One More Xmas Card - Anthony & Alex

 

Another great card! Now our grandchildren are all accounted for. It looks like Tyler is waiting for 2009 to make his arrival! Alex has been predicting New Years Day.

All the Grandchildren Together

 

On Saturday we had all of our grandchildren together. This doesn't happen often and it was a lot of fun!

Xmas Day

 

For Xmas Day our plan was to get up early and be with Teddy and Patti and the twins Xmas morning. We were just ready to leave the house when the phone rang and we learned that they had a stomach bug. We were disappointed because we felt we had made the perfect plan this Christmas. So, we decided to take a walk along the bay at Keyport and then continue to our next stop Leo and Kristen's which is almost a 3 hour trip.

The weather was clear and temperature was above freezing so travelling was great. Kristen is still pregnant. Due date is January 6 and they are just waiting. We had a delicious ham dinner with them. Bill tried out Leo's quad and I tried his snowshoes. I made it up and down their hill. It was fun. Leo also showed us how he kayaks down his hill. That we didn't try. We stayed overnight and left the following morning so we would be home for Roxana and the boys overnight visit.

Xmas Eve

 

This year we were with Chris and Adrian and family for Xmas Eve. For dinner we had delicious homemade calzones and tortellini soup and we opened our first gifts of the season. We left in time to attend 8 pm Mass at St. Clements. We have a new priest from Italy who had been asked to sing an Italian Christmas Carol which he did and it was beautiful. We felt blessed.

Happy Birthday Leo

 

Leo was due in early January but arrived on Christmas Eve. Now 35 years later he is waiting for his first child, Tyler, whose due date is January 6, to make his entrance into this world. I scanned these pictures from Leo's baby book and now I think it's time for Leo and Kristen to have his book.

Bill and I are doing the travelling this Christmas. This evening we will have dinner with Christine and Adrian and family. Tomorrow morning we will get up early and go to Basking Ridge to be with Teddy, Patti and the twins. From there we will visit Leo and Kristen and have an overnight with them. Friday, Roxana, Anthony and Alex will spend an overnight with us. On Saturday we will have all of our grandchildren together - unless Tyler decides to come early!

Mr. and Mrs. Santa

 

Mr. and Mrs. Santa stopped by to visit us. They wish everyone a very merry Christmas!

Christmas Caroling Party

For the last five years Christine has been hosting a Christmas caroling party. The kids first practice singiing their carols. Then they bundle up and go around the neighborhood singing gleefully. They don't expect any money but if they do get any donations they put it in the poor box at their church. When they finish they have hot chocolate and cookies. This time they also decorated gingerbread men. I had fun being part this.

Greetings from Leo & Kristen

 

Granddogs count too. So this is Satin and Wrangler and soon little Tyler will join the mix!

We got mail!

 

Grandchildren Katie Rose and Stephen are ready for Xmas!

Christmas 62 Years Ago

How about that Xmas tree! Fred in shorts! Art and Andy are in the picture with the tree. I was still two this Christmas and can't say I remember any of it, but I do remember many of the toys. The doll house was made of cardboard and I was allowed to play with it only on Sundays. My mother was right. She thought the house would last longer and I'd be more interested in playing with it if she made it special. I still have a few pieces of the wood furniture. I also remember the cloth doll with the black face. You could turn her upside down and pull down the skirt to reveal another head but I can't remember what the other head was! And tinkertoys were one of my favorite toys when I was a little older. I can't remember that doll or the high chair. But I must say it looks like Santa was pretty good to us that year!

Chrissy Doll - A Xmas Memory

 

I was sorting through old folders and I came across a letter to Santa, written when Christine was about 6 years old. She had cut out a picture of Chrissy Doll from a catalog, taped it to her letter and wrote CHRISSY with her black crayon. My printing at the bottom says SANTA, PLEASE BRING THIS DOLL. Then she printed her name.
I remember I had already bought Baby Tender Love - a baby doll that feels like a real baby! Well, Christine had visited Santa in the store and told him she wanted a doll for Christmas and since she had told Santa her name was Christine he told her that she must want Chrissy Doll whose hair grew when you pulled it. Well, suprise, suprise, Santa brought two dolls that year.

Xmas Card

 

We thought this was such a beautiful picture of our three year old twin grandchildren. Getting Xmas cards mailed can be a chore but we certainly love receiving them!

The Twins Come for a Visit

 

 

Yesterday Timmy and Bridget came to visit us. I think they had a good time. We did! I baked gingerbread cookies with them and Grampy entertained them with his trains. Oh yes, their Daddy came too!

Mom's 100th Birthday Party

 

 

 

 

 

I had decided several years ago that I wanted to celebrate my mother's 100th birthday even though she had died at the age of 93 on January 4, 2002. I was babysitting my grandson Anthony the day I decided this. He was about 5 and he thought it was a great idea. He wanted to come and he then began naming some of his aunts and uncles and asking if we could celebrate when they die too! Well, we did include Anthony. He sang Happy Birthday on the phone along with us.

Present at our party were friends, Alice, Jim, Dorothy, Michael and Roe. We sang our traditional family song, Fill My House, before eating. During dinner we all talked about our mothers and it really was very interesting and enjoyable.

I scanned the first page of mom's babybook. It says:

Ruth Marion Howard was born at 403 Bear St. Syracuse, NY, Dec.5, 1908. at 8 o'clock A.M. Mrs. Merrett Learborn was her nurse. Dr. Peck was her doctor. On the eleventh day her mother gave her her bath.

She weighed 7 seven pounds and had long black hair.

Ruth was not forgotten her first Xmas. From Miss Marion Sewell of Jamestown, NY she received a solid silver spoon. From her Aunt Josephine, a pair of bootees, from her parents a baby carriage and a cake.

Well, Mom, sorry you didn't eat cake with us. It doesn't look as though you got to eat any of your first cake either.

Happy Birthday, Mom. You were loved by many!

Our Thanksgiving Trip

 

 

 

On our way home we stopped to visit Leo and Kristen. When we arrived everything was coated with ice and it was still raining. Leo and Kristen are doing fine. We enjoyed a very nice chicken dinner with them. We didn't stay long because of the weather but we did get to see five deer in their backyard. When I stepped out to take this picture they all looked at me and then scattered some because of the flash. We also saw their new garage. We expect the next time we see them we'll see their new baby! This visit made the end of a very nice Thanksgiving.

Black Friday

 

Friday after Thanksgiving, we met my friend Norma and her daughter Karen and two grandsons at the Rochester Science Museum. I enjoyed it immensely and so did the kids!

Andrew's New House

 

We all had to walk across the road and see Andrew's new house. Suprisingly, this is the house that Andrew came home to as an infant. Sue and George were renting it at the time. Andy has been helping Andrew with repairs and the house certainly met everyone's approval. I was happy to see that Andrew has my parents, his grandparents, old bedroom set. He refinished the top of the dresser and it looks wonderful. We're very happy for you Andrew.

Thanksgiving Day

 

 

The family is enjoying another wonderful Thanksgiving at Andy and Mary Kay's. Art and Marian supplied the turkey. As always there was plenty of good food with turkey sandwiches later in the evening.