Merry Christmas 2009!

What a blessed Christmas today has been. I am starting with the New York section of our family. Cory, Annie, and Bee enjoyed Christmas in New York.

Bee got to hang out with the Santas in her neighborhood earlier this month. There were a lot to see, but she looked like the youngest one there.

Isn't she cute in her snowman dress!

Cory and Annie took Bee to Macy's in Manhattan to see their great Santa.
Let's just say, Bee was not impressed! But I love this picture!

Nate and Meg came to Hanford on Dec. 23rd. They visited Clayton at the nursing home.

They gave him a ride and visited the birds and cats that live there.

Later that evening after a wonderful dinner by Lyle, we opened presents. Nathan chose to adorn his head with a candle ring! Very festive!

Cory and Annie web-cammed from New York to enjoy the opening of our gifts. It was almost like being there...kinda! They sent Lyle and Nathan finger puppets. They are doing a little play for their entertainment!

Grandma Lois got to join in all the fun.
Lyle is opening his present from Nate and Meg. He gets to design his own Converse Tennis Shoes online! Great gift for him! He has already done a prototype but has not exhausted his creativity to send in an order yet. Fun!

Both Nate and Lyle got helicopters! Nate was right on it and by the morning, he was flying his around the house and outside. We need to get more batteries! 6 per plane.

Here's Cory and Annie at our Christmas in Hanford...even though they are in New York!
So on Christmas Day, we went to Lyle's cousin's home in Fresno. Bob and Linda are always such great hosts! Here is Danny and 9 month old Avery. Nancy and Lois are in the background.

Sara, Geoff, Lyle, and David were sitting together. We are glad that David made his way home from San Fransisco.

Sheryl and 3 year old Addison, with Linda and Bob behind.

Fun gifts were given!
Uncle Leonard read a Christmas book to Maddie and Addison. It was about a Christmas Fruitcake getting stolen. But turned out okay in the end, because Christmas is about Jesus, not Fruitcake!

We all had a great time! Great food and fun! Being together with family is PRICELESS!

Lyle and I had a great time at the party. This is our Christmas picture for 2009!

Thought you would enjoy a short video of a little fun! Give this group plastic guns with ping pong balls and watch the wars begin. Nothing says family "love" like a little gun fight! Note: no one was injured in this folly!

We hope you had a Very Merry Christmas and made wonderful memories of your own!

Remembering the Reason for the Season! JESUS...get to know Him!

Ladies and Genlemen....Fresh and Easy..........

The new Fresh and Easy in Lemoore opened after Cory and Annie left so they wanted to see what it looked like. It's a pretty cool store. Prices aren't bad and they have some interesting stuff.

Sigred, Marley and Marlene just inside.

A humus sampler.

The prepared food section. There is some really good stuff here.

Oils and infusions etc.

Marley the big shopper.

The quinoa, brown rice section.

Self checkout

Santa Comes to Hacienda Nursing Home

Saturday at 10:00 Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus came to Hacienda Nursing Home to pass out presents and give Christmas cheer to its residents. Note, this must be the real Santa, he jingled when he walked!

Clayton must have been a good boy this year. Mrs. Santa delivered his present!
Santa came to pose with Clayton and Mert (Clayton's next door neighbor).

Clayton got a nice green blanket and a green bear beany baby for company.

Mr. Lindsey had been good too. Santa came to give him a gift as well.

Carol Whiteside, a Hacienda resident loves to sing. Here she is singing, The First Noel.

It was a very nice event for all the Hacienda gang.

Merry Christmas to all!

Put It On Your To Do List.......

How festive is she?? Mannheim Steamroller is an awesome experience live, especially in a theater setting.

I apologize for the picture quality. I was trying to do it without a flash to not cause a scene.There were six main musicians and eight in the orchestra. The sound system was nothing like I have heard before. It was so crisp and clear, you could easily pick out each instrument being played. The drum heads were mic'd so when the drummer moved from his left to right, it moved through the theater from our right to left. It was like you were in the middle of the music. The second half was very different. They showed a video on a see-through screen for much of it. It was a banquet in a castle in 1490 that took up the top 2/3's of the 50 by 30 screen and then MS was back lit in the bottom third playing renaisance Christmas music. Very entertaining. Their first encore was of course Silent Night, which is incredibly moving. The second encore was Angels We Have Heard On High which is very fast and really shows them off. Go see them whenever you can.

It Beats A Rock By A River..........

They things are amazing. Everything is sensor driven. You have to really look to see if there is water in there, because they use so little. I feel soooo green.

Everyone Should Have a Vice.....

I have two.................................................................................................................(Vises).

Happy Thanksgiving 2009

Wow, our 33rd Thanksgiving together was a wonderful day. Thank you to Lyle's cousins Leonard and Nancy for opening their home to our empty nest family. It is nice to have family or friends to spend the holiday time with. It was a beautiful day and our food and family was a wonderful blessing.

Geoff, and his kids, Maddie and Josh were a wonderful addition to our group. Sara was sick and had to miss the celebration. The kids played and gathered flowers and leaves into their plastic cups. Very nice kids. Geoff worked on Nancy and Leonard's computer to install a router for them. I think they need Nate's expertise in this area. It was not successful, but Geoff put in a lot of time to try to get it to run.

Our hosts were wonderful. Thank you for the great gathering and the family time your home provided!

Bob and Linda were great company and alway a good laugh or great story to be told.

Of course, Uncle Leonard was the babysitter and he had a great time with the kids! We are thankful for the bountiful blessings God had provided for our families. We are grateful for His love to us thank Him for the fabulous lives we have lived.