Merry Christmas Eve!

There's nothing better than being with your whole family at Christmas time. Here we are in Simi Valley with J and P and kids, and S and M came from snowy Michigan with their boys . . . life is good! Here are a few pics we've shot before the big day!

Joyful Busy-ness

For the last few days our little "RV" has been full to the gills in "stuff" to fill our gift baskets . . . about a dozen when all said and done. We've enjoyed every Christmas CD we own (that's a whole bunch!) to fill the air with Christmas harmony.

If you've been reading my posts over the last few months you'll know what the contents of the baskets are. We've crafted, harvested, trapped, or just created some mouth-watering goodies for our family and loved ones. And the baskets are finally all wrapped and ready to load into the truck for the southbound Christmas trek, although a couple will be shipped to the great Northwest relatives!

We're heading down south early Tuesday morning . . . so excited to see the family, especially our kids and all five of the grandkids!

Merry Christmas to all of you!

Feeling the Spirit of Christmas

It's always hard for me to feel the spirit of Christmas but when it does kick in I get a warm fuzzy feeling. It started to look like Christmas down at the clubhouse a couple of weeks ago when the tree-decorating party was held. A new tree was purchased this year through private donations - it's got to be at least 12 feet tall with over 1,000 tiny white lights. We were all asked to bring a new ornament to grace the branches since the tree is so much larger than the one that was retired after 15 years of gracing the hall. Then I hosted, with the help of a committee, the Holiday Tea and Boutique which was attended by about 60 folks who are still in the park. Many have already left for the warmer weather. K and I like the winter here plus we're near family for the holidays.

But the thing that really pushed my Christmas Spirit button was what happened this morning. A dear friend and his wife here in the park have been through hell this past year. After many surgeries he lost one of his legs just above the knee. Now he's facing more difficulties and his poor sweet wife is really having a tough time staying strong. So two other couples and K and I decided that we wanted to do SOMETHING for them and thought that maybe providing some meals to keep in the freezer so that after a day of doctors appointment, etc., she wouldn't have to think about what to do for dinner. Well - we ended up providing sixteen meals! Two each of Beef Stew, Chicken Noodle Casserole, Taco Stew, and four packages of Pulled Pork Sandwich fixings. We truly had fun preparing the food, packaging it up for freezer storage, and then we trekked down to Pat and Rays to deliver it singing carols at the door. Needless to say, they greeted us with hugs and were dumbfounded. We were filled with joy and delighted at our accomplishment. Now I'm ready for Christmas to come!

Here are dome pictures of the beautiful Christmas tree in the Clubhouse, and a pretty sunset taken right at our driveway a couple of weeks ago when fall leaves were still on the trees!