I'm So Dizzy My Head Is Spinning........

Ok......I am done.......stop the WORLD......I want to get off.......Boy have we been busy......and as you can tell, I am so tired I can't even write a proper sentence! Heaven sounds real good about now.......Anyone interested in going with me?

The Grand-est Birthdays

The end of the year holds many of my favorite things........The end of the heat of summer, I know, don't hate me....... Fall color and Thanksgiving, Winter's snow and Christmas. It also holds most of my grand children's birthdays.....even my sweet Steph was born in late fall, Halloween day to be exact. My sweet Laura and her husband and oldest son, Aaron, celebrate their birthdays in the summertime. Even Mitch and Dave have winter birthdays, both were born in January.

So, here are some pictures of the grand-est Birthday boys and Girls.........and if I do say so myself.....they are the most handsomest boys and the prettiest girls on the planet!

And in case you are wondering.........Adam is 16, Bethanne and Rachel are 14, Ella Grace is 7, and Dawson is 4.

Christmas Time is Here

Christmas time is here

Happiness and Cheer

Fun for all the children call

Their favorite time of year.

Snowflakes in the air

Carols everywhere

Olden times and ancient rhymes

Of love and dreams to share.

Sleigh bells in the air

Beauty everywhere

Yuletide by the fireside

And joyful memories there.

Christmas time is here

We'll be drawing near

Oh, that we could always see

Such spirit through the year.

These are the lyrics to one of my favorite Christmas carols.......it is one of those songs where the words keep going around in my mind.

I agree with the author, I too wish that all of us could, "see such Spirit through the year." For me, the Spirit of Christmas has been and will always be my sweet Jesus......He came to the earth to show us the Father's love.....He was born to love and really, so was I. All of us have a purpose in this life, even if we may not know it today. My prayer this Christmas is that each of us would humbly fall to our knees and ask our Father in heaven just what that purpose is. I pray that as we seek His will for our lives, and as we choose to follow His plan for us, that we would see how deep the Father's love is for us. The word of God says that it will take all of eternity for God to show us just how much he loves us......sounds good to me, and I for one can't wait!

Merry, Merry Christmas everyone.......may Jesus' love wrap your hearts and lives in joy and peace.

Party On

We celebrated Dawson's birthday early this year. He wanted a Grinch party. He loves to watch the Grinch Who Stole Christmas, and he even "slithers" on his belly pretending that he is the Grinch. So, since Laura's house was all decked out for Christmas.....why not have an early birthday celebration. Laura did a great job with all of the decorations and the food. She even made the birthday cake in the shape of a "Who Beast!" She had cans of "Who Hash," green punch, and lots of candy and pizza! My grand daughter, Bethanne, made a life size painting of Cindy Lou Who......who you know, was no more than two......

If I do say so myself, I have two very creative daughters, they throw the best parties....and this one was no exception.......a great Grinchy time was had by all!

An Orphan Thanksgiving

The week of Thanksgiving we were blessed (yes, blessed!) with an unusual November snowstorm. I LOVED it of course.......Mitch, not so much.

Even though I loved the snow, it did keep us from spending Thanksgiving with our family. Well......our grand children and their parents anyway! Our dear friends from church invited us over for dinner so we weren't completely bereft of holiday cheer.

Slumber Party

Well.....here are a few photos from our time with the 4 littlest Rufflings. We had a blast having them ALL to ourselves. We enjoyed a lot of Ruff-housing and laughter, treats and TV watching. I did get in a little trouble though.....I chopped up a Twix bar and Mitch fed it to Mitchie and Charlie. We found out later that Laura hadn't been giving them treats yet...oops :). Like I told Laura, I am the Ninnie and Ninnie's get to give their grand babies treats......it goes with the job!

All 4 of them were so good, they even went to bed without a fuss. We weren't sure how Dawson would react.....he is his daddy's boy, but he did great since Papa is a close second to his parents.

We awoke Saturday morning to Spokane's first snowfall.....so pretty. It was the first snowfall that the twins were aware of it and it was so cute to see their eyes light up as they looked out the window.

Ella, Dawson, and I made place mats for Thanksgiving....aren't they cute?

"When the Cats Away The Mice Will Play"

Mitch and I are off to our kid's house tomorrow, we are going to babysit the four youngest Rufflings...our grand children. I FINALLY talked my Laura into taking her man away for a little R and R.....and we get to have them all to ourselves, for a whole night and a day.

I promised Laura that I would be good.....Not too many sweet treats or TV watching, not too much syrup on the breakfast waffles or too many donuts (that is if we can talk Papa and Dawson into a trip into town).....I am so glad that she couldn't see that my fingers were crossed! Ninnie has been known to be quite naughty when mom isn't looking!

With four little ones we should be very busy and tired, but I am looking forward to it.

I plan to craft some cool Turkey place mats with them, and we will probably play numerous games of Memory, Princess Yatzee, Hi Ho Cherry-O, and of course........a whole lot of Ruff-housing with Papa!

(PS The photos are from our trip to Disneyland......as you can see Ruff-housing happens all the time and in any place......even the older Rufflings get in on it too! I will post photos from this weekend when I get home)