From the slums of Baltimore comes a disciple of Christ

Bobby Hall called from Baltimore this morning with the good news he's going to be endowed this week! We taught him the lessons just before we left the mission but he still wasn't baptized because of his chewing habit and frankly, we weren't sure he ever would be.  We are amazed at the progress he has made. His wife, Nicole, still hasn't been able to quit smoking and I feel for her. 

Bobby's story is a case of member missionary work done right! Walter Higbee is a widowered truck driver who heard about the church a few years ago from a fellow truck driver. He accepted the gospel readily and is excited about his membership. He has been a father figure to Bobby for many years and got him excited about the church. By the time Walter invited us to his home to teach Bobby and his wife, he already had him reading the Book of Mormon and coming to church. We watched Bobby start to imitate Walter--wearing one of his white shirts and carrying a similar brief case with his "church stuff" in it. Although neither Walter nor Bobby are what you'd call a scholar, that didn't keep the Spirit from touching their hearts.

My Favorite Christmas Gifts

* The cute refrigerator magnets from Carl's clan.

* The composite picture of grand and great grandchildren made by Ken with updated pictures!

* New family pictures of Ken's, Brenda's and Carl's families.

* The Christmas tree ornaments from Brenda. You see I need a 2x2 snapshot of the other four couples by next Christmas!

* Dad and I are both enjoying the books Sheryl gave us--a sequel to Pride and Prejudice, "Mr. Darcey's Decision" for me and a biography, "Look Me in the Eye: My Life With Asbergers," for Dad.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughtfulness!

Christmas with the Andrei

Christmas really started two days early with the Nutcracker ballet in downtown Portland. The music and dancing was wonderful. The snow scene was especially beautiful. Even though it was plastic it looked very real. Getting home again was a problem as we'd lost both chains and the roads were terrible! Their friend, Scot Gardner, rescued us at the stake center and took us up the hill.

On Christmas Eve the Andrei sponsored a sit down dinner party for 24! Half of them were children. There were three couples with their kids and a nice single sister and widowed dad. The dinner was fantastic with ham and turkey and several side dishes and pie for dessert. 

After most of the guests left and just the Gardners remained, we did the Christmas story with Grandpa narrating and the kids acting it out. Sam was an angel, Sydney wanted to be a shepherd and Maia was a wise girl.

Christmas day was fun watching the kids open their presents. Mike made some cute signs for the girls' room. He gave the boys a unicycle which they were very excited about. He knows how to ride one and wants to teach them. I'm hoping he'll demonstrate next time we have a talent show! 

Princess Maia's 5th Birthday

Despite the snowy conditions and impassable roads, people chained up and brought their kids to the birthday party, or they walked them over. I was in charge of putting all the snow clothes in the dryer. Grandpa supervised a craft activity. There was probably a dozen little kids.

There was a snowman theme, of course. The games were pin the carrot on the snowman and beanbag toss (with little stuffed snowmen) and there was a wonderful snowman cake with a real carrot nose. 

Wintry Visit to the Andrus Home

We came up for our two days at the temple and the roads were so bad we decided not to go home again but stay until Christmas. They had a blizzard. 

Church was called off so we had a service of our own about the symbols of Christmas and how we should share our light with others.

The house is all decorated for Christmas and the snow makes it all the more festive.

Snow Day in Corvallis

This post was written by Dad!

We went to a lunch at the Country Club for Dial-a-bus drivers. They did a white elephant gift exchange after the buffet. Near the end of the exchange Mom had her gift (a bottle of men's aftershave) taken by another person. So Mom had the right to then take a gift from anyone else. The lady she chose put up a little fuss so Mom graciously quit the game and let the grouch keep her package of bonbons. That game sure brings out the worst in us when we should be gracious. I was proud of the classy way she handled it. My gift was some beautifully embroidered Christmas tea towels. Anyone interested in them? Mom doesn't want to use them and some Easter European peasant probably spent a whole day making them. 

Today my Dial-a-bus shift was cancelled because of the icy road condition. So while Mom was doing family history research for Brother Taylor who will be baptized in January, I walked over to the park near our house. A beaver has recently become active. It has damned up the creek and started gnawing on the trees.

There are now three bird feeders in our backyard. The one outside the kitchen widow is close to the house. The bird in the photo is a rufus-sided towhee. Ken sent me a post from the web describing it.  It is a little smaller than a robin.

The streets were so bad that I put the chains on the rear wheels of the Avalon.  After driving around the corner I stopped to tighten them up.  My neighbor in 4-wheel drive rolled down his window and asked, "Isn't that a front-wheel drive? You should put the chains on the front tires."  It was a little embarrassing because I knew that.

'Tis the Season for Parties!

On Saturday we had two parties! A lunch at the country club for Dial-a-bus drivers. There I met Sheila who made Brenda's wedding cake 16 years ago! One August day a few years ago she had 5 wedding cake deliveries to make. On the next to the last one she fell on the steps and broke her elbow. So she retired and became a Dial-a-bus volunteer.

We decided to have a little family party and invited Ken and Polly's family over for a turkey supper. The highlight of the evening was making a gingerbread house. Ken had as much fun as the girls. And Robin was happy for the leftovers. Then Ken, Robin and I went to Albany to see Miracle on 34th Street at the community theatre. The woman with a little daughter and her lawyer neighbor who loved her were actually a family in real life. So those weren't stage kisses! 

And then as if to say, "Christmas is really coming," it snowed in the night.

Our great granddaughter's 1st birthday

We were invited to Ariana's birthday party up in Salem. We rode up with Ken's family and had a good chat with them on the road. 

We enjoyed a spaghetti supper. While I was eating Ariana came up and got excited about my green beans, so I gave her some.  She waited patiently for each bean and didn't try to grab.

Ariana is cute as a button. She got lots of nice presents.