christmas day, 2016

 We headed to Mark and Barb's for the feast and celebration:   Fantastic food, agreeable company, wonderful day.

 Presents for the kids--they were delighted.

Merry Christmas.

Nothing but love,   Love, Val

more christmas

 Santa arrived early, which was lovely.

Lovely night.  Love, MOM

christmas eve

 It was a warm, rainy day, kind of weird weather, but that's okay.

 It was a great party, lots of people happy to be there, delicious food, easy company.

 It's Peppa Pig, so exciting.

Thanks to Mom and Dad for hosting this fabulous party and Merry Christmas, love, Val

christmas eve, 2016

 My kids, patiently posing for a picture before church

Afterward, killing a bit of time before heading to my parents:

 And these lovely pictures, taken by others tonight, so incredibly sweet--all of them in a row in their pajamas for a quick wonderful second:

And a beautiful picture of my mother from tonight.

All kind of love, always, nothing  but.   Love, Val

12-22-16

This guy's Christmas program was on  Wednesday. It was a lovely, sweet program, prayers and songs.

He's small around this house, but among his peers he's tall!

This used to happen with Julia too. She was a shrimp in this house, but at pre-school, huge!

Here are the two of them together a few years back:

He attends the same small private school Alicia did as a kid.  His classroom is the same one as hers. Dan and I snickered about the very, very antiquated heating system.

Hey, it works, been keeping people warm for decades.

 This is a picture from tonight.  A girl turned up here for a sleepover.  Her mother sent me a text.  When I could get free from work, I found her and whispered, "You know how much I love you?"

She whispered back into my hair, busy working on an art project, "I love you too."

 She fell asleep in the puppy camp.

Okay, this?  Elin keeps tossing over her water dish.  I tried to anchor it, but it's a bowl, too round, popped right out of the bungee cord.

So I found a pan with an edge and a handle and so far, so good.   Less water flowing across the floor, more drinking water available.

I filled her dish with water and she drank so much it concerned me.  Had she been without water for hours, having spilled it all, fooling around?

Sigh.

Here are two puppies, separated to create some order.

Time for bed.  Love, Val, aka Grandma

the week before christmas

 Little Jay showed up here. He done took his finals and has to work and so forth, but he's also kind of living as a free man for a few weeks.

I heard his laugh from wherever I was in the house and it made me happy, come looking for him.

Here he is meeting Kirsten's six month old puppy, and his old friend, Payton.

 It's just Baby Elin, watching a friend fly by.

This whole house was in a state of severe disarray at some point.  When it quieted down, we all straightened it back out again.

 And this kid, My Sweetie, slept over and he's a wonderful sleepover guest, except he got SICK.

What a disappointing sleepover.

We agreed, he must come back again when he is not queasy and ill.

No fever.  Puked only one time. But what a crappy sleepover!

 Here's his vigorous and lively brother playing video games and trash talking his uncle, feasting on fancy sandwiches and Little Debbie.

 Cruel.

This is Maria, hiding her face behind that of our baby.

Whee.

So much love.

Nothing but love.

Val, aka Grandma

getting to know you

 This is a lanky, timid puppy boy, but he did well.

Kirsten arrived on schedule from Florida after putting in an incredibly long driving day yesterday trying to avoid a snowstorm on the way home.

She even brought a Gingerbread House Kit and worked on it with  the kids.

 Easing the guy into the family activity level:

This is an overwhelming house, and he's very sweet.

 She's getting so grown up these days, not a baby anymore:

 This house is a tousled wreck, but that's okay. The cookies were delightful and it was all good.

 I asked for real smiles, got fake.   Then Kirsten arranged herself to tell a joke and forgot the punchline.

Real laughter, makes me laugh--can hear that ringing laughter:

 Okay trying to get a picture of the guys sleeping over tonight.

Told Tim to hold still, my camera can't capture any movement in dim light, such as the light off a tablet.

Thanks, Tim.

 I showed him what happens.  He cooperated.  My Sweetie, #28 is always cooperative.

 He held very still beside the still, sleeping Payton.

And that brings us to 12:07 on a cold December night, inside a warm house full of kids and dogs of every age.

Love, MOM, aka GRANDMA, aka Val