The Big Day is Over!

Our third child got married on December 29th. It was a beautiful day and everything went so smooth. Here's a picture of the new bride and groom -- Jon and Bekkah.
Her colors were green and brown. The cake was so pretty.

The reception center had a big room downstairs where we had the main party. Upstairs on the roof we had ice skating. These are pictures of the ice rink before the skating started. They provided hockey skates for the guests. Bekkah's mom had hot chocolate upstairs to warm the skaters. I had so many people tell me how fun the reception and skating were.

Jaycee and Eden were standing out on the ice. My brother-in-law told me later that night that he went upstairs and saw his teenage son sitting in that open window. It's the fourth floor and straight down. I think he might have gotten a parental lecture for that one!

Here are the tables. The Gerber daisies were so pretty. Bekkah's mom was so organized and did a wonderful job!

My daughter Jamie had the idea for these pom-pom type balls we hung from the ceiling (she's my Martha Stewart!) The night before the wedding Jamie, Jon and Bekkah were busy making them. Gary, Jaycee and I helped about half way through to get them done. We got lots of compliments on them.

It was a pile of green in the storage room the night before. Then we packed them in the trunk and backseat to take them to the reception.

You would think that it would get easier with each one that gets married, but it is still emotional. I think when Jamie (the first of ours to get married) got married it was the hardest. I kept waiting for her to come home at night.

On a lighter note -- now that Christmas and the wedding are over I can get back to sewing and quilting. I've got so many projects I want to start -- where to begin??

It was a Merry one!

Christmas was a good one here at our house. As a child my Dutch Grandma Ann would give us a chocolate letter for our name. It's a Dutch tradition that made our Christmas special. Last year I decided to give them to our family and they loved it so much that it's now a tradition they look forward to. Nothing like good Dutch chocolate...mmmm.
I made bears for each of my kids this year (see previous posts). This multicolored one is Jaycee's.

The grandkids are the highlight of my Christmas. Kids are so easy to please and so fun to watch at Christmas. I had taken so many pictures of Eden that she was getting annoyed with me. I had to laugh at this face she pulled -- and yes I still took more!

Brandon looks a little sleepy here. He usually has a big grin from ear to ear.

Jayda is checking out Jaycee's phone. It's so nice to have Jaycee around. The grandkids just love her! That makes it so much easier to tend them.

Yes -- I got my camera from my kids. Jamie picked out a purple one (my favorite color) and I am so excited with it. I've been reading the manual trying to figure it all out. Sometimes technology is too much for me. I'm amazed at how something so little can do so much.

Christmas Eve

No picture to post. Still crossing my fingers for a new camera tomorrow!

I can't believe Christmas Eve is here. It used to take forever when I was a kid -- now it's here before I know it. It's nice to have an evening to relax with the family -- that's down to my husband, our youngest Jaycee, and me. Jodi and Jon come and go, and the married kids will be here tomorrow.

We got our Christmas snow this week. Monday it dropped 8 or so inches on us. Thank goodness I haven't had to drive in it much. The tires on my car are getting pretty bald and we just haven't gotten around to taking it in for new ones yet. When it snows this much we usually take Gary's truck for the 4-wheel drive anyway.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!

Lost Socks Quilt

I started this one about 3 years ago and finally finished it this year. I'm getting anxious for Christmas to be over so I can get back to fun sewing and quilting. I have 3 new projects lined up for the new year.
We had our family party on my side last night. We had 45 there -- all but 3 of us there. My niece's husband had to stay in Vegas to work, my niece was on a date (where's her priorities?), and my nephew is in Georgia on a mission for our church. My parents just added a new big room onto their house -- finished in time for this party. It was nice to have all the room with so many people.

Antique Ornaments

I mentioned before that we decorate the upstairs tree with antique ornaments. It started after my sister gave all of the siblings some ornaments from my parents early years of marriage. They have ribbons instead of hooks to hang them by. My mom tells the story of walking downtown and buying a few at a time for their tree. We hit the local antique shop every year to add a few more to our collection.
This is a fun one. It's pink and looks like it's from the 60s.

This ornament was made during the war. There was a shortage of metal so they are clear. Usually they put the metal inside to make them colored and shiny.

Another war time ornament. It does have white flocking on the top and bottom.A purple bird --I thought it was hideously ugly when I first saw it, but over the years it has become my favorite and I love to put it in the front of the tree for everyone to see.

This ornament was Gary's grandmothers. Notice the string instead of a hook. The cap is made out of cardboard instead of metal.

I love to sit and look at the different ornaments on the tree and wonder about the history of each. If only they could talk.

Let it SNOW!!

We are getting our first real snowstorm of the season. According to the news we will get 6 inches tonight -- but who knows for sure. It's nice to have for Christmas if it stays around that long.

It's been a little busy around here getting ready for Christmas and a wedding. I thought I was doing so good and was organized and getting things done. I still don't have an outfit to wear to the reception. A little bit of panic mode is setting in. I even took a day off last week and still didn't get around to shopping for one.

We tended my oldest son's 2 kids last night. It's the first time we have watched Jayda (16 months). She did really good -- but she would not give in and go to sleep for us (midnight!!). They said she slept in today to make up for it. Brandon (7) stayed up late too. He played video games with Jaycee most of the night.

My picture on my blog was taken when Jayda was a baby. I found it the other day and thought it showed what I love to do -- hold my grandbabies!

~FUZZED~

I've been working on more Christmas presents. These fun bears have a wheat bag in their belly that you can pop in the microwave and warm up.

I cut out 11 (optimistic??) last Sunday afternoon. We were watching my 5-year-old granddaughter and she was at the counter eating bacon (her favorite food). I was busy pinning the pattern and cutting the fur. Next thing I know Eden says "Grandma you fuzzed my bacon!" Sure enough, that bacon was covered with black fur.

I have to tell the story behind the bear. A couple of years ago we were camping for our annual family reunion. There had been a lot of bear sightings in the campgrounds that summer. Someone told us that they had seen a momma bear and her cub in our campground the day before, so I was a little uneasy. We were all sitting around talking when I hear a bear growling. I looked back in some bushes and saw something black. I shot up out of my chair and zoomed to the trailer -- and I guess the look on my face was priceless. Everyone started laughing at me. It was my dad hiding in the bushes. He had taken a big tin can and some leather. When you pulled on the leather it made a bear growl sound. He got a big kick out of it and I still get teased about it. I saw this pattern last year and had to make the bear for him.

I'm doing another quilt out of this brown/blue fabric. This one was so much easier than the pinwheels I did before. I must say that I'm getting tired of the fabric, so this is probably the last.

Random pictures

I went back through old photos trying to find something to put with this post. It just doesn't seem like a post if there's no picture. The first one is from last winter -- my kids and granddaughter playing in the snow.

The second is a sample of my warped sense of humor. When my daughter Jodi graduated from high school a couple of years ago I hung out a big "Congratulations" sign and let her enjoy the moment. Before she got up the next morning I added a dose of reality with the second sign. I got a laugh at how people driving by our house would slow down and sometimes turn around to read it.

I've been getting some more Christmas sewing done. I know I won't get everything I want done, but this is the best I've done in years. I love giving homemade gifts. My husband and daughter are decorating the tree and I'm hiding at the computer. They're trying to get me off the computer. My husband just pointed out that I haven't helped with the tree for years, so I guess I better go join them.

I can't believe it's December

I finished another quilt. I tried -- only 20 times or so -- to take a picture of the whole quilt but they are so blurry I couldn't post them. Only 24 days until Christmas and hopefully a new camera!
It seems like November flew by. Gary got the lights on the house a couple of weeks ago. He added 3 of those spiral trees and 3 snowmen this year to the yard. It looks so good at night. Gary and Jaycee put up the Christmas trees this weekend. The upstairs tree is antique ornaments. I'll post a picture when I get one to work! The downstairs tress is up but not decorated yet. Guess that's a project for tonight. We did some Christmas shopping this weekend. It really put me in the mood for the holidays. Then I went yesterday with my daughter, Jodi. Christmas shopping and running the air conditioner in your car just don't mix! After last year's winter weather and endless snow this is quite a change.