Merry Christmas Kids

From left to right, top row:
William, Grace, Hailie and Brandie
Chantze and Emily in middle
Brooke and Paige on bottom row.

Santa was good to them this year because they were all on the "NICE" list! 

An Old Fashioned Christmas, Circa 1973

It was Christmas 1973. Grandma Larson sent Ray and Laura these clothes, plus some of the presents behind them. They were excited about Christmas and it was so much fun to see the brightness in their eyes when they looked at the tree and the presents. They weren't too young to figure out that good things come in large packages! The next year, they crawled over my sleeping body to take each and every present from under the tree without waking me up. They opened the presents without waking me up. And they played with the presents without waking me up. Including mine. It's true what they say...when you snooze, you lose! It was incomprehensible to me at the time, how they could sneak across me without making a sound. But funneeeee!!!! And another great Christmas memory. 

Guess Whose Naughty or Nice?

Well, I guess someone is going to get coal in their stocking this year. Don't know what they did, but it looks like they are both in the pokey for something. 

Yoobee and Shortensweet Doing Time

 

3 More Updates, Starting With.....

This is Grace before and during her concert at White Pines last Thursday. Laura, Chris, Emily and I went and enjoyed very much hearing the fifth grade orchestra. (White Pines had two viola musicians who were given top honors at state recently, only 12 in the whole state are chosen each year.)
Grace's fifth grade orchestra played Christmas carols mostly, and Grace was one of only 3 to play the harmony to "Deck The Halls."

Now scroll down for more updates! 

More Good Times

The girls made Christmas ornaments to hang on the tree. They turned out great! The next morning we went outside and Brooke, Paige, and Molly scraped the snow away from the dirt and made a "garden." Paige worked on making a pie. Hailie helped me hang onto the saucer so the girls could ride down the slide on the sled. It was a great day! Be sure to check below for more updates. 

A Great Recipe....Try It

Take three giggly, goofy girls, 1 cup of sugar, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1 cup of peanut butter. Mix them all together at Grandma's house on a Friday night when the giggly girls haven't seen each other in a while. Have the giggly goofy girls make the dough into cookies and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Then let them eat the cookies. Take two aspirin and send them to bed early with lots of hugs and kisses. 

Happy 11th Birthday to Chantze Anakin!

Take a good look at the boy third from the left...he sure looks like young Anakin of Star Wars fame! And what do you think he got for his birthday this year? A light saber with 1, 000 different configurations possible. Hmmm....could it be? That Chantze is a Jedi? He has lots of powers. For instance, I almost didn't go to his party because it took place on the snowiest and coldest day yet this winter. But I felt myself so strongly drawn, I just could not resist, in spite of bad roads and the fact that my car is in danger of breaking down at any moment due to a bad thingamajig that goes clunk when I turn. But some power drew me to his party, and I was happy to be there, too. Chantze had a killer Star Wars cake and lots of cool presents, and lots of people there that wouldn't have missed it for the world. He also had the power to re-light the candles on his cake with just one breath. So I am thinking....maybe he is a Jedi! What do you think? 

Participating in the Arts

When I was a young mother with no dependable means of support (and by support I mean that in every sense of the word) I was prone to think of life as unmitigated hardship. In spite of friends and family that helped, I wondered if there wasn't a constant in the universe that would bring a person a sense that life, no matter what, has a richness and value beyond our struggles.

Philosophy in a tiny blog-space raises more questions that it answers, so let me cut to the chase. I have always found these things to be of great value in life: God, Nature, and the Arts. Who is to say they are not all parts of one big redeeming whole? No need to remind me that love, and especially family, are all-consuming and vital aspects of a rich life. What I am talking about is what can sustain us when those things also bring heartbreak? This question came back to me again when I had to say goodbye to my own beloved Mom, and is on my mind again.

When Grace and Emily came over one day after school, Grace praticing her viola reminded me once again of the richness and wonder that art can bring to our lives. Many of the children and grandchildren in my family have participated in the arts, and so have my brothers and sisters. As my growing collection attests, they all enjoy art projects and are very good at creating. Members of our family are great vocalists, with some of them in choir or other performing arts. And the writers! Every generation in our family has very good writers, and there will come a day when the publishers will sit up and take notice of at least one or two, if not more! As I write this I have several grandchildren that are doing the following: drama club, literary class, orchestra, band, dance class, choir, etc. And I am so happy and proud of all of our family, all of whom are gifted in one way or another. Even if it's only reading a good novel once in a while, or watching an excellent movie, all of us participate in the arts and we are the richer for it.

I am not going to attempt to be eloquent, I think everyone who reads this has their own store of awareness on this subject. I just want to say I am proud of our family and I think you all are really special in your own ways. And that when I remember the life I had as part of a family with a mother and father, I remember how they encouraged our enjoyment of reading and music and nature, and yes, God, too. And I thank them for it.