1999 - 2007, Christmases Past

1999

Here is our first grandbaby, Morghan Grace!

I had waited a few years for this precious gift,

a grandchild and I've had so much joy and pleasure

ever since!  Morghan, you paved the way

 for the rest of the babies to come!

Remember when we tried to crowd into the fireplace room

because PaPa wanted Christmas morning by the open fire?

My children were all grown up. 

I had lost the joy, expectation and the Christmas Spirit.

Along comes a baby and brings that all back!

2000

Morghan (positively!)  and Kerry's little one, (I think!)
Morghan Grace, I love your hair and your cheeks!
okay, and your ears and your nose!  lol
Your fat dimpled elbows, your sweet breath.
Okay, you get the idea.   hmmm . . .  your knees too!

2001

Proud big sister and baby Jack.

These two are the beginnings

 of my love for my grandbabies. 

Look at the pride in Sister's eyes!

And Jack just goes along with it all!

How can a Nana resist? 

 2002

Proud Morghan, Jack and cousin Gabby.

oh my gosh!  how precious! 

Dear Gabrielle has joined the

"kissable cheeks gang"

and taking it all in stride!

Look at the twinkles in those eyes!

Love you guys!

Maddie and Joey

2003

What a sweet picture. 

This photo just makes Nana

want to cry for joy!

I am so glad my grandchildren love one another. 

I know they will always take care of each other.

2004

This is adorable of them all! 

How did we get them all to sit still long enough

to take several photographs?

Oh, I remember, Nana had her first ever battery

operated Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer nose!

Look at the suspicion in the youngest one's eyes!

but Jack and Morghan already know they have a silly Nana. 

Freys, 2005, Twister! 
Now it is getting harder to get everyone in the same picture. 
We had fun with this game for a year or two!

Hofs, 2005

Gabby and Joey are intent on the action. 

I know somewhere I have the Hofmeister Christmas Card

but there was one year I put in a photo of the Small Frey in their jammies

and Traci and Craig emailed a photo of the Little Hofs in theirs

so maybe this was the year.

My photo collections seem incomplete for 2006.

I don't find any photos after September 2006. 

I know I had Christmas cards made up

and I know I would have taken pictures at Christmas --

Unless I was in a coma or a straight jacket? 

I wasn't . . . was I?

I've been hijacked!  I've been robbed!

computer crash??

2007
whew.  here my little precious ones all are again
and number six has come along. 
Audri seems interested in Jack,
Morghan seems interested in Audri
(or any baby that comes into a room -- like her Nana!)
And now the younger ones are having some fun
and not so suspicious of their Nana and her camera. 
Merry Christmas, little ones!

2008

And in 2008, my Christmas cards had six cuties . . . and an inset of Audri. 

It wasn't this inset but that's a cute one. 

A year later and Audri is STILL interested in Jack!  lol

And Nana still loves Rudolph noses, reindeer antlers

and lively, determined, opinionated grandbabies.

Okay, Okay.

not babies . . . Grandchildren.

2009

And Sweet Bella makes seven! 

Again, I couldn't come up with the Christmas photos

but here we are, with all the grandbabies in the picture.

And Johanna and Erica.  Thanks, Traci and Craig,

for taking the picture on the occasion of

Himself's birthday. 

And someone else joined us, just above Erica's head.

Angel, you are welcome in our home. 

Happy ten years, in this post.

Great Years.

And those years went by in a heart beat!

Can't wait for the next ten years! 

2010

And here is this year's series. 

These three photos together tell part of the story

of what it takes to get seven children to stand still,

 to look at the camera, and yes, it is okay if you smile too!

But this series was much more dramatic

 than what was caught in these pics. 

I think that's the way life is, and the way life should be.

We will muddle through the hard parts,

making the best of the times as we go.

Laughing at ourselves.

Being gentle with others' feelings.

Looking back, we will remember the highlights,

the best and the happy times. 

No sense in wasting energy

on old grudges,

 hurts and disappointments. 

Chin up!  Positive Mental Attitude!

Smile for the camera!

Make merry memories for little ones.

For you. 

For life. 

 

There!  that's Ma's sermon for the year!

Love you all to pieces!

Go ye gentle, into this New Year!

Christmases Past

Times and toys were simplier in the "good ol' days".

Blocks, dolls, balls. And boxes. 

Do you all remember playing with boxes? 

The first toy I remember wishing for, for Christmas,

was a life-size baby doll.  And I did get a big baby doll that year.

It wasn't the one I had picked out in the catalog

but I learned to love that baby, and to sew for her

and I loved my Vickie Darlene! 

Vickie Darlene still lives in my heart (and in a box in the closet)

and is now about 55 or 56 years old, herself!  Poor baby!

Look, here is the little stove the children still use.

Johanna got it for Christmas about 1982. 

She looks to be about 3 in this photo so

that little stove is going on 28 years old!

We still play with some of those dishes too.

And Craig, I'm sure there's some GI Joes

in that pile of packages.  There's a few

of those guys still hiding out around this house too.

Kristy and Erica, I wish we could see what you

girls got for Christmas that year.  Do either

of you remember what you might have wished for in 1982?

Now, this year, Christmas 1975,

Kristy and Erica each got a home-made robe, with hood.

I'm not sure they knew the robes were homemade

but those little flannel gowns stood them in good stead,

wrapping up shivering little girls after a bath.

They also each got a dolly, a doll bed and blankets. 

They each had a new night gown from Great Gramma Sychra.   

There were a few more things too, but not many

and an orange and candy cane in your stocking.

Write down your memories . . .

Visitor

Nana was sitting at work after lunch today when this Dude waltzed in and gave me a handful of candy canes.  I grabbed my camera and chased down the hall after  him. . . just caught him before the big melt down! 

Some year when I'm retired, I'm going to do something like this. 

This Dude bounced through leaving smiles, questions . . . and candy canes in his wake.  What fun!