December 31st

I already reached my first goal of the new year -- I stayed up until 12 am to greet it merrily.  Party in the great room is always a safe and fun place to be.  And a few more goals: "We must know Christ better than we know him; we must remember him more often than we remember him; we must serve him more valiantly than we serve him.  Then we will drink water springing up unto eternal life and will eat the bread of life" (Howard W. Hunter).

December 30th

Queens' Day!  Natalie flew in at 8 am to join our annual partay!  We were up bright and early and were able to relax a bit in McDonald's while we waited for the stores to open.  The we were off to Ross, Tai Pan, Cubby's, the outlets, home again for gift exchange.  Every moment was bliss and soul-filling.  I laughed almost every second and cried when it was all over.  I think we should really do this once or twice a month!

Hair cut and blow out finished the day juntos.

#35

I have a dear friend who perfectly describes my aging dilemma best, "Zits and wrinkles -- best of both worlds!"  Happy for the ever more prominent wrinkles, but I do wish the zits would be gone for good!  Babs and I spent the morning snow shoeing, afternoon sitting in the kitchen while Mom baked away, and the evening dancing and eating as a large group!

December 28th

Monday dinner and FHE with 35 family member attending and 19 missing.  We played "Gossip" as we sat in this circle together.

December 26th

The aftermath all came Saturday morning.  Andy and Austin attended a Bar Mistzvah, and I spent the day packing.  Austin was very efficient and took down all of Christmas as well.  We are excited to go to Utah and can't wait to see the entire family!

Christmas Day

Six am on the dot and a home ringing with excited carolers filled our halls.  My favorite moment this year was when all the kids gathered around Austin to watch him open their gifts to him -- he got some good ones.  Our annual "Polar Bear Plunge" was a chilly 43 degree water temperature.  Games with friends, hambergers for dinner, doll house, super smash, and a family movie was icing on the perfect day.  God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine son.

Christmas Eve

We said our goodbyes and headed home from Sahuarita this morning.  Once home, I had a list one mile long to get done.  Instead, I sat still for two hours and watched a movie.  That was just what I needed.  The evening brought a table of candle light (resulting in dripped wax all over, thanks to the big boys), hair cuts, baths and new jammies.  The magical evening was finally complete with our production of the nativity.

December 23rd

Grandpa B. took us Christmas hiking in through Colossal Cave.a cave today.  We climbed six stories down into the depths of the earth.  Sluicing for gems followed.  Then we helped create holiday bags and caroled to 18 houses.  Her friends sure loved our singing/yelling.