Dear Kids,
          Whoa, it’s cold outside! It’s -6 on my phone ("feels like -16") and -7 on our outside thermometer. I know it’s been colder here before, but winter just barely started a few days ago. We got that big snowstorm Monday night, one that didn’t just pass us by, like most of the others. We had about a foot of snow, the most we’ve had here since we moved in. Dad even had to shovel the driveway! (Allen came over and helped.) So anyway, this winter weather is really a novelty for us.
          And Christmas 2015 is already memories! The thing we’ll remember longest is our hike up Memorial Hill on Christmas Eve. Somehow I hadn’t imagined so much snow! But the young teenagers scampered up through the drifts, while the adults plodded up. Even Kim and Eli made it, Eli being hauled and carried a lot of the way. Our toes were frozen, but everybody made it! And thanks to Heather for serving the hot chocolate and goodies afterwards, at their house. Poor Julie is recovering from having her tonsils out, so we didn’t see much of her.
          Our sledding party at the cabin yesterday was very cold. For once, the kids didn’t spend as much time out on the hill. But the food was good. Thanks to everybody for bringing your Christmas leftovers! There was a little bit of everything. 
           This morning I’ll be giving my last Relief Society lesson ever in the Spanish branch. Because of scheduling problems, I’ll be going back to Francis 2nd Ward next week. When I started out in the branch two years ago, I was on exactly the same schedule as Dad, and we both got home at the same time. We ate dinner together and told each other what had happened at church.  Last year it was almost the same, but this coming year, Francis 2nd is 9:00 to 12:00, while the Spanish branch is 12:30 to 3:00. Each of us being alone half a day is not my idea of a good Sunday, so I’m going back to the fold. The prodigal is returning. I will really miss the branch, though. I’ve felt more at home there than I ever did in a regular ward.
          But life is good! I wish you all the best for the new year! Love, Mom

Dear Kids,
          Sorry we left the party early last night! I had so many things to do for today that I was worried about it all. Dad and I have to do the music at Elk Meadows this morning, and I have to play a special musical number there. I have to play the piano in Relief Society, if I get back in time. I have to play the organ in sacrament meeting, including Joy to the World with a piano accompaniment by a woman who is a fabulous musician. I have to sing in the choir, with some difficult alto parts that I haven’t been able to learn very well. When today is over with, I can get on with enjoying Christmas.
          We keep checking things off our Christmas events list. Check on the Messiah. Check on the family Christmas party. (Thanks, Nora. It was a blast.) I guess we don’t have anything now until Christmas Eve. We’ll be meeting at Memorial Hill in Midway at 6pm for the hike! (We’re supposed to have some snowstorms before then, so maybe we can play Donner party.) I’ll bring along some hot chocolate mix, if somebody wants to volunteer their house afterwards. It’s too far to come back to our place.
          Christmas Day we’ll visit the families in Heber valley, and then be at Nora’s by 2pm for dinner. Orphans are welcome. The sledding party will be the next day, Saturday, at the cabin. (Most of you know that Allen has moved in there, but we’ll still have our regular parties, like always.) I’m going to make sloppy jo’s. If you can bring your leftover Christmas treats, we’ll eat them, I’m sure.
          Ten magpies are out in our back yard, fighting over a ham bone I tossed out yesterday. I don’t care about shooting them--maybe because it’s Christmas.
          Love to all, Mom

Dear Kids,
          Dad and I really enjoyed singing in the Messiah last night. I got to stand next to Tom, since the altos are next to the tenors, and the tallest people have to stand on the back row. (Just like school pictures.) Nora and Donna and Bevan (and Drew) were there. It was a sing-along, but most of the audience just sat there, except for Nora, who sang all the choruses, and Donna, who sang some of them, and Bevan, who sang a few Hallelujahs. After the performance, we had a great party at Tom and Kim’s. I had tried out some new high-altitude recipes for chocolate sauce and brownies, so we had those, plus ice cream.
          We get to sing the Messiah again tonight. I’m glad we can do it one more time. The next Christmas event, the party at Nora’s next Saturday, has had a few changes. We won’t be going ice skating, since the rink isn’t open during the middle of the afternoon. But I’m sure we’ll still have plenty of fun. The party starts at 5:00 pm, we’re going to eat at 6:00, and the present-opening will be at 7:00. 
         The rest of our Christmas schedule is the same. All the details are in my letter from last week.
          Dad and I were just drifting off to sleep the other night, comfortably in bed, when Oreo walked into our bedroom meowing. Of course he’s not supposed to be in at all, so I sent Dad to investigate. One of us had left the door into the garage partly open, and both cats took advantage of that. Xena had settled herself on the beanbag chair in the meatloaf position. Oreo followed Dad through the house, meowing, knowing he’d get milk, which is how we bribe him to go outside again. (If we don’t get out the milk, he squeezes his big fat self under the couch and stays there.) Dad was able to lure both cats out to the garage again. Since he’s been giving them whole milk, they always do what he wants. 
          We’re having cold winter weather now, but no snow, just like last year and the year before. We’ve had an inch or so, a couple of times, but it just blows away. Hopefully we get some kind of serious storm before Christmas. Otherwise we might as well all live in California.
          We hope all of you are enjoying the season! Love, Mom

Dear Kids,
          I’m just getting over a sinus infection, and Dad has been sick at the same time, with a cold and ear pain. We’re both constantly sniffling and coughing. I hope we can both sing for the Messiah practice tonight. Last Sunday night we both had sore throats. It’s funny that the Messiah is always put on early in December, when people are getting their first winter colds. But it always goes ahead, anyway. We’ll be putting it on next Saturday and Sunday night, the 12th and 13th. Nora’s coming Saturday night, so that will be the night of our after-party. I’m not sure where it will be yet, only that we’ll have it.
          The next big Christmas event after that will be the family Christmas party on the 19th, at Nora’s house. Tentatively, ice skating will be at 4:00 (same place as last year) and dinner around 6:00. And of course there will be the wild cousins’ gift exchange. You can call Nora for exact times and more details. On Christmas Eve, Dad and I will be climbing Memorial Hill in Midway, and anybody who wants to is welcome to come along. I always like to climb up high somewhere on Christmas Eve, and look out over the snow, and see the town lights. It’s different from when we lived in the Salt Lake Valley and hiked Ensign Peak, and looked out over that vast valley with all its lights, but it still gives me the feeling of Christmas. And of starting my life over again.
          On Christmas Day, Dad and I will be driving around the Heber Valley seeing what the grandkids got for Christmas, and then we’re going to Nora’s house. She’s having dinner about 2:00 pm. I asked her if any Christmas orphans could also come there, and she said Yes. Nobody wants to be an orphan on Christmas.
          And then, of course, we’ll be hosting the sledding party at the cabin, the day after. That will be Saturday, the 26th. I’ll probably have soup and rolls, and you can bring your leftover Christmas goodies. It’s always fun.
          Katie’s books were finished this week, and I picked them up at the bindery. They look gorgeous. I saved out enough for our family, and Laurie took the rest of them to Boise, where she and Katie were wrapping them up. I’m so proud of Katie for finishing it! You kids will learn a lot from her story. I did.
          Love to everybody, Mom

Dear Kids,
          Our Thanksgiving was the wildest and best ever. The pre-Thanksgiving party, Tuesday and Wednesday, involved Vanessa’s, Nora’s, and Allen’s families. Vanessa and I hiked the big loop, and Meg and Sarah came along. They didn’t know quite what they were getting into, but they kept up! The goats saw us go by, but they didn’t tag along, like last year. Dad and I were there at the cabin for most of Tuesday, and on Wednesday morning, the party came to us, at our house! More fun! Thursday we had fun with John’s, Tom’s, Donna’s, and Paul’s families, and Nora’s family came Thursday night for pie. That party carried over into Friday. I think the best thing was having two babies there. We passed Josh around, but Drew mostly stayed in his bucket. 
           Now we can plunge into the Christmas events! The Messiah in Heber will be Saturday and Sunday nights, December 12 and 13. Let us know if you plan to come either night, so we can plan an after-party. The family Christmas party with the kids’ gift exchange will be Saturday, the 19th. On Christmas Eve, Dad and I will be hiking Memorial Hill in Midway, with anybody who wants to come along. We’ll probably have hot chocolate afterwards, at somebody’s house. Christmas Day, does anybody want to get together for a Christmas dinner? Let me know. And of course we’ll have our sledding party on Saturday, the 26th, at the cabin. There’s no stopping the fun.
          Some of you have asked what Dad and I want for Christmas. We love big surprises, but if you want little ideas, I always like Ghirardelli midnight reverie chocolate, and gift cards to Amazon and Harbor Freight. I have two or three bigger-ticket things I’m buying for Dad, so if you want to go in on one of those, let me know. 
          My hand has healed fine from its latest surgery. John took out my stitches on Thanksgiving, using a little kit he brought along. He said he does that a lot, but don’t ask him to sew anything up, because they didn't teach him that in optometry school. 
           We're doin' great and lovin' it!  Mom

Dear Kids,
          The most exciting event of the week was the arrival of Drew Reddick Hawkins on Friday. We knew he was going to be big, so we weren’t too surprised by his weight (9 lbs 11 oz) or his length (22"). He’ll be sharing his birthday with Allen, and with my sister Bonnie. (In such a big family, you can expect multiple birthdays, of course.) He has a cute, round face, and it looks like his hair will be light. Dad and I have been entertaining Dallin and Anna for the last couple of days, and they’ve kept us busy. It’s been pretty cold outside, but we’ve still taken them out to our playground. Yesterday afternoon Dallin didn’t want to get out of the toddler swing, so Dad kept pushing him. Every time we tried to take him out, he shook his head "no." Finally, after half an hour, he started crying, so we pulled him out and set him down to walk. He tottered around like a drunk. I think he was finally seasick. We’ve fed them on marshmallow mateys and fruit loops, and they’ve watched a lot of movies--well, half of a lot of movies. They always lose interest part way through, just when Dad is really getting into it. Overall, it’s been lots of fun. Bevan is picking them up this morning.
          I had surgery on my right hand last Monday–my third trigger finger in less than two years. The ring finger on my left hand is starting to go bad too, so I’ll probably have to have it done pretty soon. The surgeon told me that multiple trigger fingers are nearly always associated with diabetes, and I always have a lot of weird symptoms, so I got it checked out. I’m OK on that, thank goodness. My hand still hurts, and I’ll have the stitches in for another week.
           Evidently there’s going to be a pre-Thanksgiving bash at the cabin on Tuesday night, for everybody who’s going to the in-laws on Thanksgiving day. So far, I’ve heard that Vanessa’s family, Nora’s, and Allen’s are going to be there. Dad and I will be there most of the day on Tuesday. Thank goodness the fun never stops! It may be an off-year for some of you, but the fun never lets off.
          We’re looking forward to Thursday, for those of you who are "on" this year. See you then!
          Love, Mom

Dear Kids,
          Our Thanksgiving plans are shaping up. We’ll have at least Tom’s, Allen’s, and Paul’s families at the cabin for dinner at 1:00. Nora’s family will come in the evening for pie (probably at our house) and then they’ll be staying overnight at the cabin. I’m wondering if anybody will make the 10 pm run to the outlet stores. (Or is it 8 pm now? Or earlier? Pretty soon they’ll be opening at 6 am on Thanksgiving for the black Friday sales.) Donna doesn’t know what she’ll be doing for Thanksgiving. She’s planning to have a baby very soon. Little Hawk is going to be a big guy, whenever he happens to appear. 
           Dad and I spent Friday night at the cabin, for only the second time since we moved to our house two years ago. I want to get back into cabin life again. We’ve been so busy with our yard and house projects, I’ve hardly paid attention to it. But I’ve missed hiking up the hill in the morning, and watching the weir rabbits and other wildlife. Also, there are little bits of maintenance we haven’t kept up with. So we’re planning to go there every Friday night, just like we used to when we lived in West Valley, unless something else gets in the way. And it’s strange, although the cabin is only three miles away, it’s a totally different wold over there. So we’ll be there a lot more often now. If any of you are bored on a Friday night and want to come and stay over with us, we’d be glad for the company!
          Yesterday afternoon it was fairly warm and sunny outside, so we finished the final project on our playground–we fastened the bench to some wood blocks in the sand, so it will stay level and not blow over. We’ve had some pretty hefty winds lately. Our wonderful sand, our fine sifted playground sand, has been pretty vulnerable to wind. It blows away. We’ve lost at least a third of it. No problem. When spring comes, we’ll take our truck to the Heber pit and get some good coarse construction sand, which won’t blow away. It won’t be as fun for kids to burrow into, but maybe then they’ll try out the swings and the slide and the teeter totter instead.
          Life is good. I love you all. Mom