Wow what a busy week we have had. This was the week of "The Forgotten Carols." Gail and Matthew did a fantastic job. Each gave every spare minute this week. The show was a great success. We are now ready to get ourselves prepared for Christmas and we are looking forward to the time together with each other.

There is not much else to report. Hopefully this week our tree will go up, our house decorated and the annual letter composed. We are looking forward to entertaining and celebrating one of the best times of the year.

We hope you all have a great week.

Yesterday evening was the debut of "An Uncommon Bond" the trio Gail started with two other excellent singers in Elko. They sang last night at the Creche Festival and did a spectacular job. In the five years our family has attended the festival, last night was the first time we have ever seen a group get a standing ovation. The world will never be the same.

We were also glad to see some friends from Idaho and Utah come to hear Gail sing. It was a great evening.

Otherwise, all is the same at the Mierins' home. We hope you are enjoying this Christmas season. Have a wonderful week.

We all hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We certainly did. Andy was in his prime being able to cook. He spent Tuesday and Wednesday evening and Thursday morning in the kitchen and managed to be able to put together quite a meal. We had 10 people. Gail's parents and sister, brother-in-law and nephew joined us, as well as a member of our ward. We were regaled with a thanksgiving poem which was quite entertaining. We had a wonderful day and considering all the wonderful things which have happened to us we have quite a bit to be thankful for.

We are also glad for a few days with nothing on our schedule the remainder of the week. It gave us time to catch up on a few things. Andy was quite excited because his birthday present arrived Friday, his Kindle Fire. He is enjoying it immensely.

We hope you all have a great week.

We have all overcome the sickness as a family and are grateful to be healthy once again. This has been an incredibly busy week as we prepare for Thanksgiving next week. Matthew and Nikolas are doing well in school and keeping themselves busy; Matthew with his animals and science club, Nikolas with band.

Gail continues to build quite a reputation as a voice teacher and has more students than she has time. "The Forgotten Carols" is getting closer and Gail will be happy when the production is over. Additionally, her singing group is getting ready for some performances coming up in December. Gail has found her niche.

Andy was gone to Reno Tuesday and Wednesday attending a training for a Family Drug Court program. He was back home Thursday working in the office. Friday he was involved in the selection process for the two District Court judge positions in Elko. He found it to be a fascinating process and was honored to serve on the commission.

Saturday was a special day. Andy and Gail joined some friends from the ward in attending the Temple. It was wonderful.

We hope you have a wonderful week and wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving.

We all spoke to soon last week. No sooner had last week's post gone up, then Gail began to feel the sickness Matthew and Andy dealt with. By Monday Nikolas was home from school, so we all ended up being sick. Thankfully, we are all healthy and better.

Once we all recovered things are going well. Nikolas is continuing with his band participation and enjoying the private flute lessons he is taking. Matthew continues to do well. He and Andy went on a youth temple trip to Salt Lake City on Friday and had a great time. Gail is busy as always with the "Forgotten Carols" and her musical group.

We are grateful for our many blessings and thankful for those who have served this nation in our military. We hope you all have a great week.

This has been a rough week in the Mierins' household, all due to sickness. The plague began with Andy who woke up last Sunday not feeling particularly well. He made it to sacrament meeting, but after went home and got into bed. We did not see him again until 6 the next morning. Monday his fever had broken, but still had an upset stomach. He did go to work, but came home for a nap during the day. Tuesday he was feeling better, but then it began with Matthew. Thankfully, he is feeling much better as well. He spent Thursday afternoon until yesterday in bed. Nikolas seems to have been spared. Gail stayed as far away from Andy and Matthew as possible in hopes she does not get sick. Not much more to report on.

After a very late warm autumn, winter is beginning for us. We had snow Friday and this morning we are getting some flurries. Andy went to get our firewood yesterday so we had a fire last night in our newly cleaned wood stove. It was a great way to greet one of our coldest nights.

We hope all is well with you.

The last two weeks have been quite busy. We are all doing well. The gerbils are still with us, but Salem is having a hard time understanding why every time he puts his paw on the glass he is unable to get the gerbil. We watched him several times last night bat the glass and I could swear each time the gerbil flexed one of its digits on the front paw.

Matthew and Nikolas survived parent teacher conferences. Matthew is doing so much better this year and we are glad. He has 2 A's so far, one of which is in PE, which is amazing in of itself. Nikolas has shown some improvements as well. We are proud of both of the boys. Nikolas continues to enjoy band and is showing improvement every day.

Gail remains busy with her students, singing and "The Forgotten Carols" all of which keep her busy. Andy is the same. He returned from a conference in Seattle last week and reported it was a beautiful place.

The big trip was a trip to Salt Lake City. It was a boys trip. Matthew had a doctor's appointment and Friday was Nevada Day, so Thursday after school the boys left. They went to a movie, did some shopping, had sushi for lunch (yes, Nikolas admitted he likes it) and spent several hours at the Clark Planetarium. All were exhausted when they got home.