Handsome's Third

Handsome celebrated his third birthday with a Pirate-themed party that was a blast.

Cindi had a table full of great food including a 6 foot long sub from Wal-Mart that hit the spot!

This was the afternoon of Super Bowl Sunday so we were all ready to eat well and have fun!

The guest list for this party included the same folks that have attended Handsome's previous birthdays. We know these young families very well. That made the whole party so relaxed and comfortable.

It was great to see Cindi's sister and her daughters.

Over time, these folks have all become good friends of the family!

I chatted with these young women whom I have known for years now.

The young men also enjoyed seeing each other at the birthday party.

God Bless you, Handsome! Thanks for having us over!

Being Present

This is the living room on a typical day of my wonderful life. The kids are playing a made up game called "Baby Island", which they later called "Nursery", and then "Orphanage". 

Here they are baking a cake.

Sisters hang out while the baby plays on the floor.

Shouldn't I be getting something accomplished? Like cleaning off the top of my desk and filing away hundreds of pieces of paper? I ask myself this question ...

and keep coming back to the same answer. No!
Enjoying people and building relationships is what  life is all about.
I am blessed to be a part of my children and grandchildren's lives.
It is a gift that they want to spend time with us, just like we have always enjoyed being with my parents and brothers and sisters!
Housekeeping will just have to wait...
Let's put the kettle on!

FaceTime

Larry very generously gave me a Mac laptop for Christmas which was completely unexpected!
I didn't really think I needed it and wondered how much I would use it. I use it alot!!!!In fact, I limit myself because it is so handy! I use it for research on the many things that come up in the course of a week.
One of the best things I like about it is the feature "FaceTime" where one can look in real time at the person one is talking to over the phone. I remember well when this was something folks talked about "someday in the future" we would be able to do. It is really so much easier to have a conversation with someone when you can see them!

Juby enjoys chatting with her big sister and dear friend almost daily! There is no charge for this, that I know of! They don't just talk either, they hang out!

I am enjoying talking to not only my daughter, but also my granddaughter in this way! We can see Amiable respond to our voices by smiling over and over again and by kicking her feet. This helps to shorten the distance between us. Maybe she will recognize our faces and voices that much more the next time we see her!

Sunday Afternoon

Greg and Cindi spontaneously invited us over on a Sunday afternoon just to visit. It was a treat to get together just to see each other and shoot the breeze. The grandchildren had a good time playing with their cousins!
Greg had just finished painting the family room a soothing, modern blue called "Rainy Sidewalk", which we all admired!

Always, Tea Time

Juby rarely has a guest over without serving tea, the fancier the better! She and Kit can use whatever they want from our hutch to set a nice table.

On another day, Patience joins her for a cup!
A cup of hot tea is wonderful for the nerves and is the preferred drink in the afternoon while visiting in my extended family.

Toymaker

Snow and sickness prevented me from visiting these folks for almost a month! I was delighted to go see them on the first day that everyone was well and back to their normal activities.
Greg showed me his latest project- toy building!

In the photo above is his take apart truck, and his tanks that move around on the top level!
He makes these toys from lumber from actual trees, not from the store!
They are sanded smoothly and finished with a lacquer.
I was amazed.

Handsome and Elegance received their Christmas presents from their Great-Grandparents and this guy got right to work enjoying his puzzles.

Greg cooked a delicious lunch of crispy corned beef hash with a cheese omelet. He and I partied with a cold frappacino coffee drink!

Lovely Snow

Many lovely snowfalls of about three inches graced our days during the month of January.

Falling snow is so peaceful and provided something beautiful to look at while our family members were sick on the couch. The frequent snows also closed the schools for five or six days which fortuitously allowed for folks to get better while preventing further spread of the Flu.

Snow tubing was attempted until we had to put the kabosh on it for fear of serious accidents.
As I looked out the window, I saw our neighbor flip off the whipping tube and land on his back, which luckily did not hurt him.
I had had quite enough stress for one month, and decided that we would take no further chances with
bodily health and wellness! No more Snow Tubing!

Amiable's Afghan

I finished Amiable's afghan right after Christmas. This is the tenth afghan I've completed, each one made especially for the child it is given to. Chelsea wanted to be surprised, so Jeff approved these colors. It reminds us of cotton candy. These are bright, modern, girly colors.  I hope that it keeps her warm and comfy for many naps throughout her childhood.

Turnip, Turn Up!

I cooked a good dinner using these terrific winter root vegetables- Turnips!

The purple color is so unusual and pretty, but when peeled these starchy veggies are white like potatoes and in fact are a substitute for them. They have more flavor than potatoes though, like a very mild horseradish.

You can't go wrong with carrots to add sweetness, color and just overall food value to any roast.

I sauteed celery and onion in the big red dutch oven that I love to cook in.
I didn't take another picture until half the meal was eaten!

Venison Tenderloin was the meat used for this dinner. The pot was full and it smelled delicious!
We had a big crowd to eat with us and it felt like a party!

We served this group...

and then Sam and his buddies ate two bowls apiece.
I was very pleased with this winter dish and look forward to cooking turnips again,
and maybe some rutabagas!

Sick Beds

In the month of January, our family was inundated with severe illnesses!  The Flu hit us very hard.

Sore throat, headache, high temperatures, body aches, and extreme fatigue characterized this year's Flu. After I recovered myself, I was a full time nurse to my husband and children.
We set up a "sick bed" for our sick folks. A sheet on the couch, pillows and the fabulous afghans made by my mother-in-law make for a comfy bed out with the family, under their mom's watchful eye!

We never isolate sick members in their bedrooms which may be the reason why the whole family was sick for the month!

Also handy were the wonderfully warm blankets that my Mom gave to each of the grandchildren for Christmas last year.
 The Flu morphed into a terrible non-stop repetitive cough that required a steroid and prescription cough syrup.
Much school and work were missed.

The sickest person of all of us was our sweet Natalie. She started out with the Flu which was bad enough, but in her case it morphed into a crippling state of being unable to walk unassisted. She went to the hospital twice, once in an ambulance! Severe pain wracked her back and her legs could not hold her up. My 19 year old daughter was using a walker and then even that couldn't help her. Her health was deteriorating despite the medications prescribed. It took two of us to slowly and painfully get her into the car to go back to the hospital for more help.

The Doctor diagnosed a nerve problem.  By God's Grace, ten minutes after receiving an intravenous dose of steroids, she was able to walk with her walker to the rest room better than in the previous five days! We were SO thrilled and grateful! Hope was reborn! She continued to slowly improve with her walking over the next week. An unexpected set back occurred with a case of the stomach flu in the midst of her recovery that cause terrible dehydration and impacted her other health condition. She was very sick for almost three weeks.

Today she is feeling great again and is 100 per cent!
Thank you, Lord Jesus!

Not everyone did recover from the Flu this winter. Many folks died. I appreciate the prayers for her recovery. Mom said to "put your hands on her and pray". Mom is a very strong believer in the power of prayer by the laying on of hands. All of you folks who think she is just giving you a hug better think again! All I know is that it was incredibly sad and heartbreaking to see my 19 year old barely able to lift herself to stand up while gripping a walker. I thought she might be paralyzed or in the hospital for a month. She required full time nursing care from me which was my privilege to give. Meg's help was invaluable. She and the kids spent time with us helping to get her sister through. Our patient could not be left alone. We put in calls to Greg for his opinion. This case needed consultation and moral support.
To God Be The Glory!

After the real Flu and its complications moved through, we were visited by the stomach flu!
We don't need to say much about that- the name conjures up plenty of unpleasantness. This went through our family and the friends who visited us on a particular day in an exponential fashion!

Nine folks who were at our house on one day became sick, two days later. This required some soul searching because I was humiliated to think that maybe my food made everyone sick! We plotted out the details to realize that some folks who ate did not get sick at all, but other folks who did not eat a bite did indeed get sick! It was discovered that work mates of one of our guests had the exact same illness and that it was severely contagious! This was a stomach bug that also included a fever! We went through many bottles of ginger ale and 7-up, both regular and diet.

Good health is a wonderful thing and often something we don't appreciate until we are without it!

Christ Candle

Our tradition the last few years, is to add a white candle in the center of the Advent Wreath. It sits unlit through the four weeks of Advent and is lit on Christmas Day. The other candles stay unlit after the "waiting" is over, and there wasn't much left of them anyway. I really enjoyed this white candle for a few weeks after Christmas. It added beauty to our table and was so pretty burning in the evenings.
Christ is the Light of the World! He overcomes the darkness.

When Love Was Born by Mark Schultz

Lights Out

Larry and the boys took advantage of the warm weather to take our Christmas Lights down off the house.

The guys did a great job.

I always love it when young men can participate in meaningful work, especially outdoor work.

These guys also helped us in the important task of preparing a grave for our family cat of fifteen years, Princess, who passed away just after Christmas.

Thank you, gentlemen.

Christmas at Mom and Dad's

I really looked forward to and had a great time at our family's Christmas party at my parents' house. Four generations were there and Mom and Dad had a present for every individual person!

We had a super meal, which we all contributed to.

This is a nice relaxing time of hanging out, sharing a meal and giving modest though thoughtful gifts.

Holly filled up the dessert table with her homemade treats!

The kids had fun with photo props.

I really enjoyed seeing my large extended family to wish them all a Merry Christmas.
We left at about 6:30 pm but many of the teen-aged grandchildren stayed until almost midnight!