Family pictures

In December we had family pictures taken by Marie Renard, a photographer who lives in our ward.

This is our backyard.

On the rock waterfall & slide structure above our pool.

Bonnie & Dave
Bethany, LeeAnn, & John

Bonnie & Dave

Bethany, Bonnie, & LeeAnn

Sisters - Bethany & LeeAnn

LeeAnn was the only one that wanted solo photo shots that day.

Garage Party

Dave hosted a Garage Party here on Friday night to celebrate the finishing of his garage. The long awaited garage doors were finally installed the first week of January. He invited a bunch of friends and relatives over and we put out some good food to eat. Here are some pics to show our event.

LeeAnn serving up the cheese.

Dave, in the background, is as happy as can be.

We caught our hired help in the kitchen slurping from the ladle.

Remembering December

December has passed and along with it the wonderful Christmas season. It is hard for me to let go of the Christmas lights, music, and decorations. I wanted to leave our tree up until the end of January, but I got outvoted. With every nativity, ornament or Nutcracker that we put away, I cringed, thinking "Why can't this season last longer?" " Why don't we leave the nativity sets up all year long? After all we think of Jesus all year long, right?" This year, we have chosen one simple nativity to leave up the year round. It is a simple one piece ceramic of Mary, Joseph and Jesus.

Now that everything (well almost everything ) is packed up and put away, we have time to write about the highlights of our Christmas season.

Here is the story of our Christmas.

Start with a tree. This may not look like the most beautiful tree in the world, but it was beautiful in our eyes. We chose to put up a real tree this year, a Grand Fir. It smelled so good and lasted well.



Now, after dark and when all the house lights were dimmed, it took on a magical glow.



This year we put a new ornament on the tree - Pink Ballet Slippers in honor of Michelle.

We put up our nativity sets,

The kids decorated a Gingerbread house,

Made snowflakes for the doors,

and put up the wooden Nutcracker soldiers.

On Christmas Eve the family gathered. Our numbers total twelve these days, with our future son-in-law Brendon included. We enjoyed being together.

We opened a few gifts.

Some were special gifts. This is a memory quilt that Katie, Amy, Alli & Chris made using some of Michelle's old t-shirts. The older kids made two quilts, one for Dave and me and one for their mother, Debbie. Most of the t-shirts represent an event or group Michelle was involved in. Michelle was involved in so many things that there were plenty of t-shirts for two quilts. Click on the photo to enlarge it to see the individual panels.



This couple was hiding a special secret all evening long.


Later, after the others had left Amy and Seth came back in with another gift. In it was this picture frame. (scroll down)













YES! Amy and Seth are expecting a baby! That means that Dave will finally get to be a grandpa and I a grandma. Their expected arrival date is in early August. Hurray!

A Christmas Poem from Michelle

Michelle wrote several poems during her life. Many were poems about Christmas. We'd like to share one with you this Christmas Season.

Children of Christmas
by Michelle Gardner

Looking through the window
I see the snow upon the ground;
And all the children playing,
As Christmas swims the town.

Quietly I watch them,
And wonder if they know
The story of that day gone by,
Before the Christmas snow.

I see the lowly mother,
Ill and heavy with child;
And watch as poor old Joseph
Cares for the mother so mild.

I see the innkeepers turn them away,
And wonder if they'd known,
Just what they could have done that day,
And what they might have shown.

When the star appeared above them,
Did they somehow wonder then
If there was more they could have done,
Or more they might have been?

Did the shepherds ever question
As they followed that bright light?
If the angels hadn't come,
Would they have traveled still that night?

The questions fill my mind
As I replay that Christmas night;
And see within myself
A piece of that holy light.

I picture the babe in the manger,
Wrapped in swaddling clothes;
And think of His life before Him,
And the example He still shows.

My eyes travel back to the children,
So pure and innocent,
Singing songs of Christmas,
With faces of content.

Somehow, it seemed they knew
The story of that night,
As I watched them hug each other,
Wrapped in Christmas light.

Exciting News!

Guess what, Alli is engaged!

Last night Brendon Hurtado proposed to Alli and she said yes! She has a beautiful heart shaped diamond ring to show for it.

We are all very excited for her. Of course Alli is pretty
happy right now too!

Alli and and Brendon met at work - Jamba Juice. She is attending college at ASU this semester and Brendon attends MCC.

They are planning a wedding in late February.

Happy Birthday John

November 29th was John's 9th birthday. He's one year older and smarter too.

Happy Birthday to John. Here are a few pictures to show you the many sides of John.

John the mud boy

John the hunter

John the fisherman

John the repairman
He really "gets into his work"

John the cool, handsome boy

John and Dad on his baptism day, last year in December.

Concerts, Plays and Other Events

This last week and a half we have had a bunch of cultural events to attend. I like going to plays and concerts so have loved every minute. I'm sorry I have no pictures to document them. But here are my mini -reviews.

To start off with a week ago Friday, we attended the play "It's a Wonderful Life" at LeeAnn's School - Heritage Academy. This was a stage rendition of the famous movie. It followed the story fairly closely although they replace Clarence the angel with Clara, and no dance floor opening up into a swimming pool. (ahh) Each of the actors and actresses did a great job with their characters. We were delighted to see our 5 yr old niece, Angelique S., play the part of Zuzu Bailey. She said her lines very clearly, and of course that touching phrase at the end , "Look, Daddy a bell rang. Teacher says every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings!" I must confess, I got a little teary then.

We next went to the same school's Choir Concert on Tuesday night. I tell you this school has a lot of talented kids. They sang with such clear harmony and volume. Heritage Academy had three groups of singers, the Women's choir, the Men's choir, and the Select Choir. Our niece Shannon J. was in the Women's Choir and they sang songs of love. The Men's group although young, sang with gusto songs of adventure. The select choir sang songs from the Baroque era, many of them they sang acappella. There were a few featured soloists that totally amazed me with their voices. I was feeling tingly on my arms it sounded so good. This concert was extra special because it was the last concert for the choir director, Mrs. Campbell, as she is retiring to stay home and have a baby (in December.) They sang their best for her! I heard another parent (my cousin) say it was probably the best concert he had ever heard at Heritage.

Wednesday night was Evening in Excellence hosted by the Young Women. I forgot to bring my camera there (the only place of all these events where a camera was allowed). We as parents were served a nice dinner and then watched our daughters perform in a talent show. Each class performed a skit and also the girls displayed projects they had worked on for Personal Progress. LeeAnn wrote the skit for her Mia Maids class and was so funny. Bethany and the Beehives were fun to watch too. The leaders pulled off synronized swimming on stage.

On Thursday we went to Heritage's Dance Concert held in the Mesa Arts Center. The concert was titled "After Neverland" and all the many dances performed were telling the story of Peter Pan. LeeAnn is taking Ballroom Dance this year and performed two numbers with her group. Shannon also performed several times with the Dance I group. Two of my favorite pieces of the evening were "Mermaid Vanity" and "Aware of the Crocodiles." They all did a great job. It made me think if Michelle, her love of dancing, and the many performances she made.

So there you have it. We enjoy getting cultured, and don't do it nearly often enough. I just may go to Heritage's Orchestra Concert on Tuesday night (even though we don't have any kids or relatives in it.) We'll see what comes next.