My Birthday

I am one blessed Grandma to receive such sweet, homemade cards from my kids!!!

Christmas Day 2012

The boys were a little excited on Christmas morning!!!  What could be better?!

 Grandma brought the fixings for making a Happy Birthday Baby Jesus Cake for our breakfast:  an angelfood cake frosted with whipped cream and topped with fresh strawberries.   

Later, everyone came to Grandma's house for Christmas dinner.  Texas had a WHITE Christmas this year! 

Love Living Close!!

When I arrive at their house, the little boys do a dance exclaiming, "It's Grandma!"  Sometimes instead of a dance, they get down on all fours and pretend they are dogs.  That is what they did a couple of days ago when I needed to stop in.   Then the two little doggies started roughousing and I observed this cute play:

Today is Greg's birthday!  To help out a bit and see my birthday boy early, I offered to pick up donuts and bring to the house before leaving for church.   Our family's tradition, when the kids were little, was to stop at a donut shop on the way to church.  Grant said we needed that time to settle down and prepare for church.  The truth is, he was never around when I got the kids ready for the day except on Sundays.  He was oblivious to the daily trauma of getting kids ready for school on time!  It stressed him out to have to constantly be on top of them to get them out the door.  It was HE who needed the donut and coffee break before church.  Anyway, Greg tries to continue that tradition, but, instead of eating the donuts in the shop, he brings them home. 

So I arrived with donuts, and set the table.  In the process, Gabe bumped into me.  His Mom told him to say, "Excuse me!"  He replied, "It's only Grandma." 

When all were seated with the boys in their Sunday finest, I was closest to the cabinets.  Cathi said, "Get me a bib please."  Cracked me up as it sounded like she wanted it for herself.  

I gave Greg his birthday gift from me at breakfast as did Jeremy as he leaves for his Dad's today over the holidays.  Jeremy presented him with a wrapped gift with 2 giant Hershey bars taped to the top.  Greg immediately said, "A case of Mountain Dew."  Jeremy said, "How did you know?"  Greg said, "Am I right?  I just said that because it looked the right size!"  He peeked in the end to see it really was Mountain Dew.  Then he said to Jeremy, "Well, you owed it to me for drinking my last can."  Jeremy retorted, "I didn't feel guilty because, I knew I had more for you." 

Jeremy's Christmas Concert

Tonight was Jeremy's high school band concert.  He had a solo part in "In the Bleak Mid-Winter."  He said he was nervous, but he played beautifully!!!  

Between sections of the concert, he played in a clarinet quartet.  They also performed flawlessly.  Grandma was very impressed with the quality of the performance! 

With a buddy.

I became a (step) Great Grandmother!!!

Born December 14, 2012 - Ivy Mae Christopher

We drove to OK on December 16 to meet Ivy Mae.  Just 2 days old.  I am careful to call myself a STEP Great Grandmother!  ha! 

Grandpa loving his granddaughter!

 Grandma thinks she is precious.

The Children's Christmas Program

The Children's Christmas Program at their Baptist Church

Near the beginning, Gabe (in red sweater) and his class walked across the stage.  Gabe is carrying his sheep head.

 Gabe is on the far right wearing his sheep head with Kien in the center of the stage -- the angel on the right. 

Kien was the angel Michael.  He had a large speaking part quoting, "Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you:  you will find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn." 

 He received thunderous applause for his speech!  The only child in the program who received his own ovation! 

At the closing of the program, when all the participants came back on stage, Kien and Gabe stood together in the very center of the state.  Gabe was now playing a tambourine. 

Grandma Babysits

I saw a balloon reindeer being situated as I drove to the boys' house.  I asked if they wanted to come see a giant reindeer, so they got on their bikes and off we went!

Once we were there, I remembered Cathi has told me Kien is frightened of people dressed up in costumes.  Neither of them wanted to get off their bikes and go closer!   But no one cried or seemed overly frightened. 

On the way home, I asked Gabe to repeat what he did for me yesterday when I babysat.  I didn't have my camera then -- but here he is climbing a vertical stone wall all the way to the top!!!!!   :-0    Oh, my. . .

 Of course, Kien can handily climb to the top AND jump off from the top, landing on two feet.  Gabe walks down the sloped wall to a more comfortable place for jumping.  Still too high for Grandma's taste! 

I was there to "babysit" Gabe and Jeremy while Mom and Dad went to Greg's work Christmas party.  Kien was also out at his sleepover at a friend's house.

Grandma brought supplies to make dinner for the three of us:   mac and cheese for the boys and gluten-free mac and cheese for myself plus green beans and Christmas cookies from the exchange.

Tonight is the first time Gabe has been eager to read stories with me.  He kept bringing me book after book!  :)   And we played toss with a small ball again.

Jeremy "treated" Grandma to a movie after Gabe was in bed -- "Red Dawn."  Oh, my.  Talk about violence!!!!  So I fell asleep.  When it was over I "tortured" him with playing 3 to 13 with me.  Unfortunately, my cards were phenomenal, and I won 0 to 110, though we didn't finish the game before Mom and Dad walked in.   I kept telling him I wasn't trying to win, because I want him to like the game.  ha!  But he said he did like the game. 

Christmas in the Kitchen

I wanted the boys to come to my house to see my decorations and help make Christmas cookies, but Mommy had to wait for their furniture delivery, so we did it at their house.

Grandma made up the dough in advance as it is a VERY difficult dough to stir.  The boys helped to roll out the dough and shape the candy cane cookies.  They were very good at making Play-Doh style "worms"  which were then twisted into canes. 

Their attention span waned before we were done, so Grandma finished the batch.  Kien did make a pan of "gumdrops," as he called them.  He snipped tiny pieces of dough to bake as gumdrops.

The purpose of these cookies was for Grandma to take 2 dozen to a neighborhood Christmas Cookie Exchange this Saturday.

Then we made gingerbread houses!  But these were not cookie and frosting.  They were foam sheets and stickers.

 These held their attention better.

 And it was easy to make a LOVELY creation!!!

Grandma was a bit challenged on the construction part.  Thank goodness, Mommy knows what to do!  :)

Skipping ahead to Saturday, December 8 -- the day of the Cookie Exchange.  WE WON!!!!  The BEST DECORATED COOKIE award!!!






Then we played with puzzles.  Melanie gave Gabe this puzzle of Mater and Lightening McQueen.  He LOVES it, and puts it together over and over again. 

The Boys Having Fun

This family LOVES wheels!!! 

Kien is doing great on his bicycle.  Gabe is an excellent driver!  Greg is just silly!  LOL 

Tree Climbing

We visited the little town of Roanoke at a special chicken restaurant and did a bit of shopping in the boutiques along the main road.  Jeremy is encouraging Kien to be a tree climber. 

Hopefully he never falls out like Jeremy did recently!