Christmas at the Brady's

Christmas Day at the home of Jim and Nancy Brady, we see Tom, Jim, Nancy, Jim's Father, Ana and Porfi gathered pleasantly around the luncheon table. We are happy to see the newlyweds entertain their family with a special meal. Thank you, Tom, for the family picture.

A Cup of Tea, please!

Betsy and Hazen gave me a beautiful tea set decorated with a colorful bird including lots of interesting teas to taste. Thank you for all the wonderful gifts this year. It's been too much!

More Christmas!

Dustin showed me his new computer that Santa brought him. He is ready to roll!

Santa brought Bob a heavy duty radio, one that he can listen to when he works on his wood projects. He can take it with him wherever he goes and listen to his favorite shows while he completes his work.

More Fun on Christmas Day!

The homemade cookies were piled in hills of sweet and delectable displays. Jen played a swift game of air hockey!


Betsy and Hazen and little Hazen traveled through the rain to come and visit us on Christmas Day. Mike introduced us to his pretty, new girlfriend, Corrina! The men all gathered to play cards. May the best one win!

Our Family Celebrates!

Jess and Hazen rock on with their virtual guitars. They sounded great and mastered the fingering of the chords that were color coded. Deb shows Brad, Elisia and Jared the snowman band playing a tune. Jared thinks that the music starts when you pull Brad's ear!
Nate, Hazen and Bowen play on the WII a game of virtual tennis. The boys had lots of virtual games--tennis, boxing, bowling, guitar playing and photo slide shows with music included.

Christmas morning arrived and Bob and I cooked a turkey to take down at 4PM to Jen and Deb's in Sinking Valley for the Family Christmas party. Deb said that she hadn't tasted turkey with stuffing for years; her Mom passed away and she always made the turkey for them. I basted it every half hour and it came out juicy and succulent. Bob should have helped me spice up the stuffing. It needed something peppier. But, there were very little leftovers after the family gathered.

The Gifts!

We put all the gifts out in the living room under the Christmas tree and Greybaby and Blinky keep looking at them. It's so exciting to know that Christmas will be here in another day. I went swimming this morning and the children in the pool know that Santa is coming in one day. One little boy told me about his big train under the tree. He asked me what we had under our tree. I told him teddy bears. He didn't seem to think that was interesting. His train was the best and he knew how to run it. I told him that he was the engineer. He liked that idea. Bob took me to Church this evening and the weather is warm again. Everyone wishes for a White Christmas!

The Office

Today, I passed my test for entrance into the Jackson Hewitt Tax Preparation Office. To the right, the office welcomes all new customers with the bright banners displaying our service mottoes. Jane, our office manager, keeps an attractive welcoming area with blooming plants, sweet smelling aroma from candles and a basket of Christmas candy to keep our people full of joy. We have more training until work commences in January. It should be a bright and shining New Year in 2007. I am looking forward to it!

A Christmas Visit!

Yesterday Bob called and told us that he was coming to visit and bringing little Jared. So he bundled the baby up and took a ride. Jared kept looking out the window at the brightly colored decorations of the holiday and he fell fast asleep before he arrived here. So Bob put him down to rest and he took a long nap. There is something so peaceful about a baby sleeping. It reminded me of the Baby Jesus lying in the manger. His face looked angelic. Sleep in heavenly peace!

Mr. and Mrs. Tom Gray

After the ceremony, the Mother of the Bride waves goodbye and Mr. and Mrs. Gray ride off into the town in an army jeep, decorated and ready to go. It was an exciting day!


Bob walks Sue down the aisle to give her away. Little Bradley stays by his Mom before the wedding. Angela, Sue's bridesmaid, dressed in military style, waits for the big moment to begin.

Santa Claus is coming to town!

Today is such a sunny, warm day. It doesn't seem that Christmas is just around the corner. The children feel the happiness and anticipation of Santa Claus coming soon. Last night, Santa rode on a brightly decorated firetruck past out house. I threw upon the curtains and waved at him. We have to be extra good and prepare ourselves for his coming. And today Sue and Tom become Mr. and Mrs. Gray. So I am baking some Wedding cookies for the happy couple.

Dusting the Pics!

Yesterday, Betsy sent me a great picture that she took at Thanksgiving. I printed out the beautiful photo of Bob's family to put up on our photo gallery. But when I went to insert the photo into the frame, I noticed immemse amounts dust on the shelves. So the evening became a marathon of dusting, waxing and polishing all the family pictures from the past. Bob helped me with the top shelf that I couldn't reach. After all the pictures and shelves were cleaned, I sorted out some of the older one and put them away. Then I chose another format to display the family.

We are having a Christmas Bake Sale at St. Michael's this weekend. I baked 5 pans of sticky buns with pecans and 1 loaf of cinnamon raisin bread. Also, I am making Buckeyes to sell and creating them up at the scene of the bake sale. My friend, Bridget, asked me to make them because she liked them at the Christmas Party. So, I hope that we have a successful bake sale. We all bake and buy and end up with each others goodies for the good of the Church!

Advent and Buckeyes

Bob made an Advent Wreath for Sunday, the first week of Advent, preparing for Christmas. And we lit the purple candle and said a little prayer, " You are coming Lord, upon the clouds and in the hearts of kind and gentle people; You are coming Lord to bring, justice, peace and orer to our jumbled world. You are coming Lord like light peeking over the mountains on a crisp Autumn morn. Amen."

Thank you, Laura, for a great recipe. I am taking the Buckeyes to a class party tomorrow!

Let your lights shine!

Bob and I went to the Home Depot this week and found a holographic train with Santa as the engineer. So we added it to our lights on the side of the house. It looks so cute at night because the wheels go around and the smoke moves out of the engine stack. Our neighborhood just glows at dusk. Everybody's Christmas displays turn on for viewing.

I worked last night arranging Mom's angels around the base of our Christmas tree. Mom made them for the home and the old people's Christmas tree. She called it her Angel Tree. So I kept the angels and have been repairing the lost eyes and decorations on them. Also, I made a few new ones. They are a handful of colorful angels. But, we have 2 cats, Greybaby and Blinky. And I thought that the yarn hair might entice them. And I didn't want to see my 2 cats trying to eat Mom's angels. So I packed them up to take to St. Michael's Guild Christmas Party this week. We could use some angels there!