2015 Christmas Letter

THE CHRISTENSEN FAMILY CHRONICLES

Circa 2015

This letter is provided as a public service in response to the many requests we received about it – we decided to send it anyway…

Eagle Bend Achers - Crop Report:  Hard to reach the fruit through the anti-deer fencing…
Things That Are The Same:  Too many hungry deer and the number of “seniors” in the house…
Things That Are New:  HVAC; patio swing; a “living” mattress; TV/eating perch; tires…

The City CEO - Collecting his ceremonial gavel he assumed duty as Chamber of Commerce Past President – the equivalent of a potted plant, traveled to Keeneland Park to watch the running of the Bluegrass Stakes (the old adage “always bet on the gray” needs revising), continued as KLC First Vice President, and in a stunning turn of events, was selected as 2015 City of Official of the Year.  He reclaimed his crown in the Sadieville Chili cook-off , winning “Best of Show” and “Most Original” (the main ingredient of the latter was “leftovers”) and testified before the Joint Committee on Local Government on the 2016 KLC Legislative Agenda.  Accompanied by queen they two attended Old Folks “Prom Night” aka the Philanthropy Awards Dinner, a Black Tie event in Lexington (the Valet guys just loved parking our Jeep).

He drove the mower around the yard a lot and finally completed (more or less) the Bridal Path down the hill.  The race to see if he or the hill won became a matter of principle but eventually spiking his shovel he declared victory shortly before passing out.  We attended a few ball games too; the first, was “Bark In The Park” night wherein fans bring their dog, and the second, was “Princess Night”, more or less self-explanatory – with hot dogs, fried Oreos and tiaras.   For the record there were some similarities between the two.

“Cultural” outings included “The Black Jacket Symphony” an ensemble group of really good musicians that select an artist/album and “cover” it in concert.  They caught our eye because their subject matter for this tour was the Eagles “Hotel California” album, terrific show and lots  cheaper than the real thing, which we enjoyed later in Lexington -- Eagles Concert #4, you do the math.  This was followed by a trip to see “Midtown Men” (some of the original “Jersey Boys” cast), and finally Emmy Lou Harris & Rodney Crowell.

The Queen of My World  –  Sandi the Care-Giver, it’s just what she does. Me, her father, her kids, me, the grandkids, me, the Friends of Sadieville, me, her Institute students, me…   Anniversary #45 saw us in Key West, Florida, great timing because while there the mother of all blizzards hit Kentucky and we couldn’t get back, extending the trip.  Lodged at an old Inn, we strolled old neighborhoods, shopped the fabled Duval Street, photo-opted at the southeast point of the US, toured Hemingway’s home (lots of six-toed cats there), took a sunset cruise, visited Truman’s “Little White House,” enjoyed a terrific dinner cruise, cruised 70 miles out to Dry Tortuga Island, and came back to 18 inches of snow in our front yard – the sublime to the ridiculous.   Other travel included trips to Utah, New River Gorge in West Virginia, travel north to collect or deposit relatives and eat Greek food.  We also visited the hoppin’ town of Rabbit Hash, Kentucky where the mayor is Lucy Lou, a red and white Border Collie, nuff said…

Tempted with Japan she yielded, and they two traveled as part of the Scott County delegation to the 25th anniversary of the Sister City Agreement with Tahara.  An immersion of epic proportion in an ancient and beautiful culture different than anything we have experienced to-date.  Details can be found at her blog of the: 14 hour flight, “interesting” food, bullet trains, giant statues, temples, shrines, tiny hotel rooms, tinier bathrooms, the emperor’s confectioner, 2800 photos, castles, noodles, stocking feet, the Great Buddha, the good Buddha, and just Buddha, sitting on the floor at dinner, Happy Coats envy, Dashi Floats, parades, official gift exchanges and photos, and a fireworks show you can’t even imagine.

Her highlight this year might include Melon Day with the Homemakers Club (SO many directions I could go here) but we gleaned some great recipes from the event and leave it there.  If that was not THE highlight of her year, eating dinner in a horse barn would qualify - the “Celebration of the Bluegrass” dinner at Normandy Farms, good food, “interesting” ambiance.

Tylorama – Ah yes, the Michigan Tylers.  Life came at them this year but they endeavored to persevere.  Business is good at the store, they know where all their kids are most of the time, they continue to pay appropriate homage to Ma and Pa, joining for lunch at The Pita Place on more than one occasion.  Paul graduated himself from the surly bonds of school and ventured off on his own to explore the world with stops in North Carolina, Arkansas, and circling back to Muskegon, the ride so far was interesting for all concerned.  Ms. Aubrey on the other hand was lucky enough to visit us twice this year, is a high school senior, a cousin spoiler and Pa worshipper, and landed her first real job at Arby’s, ironic its Aubrey working at Arby’s but it was fun to have her wait on me at our visit there and get paid to be nice.

Marxalot  - Michael, survived his first half-marathon and promptly announced his plan to do the whole thing in 2016.  Andie continued to mold young minds and began her own journey in higher higher education, speaking of moldable minds.  Hayden, took up basketball and wowed us as Sir Dancealot in his Performing Arts Club.  We also got to bury him in the corn pit at their fall break visit to Evans Farm Orchard - which reminds me, we should go pick him up.  Ms. Bailey, now a Brownie Scout/budding musical performer/cheerleader sparkled in the “Magic Schoolhouse” chorus line and as Lark the Crow in the “Acorns to Oaks” epic and making us proud at their annual neighborhood whip cream battle, after school let out for the summer.

Blogman – Our family writer/space fan/blogger/graphic designer continued his journey this year.  Trading up in terms of cars and apartments, and dutifully visiting his aged parents on multiple occasions.  He applied for and was accepted to the special NASA program celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope in Washington D.C. so he has that going for him.  He also did some story telling in and around Chelsea this year participating in a couple of area “Moth” events.

The Ropers – Yes, it’s a new branch on the old family tree this year.  The former Ms. Katlyn Squires, now the current Mrs. Drew Roper, is living happily ever after in beautiful downtown Grand Haven, Michigan, building cars and making babies.  They are a lovely couple with stars in their eyes and love in their hearts (ugh!).  At the wedding Mrs. Roper made it clear she expected “honorable mention” in this year’s publication.  This was it. First great grandmonster due January 2016.

You made it! Having completed this years’ chronicles, enjoy a temporary sense of accomplishment and have a great next year.  Press “Next” to continue cause WE ARE OUTTA HERE!
The Christensen’s !!!

Lovin' Love's...& KLC Lunch...

Today was the Grand Opening of the newest Love's Travel Plaza right here in Sadieville. This has been under construction for over a year. Lots of hurdles to cross. Awful snow last February which slowed construction for over a month. Rainy spring that kept the ground to wet to work. A hill to move to fill in another hill and extra things to make that work. It was a mammoth job. But it is now finished and opened for business December 10th with the Grand Opening and ribbon cutting by the Chamber of Commerce this morning at 10am.

We had a wonderful turn out from Sadieville and Georgetown and Scott County. Love's was very pleased with the citizen's who came to share in this moment. 

When Love's builds a new travel plaza in a community, they find a local 401c3 and make a $2000 donation to it. They called our City Clerk and Sandy referred them to me as the Chair for the Friends of Sadieville. I told Chris Corbaz in Oklahoma City how grateful we were for this generous donation. I explained to him about our restoring the Rosenwald School and how we are now working with the City of Sadieville to restore the Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church to be a Community Center for Sadieville. This would go directly to help with the restoration. He was very pleased we already had a great need and purpose for this donation. This is a picture of Mr. Zafor, the General Manager, presenting the check to me. Very nice moment.

This is probably my favorite picture of the day so far.  And, I don't even know who took it to give them credit. That is my purse. When it came time for me to receive this check, I turned to Claude to ask him to hold my purse while I received the check so it wouldn't be in the pictures. Then we weren't sure Claude wouldn't also be in the pictures. Senator Damon Thayer was standing with us and I said Claude should hand my purse to Senator Thayer. He was adamant he was not going to hold my purse. Silly man. So Claude turned to Bobbie Bruner, who is Sadieville's Police Chief, and Bobbie took the purse and held it while we accepted the check from Love's. Bless Bobbie's heart. Truly appreciate his service which is above and beyond his role as Police Chief.

So it was a great morning for Sadieville and for Love's and for Scott County. I even tried a Hardee's biscuit and I pronounce them the best. They are made from scratch every day. I shall be having more of those tender morsels in my future!

We hurried from the next event to Lexington. Claude had an invitation for us to attend the Kentucky League of Cities (KLC) Holiday Lunch for all their office staff. Claude is 1st Vice President. This was held at a newly renovated restaurant that was just a beautiful facility. The meal was served buffet style and was delicious. After the meal we enjoyed a parade. Yep a real Christmas parade. Anyone who came in Christmas attire could participate and they followed Jon Steiner around the room in a parade of their costumes. This was followed by a judging with applause for the best costumes. Many prizes were given.  

Here are my three favorites:

This young lady was a Christmas tree. She thanked her dog for helping her put this costume together.

Okay, I'm guessing this is a tree skirt used as a cape for this gentleman. That Santa hat on his head had a mind of its own. The pointed top would just pop up of its own accord and then go back down. He was having great fun in this costume.

I noticed a table near us where all the ladies were wearing these red reindeer antlers. I thought that was very cute. Then they announced the parade and they all got up together. That was when I put it together. The lady with the red nose was Rudolph and the other ladies she works with were the reindeer.

It was fun to be with the KLC crowd again. They are such nice people and seem to appreciate working with Claude.

A Tender Experience...

I teach an Institute Class at Church every Wednesday evening. This last semester our course of study has been titled "Jesus Christ and the Everlasting Gospel". It is a newly developed course and is excellent. 

Each of the young adults has been given a journal to hold a weekly handout with quotes and journal entries of things we studied that week. They are each to take an assessment at the end of the semester to evaluate what they have learned and to clarify any questions they might have. I titled that week on my syllabus as 'Assessment and Testimony'. 

This last Wednesday, December 16th, was our final class for this semester. We had our final lesson titled "A Personal Witness of Jesus Christ". We covered the material for the lesson and set the stage for thinking about and bearing our own personal testimony of the Savior. 

The assessment for this course had three questions:

1. What can I learn from the Savior about obeying the will of the Father?
2. Why do I need the Savior?
3. What have I learned in this course about Jesus Christ and the everlasting gospel that has blessed my life?

Those are very though provoking questions. The young adults were invited to use their scriptures, their journals and notes taken and read in class through the year. We took 10 minutes for them to quietly reflect on the first question, look through their material and make notes on a sheet of paper with the first question on it. When the 10 minutes were up, we shared what we felt comfortable sharing from our answers to the question. If one of the students had a question, we paused to discuss it and share our understanding.

Then we went to the second question and again gave 10 minutes to quietly reflect on the question, look through their material and make notes on another sheet of paper with the second question on it. When the 10 minutes were up, we shared again something we wrote as part of our answer. 

The next 10 minutes were used to answer the final question. This question was more introspective and very personal. When they finished making their notes and writing their thoughts, I asked each of them to share their answers. There were three students in attendance.

Justice was first. She was baptized 6 months ago. She shared the most tender personal story. The first Institute class she attended she had not been baptized into the Church. She was taking lessons from the missionaries but she had a hurdle to deal with. Justice had already been baptized into the Church she was attending. She really didn't understand the need to be baptized again in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The first lesson she attended we happened to cover baptism. During that lesson I asked those in the class who were already members to share about their baptisms. I did not ask Justice to share. She was hurt because she had been baptized, just not into the LDS Church. In her heart she knew I didn't deliberately try to hurt her but this was her line in the sand at that point and she was offended. However, we also read a quote by Elder David Bednar explaining about being offended. He tells us that no one can offend us unless we choose to be offended. This quote caught hold with Justice and she took her offended heart and that quote home and talked with her Heavenly Father. She came to realize that no one was trying to offend her and that she was choosing to be offended. She turned it over to Heavenly Father to help her learn and understand about the need to be baptized into the LDS Church. Her heart was softened and she was baptized. She is such a sincere, delightful person. Her testimony about these principles and doctrines was straight from her heart and set the stage for the next two students to share their testimony.

Mckenzie has not been to many classes with lots of travel while she has been home over the summer. But she has been a member all her life and expressed her love of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how important that is to her, how she loves to read and understand it more. She was particularly touched by another Elder Bednar quote about the Atonement. He gave a banner talk (in my mind it was a banner talk) about the Atonement. In it he tells of the importance of the Atonement making the way for us to repent and be forgiven of the sins which we commit and the Savior acting as our Advocate with the Father at the time of Judgement. He also told of the importance of the Atonement in providing Resurrection for all of Heavenly Father's spirit children who have received a body here on earth. Then Elder Bednar explained the other important part of the Atonement, the 'enabling power' which helps us to be better and more than we ever could on our own. It is that strength that takes us through the lowest, hardest points in our lives and helps us learn and grow through them. This is such a precious part of the Atonement and that quote touched Mckenzie's already strong love of and thirst to understand more the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Powerful testimony.

Josiah was the last to share. He simply summed the whole course beautifully and explained how much he loved that every aspect of the Savior's life was an example and touches our lives. He feels that in all he does and in the choices he makes with his life. He thoughts were clear and summed up all our feelings about Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer. 

This was one of those lessons that touched my heart. I want to always remember the goodness and strength of the young adults. Mckenzie and Josiah will leave January 1st and head to Idaho to school. Aubrey and Breck shared their feelings about these three questions the week prior to leaving on their missions. I love the Seminary and Institute programs of the Church. I personally grow so much as I prepare the lessons. Then I am doubly blessed by having tender moments like this to strengthen me as I watch these young adults share their understanding. These moments truly sustain me when the trying moments of life come. I am grateful for them.

The Bug Came On Fast...

Tuesday, December 15th, I went to visit Linda. We had missed two appointments this month already and changed their dates due to illness. I was very happy to find that morning that coming to visit was fine as everyone was well.

I got up early to get my boxes of Christmas presents ready to mail to Michigan on the way to Linda's home. It was a struggle to get the right size box for each home and I ended up with two boxes for one of the homes. As I left my garage I feared the postage bill on those boxes. 

Love having the little post office in Sadieville. There was not a line and there very seldom is. It is as if we all agreed on different times to come to the post office so that there is never a line. They stay very busy with all they have to do and I greatly appreciate not having to stand in long lines like I did in Maryland. I was early enough in the month to be able to send all the packages parcel post and still be sure they would arrive. The postage was half of what I figured it would be. Yippee!!  And...those boxes were on their way and one huge item off my 'to do' list.

However, by the time I got the packages to the post office I was late for my appointment with Linda. Sent her a text and she said not to worry or feel rushed. Bless her heart! 

We had a lovely visit. Right off the bat her cat jumped up on the sofa beside me. I am allergic to cats. I placed him on the floor and Linda shooed him out of the room. However, I'm sure the two cats they have sit on the furniture a lot. We visited for about a hour. Then it happened...

I could tell I was going to sneeze. Knowing the illness they have had in the home, I didn't want to make Linda nervous that I was sick. I tried to suppress the cough and sneeze I felt coming on. I did get a tissue and tried to be ready. I did sneeze a time or two and then I could feel my voice changing and my throat feeling funny. I prepared to leave Linda and we both agreed it was probably the cat.

Home I hurried. I blew my nose. Got some water to drink. Ate a piece of fruit. Sat and crocheted for a moment waiting for it to pass. Not so much...My nose started to drip like a faucet. I was coughing. I was sneezing. I was running through tissues and my nose was leaking more than dripping. Goodness. Maybe it was not the cat. I kept this up all afternoon. Claude wasn't going to get home until about 7pm. I dripped and sneezed until he came home. This was not good. I really didn't want to be really sick. 

As the evening wore on, I didn't get any better. I finally told Claude I was going to bed. I took some cold medicine we had on hand, filled my insulated glass with ice water, and headed to the guest bedroom. Claude had an early morning meeting and I didn't want to keep him awake with my antics. The cold medicine knocked me out, which was a good thing. I only woke up twice during the night and didn't get out of bed Wednesday morning until almost 9am. Unheard of for me. But the rest was good. And I awoke not sneezing or dripping anymore. 

I'm not sure if it was the cats or not but man it came on quickly and went away by mid morning Wednesday. Almost like a 24 hour cold. 

When I got home from Linda's, I found 'yellow dragons' on our hill. They were digging and moving and pounding down earth. The end result was more rock extending out from either side of Eagle Bend Drive where it goes up on the hill. Not sure why they did it. But it looks like it might be a good place for a car to turn around. I must walk up there and check it out some time.

Polar Express 2015

This year Sadieville hosted the 4th Annual Polar Express. We were off to a rocky start this year.  We received one phone call from the Scott County Library asking if the Christmas lights were still in the caboose and if they were working. Sandy Whelan, our new City Clerk, called me. I eMail Pastor Mullins since Eagle Creek Baptist Church has been using the caboose over the summer as a Sunday School room. He eMailed me back and said the lights were there and working. I told Sandy and that was the sum total of our communication with the library.

The next thing we knew the Library printed and gave out tickets for one evening only and we knew nothing about it. I usually publish their flyer on the two Facebook pages for Sadieville that I maintain. We didn't get to do that to notify the people of Sadieville and northern Scott County. In fairness to the library, they are under a major renovation and addition being built on the library. They were going to close the 7th of December until the 28th of December to move things from the original part of the library to the new addition so renovations could be made to the original section. They were short handed which necessitated them only having one night of the Polar Express reading instead of two nights. They thought they sent over a flyer with the person who maintains the Library Express kiosk outside of City Hall. Those flyers never came to Sadieville so we were completely out of the loop. No one ever saw an advertisement about this year's Polar Express in the paper. Not sure how or where it was advertised but it was totally missed by those of us in Sadieville. Steps have been put in place so this doesn't happen next year. And the library plans to take the event back to a two night event. 

Even with all that drama, this year was a great event. 160 children were able to listen to the Polar Express read in the caboose. Santa Claus talked with lots of children in City Hall. Pictures were taken. Hot chocolate and cookies were consumed. It was a wonderful evening. 

Here are a few pictures:

There is a wide range of reactions to Santa Claus. There is also a wide range of how parents handle the kids reactions. I love Santa holding the babies. It is fun to watch the family when the child finally is okay with sitting on Santa's knee. It is a strange kind of thing we do with teaching our children "Don't talk to strangers?" "Don't take candy from strangers?" and then we bring them to a man dress like no other they ever see in daily life with striking hair all around his face and say, "Sit on this man's knee and tell him your wishes and he will give you a candy cane!" I marvel. Simply marvel at we humans. 

I also loved the picture of Claude. Not sure if he was making a Christmas list to give to Santa or if he was working on his 'to do' list for work. 

This year's Polar Express ran very smoothly. When all was said and done, the library was happy and Sadieville was happy. But...I have a lot of left over candy canes!!

Let's Fill Another Day...

Tuesday, December 8th, found me at Dr. Kreutz office.  This is our new dentist. Dr. Jane Clay has been our dentist the entire time we have lived in Kentucky. She quietly sold her practice to this young, energetic dentist. He put a filling in the base of a crowned tooth in the back of my mouth. I happened to run my tongue along the base of this tooth and realized there was no filling there anymore. I called the office and they quickly got me in. He replaced the filling and sent me on my way at no charge. Very sore mouth but no charge.

Off to pick up Papa. It was his turn at Dr. Richardson's office. He had a good exam. The change in his prescription was so minor there was no need to purchase new glasses. However, his cataracts in one eye warrant cataract surgery. Papa didn't want to do this. I think he is over doctors for a bit after his heart attack. I did have concern over how his glasses were resting on his nose and pressing on the skin. He has a crease on the top of his nose and where the pads rest was starting to create wounds in his skin. This happened two years ago when we got him new glasses. Walmart changed the bridge on the nose of the glasses and that gave him relief and his nose healed. Dr. Richardson's office was able to put larger pads on Papa's glasses and to make the arch that goes over his nose higher so it didn't rest in that crease on his nose. Relief at last. 

Took Papa home and started my journey to LaGrange. This was the evening of Hayden's final PAC (Performing Arts Club) performance. A Christmas themed program titled "North Pole Musical". Great performance by a mass of kids. Have to give the teachers credit for handling that many kids and having them all participate and learn to love music and performing.

Here are a few pictures of Hayden as an elf in "North Pole Musical".

Hayden and his buddies. 

Hayden and Bailey. 

Back we went to the Marx home so the Mini's could share some of the chocolate they bought after a tour of a chocolate factory while on their Thanksgiving vacation.

It was another full day for the books. And a good one to boot!

Let's Fill a Day...

Monday, December 7th, found Claude and I both at Toyota. The Georgetown/ Scott County Chamber of Commerce was having their December luncheon. The guest speakers were Mayor Kayla Jones of Stamping Ground and Mayor Claude Christensen of Sadieville. They were going to give Claude a microphone. I can't be responsible for him when someone gives him a microphone. They just have to sit back, relax and listen to his burning whit and find all the jokes buried therein. 

The Sadieville City Commission were invited to support him. In attendance was myself, our City Clerk, Sandy Whelan (Claude's calls her Sandy 2 to keep his Sandi(y)'s straight), Commissioner Detta Wilson and Commissioner Brian Reese. They all took an oath to do the wave when it was Claude's turn to speak. Oh my...we were in for lots of fun. 

As it turns out, someone at the head table could not attend and I was asked to sit with Claude at that table. We had a nice light lunch first. Then Mayor Jones spoke and did a great job. Then...Claude took the microphone...

True to their word, from the audience came a lovely yell and they each stood up and did the wave. Everyone got a great laugh out of that. Claude made his comment and we were on a roll of laughter interspersed with good words about Sadieville and the plans for its future and the accomplishments of its past. Claude did a great job and everyone seemed to appreciate the humor.

After this meal, I went to see Dr. Richardson. Time for that annual eye exam. These always fill me with dread. Not the actual exam, the concern that I will start to need real prescription glasses instead of my little readers I love to wear on the end of my nose. This exam was in my favor in that I did not need to buy prescription glasses. However, it was not in my favor in that I have pressure that is not good in my right eye. If left unchecked it could lead to glaucoma and blindness. However, there is a med for that. It is an eye drop to be put in each eye each evening before going to bed. The side effect is a nice one. It makes your eye lashes longer. Turns out it is the same med Dr. Richardson gave to Claude. Another nice thing we get to do together.

After buying groceries for Papa and spending some time visiting him, I hurried back to Sadieville to finally begin putting out the interior decorations. Claude had the exterior lights up. I was really behind the game for me on getting things done inside. I had a happy moment as I put things around the upstairs portion of our home. I have a little nativity made in Guatemala that I love. Very simple. Last year I could not find Baby Jesus when I set this nativity out. I went through all the decoration boxes and never found it. I set it out anyway with the Baby Jesus and stored it when I put the decorations away last year. I was delighted to find the Baby Jesus this year tucked inside the first nativity Claude and I purchased after we were married. Yeah!!

That's a full day. But a good day.

Hanging of the Green...

A first for Claude and me this Christmas season. We were invited to the 'Hanging of the Green' at Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky.  This is an annual event at Georgetown College.

Our first visit was to the home of Dr. M. Dwaine Greene, the President of Georgetown College. Never been in this beautiful home. It is located on Main Street in Georgetown. Their huge tree was centered in the entry and decorated with ornaments made by the students in their art classes. Some beautiful and very unique ornaments. We toured the first floor of the home. Refreshments were set out in the dining room. The treat that intrigued me most were two bowls of what appeared to be whipped icing, one white and one chocolate. Beside these two bowls were a couple of bowls of little sprinkles or jimmies that you might put on donuts or cookies. Beside that was a big bowl of pretzels. You simply dipped your pretzel in the topping that looked the best, then in the sprinkles or jimmies of your choice. Now that is an easy and fun treat to set out for guests. Dr. Greene talked with us for a bit about the history of the home and then we just chatted with him about other things until time to head to our next destination, dinner.

Dinner was at the Cralle Student Center of Georgetown College. We have dined here before for special dinners. It is a small dining room across from what appears to be the cafeteria for the college. It is a lovely room and nice for these kinds of affairs. The meal was delicious. A few speeches were made at the end. Then we were off for the next portion of the evening.

This event took place not long after the mass killing of many people in San Bernardino, California by terrorists. This is a troubling and difficult time in our history. The next step in terrorism is home grown, independent acting terrorists. They tend to target killing as many people as they can. This heinous act was a big point of conversation. However, a cute moment came of it. Dr. Greene received a text message that day from someone on the Board for Georgetown College. He cautioned him about attending an event with lots of people where the title was "hanging the Greene's"!! It was good to laugh at something that is so concerning. 

The John L. Hill Chapel was our next destination. We walked there. This is where the service and program for the 'Hanging of the Green' takes place. The college students handle this portion of the evening. They had wreaths placed along the wall by the floor boards and under the stained glass windows. On the stage at the front was a tree with no decorations. The first order of business is to 'hang the green'. People sitting close to the wreaths simply get up and hang their wreath closest to them in the stain glassed window. Then anyone who had brought an ornament brings it to the stage and hangs it on the bare Christmas tree.  Such a sweet tradition.

The program then follows with music and the lighting of five advent candles for Hope, Peace, Joy, Love and Christ. A love offering was passed for the child of one of the professors. A wonderful address was given by Reverend Bob Fox. After the benediction, we all moved to the final place for the evening.

Giddings Circle is outside and is what its name implies, a circular driveway. Paper bags lined this circle with tea candles in each bag. Everyone has a candle in their hand and goes to a bag and lights the candle in the paper bags. Then we all sang "Silent Night" several times. 

The evening was done and Claude and I headed home feeling a lot of the Christmas Spirit we all seek at this time of the year. What a nice treat at the beginning of this Christmas season.

Thanksgiving 2015...

Over the river and through the woods from Michigan we go...
The car knew the way to carry us there as over Ohio we drove...
Over the river and through the woods and straight for the brisket we aim...
We seem to go extremely slow as over the river we drove.

Yep, we had visitors for Thanksgiving. Katelyn and Drew left Grand Haven, Michigan after Drew got home from work. Their destination, Chelsea, Michigan, where Jake was ready to hop in their sleigh and head to Kentucky. They arrived very late Wednesday, November 23, 2015. 

Wednesday, I used some cashews we had and made cashew brittle. Claude had a recipe for home-made Big Hunk candy. We made them. I just have to say that Big Hunk recipe was delicious. It will be a must treat for other family gatherings. It never really set up but it was great with a spoon. 

Claude smoked a brisket and then a turkey to feed us through the weekend. Thursday I picked up Papa and brought him to Sadieville about noon. This gave the Michigan branch of the family a chance to sleep in a bit after their long drive. Then we feasted on a delicious meal of family favorites. Football was watched and naps were taken. Thanksgiving was just a very restful day. 

Meanwhile, out on the highways the Marx family was driving to Florida. They made it to Atlanta, Georgia the first night and then to Florida where they spent one night prior to embarking on their next Disney cruise. I purchased a couple of games the kids could play in the car on the way and they sent me this fun picture while in route.

By Friday, Jake was ready for a hike. I asked if I could tag along. He agreed and we headed out of Eagle Bend and across Hwy. 32, then down Mulberry Lane and back. It was a great walk. We found a deer carcass with rib cage in tact. Some kind of hornets nest high up in a tree. Beautiful stone fences along the lane. White tailed deer hopping out of our way. It was just delightful. We paused to look at a stream and I asked Jake to strike a 'thoughtful pose'. 

We found out that Drew had never seen Princess Bride. To the basement we headed with edibles in hand and enjoyed watching Princess Bride together. I started a new crochet project. Now Drew has seen a classic movie our family enjoys.

Claude found a recipe for burritos made out of smoked brisket. The final bits of brisket were magically turned into burritos by Claude and enjoyed by everyone but me. Katelyn had requested a salad I love for Thanksgiving. It is a Jello salad recipe that has a bottom layer made with strawberry Jello and whole cranberry sauce and raspberries. When that layer sets up you top it with the next lay of lemon Jello, melted marshmallows and pineapple. I love this salad. Claude...not so much. It makes a big bowl and there is no way to make it smaller. So I had a big bowl of this salad every day. While everyone dined on smoked beef brisket burritos, I had a wonderful Jello salad. 

Katelyn, who is very pregnant with our first great grandmonster, enjoyed the privilege of napping whenever her body needed a little rest. She napped on the sofa, the guest room bed, our bed and finally the floor at my feet. Such a cutie.

By Saturday we were ready for an outing and something different to eat. What to do? What to do? How about BD Mongolian Grill. That was the choice and we introduced Drew to an new restaurant. Yummy. Then we stopped by Papa's apartment for a final visit. Papa took the bottom picture with my cell phone. I asked him to take several and it was a good thing I did. This was the one with all our heads in the picture. He did a great job, especially for someone who never uses a cell phone.

Sunday morning the family would load up and head back to Michigan. There would be a little rain to drive through but overall the weather was good to them. 

This Thanksgiving was different. It was all adults just relaxing and taking things very easy. We talked about playing board games but never got to it. Books were read, football was watched, crocheting was done, movies were watched, good food was eaten, junk food was eaten. It was a very grown-up Thanksgiving and much appreciated by each of us. 

Thank you Michigan family for making the drive and sharing family moments this Thanksgiving.

Orff...

Okay...that is not the sound you make when you fall. Well, Orff could be that sound. But in this case it is not that sound. It is the name of a man. He did something to bring all kinds of instruments into the class room for the kids to learn to play. And, the brand new first year music teacher at Buckner Elementary decided to have the third grade classes perform a program titled "May the Orff be With You!" Bailey is third grade. We were invited. We are grandparents that love our grandmonsters and are close enough to be able to attend. We went.

Thursday night, November 19th, was the performance. Hayden had a doctor's appointment so Claude and I timed our arrival so we could pick up Bailey from Bear Care while Andie took Hayden to the doctor. We scooped up Bailey and headed to McDonald's. Timing was brief between school and the time she needed to be at the school early before the performance.

McDonald's was an interesting experience. We were going to go through the drive-thru, get dinner for her and Hayden and take it back to the house. As we approached McDonald's Bailey started to talk about this big hamburger she saw advertised for McDonald's. It has three buns and two burger patties on it.  She described how they layered them and how fascinated she was at the size of this burger. She really wanted to see one. We told her they would have a picture of one on the menu inside the store. Grampa decided he would go in to order and Bailey would come so she could see the picture of a Big Mac. Bailey was happy. We went in, placed our order for two Happy Meals and looked at the picture of a Big Mac. Then we hurried home with Bailey thanking Grampa for taking her in to see this picture. Grampa telling Bailey she could order one some time if she wanted. Bailey saying it was too big. Me saying she could cut it in half and share one with Grampa. Bailey then using that vivid imagination saying she could take one bun and half of the burger and Grampa could have the other buns and the bottom of the burger. Who knew a Big Mac would bring such lively conversation!!

We got to the Marx home and Bailey ate her dinner and did a bit of homework with my help. Andie got home just as it was time for Bailey to go to school. So I got Bailey out the front door and into the van and shuttled Hayden in and sat him down for his dinner. He wanted to watch a show and  I told him he could IF he would eat his dinner while he watched it. That was agreed upon and he watched that and then a bit of America's Funniest Video's with us. Then it was time to go to the school for "May the Orff be With You!" 

Here are some pictures of the very interesting Bailey and her dynamic personality during the performance. I have video of her pointing to where her parents should be taking their video as the turkey's march in. The child is definitely NOT inhibited in any way, shape or form.

And here are two of Hayden.

It was a lovely very short program. We were treating the Mini's and Andie to ice cream after. Michael headed home. He gets up way before the rest of the family to run every morning. As Claude and I got in our car to head to Dairy Queen, I said, "That was a very short program. Only grandparents would drive an hour and a half each way for a 15 minute program!" Claude laughed because he was about to say the same thing. Wouldn't have done it any differently but it was sure fun to think of it from that perspective.

I want to share an Baileyism from the week. The best way to do that is just to share Andie's Facebook post:

From the mouth of Bailey..."I'm so glad God invented winking because it's really fun!" I suggested she mention this gratitude in a future prayer. She then got right to it but winked afterwards which ironically made her prayer seem disingenuous. ‪#‎aMENTAL‬

Love my grandmonsters.