Christmas, Christmas time is here...2009

Christmas, Christmas time is here. Time for Joy and Time for Cheer... (the Chipmunk song) We had all of that and more to come! Jes, Janessa and Jackson joined us and the Elders who live at our house to share the traditional Christmas morning breakfast since 1990. Candy Cane Bread slathered in lots of icing, hot from the oven. It's so fun to wake up to the smell of cinnamon. Jackson waiting patiently for the Candy cane bread... Grandpa got a new Santa for his collection. This one is even more annoying than any of the others he has. No pictures were taken of his other gifts; 3 White shirts, 2 kinds of socks, Chocolate cherries and new snow shovel... Here is the package that arrived from Ohio...Thanks! Mandy and Ben. Somebody must have told them that the way to make Mom cry tears of joy is to give her a framed picture of one or more of her grandchildren... Gifties from my Christmas Stocking Exchange buddy in Tuscon, Arizona. Jackson opens gifts from Grandpa and Grandma Crowther. Janessa peeks through the legs of the pj pants that she and Jes received. The Elders who live at our house opening their gifts. After a nap, Paul decided to install the gift I got from Santa... New -under the counter Radio/CD player... It was tagged as mine, but we will all enjoy having it in our home to set the mood. I had to play the Donny Osmond CD that Wendy loaned me first. It has a timer and clock and we got all of our favorite radio stations set. The Ransom family joined us in the late afternoon for some fun and games. It was nice to play Scrabble and Rummikub with them again. We needed a 8 player game of Scrabble... Opening their gifts from Grandma and Grandpa Crowther... Olivia playing with her Mini Princess doll set, and Elizabeth busy weaving with her new Loom. See how hard she is concentrating??? Grandma showing Elizabeth how to finish off the edges of her 1st Pot holder. Jackson and Vincent reading a book together. Elder Keeler takes his Christmas phone call from home... He is such a tease, I swear he's my child from another Mother...He took pictures of all of his gifts in front of the tree. Just like we used to do when our children were growing up in Umatilla and Burbank. Elder Keeler taught me how to use the timer on my camera. I've had it for over 3 years now and am still learning how to use it. To be continued...on Tuesday when we gather in Richland. Milton, Joe's and Janessa's families will come. Brant, Tina and their boys will soon be on their way... We'll miss Jeffery once again.