HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANASTASIA!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ana we wanted to wish you a Happy Birthday!!!!!!



Here Adam giving you one of those faces.



I hope you had fun at the basketball game last night. Happy 21!!!!!!!!!!!!

Putting up the Christmas Tree!!!!!!!!!

What kind of friends give you the tree and cut it down for you also? Good Friends!!!!!!!! Here is Terry cutting down our tree for the 2008 Christmas season.



I am lucky enough to get to go and help Patti and Terry out on the first weekend of the Dec and then get to select a beautiful Christmas Tree. Not to brag, just thinking of a blessing that comes each year.



A passenger car that is always at the Maricopa train station. I just like the way it looks.



This sign is not lit up but when my flash reflected off it, it gives the look that it is lit up. Kind of cool looking.



The Amtrak employee bringing our Christmas tree out from storage. They are always amazed I come back each year to retrieve my tree! ;)

Our Christmas Tree on top of the Suburban. Adam got it up there and it wasn't until we were driving down the road that I thought of the fact that the tree should be turned around with the butt of the tree heading out the front. I drove home going 50 mph so we would not break the leader.



Adam and Ana tying down the tree.



Yea, we got the tree from Amtrak!!!!!!



Putting up the tree!



Lexi and Sarah are removing the bailing twine from the tree. That is one tall tree we got this year!

Ana is opening up the boughs of our Christmas Tree



Summer is placing the lights on the tree



Decorating the railing with the extra boughs from the tree



Here is a picture of the railing all decorated and the Christmas Tree standing outside Ana's apartment.



Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Chrismtas Tree............ Merry Christmas to all!

Happy Birthday Colleen!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Colleen!!!!!!! We went out to eat with Patti and her family for Colleen's birthday. Today is Colleen's birthday. She is a sweet heart. She loves to be at the farm this time of year and see all the excitment. I like to see her reaction to so many things! She is fun to visit with and learn more about. Merry Christmas to the Burns Family!!!!!!!!

Terry and Patti purchased the farm from Terry's parents. A few days before I arrived in Oregon Jan, Terry's Dad, passed away. May you rest in peace Jan! Dec 14, 1936-Dec 3 2008.

Santa Clause

These are the only pictures I got of the sunny day they had last weekend. Here I am with Santa. He visits Loch Lolly on the weekend.



It was a bit warm out there this day. Santa was happy as usual even if he was warmer than he is at the North Pole. The kids love to visit with him. The line gets a bit long but they all know it is worth it to share their hopes and wishes with him, and he loves to visit with them all even if they are over 65!



These are some of the ornaments that were in the gift shop. I thought they were cute. They sold pretty quick. Patti and I put quite a few ornaments out on Friday night, very late, and it was pretty well picked over. So if you want first dibs on the beautiful ornaments that she has available you will want to get there right after Thanksgiving or the first weekend of December!



Nice was the only ornament left. There was also a Naughty ornament but they all got bought!!!!!!!


Here is the Loch Lolly pond that is so pretty any time of the year. In the summertime you can book a wedding or any other event. It is a great place to have an event you might be planning!

Head Elf's Home!!!!!!!!

This is what is looks like out there when the clouds roll in. It is just beautiful. I enjoy it when the sun shines there but I do love those gray days that Oregon has and the lushes green beauty they have. This is the front gate of the tree farm.



Here is Patti's desk when everyone checks in at the end of the day. She does a fabulous job of keeping it all going. When you talk about the Head Elves she is it. She really knows how to run the farm. I am blessed to know her and have her as a friend. She is one of the things I miss about Oregon. Good friends are hard to come by. Hold on to the ones you have!



Here is the whole family. They all come out on the weekend to help run the farm and all the visitors they get. How blessed you are Terry and Patti to have your family. They love you dearly.



This is a grandson, Elijah! He only came out for a few hours this year. In the past he has been there to visit with. When he came into the house he walked right up to me and was looking for a hug. What a sweetheart!


This is Randy and Nicolas at the end of the day. Kind of blurry because Randy was avoiding the picture. :(

The Wreath Shop!

This year I got to work at the wreath shop. It was quite busy. Patti and I decorated 30 wreaths to sell. The customers loved them and most of them sold the first day they were out.



Here is the counter I stood and made bows at. Saturday was a lovely day. The sun was shinning and the day was warm.



More wreath pictures. Here you have the fireplace that has garland hanging on it.



I wish I would have taken the pictures on Saturday when the shop was full of wreaths. It was so pretty. If you are ever in Oregon at Christmas you have to visit the Loch Lolly tree farm.

Gift Shop!!!!!!!

This picture is kind of crooked but here is the outside of the gift shop. All decorated with garland and lights. You can see the sleigh up on the porch. I asked Patti how they got the sleigh up on the porch and she said, "I don't know, it was here when we bought the farm.



This is a picture of the soy candles they have for sale in the gift shop.



The rest of the pictures are the inside of the gift shop.




I hope you have a very Merry Christmas this year! And a Happy New Year

Christmas in Oregon

I thought this was a cute ornament that was for sell at the gift shop. On my computer it is a little dark. It depicts what this season really is all about. That our Lord and Savior came to save us all. What a wonderful time it is to reflect on our lives and ask our selves how well do we know our Savior. Do we put in the time each day to let him know we are grateful for all he does for us? Do we show our love and gratitude for him by keeping his commandments and serving those around us? My challenge is to give a gift to the Savior this Christmas and promise to follow through with it all year long. To write it down and put it in a place where I will see it each day, so that I will always remember the whole year through.



I love the look of these old St. Nick's. Santa reminds me so much of the Savior. Santa comes to bring joy to our lives and is that not what the mission of the Savior was and is. To bring the joy that we all seek for each day of our lives!



Here you have the cute church and homes that we go to each day. If we work at it we can have the spirit in our homes and in our churches. I like the way the glitter reflects the light.



When I took this pictures I was looking at the Santa ornaments that are hanging on the chain. But if you look to the left of the chain you will see the cling-on on the window of the American Flag. I like the way Patti and Terry have the flag hanging on their property. This is a great nation! We are truly blessed to get to live here and stand for truth and righteousness.



There are only two of these little bird houses left. They really add to the look of the gift shop. I love the spirit that you feel when I visit the tree farm. The first time we ever went out to the farm my daughter Ana and I truly felt like we were somewhere special. Terry and Patti have diligently worked at bringing this farm back to what it was when Barney and Lillian were the owners. So many families have been going there to get their tree for 20+ years and have made it a family tradition. If you would like to visit their web site it is: lochlollychristmastreeforest.com

Our Home in Snowflake

Tim took this picture of our property here in Snowflake. We love living up here. Life gets easier as he gets more things done. Today he finished the solar for the water pump in the well. You can see the juniper trees that surround our house.

We also took a picture of the new LED Christmas lights but it did not turn out. :( But I am thankful for my new Christmas lights!!!!!!

Solar Power

Here is the result of our new solar power. Our first set of solar charge our batteries, but this set pumps our water from the well.



Here is some of Tim's handy work. He had done a fabulous job putting up our solar.



This is the solar that charges the batteries.



More solar panels.



These solar panels are in front of our holding tank for the water.