Christmas Eve with the Carmody's

Since our family celebrated early, this is the first time that I have not spent Christmas Eve with my family. It felt a little odd at first but once we got rolling it was great. Tom and Pam Carmody are just like family. They are our closest and dearest friends in Tehachapi. When they invited us to join them for simple evening, we were delighted. Pam served up awesome seafood dishes and we stuffed ourselves! Not to mention the pomegranate martini's. Whew! So after stuffing ourselves and indulging in a bit of cheer, we were off to the Christmas Eve service at church, then back to the Carmody's for pie...rhubarb pie....yummmm! Thanks Tom, Pam and Shane for a wonderful Christmas Eve!

Christmas Comes Early at the Coleman Ranch

This year we did our Christmas celebration early. With the family growing and the kids needing to go to more places than ever before, we decided that Jesus wouldn't mind if we celebrated his birthday early. So the family all came to the our home over the weekend of the 22nd and 23rd.
The adults also decided to exchange hand made gifts rather than contributing to the commercialism of Christmas. It was an awesome weekend with lots of laughing, lots of food, and some crazy loud singing of Christmas caroles. Nana said we sounded terrible but because we were having so much fun she encouraged us to keep singing. My brother Steve and I made an attempt at old fashioned popcorn balls and candied apples, but they didn't come out very well so we decided that we wouldn't keep that new tradition. We had a great prime rib dinner with all the fixin's Saturday night and then Sunday morning we opened gifts and Joni made us maple corn fritters. And since Scott's birthday is the 23rd, we celebrated his day, too. Family and togetherness, that is what it was all about for us this year. Here are a few pictures of the weekend.

We started slow by making sure the dogs all had red and green scarves. This first picture is of our granddogs, Lily and Maxine and our dogs, Hermie and Bailey. The dogs got a long great and ran around in the yards until they were pooped.

Next we have a picture of Dan dressed for cold weather to go fishing. He caught a nice trout at the lake with Scott.
The family all gathered together for our annual photo. These next two pictures show the gang gathered by the tree with dogs eyes all a glow.

Next is Steve trying to get Hermie to be his friend. He brought treats for all the dogs. Hermie growled at Steve most of the weekend but he wouldn't give up.

Joni and Kristen strung popcorn and cranberries to add to our tree.

And our newest tradition, reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas" by the fire. Joni and Dominic took turns reading and showing the pictures. I couldn't believe how quiet the house was while they read the story. And finally, Dominic poses while he opens his presents. He actually opened them slowly this year and checked each present out before moving on to the next one.

Annual CHFC Christmas Party

Another year, another Compton Hunting and Fishing Club Christmas Party. Every year since I was a wee child, we have been going to the CHFC annual kids Christmas Party. My grandparents were members first, back in the 50's and then my folks joined. The CHFC has brought many great memories both at the Christmas party and many fun camping trips as well as lots of other functions. When I was in junior and high school, I used to get to help Santa by dressing as one of his elves. When my girls were young, they used to go to the party every year and now that tradition is staying alive with Dominic. We have 5 generations attending the party now. This year I got to experience the "night before the party" festivities. Each year the adults get together the night before to decorate the club, stuff the stockings and prepare for the kids party. I joined my folks and my brother to experience the "elf" activities. We had a blast! I do have one question.....how many CHFC men does it take to hang lights along the shelves? At least 7 or 8. My brother, Steve, and I laughed while we watched the guys untangle, test, hang and complain to each other. Pretty funny stuff considering they do this every year. The tree was magnificent, the tables all set in green and red, the snowflakes glittering and then we snacked. Yes, the adult elves get fed the night before and partake in a bit of Christmas cheer. I'm so glad I went down early to help the night before. I got some quality bonding time with my Mom, Dad, Brother, Aunt, Uncle and other members that I have come to know over the years. Here are some pictures of the festivities.

Here's Mom, Steve and Dad after we finished
decorating and eating. Boy my folks and bro
work hard at all the club functions:















Here's Dominic getting his gift from
Santa. It was a SpongeBob Christmas
movie. Santa really knew what Dominic
wanted this year:

Aunt Donna, aka Missus Spintales, tells stories
while the kids wait for Santa. Not sure who
the little girl is. She joined our picture because
she wanted to spend more time with Santa:
















3 of the 5 generations represented here. My
Grandma Helen who is Great-Great Grandma
to Dominic:

Charlotte may be here sooner than planned!

Seem's that baby Coleman may want to come in to the world sooner than originally scheduled. Sarah's original due date is Jan. 23rd, 2008. A few weeks back she experienced some labor so the doctor re-estimated her due date to be the beginning of January. Well, Monday night, Jeff called and they were at the hospital. Sarah was having labor pains again and she has started dialating. They kept her in the hospital until Wednesday to stop the labor. Jeff said some of the medicine that she has to have makes her pretty sick, but Sarah "is a trooper" and hanging in there. The doctor wants Charlotte to go to at least 35 weeks for lung development, etc. So, Sarah is on bed rest until she delivers. Jeff and Sarah are both dealing with all of this pretty darn well. They are confident with the doctors and women's center where Sarah will be delivering. Jeff said that it looks like Charlotte, aka Charlie, will be here long before 2008. I'll keep you updated with any news, in the meantime, here are some great pics of Charlie in the womb, trying to get out! They have determined one thing for certain, she has Jeff''s feet

Dreaming of a White Christmas......

Okay, so it's not Christmas yet, but I'll take the snow anytime. I peeked outside last evening while I was decorating our Christmas tree and the snow had just started. So of course I ran out to the front porch to smoke a cigarette and watch the beautiful snowflakes amongst the Christmas lights. Have I told you how much we love the snow! Last year we had snow every weekend in December. It's a bit later this year, but we're hoping we get lots more, especially when the family all comes up the weekend before Christmas. I snapped a couple shots this morning because there is nothing like fresh, unstepped in snow. Here is what it looks like in Tehachapi this beautiful December morning.


This was a 7:00 am when I went out to feed
the horses. It was so beautiful!

I love it when the trees are coated whith snow.

Hermie was kickin' up her heals and running
around the back yard...should of had my video
camera.

Okay, so no more untouched snow. Bailey and
Hermie left their mark and some yellow snow.














The barn takes on a whole new look with a rooftop
full of snow.

Woody the Woodpecker is here!

Wow, I just realized I haven't posted anything since mid November. I've been pretty busy since I have taken on a side job writing training. Well, today I was walking by the back door and I noticed a beautiful woodpecker in our tree on our deck. I have noticed all the holes in the tree and the sap all over the deck, but I have yet to see the culprit. I have nicknamed him Woody....seemed appropriate. Much to my surprise, he didn't even budge when I walked out the door with my camera. His head looked flouresent red in the sunlight. Isn't he beautiful?