Christmas Day

We had fun visiting grandkids at their own homes!


Here is Michael showing off his night vision goggles!

Aislinn loves her horse stable and horses!

The Kelley Christmas Tree!

Emma got lots of art supplies and books
 on how to sketch horses and fairies!
I can't wait to see some of the art work she creates! 

 

The Martin Christmas Tree!

Christmas in our new dining room.

The Pettit Christmas Tree!

Merry Christmas to all! 

(Check out Lance and Danielle's Christmas on their new blog!)

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve found all available Pettits
gathered for a delicious ham dinner!
We missed Lance, Danielle, Bowen, and Shawn! 

Everyone is wearing paper crowns that came from the
Christmas crackers the Daniels family ( from Wales) gave us.
It is a British tradition that we love carrying on! 

Emma read the whole Velveteen Rabbit book to Aislinn!
We all loved listening to it!

 

 

Michael got a book of Aesop's Fables. 

Michael's Birthday!

Although we had a family birthday party

 for all the many December birthdays,

it was still fun to see Michael on his actual birthday!

 Here he is in my classroom showing off

 his prezzies and his brand new warm winter coat! 

Thanksgiving Day

I am grateful for all my blessings this year!

.

I am also grateful that we are almost 

done with our house redo,

(although I guess you are never really done!)

 This year we dined on the newly refinished furniture

 from my Grandma Lance and broke out the fine china. 

 Just as we were enjoying our meal, Lance called from Korea!

Although his Thanksgiving was the day before, it was great

to have everybody "together" on Thanksgiving! 

(Notice the phone in Matt's hand!)

 There was a lot of action going on underfoot! 

Here Indy is trying to use her adorable puppy dog look

 to beg food from the most likely to give in - Anne! 

The kids ate quickly and had to look for other things to do. 

For some reason I didn't get a picture of Aislinn, 

who is sporting a new short haircut

 thanks to a chop job at the hands of Michael. 

When we did our traditional "corn/I am thankful for..."  tradition,

Matt Kelley said he is thankful that Aislinn's hair will grow.....

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving!

Thankful for family! 

As part of our house "redo",

we refinished my Grandma Lance's 

dining room set and buffet. 

They got done just barely in time for Thanksgiving! 

After stripping all the old, dark finish, 

we discovered the set had 3-4 different kinds of wood! 

The buffet has some especially pretty grain and 

cuts of wood. 

My grandma did all the needle point seats. 

It's gorgeous! 

I can't wait for Thanksgiving dinner,

which will be served on her china as well! 

Thankful for Michael!

One of the best things about teaching at Cook Elementary

is that my grandson Michael goes to school there.

He come to my classroom most afternoons and 

we read, and talk , and enjoy each other! 

Today was awesome because he was all dressed for

Thanksgiving and I had my teepee set up in my classroom! 

Aislinn's Fourth Birthday

Aislinn is a huge fan of

Ni Hao, Kai-Lan

so she had a

 Moon Festival Birthday Party!

Each child decorated their own fan! 

Moon Cakes

Moon cakes were the birthday treat! 

The highlight for me was the

 Moon Festival Parade at the end of the party.

 Here the kids are getting ready and practicing their noisemakers. 

 Let the parade begin!

It was colorful, bright, and noisy

just as a Moon Festival parade should be!