Wordless Wednesday - Friends

Abs & Ian on Christmas.  They are growing into fine young people!

(Background - These 2 have been on my blog together many times over the years.  (Here is just one post from Sept 19, 2009.)  Our 2 families are very close & we spend Christmas with them every year.)

Sunday Citar - Family

“Love your family. Spend time, be kind & serve one another. Make no room for regrets. Tomorrow is not promised & today is short.”

A few years ago I started taking group photos of the grandkids on my husband's side of the family.  (Click each year to see those - Christmas 2011, Easter 2012 & Christmas 2012) I had meant for it to be an annual thing, but that never happened.  This year I finally got around to it.  Man have these kids changed in 4 years!

The one thing that hasn't changed is that they are all goofballs.  This is what I get when I try and do the silly one 1st.  Lily was upset because she knows putting your middle finger up is wrong.

One has to take MANY MANY pictures to get one.... 

I am grateful Jeff's parent got in the picture.  :)

Misc pictures.....

Bill and his girlfriend, Heather. 

 Lily having fun with Jim.

 Yes....Bill is really really tall.

These 2!  WOW!  When did they get so old?

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

Christmas 2013

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas this year. 

Santa was very generous this year.  My living room looks like a toy store blew up.  We spent the afternoon with great friends and had an amazing time. 

On a personal note, I ended up in the ER on Monday night in a lot of pain.  After some tests, I found out I have pleurisy (inflammation of the membrane surrounding the lungs).  I am grateful that I no longer have pneumonia (it's all gone according to the x-ray) and that I do not have a blood clot (was a possibility).  After some pain medication along with some anti-inflammatory meds, I am feeling much much better.  Here's to a new year and a clean slate.

Merry Christmas!

Unfortunately, I was unable to send out Christmas cards this year.
MERRY CHRISTMAS from our house to yours!

Wordful Wednesday - Tis the Season

Tis the season in my house to be making Christmas ornaments. I love making Christmas Ornaments.

These are a few new items I made this year.

My son's favorite character - Stitch. 

I also added Sofia the First to the princess collection. 

After seeing Anna & Elsa from Frozen in Epcot, I now want to make them next.  :)

For more WW check out 5 Minutes for Mom, Seven Clown Circus,  Parenting by Dummies, Focused on the Magic & Fresh Mommy.

Shop is Open

{gingerbread girl in a dress}

The shop is now open with holiday bow centers & pendants.  There are some new items along with old favorites. 

Christmas Memories 2012

I am a bit behind on going though my Christmas photos.  Better late than never right. 

We have kept a couple traditions my parents did with my sister and I as a child.  Our kids are not allowed to go downstairs before we do.  Santa leaves their stockings on their beds and they can go through them, but they have to wait for us to get up and go downstairs first.  I also take a photo of the kids at the bottom of the stairs, just like the photo my father took of my sister & I every year.

This year they came down dancing...(bad photo, but it was funny)

 Then they stopped for me.  :)

 So then the whirlwind of opening gifts happened....

I swear it was a blur...

I put my camera down for most of the unwrapping and do not have a photo of Ian opening anything.  

We had a wonderful Christmas.  Thankfully no one was sick like last year.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from my family to yours.  :)

What is your Elf Name?

Mine is Twinkle Monkey-Buns.

Tuba Christmas

This is the last year with Ian's music instructor and he wanted me to make her a special ornament for Christmas.  How could I say no?  She is a lovely woman and pretty much the reason my son LOVES to play. 

"Have a Very Merry Tuba Christmas" 

Let me explain the Tuba Christmas thing...

Last year I read an article posted on the Disney Blog about how Tuba Christmas was coming to Disneyland.  I had never heard of such a thing.  I showed the article to Ian and then looked further into it and sure enough they have one here in Buffalo every year, too.  Ian said that someday he would like to play in it.  When he heard about it told everyone about Tuba Christmas.  Now his nickname in band is Tuba Christmas.  ;)

Family Photo Time

Last year I started a tradition of taking a group photo of the grand kids at my in-laws Christmas & Easter celebrations.  I wish I would have started doing this years ago. 

You know how hard it is to get 6 people to look forward and smile at the same time?  O_o

Here are the ones I took at the Christmas Celebration we had on Sunday.

Here are the photos I took last Christmas and last Easter.  I love seeing how they have changed so much over the last year.  :)

Christmas Concert

Ian's Christmas concert was Wed night. 

The kids have grown so much in a year!  Here are photos from last year concert. 

This is Ian's band teacher.  LOVE this woman.  She has been awesome over the last 3 years.  We will truly miss her next year when Ian goes to the middle school.

 Practicing before the concert.

There are 3 tuba players this year in the band. 

So proud of my little (ok, not so little anymore) tuba player.