Wrapping it Up

I enjoyed this Christmas season so much this year.  This semi-retirement thing is really working out perfectly for me!!  No stress,and  lots of time to enjoy parties, shopping, programs, and all that goes with this special time of the year!!

Reed and I enjoyed the Tinsel Trail in Tuscaloosa again this year.

One of my favorite things in past years had been driving through Di's neighborhood.  We didn't to it last year, but I think she would be happy that we enjoyed going again this year.  This house was one of the highlights! (We also enjoyed a special animated light show at a house in Columbus.)

This was our 25th year of making candy houses!  This year was a little more challenging than most!  The stomach bug had hit, and I for one found it very challenging this year!!  I discovered after the event that I didn't have the card in my camera, so I have no pictures of us making them!! I mostly hate that I don't have any pictures of Papa helping Maddie!!

This is my house.  You will notice that large chunks of it and others are missing.  Levi has enjoyed snacking on them all month.  I tried to patch them for a while, but finally gave up!!  It has been his favorite thing to do when he visits! :)

Maddie (and Papa's) Church (Lindsey's tiny house is in the back!)

Lillian's Frozen House

Pop's Church with Josh's tiny house and truck in the front

Caleb's House

Taylor's Barn

Aunt Sandra prepared the meal, and Tammy, Taylor and Tori sang for the Senior Christmas meal at church!  Caleb came to enjoy the festivities.

These three did a simply beautiful job!  I am so glad our families are now apart of each other!!  Precious, precious family!! 

Taylor and Memaw!  Memaw was thrilled to hear her girls sing!

This picture represents a special memory of the season.  Due to a glitch in the postal system, the one present Lillian asked for wasn't going to make it in time for Christmas morning in spite of ordering it in plenty of time.  We all got on the internet and frantically called stores in two states trying to locate this important, but elusive gift!!  Josh finally found the LAST one at Penney's at the Galleria!  Nana was sitting in the parking lot at 7:30 the next morning waiting for the doors to open at 8:00!  

Caleb and Taylor enjoyed riding on the bank's Christmas float.

And the bank made a generous donation to our church's food pantry this month.  Reed also goes and gets the food each month for this.  

Lindsey and the girls enjoyed ice skating at the park in Alex City

This is one of my favorite pictures of the season!  

We also enjoyed suppers with family and friends, watched lots and lots of Hallmark movies, made lots of Christmas candy, opened way too many presents, shopped too much, sang all of my favorite carols at church, enjoyed lots of family time, and overall just had a truly great Christmas!!  

Merry Christmas, Part 2

Celebrating Christmas with our family is simply so special.  This is truly my favorite time of the year!  Experiencing Christmas through the eyes of our precious grandchildren makes the time even more memorable.  It is almost magical!  We celebrated here with everyone the weekend before Christmas, and then traveled to Alex City to be with the babies when Santa came!


Josh and Reed enjoyed some fun times and a few snuggles before bedtime!

 Lindsey shared the Christmas story.

 And Reed helped Pop find his nose, eyes and such!!

Santa's reindeer have to be left some food before bedtime!

And then sometime during the night, Santa made his way and left loads and loads of presents!!

And that sneaky Tinker evidently hopped aboard the sleigh and left with Santa, much to Josh and Lindsey's delight!!

 I just love this!!  They were totally amazed by Tinker's last antics!!

Each Christmas comes with its own special memories.  One of  these memories will be the frantic last minute search for the Elsa castle!  Santa's contract with Toys R Us and the postal service obviously had a break down!! And other than a ball, this was all this sweet girl asked for!!

 Checking out everything!  Lillian was just a little unsure at first!

Reed loved his new special toy!! And so did his sisters!

Another special memory will be this John Deere Gator!  Maddie actually called Santa during the summer and requested this.  Santa just happened to be in Florida watching his reindeer play in the ocean when she made the call!  He assured her he would get right on this as soon as he returned to the North Pole, and he did!! 

And then there's these roller skates!!  Maddie added these to her list 2 days before Christmas!  Josh told her that the sleigh was loaded, and she'd have to wait for her birthday.  However, Pop and I took the babies to see Christmas lights after Christmas Eve supper.  Right after she had looked up at me and said, "I love you, Nana", she told me she wanted two things-her John Deere Gator and roller skates!  I also told her it was probably not going to happen.  Well, she said, "Nana, sometimes Chirstmas miracles happen!"  Needless to say, a Christmas miracle did occur.  Luckily, Santa was able to make a quick stop at the local Walmart!! He also brought Lillian a pair!!

Surprise!!

Checking out the presents!! I love Reed's "I'm the boss"!  

Soon, we ventured out in the 75 degree, wet weather!!  Shorts, pajamas and rain boots were the perfect attire!!

Zoom! Zoom!!  

Lillian was a little slow to warm up to Gator rides, but she enjoyed it once she tried it!!

These two ran the battery down twice on Christmas Day!!

Pop and I delivered the roller coaster that we gave them!  I had never seen one of these before, but it is lots and lots of fun!!

Pop and I headed back late morning.  We were able to see Papa and Caleb and Taylor.  That was the perfect way to end the day!  Merry, Merry Christmas!!

Friendship Circle Party

One of my very favorite Christmas events is always our annual Friendship Circle Christmas Party.  We enjoy ourselves way more than we probably should!!  We are a very laid back group, and we like it that way.  Our sweet pastor has joined us the last two years, and I can only imagine what he thinks!! We have lots and lots of fun when we get  together, and we always make lots of special memories!

We always play Dirty Santa with ornaments that we bring.  This year, we tried a new version that was recommended by 2 different people.  Even though I read the directions wrong, and we didn't play exactly right, it was a big hit!!

Getting ready to begin!

This group looks like trouble!!

Sweet Sisters!

I miss seeing Cathy everyday like we do in the summer!

Everyone's admiring their ornaments!  It's too bad that nobody got to keep the one they got!!

How many people does it take to read the instructions? Also, we have entirely too many Auburn fans in this group.  An Alabama ornament kept making it's way in the hands of one of them-usually Lori or Jennifer.  I am happy to say that I was able to make a swap at the end, and it's now on my tree!!

Tim is a really, really good sport!

I can't wait until next year!!! Merry, Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas, Part One

"It's the little memories that will last a lifetime."

As our family grows, so do the memories! This is the first year that we actually had Christmas at our house before Christmas, and I really enjoyed it!  I love having everyone here, and I also love making new memories that I hope we will always cherish!  We will go to Lindsey's for Christmas Eve, so that we will be there for the babies to open their presents.  I just can't wait for that! I will miss Caleb and Taylor, but I plan to be back in time to see them on Christmas Day.

When we asked Josh and Lindsey to recommend  a gift for the babies, they suggested the Step 2 roller coaster, which I had never heard of before!!  However, it was a huge hit.........after we got it off the hill on the second lot that nearly sent them flying into the woods! It was very entertaining for all three!

This sweet girl simply makes my heart smile!!

And so does her big sister!

Reed only rode with them a few times!  He liked doing it all by himself!!

Maddie once again had a ball on the go cart-until a tire blew!!  We had lots of fun watching all the fun!

After lunch, we gathered to open presents.  Maddie read a poem on the Christmas Story for us!  It was a wonderful way to begin this time together.

I love watching everyone open their presents!!

Easy bake oven, tee pee, Frozen Karaoke, tool bench, and more!  My favorite part is their sweet,sweet smiles!! 

Papa enjoyed his day!

First Christmas as husband and wife!  We have been blessed with both a great son in law and daughter in law!!

Back to opening presents!!

Maddie is growing up so very fast!!

Helping Reed with his presents was enjoyable for all!

Lindsey took a few pictures of these sweeties before we ate our Christmas supper.

Our little Santa was ready for bed in his Santa pajamas!! Could he be any cuter?

After enjoying the Cantata together Sunday morning, Caleb and Taylor headed to Gordo and Lindsey, Josh and the babies headed home, but not before lots and lots of memories were made!!
                                                         Merry, Merry Christmas!!!!