COEUR d'ALENE - Diane Murray was a shoe box baby.

So small was she after being born prematurely - 3 pounds -that her parents placed her in a shoe box after they brought her home from the hospital 21 days after being born.

She fit snugly. It was her crib.

She fit easily into the palm of her father's hand then, too, but it was the thin, yet solid walls of the cardboard box that acted as barriers from her siblings' germs.

"Nobody was allowed to breathe on me," said Murray, now Festival of Trees and Special Event Coordinator for Kootenai Health.

She had eight siblings then, all wanting to take a peak at the newcomer.

Doctors, however, had told Murray's father not to expect the baby to make it. No follow-up appointments were scheduled.

But Murray's mother kept the baby shielded in her makeshift bed and fed her two grams of milk every half hour, "with an eye dropper."

"My dad could hold me in his hand," Murray said, holding out her the palm of her hand to mean just the palm. "And his wedding ring would fit around my wrist."

Today, Murray is in her 19th year working with the Festival of Trees, one of the region's biggest fundraisers put on by Kootenai Health Foundation, Inc.

She worked as a volunteer the first six years, while the last 13 have been as coordinator. From helper to head honcho, it has been a perfect fit.

"My mom always made a big production out of Christmas at our house," Murray said, remembering her childhood after outgrowing the shoe box and catching up in size to her siblings and peers. "And this is like our big production."

Very big.

Ten thousand people are expected to pass through The Coeur d'Alene Resort for the weekend's activities, which range from fashion shows to a gala, dinner and dance, where 32 Christmas displays will light up The Resort's bay rooms.

In its 24th year, the festival - billed by 'Spokane Coeur d'Alene Living Magazine' this year as the best charity event around - keeps growing, too.

When the fundraiser started in 1989, it netted $68,937 for the hospital. Last year, it brought in $360,557.

But this year's event means just a bit more for Murray.

With two decades of experience, each year has its own story of blood, sweat, and, well, hitches, behind making such a massive show go. This year's proceeds, though, will go directly toward expanding Kootenai Health's neonatal services. Money raised will go toward making sure Kootenai Health will have enough staff and supplies to ensure premature babies can be born and treated in Idaho, instead of Spokane.

"Our tiniest patients," Murray, once one herself, called it. "We can take care of a few babies right now, but we want to be able to take care of more."

The hospital board selects which department will benefit from the annual fundraiser, and for the first time it's going toward neonatal care. So behind all the work put in on this year's event, there's the feeling of coming full circle, too.

"I've always liked the festival. It's fun, it's for a great cause," said Murray, who grew up in Lewiston and moved to Coeur d'Alene in 1991. "The community is so generous. And there are so many amazing people in this community - if you have a great cause, they come out and support you."

How about all the work that goes on behind the scenes? What's needed to make it go?

It takes 1,000 volunteers, and nine months to coordinate. In fact, Murray will start organizing next year's event in December, which means she's working on next Christmas before this one.

"It's like putting on four weddings in one weekend," she said.

One year, she modeled during the fashion show with her daughter, who grew up on the runway. Murray said she wasn't as natural under the lights as her daughter.

"I was so nervous," she said, adding that when they asked her for a repeat performance her answer was: "Nooooo!"

And a few bumps setting up the show can always be expected.

"There's always hitches," Murray said, smiling.

Shifting deadlines, last-minute changes, getting thousands of people on the same page means you have to adjust on the fly. But those are ironed out backstage, out of sight of the throngs of attendees - even when the event has come full circle, and seems like a perfect match.

Festival of Trees events

Tickets to the main events are sold out, but the public can swing by The Coeur d'Alene Resort from 5 to 8 p.m. today or from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday to check out the 29 decorated Christmas trees. Sponsors decorate each tree to a specific theme, so each one should have a look all its own. Entrance costs $2.

For the sold-out ticketed events, the Senior Social will be from 9 to 11 a.m., Saturday while the dinner and dance will be from 5 p.m. to midnight that night. The fashion show will be from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 5 to 7:30 p.m. Monday.