Christmas with our "family"...

Since we don't have any family close by, we have adopted our family home evening group as our "family" here in the Springs. We have been meeting together now for almost 6 years...we have lost a few good folks, and we have adopted a few along the way...but we have become a great group of friends, and love doing things together. We were all originally from the same ward, but we are now from 4 different wards...but all in the same stake and living pretty close together. Let me tell you something about each one...

• Dick and Nancy- Dick and Nancy, along with Bruce and myself, are the only original orignals in our group. Dick and Nancy were called by Bishop Larsen to start our little group in Oakwood Ward about 6 years ago. We love them both...fun to be with...great insights...add enthusiasm to our group. Dick is a car salesman (a good honest one) and retired AF, and getting ready to retire for the second time soon. They have moved from house to house in the last several years, and are now living in a little basement apartment with their daughter in order to save some money for retirement. Nancy works with me in my catering business...hard worker, creative, and fun. Nancy and Dick also know everything there is to know about Colorado Springs...great resource.
• Rex and Alene- Our senior couple. They joined with us just a couple of months after we originally started. They keep us laughing...both of them. Rex is ex-Marine, and his mouth often proves that. Alene just sits and shakes her head. They are both in their 80's and have been married now for 64 years. Alene is a great pianist and Rex loves to sing and play the harmonica. They have been on 3 missions, and Rex is an ex-bishop. What a fun couple to be around! Rex and Alene are now our unofficial "leaders" of the group.
• Bev-what can we say about Bev? She is a super friend, and fun to be around...also works with us in my catering business...hard worker, and goes and goes like the Energizer bunny. Bev is just a few years younger than my mom...has lots of insights and wisdom, and great sense of humor... but she still acts like a teenager sometimes. We brought Bev along with us after she moved into Ridgeview Ward about the same time we did. She lost her husband several years ago, has been on 2 missions since, and has great spiritual strength...also very opinionated...of course, we all are...that's what makes our little group interesting.
• Wayne and Michelle- We asked them to join our group when we lost Dave and Linda Deming. (Demings moved to Parker, after Linda was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease...passed away a short year later, and Dave remarried.) Wayne and Michelle are also in our ward. Wayne is our hometeacher also...the best. Wayne and Michelle were high school sweethearts from southern California...Wayne was a surfer dude, and he loves motorcycles. Michelle is fun and has some great insights...gives wonderful lessons, but is mostly a mom and grandma. Wayne loves to read, and is a wealth of knowledge, and is a retired Army officer. He is now a "cable guy" quality control inspector.
• Kim-one of 3 single sisters in our group. Kim is an elementary school counselor and is "Miss Super Activity." She always travels and hikes and hikes and hikes...and never has a weight problem, like some of us. Kim also has some great insights, and gives great lessons. She loves reading children's books and will often read some to our group...it keeps us young.
• Maureen- she is the newest member of our group, but been with us long enough now that she fits right in. Maureen moved here from Sacramento, CA, and is a supervisor at Wells Fargo, who transferred her here to the Springs. Maureen is musically talented...is the  stake music coordinator, and has some great insights for good lessons. She is great addition to our "family."

We meet together every week...most often for lessons...but sometimes for activities like concerts, potlucks, or games. Last Friday night, we had our annual Christmas dinner...everyone contributes a part of the food. This year, we were excited to have it at our home. Bruce worked hard to make sure the house was clean, and then we festively decorated two tables to get everyone in the holiday spirit. I must say, it all looked really nice, and we all had a good time. Some of us played games afterwards, while Bruce washed up all the dishes. I did ask him if he wanted help...but...he just kept working, and then collapsed afterward. So here is a picture of our cute little group...

and our house all decorated for the Christmas season...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all of our wonderful "family" friends. We'll see you when we get back from Connecticut.