Christmas Morn........

Here are the Tacoma pictures! Ashley got a pony....her name is Buttercup, and a doll house. Deryck got a remote-control helicopter and Guitar-hero, and Grandpa was great! (not really). Theo loved all the gifts everyone got! It was a very fun and crazy morning and we all had lots of fun.

Christmas Morn 2008

This year, Christmas was a new experience for us all. Jim, Michelle, and the kids have a new home down in Tacoma, so they wanted to spend their first Christmas morning there together. So, after our Christmas eve dinner and church, they headed home and Andy, Sarah & Theo went home with Papa and me for our Christmas morning.

I was up around 7:30 to bake the sweet rolls. Theo woke up about 8:30, just after his parents got up. He wasn't sure about the present thing. We've all been telling him no-no about touching things, so he was very surprized when we told him it was ok to open things! It wasn't long before he caught on, and he just wanted to sit and play with all the new things, and the wrapping, and the boxes!

After we finished, we loaded up the car and headed for Tacoma for more presents and a wonderful dinner, and more fun with family and friends. As an added treat, it snowed on the way down! It's the first time I can remember it snowing on Christmas morning in a very, very long time.

We had a great day, and went home for a well deserved rest. Christmas is my very favorite time of the year!

A Christmas Date!

Sherman and I got to take an evening for just we two, and we snuck down to Tacoma to the zoo for the annual Zoo Lights! I am quite the Christmas light nut, as you all know, so this was a really nice way for us to have a date night. We saw the lights, enjoyed the beautiful weather, and then had Thai food while we finished up our Christmas wrapping. I so enjoy this time of year, the fun and joy of Christmas is such a blessing to our family.

Caroling Party

On December 14th we had our annual Bible study & Friends Caroling party. We braved the elements (for once it wasn't raining when we started!) and went to carol at a couple of local elderly centers. Andy's grandma is at one and we try to see them each year. At the second facility everyone was gone to see the Living Nativity! So we headed back for home and good friendship, food, and fun! Santa was there to see us all and I got a good picture of him with the Grandkids....even new Babylew got in on the fun!

Gingerbread Decore?

For this year's gingerbread experience, I chose a tree instead of a house. We had our normal icing wreck--we put the wrong color in the wrong bag with the wrong tip! Not that it mattered, the icing just sort of dripped off the end of the branches!! Still, after all the decorating was done (and all the extra icing was eaten) our tree looks mighty fine! Maybe we could get a job at Macy's?!?

Christmas Count Down

I love Christmas. Family, friends, the food, the sights and sounds, Santa, the warmth and cheer that is all around us at this wonderful time of the year. I'm so thankful for all our family, and our extended family. God gave us Jesus, such a glorious gift , and because of that gift, I love the way it joins us all together .

I'm always looking for a new experience at Christmas. I love building memories for my kids and especially for my Grandkids. My next few posts will be about our family and how we celebrate this special time of the year.

Sunday afternoon, we took a trip up North and went to visit one of Santa's Reindeer! Cupid posed with us for a very nice family portrait. She is the one in the front with Ashley. Ashley has never been a good smiler when it comes to pictures. We have to really work to coax one out of her sometimes. As you can see, she was full of smiles this time! She got to be the special Cupid holder, and it just made her day.

Theo's First Uncle Dave's Visit

Not really the very first time, but the first time since he started eating big boy food! This is our favorite neighborhood cafe'. If you have been to visit us, you've been to Uncle Dave's. Theo really enjoyed himself. He even drank up most of Sarah's tomato juice! Unusual fare for a little guy. I don't think his parents will be able to afford to feed him when he's bigger!

Thanksgiving past

Better late than never! Here are the cutest kids in the world carefully posing for the Thanksgiving Picture--as you can see, they all sat quietly. Well, some of them did. We had a great Thanksgiving dinner at the Olalla Lewises new home. It was fun and filling!! That's Sarah sharing her dinner with new Babylew. Can't wait to see her, him, whomever!!

Scrapping 12/01

Last Saturday during the snow storm, Jana and I spent the afternoon scrapping at a new shop we found. It was a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon, and we even finished a really cute project!

George the Wonder Dog

Daniel called today and wanted some video of George the Wonder Dog! So here is my attempt to show off the great tricks of my crazy weiner dog. As you can hear, he doesn't always get the command right on the first try, but he will try, try again until he gets his treats. We actually think he is very smart. And cute! Enjoy.