Adults and Children MIX it up with TEA and FORTS

We had a lovely time visiting the grands and playing like children.......that is the fun part of having kids around......you get to play with all of the toys and pretend again!! Rhi opened her tea set and we had loads of fun with this ---only she insisted on serving coffee. (now her mom drinks tea soooooo she will have to teach Rhianwen that Tea also can be served!)

Wally tried to read the Italian on this box, but he had to resort to the English version---this was from My hubby's bro and wife and it was a raisin/bread/cake thingy from Italy. We were reading how to serve it and it said to put it in a warm place for a while so it could basically spring to life. It looked great and was nice and soft and enjoyed by all (except for me--since I have to be gluten free---I just looked on in Envy---just kidding???)

Rhi loved this little child's accordion and she got it making some swing music.

Yup, she likes the Italy cake thingy!!

She played with these little babes---they are to keep kids busy when going places.

The new Tupperware toy--which we all love playing with.....even after all of these years!!

Pretend coffee for Uncle Skip with grandpa (who was sick along with the grands--all had colds) looking on.

ALden loved all the action!!!

The guys had to use ALL of the LINCOLN LOGS to build a high tower for Rhi to knock over---however she didn't want to----instead she handed potato man's hand to her Dad and asked him to knock it over......which he enjoyed doing!

Then there were multiple fort building opportunities

And Alden had to watch

He is 5 months and can balance a while on his own!

Knocking down forts is half of the fun.

The walled in room was waiting to have a knock down!!Tunnels had to be built and crawled into!!More forts had to be built!Naps in forts had to be experienced!Uncle's napping and having tea in a fort was a wonderful challenge.more tea or coffee/??? had to be served up!!And at the end of the day .....a long trip home and a visit to Greatgram in the nursing home. She was very happy and had Pneumonia---please pray for her recovery if you happen to read this. We took a new way home from NC since 95 was backed up forever!!! 701 was much nicer and we even found coffee for 5 cents!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A strange Christmas Day

Christmas eve was a nice relaxed affair. With the boys reading in their books and writing in their moleskins.

Dad was practicing his music for the Christmas eve service (below). It was an awesome service. The Christmas eve service is a highlight of the year for me. It began at 10:30 pm with gorgeous music performed by the choir and violinists, organist, piano, drums, chimes, horn, etc. The choir director broke down during one of the songs--her mom had died recently and she experienced a (not sure what to call it) a feeling of being in the presence of her mom and dad and a glory of what is to come. The entire Choir felt this---it was as if they were in a bubble of glory! The entire service was such a rejoicing of what we have in Christ and his gift to us.

Christmas morning started with a call from the nursing home informing us that Gram was sick with a temperature and was being put back into bed. Sooooo she couldn't come home for a visit. Plus my daughter's kids were sick and they couldn't come. My hubby was feeling like he was fighting a cold also. So we kicked back and slowwwweeeedd down. Opening the stockings slowly and having breakfast around 10:30 or 11!

The above picture is the old one ;-)---geeeeeee (I am looking older than gram!) and the bootso.


A favorite cup was in the stocking!

My youngest modeled his casual look.

My oldest son was trying to smile like Mr. Rogers--since he got a book about Mr. Rogers.

More books and an electric razor (spelling??)

a book for the history buff

Visiting by webcam with Eowyn and kids.

The little ones had colds so they could not be here for Christmas day! Webcam is a blessing!

The little one is in constant motion and teething!

Next we went to the nursing home to see gram

She had lots of goodies and suffed animals to keep her company.

Looking at some photos. She was very much under the weather , but she was "with it"--which is amazing and a blessing.

At the end of the day Grandpa went back to his place, quite tired out. We then had a late dinner of Turkey and fixings. We also watched a really interesting dvd of Israel called Against all odds. This was interesting because it had true accounts that occured in modern day Israel that were quite amazing. One interesting thing was concerning some Israeli troops that were in a mine field. It was important that they get somewhere rather quickly. They couldn't---they had to slowly use their knives to find the wires and mines, when suddenly a strong wind came upon them , uncovering the mines---then a full moon came out and they were able to see all of the mines and wires! There were many other neat true stories of providential happenings that helped modern Israel come into being.

So the day, was quite unlike our normal Christmas Day--but a nice one, none the less. My oldest son, Chip (or Chris), made an anonymous 4 cd (which he read about in the Fred Roger's book--) --it is a Gregorian chant type music , only with women.

Also in the book was the prayer that is called the prayer of St. Francis--which I like, and I will end here , thinking on it:

Dear God, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred , let me sow love,

Where there is injury, pardon,

Where there is doubt, faith,

Where there is despair, hope,

Where there is darkness, light,

Where there is sadness, joy,

O Divine Master,

Grant that I not so much seek to be consoled as to console,

To be understood as to understand,

To be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Lastly--it is in reading books of real people that often bring me to see more of my own sin. The book about Fred Rogers and a friend of His, called "I'm Proud of You, My friendship with Fred Rogers"---showed me a lot about real friendship and unconditional love. Convicting, really.

Nice re-union

Well--my oldest son and I got to spend a little bit of time with my grands (my daughter's two kids). Christopher--my oldest son---just missed all of the Seattle snow and arrived here in NC and SC for 60-70 degree weather ;-). We got to watch the Moppet Christmas Carol (a shortened versions for younger kids)Little Rhianwen had a cold and and a touch of a fever, but she was still quite entertaining. She is demonstrating how to take a necklace on and off here. She had a book memorized, word for word, that she had gotten about a week ago---I couldn't believe it!!Christopher got to spend some time with Alden boy-. This little guy is the tigger---always moving and kicking those little legs. He is 16 1/2 pounds of motion--I was worn out trying to hold this strong little bundle!!

I do not know how my daughter manages it--these 2 kiddies are a lively handful!! It was a neat time!

Now we are enjoying some 72 degree weather!! WOW!!!

What could Finer be????????/

Going to see the above grandchild---and as one ole movies states---What could Finer be???!! I stole this picture of her from one of her Aunt's photos!! I call her my little Tigger--bouncy, trouncy , and full of fun, fun, fun!!

Old gadget/ show and tell

It is show and Tell at Kelli's http://kellishouse.blogspot.com/

This is a wonderful old gadget I found 2 summers ago in an Antique shop in NC (Hendersonville, I believe). It works like a gem---you put the potato in and push the handle down and out pops the sliced potatoes.

If you bake them in the oven on parchment paper with your favorite spicy seasonings you don't even need oil!! It is one of my favorite snacks. They take about 20 minutes at 425-450 degrees. This is a wonderful time saving little gadget!! (However I always wonder about old gadgets--do they have lead??)

The Wonderous Nancy DREW

I tell you all---I had such an enjoyable evening last night reading this old book. It was originally published in the 30's---although this copy was made in the 90's. I had picked this up at a library book sale and was going to give it as a gift. BUT when I went to wrap it I had to sit down and read it-----I got hooked after just a few pages.

It is delightful if you love mysteries---it brought back so many memories because this series is what began my love for mysteries. I remember going to my little old stone library in the town of Somers, CT. It had neat bay areas and the mysteries were lined up in one of the bay areas. I took out a Nancy Drew mystery (I believe in 3rd grade) and I got hooked on reading the whole series and from then on I couldn't be separated from books.

So reading this book brought me back to my childhood. It was fun to look at the old sketches in the book and think back to old times and old ways. ....like pulling into a gas station and having an attendant pump the gas. Reading about George (a tomboy) and Bess and Nancy---old friends. I hope my granddaughter will one day get hooked"

Of course the book ends with a temptation to read another book: "Bess grinned. 'Didn't I always say that adventure follows Nancy Drew around?'

"And Bess was right, for another exciting adventure awaited her courageous friend, who very soon was to become involved in The Clue in the Diary." !!

Pre-Christmas escape

This was the view we enjoyed this weekend at Myrtle Beach. My hubby and I give this gift to each other before Christmas --a weekend romantic get away for total relaxation.

Normally we go to Charleston, SC. But there were wonderful deals on beach front hotels!! They were half the price of Charleston---and instead of just a room we got a suite--bedroom, kitchen and living room (sleeps 8) for 1/2 the price of a regular room in Charleston. We decided to sleep on the fold down bed which fits into the wall---it gave us this wonderful view. We even cracked the sliding doors on the balcony and could hear the waves on the beach as we slept.

One funny thing however! There is a lazy river pool that was a floor below our room. At 3 in the morning someone turned on something down there which made a huge rumbling noise and the people were talking very loudly over the noise. But it didn't last too long. There were some crazy kids that came one afternoon and they would run from the heated water, outside and into the cold outside water and then back into the heated water. It was in the low 50's so they would scream and hoot as they did this. There is a pirate ship that straddles these pools of water and they would run through the ship. It was quite funny.

We did get in a Christmas Carolina Opry show and an evening of candle light at Brookgreen Gardens. It was wonderful! We even got to see a dolphin this morning in the water right outside our window!! (however when we returned home the infamous neighbor's cat in the post below, managed to spray our second story window again for the zillionth time---what to do what to do???)