Another year of Honey Hill memories

Friends gathering at a family cabin (Honey Hill) for a day of Christmas tree cutting ... and lots of laughing, eating, singing, and praying together. It's a great way to begin the Christmas season.
(Rather random order of photos -- and I managed to accidentally delete some, too. Wrestling with blogger... but we'll see what we can do.)

Warm fires :-) in the fireplace and the old cookstove in the kitchen.

Annual guys' football game.

Our gracious host.

Gotta capture these memories in photos.

Teamwork.

Timmmmmmmmmmberrrrrrrr!

Gathering for our traditional time of worship together. John blesses us with some great playing and singing while we all join in. It's so good to pray together again, too. Over the years, we've brought the Lord some weighty matters out there in the woods...and the care of our friends as we join together in prayer reminds us of HIS great love for us.

My Candyland friend :-)

Mark, Ben, and Connor load up our tree (Tim was leading Bible studies at the Corcoran Prison and couldn't join us this year).

Thank you, Rod and Kim, for another great day at Honey Hill. We pray for God's blessing on your family as they've shared this "retreat" over several generations.

Creature comforts

Cuddles - a good ol' dog... pretty old now, but she's been a good friend.
(Yes, she's overweight and practically deaf, and she kind of wheezes when she breathes - but give me a few more years, and that'll pretty well describe me, too.)

Molly, who will do practically anything for a Cheerio.

GLAMOUR SHOTS, thanks to Connor. Oh brother!
(Kaylee's hairpiece from when she was Clara in the Nutcracker. Lovely.)

"Say 'please,' Molly."

Molly, well-loved for her snuggly / nuzzly tendencies.
Molly, ever faithful: "No matter what, I'LL love you."

More prep... then.... the feast

The view from outside.
And inside (below).

Privileges of clean-up: lick the whipped cream spoon

A break in preparations - "magic" tricks, thanks to Fernando, who stopped by early.

David and Vic at work

Some of the preparations -- injecting the turkey with broth. Connor and Jesus gave it a try, too.

Lunch time in the midst of preparations. Arwen (on the left -- medical student staying with us for a month) put sandwiches together.

Weeping over the onions.

Wow. Two huge days of preparations and feasting!
We were so glad for the opportunity to host the boys. Maybe we'll have to do it again -- after we rest up!

~Lori

Prep for Neighbor boys' feast - Day One

A beautiful bouquet - ready to go inside two turkeys. :-)

Connor decided several weeks ago that the boys in the neighborhood needed to join us for a sit-down dinner. The idea grew to a Thanksgiving Feast for about 15 to 20 guys who spend their afternoons hanging out around our house.

Tim enlisted the help of a friend of ours, David Vidal. David grew up in this neighborhood -- he was just 5 years old when we moved here 21 years ago. Since then, he's graduated from culinary school and is hoping to get a catering business off the ground. (His website - www.davidjoecatering05.com)

3 guys in a kitchen

4 guys in a kitchen

5 guys in a kitchen (with 3 of the 15 or 18 or 20 or ? boys who will join us tomorrow)

Dishes anyone?

Cuddles praying for manna from heaven

So, David, you just DUMP the salt in?
(Soaking turkeys in brine)

Tim tries his hand at fancy roll-shapingJesus, Angel, and Connor pitch in as evening ROLLS around :-)

Time out for a little improv with Tim

Day one complete.
Pumpkin pies and blueberry pie and 6 dozen rolls and corn bread and roasted corn for the stuffing. Turkeys soaking in brine. David's special potato salad (white and sweet potatoes, cilantro vinagrette, roasted corn and red onions...)nearly complete. Peach cobbler in the works tomorrow (oh happy collection of desserts!). And who knows what else will appear tomorrow?!
Time to sleep and get ready for Day Two.
And then we'll rest up for a day before -- Thanksgiving!

Wawona

I look forward to Wawona year round. The minute I leave it I'm already anticipating next year's retreat. Unlike some other camps which have hour by hour activities/seminars/etc., Wawona's basic schedule is "put another log on the fire, heat up more hot cocoa/coffee/tea, take a leisurely walk if ya want, have another pleasant conversation/heart-to-heart, laugh til your sides ache (in some instances :-p), find a game to play, strum a guitar and/or listen to someone strum a guitar." So seeing as this is a fabulous concoction of some of my favorite things, and adding the fact that I've gone since I was a pixy in a Pooh Bear blanket sleeper, it's not suprising that every year about this time, a girlish grin will involuntarily creep across my face meaning one thing - we're going to Wawona.

Megan and Saundra in the great potato prep race. I wish I could have been an eye witness to this. All I caught of it was hysterical laughter coming from the direction of the kitchen as it neared the dinner hour.

As those in the kitchen prepared potatoes, others were outside grilling chicken

self-explanatory

Ryan and Josiah puddle-jumping

Paul and Timmy duke it out

A captured moment from what was (in my opinion) the best game of Taboo I've ever played :-p

Mrs. Clorox - "what can I bleach for you?!" :)

Making ornaments

This weekend's latest styles- brought to you by Maddie Myers :)

Sweet friendship

More from Taboo....in which Mrs. Holly and those in close proximity could hardly function due to an infectious case (epidemic really) of side-splitting laughter

having a chat

laughing is contagious and it's advantageous, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

God has seen fit to LAVISHLY bless me with precious jewels in the form of close girl friends.

Yes, you've guessed correctly....these, too, come from that same game of Taboo. Who'da thunk that a thermometer coupled in reference to a nose could be so funny.

Darel recited a work of Tennyson for the talent show

They found ice (and Connor grew horns out the side of his neck?!?)

Just about 360 days to go til next year's retreat.....(359...358...) :)

~Kaylee

Around the house, and various performances

Molly is a shameless beggar. We taught her to "say please." Now her usage of the trick is frequent and more to the tune of "gimme gimme." In this instance, "I'd like some of those purdy mashed taters, if'n you don't mind." :-p



She has also mastered the "heart-melting snuggle/grovel" technique. :) Sometimes I think she's a little too cute for her own good.

At this semester's community choir/command performance, Connor was asked to play a piece (Tarantella, by William Henry Squire) . He's excelled in his studies, loves his instrument, and performed beautifully. Well done, Connor.

And then there are my ballet students who just did their Fall ballet recital - A Thanksgiving Portrait. Above are my oldest level girls (ballet 1). They performed as a Prayer of Thanksgiving.
( A BIG thank you to Mrs. Ridley for the use of her photos!)

These girls are some of my Indians (pre-ballet). Such sweethearts :)

And this is one of my four Pilgrims (also pre-ballet). I can't get over how adorable their costumes turned out. :)

introducing my classes

two of my older dancers

My Harvest dancers getting ready (beginning ballet)

tendu! :)

The program

One of the top 10 ways to brighten my day :)

More adventures with Connor's boys

Three of Connor's buddies from Biola Elementary School (his charges for the evening).
Peoples Church hosted a Halloween alternative and sent a bus out to Biola to pick up kids. Connor rode along and helped chaperone the evening.

Great "dad practice!" Carrying his little guys' loot!

Speaking of "dads," Tim enjoyed the evening, too :-)

We came across a few little princesses that we know!

And Kaylee found one of her young ballet students.

Licia Clark and Connor checking the list -- all present and accounted for? Ready to get back on the bus?
Off they go!