The BiG dAy finally arrivied....

.....Christmas!!!!! You could almost taste the excitement in the air as the kids came down the stairs to see what "Santa" had brought!....NOT that a few of them hadn't already done some research of their own PRIOR to this big day, but none the less...the excitement was thick and everyone was spoiled as their dreams of sugarplums came true. Everyone took their time opening their gifts and we enjoyed the fun of seeing what everyone got and relished in the feeling that comes from "giving" gifts to the ones that we love. My husband and children are some of the greatest people that I know. They are so special to me and they always put alot of thought into the gifts that they give to me each year. But this year I got more than just what was wrapped in bright colored paper and resting under the Christmas tree. I got gifts that I can carry with me forever. Besides the sweet packaged gifts that I got from my sweet family, I learned something from each of them that I can treasure long after I am gone. From Dayna and Jack, I got the gift of "Time". They live a couple of hours away and sometimes we don't get to see them very often. BUT they were able to come out for our Christmas Party and I got to spend time with them, which I love and cherish. They drove up to Salt Lake the day after Christmas to spend the day with Deron and I, going to the movie and out to dinner, giving up their own time to share it with us. I learned that "quality" is sometimes more important than "quantity". From Todd and Dana I got the gift of "Thoughtfulness". They live just down the street from us and they are always so sweet to stop by for a quick visit, drop off goodies or just come and say HI! They both are very genuine and kind, to not only me, but others they are in contact with as well. They are always so sweet to let me know that they love and care for me. I learned from them that it doesn't hurt to go out of your way to be nice. From Erik I got the gift of "Service". He is always so willing to help. Whenever he comes over for dinner, parties or a visit...one of the first things that he asks me is "Mom, what do you need help with?". It doesn't matter if its something as trivial as setting the table, he is there and willing to help. I learned from him that a willing heart and busy hands go a long way to truly serve. From Kim I got the gift of "Peace". She has always been a peacemaker and able to calm tension. It doesn't matter whether is between her younger siblings or her friends, she is able to calm some of the most troubled water just by saying "Hey, guys...does it really matter?" or saying something funny and witty to lighten the mood. I learned from her not to take life so serious and that having a good sense of humor is a blessing, something the world could use more of. From Cameron I got the gift of "Patience". He is one of the most patient people that I know. He has the patience of Job and shows, as well as demonstrates, compassion for his family as well as those in need. I learned from him that its okay to walk away from trouble, smile and sometimes the problem will go away. I learned from him that responsibility isn't to be taken lightly and to whistle while you work. He makes me smile. From Halle I got the gift of "Gratitude". She is always so grateful for what she gets, for things that others do for her and for the little blessings in life. She never misses a beat when it comes time to say "Thank you" for whatever, it could be the littlest thing ever, but she is grateful for it and she makes a point to let you know that she is. I learned from her that saying "Thank You" makes those around you feel appreciated and the sincerity behind the words can be felt for days later. They are words that should be used and meant more often, by us all. From my sweet hubby I got the gift of "Love and Happiness". He gets up every single morning with a smile and a happy tune in his heart (lots of time he is whistling or singing a phrase). He makes me happy and I know that he loves me and is out to take care of me. He is a protector and my soul mate. I learned from him that its fun to be happy and that happiness rubs off on those you are around. Christmas was full of so many wonderful gifts for me both temporal and emotional. I am grateful for the blessings of Christmas and the love of a very wonderful family.

PS...I was told that under NO circumstances was I to upload any pictures of the family from Christmas morning...I guess no one wanted their "morning" look to be broadcast all over the Internet....don't blame them, I don't either!...so you'll all just have to use your imagination when it comes time for visuals for this post...sorry.

Twas the Night before.......

Our family has many, many Christmas traditions. I love traditions, they give me things to look forward to as the holidays approach. On Christmas Eve we make a very large, scrumptious dinner and then invite someone over to share in our wonderful feast. This year we invited our dear friends and neighbors over. They have 4 adorable boys (ages 1-11) whom we love so much. Their sweet family have become "FAMILY" to us. We love them like they were blood related! They are amazing people who have found a permintant place in our lives as well as our hearts. We had a good time just hanging out and eating, visiting and laughing as the kids all played. My kids love having "little" kids to spoil and love on. Its fun to watch them all interact and goof off and have a great time. After we said goodnight to our company, we began the traditional opening of the "Christmas PJ's"...the kids always know that I make them PJ pants to wear to bed on Christmas eve, even though I wrap them all up and make them guess what they are getting. They seem to love their PJ's, so I keep making them (Deron even said he wanted a pair...after he saw how comfy the kids's were). After everyone was nestled all snug in their jammies we sat down and read the Christmas Story from the scriptures. When our kids were little, they would act it out with costumes and the whole 9 yards...but since they are teenagers now, they listen quietly from the couch. I don't know if its normal for teenagers to get excited and anticipate the arrival of Christmas morning, but my kids do! They love it. They get up early, around 4:30am and lay around and play games with each other until they can come down to open presents (which is usually around 6:30-7:00). The one morning that I would allow them to sleep in and they are chomping at the bit to get up and get going! Deron had been sick for a few days, so I had been sleeping out in the family room on the couch, hoping not to catch what he had (all the good that did!!)...so I was out with the christmas tree, the lights and all the gifts as I slept on Christmas Eve...sort of like in my own "Christmas Land". It was kind of fun to wake up to the Christmas lights and feel like a kid again, even if it was just for a minute or two.

Holiday Hoopla Day #2..."Going to the movies"~

Our family has always enjoyed movies...I don't know what our fascination is with entertainment on a big screen or from a DVD...but movies have always been a favorite activity of ours. Last nights activity for Holiday Hoopla week was "Go to the Movies". I caught an awful case of bronchitis and have been feeling awful so I opted to stay home and rest. So the kids got to go on a "Dad Date", which is always fun for them when they get to spend time alone with their awesome dad! They drove over to Vernal and splurged on some ohhy, gooey pizza from "Little Ceasers" before going to the movies. Everyone loves pizza and if you ask some of our family, we don't eat it often enough...for me (who really doesn't like pizza much) we eat it too often, so it was great that they ate it WITHOUT ME...I didn't mind at all! Deron and I went and saw the movie "The Blind Side" a couple of weeks ago and LOVED IT. We decided then that we wanted to take the kids to it. Its one of those "feel good" kind of movies, which are few and far between. Not very often do you see a movie that's makes you want to be a better person and rise above the smut of the world....but this movie did just that to me and it defiantly was one that I could see over and over. Finding out that "The Blind Side" was still playing at the theater, we decided that this was the movie that we were going to take the kids to for "Go to the movies" night AND I'm happy to say that...it got a "2 thumbs up" from everyone, they all loved it!!!! Deron even said that it was just as good the 2nd time!....so off we go to another day and another fun Holiday Hoopla activity!

Holiday Hoopla...and all that good stuff!

We decided to make this last week of Christmas vacation special and full of memories. We made a plan to do something fun that the kids wanted to do, every single day. The kids helped us plan and I think they are excited too. Yesterday (Monday) they all wanted to go out to the city and do a little "after Christmas" shopping. They had been earning some money and had some things in mind that they wanted to purchase. I like to shop and so I was all game for that! We got ready to go...on time even...packed up a lunch (yummy leftover turkey sandwiches!). Then I went to start the car...she sputtered and rebelled but finally relented and fired up. I decided to let her warm up good before we left because it was cold outside. After about 30 minutes we went and jumped in, ready for our long day of shopping. I had to stop and get gas on the way out of town, knowing that I wouldn't get very far on 1/4 of a tank. Cameron filled up the car and I went to start it up again...NO GO!!! Completely dead!!!!....what the heck??? So I called Deron and he was in the shower so Todd came and jump started us. I didn't know whether to stay or keep on with our traveling plans. Deron said to drive until we got to Heber, pull up to the Checker Auto there in town and turn the car off. If it didn't start again, to go and get a battery. So that's what we did. After getting there and turning the car off, she fired right back up....tried it twice and both times she purred like a kitten....so now what? I went in and asked if they could check my battery because I thought it was going bad. The nice man inside was happy to do just that. He was so kind and didn't make me feel stupid at all. He checked it out and said it was working great and that the battery was strong and didn't have any problems that he could tell. (I don't understand exactly how they do it, other than they have a machine that they hook it up to and they can check all that stuff out on it). He then checked my alternator too, to see if it was keeping the battery charged and it too was working. I thanked him and told him I really appreciated his help. ( I will defiantly go there again because they were very kind and helpful and it didn't cost me anything!!!...Kindness goes a long way in my book!) Anyway...I don't know what is going on with the car, but it kept running all day and got us home safe and sound. NOW...will it start today, that's the big question????

The shopping trip was long, fun, and we all got tired out.... BUT, we found some really good "after Christmas sales", 70% off of everything in one of the stores...and prices slashed in most of the other stores. Halle found some shirts for $5, pants for $10.... so we got a few fun things and felt like our day was a success all the way around. Dayna was able to come and spend the day with us which is always fun....And so the story continues, the Holiday Hoopla is still going strong in our house, with many more days of it to come.....onward we go!

Sticky, icky, FuN!

Many people make Christmas candy or cookies as one of their Christmas traditions...we are not one of those people. Although, many years ago when my kids were little, I tried to start that tradition...it ended up being alot of work, alot of mess and not much fun...so the tradition fizzled out and we didn't do it again. BUT~This year Kim asked if we could get all the girls together and make candy (she was too little to remember when we tried to do it before). I said, "SURE"...but inside

I was kind of dreading it because I didn't have fond memories of the mess that it made and the clean up process that followed. We looked at the calendar and I found the ONE and ONLY day that I had available to do it, unfortunately it didn't work for Dana or Dayna, which we were really sad about- but decided to go ahead and make candy with those of us that were able to be there. Kim wanted to make chocolate coverd pretzels, I made these coconut/almond things (like almond joy's) and Halle made cookie dough truffles. We melted chocolate, dipped and poured for hours...but we had fun. Everything turned out and tasted so yummy. I think we decided NOT to make the cookie dough truffles again. They were a little more messy and ccomplicated to make than we had thought that they would be. I don't know if we did something wrong or if that's just how they are supposed to be. BUT they tasted really good. The candy making didn't make as much of a mess this time, I think because we have added on to our kitchen since I did it last(over 10 years ago) and there was so much more room to move around in and more places to put things....and having teenagers to help do the cooking, verses 5-9 year olds, makes a big difference as well. The girls and I had a great time. We listened to Christmas music and cooked to our little hearts content. Both Kim and Halle stuck around to help with the clean up, which made the entire day more fun...that way ONE person (me) wasn't stuck with the mess. We had such a fun time, just me and the girls and I am so glad that Kim thought of it. I think its a tradition that we will try again for years to come and see if we want to keep it up...its worth a shot....I'm always up for more Christmas traditions!

PaRtY HaRdy...our way~

Everyone has their own way to PaRtY it Up...and the Wilkerson's are no different. For years our family (my siblings and parents) have had a big family Christmas party (we still do). But last year my kids decided that with everyone growing up and moving away that it would be fun to start having a Christmas party of our own as well.

I loved the idea. This year was our 2nd annual Wilkerson Family Christmas Party. Everyone came over to our house for an afternoon of CeLeBrATion. We ate a stuffed potato bar (mainly because everyone loves it and it feeds alot of people), played games and made

ALOT of noise!!! The kids have rotated names for a gift exchange for years, but decided that since not everyone is here on Christmas morning to open gifts, that they would all exchange their gifts at the party. Its neat to see the thoughtfulness that goes into each of their gifts. They aren't the "just because gifts", they really try and think about what their person would like and use. I was with Cameron this year, shopping for Halle. I was giving him all kinds of different ideas of things that he could get for her, and with each one he would say, "is that something that she would REALLY LIKE?, because I want to get her something that she would REALLY, REALLY LIKE!"....It was so sweet. He finally picked her out a book that she wanted, which came from the heart because he is always razzing Halle and Kim to put their books down and spend more time talking to him or to do something with him instead of reading. After having to postpone the Christmas party by 1 week because of the weather, Dayna and Jack were able to come out for the family party and spend the afternoon with us. Everyone laughed and ate and played games. We threw marshmallows at each other in the "marshmallow toss game". We also played the present game...the one where you have to roll the dice and get doubles, put on a hat, gloves and then try to open up a finely wrapped gift (wrapped 1 million times and with duct tape as well!) before the next person rolls doubles. The first person to finally get the gift opened, gets it....this caused ALOT of rumble and scuffles around the table. I'm not sure it was to get the gift or just to see who was the fastest gift opener and be claimed CHAMPION....regardless of what it was, it was fun and everyone went away happy....another year almost over and another party done...and many, many fun memories to last for many Christmas's to come.

Its the most WonDeRFuL time of the year!

Christmas...what an amazing, sensational season. I love this time of year along with so many other people. I love the sights of the lights and trees, the nativities, the bright colors and the buzzing of the people. I like the smiles on the faces of those that don't smile often, I like the parties, the food, the smells and all the hoopla that comes with Christmas. I like the sounds of happy chatter, the twinkling of bells, the singing coming from what seems like...everywhere. I like the ability to give to those we love and are thinking about, to feel the happiness that comes from seeing someone else happy. I like all of the many scrumptious kinds of food that hang around the house, the aroma of things baking in the oven...and the sight of it turning out the way I wanted it to. There are so many marvelous, fun, and exciting things that make the Christmas season my very favorite time of year. Its been a wonderful season for us this year. We've been able to spend a little more time with each other, enjoying the Christmas Season just a little more than we have in past years. We didn't do anything big, elaborate or expensive...just spent TIME together as a family, which is my favorite thing to do. One of our traditions that we have is that we always have a big dinner on Christmas Eve, the kind of "BIG" that so many people do on Christmas day. We always make turkey and ham and all the fixin's. This year we also had pies coming out of our ears...cherry pie, apple pie, pumpkin pie(that Cameron made all by himself!!!), coconut cream pie, and Erik made his special pineapple pie (YUM), even a pistachio cream pie....almost any kind of pie your little heart might desire. We certainly didn't walk away hungry, that's for sure. Every year we invite someone from my family over to have dinner with us. This year we chose to have our next door neighbors over. To us, they are family. We love them so much and have been so blessed to have them as dear friends and neighbors. They are amazing people who have really become part of our family and a big part of our lives. We don't know what we would do without them. We enjoyed watching their 4 boys play and be excited about "Santa coming". They just light up our home with their sweet little spirits. We all sat around and ate and visited and enjoyed the evening together. The kids played and laughed and had a wonderful time as well. Later that night, just before our kids were headed off to slumber land, we read from the scriptures about the birth of our Savior....the story of Christmas and where it all began. I love reading/hearing that story. I love picturing in my mind the way it might have been and the feelings that I might have had if I had been there. What a blessing it is in my life to have been blessed with a Savior and the knowledge that I have that he really loves me and cares about me. I am grateful for this time of year when I take a little more time to focus on the "reason for the season" and the blessings that are mine....because I have so many.

The 12 dAys of Christmas... in a bag~

For the past 2 years my dad and step mom have done the 12 days of Christmas for each one of their kids. I LOVE IT, it's so much fun!!!!! They pre-wrap 12 gifts and put a note on each one. Then they put them all in a bag and we get to choose a gift from the bag each day. It's alot of fun and even though my kids are teenagers, they still like to open a present each day leading up to Christmas....I think that's the "little kid" coming out in them. This year we weren't able to go to the family Christmas party when my step mom handed out the 12 day gift bags (because of the yucky weather that just happen to show up that morning), we got our bag a little later and so we've got to open up several gifts at once...you know, to catch up with everyone else and be on track...we've loved it. Each year they give us a wonderful Christmas book to add to our collection. I have 13 books in all, and I think most of them were gifts from my dad and Kathy. I love to sit down and read them. They all have such neat messages and make me stop and think about the Christmas season and what it means. This year there was a darling nativity in our 12 day bag. I LOVE IT, its adorable!!!....(you know I love nativities). Its so cute and simple. I put it on my shelf and I enjoy looking at it every single day. Although the gifts are so much fun and we love them, its not the gifts that make Christmas. Its the love, the kindness and the thoughtfulness that are remembered year after year, not the "things" themselves, and each time I look at this darling nativity I will remember the time, the love and the thoughtfulness that went into making it. I have such a special step mom. I couldn't have picked out a better one myself. She goes out of her way to always let us know that she loves us, that we are her children and grandchildren. She makes things special and is such a neat person and alot of fun to be around. I love her so much. Thanks Dad and Kathy for being such wonderful, amazing parents as well as grandparents. Thanks for making our lives special and being such a wonderful part of our lives! We love you!!!! ....oh, and they also put this sweet note in our 12 day bag for FREE BABYSITTING...don't think that just because we have teenagers that we won't call them up and use that free coupon....teenagers are harder to tend than little kids, we WILL be calling!

Lights and Laughs...a night with the GiRls!

With school activities in full force, its hard to find time when everyone is home at the same time and able to participate in family activities. I love the Christmas break when the kids are home from school and we can have "family time" doing whatever we want, even if it just means we hang out at the house in our PJ's and watch movies. But in spite of all that was going on, we took a couple of hours and made time for "girl night out" this week. I've been wanting to go and see the new Disney Movie "The Princess and the Frog"...BUT Deron and

Cameron weren't as excited to see it as I was...so I opted just to take the girls and go to the movies. We got all ready for a night out on the town and headed out the door. We made a night of it and went out for a burger/fries and shared a chocolate chip mint shake. I love having time when I can just talk and laugh with my kids. It was fun to have the girls and have "girl talk". We all talked about our "little secrets" our favorites and shared thoughts and memories about life and Christmas. After dinner we still had time before the movie started so we drove up around the golf course (where all the fancy houses are) to look at Christmas lights. I don't know if it was just our timing and we went on a bad night (no one was home or forgot to turn their lights on) or if NO one decorated their houses this year. We saw just a few that were all decked out, which were beautiful, but for the most part if there were any lights at all it was just some strung over a tree or a bush, a lighted wreath on the outside of the house or an inflatable Christmas decoration on the lawn...not that I blame anyone for not spending countless hours as well as money on lighting...but I was a tad bit disappointed that there weren't any lights to look at this year. I guess it's a rough year for everyone this year (financially) and that's one of the budget cuts that come first. After our short tour of the Christmas lights we headed off to the movie. I will have to say that it was a cute movie...BUT it certainly didn't rate up there with The Little Mermaid like I had been told that it did. The really cute parts were the ones that had been in all the movie trailers, and it didn't flow really well. It was still cute and we had a wonderful time....made memories and we all came home happy as can be. LOVE..LoVe...LOVE time with my kids!

Winter Wonderland~

If you know me...you know that Winter is my least favorite time of year!....its the snow, the slick roads, the isolation that I feel from the outside world..the loss of the chirping birds, the colorless world...its everything! BUT....check out this snow storm. I woke up this morning and there was about 6 inches of snow on

the ground and it was still coming. Cameron went out to shovel it and it kept coming and coming. He got it all shoveled off of the sidewalks and the driveway,

just to turn around and do it again. Our neighbor was out scraping the snow off of the road for everyone with his 4-wheeler. By the time we came out of church we had 12 inches of the white fluffy stuff!!!! UNBELIEVABLE STORM!....some kids in the neighborhood were out building a giant snowman and I couldn't help but take a picture of the enormous thing! Its defiantly a white wonderland outside today!!!...and I guess it DOES make it look alot more like Christmas!

"It came upon a Midnight Clear"~

When I was a little girl I use to love to set up our nativity as we were decorating for Christmas. I wasn't always the one that got to do that, but when I was, I remember taking each tiny piece and unwrapping it so carefully from the wadded up paper towel that protected it from the bumps and falls that might have happened during the previous 11 months. I placed each piece in a special place and tried to make it look like a picture from a story book. I longed to have one of my own nativity sets, one that I could display in my bedroom upon my dresser or on my floor. I loved looking at the figures and envisioning the Christmas Story in my mind. When I grew up and started purchasing Christmas decorations of my own, a Nativity was the first thing on my list. Our first Nativity was just a simple $6.00 set from Kmart. It was cute and I loved it, especially because it was my own. Although it was inexpensive and simple, I treasured it like it was a priced possession and loved having it set up and displayed in my home. I love nativity's. I love that they are all so different but tell the same story, the story of Christmas. Over the years I have collected them and I still get excited to set them all out and display them each year, and every year I hate to bundle them back up into their boxes at the end of the season. One of the first nativity's that I ever bought, I have passed down to my oldest daughter. It holds special memories and alot of sentimental value to us. I am so thrilled when I get to go to her house and see how she uses it as a focus in her Christmas decorating too. There is such a neat feeling that a Nativity brings to Christmas decor that no other decoration can bring. I got a wonderful, sweet, surprise when Deron went Christmas shopping yesterday. He came home with a gorgeous Nativity that he had purchased at the Quilted Bear. Each figure stands around 18" high (the top picture of this post). The detail work on each figure is so exact and perfect. It was such a sweet, thoughtful Christmas surprise. I love it!!!!....(NOW to find where to put it) Christmas is my favorite time of year. There is a feeling in the air that just permeates the soul. If we could just take that feeling and have it run through our veins all year long, what a happier place the world would be.

"Until one feels the spirit of Christmas, there is no Christmas. All else is outward display-so much tinsel and decorations. For it isn't the holly, it isn't the snow. It isn't the tree not the firelight's glow. It's the warmth that comes to the hearts of men when the Christmas spirit returns again." -- Anonymous

"The LiGhT" in our season~

The first gift that we got to open from our "bundle of JoY" bag was an advent candle. It came with 25 scriptures and each night we get to read one of them while the candle is burning. (We've done this before when the kids were just little) Each scripture has to do with the "light of Christ" and his birth. Its just a little thing that makes us think more about the Savior and why we celebrate Christmas. Last night we were done reading the scripture, just sitting and watching the candle, and I asked everyone what their favorite Christmas memory was. Deron piped right up and said that his favorite memory is when our kids were little and we used to make Christmas tree ornaments as a family to put on the tree (that's one of my favorites too). Kim said all her Christmas memories just "mush altogether" BUT the one that stands out in her mind the most, is the year the kids had to call 911 because I had collapsed. The ambulance came and took me (before breakfast) to the hospital and I was there all day. Halle spent the day throwing up and the kids were all traumatized.(NOT one of my favorite memories) Cameron said that his favorite memory is when everyone was still at home and all the kids slept in Todd's room. They woke up in the middle of the night and played games until morning, when they could come down and open presents. (I have great memories of doing that as a child with my siblings too) Halle said that her favorite memory is a couple of years ago when we left home for Sedona Arizona and spend our Christmas in a condo. (I loved the trip, but would have rather it NOT been over Christmas...being away for Christmas just isn't the same) I have so many favorite memories that its hard to just "pick one". As a child I loved the anticipation of getting to go to the Ward party and see Santa, I was always really excited to get an orange in my Christmas sock on Christmas morning, I loved decorating the tree at home and putting up the nativity scene. I had a blast with my brothers and sisters every Christmas morning as we tried to sneak out into the living room and see what Santa brought us (without getting caught by my mom)....there are so many memories. As an adult, I love watching the joy that comes into my kids eyes as they experience different things about Christmas, I love going to Temple Square to see the Christmas lights... But one of my favorite memories is one year when all the kids were living at home, we had 2 entire weeks before Christmas and all during the Christmas break, that the spirit of Christmas was so strong in our house...the kids didn't fight (seriously) and they did nice things for each other, there was peace and love that isn't always here on a daily basis. I have always thought that for those few short weeks, I got a glimpse of what it will be like in heaven. It was the most amazing experience ever. It sounds lame and dumb reading this...but the feeling in our home was very special and I guess a little "indescribable". That Christmas stands out in my mind more than any other. It's not the presents or the glitz that bring me joy...its my family, the feelings that are in the air during Christmas and the Savior who is the reason for the season.

PeaCe and JoY...

DaRbY has been sneaking around our house for a few days now and has managed to bring us a very large package that he delivered last night. It's filled with many little wrapped boxes and bundles, each with a note, Christmas message or story to go along with the gift. Starting on December 1st (yep, that's today), and every day until Christmas, we get to open one of the packages. They are little gifts from the heart that will bring "JoY to our Christmas Season".....as the days roll by I will share some of the fun we are having with DaRbY and his "bundle of JoY" that he so thoughtfully brought our way.

a little fAmiLY TraDitioN never HurT anybody~

"A long time ago...in a far away land there was a jolly old man with a big white beard. He made toys for all the good little boys and girls in the land. Every THANKSGIVING night he flew across the world in his big red sleigh, dropping off his little "brownie's" (elf's) at the homes of all the children. Each little brownie brought a treat and left it somewhere special, to let the family know that he had arrived and would be there until Santa came back to pick them up on Christmas Eve. Their jobs were very important, you see, they watched very carefully each and every day to see if the children were naughty or nice. Little candies have been seen upon pillows, staircases and breakfast tables, left by little brownies who have spied good deeds and kind hearts"....and so the story continues for generations and generations through Deron's family. Deron's Great Grandma Ame's came up with the family "brownie" back in the 1930's when things were really tough and their family was very poor. The brownie's name was "Crooky" and he visited many homes. Legend has it that he was sneaking around someone's house and his foot was accidentally shut in the door and when it healed up, it healed crooked...hence the name "Crooky". As the years have passed and the brownie tradition has traveled from one family to another, "Crooky got old and couldn't visit as many houses as he use to" and now his children are the ones that get to come and visit. We have our OWN brownie that comes on Thanksgiving night, his name is DaRbY. He has been coming for 23 years now. My kids love this tradition. As the kids grew up and have out grown many childhood beliefs, I thought Darby would lose his "fun" for the kids too. But they still look forward every year to Thanksgiving night when Darby sneaks into our house. Each year he leaves a Christmas movie and a note letting us all know that "he's back" and watching to see if we are "naughty or nice". As two of our older kids have moved away and gotten married, they have carried the tradition on in their own families, with little brownies of their own, "Bernard and Gordo"...and so the story goes on and will continue for many more years to come...I love traditions!