We Celebrated....

 Ted made 14 of these trays. He used wood we already had on hand.  I asked for the handle slots in the end.

 I did get them all wrapped in time. We were having our Christmas gathering early this year.

  Here's one little reason why.....baby Leo. Not everyone in the family had met him yet.

 This is Rick and Margo , Leo's parents, they live in Cincinnati.  Margo has been our granddaughter since she was four years old. She is a beautiful girl. So sweet too. They are happy young parents.

  Sierra (granddaughter) was home for a short trip from Florida. She was loving on the babies. Here she is with Luke.

  Max was there and admiring aunt Angie's tree. His parents did not fully decorate their tree.LOL, we all know why....kids and pets are curious.

 Leo is meeting Luke for the first time. He has one little mitten left on his hand , to keep from scratching their sweet faces.  Leo has lots of hair too.  :):)

  Karen and her babies came. Wish I had gotten her husband , Jeff's  photo too. I just did not get the pictures I wanted too. It was a pretty hurried time.  Angie's family was scheduled for family photos on her in-laws side. So for everyone to get together at once, we had a quick brunch. Unwrapped gifts to each other. Then went on to other gatherings. Kathy came out here, to be with Ted and I. I found her a vacuum cleaner, I had in the basement. She needed it. Thank goodness, I had not thrown it out or given it away.

  Early last week, Liz , Matt, and Emma went to a live Nativity scene.  Liz beside a camel. You would not catch me that close.....don't they spit like llamas?? eewwweee. Emma got to see dwarf animals. How cute is this burro.  She enjoyed seeing the animals. She is just like Liz was when she was younger, she loved animals too. I will finish this post. For some reason, I am having difficulties trying to blog.
   Tomorrow is class party for my daughter's class, I'll try to get photos and post tomorrow.  Wishing all of you a great week. XO
                                              

Honor Christmas......

  I remember buying this sweet sign at Horton's one year.  I love it.  It's on the dining room shelf, just barely. :) I like it mixed with all the cards that have family pictures and my Emma and Santa photos.

  One of my mother's best friends made this little deer and tree.  It sits beside a fat baby Emma on Santa's lap.  Then there's Max from last year.

  These pictures are all the same kids at different ages. Sam and Maggie.

  A snowman and tree under the shelf. Kind of a dark photo, sorry.

 I stepped outside to take a picture of our beautiful blue skies yesterday and the school bus was coming down the road, so I wait to get a shot of it. Just dawned on me, the neighbor boy doesn't even take the bus any more...he is driving and has for a couple years. Growing up. :(

Here's a small baby boy I want to keep little for awhile yet.  This is Luke playing with some toy and all excited about it. So cute.
 . It's cold here and snow on the way. I will be getting to the grocery, lol...you know how that goes. Got to have enough milk.   Wishing all of you a great day.

Snow And Warm Hugs.......

  Saturday morning it started snowing here. Blowing with a very cold wind.

  It got to this point and stopped.  I saw pictures on face book of the snows in Alabama , where my big brother lives and they had more snow than central Indiana.

  Later in the afternoon, Ted and I went to the grocery. We were in the store for about 15 minutes, came out to more blowing snow with poor visibility.

 On Thursday of this past week, Ted and I went to Liz and Matt's. The fellows were going to be cutting wood and hauling it to Matt's wood pile. Plus Ted was bringing a load of wood home.  It's the ash trees that they are cutting, all dead due to the Emerald Ash Bore. Liz and I ran  around and visited the kids.  This is Izzy (Emma's cat) . He has a paw in his water dish, which is empty. Sam the dog will drink all the cat's water. So poor Izzy puts a paw in the dish and starts moving it around the kitchen,  to show Liz that it is empty. The funniest thing I ever saw.

  Got to the boys' house in time for Max's lunch. He has been eating with utensils for awhile and does very well.

  Liz has Luke on the counter top and he has his own ideas of what he wants.

  He grabs a liter of pop and tries to bite the top. Those little teeth  , you could hear them scraping.

  This is the buildings east of our town. This is downtown Elwood.  All the buildings are wrapped in colorful lights.  So bright and pretty.

  This one has more than one color.  That is a lot of lights.

 Last but not least.  Look at this beautiful card from  Linda and  LD of  Linda's Life Journal. She painted this picture of  Santa sledding, waving his cowboy hat and wearing western boots, then had cards made from the image. So wonderful and clever. It made my day to get this in the mail. Thank you Chapmans.  Linda is a very talented  artist and paints  Santa pictures every year.  :):)
   Wishing everyone a great new week. Pray for all in need, or send good thoughts.  XO

Ready For Christmas.......

 I did our mantle in the honeycomb  paper trees, snowmen , candles, and the reindeer stocking hangers.

 The paper trees are in three different sizes.  I kept the tiny lights from the Halloween display.

  I found my nativity from years ago. I put it in a little wooden tray. The Angel needs her wing glued back on, it was the only thing broken. I think my daughter Liz gave me this nativity, so long ago, I can't remember. :):)

  I like to get all the plaid fleece throws out for winter. Which can make a lot of sparks if the humidifier isn't in use. LOL

  I had the Harry Connick Show on the TV.  :) Some times when I have the news on, I go about doing chores and completely forget the TV is on. That's a bad habit on my part.

This is a bit of  a  cardinal collection.  That's one of my favorite birds.  I have more things decorated....but I did not go all this year.  Yesterday, I took some Christmas decorations to my daughter Liz.  Told her what she didn't want, give to the children or someone who would want them. I am going to start thinning out things around here.  I sure wish I could start with this office. Total mess. I have got to get busy with my Christmas cards now.
  Wishing all you a great safe weekend. Please pray for those in the fires of California.  XO

Bits of Sunday.......

  Max is eating some cheese and fruit before the cake was served. Not  everyone was there yet.

 Max and cousin Layla playing with one of his gifts, while mommy watches and daddy picks up papers.  Of course Madison is sniffing about. LOL

  I got to hold sweet Luke and love on him. I held him at the front door , so he could watch the neighbor mow, as  he laughed and squiggled. The weather was that nice here.

  This is my daughter Liz's family. Step-son Brandon, Lynzie (mom to Max and Luke) Brandon (dad to Layla) and Emma. These children get along so well . I am proud of them.

  Grandma Donna is sitting in the back ground. She is grandmother to all the kids but Emma. Lynzie had balloons everywhere.

 The birthday cake was actually cupcakes. With tiny dinosaurs on top sitting in the frosting.

  On our way home , we drove by the house in Sharpsville (north of here) .This house had all kinds of Halloween decorations in October, now it  has all kinds of Christmas décor from the 50's  and 60's.

  I would love to know where they store it all. The side yard is full along the driveway. and most of the front yard.

 Also got a quick shot of Santa driving this old car and Mrs. Claus in the back.

 We got home in time to see the moon come up over the woods down the road.  I took this with my phone. I really need to get a zoom lens for my camera. Maybe I should ask for that for Christmas. LOL
  I finally did get the house decorating finished...I have not been this late for many years. Hope all of you are done or close.  Only 19 days after today.
   It is turning cold here. The wind is really fierce. I woke up last night because of  the wind. It continues today. The weatherman is forecasting some flurries this week .  Stay warm. XO

Birthday Boy & Baby Brother....

  Luke is now 7  months old. He is growing so fast.  This is him holding his hair brush.

  He is getting his picture taken outside, so cute.

Here Luke is with the sweet dog Madison.  She seems to love the boys so very much. I now they love her.

 This is big brother Max. He is turning two this week. There is a birthday party this afternoon. I am not sure if this is his cake or one he had at his grandparents house. I just find it hard to believe he is two years old.

 This looks like he is very happy with the cake. LOL. We are celebrating later today , at his house. So I will get to love on the babies. Wonderful.

  Tonight is a super moon.  This was last night, while out driving around.  NASA had an article in the Indy Star today. They said there will be a super moon trilogy. Starting tonight. Then on January the 1st and 31st  there will be full super moon again. Try to get a look.  I love this kind of beautiful event.
  Hope your weekend was filled with fun and love. We had fabulous weather. Things are predicted to change this coming week. Wishing you all a good week ahead. XO

My Week...

  No this is not my tree...oh how I wish it was, I'd be done. LOL. This is my daughter Karen's tree. She sets her tree up in the kitchen . They have a table for the kids to do homework there. They spend a lot of time in the kitchen. At least Karen does cooking and cleaning.

  We have been having beautiful days like this about all week. Some have been windy, chilly but oh so pretty.

  I will show a couple sunsets from this week. You know it's one of my favorite things to photograph.

  This one thru the neighbor's apple trees.  We have had pretty blue skies through the day and fiery sunsets.

 Okay, I must have lied...I normally don't Christmas shop for much. :):) But with great grandchildren, I did go shopping at Kohl's.  As I was typing this, OMG, I forgot Leo...now I will have to go back. I bought these PJ's at 1/2 off. Thank goodness otherwise it would have cost 90 dollars for these three sets. Yikes.  I do not spend like that.  These belong to Luke, Max and Layla.  I fear they are all too big. :(

 A big lego type toy for Layla , one for Max and a musical giraffe for Luke. No deals here . I told Ted I have lost my knack....I would never have ever paid full price for toys before. I had no coupons for Kohl's and I never go shopping without coupons. What happened? Well live and learn , hopefully.
  Wishing all a great weekend, filled with some fun. Be safe out on the roads. XO