Tonight we attended the Whatcom Family and Community Network Awards Dinner.
Swil Kanim was the recipient of the Community Building Award for outstanding contributions to increasing community caring, empowerment and connections that improve the lives of children, youth and families. Boy that is a mouthful!
It was a wonderful evening and dinner. We invited Leroy and Ann Carlson to come along with us and it was good to share the evening and dinner with them. There were many individuals and groups that were presented with awards for their contributions and commitments to community. Gene Tagaban was also a recipient for his work at community events linking people together through heart and spirit. Unfortunately he was out of town and unable to attend. Swil Kanim was asked to perform and close out the event. He blessed us all with his beautiful words and a beautiful new song. He spoke from the heart as he always does and I was touched by his words and his new song. I am so happy for the acknowledgement and accolades he is receiving these past few months. He is such a wonderful man with a beautiful spirit, a blessing to many and a heart of gold.
Congratulations and Many Blessings to you, my dear sweet Husband and friend!

Well, now that we are 'home' we have been busy catching up on things and visiting friends and family. We spent a few days with my daughter Chrisi and granddaughter Sofia. It was good to spend time with them and step into my new role as a Grandmother. Chrisi is doing a great job in her new role as a mother and I am so proud of her.
Swil Kanim had a couple of performances last week. One was for the Customs and Border Protection in Blaine, WA. He performed for some of the workers and we had a great time talking and connecting with them. We are hoping some of them will come to First Friday in Bellingham.
Also, he did two performances for the Lummi Nation School. The first was for Kindergarten thru 6th grade and then 7th thru 12th grade. He did a great job in holding the attention of the Kindergarteners and yet still reaching the 6th graders. That's a tough crowd to perform for but he always pull it off.
After those performances we were then done for the week and were able to enjoy Thanksgiving with our friends Rudy and Liz Chapin and their family. Chrisi, Svet and Sofia were able to join us and it was great to have them with us. Sofia was an angel the whole time and she got to enjoy the taste of some mashed potatoes! She didn't particularly care for them though!
After everyone left, Swil Kanim and I stayed and played a few rounds of Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Swil Kanim gave up after the first song......he's not much of a musician! HAHA
I gave it a try and found out I am not much of a drummer but a helluva guitarist.
It is always fun to hang out with the Chapins. They are a beautiful family that we are blessed to have in our lives.
I forgot to mention that we were able to attend a great production - THE WHIZ - in Mt Vernon at the Lincoln Theater. It was directed by our good friend Suzann McLamb and she did a tremendous job. We are so proud of her! The whole production was truly amazing and the cast was outstanding. I have to say it brought tears to my eyes!
We are currently in the Burlington area at a KOA campground after spending the day with the Bowens. We had a great time going bowling with them and then having an incredible steak dinner prepared by Lindsey.
We sure do have an incredible group of friends and family.
Today (Sunday) we are just taking it easy watching some football and catching up on e-mails, CD requests, Tree shirt requests, Website updates and all that fun stuff! I hope I can get caught up!