More of Texas at Thanksgiving

 Abby with Grandpa Mike.  She is wearing a dress that belonged to her mother when she was a little girl.

 Abby, Sara, Jory, and Aaron on Thanksgiving Day.

 I posted this even though I'm not happy with my picture.  I had lost 20 lbs by this picture, but I don't think you can tell it.  Also, my hair was in a lousy style.  I'm trying to grow it out and was doing a short page-boy which is not complementary to me.  I have since changed it to a more swept back and curled look. It suits my face better.  Hopefully, one of these days, I can show it.   Also, since this picture I've lost five more lbs.!

 Abby modeling a princess dress.

 Aaron mesmerized.

 Isn't this a good "men" shot?!  Usually it involves blue jeans, ball caps, and a car. They were trying to do something with the computer and the TV.

Aaron's Gingerbread House

Aaron's school puts on a display of gingerbread houses.  If the

children want to, they can buy a gingerbread house kit, assemble

it, and bring it in.  It is solely voluntary.  This is Aaron's 2nd year

of making and displaying one.  He did most of this himself.  He 

needed a bit of help in lining various parts of the house with icing, 

but the rest was his doing.  He cut the green stuff to make the door

and the trees and put all the candy on. Aaron is 6 and is in 1st grade.

Sara wrote his name on it.

Thanksgiving in Texas

We spent Thanksgiving in Grapevine, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, with my daughter and her family. We arrived on the Tuesday before and left their house on Sat. morning to drive to Austin for four days.  We had a wonderful time!

 This is the cheese, crackers, etc,  and dessert table.

 This is a view of Thanksgiving dinner from one side of the island.

The menu was: turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, carrot souffle,

biscuits, creamed corn, tossed salad, deviled eggs, Brussels sprouts,  

stuffing, and a cranberry dish.  My daughter will tell me if I left 

anything out.  It was absolutely delicious!

This is a view from the other side. 

 This was the sweet potato and pecan cake---one of my

favorites! The other dessert was apple pie.

Sara and Abigail

We were goofing around -- this is my son-in-law's step-father, John.

He and wife Kim were there also.

Abigail, Sara, Jory, and Aaron

Mike and me with Abigail and Aaron.

All of us.

Corner View: Once Upon A Time

Once upon a time a Japanese princess with a reindeer crown and a bright red hair bow discovered an ancient trunk and just had to open it.  Treasures awaited her.

[Abigail played dress-up one Christmas and of course had to look in the old trunk to discover the treasures awaiting(catalogs)].
For more corner views go to Francesca's.

Corner View: Twinkle

 Our mantle with Christmas decorations twinkling in the dark.

 Here, the lights twinkle on the tree inside as the deer eat outside.

 Our outdoor lights.:

For more corner views, go to Francesca's place.

Christmas and New Year

 This was taken over Thanksgiving.  It was our Christmas celebration with Sara and her family from Texas.

Dillon wanted a Seattle Seahawks Marshon Lewis football jersey.

It was his most wanted gift and we were able to give it to him.

Grandpa and Dillon 'hulking' for the camera!

 I bought Doug's crew all a Santa scene Lego set and they were quiet and busy as they put them together.  We had Doug and his crew over the Saturday before Christmas.

 We iced cookies together after opening presents and eating Subway for dinner.  I was able to enjoy the time with them and not stress over food preparation.  Everyone loved it!

 Our kitchen is a gathering place despite there being limited  seating.  The evening was drawing to a close here.

 Next are some of my decorations:

 My snow babies.

 Mom's antique ornaments, of which I meant to give some to my brother this past summer.  I will still mail him some if he's interested.

 More of my angel collection.
Just a few Christmas items are placed among the Precious Moments.

 Also in the dining room.  The ceramic tree was my mother's made and given to her by my Aunt Eleanor.  She then gave it to me when they downsized.

 This is the first year in over 12 years that I've been able to set out my village under the tree.

My mantle had some of my Santa collection on it.

This manger was bought for my older brother Roy's first Christmas.  It is 68 years old. I was always fascinated with it, so Mom eventually gave it to me.  Pieces have been broken and paint is chipped, but I don't want a different, newer version.  I cherish this one.

 Even my bathroom got some holiday cheer!

It's taken me awhile to start blogging again.  I took a long break so I could get caught up on a lot of other things.  I succeeded with most of them.

New Year's Eve we spent a quiet evening at home with Chinese take-out.  We watched shows that we had DVRed.
New Year's Day we first cheered Oregon on to victory and then rooted for Ohio State.  In the play-off game, we will be rooting for Ohio State over Oregon.

I hope to continue posting. I hope all is well with you all.  Tomorrow, we return to school.  Is it terrible that I'm hoping for a snow day?!

Thanksgiving festivities

Sara and her family were up from Texas over Thanksgiving. We got together with Doug and his family and her and hers the Friday after TDay.

We took the yearly pictures. The kids thought Ginger should be in with Mike and me.

A glimpse of some of the gift opening.  Look at all that room!

It's so much better than the tiny bungalow's living room.

A pile up on Grandpa.

The kids and grandkids and a girlfriend and a husband.

This will probably be on our Christmas card next year.

My two wonderful children Sara and Doug.

We celebrated Sara's December birthday while she was here.

Sara monitors the children's sweets and cake is a rarity for them.

Both children love cake and ice cream and it's an outstanding treat for them.

They can count on it at our house during the holidays.

They become quite engrossed in eating.

I was able to give Aaron and Abby their baths.

Doug's kids have outgrown this and it was nice to once more be able to load up the cups with soap foam and laugh at their antics.

Their dad wanted them outside for awhile, so I took them out to help me feed the birds and the deer.

There is corn by their feet. Of course Ginger had to help!

It is wonderful having a yard for them to walk around in.

For the last three years I have taken Sara and family to the airport in time to have lunch at Max and Irma's there.  It is a nice tradition.

Abby was quietly coloring and just stuck this spoon in her mouth (nothing on it) and kept on coloring.  I thought it warranted a photo.

I'm back from an extended break.  I just couldn't juggle everything and I wanted to be calm, cool, and collected with all the important stuff done for the family times.  So I cut out posting and reading others' posts.  I did read two books in-between all the getting ready.

We've had some wonderful times. I'll share some more later.