Monday, December 28, 2009

Christmas Eve Fun


Enjoy some family shots taken on Christmas Eve. Suki was glad to see her daddy and was buttering him up ... don't think he noticed.

Suki again buttering up family ... this time Chris is overseeing the kisses to Russ and Heidi.

John found something quite funny .... It was great to have the kids together. We attended the 6:30 PM service at church then came home to a dinner of Beef Stew with all the fixings.


Christmas day found us having more fun. Tosca, Jim and Lee joined the family for Brunch and watched us open presents. We did laugh a lot and everyone enjoyed the breakfast casseroles and cakes. Of course there was drama later in the day. The egg casserole and french toast casserole had spilled over onto the oven floor. I didn't realize how much of a mess it was before I started to preheat the oven for the prime rib roast. Next thing I knew, Heidi was yelling that the stove was on fire. There were flames throughout the inside and it was quite a sight. Art used the fire extinquisher to put out the flames then had to clean the oven before we could start again. Luckily, our good neighbor across the street offered me her oven to finish off the cheesecake that was ready to cook.


Hopefully your Christmas had less drama but just as much fun.

Happy New Year!
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2009 is on the way out ....

I hope everyone has had a safe and happy holiday so far.  It's amazing that we are facing 2010 when it seems like we just made it through 2000.   Time really does speed by and life brings many surprises along the way.   It's been a great year for our family.  We are blessed to be so close and have time to spend with each other.  There are special moments with our good friends as well ... and we cherish every one. 

Years ago I made a New Year's Resolution that I've kept for a long time ... that was "never to make another New Year's Resolution".   I felt I was just setting myself up for failure and if I didn't make the resolution, then I wouldn't mess it up.  Great in theory but I've learned that if you don't challenge yourself and try to make yourself better, then you are not living up to your potential.    So this year, I'm making resolutions.  Oh, they aren't hard ones ... mostly common sense and good-for-me type things.  But I'm going to try to keep these resolutions this year. 

So here goes ... if I post thm here, I'll have to keep them, right??  (deep breath)

1.  Send more cards.  I have a studio, I have the supplies,  I have the inspiration .. now make the time and send more cards.
     1a)  Write more notes ....  to elderly relatives, far-away friends.
2.  Get together with friends more often.  Catch up with those I haven't seen in a while.  Call ones that are too far away to meet up with.
3.  Spend more time on my spiritual growth.  I host two Prayer Lists ... spend more time praying for those on the list as well as my family, friends, city, state, country, etc.   Out of all my waking hours, there must be more time to spend with my God.
4.  Participate in some Stamping/Scrapping challenges online.  Step out of the box and participate, learn and enjoy sharing my craft with others.
5.  The hardest of all:   Work on taking better care of myself.  Cancel the hiatus from my doctors; lose weight, exercise more; eat better - cook more.  This one will need a lot of support - and tons of prayers.  But if I am to be around to spend time with the family and friends I love so dearly, it's a resolution that only I can keep. 

So there you have it - my list of New Year's Resolutions.  Published for the world to see.  And to keep me accountable.

Wishing you the very best in 2010 .. may you have joy, peace, good health, prosperity and security.
Love,  Nana Bev

Friday, December 18, 2009

BRAGGING RIGHTS!


Chris was interviewed today for a piece on Fox News 35 that will air tonight at 10PM. He's been collecting toys for children of need for eight of his 12 years. He did a great job at the interview ... Bob Frier made him feel quite comfortable. He donated two large boxes of toys for the Boy and Girls Club in the local area. Many thanks to those that donated, especially the Holy Cross Lutheran Ministries Dining Out L-Team and the Sports Authority Team Members from the Sanford store. You all helped make it happen.

Each year Chris spends a good portion (at least half) of his Christmas savings to purchase toys to be given to a charity for distribution. We are so proud of him. What a way to say Merry Christmas!

Love you, Chris. Great job.
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Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Tags, tags and more tags


Finally finished all my tags. These were fast and easy .. just had to wait for the glitter to dry. This is the first year in a long time that everything is done and I can actually enjoy all the activities of the holiday season.

Heading out for a Girls Night Out to Liam Fitzpatricks for drinks and dinner ... Will be a great time.
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Saturday, December 5, 2009

Chris Noah's Birthday


It started out as a cold, wet, rainy day. But we headed off to Disney for Chris's birthday anyway. He wanted to visit Hollywood Studios ... Recognize the face of an embarassed new 12 year old? We were on our way out and stopped to take pictures of the birthday boy. He rode the Toy Story Mania, Great Movie Ride, ate at the Brown Derby and was greeted by all the cast members for his birthday. We attended the Block Party Parade and he was recognized by several MCs and pulled out of the crowd to dance with some of the dancers. He pulled back and they made me dance with him. This 'kiss' was his 'reward'. :)

It's always a fun day when we are with Chris. Thursday night we took him to Carlos and Charlies for a great Mexican dinner. They also 'serenaded' him for his birthday. Tomorrow night ... Giovanni's for great Italian food. It's not a birthday in this family unless you celebrate for a week!

Happy Birthday, lovebug! I'm so proud of you. Love, Nanny
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Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Green Tree



This is a close-up view of the Green tree in the family room. I think this is my favorite. The ideas for our trees this year came from my favorite designer shop in Winter Park - Owen Allen. They have several trees decorated by color theme and I fell in love with the green tree. Thanks, ladies!

Poor Art has had to drag dozens of boxes back to the storage unit because I only used the red or green or silver, gold or bronze ornaments this year. No distractions with the novelty ornaments on the trees ... just the beautiful rich colors that blend with the theme of each tree.

Our Nutcracker collection resides in the family room this year. The Angels are still in the formal living room. And the Santa's .. they are keeping guard in the keeping room! I love Christmas and hope everyone has a very blessed holiday season. Let's all remember why we celebrate this beautiful time of year.

Merry Christmas.
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Trees ...


The first two photos are top and bottom of the same tree in the formal living room. The next two photos are top and bottom of the 'red tree' in the dining room. One of the toy soldiers that guard the front entry can be seen in the last photo. It's a start ... I'll post a photo of the third tree next.

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December??


The hibiscus is still blooming and Suki is loving sitting in the sun watching the squirrels. So it's December is Florida and we're still warm. We hang the lights, put up the trees, shop till we drop and yearn for a cool-down. Of course if it does get cool, I'm in trouble. I was shopping for a jacket/coat today - just in case it gets cold - and Dillards didn't even have a coat department this year. Amazing.

Christmas cards went in the mailbox yesterday and some have already been acknowledged. One came back today ... my return address was on the back of the envelope so the PO decided to use that as the 'to' address. Go figure. And we keep paying more and more for this great service!

Next post will be photos of the trees in our main rooms. Enjoy.
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