My Favorite Things- When Calls the Heart Series

This fall, Ken and I have enjoyed watching this Hallmark-produced series, "When Calls the Heart."  Kristen recommended it to us.   It is available on Netflix. Though there are inconsistencies and inaccuracies in setting, costuming, vernacular, etc, we thoroughly enjoyed this uplifting series and look forward to more when they come out.  Right now, it is one of our favorite things.

To see more of my favorite things, click here.

A Special Gift to Us From Our Japanese Friends

We just got the best Christmas present ever!  The Tsuruoka branch choir put on a Christmas program in the little branch for Christmas and made this video of their rehearsal for us and sent it.  We love and miss each one of them so much.  This really touched our hearts and we wanted to share it with you!  Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

For Christmas last year, we were in Japan, celebrating our Savior's birth in a land that knows very little about Him. This video became a big part of our Christmas.  In the weeks before Christmas, we went to house after house in the cold, sharing this video (the Japanese version).  We stood in genkan after genkan and played the video for friends, neighbors, and strangers.  We then invited them to come to church on Christmas day and learn more of our Savior.  Many, many responded and did come.  This little video has become "Christmas" to me.  In most of those genkans (entryways), I couldn't see the video, as Ken held his Ipad for the people to watch, but I listened to the music over and over and I looked into beautiful Japanese faces as they watched the video.  I watched those faces change as they watched.  I watched the spirit fill their hearts and their souls.  I watched them soften.  One exclaimed when it concluded, "I felt something warm in my heart!"  I am grateful beyond words for my Savior, for His love, for His example.  May the true spirit of Christmas permeate your hearts and your homes today and all the year through.  Merry Christmas!

BYU/USU Game and Visit with the Camerons

It was a hard choice.  Our mission reunion was the same weekend as General Conference and the BYU/USU game.  We would have loved to see missionaries that we love and our mission president and his wife, but we wanted to see family more. So we decided to go to Logan for the weekend. Blake got us tickets for the BYU/USU game, so we headed up there on Friday.  We were excited.  We did feel a little sad when one of our very favorite elders texted and asked if we would be at the reunion that night.  I texted and explained why we wouldn't.  We later learned he didn't go and we felt bad.  

But we had such a fun time at the game with Shonna and Blake.  The outcome wasn't what we hoped, but it was still fun.We missed the last two BYU football seasons, and were ready to cheer for the Cougars.  Unfortunately, it hasn't been a great season to be a Cougar fan.

Things started out great.  But when our quarterback got injured, we sort of self destructed.

We loved spending conference weekend with family. It was such a great and inspiring conference.

I didn't get pictures, but Shonna had lots of projects going during conference- canning beets, harvesting dill seeds, making salsa, etc.  Shonna grows a big garden and cans and freezes a lot of food each year.  We helped her while we watched.  I wish I had taken pictures of the results!

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Gabe took some of his first steps while we were there (he is running all over the place now!)  

And he got his first ride on the Grandpa horsey.  Can't start training them too early!

He loved it!

Lily always lets me do her hair.

I love this sweet little girl.

Grandpa and Hannah Rose reading together

Grandpa and Hannah play doll house

 We had dental appointments with Blake on Monday morning, then headed back home. It was such a fun weekend with the Cameron family!

Hinton Sibling Reunion

Pam and I got up early on Saturday, had breakfast with Patty, then headed down the state so I could get there in time to report our mission at the Hinton sibling reunion.  Ken had been involved in that since Thursday evening.  I felt bad to miss the first couple of days of this annual event.  We reported our mission at our house at 3:00pm. 

All set up and ready to go.

We had prepared our presentation before I left. I think it went well.

That evening, we ate leftovers at Lorene's then attended "Thoroughly Modern Millie" at a local theater.

 After the show, we had ice cream at Lorene's.  I couldn't get everyone to gather for a picture, so had to just shoot snapshots of people there.  I feel bad we didn't ever get a group shot. These pictures are kind of dark:

Kathy, Mark, Leslie, Jim, Clark

Don, Ada, Gerri, Ken, and Mark

David, Rick, Sherrie

Leslie, Kathy, Nan, and Clark

Jim, Lorene, Mark

The next morning we attended church together in Don and Ada's ward before everyone separated to head back home.  Until next year . . .

1,000th Post!

This is it!  Our 1,000th post!  I felt like this important event needed some recognition.  I started this blog in June, 2008.  So for nine years I've posted pictures- lots of pictures, feelings, recipes, my favorite things, book reviews- lots of book reviews, family events, and many of my merry musings.  It is a blog,  but it is more than that.  It is a record of our family's life- a family history, if you will.  That's 9 1/2 years of history, family, travels, and love.  Thanks for reading!  Thanks for commenting! Thanks for caring!  Here's to 1,000 more!!

Sister Retreat

In September, Patty invited all of her sisters to her home for a sister retreat.  Pam and I arrived at Patty's gorgeous home on Tuesday evening.  She had a lovely dinner all ready for us- even though she had been serving in the temple all day.

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She even made fresh peach pie.  Hey, I forgot to get the recipe.  It was so delicious.  Don't tell Hal we had this.  It's his favorite dessert and he would be sad to miss it!   He was off on a week-long golfing outing with his son.  Hence the sisters retreat.

We got up early on Wednesday morning and drove up to Oakley, Idaho to visit our Aunt Nedra.  We met Joan there, who was traveling from Boise.  Aunt Nedra is the last of our father's siblings still alive.  She is a beautiful, delightful, amazing woman. We all agreed that she is one of our heroes.   The original plan was to have lunch with her that day, then spend the afternoon interviewing her about her memories, then drive back to SLC that evening.  But she invited us to spend the night with her.  Eric- her son and our cousin- invited us to dinner that evening.  It ended up being a delightful reunion.

Nedra has this on her wall in her basement.  Her father, our grandfather was a contractor in Logan, Utah.  He built many beautiful houses there- most of which are still standing and in use.  If you have been to Logan, you may have noticed beautiful homes with rolled roofs and gables.  Those were our grandpa's signature designs.

Nedra and our cousin, Leslie had a beautiful lunch prepared for us.  Nedra is an amazing cook.

For dessert we had homemade cream puffs with her delicious hot fudge sauce.  Oh my!

We took pictures of several of Nedra's recipes.  I thought I would share this one with you.

After lunch, we went into her living room and asked her questions about her parents, siblings, her childhood, and family life.  We recorded most of it.

That is Leslie and Eric- our cousins, and Leslie's son, Taylor.  They are such a wonderful family.  

Eric

Aren't they cute?

That evening, Eric and his wife Marci had us over for dinner at their beautiful home. We had beef, of course.  The Bedkes are cattle ranchers.

Marci

Pam, Nedra, and Patty

Pam, Nedra, Patty, and me.  Where was Joan?

Just sitting down to a delicious meal

Leslie, Joan, Pam, Nedra, Me, Patty and Eric

We stayed at Nedra's that night and they had a delicious breakfast for us the next morning.  We then drove back to SLC.  We were supposed to meet up with our Uncle Glen - our mother's only living sibling.  But they got the day mixed up and never came.  We were sad to not get to see him- but Patty and Hal later met them for lunch in SLC.

But we had a nice lunch at Olive Garden anyway.  Afterward, we went shopping around SLC, then drove back to Patty's in Elk Ridge.

The next morning, we got up and went to the Payson, Utah temple.  We all did family names that I have found.

It is a beautiful temple.  Patty and Hal were serving there as ordinance workers.  It was fun to get the tour from Patty.  Patty and Hal are now serving their fourth mission in the Kona, Hawaii temple.

We then went to lunch at a Thai restaurant in Provo.

Then went to the BYU printing press to pick up the books of Isaac Fox history.  We all helped transcribe that, then Patty did a lot of work putting in pictures and putting it together and getting it published.  Patty is amazing.

After going to the grocery store, we noticed that the mountains were getting the first snow of the season.

Who knew Joan loved cucumbers so much?  In the evenings we snacked on yummy things at Patty's and visited.

It was a fun few days together as sisters.  Thank you, Patty!!!!!