Camping in December

I had the opportunity to go camping in December in California. We went camping to Hoagies which is in the Angeles National Forest. It was beautiful weather, the temp was in the 60's today and in the 40's last night. I packed for a cold night but it never got cold at all.

Hoagies is a camp site which is 2 miles outside of Chantry Flats. It is at 2,400 feet alongside a nice little creek. The water in the creek was running fast because of the recent rainfall we have had. We went in at 4:30 in the evening by the time we reached the camp it was dark out. The camp site is in a little valley so it was really dark at the camp because of all the trees. When we went out of the camp back to Chantry Flats we took the Upper Winter Creek Trail which is 3 miles back. The initial part of the trail is a 400 foot elevation gain from 2,400 to 2,800 feet but after that initial gain the trail levels out and then drops 400 feet to Chantry.

It was a real nice week-end spending time with my 2 oldest sons and their Scout troop in the forest. They were able to work on a service project while at Hoagies.

Camping and backpacking provides a great opportunity to spend quality and quantity time with your family. You should give it a try!

Re: Winter Season

Well, I last posted about it being the Advent Season but I have found out recently about another season which is upon us: the Flu Season!

With 9 children it can be a pretty lengthy affair but thankfully so far only 3 children have gotten sick. These 3 children have gotten sick on 2 different days though and during the middle of the night so it doesn't give much time for rest during this very busy season.

We are reading a very good devotional book for children for Advent called Jotham's Journey. Last year we read Bartholamew's Passage. Both of these books are about a young boy living during the time of Jesus who becomes involved in the birth of Jesus. They are both very good books which tell about the spiritual journey of these 2 young boys.

Kathy, I received your post, can you give me your full blog address so I can read your blog?

I did have a very difficult evening last Sunday night watching the Broncos lose to the Raiders. It was even more difficult the next morning when I had to go to work to face all of the Raider fans. Now, I have to wait and watch the game this Sunday when the Broncos play the chargers, or listen to the game since I will be traveling all over LA on Sunday. Hopefully the Broncos will win because if they don't they will have a hard time getting into the playoffs.

Go, Broncos!

First Sunday in Advent

Merry Christmas!

Today is the first Sunday in Advent. My family will be celebrating this holiday season starting tonight. I believe the first Sunday is the Prophet's candle. We will be contemplating about the message the prophets had to bring about the coming birth of the Messiah.

Rachel, my oldest daughter, will be able to celebrate with us before she returns to TMC to finish her studies before the Christmas break.

Take the time this Advent Season to remember why Jesus came to be with us, Immanuel (God is With Us)

Veritas Blog

Veritas Blog

Happy Thanksgiving!

This is the first posting on my blog. It has been a good week-end with Andrew visiting from Monterey. He surprised us yesterday by driving down to see Rachel.

Today, we celebrated our Thanksgiving dinner together. We shared the story of the five kernels of corn. Five kernels of corn was the ration the Pilgrims had the first winter they were in Plymouth. On the first Thanksgiving, the wives of the Pilgrims brought out the plates with 5 kernels of corn to remind everyone what they had come through the previous winter. We are going to celebrate this tradition from now on our Thanksgiving dinners.

Well, God Bless You! May you have a Blessed Christmas Season and remember why we celebrate this season - The Birth of Our Savior Jesus Christ!