Jo and Joe

 

 

Today we're celebrating two birthdays!

My son Joe and his wife Johanna.

 

 

Johanna's birthday was on December 23rd and Joe's was yesterday. 

Between Christmas, and Elijah's and Fletcher's birthdays,

 her birthday celebration kept getting delayed. 

But finally today is the day! 

Their dinner of choice (made by Bill) is chicken stir-fry with lots of yummy veggies,

and a big bowl of rice.  Plus donuts for dessert!

 

 

So the house will be full of family, food, and lots of fun!

Sure hope Joe and Jo have an excellent day!

Happy Birthday to Both of You!!
 

 

The Office Christmas Party

One of my favorite activities in December is going to our office Christmas party.  I love picking out just the right gifts for my boss, his wife, and my co-workers...and I really love wrapping the gifts up in pretty paper, ribbons and bows!  

Here's my "gifts to give" piled up near my front door...ready to be loaded into my car.

For the past several years we've had our dinners at the home of my boss, Geoff, and his wife, Peggy.  It's such a pretty home...a little bit of snow, and you'd have the perfect Christmas card!

Dinner was served in this cozy dining room....grilled pork loin and homemade mac & cheese among other things.  So yummy!

Geoff's son made each of us these wonderful snowmen!

And Peggy made us these amazing coconut cake, 
and a delicious apple pie (it's hidden under the foil)!
Notice the red and white checks in the background?

Here's a better look!
Love this cozy corner!!

A toasty fire waited for us.  More of Greg's handiwork is in here. The mantle, and the birds and ship on it, and that beautiful coffee table!  The photo doesn't do it justice.  It's made out of two planks of wood and a set of old sewing machine legs.  

It's perfect in this room!

The tree is so pretty...I love seeing ornaments I've given them hanging on the branches.  
I also like to get ideas from other ornaments hanging there.

Like this angel...I love her wings. 

A doily folded in half. So sweet!

I gave Peggy this little felted sheep several years ago.

Another friend gave her this pig...I LOVE this pig! 

Every pig needs a polka dot sweater!

Speaking of sweaters.....how cute is this one!  Peggy found several of these at a little coffee shop.  

I can see bits of three other ornaments I've given her in this photo.  A silver vase, a paper mache star with baby Jesus on it, and a creamy, white mitten.

And here's the most important part of the evening...the people.

This is the current office staff.

Geoff, Jennifer, Regina, Mike, and me.

Definitely a fun group of people!!

First of all...this is black and white because I couldn't get the color edited correctly.  

Secondly, this is the office staff as we began the year.  

Four of us.  The same four that have been together for seven years.  Joan retired the end of June.  We were happy to have her back with us for our Christmas party!

I'm so blessed to work with such nice people!!

Here's a peek at last year's party.
And here's a photo of Peggy and Greg....a little grainy, but special just the same!

It was a wonderful office party!

Speaking of parties...there's another reason to celebrate today.
It's my daughter-in-law Johanna's birthday!!
Happy birthday to you!!
Hope you have a wonderful day!!

A Trip To Bass Pro

Last Sunday afternoon Joe's family and I took a trip to visit Santa. 

The plan was to see him at Bass Pro....but the line to see him was a two hour wait!  

Luckily Santa also had a line in the mall with a wait of about 30 minutes!  

Not sure how Santa manages all these multiple lines, but we were grateful for the shorter one!

Caleb amused himself with his mommy's phone...he loves to explore Google Earth!

Sweet Elijah loves showing off the gap in his mouth!

Caleb was not interested in sitting with Santa unless his dad joined up. Shortly before this photo, Caleb's head made contact with Santa's head...at that moment there wasn't a whole lot of "jolly" going on!!

Elijah and Caleb tried out the various sizes of ATVs.  Elijah had to wait his turn for the big one because a little girl was riding it, so he jumped on the middle size one.  The other ones were all still in boxes...but that didn't stop Caleb!  He climbed aboard the Camo ATV, tucked in his feet...and was ready to go!  When the big one ATV became available Elijah got his turn on it...and Caleb got to try an unboxed version.  It was so funny to watch them!

The train was a hit.  I wish it hadn't been so expensive...I would have loved to buy them one!  Caleb really enjoyed it!!

Such a cute family!!

Thank you Bass Pro for all wonderful photo ops!!

Since it Throwback Thursday I thought I'd include this photo.

The same cute family...2 1/2 years ago!!

Caleb....Wet.

This little guy has been in Myrtle Beach for the past several days. He and his family are on their way home today.  Joe and Johanna have shared lots of photos and videos while on their trip. 

I've loved seeing all the fun they've been having!

 

 

I wish I could figure out how to share this video from Johanna's Instagram....the best

I can do is share the:  link:http://instagram.com/p/qxwgdWm3ga/?modal=true

 

It's worth clicking on... I think it's my favorite share of their trip! 

Here are links to Joe's Instagram and Johanna's Instagram.

There are a lot of really fun photos to see.

 

Here's a peek at one of my favorites of Elijah...and his donut holder! 

Such a clever boy!

 

 

Also...today is my sister's birthday!

She got a very nice gift this year....her first

grandchild was born earlier this month!!

Happy Birthday Emily!!

 



Cookies and Stuff!

 

This is something new!  Everything that has to be done is done.  Decorations are in place, shopping complete, packages wrapped. Lots of cookies baked...thank you Bill!  There's still a few things I'd like to do...but if I don't get to them it won't really matter.

 

Bill and I can just sit back and relax. (We can eat cookies!!)  We can do nothing.  That'll be a real treat for Bill.  This first Christmas in the retirement part of his life is very different...he worked in retail for over 35 years. Relaxing never happened at Christmas time before...at least not for him.

I work today, but then I'm off for three days.  I'm looking forward to listening to some Christmas music on the radio, Christmas movies on TV...oh, and did I mention cookies.  Oh my goodness...we have a lot of cookies!! I'm looking forward to eating them!!

It'll be nice to share some quiet moments before the family activities begin tomorrow. 
Unusual, but nice.  Rumor has it that the kitchen might still be busy though. There are at least a couple more types of cookies that Bill wants to make. Who knew that there was a baker trapped inside that retail sales manager for all these years!!

Enjoy your final preparations for your Christmas activites...
and don't forget to eat cookies!!!

******

I hope my daughter-in-law, Johanna, gets some sweet treats today too...'cause it's her birthday!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!

 

 



Scrap For Joy

One night last week Charlotte was explaining the definition of the word 'jealous' to us.  Her example was a good one.  She  said "Ms. May is jealous of me because I get to go to Disney World and she doesn't". 

I was looking on Facebook last night and come up with my own example.  I'm jealous because about a month ago, Joe and Jo got to meet Joyce from Scrap for Joy!!   Joyce and I have been reading each other's blog since 2008...someday we're going to meet.

In the meantime though this photo makes me happy!

 

Photo 'borrowed' from Joyce's Facebook.

A Bountiful Harvest

Katie, Mandy, & Johanna have joined a produce co-op with four of their friends. 

Katie & Mandy pick up boxes of produce every other Saturday, and then they sort it all out and package it up for pick-up by everyone else.

Mandy ended up doing the packaging in my kitchen this past Saturday. They got a wonderful assortment of fruits and veggies...and with the exception of a couple really ripe nectarines and a few beat up cucumbers, everything was in great condition.  Mandy & Bill tallied up what these items would have cost at the grocery store and discovered the girls saved 50% with their this week!  They got a nice assortment too!

 

Pineapples, Cabbage, Kale, and Red Potatoes

Brussel Sprouts, Broccoli, and Yellow Onions

Bananas, Pears, and Green Beans

Sweet Potatoes, and Beets

Apples

Oranges and Nectarines

Romaine and Spinach

Leeks and Cucumbers

Two boxes get Kale and Spinach, and the other two get Romaine and Cabbage. 

Katie found a great way to use her sweet potatoes, beets, leeks and spinach ....Rainbow Hash.  She might even add some Bacon!!

Hmmm...wonder when she's making it?  
I'm pretty sure Bill and I are free whenever she decides to make it!  Yum!

 

 

 



Disney 2013

Our recent Walt Disney World trip was Elijah's and Caleb's first time there.  With the exception of a couple days of Elijah not feeling well, I think they had a great time!

 

I'm not sure who the boys are looking at...but Joe and Daisy are smiling for the WDW photographer!

An evening on the boardwalk....

 

Caleb wasn't real fond of the puppets we found in "China'.

Caleb did not like looking at the characters....not even Mickey!

No trip is complete without a whirl in the tea-cups!

Attention!!

Phineus, Ferb, and friends.

 

On our marathon WDW trips you nap whenever and wherever you can!