Alivia ...

... A day with a young lady -

- Nancy and Alivia spent hours talking, and Nancy commented that it was like talking to an adult.

- We started the adventure at Taco Bell, and Alivia tried the Mango Freeze, and Nancy tried the Orange and Cream Freeze. I stayed with the usual, diet Pepsi.


- Alivia went to a wedding reception with us. Here she is with the bride and groom. Two beautiful women in this picture.


- Alivia designed her own bracelet. I have a nice supply of beads, and Alivia picked the ones she wanted. In this picture she is arranging the order of the beads. I strung the beads on memory wire.

- The finished product.

Enjoy!

Madison ...

... Has Her Sleep Over -

- After picking Madison up, we had dinner at the Battle Creek Taco Bell. She had a chicken quesadilla.

- From the time we got home from dinner, Madison and I worked on her 1000-piece puzzle until bed time. She wants her Uncle Ivon to know that she needs no more than a 400-piece puzzle. In the time we worked on the puzzle, we got the border complete except for one piece. Her puzzle will need to be a family project and left up until completed. Hint, hint mom and dad.

- This morning, Madison and Nancy made a two-sided blanket for her doll. One side with fish, and one side with mermaids. Also, they made a scarf and hand warmers for the doll.

- It was great having her here. Love you Madison.

Sleep Over ...

... Time for Lach -

- This was the first time Lach has slept over with us. We were not sure if he would make it through the night. Laura was on standby to come and get him if needed.

- Laura tells me Lach woke up ready to go, "right now." He dressed himself with his Hard Rock t-shirt to be like his grandpa.

- He made himself at home. He prefers whip cream instead of ice cream. He did not want to say "cheese" for me.

- Laura told us that Lack has a night time routine of getting milk in his sippy cup and laying on the bed to fall asleep. He doesn't know the routine. When he was ready for bed, he crawled up on Nancy's lap to cuddle, and he was asleep in minutes.

- Lach woke with a smile on his face. He asked for some one-on-one time with R2-D2. R2 did have enough battery life to dance for him.

Time to ...

... Send Derek and Erica Home -

- Derek and Erica returned to their home in Rexburg. They had to work on Monday.

Christmas Party ...

... A Family Tradition on Christmas Eve -





- Enjoy!

Gingerbread ...

... baking with a little helper -

- Landon cutting out small gingerbread men (yes, his grandma helped him wash his hands)

- Ready to bake

- Baked and glazed

- The grandkids will be decorating their gingerbread cookie today. Enjoy!

Moon ...

... at night -


- Picture was taken about 10:00 P.M. on December 22, 2010 with my Coolpix. Enjoy!

This past ...

... week has seen three sleep overs -

- Laird was the first

- Larry followed. He asked if he could set up the race car set, and he did

- Next came Landon. He brought his laptop to play Roblox.

- We had a reception and took Landon. He loves dipping grapes in chocolate.

- There were a few tears by Lach; and each time we picked up one of his brothers he would say, "I want to go to your house." His turn to sleep over is Tuesday, and Laura will be on call to come and get him if needed. It will be his first sleep over.

Hopefully, Alivia, Madison, and Michael Jr. will want to have sleep overs too.

Laird - Band Concert

Enjoy!

Alivia - Recital

Enjoy!

Is this ...

. . What is Meant by Life Changing Moments? -


- A month ago, doctor said something like, "You have high blood pressure, and take the pill on the left.

- Three days ago, doctor said something like, "First pill isn't working. You need to take a horse pill (pill on the right).

- I don't want to think about next month's pill.

Madison - Recital

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Sherri ...

... Here is a yellow rose for your birthday --

(Picture taken late summer of a rose in our yard)

- Who is Sherri? Well, she is the one with her name added to the picture.

- It has been fun over this past year to learn about her family and, of course, about her. She has tons of great ideas of things to do, and she does them with her family. She is teaching memories that will last forever.

- One of her posts is of her Christmas Tree last her. I laughed so hard. Click on this link for a smile and maybe laughter and tears. I may have laughed so hard that I had a few tears. :)

- Sherri, I hope you have a great day, and you should be pampered. Tell your children that the lesson for today is to learn how to treat their mother on her birthday. Blog your birthday adventures.

- Happy Birthday!

Alivia at the Judson Winter Concert

Enjoy!

Another look ...

... at the Annual Nativity Display at the Salem Stake Center on Lone Oak




- Hundreds of Nativities are on display. I hope everyone of who looks at this blog has had a change to visit. This is a community event, and it gets better every year. I mentioned another look. Check out Laura's post on the Nativity Display.

Christmas Lights ...

... at the Keizer Station Train -

- Enjoy!

Update ...

... On My Meal Plan -


- the above picture is the meal I had for two lunches this week. It is salad and an open-faced chicken salad and cheese sandwich Today, Nancy fixed me me a small cheese quesadilla, salad, and some seedless watermelon. For dinner we had Tilapia fish and salad. For dessert, we had seedless watermelon. I am also trying to not eat over two cups total for each meal. These changes for me are interesting.

I Have the Best ...

... Doctor. He Doesn't Tell me I am Fat -

- At my yearly physical, he just tells me I now have high blood pressure and gives me a prescription for pills, have glucose intolerance (which means pre-diabetes), and my HDL is a little low. He also tells me to eat less sugar, take fish oil Omega 3, and exercise.


- This is my breakfast; I fixed steel cut oatmeal with dried apples and craisins. I just added an extra 1/3 cup of water for them to plump up. After the oatmeal was done, I added bananas. My chocolate milk is sugar free and fat free. I am also trying to stay with the two-cup rule at each meal.

- Laura has asked that I blog my progress, and this post is for Laura.

Let the ...

... Festivities Begin -


- Christmas 2010 Season is officially here. No presents yet for under the tree, but the tree is up and decorated. Laura came over and the two of us did a little Christmas bonding. See her blog. The ornament shown is one that my sister-in-law, Mary Snow made for us a couple of years ago.

Annual Tradition ...

... to go to a Local Tree Farm and Cut our Christmas tree -


- Last step at the farm is to have it farm owners shake and shake the tree. Once home, I cut it from the bottom to have a seven-foot tree. It is now in a bucket getting all the water it can drink. We will decorate the tree tomorrow. Enjoy!

Found These ...

... While at the Christmas Tree Farm


- If you want to see a larger view, just click on the picture. Enjoy!

Another ...

... Present for Me -


The kit is actually a perfume holder, and it works great for consecrated oil. The wood is white oak from the Livonia Barn (Mormon Barn). The location historically associated with Mormon gatherings was the "Mormon Barn" - now demolished - between Geneseo and Lakeville, New York. Undocumented Geneseo tradition is the Joseph Smith and his parents lodged in the barn on occasion and the Joseph Smith held meetings here.

Pens ...

... Made by Me - (Actually, I selected the wood, turned, and finished. The pen hardware is from a kit.) -

The wood for the above pen is Burl Maple and the pen kit is the Streamline American Screw Cap pen kit.

- The wood for the above pen is American Chestnut, which is almost extinct. In the eastern states, the American Chestnut was attacked by the Chestnut Blight, when some orient chestnut trees were imported. By 1910 the eastern states American Chestnut trees were all dead. The pen kit is the Wall Street II pen kit. - The wood I used is over 200 years old and came from the Whitmer farm.

- The wood for both pens were given to me by my brother, Frank. Thank you Frank.

- I think Christmas has come early for me.

Big Deal ...

... for Salem, but not for Iowa :)


Snow has started to come down . Yes, I used the flash to get the reflection of the snow. Enjoy!

Grandkids Do ...

... The Strangest Things -



- Grandpa does not teach these things. Enjoy!

It's Beginning ...

... to Look a Lot Like Christmas -


- Christmas decorations have started to sneak into the house. Having only three Christmas Stockings on the fireplace is kind of sad.

- Our plans are to get our Christmas Tree on Black Friday. Yea!

Someone is ...

... Going to be 22 in a Couple of Hours -


Nancy and Erica - Erica is modeling her ear warmer and wrist warmers that Nancy crocheted for her birthday present. To help them smile, I told them to think about a piece of chocolate in their mouths, and they could taste it as it melted. They laughed at me. Enjoy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERICA!

Fall Leaves ...

... around the Portland Temple -


- Leaves are changing colors around the Portland Temple. Enjoy!

Fall Rain Brings...

... Mushrooms in the Yard -

- Enjoy!

Flowers ...

... on the fall -


- Nancy and I took a little walk two Saturdays ago, October 2nd, and I found this flower saying, "Take my picture before I fade away." I did. Enjoy!

A Spider Came ...

... A Knocking -

- Nancy found this spider in the sink. I slide the quarter close hoping the spider would crawl onto it, The spider just froze so I could not see it. My guess is in came through the recessed light fixture above the sink. Maybe we have these all through the attic? Enjoy!

A present for ...

... Lexus Cook -


I home teach the Cook family. I have had the opportunity to make a pen for three birthdays, and magnifying glass for one, and I gave Lexus a choice, either a pen or a bracelet. My only two talents. She asked for a bracelet, and her favorite colors are purple and green. This was her gift, and I gave it to her this week on her birthday. The true color did not come out. The larger purple beads are a softer reflective purple, while the smaller ones are a dark purple. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Lexus!

Happy Birthday!

- Kimberly is deep in thought about her camera.

Times Past ...

- Enjoy!