Christmas

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care......and all was quiet for the time being on a cloudy, drizzly, cold Christmas eve.Our plan was to go to the Christmas Eve service in the afternoon and then go to dinner afterwards. (the Ross family tradition)
We were getting dressed for church and Megan and I ended up in Elizabeth's closet...selecting boots that would compliment our outfits. I have one pair of boots that I wear with jeans...but when Liz saw my dress...she said she had the perfect pair of boots to match my dress. I tried them on... decided I would be able to walk and decided to wear them. Megan was trying to figure out what she was going to wear on her feet...again...Liz had just the right pair of boots for her. Once we were decked out we had to pose with the boots on.
The service was a contemporary one....kind of a fresh way of presenting the Christmas story... it was very well done.There was lots of music and singing (very nice), photos and graphics projected on the wall and a play/skit. It made it interesting...kind of different...not the same old thing...which was good...but not for everyone. Brenna said she prefers a regular mass,while John really enjoyed the service. I enjoyed it, the "sermon" was a good one and the singing was nice...( a lot of talented people and they were accompanied by a band.).. It was definitely different than what we are used to at the Catholic Church.) They had a nice ending with everyone sharing lighted candles...and singing Silent Night.
Elizabeth and Meredith in the church lobby after the service
IN the lobby after the service we posed for pictures by the tree. Megan, Anne, Brenna and John and Elizabeth, Ryan and Meredith
Elizabeth and her friend Jon. We had heard a lot about Jon and it was a pleasure to finally get to meet him.
The next morning...we were all getting ready to open gifts and munch on some of the many treats Elizabeth had for us.

Brenna and Megan
Ryan posing with the tiki he got
Megan and Wally the cat

Christmas in Virginia

Wednesday morning bright and early (of course), John and I were at the Orlando Airport heading out for our trip to VA. The airport was surprisingly quiet...we managed to get there after all the backed-up passengers were finally cleared out I guess...at any rate...it was great to go right through security and out to our gate in no time at all. We got a cup of coffee, enjoyed the tree and waited to go
When we arrived at Elizabeth's...Ryan had written this greeting for us in the kitchen... on the board next to one of the MANY Christmas decorations Liz had all around the house
Brenna and Megan drove down from DC and arrived about 1/2 hour after we did. Here's Brenna out in front of the house.
View in the back of the house
Can you see the water...it was nice back there...lots of birds!

Even the shed was decorated
back of the house

Elizabeth had little decorations all over...like this tree on the table

her nativity set in the Dining room...(underneath a painting our brother David painted) I noticed her set also has Mary holding baby Jesus




The area at the bottom of the stairs...near the front door
Flowers, candles,and more holiday decor
The gang in the kitchen

Here's the group sitting around on Christmas morning...opening some of the gifts
All the decorations were lovely...they were in every room of the house...and Elizabeth certainly made us feel right at home! We ate, played games, drove around town a bit, and enjoyed a Christmas Eve service together...followed by a nice dinner in Virginia Beach.
More photos of the group tomorrow.................

Dec 23-24-25-26

Here's my ornament for the day. I got this one from my godson David. I LOVE the movie (Disney Wonderworks) of Anne of Green Gables. ( Kind of like the fact that she's Anne with an e like me!) David's mother , Karen, knows how much I like the movie...and how I hope to someday get up to Prince Edward Island..so when they took a trip to PEI...they got this ornament as well as a nice mug and coaster for me. I keep her out all year with my dolls and special toys. and I think of David (and his mom) whenever I sip tea from my mug. We are heading up to my sister Elizabeth's house tomorrow morning...early...so This is it for a few days. I am looking forward to seeing Elizabeth's house...new since we last ventured up to Virginia Beach. She has all sorts of things planned...including a get together tomorrow evening. Brenna and Megan should be there sometime tomorrow afternoon too.
So the fun begins tomorrow night. Can't wait! As it turns out...my nephew Shane and my Brother-in-law Rob are coming to Florida tomorrow as we head up to Virginia! They will visit with Rob's father in Orlando..then come see the gang in Indialantic. We'll have a belated birthday celebration for Shane on Sunday night...when Mark has us all over for dinner.
Couldn't do the whole Christmas thing without a picture of my nativity set. I got this from my parents my mom when we got married. It is just like the set she had. It's very simple...but the details are nice. I love the shepherd boy and his little sister standing together looking into the manger. The reason my mother liked this particular set is because as she put it "Mary is holding Jesus, and a new mother would be holding her newborn baby" I had never thought about it that way until she said it...but I agree. I haven't seen many nativity sets with Mary holding Jesus....but I always look. I enjoy this set, knowing my mother liked it too.

Christmas reminds me of all the special things we did every year. My mother always had the Advent wreath set up...we said the prayer and lit the candles every night leading up to Christmas. The Christmas tree always had the aluminum star that my parents got when they first got married on top. We always had a string of little candy canes around...so we could share one with anyone who came over to see the tree.
when we were little (in Pittsburgh) my mother would make the big turkey dinner with all the trimmings, set the table with her good china, crystal and sterling silver for Christmas Eve dinner...figuring by the time dinner rolled around the next day we would all be worn out! We were allowed to get up early to get our stockings...but we were supposed to wait until my parents got up before opening any presents.
The week before Christmas my Dad , who really wasn't much of a shopper most of the time, would take the kids who were old enough downtown, to Pittsburgh, to go window shopping. We rode the trolley downtown, about 45 minutes/1 hour, I think, and got to see all the great decorations in the department stores downtown. Some of the stores really had fabulous displays! I remember riding home munching on Turkish taffy
and bouncing around in the back of the trolley...we all had a great time. My mom got to enjoy the afternoon without all of us....and we had a blast with my Dad.
Christams day we all went to mass and then enjoyed the day. When I hear "Oh Come All Ye Faithful" I think of my Dad...he told me once it was his favorite Christmas carol. I don't know that my Mom had a favorite one...I think she liked them all. Christmas was a fun time for our family....but we also knew what the holiday was all about...celebrating the birth of Christ. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas...
and for those that practice other faiths...enjoy the Hoilday season!

December 21

Today's ornament is one of a set of ornaments that my friend Liz made me back in college. I can't remember if she made them for me for my birthday? or Christmas...but I do know I like them...and I always have. The set includes a Snowman,a Santa and a Christmas Tree and I think there is one more...but I don't have it out and I can't remember. (My friend Karen...probably does...because her mother liked them so much that she duplicated them and made a set for herself) The three I mentioned always come out...sometimes they go on the tree....other times they hang on cabinet door handles. They are a little faded...(they are about 30 years old after all)...but they are some of the first ornaments that were MY OWN..so they are special.





Wondering what happens to those Christmas cards you send....if they come to my house...they might end up as part of my decorations
Rather than pile them up in a corner of my desk...I enjoy looking at them...especially the pictures (before they get stashed away in a photo album)
The Santa seen hanging with the cards is a decoration Megan made for us in 2nd grade (Mrs. Nelson's class). He's shaped like a tie...actually may have been presented a a Christmas tie for Dad....John never wore it...but I love hanging it out every year.

Happy Birthday to John!

John has been trying to figure out a way to have his own boat. He was partners in a boat this past spring...when they were catching all the fish...but the deal fell through, the boat went back and the driveway has been empty for a few months. Recently he helped another friend work on his sister's boat. He helped get it back in the water again...but it's not for sale at this point in time and it's really not big enough to go as far offshore as John likes....so when an opportunity recently became available it got him going again...he's been trying to figure out how to make it work.and not go broke in the porcess He's got a couple of people in mind as partners these guys are all responsible.... they have jobs/businesses that are making money but in the meantime I thought he ought to have a boat for his birthday.....and this one, complete with fish jumping out of the water, was right in my price range!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN!

The North Pole and Santa Claus

Maybe you have some or all of these ornaments in your collection..... I got these at Hallmark back in 1992 (I couldn't remember...I looked on the box) It was back when they offered a special set each Christmas season and the deal was you had to go in once a week to get the next part of the set.....good marketing...(they'll get you in one way or another)
At the time...I really just thought they were cute and since Hallmark was right around the corner from our house...I could easily get in there each week to get the latest addition. Plus... some friends of ours were managing the store and they always had a wonderful Holiday Open House and kids were always welcome...since they had three young children themselves
Later when I started collecting my North Pole Village houses...I realized that Santa and the reindeer were just the right size to go along with my set....so now they get to park every year in front of the little houses...ready for take-off!

It wouldn't be Christmas without the Grinch

As my family and good friends know... as far as I'm concerned it's not Christmas without the Grinch. I used to look forward to watching the cartoon every year! Of course these days you can see it anytime you want!...but back in the day,,haha you had to make sure to catch it the ONE night it was showing. In 8th grade I was in a Speech class. One of our group projects was to do an oral reading. Our group decided to do "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" (since it was in the fall semester)...and yours truly was the Grinch. (I had the voice!hahaha) Well...we read the story over and over again and I read it to myself so I could memorize my lines...and I have never really forgotten it. Sometimes I need a little refresher...especially the part where he's getting ready to leave the town. Well...I would "volunteer" to tell everyone the story around the holidays MAKE them listen to me Walking up and down Oak Ridge Drive with Elizabeth and Jenifer and their friends...on the way to the bus stop with my friends...you get the picture...my friends probably wished the Grinch would come and take me to Mount Crumpet...so they wouldn't have to listen to me anymore! hahaha In college...I had talked about it with my friends in the dorm and then the night of the Holiday gathering of EVERYONE on the floor...they asked me to recite it.... Now I like to VOLUNTEER to do things...I'm not so good at being put on the spot...so it took a little coaxing...but they finally got me comfortable enough to tell the story to the whole group.(I think they even clapped)(and I did have fun) Over the years many a kid has been stuck? in the back seat of my car on the way to somewhere...and had to listen to me...haha...I like a captive audience!...actually most of the time they would ask me to tell the story...probably to see if I REALLY knew it.Well, when Hallmark started their Grinch ornament series...you know who was always willing to add another one to my tree. My sister Jenifer ,who was also a frequent customer at many a Hallmark store...decided to make it a point to buy me the newest one every year. (she was one of the ones who had to walk up and down the street with me as I recited it! hahaha) Now that Jenifer is gone...I like my grinches even more....I remember the fun I had telling the story...but I also remember how thoughtful it was of Jenifer to do that for me. Even when she was pretty sick...she made a trip to the store for her usual cards and things...and always an ornament for me...."...And what happened then...well in Whoville they say...that the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day..." and my heart grows at least three sizes every time I put my grinches on the tree. I miss you Jen!