith and Shaun looking on.

Adrianne drew Shaun's name this year. He is always wanting his back scratched by anyone who will do it. So with her cute sense of humor, she got him a deluxe back scratcher. We all had a good chuckle over that one! Oh--and the band tshirt he wanted...

Mike and Adrianne holding a pencil drawing of the San Diego Temple drawn for Mike by a lady on his mission in Ohio. It has been rolled up for 8 years in a tube. I found it a few months ago and realized it would make a great Christmas gift for them. This is where they are getting married in 6 weeks!

Adrianne got a Gingerbread House Kit from Costco and she and Mike decorated it on Christmas Day.

Christmas Day is more of a laid-back day for us. We make French Dip sandwiches with au jus out of the leftovers from the night before and have a relish plate, chips, and salad with them. Then an English trifle for dessert. Josh and Meredith spent the day over at the Peterson's, and Mike and Adrianne had dinner at her dad's.

Santa brought the family an Xbox 360 and a Dance Dance Revolution! This is sooooooo much fun! We danced all day long. Challenged each other and were exhausted by the end of day. Wow, what a work out!

Christine and Shaun in a challenge dance off.

Here they go! If you have never played this you should try and get one or rent one. It is a great family game.

The Christmas aftermath all in piles. Many gifts have been given and received, but the MOST IMPORTANT one was given long ago on that clear, starry night in Bethlehem. The gift of God's son. Christmas always makes me stop and evaluate how I'm doing in 'receiving' this most precious gift.

Christmas Eve--Part 4!

This is Christmas Eve, Part 4. After the program, some very famous visitors dropped by! Santa and Mrs. Claus always stop and make a preliminary visit and bring just one gift to each of us before he returns after we are asleep. Santa wants to make sure all of our roof tiles are secure so his reindeer don't trip on them! They've been coming for 12 years now. Oh, how we love them! Here is our yearly picture with Santa. I don't know where Darla is, she usually sits on Mrs. Claus's lap.

Mrs. Claus is telling us about all the baking and candy making she's been doing in her kitchen at the North Pole. This year she brought us some delicious peanut brittle. She told us she has been working on a very creamy new hot chocolate this year that Santa just loves, and he prefers one big marshmallow on top! She also passed out Christmas tree suckers to everyone.

Santa is telling the children all about the naughty and nice list, and how the reindeer fly, and how his elves just finished all the toys!

Jaden and Christian holding Santa's bells and leading us all in singing 'Jingle Bells'. We were jingling all the way!

The Bowen Family with Grandma Diana just before Santa and Mrs. Claus had to go.

We have a busy Christmas Eve day and night. After Santa left, is when we wrapped the SS gifts and made the deliveries. Even though it gets a little late--it's all worth the bonding and memory making.

(Journal: This is one of our favorite traditions. John and Alice Montierth have been doing this for a dozen years now. They are VERY good. They are in our ward and LOVE the children. When Christine was a baby, they would just come and get her at church and hold her during Sacrament Meeting. They arrange to go to several homes on Christmas Eve. We love the Montierths!)

Christmas Eve--Part 3!

This begins Christmas Eve--Part 3. After we got home from doing our Target shopping for our Secret Santa giving, all the daughters got the table set and all the candles lit. We dim all the lights everywhere and eat by mini-lights and candlelight. While the girls were getting all of that taken care of, I put the finishing touches on dinner.
Here is the beautiful table. The girls did an outstanding job. They each brought a piece of themselves to it and worked together to make it unique and gorgeous.

The living room with candles lit and lights on ready for Santa and the program.

Another view of Natalie, Christine, Meredith, and Adrianne's handiwork!

The 3 wisemen with their gifts for the baby Jesus watching over the buffet.

Candles aglow with the carolers on the mantle while the stockings are hung by the chimney with care. I decorated the mantle differently this year. The kids don't like the stockings underneath the garland. I'm undecided as of yet! We were having Santa Ana winds again and it was too warm to have a fire. Some years we turn on the A/C and then light the fireplace! Hahaha! Then it turns cold again a few days later when the winds stop. They blew so hard that the Christmas lights came down off of the house on Christmas Eve during the night and our big potted Italian Cypress on the front porch blew over completely!

Getting ready to set out the buffet. Diana, Me, Adrianne, and Meredith. Look at those wonderful girls. How did we get so blessed to have them in our family???

The Dickens Village on the piano. This is a tradition started by my mom when I was a child. It is one of the things the kids no matter how old they get, look forward to. They call and ask, "Mom, did you get the village up yet?"

Christmas Eve--Part 2!

Okay--this is Christmas Eve--Part 2. Dinner and 'The Family Program'. We have this every year after dinner.
Shaun, Diana Robertson (Adrianne's mom), Adrianne, Mike, and Duff. Menu: prime rib, funeral pototoes, green beans with shallots, garlic, and bacon, and Sarah's salad (from the Lion House Cookbook). Homemade crescent rolls, butter, and strawberry jam. Yum!

Duff, Christine, Josh, Meredith, and Natalie. I think we are officially stuffed!

We just pulled our English 'crackers'. They are little tubes filled with treats and surprises wrapped in paper. With the person sitting next to you, you both pull the ends. The 'cracker' cracks ( a noise like a firecracker but not as loud) and it pops open and you get your goodies. There's a Christmas fortune in it too, a toy, a treat, and paper crowns. It is really fun to go around the table and see what everyone got. Last year they were musical with a different note and number in each one. I used a chopstick to direct the whistle choir, and we played carols--that is when we weren't laughing so hard we could blow the whistle! 'Crackers' are one of our traditions.

Every year we have a family program on Christmas Eve. This year Adrianne's nephew, Christian, played Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star on the piano to begin the program. He did very well for being 5 years old, complete with a handsome bow when he was done. Duff reads the story of Jesus's birth out of Luke.

Christine gave us a violin solo of What Child Is This? It was BEAUTIFUL! She played with such feeling. She is getting very good at the violin.

Mike, Adrianne, Shaun, Meredith, and Josh as we are starting the program. Shaun is giving Adrianne some 'sass', but even though she may be on the quieter side she can hold her own!

Duff and Christine. I was just getting ready to give the story, Teach The Children, about all the symbols of Christmas. Notice Santa and his 'bag' (with all the symbols in it) to the side of the piano...
Dave and Alisa Bowen (Adrianne's sister), Diana Robertson with Christian on her lap and Jaden on the floor.

To end the program, we always go into the family room and watch the dvd of Mary Did You Know? It is the song by Donny Osmond with pictures set to it of Jesus's life from the time he was an infant through His childhood, and ending as he leaves the tomb. A friend of mine in our ward put this together for a RS Christmas dinner several years ago. I loved it so much, I asked her for a copy. At the time it was on a vhs tape, and we have since put it on a disc. I don't know what it is, but after our program and the story from the scriptures, it is a perfect ending. It is short, so we usually watch it 2-3 times. And yes, I get teary! I often wonder about Mary and if she had some kind of foreknowledge of what her child would go through in this life and how she loved and taught and prepared him while he was growing up.

Then we kneel and have a family prayer.

Christmas Eve--Part 1!

Our Christmas Eve is usually a bigger day of celebration than our Christmas Day. We had appetizers at 2pm. Duff and I learned about two families that could benefit from some Christmas Cheer. One family of 5 and one family of 4. Nine total and there are nine of us. So I wrote all the names and ages on a paper, and each of us drew one out of a basket. Shaun offered a prayer as we got ready to go, and then we piled in the cars and headed for Target. Everyone had $20 and 20 minutes to gather gifts for our names. An interesting thing happened: we all spent more than 20 minutes, but that was because we all ended up chipping in more than the $20. It is such a contagious thing to 'give' to someone. Here are some pictures of our Target Adventure.
Me with some goodies.
Christine with a lot of Spiderman items.

Josh and Meredith ready to go.

Meredith, Christine, and Natalie met up to brainstorm.

Josh and Mere checking out.

Shaun, Mike, and Adrianne checking out.

Natalie, Josh, Shaun, Mike and Adrianne finishing up.

Mike and Natalie deciding.

Mike and Christine finishing up. After dinner, the guys did all the dishes and we ladies went upstairs to my room and wrapped. It was fun and festive to work together to get things ready to be delivered. All the girls passing paper, tape, ribbon, tags, scissors, pens; laughing and making memories.

We went at 10:30pm to do the 'deliveries'. We piled in 2 cars and drove to the first house. Shaun and Christine ran up to the porch and left the gifts. Then realized they didn't ring the bell while we driving away. We called the front car, circled around and went back. Shaun ran up and rang it several times and then high-tailed it back to the car around the corner. Off to the next house--an apartment with a security gate! Dilemma: how to get in! Waited for a few minutes and followed a Santa in a Corvette in. Christine and Josh ran up the stairs, dinged and ditched and we scattered fast! It is one of the highlights of our season to do Secret Santa.