Free at Last

If you can look past Eric's momentary lapse into unconsciousness, do you notice something different about Holly? Yep, she received an early Christmas present. On Tuesday, her braces came off after a long two years. What a wonderful smile on a beautiful girl!

Holly celebrated this event on her blog with the lyrics of Brooke White singing " ... free, free, free!"

Christmas Eve Music

Following a long tradition, we gathered to share musical talents last night after Christmas Eve dinner. Maybe the big hit of the night was Devlin belting out "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" with a bit of coaching from his mother and helpful smiles from Eve.

We couldn't help notice how the earnestness of his delivery so matched the boyhood mannerisms of his father!

Claudia and Holly tickled the ivories with a great four-hand rendition of "Jingle Bells."

Thanks to everyone who sang and performed so well, even though your photo is not included here. We are were uplifted and inspired by the wonderful message of Christmas.

More family holiday photos are on Mark's Flicker page.

Christmas Eve

At some time in the future, she may tire of the play on words, but last night, with Santa hat in hand and festivities in full swing, it seemed so fitting to call Eve "Christmas Eve."

More family holiday photos are on Mark's Flicker page.

The Nativity

Every year on Christmas Eve, we read the story of the birth of Christ from the books of Luke and Matthew in the New Testament as we celebrate the miraculous birth of the Savior of the World.  Each year, the actors are a little bit different, depending on the age and availability of our children and grandchildren.

This year, Dave and Rachel were Joseph and Mary, with baby Iris blissfully acting as Baby Jesus.

Holly was the lone shepherd who came to the stable as instructed by angels.

Three wise men, Eve, Devlin and David, soon joined the Baby Jesus to offer their precious gifts.

I can still remember my Dad reading this wonderful story each Christmas Eve when I was a little boy.  We can only hope that our grandchildren will continue the wonderful tradition.

More family holiday photos are on Mark's Flicker page.

Christmas Eve Dinner!

Tonight we celebrated Christmas Eve with a wonderful family dinner at our home. Our dining room table comfortably seats only ten people, so Mark built a seven foot extension with folding legs to enlarge our eating space accommodate all sixteen of us at once.

Claudia found great Christmas themed plates and created great decorations.

But the best thing was the food! We all put any dietary goals on hold and stuffed ourselves accordingly.

More family holiday photos are on Mark's Flicker page.

Merry Christmas!

Beneath the Mistletoe

Last week, Holly sang the solo part in "All Alone Beneath the Mistletoe" at the the Taylor Junior High Christmas Concert. In the words of our next door neighbor, a wonderful tenor soloist himself, "She nailed it!"

We are thrilled with Holly's love of music and budding performance abilities.  What a beautiful young woman!

Goodbye Willard

Yesterday, we finally said goodbye to Willard, our faithful Chevy Prizm which has served us well since we purchased it in 1999 (I think).  Since Ryan went on his mission and Eric got his own car, we were left with more cars than drivers.  So Willard will now serve a little family that needs him and we are left with happy memories and a lower insurance payment!

Thank Heaven for Grandkids

We just love our grandkids.  Here are a couple of special moments.

Chloe loves to host make-believe parties with the babies and anyone else she can coax to attend on the little white table Granny recently purchased.  The dress up clothes and pretty table cloth provided just the added touches that made a wonderful memory.

Ice cream at Granny's house is a regular treat on Sunday evenings.  Tonight after dinner, all the adults were just too busy talking, so Devlin and Eve took matters into their own hands!

Thanks for stopping by! More family photos can be seen on Mark's Flickr page.