Two Desert Elves

Camille

Legs

OK, this will sound so weird, but one of the first things I remember about Camille was noticing how buff her calves were. She had a baby (Trevor) who was only few months old and she was already in such great shape. I told Troy to ask Birch if she worked out. I think I'm sounding creepier and creepier. However, the truth is that I am so impressed by Camille's drive to stay physically fit without seeming too obsessed about it.

Thoughtfulness

When I think of thoughtful and sincere people, Camille comes to my mind. In the few years that we have known each other, she has done many small and thoughtful gestures that have brightened my days. Her compliments are always sincere. I honestly have never heard Camille say an ill word about someone else and I think girls tend to be more catty towards one another, which makes me appreciate this characteristic even more.

Birch, Trevor, Haley and Camille

A Fun Mom

I admire the kind of mom that Camille is to Trevor and Haley. There is no question whether her family is the most important thing to her. Her little boy is 2 and 1/2 and I can just tell how much he enjoys being with her mom. Camille seems to have the right balance of fun and discipline. I will be asking her for advice once Saku gets little older.

Camille, I already miss having you as my visiting teacher because it was more like hanging out with a friend than just visiting teaching. I hope you will have a nice Christmas break and get to spend some quality time with Birch when he is off from school. I can just imagine how excited Trevor will be about presents:)

Janae

Opposites attract

Janae and I are VERY good friends; however, we are very different in many areas. Janae enjoys cleaning and I mean, really scrubbing it clean while I wish I could afford to hire a maid to clean my house. I love food and get excited about each of the three meals and never leave the house without a breakfast while Janae doesn't eat breakfast most of the time and is more of a snacker. Janae is the PARTY host while I rather show up to the party and not worry about entertaining everybody. When I was 4 months pregnant, I was the same size as Janae was at 9 months!

Favorite moments

My favorite moments are our random long chatting sessions. We might be coming home from a run or visiting teaching or I was supposed to "just stop by" and we talk some serious talk for a long time. There are have been many "this will not leave this car" topics and I feel blessed to have such a close friendship with her.

Janae, Kaelyn, Cache, Shaylee and Chad

Bring it!

Janae and I share a competitive drive. This is mostly manifested when we play Settlers of Catan. There are people who just play for fun, but Janae and I play to win. Unfortunately, neither of us has had an extremely successful "season" of settlers this fall.

Always ready to help out

I love the fact that Janae lives a block away from me and I know I can count on her help. It might be a question about parenting, a much needed cup of sugar, ride to church or pedialyte for a sick baby boy. No matter what it is, Janae is always willing to help out. She even offered to watch Saku when he was a newborn so I could sleep and she had three kids of her with Kaylen being only 6 weeks older than Saku.

Janae, I know we both want to get away from this neighborhood, but I truly love having you so close. I hope that we get to share many Christmas seasons together because a friend like you makes life more meaningful and of course, more fun!