Fly Boys

We were just sitting down to Christmas Eve dinner over at Scott's brother Brad's house when we got the most wonderful surprise...Scott's brother Barry, his wife Stephanie and their 2 kids came walking in!!! It took them all day to travel from Dallas to Sacramento (bad weather), then they drove on up to Redding! What a great surprise! We could not believe it!!Barry and Scott are both pilots (and Brad could be one) so they love to fly when they are together. Now that Scott has Barry's "old" plane here in Redding they can fly when they are here!

Scott, Barry and Brad boarded 3-4-4-Tang0-X-ray and away they flew right next to beautiful Mt. Shasta. It is covered with snow which makes it even more beautiful!
Those big boys sure fill up the front of that plane! I am glad Brad had the camera on the way there to get some good pictures...There are none from the trip home, Brad was flying!

Here is another shot of the big white mountain that you see while driving north on I-5. I always know we are close to home when it comes into view. It is even more majestic from the sky!

Barry

Scott

The boys had a great time and I'm sure they are praying for another clear day so they can get back up in the sky together!!





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Merry Christmas

Great Christmas Read...

Last year I told you all about "Humphrey's First Christmas" by Carol Heyer. What a precious book! If you are a book lover like me (it's the teacher in me, I am sure) you MUST add another book to your collection. It's a little hard to find but I have recently seen it on Amazon.com.

"The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree" by Gloria Houston, pictures by Barbara Cooney It's the story of a little family who has the honor of providing a Christmas tree to the church in time for the children's program. Have a tissue handy 'cause this one is a tearjerker, especially for military families!

We had some "oh my gracious, WHEN is school starting again" moments here today, so I read Christmas books to the little fighters.
Later in the evening Scott and I were surprised to see Shae hanging out AT HOME, so we took advantage of the free (ha ha) babysitting and went out on a date! We had a relaxing, delicious meal just staring into each other's eyes...uh, just kidding! We talked about what to fix for our family breakfast on Christmas morning and who has to go grocery shopping!

We ran a few errands and then went to Barnes and Noble for some coffee and magazine reading! Scott read pilot magazines and I read decorating magazines and made a long list of projects for HIM to do!

It was a fun evening, and boy will I miss having a live-in babysitter next year!!


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Fun and Festive Week

We have had a busy week! I have gotten a little behind on my blog, so this is going to be a catch-up post.

Lindsay came home from school on Friday with a backpack FULL of darling projects she had made at school. I love this little ornament with her picture in it-and LOOK, she is looking at the camera!
Lindsay and Scott have a favorite song during the holidays, Feliz Navidad by Jaci Velasquez! Scott runs to get his guitar to play along and Lindsay gets her groove on!

I always have good intentions of having people over (other than just family) during Christmastime, but the season ends without any get togethers. I was determined to have an ornament exchange brunch this year, so I invited a few girls and we did it!
It is so much fun to get together with other women. God did intend for us to connect with others and it felt good to visit and catch up on each other's lives. All of them have children that go to school or church with my girls.
Here is Carolyn opening her beautiful crystal ornament. Too bad we played the game that people could steal twice...and THAT ornament ended up on MY living room tree!!
Here are some of the girls eating and chatting. I am thankful for each one of my precious friends! (and my Mother-in-law!)

Here we all are with our ornaments!

I have decided that it was so much fun having company that I am NOT going to wait for another holiday to do it again!

The night before the last day of school Shae was busy busy busy baking cupcakes...all by herself... for her 8th graders! She is their P.E. Aide and she *loves*them!

78 Delicious Cuppies-DONE!

Earlier in the day my SIL, Beckie called to see if Gavin could come over while she took Austin to get a gift for his pre-school gift exchange.

Mr. Blue Eyes had a lot to say! He 'talked" non stop!

When Anna came in from school and got some crackers out, he said, "pease". His Mommy said he had just had his lunch, but who could resist this face...

Or these lips...

Can you believe those eyelashes?! It's just not right.











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It's the Simple Things

It is easy to get caught up in the stress and over-spending of this season. I am reminded daily that things don't have to be fancy or expensive to be special or entertaining. Lindsay has played over and over with a set of magnetic rocks that our friend, Tom Darnell brought her while we were in Lynchburg. He said he paid $1 for them. They have entertained her on an airplane, in the car, at volleyball and basketball games and for many hours at home. Mainly they are "her kids" and they are ALL GIRLS. We are down to 10 in all from 15 (not bad!) .
Here she is playing with them in the hotel while we were in the reception for the YA reunion we attended in September...and they had a bonus-a mirror so she could watch her hands while they lined up "those kids".

In this season of rushing and pressure and stress, let's try to focus on the simple things:
Like a sweet baby boy born in a humble manger.

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Anybody Out There?

Well, looks like there are people reading this blog but the comment tool must be broken?!

A Cascade Christmas

One of my favorite things about Christmas time in Redding is the "Cascade Christmas" show at the beautifully remodeled Cascade theater. It feels like you are in a big city when you attend an event there!

Shae and Maeghan dressed up and looked so cute! We went with all girls...and my nephew, Austin! He is a ladies' man, so he fit right in!

My dear friend Carolyn came with us and brought,

her crazy granddaughter, Chloe (who happens to be Anna's good friend!)

Carloyn and Dottie got free kisses on the cheek throughout the show!

It was so fun listening to Austin get excited during the different songs, especially when Santa was on stage! Beckie had her hands full with that excited boy!

While we were waiting for the show to start, we ran into Rachel, who was celebrating her birthday!

After the show we went to a Sweet Spot for some cupcakes and gelato! Yum!

The girls left their mark on the chalkboard wall too. I would love one of these walls in my house, but the chalk dust would make me crazy!
We had a fun evening out and it is always impressive to see the unbelievable dancers that are from right here in Redding! The show is just like the one we saw 2 years ago in Dallas with the Rockettes. It is a fun outing to get you into the Christmas spirit!

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Christmas Bedrooms

I can't wait until MY bedroom is painted so I can put my new {white} bedding on my bed! I can just "see" a beautiful Christmas tree all decked out in white in there next year! For now, the only bedrooms in this house that are festive are those of my daughters. This is the first year they have ALL {even Linds} put up and decorated their own bedroom Christmas trees without me!!I LOVE the colors of Shae's bedroom. She painted it grey last year (I didn't love the color at first, but it turned out very nice!)
We found the perfect turquoise ornaments last year on clearance after Christmas. We have a package of cool black tree decorations from Ikea, but I guess she opted not to use them this time around. Next year I will be decorating her bedroom tree to welcome her home for Christmas Break from college!! (boo hoo)

She added a little zebra fabric at the bottom..LOVE that!!
Juicy Couture stocking in her room...does she think Santa will fill 2 for her?!

Lindsay's favorite color was purple ever since I can remember...but now she is sooooo into pink! Papa got her a purple Christmas tree last year to match her bedroom and she happily put it up (with Anna's help) and decorated it! She really really LOVES having it in her room and wants me to plug it in when I come in to wake her up every day!

We have Christmas books throughout the house, including Lindsay's nightstand, for her night time ritual. Although she says "Daddy tells the best stories" and I believe it because you can hear her howling with laughter when he puts her to bed!

Anna can actually borderline on being a "tacky" decorator, so I was concerned when I saw all the Christmas lights on the floor in her room...but she did a good job, and her room looks nice all lit up at night.

One thing on Anna's Christmas list is:

"Paint my room pink"

EEk, I am nervous about that, it's such a tricky color, does anyone have any suggestions on a "good" pink!? I can't wait to make her room a priority so she will feel special, she has had everyone's hand-me-down bedding her whole life!

It sure is fun to "Deck the Halls" for Christmas...I am not sure Scott would agree, he HATES when we mess up HIS garage and HIS attic (and we HAVE!!!).

Brrrr, it's COLD outside here in California, and they say it might even drizzle some snow tonight!!!!!!!!!! Shae and Anna got out of school early yesterday because they had a broken pipe and flooding at their school. We are just not used to this cold cold weather!

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Party Girl

Lindsay is going to the annual Christmas party that the Elks Lodge puts on for ALL the handicapped kids in our area. Her whole class is going...on the bus...so it was an exciting morning here! Here she is all decked out in her "party clothes". She will have a wonderful time! She always runs into kids and teachers she has been with in the past, so she spent the morning telling us all the names of the people she may see today!( I REALLY hope she sees her beloved aide of 5 years, Cindy!!) It really is an amazing thing they do for these kids, they all receive really nice gifts from Santa (but Lindsay doesn't really like Santa up close!), they do crafts and have refreshments. (but "Leslie can't have punch", so Lindsay has decided to drink water with Leslie so she won't be sad!)

I am so very grateful for the wonderful programs Lindsay has been able to participate in! Having "special needs" has its perks!!!
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