Happy Anniversary!!

Happy Anniversary to my sister, Terry, and her husband, Ken! December 29 will mark their 37th wedding annivesary. WOW! That's wonderful...and guess how they are going to celebrate? They are going to Disneyland, courtesy of their children!! How cool is that?!! Hope the weather is good and enjoy celebrating in the "happiest place on earth"!! CONGRATULATIONS!! What a great couple! Here are the newlyweds 37 years ago...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALISSA!!

Today is December 24th, Christmas Eve, AND our Christmas Angel's birthday!! Alissa Noel came into the world at 5:20 a.m. on the 24th of December, 1980.
That means today is our middle child's 30th birthday! Alissa came into this world with a mind of her own... and a heart full of love and compassion for other people. Faith-filled and independent, until we were in crowded places, and then she clung to me like glue! She's gotten over the "clinging" part over the years, but it's a great memory for her mother! Here she is as a 4-year old ready for preschool one morning!
She was always a girl who changed her mind about what to wear 3 times in the mornings before going out the door...I'll check with Alan, but my guess is that she still does that! ;-) She loved dance, but wanted no part of brownie scouts after one year...here she is ready for a recital at age 6 1/2
As a child, she tended to be "shy" and more of an introvert, having just a few special friends throughout her school years. Alissa has blossomed into a young woman who speaks in front of groups of people, teaching painting techniques and color seminars for Sherwin Williams. Alissa is very focused on pursuing her dreams. Her sense of fashion and color were definitely not inherited from me, but she has always loved colors and has a great flair for interior design. If you haven't had the opportunity yet, please check out Alissa's "twitters" and "from me to you" on her GGRS website. OMG! There are some great fashion tips, "Friday favorites", photos and DYI projects that Alissa has posted on her blog.
Alissa, I wish you the happiest birthday ever...You deserve the Best! love you!

PREPARING FOR...

Since my last post, December arrived and in a flurry of activity, Advent is almost over already. It is a time of preparation....to prepare ourselves for the gift of Jesus Christ's birth into this world. It is certainly a special time of year, filled with many traditional activities to be enjoyed. I find myself sometimes going through the motions, and this year I have tried to step back and really think about each activity and how meaningful it can be. Decorating early was a big help this year, as Vince and I were hosting early Christmas celebrations for both of our extended families.
I'm a shopper, so I LOVE looking and finding the perfect gift for loved ones. By the way, the GGRS Gift Guides are a great tool in keeping track of gift ideas for loved ones! Check it out! ;-)http://ggrightsize.com/Baking this year took a backseat until this coming week. Since I'm now officially on "Winter Break" from work, I hope to get a little traditional baking done! Wrapping gifts is another favorite of mine...years ago when my children were small, gift wrapping was always done during the "midnight hours" when I was half asleep, so this week I hope to relax and enjoy the process. Savor some hot tea, listen to Christmas music or watch a classic Christmas movie will add to the enjoyment.
I have enjoyed practicing with the choir every Thursday night at our church, learning all the music! I feel very blessed to prayerfully sing praises to God! If you need to feel inspired, traditional Christmas carols sung from the heart will do the trick! Last, but not least, I love writing Christmas cards and my annual letter...maybe due to the fact that I love receiving cards and letters. Hearing from loved ones each holiday season is such a blessing. Speaking of cards....I better get started on those! ;-)

Grateful for...

I am so grateful to have had a 4-day weekend, celebrating Thanksgiving and enjoying family togetherness. I have many blessings, but am especially grateful for my parents who were able to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with us. Here's Mom with my niece Amy, hubby Chris, daughter Alissa, hubby Alan, sitting on the patio.
We celebrated the holiday at my sister Terry and her husband Ken's lovely home.

Their son Jeremy and his wife Jamie who live in Mississippi came home for the holidays, so it was great to see them again! They're expecting their first baby in June, #5 grandchild for my sister! Bless their hearts!!

Here's my Dad standing on the patio with my other nephew Chris,holding 5-month old Bode with his wife MaryBeth!
Last, but certainly not least, we enjoyed our grand-nephews, Amy & Chris' boys:
"almost 7"-year old Aiden is in the center, 4-year old Garrett is on the right, and 2-year old Ethan was too busy for a photo opportunity!
We enjoyed the chance to finally meet Jamie's family, as we had not been able to travel to their wedding two years ago. It will be nice to be able to put a face with a name now!
I am grateful for my daughter Alissa who "comes to the rescue" each year by helping me decorate for Christmas. With her help on Friday afternoon, Alissa provided the momentum I needed to get alot done this weekend!
I am grateful that my husband (being one of the biggest "grinches" on the planet), was willing to help me put up our Christmas village on Saturday afternoon. Thankyou, honey!! On Saturday evening we were thankful to see Mike and his family whom we didn't see on Thanksgiving Day. Vince helped them with a family photo, and then we went out to eat at Chick-fil-A. We splurged and enjoyed the new yummy Peppermint Chocolate-chip shakes too!That's something else to be grateful for!
Tonight I am thankful to have had a nice phone conversation with daughter Jennifer whom we miss. She and hubby Joe were able to celebrate Thanksgiving today with Joe's parents, since Joe and his stepdad both worked on Thursday. Jen and I compared notes about our turkey dinners and holiday activities, and she could hear her niece chattering in the background, as Mike and Cailyn were at our house for dinner tonight.
Tomorrow, it's back to work, but the special memories of the last few days will keep me going! I have many blessings to count, and so much to be grateful for!

"If you're happy....

...and you know it..." Well, you'll at least have a smile on your face after you view this "happy" video of little Cailyn! She does love her music! Hope this makes you happy to watch it!

A Beautiful Wedding...

...and a Beautiful Bride and Groom!! Joshua and Elizabeth "tied the knot" in a beautiful mass at St. Timothy's Catholic Church on Friday, November 12. Josh was beaming, Beth was glowing!! The Fiesta Inn was the venue for the wedding reception. Great food, good music and dancing...a wonderful celebration! Congratulations to the newlyweds!!

Happy Birthday, Michael!!

On November 12, 1983, our third child was born, all 10 lbs. 9 oz. of him!! Michael was a blessing to our family and has always been the twinkle in our eyes. He is a grown man, with a family of his own now, but continues to bring joy to our lives! This is a photo of Mike when he was 7 and "into" Ninja Turtles. Notice how proud he is of his lost front teeth! Here's a snapshot of Michael with his cousin Joshua. They are a year apart, and were always "buddies" Here they are "posing" at their Nana's house over 20 years ago, but it seems like yesterday! November 12, 2010 is also a big day for Michael's cousin Joshua. Our Godson will be wed on that day to his beautiful bride, Beth! This day will always hold very special significance for both of these guys! Happy Birthday Mike, and Happy Wedding Day, Josh!!

ANOTHER DOUBLE CELEBRATION!!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to Jennifer & Joe. November 8 marks their 7th wedding anniversary, and the first one to be celebrated in Florida where they now reside. We hope your day is filled with reminiscing about and making new happy memories together! We miss you and love!!
Our son-in-law Alan will celebrate his birthday on November 8...we hope all his math students are well-behaved and anxious to learn on Monday!! That may be a bit of a stretch, but certainly something "to wish for" on your birthday! Have a great day, Alan!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

We celebrated Halloween a day early so that our immediate family (minus Jen & Joe) could gather together for a chili supper, cornbread, and see Cailyn in her costume...and she delighted us by coming to the door and softly saying "trick or treat"
Mike and Corissa said it was "challenging" to get her dressed, but the results were worth waiting for! What a darling "ladybug" she is!! AND even her dolly had a costume to match...
Cailyn opened her bag of goodies from Mimi and Grandpa, and out of all the little gifts in the bag, she was most happy with the silly straws! I think she thought they were drumsticks or something! She had fun "dancing" in her ladybug costume!

After supper, Aunt Alissa made caramel appples for everyone,
and Uncle Alan carved a pumpkin
Everyone admired the jack-o-lantern-in-process
AND the trick-or-treaters will enjoy this happy pumpkin when they come to our door this evening~
Hope you all enjoy a Happy Halloween too!

October 28, a Day to Celebrate...TWICE!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to TWO special couples in my life. My parents are celebrating their 59th wedding anniversary today. We celebrated with them last Sunday with a trip to downtown Phoenix on the light-rail. Our destination was the Spaghetti Factory and we had a delicious lunch there,
and enjoyed our train trip too!
Our son Michael and his wife Corissa are celebrating their 4th wedding anniversary.
They celebrated last weekend going on a "date" while Alissa and Alan took care of Cailyn!
Many more happy years together to both couples!!

October Break

Before October is over, thought I would blog about my activities during my October break from work. It was a busy week, but a much-needed change of activity and scenery! I rented a few movies to watch, did some reading,
decorated for Halloween,went shopping, including Costco. Mike and Cailyn joined us there one evening
I had the opportunity to watch granddaughter Cailyn on Monday, Thursday and Friday. She is one busy girl now! Being 20 months old means Cailyn has lots of energy which results in one tired Grandma at the end of the day! ;-) At home
I also did some paper-shredding, rather mundane, but I listened to an audio book while in the process.
I played dolls with Cailyn...

At home I did some on-line shopping
and some yardwork. I went on a walk with Cailyn; our destination was the McDonald's two blocks from her house! They have a great indoor toddler play area!

She and I like the yogurt parfaits! We got to enjoy Elmo's alphabet song on their computer, but only for a few minutes.
I practiced my latin choir music, one of the many special songs for the dedication of St. Mary Magdalene's new church building on October 29.
I joined the church choir last spring and really enjoy serving in this ministry. Have I mentioned that Cailyn's favorite puppet is a kitty, and her "boo-boo bear" is always nearby!
She loves dressing up, and likes playing blocks with her Grandpa! He came over to play after work one day. The weather was still warm, but early on my last playday with Cailyn, we went out on their patio right after breakfast, still in her pajamas, to play with bubbles. I had been told how much she likes the bubbles, and there was a special wand that makes tiny little bubbles, and Grandma had a big time with that!
While Grandma was busy making bubbles to entertain Cailyn, she surprised me by being more fascinated and entertained with moving dirt from one flower pot to another
What was supposed to be a nice, clean fun activity turned into quite a dirty, muddy mess, since Grandma then had to clean the dirt out of the water table, and Cailyn of course wanted to help with the water!
She and I were both wet and muddy by the time we went in the house! It's a great memory and I am so grateful that I had the week off, and an opportunity to spend some extra time with Cailyn!