I have been thinking about this Louis Armstrong song for quite a while--as in every year that goes by when I don't get around to sending a Christmas letter yet again. I can hear his voice as I sing along, "I see friends shaking hands sayin' 'How do you do?' They're really saying 'I love you.' ... and I think to myself, what a wonderful world."
I am terrible about keeping in touch with some of my favorite people. I wish I could see each one of my family and friends face-to-face and say "How do you do?" I hope they would be able to see that what I'm really saying is "I love you ."
I feel so grateful to have become acquainted with so many wonderful people. Each of you has blessed my life and made me feel that this truly is a wonderful world.
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Saturday, February 1, 2014
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Spring Break in Orlando
One of my good friends, Beth, invited the boys and me to join her for Spring Break in Orlando. I did not want to take the boys to Disney World without Brett so we went to Sea World instead.
The boys attached themselves to Beth's daughter Tia and her friend Allison as much as they could. The girls were such good sports about it and had a great attitude towards my boys the whole week.
Todd and I referred to the park map often and tried to fit as much as we could into our time there. We visited Sea World twice during the week, and would have enjoyed a third visit.
One of the reasons I would have enjoyed a third visit is to catch all of the shows. I was so impressed with each of the shows we watched. I think the boys also appreciated the chance to give their feet a rest while we sat and were entertained.
I loved the dolphin show (on the right). It was fantastic! Live birds flying overhead, high divers, acrobatics, trainers riding the dolphins. . . Wow!
As it turns out, Ryan freaked out during the ride. I put my arm around him and kept repeating, "You're safe. It's almost over." Thankfully, the ride was short. However, Ryan had no plans to go again. I couldn't wait to go with Todd a second time because I was so busy trying to comfort Ryan that I didn't get to enjoy it the first time.
The boys attached themselves to Beth's daughter Tia and her friend Allison as much as they could. The girls were such good sports about it and had a great attitude towards my boys the whole week.
Todd and I referred to the park map often and tried to fit as much as we could into our time there. We visited Sea World twice during the week, and would have enjoyed a third visit.
One of the reasons I would have enjoyed a third visit is to catch all of the shows. I was so impressed with each of the shows we watched. I think the boys also appreciated the chance to give their feet a rest while we sat and were entertained.
I loved the dolphin show (on the right). It was fantastic! Live birds flying overhead, high divers, acrobatics, trainers riding the dolphins. . . Wow!
I'm not sure which show the boys enjoyed the most, but I know they got a kick out of the sea lion pirate show which was quite silly and fun.
We saw the Shamu show our first evening at Sea World, and the weather had not quite warmed up like it would be the rest of the week. The sun was going down and it was windy under the shelter. Ryan, silly and snuggly boy that he is, decided to warm up by sharing my sweatshirt with me. It is not an over-sized sweatshirt, but somehow we managed to fit the two of us inside it.
We saw the Shamu show our first evening at Sea World, and the weather had not quite warmed up like it would be the rest of the week. The sun was going down and it was windy under the shelter. Ryan, silly and snuggly boy that he is, decided to warm up by sharing my sweatshirt with me. It is not an over-sized sweatshirt, but somehow we managed to fit the two of us inside it.
That was Ryan covering his own face in the photo above. You may notice that he was not always very cooperative when it came to me taking photos of him this week.
Todd turned out to be quite adventuresome when it came to the rides. Ryan, not so much. Todd loved the little roller coaster, Shamu Express. Ryan agreed to try it, and was in a good mood when we were in line (left photo). By the time we were sitting in the roller coaster Ryan was starting to rethink it. In the photo on the right he demonstrates how he feels about it before we got started.
Todd turned out to be quite adventuresome when it came to the rides. Ryan, not so much. Todd loved the little roller coaster, Shamu Express. Ryan agreed to try it, and was in a good mood when we were in line (left photo). By the time we were sitting in the roller coaster Ryan was starting to rethink it. In the photo on the right he demonstrates how he feels about it before we got started.
As it turns out, Ryan freaked out during the ride. I put my arm around him and kept repeating, "You're safe. It's almost over." Thankfully, the ride was short. However, Ryan had no plans to go again. I couldn't wait to go with Todd a second time because I was so busy trying to comfort Ryan that I didn't get to enjoy it the first time.
Although Ryan didn't enjoy the little roller coaster, he loved these two rides: Jazzy Jellies and Ocean Commotion. We rode those a few times. Todd was having so much fun with the rides that he insisted on going solo whenever he had the chance.
Todd lost a tooth on our second visit to Sea World. We were waiting in line for Ocean Commotion when Todd called my attention to how loose it had become. It had started bleeding a little, and next thing you know he popped it out. I think the lady next to us in line was a little freaked out at first, until she realized what had happened. She was very helpful and gave me a tissue to clean his face and another to save the tooth in, since I had found myself unprepared for this.
While Beth and the girls went to the Disney parks the boys and I stuck around the condo. It was a very nice resort with plenty to do.
We hit the playground, the pool, the paddle boat, and Todd's favorite . . .
Mini golf!
We also got to try the swan paddle boats with Beth and the girls before we left.
Beth and I had a nice visit to the temple in Orlando on Friday morning.
And, although we didn't hit the parks, we did make it to Downtown Disney while we were there.
These glasses may look cool in a photo (or not), but I can't imagine wearing them for more than a minute or two.
The highlight of Downtown Disney . . . the LEGO store! I let the boys get a small container to buy pick-a-brick Lego's from the wall. Todd and I took that very seriously and we crammed as many little pieces into that container as we possibly could. Todd said he planned to build a car with the Lego's he selected. They played with the Lego's outside and built vehicles to race on the ramp.
They also had fun just looking at the displays--both little and big--inside and outside of the store.
The boys thought this Shamu car was so cool. I thought the mermaid character riding the dolphin was cool.
Beth and the girls spoiled the boys throughout the trip including buying them Dippin' Dots in a Shamu bowl that they got to keep.
I also introduced Beth and the girls to the penny press machines that were all around the park. After they saw the boys use the machine they were hooked. They brought back pennies for the boys from the Disney parks and even gave them a keepsake book to store their pennies. The boys loved that!
Beth and the girls spoiled the boys throughout the trip including buying them Dippin' Dots in a Shamu bowl that they got to keep.
I also introduced Beth and the girls to the penny press machines that were all around the park. After they saw the boys use the machine they were hooked. They brought back pennies for the boys from the Disney parks and even gave them a keepsake book to store their pennies. The boys loved that!
Todd lost a tooth on our second visit to Sea World. We were waiting in line for Ocean Commotion when Todd called my attention to how loose it had become. It had started bleeding a little, and next thing you know he popped it out. I think the lady next to us in line was a little freaked out at first, until she realized what had happened. She was very helpful and gave me a tissue to clean his face and another to save the tooth in, since I had found myself unprepared for this.
While Beth and the girls went to the Disney parks the boys and I stuck around the condo. It was a very nice resort with plenty to do.
We hit the playground, the pool, the paddle boat, and Todd's favorite . . .
Mini golf!
The mini golf course was a short walk from our unit and we didn't have to pay anything for it. It was quite a nice little dinosaur-themed course, and I think Todd would have played four times a day if he had the chance.
We also got to try the swan paddle boats with Beth and the girls before we left.
Beth and I had a nice visit to the temple in Orlando on Friday morning.
And, although we didn't hit the parks, we did make it to Downtown Disney while we were there.
These glasses may look cool in a photo (or not), but I can't imagine wearing them for more than a minute or two.
The highlight of Downtown Disney . . . the LEGO store! I let the boys get a small container to buy pick-a-brick Lego's from the wall. Todd and I took that very seriously and we crammed as many little pieces into that container as we possibly could. Todd said he planned to build a car with the Lego's he selected. They played with the Lego's outside and built vehicles to race on the ramp.
They also had fun just looking at the displays--both little and big--inside and outside of the store.
All in all, we had a great time. Thanks, Beth, for letting us tag along with you for a fun vacation.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Neighborhood Posse
"Yesterday" (a week ago) I got sidetracked and spent my post reminiscing about my childhood home. What I really wanted to talk about was how grateful I am for my current home and neighborhood.
We live on a relatively quiet dead-end street. We know quite a few of our neighbors and like most all of them. That wasn't always the case.
One of my neighbors recently asked me if I remembered my former next-door neighbor, "Crazy Sarah." Do I remember? Oh, do I! She is the one who was calling the cops over to her house at least once a week. She also called Child Services on us for neglecting our five children and for running a meth lab--this before we even had kids! At first it was funny, in a ridiculous sort of way. Then I started to get scared about what might happen if we did have kids and she kept making these absurd accusations. Fortunately, her family had Sarah committed in Alabama, and the family that bought her house have turned out to be great neighbors.
We also had a few run-ins with the neighbor on the other side of Sarah. They looked at us as being a little trashy (so maybe we are, a little). They owned the nicest house on the block and were bothered that the rest of the neighborhood didn't have the time and finances to maintain as perfectly groomed a lawn as they did. They also didn't like where we stored our garbage can outside, and they were sure that we were the reason they couldn't sell their house (not that the economy or their high asking price were the problem...). The husband tried to pressure Brett into making certain changes, which only caused Brett to want to go out of his way to annoy this neighbor. We managed to solve that problem by having Brett's brother move here from Virginia and buy the house.
Since our "problem-neighbors" have been taken care of, our family has been free to enjoy our good and peaceful street. So, who are the people in my neighborhood? Let me tell you.
First of all, did I mention that Brett's brother lives two doors down, compete with one of my favorite sisters-in-law and two nieces the perfect age for babysitting? And, they have a Wii (big attraction with my boys).
Brett's parents also live just a one-minute walk away, across the fairway. My boys have three loving homes that they can hop back and forth between.
Although she doesn't live on our street, Oma and Papa's neighbor Missy Hall has been a dear family friend for years. She doesn't have grandchildren of her own and absolutely loves the Wendel boys and Wendel girls.
We have some older folks on our street and we are so fortunate that they are not of the "old and crotchety" variety. Karl and Helen are the sweetest old couple, about eighty years old. They walk together every day down the street and back home along the golf course. Karl loved our dog Sandy, and Sandy loved him. Karl literally shed a few tears on our behalf a year ago when he heard the news that she passed away. Now that Copper has calmed down (and is less likely to knock them over) Brett always encourages Copper to go say hi when they pass by our house. Karl and Helen are always so kind, and tell me what a beautiful mother I am. Who doesn't like to hear that?
Peggy and Betsy are also sweet older ladies. Peggy, a widow who lives with her son across from me, and Betsy, who lives with her husband down the street, have been neighborhood friends for years. They walk together most every morning and hit the garage sales together most every Saturday. I admire Betsy who carries a little plastic sack to pick up any trash she comes across while walking down the street. And the boys love Peggy's little white fluffy dog, Darlin'. The boys also love Peggy's climbing tree in her front side yard.
Deede, another neighbor across the street is a lot of fun. She goes all-out decorating for Christmas. I love seeing her lights from my house. She invites the whole neighborhood to her annual Christmas party, which is always a lot of fun. My boys immediately gravitate to her garage where they know the air hockey competitions are held. The boys also love her inflatable Frankenstein-type character that she sets up at Halloween. The first year Deede set it up Sandy growled at it for days. For a while my boys couldn't remember Deede's name and called her the lady at Mr. Bones' house. (I have no idea how they came up with the name "Mr. Bones," as it doesn't really fit his description.) Now we look forward to seeing Mr. Bones, and now the boys know Deede's name. Deede has two teenage sons who are relatively close in age. It has been interesting and a little funny to watch them over the past few years and think about all we have to look forward to as the parents of older boys who might occasionally get into a little mischief.
We always like to stop and say hi to Vicky as she walks her big collie, Nicki. Some time ago Nicki kept escaping through the fence of her backyard and always stopped by our house first. The fence finally had to be replaced, and we have missed her surprise visits to our house. Ryan would get so excited: "MOM! Nicki's here!"
We have another Hall family living a few doors down. We became acquainted with them through our dogs. Their dog Bailey occasionally runs over to greet us and our dogs. And Sandy got into the habit of disappearing every afternoon for a half hour or so. One day the Halls mentioned to us that Sandy came to their back door every afternoon for a little dog treat. When Sandy showed up all of the dogs (they have two or three) would line up waiting their turn.
I enjoyed getting to know Shari last year at the bus stop. It is nice to have somebody to wait with there each morning. Shari often comes still in her pajamas, and I often come looking grubby in my own way--unshowered, crazy hair, no makeup, etc. How nice to have neighbors who don't care what I look like! I have also enjoyed getting to know her daughter Erin, who is now one of my piano students.
I have also been especially grateful for our next-door neighbors--the ones who moved into Crazy Sarah's house. They had a little boy two months after I had Ryan. Their son Logan has become good friends with my boys and it has been so nice seeing the boys play together. My boys always spend more time outside playing with Logan than they would on their own. Logan feels comfortable at our house and walks right in looking for Todd and Ryan. My boys feel equally comfortable at Logan's house and climb right over the fence into their back yard. (We actually wanted them to climb the fence rather than use the gate because one of the three would inevitably let one of their dogs out.)
I think Logan looks at Todd and Ryan the same way he would his own cousins. In fact, he calls our Oma "Oma", and our Uncle Mark "Uncle Mark" and my boys call his Poppy "Poppy" and his Grammy "Grammy." Logan has joined us in decorating our Christmas tree and carving our jack-o-lantern.
The boys have fun dressing up and playing Indiana Jones, Clone Troopers, pirates, and more. They grab their swords, light sabers, or guns and go off to defend the world.
Logan has three boy cousins who are relatively close in age to our boys. The six boys had a good time playing together, running, hiding, chasing, and generally being boys. Brett quickly gave them the nickname of "The Posse." As in, when The Posse's together there's no playing in the house. Outside play only.
As I mentioned before, my boys don't have the same amount of free roam that I had growing up. However, between our house, Logan's house, Uncle Mark's house, Oma's house, cousins, neighbors that are almost family, a few trees to climb, and plenty of space to run around in--I think we are quite blessed.
The Posse:
We live on a relatively quiet dead-end street. We know quite a few of our neighbors and like most all of them. That wasn't always the case.
One of my neighbors recently asked me if I remembered my former next-door neighbor, "Crazy Sarah." Do I remember? Oh, do I! She is the one who was calling the cops over to her house at least once a week. She also called Child Services on us for neglecting our five children and for running a meth lab--this before we even had kids! At first it was funny, in a ridiculous sort of way. Then I started to get scared about what might happen if we did have kids and she kept making these absurd accusations. Fortunately, her family had Sarah committed in Alabama, and the family that bought her house have turned out to be great neighbors.
We also had a few run-ins with the neighbor on the other side of Sarah. They looked at us as being a little trashy (so maybe we are, a little). They owned the nicest house on the block and were bothered that the rest of the neighborhood didn't have the time and finances to maintain as perfectly groomed a lawn as they did. They also didn't like where we stored our garbage can outside, and they were sure that we were the reason they couldn't sell their house (not that the economy or their high asking price were the problem...). The husband tried to pressure Brett into making certain changes, which only caused Brett to want to go out of his way to annoy this neighbor. We managed to solve that problem by having Brett's brother move here from Virginia and buy the house.
Since our "problem-neighbors" have been taken care of, our family has been free to enjoy our good and peaceful street. So, who are the people in my neighborhood? Let me tell you.
First of all, did I mention that Brett's brother lives two doors down, compete with one of my favorite sisters-in-law and two nieces the perfect age for babysitting? And, they have a Wii (big attraction with my boys).
Brett's parents also live just a one-minute walk away, across the fairway. My boys have three loving homes that they can hop back and forth between.
Although she doesn't live on our street, Oma and Papa's neighbor Missy Hall has been a dear family friend for years. She doesn't have grandchildren of her own and absolutely loves the Wendel boys and Wendel girls.
We have some older folks on our street and we are so fortunate that they are not of the "old and crotchety" variety. Karl and Helen are the sweetest old couple, about eighty years old. They walk together every day down the street and back home along the golf course. Karl loved our dog Sandy, and Sandy loved him. Karl literally shed a few tears on our behalf a year ago when he heard the news that she passed away. Now that Copper has calmed down (and is less likely to knock them over) Brett always encourages Copper to go say hi when they pass by our house. Karl and Helen are always so kind, and tell me what a beautiful mother I am. Who doesn't like to hear that?
Peggy and Betsy are also sweet older ladies. Peggy, a widow who lives with her son across from me, and Betsy, who lives with her husband down the street, have been neighborhood friends for years. They walk together most every morning and hit the garage sales together most every Saturday. I admire Betsy who carries a little plastic sack to pick up any trash she comes across while walking down the street. And the boys love Peggy's little white fluffy dog, Darlin'. The boys also love Peggy's climbing tree in her front side yard.
Deede, another neighbor across the street is a lot of fun. She goes all-out decorating for Christmas. I love seeing her lights from my house. She invites the whole neighborhood to her annual Christmas party, which is always a lot of fun. My boys immediately gravitate to her garage where they know the air hockey competitions are held. The boys also love her inflatable Frankenstein-type character that she sets up at Halloween. The first year Deede set it up Sandy growled at it for days. For a while my boys couldn't remember Deede's name and called her the lady at Mr. Bones' house. (I have no idea how they came up with the name "Mr. Bones," as it doesn't really fit his description.) Now we look forward to seeing Mr. Bones, and now the boys know Deede's name. Deede has two teenage sons who are relatively close in age. It has been interesting and a little funny to watch them over the past few years and think about all we have to look forward to as the parents of older boys who might occasionally get into a little mischief.
We always like to stop and say hi to Vicky as she walks her big collie, Nicki. Some time ago Nicki kept escaping through the fence of her backyard and always stopped by our house first. The fence finally had to be replaced, and we have missed her surprise visits to our house. Ryan would get so excited: "MOM! Nicki's here!"
We have another Hall family living a few doors down. We became acquainted with them through our dogs. Their dog Bailey occasionally runs over to greet us and our dogs. And Sandy got into the habit of disappearing every afternoon for a half hour or so. One day the Halls mentioned to us that Sandy came to their back door every afternoon for a little dog treat. When Sandy showed up all of the dogs (they have two or three) would line up waiting their turn.
I enjoyed getting to know Shari last year at the bus stop. It is nice to have somebody to wait with there each morning. Shari often comes still in her pajamas, and I often come looking grubby in my own way--unshowered, crazy hair, no makeup, etc. How nice to have neighbors who don't care what I look like! I have also enjoyed getting to know her daughter Erin, who is now one of my piano students.
I have also been especially grateful for our next-door neighbors--the ones who moved into Crazy Sarah's house. They had a little boy two months after I had Ryan. Their son Logan has become good friends with my boys and it has been so nice seeing the boys play together. My boys always spend more time outside playing with Logan than they would on their own. Logan feels comfortable at our house and walks right in looking for Todd and Ryan. My boys feel equally comfortable at Logan's house and climb right over the fence into their back yard. (We actually wanted them to climb the fence rather than use the gate because one of the three would inevitably let one of their dogs out.)
I think Logan looks at Todd and Ryan the same way he would his own cousins. In fact, he calls our Oma "Oma", and our Uncle Mark "Uncle Mark" and my boys call his Poppy "Poppy" and his Grammy "Grammy." Logan has joined us in decorating our Christmas tree and carving our jack-o-lantern.
The boys have fun dressing up and playing Indiana Jones, Clone Troopers, pirates, and more. They grab their swords, light sabers, or guns and go off to defend the world.
Logan has three boy cousins who are relatively close in age to our boys. The six boys had a good time playing together, running, hiding, chasing, and generally being boys. Brett quickly gave them the nickname of "The Posse." As in, when The Posse's together there's no playing in the house. Outside play only.
As I mentioned before, my boys don't have the same amount of free roam that I had growing up. However, between our house, Logan's house, Uncle Mark's house, Oma's house, cousins, neighbors that are almost family, a few trees to climb, and plenty of space to run around in--I think we are quite blessed.
The Posse:
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Piano Man
I have been teaching piano lessons for a few years now, ever since Todd was a baby. I don't feel like I'm all that special as far as teachers go, but I do enjoy it. I think I am a reasonably-priced, fairly low-pressure teacher who works mostly with beginners. For some parents that is exactly what they are looking for. The boys are often in and out of the room occasionally interrupting me, but I still manage to make progress in the lessons. I have especially enjoyed teaching those students who come prepared and are excited about learning to play. What a joy they are.
I have one student who has given me the sweetest drawings with a message of "I love you" on the back. She also seems genuinely interested in learning to play, and has quite a bit of talent for her young age. You can bet that she has won me over!
However, the most rewarding student, by far, has been my own son Todd. I had always hoped that my boys would want to play the piano, and Todd has shown more interest in learning piano this last year. I would occasionally show him something about playing piano, but I was not consistent. I have been teaching a boy who is just one year older than Todd. The more Todd listened in on his lessons, the more confidence Todd gained that he could play the piano just as well. So I bought Todd the beginner books and started teaching him the lessons, though we were still very inconsistent. I did not want to push Todd, and I did not want to harp on him about practicing. I told Todd that I would give him a lesson as soon as he was ready with his theory work and songs. We averaged about one lesson per month. Things started to change in December. Todd was asking for lessons more frequently. He has been picking things up so quickly lately and has been breezing through his books. I think he may be partly motivated by his competitive spirit (he wants to pass up his peer). But I also think he is excited about the progress that he has been making. He understands the material, learns the songs quickly and has been gaining finger strength. And he knows that he is playing well. This week we have had four piano lessons, and Todd has been up at least twice this week practicing before 6:30 in the morning! I hope that Todd's desire to learn piano continues. I have enjoyed the little duets we have played together, and look forward to playing more with him.
We recorded a nice performance of "Go Tell It On the Mountain," but the video was too long and wouldn't post for me. I hope you enjoy this duet of "Yankee Doodle" instead. I love Todd's look of concentration!
Monday, January 11, 2010
December 2009
Merry Christmas, Everyone!
Believe it or not, I think Brett really is happy to be a part of our family. He just doesn't like cameras, so I am never able to prove it in a photo.... Perhaps that is why I haven't gotten around to sending out Christmas cards with a Christmas letter in a few years. I've been waiting for that perfect family photo. So, this blog post will have to suffice for now, even though it will only cover the month of December--I'm planning to remedy that problem by catching up on the rest of the year soon. Don't hold your breath.
Todd's class panda spent the weekend at our house and was able to witness us decorating the Christmas tree. We let him wear the cuckoo clock's Santa hat, since Brett wouldn't let the reindeer wear it this year. Bummer. I thought it was adorable.
Ryan's preschool did caroling around campus. Todd's class decorated gingerbread houses. Ryan was so happy that he had the day off to participate in that activity.
Uncle Mark had to work on Christmas Day, so we celebrated with the extended family a day early. Oma fixed fondue for dinner, after which we exchanged gifts. We're so lucky to have such good relationships with our family nearby.
There is a lot of love in this pile of cool-looking cousins, even if it is not immediately evident.
Copper loves extended family as well, and Ginger will always have a soft spot for her original master, Brett.
Papa (who is always cold) received what he calls a "sleeping pill" for Christmas. He won't last long watching TV when he wears his monk-Snuggie.
After the eating and the fun we watched a short movie on the Nativity and read the Christmas story from the New Testament. I printed out the scriptures in sections and cut them out so we could have more people involved in reading. Spending Christmas Eve this way is something that I absolutely love doing.
Santa and Mrs. Claus were delayed in visiting our house that night because they were quite busy and it was pouring down rain. By the time they made it to our house the rest of the family was gone and the boys were tucked into bed. They were not asleep however, so Santa and Mrs. Claus came and wished them a Merry Christmas in their rooms. I was happy that we were still able to see the man in the big red suit, but I was sorry that we did not get to take a photo with them.
Believe it or not, I think Brett really is happy to be a part of our family. He just doesn't like cameras, so I am never able to prove it in a photo.... Perhaps that is why I haven't gotten around to sending out Christmas cards with a Christmas letter in a few years. I've been waiting for that perfect family photo. So, this blog post will have to suffice for now, even though it will only cover the month of December--I'm planning to remedy that problem by catching up on the rest of the year soon. Don't hold your breath.
Todd's class panda spent the weekend at our house and was able to witness us decorating the Christmas tree. We let him wear the cuckoo clock's Santa hat, since Brett wouldn't let the reindeer wear it this year. Bummer. I thought it was adorable.
Ryan's preschool did caroling around campus. Todd's class decorated gingerbread houses. Ryan was so happy that he had the day off to participate in that activity.
Uncle Mark had to work on Christmas Day, so we celebrated with the extended family a day early. Oma fixed fondue for dinner, after which we exchanged gifts. We're so lucky to have such good relationships with our family nearby.
There is a lot of love in this pile of cool-looking cousins, even if it is not immediately evident.
Copper loves extended family as well, and Ginger will always have a soft spot for her original master, Brett.
Papa (who is always cold) received what he calls a "sleeping pill" for Christmas. He won't last long watching TV when he wears his monk-Snuggie.
On Christmas Eve the family, including Uncle Kevin and Aunt Jenni, got together again at my house for our annual Christmas Eve activity. I tried something new this year by having the family play musical Christmas gifts. I wrapped two presents in multiple layers of paper. We passed the gifts around, taking turns unwrapping the presents whenever the music stopped. I thought it was quite fun. Here are the two winners with their prizes (a Hershey's Symphony bar and a Christmas fleece blanket).
After the eating and the fun we watched a short movie on the Nativity and read the Christmas story from the New Testament. I printed out the scriptures in sections and cut them out so we could have more people involved in reading. Spending Christmas Eve this way is something that I absolutely love doing.
Santa and Mrs. Claus were delayed in visiting our house that night because they were quite busy and it was pouring down rain. By the time they made it to our house the rest of the family was gone and the boys were tucked into bed. They were not asleep however, so Santa and Mrs. Claus came and wished them a Merry Christmas in their rooms. I was happy that we were still able to see the man in the big red suit, but I was sorry that we did not get to take a photo with them.
The tree and stocking are ready for Christmas morning.
The kitchen didn't look so hot either, and it took me a few days before I felt like there was order again.
We are blessed in so many ways. And even though Ryan didn't get his Easy Bake Oven...
...I think both he and Todd would agree that it was a wonderful Christmas!
A few days after Christmas the boys and I went to see the lights around the lake in Defuniak Springs with our friends Beth and Tia. It was a nice way to finish out the holiday season.
We started opening presents with our small family at 7:00am. Aunt Donna stopped by for little while, but for most of the morning it was just the four of us. We had fun taking time to open gifts and play with them as much as we wanted before moving on to the next gift. We weren't finished opening presents until almost noon. By then it looked like we had been hit by a tornado.
The kitchen didn't look so hot either, and it took me a few days before I felt like there was order again.
We are blessed in so many ways. And even though Ryan didn't get his Easy Bake Oven...
...I think both he and Todd would agree that it was a wonderful Christmas!
A few days after Christmas the boys and I went to see the lights around the lake in Defuniak Springs with our friends Beth and Tia. It was a nice way to finish out the holiday season.
Lastly, I want to thank all of our friends and family who remembered us this year. I loved hearing from you and seeing how your families have grown. Please don't take me off your Christmas lists.
I hope you enjoyed a happy holiday season as well!
I hope you enjoyed a happy holiday season as well!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)