Trenda's Blog

Christmas Eve

Posted 8 months, 1 week ago at 10:01 pm.

We had a really nice Christmas Eve, went to Pam & Rob’s house for pizza & salad (a tradition) and then to church for our candlelight service.  It was a beautiful service with lots of Christmas carols and the kids were great. 

As we were singing Silent Night, I was really missing my Grandma & Grandpa-when I was growing up we spent every Christmas Eve at my grandparents house with my 18 aunts & uncles & 30 cousins.  This is the first year that there wasn’t a Christmas Eve party, well actually a couple years ago it was cancelled because my Grandpa was in the hospital but other than that year, there has been one for the past 60 years probably.  We don’t go every year but in recent years there are generally about 90 people there and I don’t know everyone because all my cousins are married now and I don’t know all their spouses.  So, now there are 18 (or so) aunts & uncles, 20-30 cousins (and spouses), and 30-50 great grandkids, all in my Grandpa’s little 2 bedroom ranch home, it’s a bit crazy:)  My grandpa, now 96 years old, just moved into an assisted living place after living alone in his own house up until 8 months ago.  When we were kids, my Grandma would play Silent Night on the organ and we would line up oldest to youngest and the youngest grandkid would carry the baby Jesus up to the nativity set and put him in the manger.  My Grandma died many years ago but I can’t hear that song without visualizing her fingers flowing over the keys and singing beautifully:)  So, this year no party and my parents are already in Arizona so I was feeling a bit homesick and at the same time feeling so grateful for my beautiful church family & Kelly’s family.  Oh, and one more funny thing about these Christmas parties-all my aunts & uncles and many of my cousins are also very into photography (growing up they all had SLR cameras, now they all have digital SLRs), so there are hundreds, more likely thousands of pictures being taken and usually at least one video camera going.  The “in-laws” refer to it as the paparazzi! 

So, onto my pictures from the night

When I pulled these gray dress pants out for Ezra, he said “they look so grown-upy”

there is always some piano playing

That’s Evan between the boys

and it’s nice to have Jessica & Shelby around for a couple weeks

And, a memory I don’t have a picture of-my sweet kids holding their little candles with their faces all lit beautifully.

Bus stop Christmas party

Posted 8 months, 1 week ago at 9:19 pm.

I call it that because it’s all the kids at our bus stop-I think there are 17 kids!  Darcy threw the party at Charity’s house (they have a cool basement), it was a lot of fun for the kids-have I mentioned that I love our neighborhood:)

They made beaded candy canes, you can see Tobin in the background playing table shuffleboard

they decorated cookies

they played air hockey

We had an ornament exchange, everyone had fun but boy was it loud:)

Walking home with our goods

Out in the snow

Posted 8 months, 1 week ago at 9:17 pm.

I love when I can get my outdoor lens on my camera in the winter and take shots in natural light instead of the darkness inside:)

doesn’t he have great eyelashes!

trying to make a snowball and avoiding looking at the camera!

More child labor

Posted 8 months, 1 week ago at 2:47 pm.

I’m a firm believer in child labor, put them to work I say.  I’m quite sure I didn’t believe this when I was 10 and cleaning up the kitchen dishes, but as much as we tease my mom about how much work we were expected to do-she had it right.  We learned how to be useful, responsible, and independent-qualities you can’t learn by accident.  I really think that a lot of trouble we have in schools and in society has to do with kids growing up being waited on and entertained their entire existence.  So, what do they expect when they enter the workforce-more of the same.  I’m feeling like one of those old depression era folks now (you know-when I was a kid we used to . . .), but just some things for you to chew on:)

On to the real reason for the post, based on the above belief, I try any chance I can to get the kids to do useful things-even though it usually ends up being more work for me.  Here’s their gift wrapping fun

Mari actually sort of has the idea of it now so maybe next year she can be more independent about it.

Ezra-down for the count

Posted 8 months, 1 week ago at 9:02 pm.

Ez got sick in the middle of the night last Thursday, and was pretty out of it on Friday.  He knows how to be sick though-he took 2 naps and layed on the couch the entire day, by evening his fever was gone:)  He woke up in much better spirits but still layed low the rest of the weekend, this is how he looked for most of it (the boy can watch TV!).

I am soooo grateful that God spared the rest of the family for Christmas:)