Puzzling...

Slowly but surely I am cleaning out some things from my father's apartment. Little bits, here and there, because someday I'll have to go in a quickly clear it out. The things I remove are things Papa is not using or will never use again. This is one of the little things.

Okay, I'm pretty sure these are dot-matrix labels for cassette tapes. Really, no one is going to use these again. They were a big thing in their day...but not so much today.

Then, I looked at my grocery list one morning as I'm preparing to head to Georgetown. Just wanted to be sure if I needed to pick anything up on that trip to town. This is what I found in my dear hubbies hand-writing on the grocery list.

My first thought is, "Is there a different use for pregnancy test strips that I don't know about." You see, our child bearing days are well behind us. That ship has sailed and is not returning. I went to query my hubby and that mischievous grin crept across face.  It was simply done to get my attention. It did. He was happy with his effort. Such is the nature of humor in older human beings.

Christmas puzzle for 2015. Hayden was Darth Vader for Halloween. The new Star Wars movie was coming out. Our family would be going to see it at the theater over Christmas. A Darth Vader puzzle just seemed to be the right choice for this year's Christmas puzzle. And I had a coupon for half off. It turned out to be a very, very, very , very difficult puzzle to put together. It is a picture made up of all those little pictures of scenes from Star Wars movies. There are 1,000 pieces. It ended up being mostly me and Jacob working on it. It was not finished when everyone left to go home after Christmas. In fact we only had the edges and some of the pieces in the middle. Did I mention this was a very, very , very , very difficult puzzle to put together. 

I continued to work on it here and there after Christmas with plans to have it completed by next Christmas. That should be just enough time. Amazingly on January 18th I completed the puzzle only to find two pieces were missing. I had a couple of sick days with a head cold and used them to work on the puzzle. 

A few days later I was talking to Claude over the puzzle and he asked me if I had noticed anything. Of course not! Claude had knelt down on his old, bad knees and looked under the hutch in the dining room and there were the two missing pieces. He put them in and waited to see if I would notice. Now, there is a lot of background action in this puzzle and I truly had not noticed. 

But it sure felt good to know there was a completed puzzle with every piece in place...and it didn't take till December 2016 to finish it!!

Crafting for Baby...

The snowy weather provided some 'extra hours' which I put to use finishing some things for Raelyn. The first three pictures are things I made for her to be blessed in. That will happen in March. The baby afghan is called the 'cob-web' pattern. It makes a nice light baby afghan. The next two pictures are dress (front & back view), slip and bonnet for her to be blessed in. It has been a really long time since I sewed something that tiny. Well, since I have really sewn like that at all. It was good for my brain to work through reading a pattern again. I loved the little sleeves on this dress. Never have made sleeves liked that before. 

Among my mother's things was this not quite completed baby sampler. I filled in the part with the information about Raelyn. All the rest was Mimi's handiwork. I have not cleaned, pressed and framed it because I want Katelyn to determine how she wants to use it. She may want it to be a pillow instead of hanging on the wall. So I'll give it to her this way and then she can tell me how to finish it off. I'm sure she will be very happy and surprised to have this bit of Mimi given to her little girl.

It's GREAT to be Gramma...

Well, it finally happened. Not something I had ever contemplated. Funny how I knew I wanted to be a Mom. Then I knew I wanted to be a Gramma. But for some reason, I thought being a Great Gramma was not going to happen for many years. Just wasn't a notion I toyed with at all. Claude was the same way about being a Great Grampa. Then...Katelyn was suddenly old enough to marry and have a baby. That would make Claude and me Great Grandparents. Yike!!

Friday, January 22nd, I received a call from Katelyn while hunkered down in my home. She was at her mother's home in Muskegon. She was having contractions and was pretty sure she would have the baby that day or the next. She and Drew live in Grand Haven but the hospital she would deliver in was in Muskegon. So she got herself to Muskegon while Drew was at work so she would be there if things came quickly. 

Todd had been visiting someone and came home to find Katelyn in early labor. He told her they were headed to the hospital. Drew was called. It was at the end of his shift so he did get a full day of work before this began. Nissa was called as she was at work. They all met at the hospital. By 6:44 a little baby girl was born.

Drew posted this picture on Facebook and then we knew it was okay to spread the word. Her name is Raelyn Jay Roper. She weighed 7 lbs. 13 oz. and was 19 inches long. She is a bundle of joy.

Then pictures started to come. Here as just a few.

Doesn't she look like..."What have I gotten myself into?"

Katelyn with her baby girl.

Drew with his little girl.

The little family.

Nissa with her first grandchild. Raelyn was just born and look at those wide open eyes. She and Nissa are going to be great together. 

Three generations: Katelyn, Raelyn and Nissa.

Katelyn posted this on Facebook the day after Raelyn's birth (January 23rd) with this statement: "Never knew how much love I could have for one person. So very grateful she takes after her Great Grandpa Claude and believes in naps. Hopefully that sticks...."  I definitely got a chuckle out of that one.

Look at that little face!

Raelyn holding Nissa's finger. She was just born. Love hand pictures. They speak volumes.

And finally, Raelyn on an outing Monday (Jan 28th) to visit Gramma Nissa. 

This is such a wonderful experience. Even from a distance. Looking forward to holding her myself and kissing that sweet little neck. That is truly the softest, sweetest kisses on a baby. Welcome to the family Raelyn! Or maybe RJ. That is what Nissa is calling her. 

Weather in January...

In December we wondered where the winter was. Wearing Capri pants at Christmas was a little different. Usually it is at least cold enough for jeans and sweaters. Well, winter found its way here in January. We had some very cold days for Kentucky. No moisture at first, just really, really cold. Then the first snow of any measurable size came last Wednesday. We only got maybe three or four inches in Sadieville but it left the roads in a bad way. Claude kept getting text messages from Jack Donovan who is over Emergency Management for Scott County. Two of them were wrecks on I-75. They cancelled all activities at the church for Wednesday evening. I called the Papa and told him I was not taking him to the nursing home to play a DVD for the residents. Then I called the nursing home and asked them to play the DVD we left last week. Claude made soup and we had a nice evening at home.

Thursday the 21st was a clear day with the forecast for major snow beginning that night and going into Saturday. I spent most of my day at Papa's being sure he was ready for the weather. Purchased his groceries. Cleaned his home. And made sure the garbage can was out front for his garbage pick-up. It was full and I wanted to be sure it was out on the street and back before I left. I did not want Papa trying to move it around with the ground still have a bit of snow and being soggy and uneven to walk on. 

I also shoveled his driveway and walks. I found the cutest foot prints when I came to Papa's apartment that day. They were by the front door. 

Papa loves the little critters that roam around his apartment. Thankfully he is in a location where there are lots of them. As a child he loved to be in the woods and just be still and watch the animals. This is one good thing in his life. I paused and took this picture with my cell phone to show Papa the cuteness of the critters in his yard. I have not seen many bird foot prints in the snow that were clear like this. It just amused me so much. I posted this picture on Facebook for others to enjoy. Then one lady noted that it appeared to her the bird got away from the cat just in time. I was crushed. It never occurred to me that the cat was chasing the bird for a meal! I just enjoyed the little bird foot prints. Well, I still enjoy this picture but I really wish that struggle for life was not also in my head.

The garbage man came about 4 pm. I pulled Papa's garbage can around back and headed to Sadieville. The snow came but not until about 9 or 10 am Friday in Sadieville. Claude and I stayed inside all day Friday and Saturday.  We were all asked to stay off the roads unless you really had to get out. Schools, businesses and churches closed.  The forecast was more snow than Lexington had ever received in one day. 

It was really hard to get an idea of how much snow fell because of the major winds blowing it around. We are at the top of the hill and it really blew around up here. There were drifts well over a foot high and then spots where the concrete showed on the driveway. We shoveled our driveway Friday evening about 5 pm. Learned in Maryland with the snow storms there that clearing 4 inches of snow several times during a storm is much easier than clearing feet of snow after the storm. So we cleared Friday in the evening and then Saturday after it was all done.  We met at Papa's house Sunday after church and cleared his driveway and around his HVAC unit. It was buried in snow and having a hard time working. It purred like a kitten once we cleared the snow away and knocked the iced off the outside. 

Not sure the final official measurement for Lexington. Even the weather man said they were having so much trouble with the wind and blowing the snow around that they were having a hard time getting that official reading. The snow storm was an actual blizzard by the time it hit the east coast. One of the kids I taught in Seminary lives in Frederick, Maryland. She posted this picture on Facebook of her car in the snow after the storm. It is the thin dark line center left in the picture. 

It was very pretty snow...from inside my warm home. 

Oily Eyes in the City...

Okay, I'm running out of imagination for Post Titles...

Monday, January 18th, found me at Frank Shoop to get an oil change for my car.  As good fortune would have it, I settled into the waiting area to crochet while the oil was changed when I heard a familiar voice. It was Frank Shoop himself. We got to know Frank while on the Japan trip in September. He is one of those people I just take a liking to. 

Frank popped his head into the waiting room to be sure all his customers were happy and if they wanted or needed anything. When he saw me his face lit up with recognition and he asked me to come in his office for a visit. I took my purse and left my crocheting and went to visit with this very interesting friend. We chatted and several times I gathered my purse to leave. Frank would say, "Are you in a hurry?" I would say, "No, but you are a very busy man." Frank would say, "I have time, let's visit." And I would stay a little longer. It was delightful to just sit and chat about his travels and the time we had in Japan. 

Eventually I went back to the waiting area and took up my crocheting again. The other customers were called as their cars were finished and I waited. Finally one of the guys in the service department came and told me my car was finished an hour before. I had not heard their page while visiting with Frank. I quickly gathered my things and headed to pay for the oil change. I set my craft bag on the floor by the window where you pay. When I finished signing things, I left for the eye doctor.

When I had my eye appointment a month ago, Dr. Richardson confirmed the eye pressure (in my right eye particularly) was way high. This can lead to glaucoma which can lead to blindness. The thing is, I would never have known this. You don't have symptoms that tell you about it. It is something the eye doctor can find in his exam and treat. My treatment was eye drops to be put in my eyes before going to bed each night. This exam was to see how the drops had done over the past month. The results...the pressure number had gone down by half. That was very, very good. So, I keep using the drops and go back in  June for the next eye exam.

While sitting in the chair waiting for the eye doctor to come in, my cell phone rang. I left my craft bag at Frank Shoop's. I hurried back there to pick it up after finishing at the eye doctor.

Monday evening was a special town meeting. Our Kentucky State Representative Brian Linder wanted to meet with the citizens of Sadieville to get their input prior to the upcoming session of the state government. He was well spoken and explained lots of things to us from how the sessions work, to how a bill is passed, to budget and retirement concerns. I was impressed.

Time to wrap this day up and head home to bed. We cleaned up City Hall and headed home.

Another Project Complete...

Late, but complete...

Saturday, January 16th, was the day I finally finished the anniversary gift for Nissa and Todd. Their anniversary was the 14th. I sent them a picture when it was finished. I spread it over Claude and and took this picture. Claude said he wasn't sure he would give it away after being covered by it.

Filling a Thursday...

January 14th was a fun Thursday. 

While Claude was getting a few morning tasks done in his office, I popped in to chat and look what I saw outside his window...

In the first 10 years we lived here, no squirrels. This last summer I saw two in the trees on the hill. Now I see one of the ledge of the window. Yike!! I asked Claude if he was concerned they might be in the attic. He has no concerns in that regard. Me? I'm thinking they are looking for a way in. 

Claude and I started our day by taking down the Christmas decorations at City Hall. While I untrimmed the tree (is that a real word?), Claude worked in the shed where the decorations are stored. When we took the decorations out in November so the Friends of Sadieville (I'm the Chair) could decorate, we learned what a mess the storage shed had been left in. There was clearly a need to toss a lot of junk and arrange the items stored there so you could tell what was really there when you needed something. The storage shed is downstairs from the main level of City Hall. This means every box we needed had to be carried up and down the stairs of the deck. Good fortune was upon us and the freezing temps left for that day, the sky was clear, and we were able to clean with the doors open as needed. I shoveled the snow off the deck and it was all melted within a short time. We still need to clean a little in the shed but that will wait till spring.

By noon we were home and getting ready to head to La Grange.  

We arrived at the Marx home in time to gather the booster seats to put in my car for the Mini's. We were at their school by 3pm to pick them up from Bear Care and take them home. They were to eat a healthy snack before they had to be off again for the evening. However, the Marx family has two new kittens and the Mini's knew they needed to have play time with their little furry friends and to show them off to Claude and me. We got snacks and took them up to meet Pip (Bailey is holding her) and Percy (Hayden is holding him). 

Andie got home about 3:30 and had to get Hayden out the door to his doctor appointment. Claude and I left just before 4:00pm with Bailey. She had a play practice to attend and our task was to get her there by 4:30pm. Once she was settled we found the Dairy Queen where we waited for Andie and Hayden to join us at 5:10pm. We kept Hayden and treated him to dinner. Andie headed home to charge her cell phone and do a few things before time to meet at the school. We ordered Bailey dinner to go. We picked Bailey up at 6pm and met Andie at Buckner Elementary. Bailey had changed into her costume for the wax museum. When Andie arrived she put on Bailey's make-up.

Bailey was Cleopatra for her wax museum character. She loves Egyptian things and was Cleopatra for Halloween a couple of years ago. The thing about this costume for her was getting to wear eyeliner. While she was changing into her costume in the girls bathroom at school, her little friends were talking to her. The first thing out of her mouth each time was, "I get to wear EYELINER!"  

The funny thing was reading a post by Andie on Facebook that night after we returned home. 

Andie:  "What's the deal with removing liquid eyeliner? Is it permanent or something? Asking for a friend..."  
Sandi:  "I am having flashbacks to slicking Jake's hair back with Vaseline to be Dracula and then trying to get it out. I feel your pain."
Andie:  "I'm thinking its too bad I don't keep any ponds cold cream around the house!"
Sandi:  "Wouldn't you know...I have 2 containers of that very thing."
Andie:  "Of course you do!"

Here are pictures of Bailey as Cleopatra.

 

This is a 3rd Grade project. All the 3rd graders pick a personality and research it. Then they write a page long paper about that person. They come up with a costume for the person. And they make a poster about the person. Then the kids are staged in different places in the gym and the hallway outside the gym. They strike a pose and stay that way until someone touches them on the shoulder. Then they wake up and recite what the wrote about their character. After their recitation, they go back into their pose and are a wax figure again. Lots of fun. The kids love doing it. And they really work hard at it.

These are some other children in their costumes. Can you tell you who they are? 

The first young man is Colonel Sanders. Very Kentucky!! The second is a young lady as Van Gogh. I loved the bandage around her ear! Cracked me up. The third is a young man in the role of Jesus. I just told Andie he had some very big sandals to fill.

It was a fun afternoon and evening. 

Where Did January Go???

Looking at my calendar today, I became keenly aware this first month of 2016 is almost gone. Our calendar is packed for the final days and I have not Blogged since January 1st. Not off to a great blogging year! So...let's catch up.

When I reviewed my calendar for January, it appears I did nothing the first week of January. Now, that is not true but I only have my calendar with no exciting entries, just the usual weekly reminders of regular activities. 

The first thing of note was January 7th. Papa had two places on his face that were a concern. They were both by the nose and were hard lumps. I made an appointment with Dr. Davey, the dermatologist. Dr. Davey check Papa and said those lumps were incidental to aging and of no concern. He was not even interested in removing them. However, he did find two spots that were a concern to him that we didn't even see. Amazing. One was on his left cheek and the other on the top of his head.

Dr. Davey took a biopsy of each spot and sent Papa home with instructions to help them heal. I picked up the ointment to put on them at Kroger.  Then I put Band-aids on his kitchen table with the ointment and we read the instruction sheet together and went over what was there and what to do. The spots healed really quickly. He did a great job of taking care of them.

A week later Dr. Davey's office called to tell me the biopsy was cancerous and they were squamous cell cancers. That is the middle level. Dr. Davey wants them removed. Not life threatening but they will only get worse. 

We will go tomorrow afternoon and have one of them removed. Then Papa will have a month for it to heal before they remove the other one. We are told it could take several hours depending on how deep they must cut. The surgery will be done in the dermatologist's office. It is called Moh's. It is a 'microscopic' surgery. They will deaden Papa's face in the area where they will work, remove a thin layer of the area, take it right into their lab and determine if there are any cancerous margins. If there are, they will go back and take more and send that to the lab for testing. The process will repeat until they get clear margins. It take about 45 minutes to process each of the layers. 

This should be an interesting thing to go through with Papa. I believe his trip to the hospital for his heart attack made him not want to go back for anything else. Can't blame him for that now, can we? I know he will set his jaw and go though this with the same determination he always does. He called yesterday and said, "What is this about me having to have surgery? Where did that come from?" Poor guy can't keep it all straight but he knows he doesn't like what is happening. Hope it goes well and as quickly as possible. 

Ending and Beginning...

We continued our much loved New Year's Eve tradition of watching all three Lord of the Rings movies back to back. With one little change. Instead of beginning these three hour long movies at 6pm, we started them at 3pm. Well, 3:10pm actually. This meant we would be through all three closer to midnight. Claude made us big salads for dinner and we ate those while we watched the first movie. We had shrimp, ribs, cookies, Hawaiian rolls, and chips to keep us going through the rest of the movies. I finished a crochet project. We were in bed by 1am. 

Today I woke up to the most interesting cloud formation over Sadieville. I'm not sure what kind of clouds these were but they were beautiful and amazing. I took video of the entire sky just because it was so fascinating. A beautiful way to start 2016.

And today Claude and I have worked on things we wanted to accomplish. Claude is making Jake's Christmas gift, a shoe rack to go by his front door in his new apartment. I'm working on pictures and catching up on my Blog. It has been a good day. I can hear my hubby working in the kitchen upstairs and know I'll soon be called up for left over soup. 

2016 is starting out great!!

Christmas 2015 in Sadieville...

They started to arrive December 24th. Jake was supposed to arrive late December 23rd. But that wacky weather was predicted to have major thunderstorms with some possible tornadoes. Jake opted to wait till December 24th and leave early in the morning. We thought that was a good decision.

So, at 10am on December 24th, we met Jake at the Hardee's in our new Love's Travel Plaza for breakfast on his way to our home. It felt good to have him almost home. Love those Jake hugs. The Marx family arrived later that afternoon and the family fun began. 

First, the set for Christmas. I'm trying every year to pare down the decorations. There are a few things I will not discontinue.  One is the Nativity that is displayed in the front yard. It's not the world's biggest but it is something I feel strongly about and am so happy we have one in our yard. One neighbor in our development has one he puts over his garden spot every year that is life-size cut-outs. Very, very nice. The second item is our tree. It is an artificial tree and it is covered with ornaments from our family, places we have lived and trips we have taken. It is just chock full of memories and really adds to the holidays.

The Mini's come with their own bundles of energy.  Think of it...Hayden has only had one Christmas that wasn't in this home and he was a month old then. Bailey has never had a Christmas that wasn't in our home. So Christmas for them is to naturally take over and fill the house with things that make Christmas for kids so much fun. 

Hayden came with his new digital toy. It has some letters and numbers for the name but for the life of me I can't remember what they are. It plays in 3-D without having to wear 3-D glasses. He saved his money and added what he got from Michael's family for his birthday in November and finally had enough to get this treasure. 

Bailey came in with a live greenery wreath. Andie signed her up for a few hours craft event at the Extension Office for Oldham County. One of the things she made was this wreath. I think she did an excellent job. This is her Vanna White pose. She also took the wreath down and put it on her head like a crown, then struck a posed with an attitude for our photo shoot. Her last picture was of her holding up the wreath and then grinning at me through the center. The child is definitely NOT inhibited.

While I put together some cookie dough to make cookies for Santa, Andie shuttled the Mini's downstairs to decorate their tree in the basement.  I have it all set up with the lights on and the skirt underneath. The box of ornaments and bead garland it ready and they put on as they feel it needs to be decorated. Not sure how many years they will want to keep this tradition up but this year they were very excited to decorate their tree again.

Then it was time to make cookies for Santa and decorate them. I believe the heart of the home is in the kitchen. Family things just go great if there is a good kitchen filled with possibilities. This year I found a really good cookie recipe that Claude loves. He is not a sweet eater so that says a lot for the recipe. I mixed that recipe up as it can be rolled out. When the Mini's came back upstairs, there was a rolled out piece of dough on each side of the island with a small dish of icing and a plate to put sprinkles and sugars on to decorate them. Having them each have their own work area really helps in keeping the mood light and fun. After a bit, Uncle Jake even joined in and cut out some cookies too. That would be my youngest child and my youngest grandmonster together. Way cool! Hayden is enjoying the cooks share! And Bailey cut out a bell and put a big crack in it. Their family went to Philadelphia this year and she saw the Liberty Bell. This was her homage to a great family trip. Her parents were pleased she remembered.

While the cookie making was a big hit, I'm thinking we are slowing down on the concern for Santa. We had to remind the kids to be sure their treats for Santa and the reindeer were outside. They did cheerfully get it together and get them out. But Christmas day I never heard them say anything about checking to see what Santa and the reindeer ate. You can tell we had warm weather for Christmas by the bare feet and the shorts. Goodness.

Movies were watched in the evening and a time was set for opening presents Christmas morning. This is important because I have to get into Georgetown to pick up Papa for Christmas day before any of the kids come upstairs. When I asked about what time we should open presents, Hayden said, "9am!" I was not sure that would really work so I suggested 8am and we all agreed. This to me was another sign of their growing up. Used to want to get up a lot earlier than that. 

Once everyone was ready, we did the traditional picture on the stairs of everyone present that Christmas. Top to bottom: Papa, Hayden, Claude, Bailey, Michael, Jacob and Andie. I'm present and behind the camera. Andie did get a selfie stick for Christmas and there was talk of retaking the picture so I was in it but we just let that one slip by. Maybe 2016.

Here are some opening the present pictures that I really liked. First, Andie and Michael have a tradition of giving stockings to each other. This picture is them opening and finding they got each other the same kind of chips.

.

This is Jake holding up the instruction sheet. Poor Jake received no less that three gifts that he must assemble.

The tape on this particular box just wouldn't let go of the box. Jake is a big, strong guy and he was struggling to try and get it open. I got scissors for him to open it and that became a running joke for the rest of opening the presents. Someone would say they needed the scissors and we all laughed. Then Jake had a gift in an envelope. This was a truly hilarious picture to take. Maybe not in the telling, but in the being there it was side-splittingly funny.

The Marx family had their bi-annual Disney cruise with Michael's family over Thanksgiving. They stayed in a Hyatt Hotel in Atlanta on the way to Florida for the cruise. Everyone but Michael left their book in the hotel room. Michael got their books back from the Hyatt and saved them for Christmas. He wrapped each book with a card inside with a note about returning the book to them. This is Bailey, Andie and Hayden opening their gifts with their returned books. Cute moment for their family.

I had a 'flash of intellect' when it came to getting a gift for Papa this year. I had a strong impression to make him a photo album with his family in it. He really struggles with memory and gets family confused. He has great grandchildren he has never met and can't keep them straight as to who their parents are and which set of parents is a child of me or my sisters. Names elude him and he just gets frustrated with it. So, I made him a binder. The first picture in it was the one he loves of he and Mimi when they were first married. Behind that were a few pictures of them with us girls through the years. Then I included the Blog information of where we lived in DeRidder and where he lived in Winnfield with a few pictures and the maps marking the locations of the homes. I had three tabs, one for each of us girls. They were in birth order and the tabs were in favorite colors of each of us girls. There was a nice picture of each of us with a map of where we lived and our wedding date on it. Behind that picture was a picture of our children with their names clearly labeled. Then there was an individual page for each of his grand children behind their appropriate mother's tab in their birth order.  These pictures were with their spouse or significant other and had their wedding date and map of where they live now. Behind their pictures were pictures of their children with names clearly labeled.  I included plastic sleeves to add pictures that kids may send him and put it all in a pink binder. Pink is Papa's favorite color. He was so happy to get this gift. He carefully read every page and made sure the rest of the family had a chance to look through the book as well. So happy I followed up on that prompting.

Little Bailey had a crafting Christmas. She made a gift for me that was a snow man made of three baby food jars. The top one had marshmallows and the bottom two had instant cocoa mix in them. She even colored the paper for one present. 

Bailey also made something for her dad. I don't remember what it was. What was important to me was that special father/daughter moment when he opened and she explained all about it.

Claude was just Claude. His Christmas attire says what an interesting character my hubby is.

Papa always worries and feels bad that he doesn't bring gifts. This year while purchasing his groceries before Christmas, I found Star Wars light saber toothbrushes in Kroger. They have a button you press and it makes Star Wars sounds for 1 minute while you brush your teeth. I got a Darth Vader one for Hayden (he was Darth Vader for Halloween) and a Obi-wan Kenobi one for Bailey. They were very happy with them and showed Papa how they worked. Papa felt good about his gift to them.

Claude's gift to me was in three parts. Each part has a line from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. These were clues to find that part of the gift. Each was hanging in  Christmas tree. All were things I wanted. A gold chain, a silver chain and a ticket to Time Our for Women this year. The Big Guy did good!!

We had a smoked brisket and a spiral ham for dinner. That meat kept us fed through the weekend. The Mini's made their Lego kits. Christmas afternoon the boys went to the basement to watch some movies. Hayden had not seen the Indiana Jones movies and I believe they watched three of them. He totally enjoyed them. I started the puzzle. It is still on my table and will be for several months. Naps were taken and we just had a very mellow Christmas day. 

The 26th Claude and I watched Bailey while everyone else went to Georgetown to see the newest Star Wars movie. For dinner Michael made sandwiches to order for everyone, I made a veggie tray that looked like Santa and Claude made a wreath out of crescent rolls filled with yummy things. I played the piano and the Mini's sang some Christmas songs. Then Bailey wanted to learn how to play Jingle Bells on the piano. How do you do that with a very active child? I showed her where to put her fingers and the pattern for playing 'Dashing through the snow'.  I tried to intersperse that with the names of notes and that they match lines and spaces on the page and black and white keys on the piano. She picked up on that line fairly quickly. Then we added moving the hands up the keyboard a step and playing 'In a one horse open sleigh'. She was very happy getting that down and playing it over and over. Before the session was done she had touched on the 'O'er the fields we go' line. As we headed upstairs she said, "How about we have a 'free' piano lesson every time I come to visit? I assured her we would do that. 

Sunday morning we had biscuits and gravy and started gathering for everyone to leave. I gave Andie and Bailey hair cuts. We watched for a break in the rain to load cars. What we were really doing was eeking out as many more family moments as we could before going our separate ways.

It was a great Christmas. So happy the kids come and want to come.