Christmas ... Before, During, After ...

Ok, so I haven't blogged in a while and now I have to play catch-up .... again .... ;-)

Friday night before Christmas I had the kiddos and the kiddos-in-law over for dinner.  It was a time when everyone was off work, and had no other commitments.  Simple fare ... chicken soup, corn on the cob, biscuits ... (we ate it so fast I didn't get pics of the food!)

I had ordered a runner and placemats in Sept when I ordered some gifts for friends.  Then I promplty lost the runner/placemats.  I did find them just in time for this dinner though (never mind where I found them, I just found them!)

And when I started setting the table I thought "gee, I wish I'd gotten a couple of cheap Christmas serving bowls from the Dollar Store or somewhere, just to spruce up the table.  Then ... I remembered ... summer before last when Mom and I were at a yard sale I bought a set of Christmas dishes for $5!  Fortunately I remembered where they were stashed (I'm not telling that either!) and I got them unboxed and washed them. 

So, I ended up with a pretty festive table after all!

(The basket of poinsettias was my Nannie's)

 

 

Both of the kids brought their cameras with them, and yet we ended up with only two pictures!

 

 

 

Christmas Day was indeed all about The Gabster. 

She will be 'on the move' once the weather clears.

Whether on four wheels ....

 

Or two ...........

 

This was my view of the Rose Parade ....

 

 

And a few extra gifts that arrived at my house from some of my out of town friends. 

 

 

The red purse from "Ninda" (Linda)

 

 

And pj's from "Deh-duh" (Debra)

 

 

Debra also sent colors, color books, jewlery, and an Ariel doll.

 

Deb rocks!!

 

Our sweet girl was feeling a bit under the weather for several days arund the first of the new year, but she's back on track now and running wide open. 

 

Stay tuned for more adventures!!

 

(And I'll try to update in a more timely manner!)

 

Story Time ...

My friend Julie sent Gabbie and I some new books for Christmas.  

John Denver songs made into story books!!  

Grandma's Feather Bed

Our favorite is Sunshine On My Shoulders.

Gabbie can 'read' most of this one to me! 

Just kicking back on Aunt Paula's bed!

My Christmas Angel ...

The Christmas Forrest ...

If you found your way here from Kelly's Korner, WELCOME!  Grab a cup of coffee and make yourself at home!

Last week my neighbor posted on facebook that she had nine Christmas trees.  I thought she was a wee bit nutty.  Then she showed pictures, and I realized that I have eight trees in my house!! Yeah, some are tiny little things.  Mere saplings.  Never-the-less .....

The big tree.  

When I first put it up I got the lights going but nothing else.  For well over a week I let it sit with lights only.  That's all The Gabster cares about.  And really, it looked pretty good.

 I finally got around to putting just a few ornaments on it this past week.  

And really, in the 'big picture' you cant tell much difference (except for the angel and that one humongous ornament.)

Closeups of a few of the ornaments.

These three trees are in The Gabster's room.  

They blink.  She loves them. 

I got this little fiber optic thing several years ago from Avon.  

Then there's this little forest .....

Aside from the trees, the decorations are quite sparse this year.  

A couple of poinsettia baskets ....

Some snow cowboys I bought for BoyChild several years ago.  

 

I've been babysitting them until he gets a house.  

These next two items are very special.  

They belonged to my Nannie (my Mom's mom). 

Her angel tree topper ....

And her Rudolph ...

That's it for my Christmas decorations this year. 

I bought some Christmas placemats several weeks ago, but when I got ready to put them out last week, I couldn't find them.  Oh well ..... :-)

Traditions ... Old & New ....

I'm linking up with Kelly's Korner for her post about Christmas traditions ...

My family has had some traditions that over the years have changed due to family changes (grandparents no longer with us, kids growing up with families of their own).  We used to always go to my Mom's parents for Christmas Eve supper and gift giving.  The last year Granddaddy was alive he was in the hospital and that Christmas Eve we had lunch instead of supper then all plied into (a lot of) cars and went to the hospital.  He was able to come downstairs into the visitor's lobby and open all his gifts and visit with us for a while.

Also, every year Santa would drive around town on the firetruck on Christmas Eve and when we heard him coming we'd all (eleven grandkids) run outside and watch and wave.  Last year I was out and about on Christmas Eve and saw Santa go by on the firetruck and I had to pull over and take a (really blurry) pic of him to text to my cousin (who is way big on tradition, and very sentimental).  She told me later she was laughing and crying all at the same time.

After Mom's mom passed away (12 years ago) we began having Christmas Eve at Mom's (me, my kids, my brother, his kids).  But the past few years my son has worked shift work, and my brother is a firefighter, so we've had dinner as close to Christmas Eve as we could on a day that they were both off. (This year it is actually going to be Christmas Day).

Christmas Day was for Dad's parents.  It was a 'come and go' kind of thing; everyone was not at their house at the same time.  Thanksgiving was the time that Dad's family gathered.  (We still do, at a cousin's house, even though the crowd has dwindled down to only about 25 folks now unless some out-of-state folks show up).  Dad was the (next to) baby of nine kids, so his parents have been gone for over 30 years.

This year, I'm starting a new tradition.  I'm sure the date will rotate but this year it is going to be on Fri Dec 21st.  I'm having my kids and their spouses over for dinner and some visiting time just for us.  I'm going to give them their gifts then, instead of trying to do it over at Mom's as we usually do.  It will be hectic, and will be all about Gabbie this year (and that's fine, she's four, it will be a big day for her), so I  decided to have our own private little Christmas a few days early.  I can't tell you what they're getting, lest they (or a relative) read this and spoil the surprise, but I'll try to remember to take some pics for sharing later.

I have a couple of decorating 'traditions' as well.  Two items of my Nannie's (Mom's mom) have been part of my decor every year since she died.

Her angel tree topper ... and her Rudolph .... 

Next year BoyChild and DIL will have a new baby and I'm sure we'll be starting all kinds of new traditions for him/her as well.   I'm looking forward to getting new ideas from all Kelly's readers!!

Lights!

We went looking at lights tonight.  My dad discovered this place last year.  It's about 20 miles from us, and it's pretty rural (couple of miles out a dirt road) ... but worth the drive.  I snapped a few pics with my phone, but most of the pics are on Gabbie's iPod.  These pics don't do it justice.

Christmas Morning ...