Gingerbread Houses 2009

Mark and Nikki hosted a gingerbread house night for us. When Mark was growing up this is a tradition in his family. I didn't actually do one myself but it was a lot of fun watching and taking pictures. It was so much fun for the kids and for the adults.

The Young Family

Mark Andrews

Chapel Ham

Christy and Gaven Brain

Poor Wreckless

My poor curious pup Wreckless is always checking things out and this time it got him good. I had to take him to the vet a week before we went out of town for the holidays. At first I thought it was a bite but then the vet said that he was poked in the lip by something. He wasn't sure what though. He thinks a grass burr or possibly a cactus since I have some in the back yard. It took about a week and a half but it finally went down. Poor Wreckless with his fat lip! :)

Ceta Canyon Christmas Dinner 2009

This Christmas at camp we did a Progressive Christmas Dinner. We went from house to house and had different things at each home. It was a lot of fun. Most of you I am sure have heard of me talk about a precious couple that was here at camp my first year Wendell and Susan Brown. They were here at camp for 29 years and they still come to our Christmas dinners.

Wendell and Susan

The first home we went to was for appetizers and it was at Allan and Christy Brain's home. The trick to this dinner was to pace yourself though it is very difficult when there is so much good food to choose from.

The second stop was Mark and Nikki Andrews' home. We had soup and salad there. The nice part about having a progressive dinner at camp is that we are all in walking distance so it makes it very quick and simple to go from home to home.



The 3rd stop was at Mike and Julie Young's home for our main meal. Boy was it wonderful! We had smoked ribs, grilled chicken, fresh green beans, and roasted potatoes with awesome dinner rolls. It was so good and a lot of fun.

The last place we hit was Mike and Rochelle Wentz's house. Where we had desert and a gift exchange. For the gift exchange we picked numbers and then when it was your turn you could either pick a gift or steal a gift that was already open. If you stole it the person you took if from could do the same thing until everyone had a gift. If a gift had been stolen 3 times then it couldn't be stolen anymore. No one really stole that much though from everyone though. I got a Snuggie and I am telling everyone if you don't have one you should get one. They are great!



Wreckless and Daisy-Rose had to stay at home for the dinner so when I got home I filled both of their kongs with peanut butter for a treat. I think it made it alright that they were left at home instead of hanging out with everyone else.

Thanksgiving in Snyder

This Thanksgiving was a busy and eventful one. I had a lot of fun spending time with my family, watching all the children play, we had some family pictures done and I was able to visit and catch up with multiple people.

I left for Lubbock on Sunday afternoon. Monday I had a couple of doctor appointments there, spent time with friends, and got some errands completed. My roommate Juliana moved back home on Monday too. She made it home safely and seems to be doing well. On Monday evening I headed on to Snyder.

On Tuesday my mom and I went to Lubbock to have supper and watch the new movie that came out in 3-D "A Christmas Carol" and it was good. On the way home when we got on the country roads a deer jumped out and hit my Dad's car. I felt so bad about it. The Lord is so good though He protected us and kept us safe. It all happened so fast.





Due to the accident on Wednesday I got up early so we could deal with the insurance company and estimates. That afternoon we had family pictures done with Carol McCowen at my Grandma's house. It was a lot of fun. If you would like to see the blog of our session Carol's blog address is:

carolmccowenphotography.blogspot.com

Thursday My sister came over in the morning on Thanksgiving Day and she took pictures of the pups and me for my Christmas cards and we tried to get pictures of my nieces and nephew at my Grandma's old lot that they used for the cattle.

On Friday morning I woke up early and went to Wal-Mart to take advantage of a wonderful deal on a fleece electric blanket. Dad and I went to the donut place (which was a daily thing for us from Tuesday till Friday). I then went back out to my Grandma's so the pups could have inside time for once. They spent a lot of time out in my Grandma's small dog run.

Saturday and Sunday we decided to rest and catch up on sleep and just relax. On Sunday the pups and I loaded up and came home. When we got home I had noticed it had snowed. It looks like it will be a good winter and hopefully we will be able to go sledding this year. :)

Gary and Juliana's Going Away Party

We had a "create your own pizza" party for Gary and Juliana to see them off as they go on their next adventure. Juliana is heading home to Maryland and Gary is going to Florida for the holidays and then he will be heading off to the army next.

For their going away gifts we gave gave them going away boxes. Juliana had a doctor bill she was trying to get paid off so we put cash in her box to help her with the bill which we were able to help her get it paid off praise the Lord and for Gary we gave him a box with gift cards in it to help him with his travel expense (food/gas).

Mike Wentz Presenting Juliana with her Going Away Box

Mike Wentz Presenting Gary with his Going Away Box

Meet Allan and Christy Brain we will be doing a welcoming pounding for them next! He came to camp from Virgina to work on maintenance. They have 2 little boys ages 4 (Gaven) and 1 (Chase).

Happy Halloween from Daisy-Rose

My friend Nikki got a Halloween costume for her pup Rocket but he was a little too big for it so she brought it over to see if Daisy could wear it. It is a bit too small though. Daisy is very long so the hat had some issues but I got it to stay on long enough for a picture and that is it. My puppy is growing so fast!

Locks of Love

I have donated my hair to Locks of Love for the second time and it was so much easier this time than the last. For years I have held on to my hair and about 2 years ago the Lord really placed it on my heart to start donating it.

In the summer we have a specialty camp called Camp Alphie and it is a camp for children the age of 14 years and younger who have cancer to attend. My heart has yearned for their healing since. I thought about this head full of hair I have and that it is something I hold on to way too dearly when there are children who need it more than I do. Plus it will grow back which is wonderful. It took about 2 years since the last time I donated it for it to get back to the original length it was. With me working in the kitchen it is good too because it will be short enough to manage and by the time a couple of summers pass by it will be time again.

Here are some before and after pictures:

"Pounding" for Mark and Nikki

We have accomplished our "first pounding" at Ceta Canyon to welcome those who move to camp. When I went to the Home Church in Lubbock we would do poundings for families who would come to our church to welcome them.

What is a pounding? Well it is a pound of this or a pound of that. It is something everyone can participate in from the poorest to the richest of people because the minimum is a pound. The things that you pound them with are general things like pantry items, laundry stuff, bathroom things, if people have pets/kids you can get them something that will help with their pets/kids (diapers, bottles, candy, dog food, dog toys, dog treats), etc... It is just something fun to help build community at camp and relationships. We are sort of playing catch up due to all the change over we have had. We started with Mark and Nikki because they never did have anything happen to welcome them when they first moved here. It has been a year since Mark started working here but just recently they have promoted from the trailer to a house so it was a pounding to help them get settled in. One of the guys did something really creative he went to the produce department and weighed out a pound of Kool-aid. :) Mark and Nikki will have Kool-aid for quite a while. :) There is a picture of Nikki reading a book and one of the kids wanted them to have a Dr. Seuss book so she is reading it to her. Children are so sweet.

Here are a few pictures:

Mark and Nikki

Gary and Juliana (we are planning a going away party for them in November)

Behind Mark is Mike Young, Michael Young, Mark, Nikki, Rochelle, and Juliana around the table

Nikki reading to Cassie and Rochelle is behind Cassie

Fiddler on the Roof

Tonight I went and saw the play "Fiddler on the Roof" at WT in Canyon with my summer roommate Kelsey and it was absolutely wonderful! I love it but I also love the movie. It followed the movie for the most part and the actors and actresses did wonderful as well. I was very impressed. I hope everyone in the area got an opportunity to go. It was well worth it.

Anti-Barking System #2

I have given in and took the first barking system back and returned it and got Wreckless a barking shock collar. It is a winner! He still barks a bit when necessary but he isn't barking anything like he was. One of the concerns with me moving to the Delaney House was him and how much he barked with the house being on camp grounds. Mike Young was the one to bring up the concern. Since getting this collar he has said that he might bark once and then watches him for a while and then gives up and lays down. He said he doesn't hear him hardly at all like he use to. It was funny though Chapel's dog was howling and barking one night and everyone was a bit confused. They didn't think it was Wreckless because it didn't sound like him but they couldn't think what else it could be. I had heard it too and the next day when they asked me if it was Wreckless I told them no that it was actually Lucy instead of Wreckless. That is a first! I am so thankful this is working for him. It sure did take him a little while to figure it out though.

Funny story: When I put the collar on him Wreckless wasn't sure what was happening to him so I decided to bring him inside and tell him no barking every time he barked so he would associate barking with the shock. It was so funny though the first time he barked inside the collar shocked him and he jumped up on the couch on all 4 legs and started smelling himself (once he went to the restroom on the electric fence outside so he was checking to see if that was what was going on) then he jumped down and smelt all up and down the couch. Poor pup I laughed so hard at him. Later that evening when he was barking and getting shocked he thought it was the electric fence and with each shock he kept backing up. He was standing in the middle of the yard before he realized it wasn't the fence. I still don't think he realizes it is the collar but he has learned that it is because he is barking. Whatever works right. :)

Delaney House #2

Bedroom

(door is to the balcony)

View From Balcony

Closet #1

Closet #2

Upstairs Bathroom

Stairs Down to the Livingroom/Kithen

Backyard