Friday, December 31, 2010

Well kids, this is it....one whole year of blog...every day since 1/1/10. I hope you've enjoyed learning a little bit about our life in Kentucky and the things we find fun and interesting. This is us at a New Year's Eve party. We were actually home at midnight to see the fireworks from the sundeck! We love all of you and hope that 2011 is the best year yet. We'll see you A's in May and you C's in June...until then.....call us, text us, e-mail us, facebook us...communicate! We want to hear all about your lives and what makes you smile and what you find interesting. bye 2010....hello 2011....a very good year to look forward to.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Almost a whole year now....only one more post after tonight and 2010 for the A's and C's is over. Look at you...are you not the most beautiful five grandkids in the whole world....we've enjoyed talking to you in this form for the past year and hope that some day you'll look back at some of the posts and realize how much we love you five. It's been a busy, fun, sad, exciting year with lots of changes. I'm sure the next year will bring an equal amount of fun and excitement and change. We love you five...

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Happy Birthday Christian...18 years old today. We have such fun memories of when you were little, and a few since you've been not so little. My favorite is remembering your papa v. lapping your mama Matlock down the hall at the hospital to get to you first....you were all wrapped up like a football and papa v just grabbed you out of your mommy's arms....he was so excited to become a papa! We hope you have a fantastic day and remember all the people who love you who are not there to celebrate like we were the year you turned 5 (picture above, of course).

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

I'm on a Maggie Smith kick...I love Maggie Smith so I rented a bunch of Maggie Smith movies from the library and have been watching them over the week. Tonight was Tea with Mussolini. The fun thing about this movie is that it takes place mostly in Florence Italy. A lot of the places you see during the first half of the movie are places we have either walked by or visited. In fact, there are quite a number of scenes that show the big door of the apartment we stayed in last summer....I think I may have to watch this one again.

Monday, December 27, 2010

This is the book I'm listening to on my iPod Touch....it's a very long book...if it were on cd it would be 30 discs. whew! I've been listening to it almost a month now...Since it's been so cold and there's ice on the bridge, I have to take the bus...that only lasts about 7 minutes, so I don't get to read as long as I used to when I walked. Anyway this book is about the history of New York and it's really fun to read since we lived in New York when we were younger and my parents lived in New York before they were married. Lots of the names and places in the book make me smile since I know the place they're talking about. It's been a long book to listen to but very interesting and fun. Edward Rutherfurd has written several other long books that I've enjoyed...Sarum, London and the New Forest. Maybe some day you'll have time to read a long book for fun!

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Lucy wanted to see the ornaments on the tree. She tries to stand up at the bottom to swat those that are hanging down...and sometimes she jumps up on the counter and tries to reach over to get a few....this evening I decided to put her out of her misery and let her get up close and personal with all the shiny things on the tree. She was VERY interested. I think she could see there were a lot of cat ornaments. She also liked the gold balls...they made a funny noise when she hit them! I think she's satisfied now...I hope so since the tree will be coming down soon.

Christmas Day, December 25, 2010

Merry Christmas Day. We had a very lazy wonderful morning...coffee and sweet roll and a fire on the tv...Christmas carols on the Ipod and presents ready to open. We made some telephone calls and received some telephone calls and then we sat and watched the fire for a bunch of hours and decided it was a good day! We had friends over for supper this evening and then we watched a basketball game....we hope your day was equally as wonderful.

Christmas Eve, December 24, 2010

T'was the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in the hopes that St. Nicholas would soon be there.

Here are our stockings hung on the mantle...since we don't really have a chimney. Lucy's stocking is the biggest one....strange. Merry Christmas Christian, Chandler, Chloe, Andrew and Abby....we love you very much.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Not a whole lot to say tonight...my Christmas holiday started at 3:30 but papa/gump has to work tomorrow until 3:00....so here he sits watching tv with Lucy...she was actually hiding under the pillow until I called her name. Lazy night!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Grandchildren are wonderful...this is my co-worker and friend Kathie and her two grandkids, Asher and Iris. Iris tells me she's 3 and Asher is 1. Fingers are very handy when giving someone this information. They came downtown with their Nana today to visit Santa. Iris even made a list using one of her Nana's green pens...I bet Santa liked getting a list in green. Asher was a little in awe of all the women talking to him, but he was a trooper and played ball with Lyn. I think they had a good time visiting Santa...Merry Christmas Iris and Asher!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

It's the first day of winter...they said it started at 3:00 this afternoon, but this is a picture I took this morning at the bus stop. It's been snowy like this for a week....Today for the first time, I was able to actually find sidewalk to walk on. We've had the coldest December in recent history...we don't like it much. Sounds like California is getting a lot of rain, and Oklahoma is getting lots of nice weather...go figure!

Monday, December 20, 2010

Mrs. Claus called and needed a little help making pies today! Abby answered the call and all the pies are ready. Good work Abby...now you know how to bake pies, you can bake us one next time we come to visit!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

T

his past week we received a bunch of Christmas cards...from all over the US and even some from England. We always put the cards in a basket on the table and reread them over and over. We like Christmas cards...and we always send Christmas cards...even if we don't talk to the people all year. It's a way to say that we wish them well and think of them often, even if we don't talk frequently. Of all the Christmas cards we've ever received....these are our favorites! These two don't get put away...they are kept in a special "memory box" so we can take them out often and remember how you looked then! Merry Christmas loves of our life!

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Guess who got the Panda Hat on her Christmas list! We're thinkin' it was exactly what she wanted...what do you think? It's been a lot of years since Chloe gave us a Christmas list, but this year we got one and oh, what fun it was shopping for a tweenager. On the very top of the list was Panda Hat with a picture...just in case. When I went looking for a Panda Hat, there were a buzzilion online but not so many in stores....Apparently, I picked the right online one. Thanks for the list Chloe, we're glad you liked your Panda Hat...I thought I looked pretty cute in it too! Merry early Christmas Bug...

Friday, December 17, 2010

This is Streetcorner Symphony from Nashville and the other group is Committed from Huntsville, AL. They are 2 of the four groups left on the show Sing-Off. We have been watching since the beginning and loving every minute. In case you haven't seen them, these groups sing a capella...no musical instruments...just their voices...unbelievable. So now it's time to vote, and we can't decide between these two groups. The finals are next Monday, so if you haven't seen them yet...don't miss this one! They really are fabulous!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

This is a picture of old things! That's Uncle Mark reading to your daddy/Uncle David. Next to them is a live (as in really alive) Christmas tree and on the other side a record player. I was laughing when I saw this picture cause I don't think brothers really read to each other any more...not to mention records...do any of you have a record? Have you ever seen a record? I think these two were listening to Christmas carols while they were reading....it's a good old picture and makes us smile.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Santa and you (missing Abby since I don't think we have a picture of Abby with Santa). I showed you pictures of your parents and Uncle Mark with Santa so I thought you would enjoy seeing yourselves...no screaming here. Looks to me like ya'll really enjoyed sitting on Santa's lap. The pictures were taken at Florence Mall in 2000. That means Andrew wasn't even 1 yet. I'm so glad we found these pictures. They make us smile. 1/9/11...just found the picture of Abby sitting on Santa's lap looking very much like her mommy at that age!

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Several years ago friends of ours sent us this Christmas card. I kept the front of the card and it lives on my dresser in our bedroom. It's something I like to try to read a few times a week. It's good advice, it's a good way to live life. I hope you can read some of the words...I like all of it, but "be kind and gentle. Laugh a little, laugh a little more" are my favorites. If you double click on the picture, I think you'll be able to read it better!

Monday, December 13, 2010

It's the princess in her new bed...and not a pea in sight! This is Chloe's new room at her Dad and Jess' house and it looks like she's enjoying it pretty much. It even looks like her jammies match the comforter...good job Chloe.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Old and new Christmas decorations. The angel on top of the tree is as old as I am...about 29 LOL. The santa on the right is a brand new ornament I received at our Christmas party at work. So on the tree is a 64 year old angel, and a 3 day old santa! I LOVE our Christmas tree for this very reason. When we decorate the tree we can remember the years when we either made the ornament, or bought it at a festival or someone gave it to us. There's a lot of love on our tree....it makes it very special.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

This is the Tyler Davidson Fountain on Fountain Square . My boss' sister-in-law took this picture the day the ice hit. I think it's really cool picture but it makes me cold just looking at it! The biggest thing on the Square right now is the skating rink. I see lots of people down there skating on their lunch break...yikes too cold for me!

Friday, December 10, 2010

It seems only fair since I talked about how much your Aunt Liz/mommy loved Santa Claus to show you Uncle Mark and Uncle David/daddy felt about Santa. Now as you can see, Uncle Mark is just sitting there looking calm and adorable....he did really love Santa, from the first visit to the last! Uncle David/daddy...not so much. To be fair, this was the only time he screamed like this at Santa...all the following years he really enjoyed sitting on Santa's lap and telling him what he wanted. Uncle Mark always had a list and lots of stuff to say to Santa...I think he may still have some requests for Santa!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Tis the season....to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what you want for Christmas. We have years of pictures of your parents sitting on Santa's lap at the mall...from when they were little to...not so little. This is the only picture we have of Aunt Liz/mommy cause Aunt Liz/mommy refused...screamed like a girl...every time we tried to get her to sit on Santa's lap. On year when she was about 6, she thought we might like to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas, so out to the mall we went to tell Santa. After about 20 minutes of hiding behind a large post, she decided she didn't want anything for Christmas afterall....

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Before I start tonights blog, I'd just like to tell you that it's stinking cold here in NKY! Like 1 digit cold....yikes, my toes are frozen and I'm inside!

Ok...so November 28th was the First Sunday in Advent...that's the four Sundays before Christmas. I took this picture after church on the 28th, there are two candles lit now. This Advent Wreath was hand stitched by a friend of mine, many years ago. It has magnets on it and lives on the refrigerator. On Sunday I move one of the little flames to the wreath. The booklet has prayers for each night from the First Sunday in Advent until the day before Christmas. I always had an Advent Wreath when I was a kid...so this is a nice addition since we don't actually light candles in the house 'cause of Lucy!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Today is the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. On 12/8/1941, President Roosevelt gave the following speech on radio. "Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy. The United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by Naval and Air Forces of the Empire of Japan. It is obvious that planning the attack began many weeks ago, during the intervening time the Japanese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the US by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace. The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage ot American military forces, I regret to tell you that over three thousand American lives have been lost. No matter how long it may take us to over come this pre-meditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. Because of this unprovoked, dasterdly attack by Japan, I ask that the congress declare a state of war." This is what my parents and grandmother heard on the morning of December 8, 1941. Shortly after that my father enlisted in the army aircorp and was sent to serve in Italy. Thank a vetern today for the freedoms we enjoy.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow....as long as it only lands on the grass. It snowed on Saturday but it only landed on the grass, or so I thought. As far as I knew, all the snow was gone from the streets and sidewalks, so this morning I started off across the bridge to work.....wrong! Ice from one end to the other...it was a very hard walk and I rubbed a hole in my glove holding onto the rail...feel sorry for me yet? Really I should remember "bridges may freeze before roads".

Sunday, December 5, 2010

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree....or It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...we decorated the tree in our building tonight. We have a new tree that's green with snow stuff on it. It's very pretty and looks really good with the little white lights and red balls. We're going to put our tree up tomorrow night...can't wait. Have you got your trees up yet?

Saturday, December 4, 2010

It's Aunt Jess' birthday today....Happy Birthday Jess...how old are you? This picture was sent to us by Jess' parents and we were so excited to get it...if you look closely, you can see those gorgeous blue eyes and even a dipple! Aunt Jess and Uncle David/dad are going to celebrate this birthday in their new digs (with a pool)....Happy birthday Jess, we hope you have an even better year than this one (although new husband, new job and new house may be hard to top).

Friday, December 3, 2010

It was Reds Fest tonight....and tomorrow! There's papa/gump selling a lot of $1.00 stuff to people for stocking stuffers. I've never seen so much $1.00 stuff being sold...wow. It was a very successful evening at RedsFest and apparently a record breaking crowd. The good news was Bronson Arroyo signed a new three year contract. I saw Paul Janish and Jay Bruce walking around...it was a lot of work and we have to do it again tomorrow, but maybe I'll see Joey Votto!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Our best guess and Google Maps is that this is the "new house". Dad/Uncle David and Aunt Jess started the move in today and we're guessing they are pretty happy to do this move. It's a really cool house and even though they won't be able to walk to Starbucks anymore....it's probably worth it since they have a pool in the back yard and we think pool trumps Starbucks! Congratulations Dad/Uncle David and Aunt Jess....can't wait to see it in person.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Guess what happened in Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati today! And it's just the first day of December...actually, from the 20th floor where I work, it was very pretty....all those individual flakes floating around and down to the ground. It was blowing really hard at lunch time...both papa/gump and I were out in it and it was cold...cold and very cold. Hope your December got off to a better start!