A BLESSED NEW YEAR TO ALL

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CHRISTMAS 2007

Above is Ethan and his daddy. Ethan is doing great, smart as can be, cutting teeth and crawling too. Thank you for all the prayers for this sweet little guy!

Here's sweet little Victoria. She and Cousin Ethan thoroughly enjoyed their first Christmas and the family thoroughly enjoyed them!

I took a lot of pictures of these little sweethearts. In this shot I just had to use a tray of cookies as a prop. I assumed they would reach for them but I didn't know they were fast enough to grab them.

They did, and of course they went right in their eager, little mouths! Victoria and Ethan had their first taste of Christmas treats and Great grandma was the one who made them. These little ones only have about four teeth between them so they only got a taste before the rice krispie treats were replaced with teething cookies.

It looks like Victoria was trying to decide if she wanted to share her cookie with Ethan whose mama had taken his away because he manages to bite off chunks.

Oh the heck with it!!! I'll eat my toes for Christmas!

His grandma Kathy watches and hopes a tooth doesn't bite down too hard.

Dylan, Tyson and Johnny enjoy our soup, bread and salad supper. Cyndi made a lovely seafood chowder and I brought chicken veggie soup with noodles. ( My great grandkids like it and call it Mimi soup) We also had chips and salmon dip, a tray of crackers, cheese and venison sausage, barbequed smoky sausages and I can't remember what else.

Here is miss Julia, my oldest great granddaughter. Isn't she a lovely young lady?

This is Julia's younger sister, Miss Hailee Michelle. This little lady is just as pretty as a picture! She loves babies and is a pro at taking care of Victoria.

Miss Madalyn is the third sister and at age 4 she is already showing us what a beauty she is. She also has a unique personality. But I will go into that later. (((smile)))

Kenny spent most of the day playing with the new trucks that Santa brought him. However at one point he snapped to attention while eating his salad, to inform me that Santa has magic dust he uses so he can get down the chimney. This picture was taken toward the end of the day and all the children were beginning to droop. So were the rest of us for that matter.

I wasn't going to post this picture but it has tickled me so here it is. It seems that Tyson is expressing his thoughts about having to eat anything else. He was full up! We all brought pies. And would you believe that out of all the different kinds of pie in the world, each of us brought an apple and a pumpkin pie. How's that for being on the same brain train? And my great grandson Johnny who is an apple pie connoisseur said mine was the best. (it was homemade the others were store bought)

Here my two youngest daughters are saying good-by. Cyndi is holding her tired little granddaughter Madalyn whose big blue eye is peeking through her hair. It was snowing the whole day long and by the time we were leaving, the roads were covered and all was white. We had Christmas day at Cyndi and her hubby's home which is high up in the mountains and was a long drive home for us.

It sure felt good to get back into my warm little house and put on my nightie and make a hot cup of tea.

Christmas and family are wonderful, but there's no place like home.

Here is my house with Christmas lights glowing. (click on pictures for a better view) We didn't have a white Christmas, just those at higher elevations did. However we did have snow about two weeks before and it was really pretty with the christmas lights on. I have blue lights all along the fence in the front yard and on the deck, and as you can see I have some other colors on the shrubbery.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and made some precious memories. I sure did.

Love & Hugs!

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FOURTH GROUP OF CHRISTMAS MEMORIES

1998

Here I am again, all be-pillowed, with gifts for everyone. I only did this for two years. I can't begin to tell you how hot and uncomfortable it was in that sweat suit with pillows packed all around inside. I thought I was going to melt!

The good part was when I took it all off and was in my regular clothes. I felt like I had lost about a hundred pounds!

2001

Here I am with my second daughter Kathy. My girls all came to my house and we had a nice supper, then went to Bellingham's famous Mt. Baker Theatre to hear the Tenors sing. They are a group from England. It was a very special night.

2005

Here I am holding my puppies with some of my children and their mates. They come the Saturday after Thanksgiving and decorate for me. Usually they do the outside lights and sometimes they help with inside decorations too. We have a soup supper and some great family time. I love it.

2006

I have posted this picture before. My little Toodles was such a good sport to let me put this silly Santa hat on him and take a few pictures. He couldn't wait to get it off though and after he did, he ran all over the house rubbing his head on everything in sight, as if he was making certain there wasn't any part of the thing still left on his cute little head!

I can think of many captions for this picture, but how do we date it?

Jesus is the alpha and the omega, He is from everlasting to everlasting.

Of all the many blessings I have received, my precious family and friends, freedom, living in a land of plenty, and all the thousands of 'things' that make my life comfortable and fun, the gift of our Lord Jesus is what makes it all worthwhile. For through Him we have the promise of eternal life.

It doesn't have to end when we stop breathing. There is more.

We are not the body we live in, we are a spirit, living in a disposable body.

Thank you Lord Jesus for your gift of eternal life.

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HAVE A BLESSED CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR

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THIRD GROUP OF CHRISTMAS MEMORIES

1983

Here is my youngest son at 14 years. All of his siblings were married and in their own homes, so it was just the two of us on Christmas morning. I have wished many times that I could have had another child close to his age so they could grow up together and be pal's. Life is so much more fun when there is a sibling to share the fun and excitement with.

1985

1985 and now my 'baby' is 16, and a young man.

We bought a tree this year and as you can see it was loaded with ornaments. I had crochet hundreds of fans, picture frames, hats and you name it. My mom and I sold many at a craft fair that year and I had also sold many in a gift shop. I even wore out a steel crochet hook with all the stitching!

1987

Here are my youngest daughter and her two children under my Christmas tree. They lived in another town and were visiting for Christmas. We had another store bought tree and I used a lot of the same crochet ornaments. See the little storybook doll on the tree top? She has a lovely yellow lace dress and red hair.

1991

This is my youngest at age 22 with two of my grandchildren. This was a very difficult year for us as we had just lost my oldest son the September before Christmas. His wife asked the family to come to her home for Christmas dinner, which we did for several years.

1994

This was a happier Christmas, Of course we all still desperately missed the one who was gone but the shock of his passing had worn off and we were beginning to learn to live with the loss.

I have always loved this picture of my youngest, 25 years old in this picture, reading to his youngest nieces and nephew. Time marches on and they all grow up so fast. The little girl on the left will graduate from high school this coming June.

Enjoy them all while you can and as always, make some precious memory's and get some pictures of them too.

God Bless All

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THIRD BATCH, CHRISTMAS MEMORIES

1974

Here is my youngest at five years. His sister made him some bell-bottom pants that he loved to wear. His older siblings were wearing sea farers which were bell bottom hip huggers and Shawn wanted some too. He thought he was 'way cool!' (can a great grandma use this expression?)Shawn and his older brother Michael found our Christmas tree in the woods behind my mom's place. This was our first year living across the street from where I grew up, where my mom still lived, and my two sisters also had homes beside us. My folks had bought the entire end of the street in 1949 and gave their three daughters each three lots to put homes on so we could all be close to one another. Now I just have my youngest sister and her husband next door, and their youngest daughter and her family. My middle sister lives about 20 miles away, and mom is with the Lord.

1975

Here is my oldest son Michael with his new guitar and amp. Oh how he loved it, and even though he didn't have lessons, he picked it up pretty fast. He had an ear for music. I can remember the shirt he was wearing in this picture too. He loved it as well and the ties the boys were wearing were one of his favorite things during those years.

1976

Well now we are getting into the beginning of my grandma years. This sleepy little darling is my first grandchild, who I called Jamie Bug. Actually I still call him that occassionally. He is about two and a half here. This is Christmas morning before opening presents. We bought a tree this year.

1978

Here's Jamie Bug again at four and a half. His daddy is watching him open a gift. You can see some of my cactus collection on the table in the background. I tried and tried to get them to bloom but they never did so late one fall I got mad and put them all out on the front porch where they froze to death! Served them right too. I wanted flowers.

1981

Here's my youngest at 12 years old. He is 38 now. I don't know what he is opening but he looks very interested. We had a Silver Fir Christmas Tree that year. They are very symmetrical and fun to decorate.

I made a big pot of vegetable beef soup today and had some for supper, Soup is the perfect thing for these cold days.

My neighbor came for a short visit and brought me some popcorn balls and Divinity, which encouraged me to make some Christmas treats, so I made some Chocolate Scotcharoos and Rice Krispie Treats with chopped up gum drops mixed in for color.

I still have to give the pups a bath tonight any myself too so I better stop and get at it.

Have a blessed week end.

Hugs!

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MORE CHRISTMAS MEMORIES

1967 Christmas Eve.

'The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there'

Well if he came down our chimney he would have to change his name to Black Beard! We had a lot of fires going in the fireplace. The Northeast wind was horrific where we lived.

We had moved into a four bedroom rambler in the country that fall, and I didn't know what to do with all the space. The little house we moved from was just two bedroom and it was a tight squeeze getting all four kids in one small room.This is the first year I flocked our tree. I just used pink balls and we had color light on the floor that reflected different colors on the tree. It was so pretty!

See the Go-Go boots by the door? Yep it was the 60's alright!

"THESE BOOT'S WERE MADE FOR WALKIN"

1968 Christmas Eve

I always called these the 'before' pictures. It sure looked different the next morning. Another heavily flocked tree. We didn't have snow outside but I made sure we had some inside. This looks like a lot of presents, but remember I had four children, hubby, parents and sisters too.

1970 Christmas Eve

My babies are growing up. No little dollie's under the tree this year unless I count my youngest child who was 16 months old in this picture. This was our first Christmas without their father. The kids found our Christmas tree in the woods behind the house. It was our second Christmas in the newly remodeled recreation room. !

1971 Christmas Eve

And we had snow too. Lots of it. The kids were so excited. Christmas presents and snow!~ It doesn't get much better than that when you are a child. Looking out the rec. room slider you can see the snow and our ice covered swimming pool. After gifts, the snow won out and they all bundled up and had a great time while freezing their hiney's off. I always tried to have hot cocoa for them when they came in from the cold. You can see my wonderful antique piano to the left. I loved that thing. It was originally black, but I was talked into having it antiqued. I never should have done it.

1972 Christmas Morning

We even got our dog 'Shadow' in this picture. He was a light colored German Shepherd and a wonderful pet. It looks like the gift opening had begun and big brother is helping the little one while older sisters watch.

Just see how fast our children grow up. Enjoy every minute with them and cherish each memory.

~~~More to come~~~

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SWEET CHRISTMAS MEMORIES

1959 My three little girls on Christmas morning.

I remember the giggles and whispers, and the sparkling eyes of my little ones when Christmas was near. I can't help smile as I remember bringing packages into the house telling them 'not to peek' and watching their excitement mount as they danced around me hoping I might drop something. Oh, they will never know how much joy they brought me. You see, I shared their excitement. It was contageous!

1962 and now we also have a little boy to join in all the fun, and he sure did!

This picture was taken at my folks on Christmas morning.

Our Christmases were very busy as we had Christmas Eve with my husband's family. He had eleven brother's & sister's and all had many children & grandchildren so they had to rent a hall to hold us all. It was fun to be a part of such a large family.

Then we had our own Christmas gifts right after a bit of breakfast on Christmas morning, and as soon as that was done we went to my folks and had another gift exchange with them and my two younger sisters. It was hectic but it was sure a lot of fun, and I truly miss it.

1963 and here they are with some of their gifts. This was taken Christmas Day evening with dollies for the girls and a pretend gun for Mikey. They always got several gifts from their dad and me, and also from their grandparents and my sisters. As you may know, this was the year of Chatty Cathy, whose voice became very annoying after three days. I was secretly hoping her string would break!

1964 Yep, daddy got a box of tea. He was quite a tea drinker back then and was always complaining because we had run out. I made sure he had some for Christmas morning at least. If you look out the window you will see that we had a beautiful snowy Christmas. And yes, those are old wagon wheels and an oxen yoke at the entrance to our little farm.

1966 and here's Mikey holding a ceramic Santa. This little boy absolutely loved Christmas. He was always the first one to remind me that we needed a Christmas Tree, even in September! LOL

He loved putting all the decorations on tables and the tree too. And he especially loved it when mama began the Holiday baking.

I plan to post more pictures of my precious Christmas memories, so next time you plan to visit grab a cup of something nice and relax a while.

God bless you all with a lovely Christmas Season.

Hugs & Prayers!

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A WINTER WALK

My sister, her family and I drove to nearby Hoag's lake a few days ago. We are having a cold snap, with temp's around 20 degrees, so the grass is stiff with ice and crackled under our feet. The lake, which some would call a pond, is frozen over with a thin sheet of ice.

In this picture we mostly see cattail's which were very important to the Native American people who lived here many years ago. They dug the roots to cook like a potato, the leaves were woven into mats to sleep on and the cottony seed heads were used to diaper their babies. I believe the pithy centers of the stalks were also used for food.

When I was a girl, my cousin and I stole cigarettes from our parents and came to this lake for our first smoking experience. We nearly choked to death! Back in those days many neighborhood kids came here to swim, even though it was a privately owned lake at the time, the owners were very generous. The lake is now owned by the city.

I don't know what this should be called but I'd call it a 'cricklet' It's just a small stream flowing from the lake. I thought it was cute. Ice had formed around the edges but it isn't very noticable in the picture.

My pictures didn't come out as sharp as I would have liked, but it's winter after all, and everything has a drab gray look about it this time of year.

We have been getting a bit of snow the past few weeks and here are my sweet little puppies sitting on the back of the couch watching the snow come down. I have often wondered what in the world are they thinking when they see the white flakes floating through the air. Poor little dears may think the sky is falling!

Well tomorrow I am hoping to begin some Christmas baking. I'll just be making a few different kinds of cookies and I'll freeze them until I have company and take some to our Christmas gathering. I like Russian Tea Cakes, Almond Roca Bars and Scotch Shortbread too. But I want to try a new one with oatmeal, coconut and walnuts too and of course we need a spicy cookie..... Oh well. Maybe I'll be making more than I thought!

May our Dear Lord bless and keep you all.
Keep Christ in the center of all you are and all you do,
and a very Merry CHRISTmas to everyone.
HUGS!!!

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ONCE UPON A CHRISTMAS EVE

When I was a little girl we had Christmas morning at home, but Christmas Eve was always at my paternal grandma's little house in the country. The excitement mounted for several weeks as we prepared for the yearly gathering of dad's family. We usually had several inches of snow by then and I don't think snow tires had been invented yet,

so.......

The thrill of the ride is hard to forget, as the old brown car was not a jet,

Snow covered the highway, with ice slick below, Dad clung to the wheel, mom screamed for a tow.

"Kenneth, be careful, you're going too fast, You missed the turn off, you slid right on past!

There's ice on the road, is that a deer? Stop the car now, let us off here!"

Dad's concentration was on the car he was in, he seemed unnerved by mother's din.

In fact sometimes it seemed to me, the grin on his face was one of glee.

As our car skidded and teased the ditches, Mom's shriek's rose to new found pitches.

I really believe dad enjoyed the drive, especially when the car would slide.

When at last we slid down the lane, it was truly as if our Christmas had came.

The evergreens were covered all glistening white, our headlights making them crystal bright.

The branches were heavy and hung very low, creating a tunnel for our car to go.

The darkness ahead was made bright as day, where our headlights shined, showing the way.

As we slid to a stop, mom was gripping the seat, her hair was undone and not very neat,

And her fingers were blue and cramped pretty tight, dad turned off the lights we stepped out to the night.

The dear little house always seemed to say 'come' we ran quickly inside to see everyone,

Our aunties and uncles and cousins galore, and dear little grandma stood by the door,

To make sure she got her share of hugs, while the big people passed those 'Kool-Aid' jugs.

Grandma looked so pretty, her face had a shine, her family all home, it's Christmas time.

Back in the corner of the front room, (we kids filled the center), The Christmas tree stood in its homemade splendor,

With paper chains, and tin can twists, little foil balls, not a single branch missed.

Tinfoil icicles shimmering bright, brought magic to this special night.

At the top of the tree, way up so far, Majestically rested the Christmas Star.

Colorful packages under the tree, were they for you? Were they for me?

Everyone talking at the same time, It's Christmas you know, so its just fine.

Grandma made turkey with all the trimmings. And we ate our fill like we did on Thanksgiving.

The big people laughed and hugged a lot, drank more 'Kool-Aid' and sometimes they fought.

But to us kids it was the best time of year, Snow outside and the family all here.

When we kids were so tired we slept where we fell, they bundled us up for the ride from hell.

There were lots of hills on the way home, and our old, bald tires wanted to roam.

We slid and spun and turned sideways in the road, our dear old car hopped like a toad!

Dear mother screamed all the way, dad just smiled, boys like to play.

When at last we finally got home, mother swore she'd never more roam,

Out in the snow to go anywhere, Christmas could wait till the streets were bare.

A sigh of relief escaped her blue lips, as she gave dad more driving tips.

We all ran inside and dad stoked the fire, poor mother looked as if she'd expire.

She put on the coffee, and kissed us goodnight, we put on our nightie's and turned out the light,

Then we hurried to bed so Santa would come, it was cold in there and we froze our bum.

And try as we may we couldn't sleep, but stayed quiet as we could and tried not to peek.

but............

Above my bunk, dad had made a little window, so heat could circulate above and below.

And what were the two older girls to do, when baby sister who was just about two,

Had fallen asleep, and we could not, being so eager to see what Santa had brought.

We resisted a while, but then heard a clatter, so quietly peeked to see what was the matter,

And what to our wondering eyes should appear, two jolly elves wearing mom and dad's gear.

And what do you think they used for a sleigh? Two shiny new bikes they pushed away,

Right into the front room where our Christmas Tree stood, did Santa think we'd been 'THAT' good?

We held our breath as we watched this smiggle, then quietly lay down and tried not to giggle.

Sleep wouldn't come, we whispered all night. I think they knew we'd seen the sight.

And if I know them both as well as I think, As they pushed in those bikes they shared a wink.

And now as I look back on that wonderful night, I wonder if they ever got into a fight,

When dad cut that window over my bunk, Knowing we'd peek, I think he thunk.

I know it may be hard to perceive, but he cut that window just before Christmas Eve!

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CHOCOLATE!

I snagged this first picture from the Internet. I think this baby's smile says it all.

Obviously she is eating chocolate.

The little guy in this picture is my grandnephew Alec attacking a chocolate covered cream puff just like any healthy little boy should. This was taken several years ago. He's a big boy now.

At Christmas time I usually get a box of nice chocolates. My mom always had them at Christmas time too. Recent reports are telling us that dark chocolate is good for us. Unfortunately the fat it's made with is not. I have always favored milk chocolate, so wouldn't get as much benefit anyway. So I just try not to eat too much of that decadent stuff.

When I was a child I remember waking up on Christmas morning to the smell of wood smoke from our wood burning heater and cook stove, intermingled with the fragrance of fresh brewed coffee. After a mad dash to the outhouse, a quick wash I was ready for Christmas, Oh Boy, was I ready!

Hopping out of my warm bed took some courage, as the floor was cold and the house had not warmed up yet, but that didn't stop my two little sisters and me as we bounded down the stairs nearly falling over one another in the process!

I knew there would be some special treats because I had seen mom making candies, cookies and her special date nut cake during the weeks before this wonderful day.

Mom always wanted us to have breakfast before we opened our presents and began sampling the treats, but trying to get a bowl of porridge down when there were juicy, sweet oranges in our stocking and dishes of sugary treats beckoning, was nearly impossible. Usually a few swallows was all we could manage. Dad never pushed us to eat breakfast first. He was always just as excited for us to open our presents as we were. Of course mom didn't want to clean up after sick kids. I sure don't blame her for that!

I have a lot of wonderful Christmas memories. Some I have shared in past posts.

In my next post I plan to tell about one of my most wonderful childhood Christmases.

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