QUIZ

My little sister Molly and me on Christmas Eve

Question:
What do the following things have in common?

• 6 Scouts lost on a trail (who were supposed to be on a sidewalk)
• 1 new game's box chewed up by Rocky
• 1 kitchen faucet on the blink
• 1 forgotten wallet
• 1 cancelled ski day
• 3 passport applications delayed due to clerk's mathematical error
• 1 surprise expansion opportunity for business
• 1 traffic jam
• 1 kitchen piled high with dirty dishes
• 1 huge pile of dog puke
• 1 dead cell phone and
• a decapitated pigeon (probably by a possum) discovered by a distraught 10 year old owner

Any guesses?

Molly's boys, Niko (our Godson) and Mike pose with Zac on Christmas Eve

Answer:

These are all things that we've experienced in the past 30 hours (+/-)!

What a day...

It's about time to start a New Year, wouldn't you say?

My grandma (93) with her kids: Uncle Dan and my mom

It's amazing to compare 2010 with last year's Christmas Eve.  In December 2009, my Grandma was recovering from a broken neck, dislocated pelvis and other injuries after a fall down a flight of stairs at home.  Look at her now!  Goes to show the power of prayer!  

Christmas Eve 09

part 1

Every Christmas Eve our family (and my mom's brother & his family) gathers at my Grandma's house for dinner & a celebration.  We've been doing this since I was a little girl. I remember hoping to see Santa's lit sleigh in the sky on our drives home late at night from Grandma and Grandad's house!  I thought I caught a glimpse of Rudolph's nose one year...

But not this year.  With Grandma in the nursing home (in Tacoma) recovering from her fall, we decided to take our Christmas greetings there.  My sister, Molly, and her husband, Clark, and their 3 kids (Niko, Mike, and Kati) met up with us, and so did my dad. 

We had a very nice visit with Grandma, and Peter was able to give Grandma the very special glass hummingbird box he bought with his own money.  Grandma did not want to be in the photos (who would after what she's been through?), so this is the compromise shot of us all together.

It was very special to bring her our simple gifts and to share some time with her on Christmas Eve. 

More than once she expressed her regret that we couldn't all be at a party together... but we made the party right there.  Just as it should be.