Thanksgiving

What a great family we have! We were all able to be together this Thanksgiving...except Chris, Lisa & baby Hannah (whom we missed a LOT, but Lisa's entire family was with them in St. Louis). And what excitement we had! We even had a neighborhood fire during the morning cooking hours. The next-door family had a fire from their dryer. A priceless part was Tami's children trying to figure out how we could help (moving the dryer out, taking the little grandma tea, etc.) and, when the firemen arrived, little Drew going up to one and saying, simply, "I LOVE you!!"

I am so thankful for a family who LIKES each other and HELPS. We had Tami , the girls and Mason making rolls, Landon peeling PILES of apples for pie, Britney and Angie making the crusts, Joe doing his absolutely scrumptious turkey, Anita making delightful 3-D pumpkin name cards and doing the fresh string beans, everyone helping in cleanup (little Mason was constantly sweeping, recycling or mopping something). Michael and Dad were always helping with dishes or whatever needed to be done, in spite of the need for Michael to study for his rotations and upcoming interviews. I am always amazed at the new and fun dishes Tami comes up with for such a crowd, but we always eat til we can't hold another bite and it always tastes divine.
We had a great time in crazy games, watching ballgames and just having a good time talking.

Baby "Darwin," Michael & Anita's tiny one, just turned one the week before, so he is now actually WALKING! Hurray...and "help!!!" at the same time, right?! What a cutie!

This Christmas season is going by so quickly! I'm hoping to get things a little under control by the time our special family gets here...but no promises. I am especially excited about a Relief Society presentation the week before Christmas called a "silent lesson." No talking...just thinking, music and visuals. One thought I especially liked was one our mutual had for a YW night long ago..."What is MY gift to Christ?" God gave us His SON...and all we have in this life. Christ has given us (through His atoning sacrifice) the opportunity for progression and exaltation. But what do I give back, especially during this season, as MY gift to them?

I have to wait for the pictures (Lon has the camera in Seattle), but we had a great week. Michael, Anita & "Darwin" were here since Wednesday, since Michael has a "vacation" from rotations for a while, and Angie made it for Saturday and Sunday. "Darwin" has found his toes lately and can play and talk for hours...well, maybe not THAT long. We ate much more than we should have, but it was really good! And, of course, Mr. Easter Bunny left a treasure hunt (Mrs. Bunny was making dinner!). We have all decided that Mr. Bunny has exceptional "creativity" when it comes to poetry and clues! Michael & Anita's bunny even left a special little hunt for Mom. It was great fun! We are so excited to go see Chris this week. What a sweet birthday present from Lisa! Can't wait to see all Tami's clan, too. I promise to get some pictures on here real soon.

We got to be with the kids this last weekend. I've decided that Lon and I truly need a "shot in the arm" every so often by being with those we love. We watched Tami and Anita running a 5-mile Tulip Run, even though Tami has never run 5 miles in her life, with Lindee and Mason cheering them on with their hand-printed signs and uninhibited enthusiasm. We played with baby "Darwin" and got lots of smiles and listened to his own kind of "talking," noticing that his best smiles were always ready for his Daddy. We saw little Drew dragging his cast as he crawled or scooted on his little bottom so he could do everything all the rest of us were doing--all with a big smile on his face. Lindee picked a bouquet of flowers just before we left and ran waving after our car for several blocks...and I thought of her all the way home. Sweet Mason announced he "needed another hug" before we left and completely warmed our hearts. Yes, we love to be with our family. Every single one lifts us every time we "rub shoulders" or just hear their voices. I guess that's what it's all about, isn't it?!

Mason's Birthday Song

Mason is Six!

Well, this weekend we were able to be with Mason for his birthday celebration. Tami made brownies (his pick, of course!) with a race car track--finish line, flags and all. What lucky kids to have a mom who makes cakes that have actual cars that WORK. And we went to Red Robin to have the birthday song from pros...though Mason was a bit embarrassed and didn't crack much of a smile for a while. His sundae went to Drew...who evidently LIKES ice cream...a lot! (Mason was saving room for brownies at home.)

Michael, Anita and baby Darwin even came over after Michael's 25-hour shift at the hospital, and would you believe that Mason's birthday gift from Mom and Dad was the same model of remote helicopter Michael got for Christmas!? Everyone had such fun playing with it, his daddy ordered one. Papa Draney has now given his request for one, too...and I am quite sure he is going to want red, too, just like the other two! (Red has been his favorite color forEVER.) He's asked for a bigger model...probably one he can sit in. He can always dream, can't he?

Friday night, Lindee and her dad went skiing and got a big surprise. It was snowing a huge blanket over the entire mountain! We got to see a video of Lindee expertly skiing over, around and through steep hills and piles of snow. We, of course, were driving in it, so it wasn't nearly as fun. We didn't have the required chains, so we just crawled along, hoping a policeman would either tell us where we could exit (as all the ones we saw were blocked by cars putting on their chains)...or that they would stay away just long enough for us to get down the other side. We come from the "banana belt" of Washington and had spring weather back in Pasco, so we really hadn't expected a storm. We did finally get down to North Bend, where it was just wet and rainy. Like Lon said, "If you don't like the weather, just drive a little further and it will change."

Our first try!

Well, after reading my children's blogs for about a year now, I've finally decided to try it. Lon and I decided that this is one way to "journal," complete with pictures. It's worked for my kids, so why not us, right? Not so right. They are SOOO much more savvy with a computer & blogsite. Well, here goes, all the same...

We had a wonderful holiday season, with all of our kids and grandkids together at Tami's for Thanksgiving. Our children love to be together, and we so enjoyed just being with them. Michael's baby even decided to be born a month early so HE could join us for that celebration. We really missed Tami's family and Chris and Lisa for Christmas, but we were able to have Michael and Anita with baby "Darwin" for a couple of days, Landon and Britney for about a week, and Angie for the entire Christmas break. We had a great time! Lon's band was very excited to perform for Tri-City's "First Night" New Year's Eve celebration. We got home just in time to "toast" the New Year with our sparkling cider.

The only "down" of the season was when I discovered I had shingles the week after Thanksgiving, and the itching/stinging is still going on. But I was extremely blessed by having it come AFTER Thanksgiving and BEFORE the kids came for Christmas, and my eye, which could easily have lost its sight, seems to be okay.

Lon is almost ready to take the Bar again at the end of February, but he won't hear the results until May. Wish him luck!