Dear Kids,
          Dad and I always eat our meals upstairs, at the library table, where we can look out at the field across the street, and down into the Provo River valley. Right now there’s a little bit of snow and a lot of brown dirt and trees. A deer just ran by, all by herself. She must have been looking for the herd. A couple of nights ago they were all out there, 15 or so, when Dad and I got home from Salt Lake. One of our neighbors is absolutely obsessed with deer, and he’s always out driving around at night, looking for them, shining his headlights on them when he sees them. There was a big buck one night, just standing out there, letting everybody admire him. Mostly it’s the silly little does, though.
          Thanksgiving is practically upon us, so it’s time to look ahead to Christmas. Here’s what we have on the docket so far: 
          1. Dec. 13 and 14, a Saturday and Sunday night, Dad and Tom and I will be in the Messiah in Heber. Saturday night it’s held in the Timpanogos Valley Theater, and last year there were refreshments afterwards. Sunday night it’s in Tom’s church, and we might have an after-party somewhere, if any of you want to come.
          2. Monday, December 22, tentatively, is the cousins’ gift party at Nora’s house. More details will be forthcoming.
          3. Wednesday, the 24th, Sharon and Seth will be hosting a Christmas Eve supper at our house. Afterwards we’ll hike Memorial Hill in Midway, and then have hot chocolate at Donna’s house. She might even make cinnamon rolls.
          4. Christmas Day . . . I don’t have a plan yet. Does anybody want to host a Christmas Dinner that other people can go in on? If no one else wants to, I will, here at our house.
          5. Friday, December 26, will be the sledding party at the cabin. I’ll probably make sloppy jo’s, and you can bring your leftover Christmas goodies and whatever else you want people to eat up.
          So that’s the schedule so far. It will all be lots of fun.
          Last night Dad and I went with John and Heather to watch Julie in "The King and I" at Wasatch High. Julie was a servant girl, so she just stood there, except for the scene where they’re all down praying to Buddah. It was a very good production. After all the years of watching you kids in musicals, we’re now excited to watch all the grandkids. (We already saw Ellie in "Sussical," a couple of years back.) Life gets better and better!
          Love, Mom