Merry Christmas 2009

Merry Christmas Everyone

I know I am a couple of days late but we have been busy! Brandon, Danalyn, Max and Christopher arrived about 9:00 on December 23. It was so good to see them safe and sound. They said they had no problems on the roads and for that we are thankful.

Christmas Eve found us going out for lunch; the first place was closed so we ended up at IHOP...what a fun table we had with the whole family together. Christmas Eve night we had a ham dinner and then went to the Birch Bay Bible Community Churches Christmas Eve service and then drove around to see a few Christmas lights. We called it an early night as Ron, Danalyn and Christopher were fighting colds.

Christmas morning we opened gifts and then us older folks and the littlest ones took a nap. We joined back up for a turkey dinner in the evening. We laughed a lot and enjoyed being together as a family.

December 26 Jamie, Suzanne and Opal went to Wendy & Bryce's for the day and Brandon and Danalyn went off for a ride and out to lunch. Grandpa and Max watched football and basketball while Grammy and Max took a much needed nap. In the evening we joined the rest of the Workentin's at Olive Garden for dinner and time together.

As I reflect on the past few days I am thankful for the trip that Brandon, Danalyn, Max and Christopher made from Lewiston to Blaine so that we could all be together for a few days. What a fun time watching the cousin's getting to know each other and Opal and Christopher playing together ~ they chased the ball, played with the play food and chased each other around the trailer. Max built one of his new Lego sets and the adults visited and laughed together. It was the best Christmas gift this mom could ask for.

Now the motor home is quiet, Ron is napping or watching football, not sure which and I am catching up on emails, posts and Facebook.

Wishing each of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy 2010 New Year!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in the motor home! Yes, that's right, we got the motor home back this past Thursday. It is running great and the ozoning worked great ~ no smell of fire anywhere. We are parked at Beachwood until the 29th of December.

Charlie Brown is home now ~ thanks Norm, Kristy and family for taking such good care of him. Again thanks, Jim and Mei for your hospitality while the motor home was being repaired.

The Christmas lights are up! and look delightful. They run from the dining room window through the living room around the front of the rig and back down the other side of the living room and into the kitchen! I love sitting in the living room with a cup of hot chocolate looking at the lights. It is wonderful to be back in our home!

We have a couple of busy weeks ahead of us. The Living Nativity at Northwood is this coming Friday, December 18 from 6 to 8 p.m. If you are in the area come out and hear the Christmas story with live animals, singing of Christmas Carols, warm yourself by the campfire and enjoy some Christmas goodies. We celebrate our 34th wedding anniversary on December 20th. We will begin by watching the children's Christmas program followed by a potluck at church. In the evening we will probably go out for a movie and dinner. December 22nd will find us picking up 200 pumpkin pies from Costco for our annual Christmas Dinner Boxes that the community gives out to those in need. We are packing boxes on the 22nd at 4:00 at Northwood and then handing them out on Wednesday, December 23rd from 4 to 7 p.m.

Brandon, Danalyn and the boys are arriving in the evening of December 23rd. We will be together till Sunday, December 27th. We are looking forward to Christmas with the family. Christmas Eve will find our whole family together ~ first time in years ~ celebrating the birth of Jesus and being together as a family. Christmas Day we will celebrate in the morning with everyone and then in the afternoon Jamie, Suzanne and Opal will be going to Wendy and Bryce's for Christmas with her family.

On a sad note, we are remembering Ron's cousin, Gayle and her family as they mourn the loss of her brother, Kevin. He passed away Tuesday morning from a massive heart attack at the young age of 52. Tomorrow, Sunday, December 13th, Ron, Judy, John and Kathy are going to Pasco for services for Kevin. We would appreciate prayer for safe travels for them and for God's comfort for the whole family during this difficult time.

Bye for now, take care and keep warm during these chilly December days. (It is being forecasted that we are to get snow tomorrow and Monday for the Blaine area so I am really glad to be back in our home where my heavy coat was :).

Love, Alice

Catching Up

What a beautiful cold crisp morning it is. Thought I would just take a few minutes and catch everyone up to what's going on with us.

We spent Thanksgiving in California with my aunt, uncle and cousins in Middletown. We enjoyed lots of good food and great conversation. Our trip to California was uneventful except for one little blip ~ Ron locked the keys in the suburban at the hotel in Corning but again, God was faithful. A woman came out of the hotel just as we realized we had locked our keys inside and she offered to call AAA. They were there within the hour and we were able to continue to dinner. Thanks Kari for helping us out!

We made our regular stops at the Olive Pit and the Jelly Belly Factory and then took the winding road from Napa to Middletown. The weather was gorgeous the whole time we were there. While there Ron was able to help Uncle Don put up a new weather station; Alice couldn't watch as Ron was at the top of the extension ladder. We spent most of our time visiting, relaxing and enjoying being with family.

The morning we left we had a low tire so Ron filled it with air and once again the Lord protected us. We left on Saturday, arriving home late Sunday afternoon and on Monday Ron took the suburban to Les Schwab tires and found out we had made the whole trip home with a nail in the tire. Praising God we did not have a blow out along the way.

We arrived home to find out that our motor home is still not ready for us. Hopefully it will be ready the middle of next week. We are still in our friends condo and Charlie Brown is still visiting Norm and Kristy. Thanks Jim, Mei, Norm & Kristy for your help during this time.

We are getting back into the swing of things ~ Ron is picking up jobs and Alice is once again working at the church. It does feel good to have a routine and schedule once again.

The next two weeks are filled with Christmas activities. Alice is busy helping with the Living Nativity at church. This year it is on December 18 from 6 to 8 pm at the church. If you are in the area please plan on attending. It is a time to hear the Christmas story, listen to Christmas carols and share in some refreshments.

Another activity we will be helping with once again this year is the giving of Christmas Dinner Boxes through our church. The community comes together to fill and distribute 200 Christmas Dinner Boxes to needy families in the local community. We will be handing those out on the 23rd of December.

Also on the 23rd Brandon and Danalyn along with the boys will be arriving from Lewiston to spend the Christmas holiday with us. It will be the first Christmas in years that all three of our families will be together for the Christmas holiday. Ron and I are looking forward to that special time with Jamie and his family and Brandon and his family.

Don't know much else so will close for now. Take care. Love Alice & Ron