The evening of the 29th, my brother Matt and all his tribe came up for yet another Christmas celebration. Matt's Dawne brought her three grandchildren which made for a lively time! Ron and Jeremy helped cool things down by dipping heads in the snow. The little guys pretended to be upset but when it was time to go, they listed it as one of the fun things they'd done. They also loved the little mugs we gave them from Honduras that have ceramic cockroaches in the bottom!

We gave all the guys new suits for Christmas, so the morning of the 29th, we went out for breakfast and then met at KG Menstore. It was great fun!
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The evening of Dec. 28, we were privileged to celebrate my Uncle Stan and Aunt Lorna's 50th anniversary, (Stan is my dad's younger brother). It was their hospitality to me as a teen, that brought me to Evergreen, Colorado, and thus the life I have today - I'm usually very grateful :)
I wish I'd taken more photos at the party but at least I got this one with my cousins, Lorna D. and Shelley. We always have great fun whenever we get together!

Toby, our baby is 22! How time flies!
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Norm prepared an amazing smoked buffalo prime rib dinner for our Lewis family Christmas. After gorging ourselves once more, we had the gift exchange. Ronna's youngest we call "Princess Sarah", so I couldn't resist this T-shirt that clarifies she's a daughter of the King of kings :)
For Carol, this quilting Willow Tree figurine called "Generations" seemed the perfect gift. The wacky patriarch of the family has been trying to grow a pony tail for some time now - there's not much to it besides entertainment value like Charissa putting it in a french -braid!

The snow that fell Christmas Day beckoned us outside the next morning. Toby and Jeremy had a great time making this video and the rest of us helped with filming, costume and make-up. It has some great moments!

Operation Snowman

Operation Snowman - Behind the Scenes

There's a scene in the movie where Toby says he thinks the snowman has been altering his appearance to elude them :) It was true!

A True White Christmas!

Double click on the picture for captions and a larger slideshow.

Christmas Eve

Jeremy's sister, Kyndal, came to spend her winter break with us, and their Granny June came for the week before Christmas. One of our favorite Colorado things to do is tour the Celestial Seasonings Tea factory and shop at the gift store. The "peppermint room" was particularly wonderful at Christmastime! Charissa and Julianne Anderson sang a beautiful version of "Emmanuel" at the Christmas Eve service, accompanied by their hubbies on guitars - what a treat! After that, we headed home to the Jones' tradition of waffles with blueberries and ice cream - YUM! Opening one present on Christmas Eve is our family tradition and the cat's tradition is to find the coziest wrapping to hide in!

Mid-December, the mom-to-be of our first grandbaby, Alisa, turned 26. Norm had been in the hospital most of the previous week with what was eventually labeled dengue fever, but the Lord mercifully began to heal him before the doctors figured that out. Anyway, he was well enough to fix Alisa a wonderful Buffalo prime rib dinner and we had a sweet celebration of this gracious, beautiful soul that the Lord has given to our family. Thanks, Ron Henry; you chose wisely!

Jeremy was dressed and ready to help us cut down our Christmas tree. This was his very first tree hunt so a call to Norm was necessary to figure out the chain saw. He made a clean kill and the trophy looks great in my living room!

Our son-in-law, Jeremy, celebrated his 24th birthday at one of our favorite restaurants, Jose OShea's. Our "practice" grandbaby, Justin Anderson, brought his parents, Jake and Julianne, to the party. Jake's our worship pastor; he and Jeremy were supposed to be at a church meeting which they "attended" by texting!
Jeremy has been missing rock climbing, so Charissa gave him a practice board to hang over their doorframe - crazy. Jeremy is such a gift to our family. Everyday we thank the Lord for holding the heart of this amazing young man and letting us be with him.

Thanksgiving

Our first day of Thanksgiving was with all of Norm's family. The highlight of that day was our Wii bowling tournament. I'm not a fan of video games, but we were able to include ages 2-74 and all stay involved with each other. It was great entertainment. The next day, Ron and Alisa were able to join us, along with our close friends, the Kelly family. The guys made the gravy and carved the bird. After the meal the guys did Wii boxing which is hilarious to watch!

Honduras Mission Trip

Our trip this year, as always, was filled with amazing God-sightings. It was a joy to go with special friends and to have Kathy's nephew Ben along - what a hard worker! His musical talent and knowledge of Spanish were such a help! The caretaker at the camp, Daniel, and his wife, Vanessa, are struggling to stay together. They had lived together off and on for four years and had three kids together when they asked Norm to perform their wedding last year. Please pray for them to seek the Lord in their marriage and as they raise Lesman, Carlito, and baby Kathy.

Our work projects this year included stucco-ing a 100x14 ft wall, (read that - mixing tons of concrete with shovels on the ground!), wiring the dining hall, and building a stage. Afternoons were spent with the 40+ kids that came for Bible class. Because we've been back so many times, I've been able to remember names which really helps with crowd control!

The day before we left the camp, we went to visit Henry (the former camp welder) and his family in the little house that we'd poured the floor in last year. The previous morning, someone had left an hours old baby on their doorstep. We had quite an emotional prayer meeting over them. They have decided to keep the baby which will be a financial burden, so please pray for them. Please pray also for little baby Toby to be raised to know Christ!

We finished our trip with two days at the Jungle River Resort - resort being a generous description since there was no electricity or shower! Zip-lining through the jungle canopy was terrifying but thrilling, and the river rafting was much less tame than what we've done here in Colorado! The setting of the hut-like facility in the rocks along the river was straight out of some adventure movie, so it was a relaxing, romantic time for most of us.

Most of you know, though, that Norm brought home some terrifying souvenirs from this jungle! We're happy to report that after four days in the hospital, he was finally given the malaria medicine that seems to have cured him. Thanks to everyone who prayed us through that ordeal!

The first week in October, we went to visit Toby in Virginia. We had a great time, and it was good to see that he and his housemates live responsibly - even have a "family" dinner every Sunday evening. Since we were there, Toby got out of fixing, because Norm grilled ribs for everyone! What a hero! Toby had two soccer games while we were there; he scored on the shot in the action Photo here. His college soccer career ended 10/31, though, when he broke his leg in a game - WAH! The Lord graciously kept his spirits up, and he'd led the team well enough that they went to NCAA division 1 finals for the first time. It was hard for him to watch from the sideline, but then it wasn't his fault when they lost! :) He seemed more disappointed that his instrument flight instruction was put on hold.

In late July, Charissa and Jeremy let me tag along with them up to Washington. Jeremy had never been west of Colorado, so it was fun to hear his reaction as we flew over Mt. Rainier and saw the Olympic Peaks. We visited my grandmothers, spent time on the waterfront, helped my mom regroup from having shingles, and fell in love with my sister's 2 year old, Chip.

Norm got a new grill for Father's Day - one that Kathy can turn on without singeing her arm hair! It's also larger than the last one, so Norm can get supper done for lots of folks all at once.
We celebrated Charissa's 24th birthday with all Norm's family. The little ones jumped on the tramp and played dress-up while the older "kids" threw horseshoes.

The Big News

Here's the second part