Semi-Family Christmas Portrait

Is that what you call a family picture with only half the kids in it?

Well, that's what I'm calling it. At our ward Christmas party they

were offering family pictures. Didn't the boys do a nice job looking

all color coordinated and Christmasy? This is about as long as

Eric's hair got before he begged me to cut it all off again.

Christmas Pizzaz

Now THIS is how you dress up for a Christmas dance!

What a View!

Can you believe this picture was taken from my kitchen window?

Snowy Day Fun

How to play in the snow:

1) Lay down and flap your arms and legs to get completed covered in snow.

2) Make sure your snow angel looks just right.

3) Build a fire

4) Drink hot cocoa

5) Cook some bacon grease. Yum.

Frolicking

Hooray! The first snow of the season, and it's a good six inches! So what do you do when it's too snowy to go to church? Why you frolic in the snow, of course!

Christmas makes you feel emotional...

Christmas is coming the geese are getting fat...
Wow, I love Christmas time. Sunday at church I
started crying during the Sacrament hymn just
thinking about having the whole family here,
sitting with me at church. I love my family sooo much!
They are such great people, each one.
So, the house is decorated and the tree is ready to
go into a stand and brought in to the living room and
then it'sgetting decked out big time! Lots of ornaments, over
the top with ornaments this year!
It's gonna be a great Christmas.

Counting my blessings...naming them one by one!

1) A beautiful sunrise to set the tone for a perfect day.


2) Boys who helped all day, making stuffing, chopping wood for a widow,
cleaning the house, taking down Christmas boxes for Grandma,
hauling tables and chairs for mom
and happily sitting at their own "special" table.


3) Lots of family to celebrate the holiday with.

4) A wonderful feast of problably my most favorite foods.

5) Pretty china to serve the yummy food on.

6) Richard and Diana sharing their "Bohnanza" game.
Devin and Richard tied for the win!

7) A husband who helped me all day in the kitchen (see picture above)

and worked hard in the days before getting honey do's done around the house.

Thank you Honey!

8) Grandma and her great-grandson...so precious!

9) Talking with Diane and Katie, and hearing that their

Thanksgiving feast was wonderful too.

10) And best of all...Josh finished his last round of chemotherapy

on this day. That news officially makes this day...

THE BEST THANKSGIVING DAY EVER!

And now for the side stories of the day:

Keith, trying to make points with the little one, puts the traditional olive on the finger.

But alas, Baby is prevented from gobbling it up.

And, of course, very disappointed. Oops, didn't make too many points with that move!


What a sweetheart little Michael is!

The boys were rewarded in their efforts today with a some ping pong. Thanks for loaning us the table Mom!

Devin's Birthday

Happy Birthday Devin!

That's quite a blaze atop the cake, there.

OK, now kids, before you try this at home, make sure your mom

is cool with candle wax being blown clear to the the wall!

Devin handled the challenge of 20 candles easily.

Just one big puff did the trick!

Now, about the cake, it hasn't been my best year for

cake making, and this is the perfect example. If you look

closely, you'll notice it appears to be floating in a sea of fudge!

Wow, a sweater!

And a new tie for the growing collection!


The opening of the birthday card from Diane:

Speaking of the Pilgrims...

I had some interesting thoughts about the Pilgrims last Sunday. At church we were reminded about the great sacrifices of the Pilgrims as they sailed to this land in search of religious freedom. They had not been allowed to worship as they desired, so they were driven from their native land into the wild and vast unknown.
Contrast that thought with a talk I'd heard given earlier on BYU TV about the moral degeneration occurring at an increasingly rapid pace in our society. We are at the point where our own ability to worship as we desire may be in jeopardy because of the new laws which are now being passed. Yet we do not have the luxury of leaving this society behind and sailing off with our brothers and sisters in the gospel to start anew. We, instead, are asked to build zion where we are. I'm of the opinion that this is a much more difficult position to be in. We need to stand strong and bold for what is true and what it right in the midst of opposition.
We can do it, but we need to band together and bear one another up.

Weird Willy

This masterpiece was created by Devin and Keegan at Young Adult FHE this week!

Is it soccer or just a really bad ballet?

When I think of soccer, I think of pretty much straight forward running, kicking, throw-ins, you know, just basic moves. Then I took a few pictures and... well, the camera lense revealed a few moves previously unseen by the human eye. This is what I'm talking about...

That's quite a balancing act on the toes there.

And this move, is well, more like a martial arts stance.

Notice the arm placement, just overhead to complete the arabesque.

Hey, don't let those guys beat you to the ball!

That's the way to follow the ball all the way to the goal.


And of course, the corner kick.

This team has had a great season, winning or tying

every game! Eric has scored a few goals and has determined

that soccer, indeed, is his favorite sport!

A Veteren's Memorial Service

I've been thinking about my dad lately. He died a couple months ago, and I wanted to post these pictures of his Memorial Service and Funeral on my blog.

My Dad served in the Navy at the end of WWII. He was honored with a military memorial service at Tahoma National Cemetery.

The bugler played the Navy theme song and later TAPS.

Twenty one gun salute.

Mom was presented with the flag which had draped his casket.

This is a beautiful place.

Grandpa Hart's Funeral

My Dad passed away on August 18, 2008. It was hard to say good bye, but nice to know that he is no longer limited by Alzheimer's. The funeral was held at our church in Sedro Woolley.
Dad's casket and flowers were beautiful. Paul, Larry, Wes, Keith, Richard and Devin were the pallbearers.

The guestbook table outside the chapel had pictures mom & I had put together a year ago for Dad's 81st Birthday.

Aunt Marilyn, Christina and Larry enjoying a nice brunch put on by our Relief Society after the funeral.

Mom with some dear friends who came up from Marysville
More pictures of the luncheon.

Birthday Time!

Keith is looking pretty excited about his "cheesecake" and presents! What a celebration!

Music to my Ears

O Happy Day! Isn't this piano so beautiful? I love it. I have wanted a piano for many, many years, and one day recently Devin said that he really wished we had a piano for him to play, not just a keyboard. I said, hey, see what you can find on Craig's list. Lo and behold, the piano of my dreams just happened to be for sale nearby in Anacortes, for a great price.
But, I gotta tell you, this thing is HEAVY. Four strong men could lift it just a couple of feet at a time. I'm so glad they did. It's a wonderful addition to our home.

Top of Utah Marathon: A short video clip

This is a short video of Diane running at mile 21 in the marathon. Dennis ran with her for just a bit. She was sure looking strong! A lot of the runners were taking advatage of the sprinklers when they passed this point.

Diane's First Marathon

This is just after Diane finished her 26.2 miles. She looks amazing! Each of the more than 2000 participants had their name called out as they finished and a medal placed around their neck.
This is mile 17 where we first saw Diane. Dennis has the GU ready for the quick hand-off.

She dropped off her extra shirt, grabbed a GU from each of us, and made a quick get away.
Nice to see the thumbs up signal as she moved along!
After the race Diane soaked her legs in the icy cold creek near the park. Then she found the friends she had started the race with. First-timers Diane and Mackenzie benefitted alot from the advice of Mackenzie's parents who are both very experienced marathon runners.
This was a great day, and we're so proud of Diane for reaching her goal!