The Holiday Season ..

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Cookie time!!

It's that "cookie time" of year ... Sandi and Tyler were working on them at their house and Teri's girls were trying to get them decorated at their house provided that Teri got them out of the oven before they were too done!

I didn't ask if they were making them for themselves or if they would be delivered to school for teachers and friends.

Regan, 11, Bailey, 9, Marley, 12

More Christmas programs ...

RJ attends Keswick Christian School here in St. Pete. He's in kindergarten and as usual, Christmas programs are always cute when it involves little kids!! So, here is a video of one of the songs last evening. RJ is on the front row in the green shirt and beige pants. You can see he is well aware of where his mother (Shonna) is!

"I think I'll pass on Christmas shopping ...."

Teri sent me this photo by picture mail today -- she had taken Rudy shopping at Walmart and Rudy decided he had just had enough and went to sleep. Teri said she thought the cart bar might be a little hard so picked up this purple boa to make it a little softer. It appears that Rudy wasn't too taken by that either! He was just plain tuckered out!!

Kamen's Christmas Program

This was the last song the combined choir sang -- 4th and 5th graders of Northside Christian School. They let go and sang with all their hearts! There was a little mixup in the music but there was illness in one of the teacher's families so there was some improvisation involved! Nevertheless, they sang their best!!

Kamen's Christmas Concert

Last Thursday evening was the Christmas Concert for the 4th through 6th grades of Northside Christian School. It was held at Northside Baptist Church. Kamen played the trumpet in the band and also was a part of the choir. They sang and played their hearts out!

One piece of music given to the band they had never seen before. The title of the music was, "You're Never Seen This Before" ... which was rather funny to say the least.

The band director had them clap the song and then sing it by shaped notes (which doesn't happen much anymore -- anywhere except in the deep south). Once they did that, they played the song together -- and hardly missed a note! It was quite impressive. Oh, what was the song? The first half of "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee"!

So, here is Kamen and his concert ...

Below is our friend, Marci, whose daughter, Rebecca, was in the 6th grade band/choir. She enjoyed holding Ava during the concert.

Kamen is a very proud uncle and takes role quite seriously!!

Finally -- the end of a great evening -- Chris, Kasi, Ava and Kamen -- Roxanne was obviously taking the photo!

Okay, so they don't serve hot chocolate ...

... they serve ice cream products in Largo Park. The park is decorated beautifully for Christmas. You can park and walk and so we did -- Roxanne, Kamen, Tim, Sandi, Tyler and me. We had a great time to the backdrop of Christmas music. It was a little on the cool side but not enough to bring out any hot chocolate vendors -- oh, no! Just the ice cream truck! For this transplanted northerner, I found that quite amusing!

Tyler, Kamen and Tim enjoying their ice cream. Tyler enjoyed it so much, his lips have turned the color of his ice cream!! And then we were on to a neighborhood who raises money for Hospice. Most of the homes in a large area are decorated to the max. Along the way, you will find folks like the lady below. They give away candy canes and, of course, we donated some to the Hospice Fund.

I was taking pictures of the house behind her and Tim assured her that her house would be on my blog -- and maybe she would end up in the news. Okay, that's stretching it! She said, "I appreciate the compliment on the house -- but it's not mine! I'm just here collecting money for Hospice!" Too funny ... We were really glad we chose a night early in December. We will probably go again on Christmas Eve which is a long time tradition -- but chances are, it will take much longer to get through. A lot of other people have the same tradition!! By the way, do you see the snow in the photo below -- well, artificial snow and people get quite creative in Florida to provide the atmosphere of the Christmas season!

Life's Most Embarrassing Moments ... another one!

Last evening was one of those times when you could classify something as very embarrassing -- but I'm not sure if it was more embarrassing for me or the other person.I was attending Carols, Candlelight and Communion at Clearwater First Church of the Nazarene. They had it in their Fireside Room and the place filled up quickly.

I sat at the end of a row of seats since I had my cane and didn't want to stumble over myself since I already do that quite handily. A couple (who I later found out are long-time Nazarenes) wanted to sit in the same row and asked if they could come by me. I told them, of course. I decided that the best thing to do with my cane was to pull it back towards me and out of the 'traffic area' in front of my seat. The wife got by just fine but the husband had not seen my cane there. As you can see in the photo, it has one of those sort of foam grip handles so when he passed, it sort of grabbed the back of his pants. (I know, you get the picture and it's not pretty!)

I didn't even realize what had really happened until he got beyond me. He looked at me sort of strangely -- like he couldn't believe what I may have done, then noticed the cane and mumbled, "Oh, I didn't see your cane." I guess he thought I had been a little too personal but I assured him that there was no harm done other than some embarrassment. I started to say that I undersood how he could have misunderstood and that got to sounding worse so I just stopped while I was ahead. I have no idea who was more embarrassed but it just struck me funny! Oh, well ...

You can only post ONE ....

... You can only post ONE photo that is .... that was the order I received from Roxanne last night after she and Kamen made Christmas cookies. I wasn't sure what was going on other than the smell of freshly baked cookies so decided to stay clear of kitchen until I heard, "Mom, can you come help with the icing?" I wasn't sure what to expect and it's always a challenge using a mixer with confectioners sugar. We may not have snow down here -- but we can surely create some artificial snow of sorts! So ... I helped get it whipped into shape and they did the rest. I then escaped to another part of the house for the time being so as not to be in the way right then.

It wasn't long before Kamen found me in the office with, "Nana, would you like a cookie?" He was so proud of what they had done and he should be!

Within the next couple weeks, I'll have a visit by two other little guys as we do our annual Christmas cookie baking/decorating project. Kamen joins us sometimes but as he is growing up, he is reaching a new level. It's different to see him holding his little niece and feeding her or just holding her. He's quite the doting uncle ... although that desciption is usually kept for old people and Kamen is definitely not old at 10 years old!

Funny things happen in our house and last night was one of those after the cookies were all iced and settled for the night. I had seen Kamen and he usually says, "Hi, Nana" as he passes, which he did. I headed toward the kitchen and just as I did, he ran from the kitchen across the dining room and towards the bathroom. He didn't realize that I was heading his way. He passed me and since it was rather dim, he was about scared out of his wits. He yelled and then stood in front of the bathroom door for a few minutes with his hand over his heart trying to settle himself. I reminded him that I had just talked to him about 30 seconds before but he assumed I had gone into my room! Poor thing -- he'll just never be the same since his grandmother almost scared him to death!!

I don't think Roxanne will be too upset with me for posting these -- after all, she's had them on her facebook site for maybe an hour or so ... lol!

I feel weird ... well, sort of ...

This evening, I made my way around the house with just a cane -- of course, it's one of those four pronged cane because I am very much balance challenged. (No comments, please!!) But, I couldn't believe how good it felt to have more control of my life than I have had for the past four months. Because you cannot carry anything and use a walker (well, there are various hiding places you can use), I usually went to the kitchen in a wheelchair. I could get out of it but could also put things on my lap and wheel myself around with my feet. Not a pretty picture, I know.

So, this evening when I got in the refrigerator to get some iced tea, I thought, "Wow, this looks different." Of course, I knew right away that I was actually looking down rather than looking up!!

The stationary bike is a great way to exercise. I used to ride a bike a lot when I was a child. Somehow, I'm not sure if anyone would want to be on the same road with me now! So, it's best that I simply stay in place and make the world a safer place - for me and everyone else


I looked down at Ava today as she was sleeping peacefully in my arms (which she loves to do -- put her down and her little eyes pop right open) and I realized again how much she looks like Roxanne. It was a little unsettling today and I wanted to check a calendar to make sure I hadn't been transported back in time.

So ... I think I am almost on a roll now ... no, I take that back -- for the past three+ months I've been on a roll .. now, I'm just walking and hoping that my balance stays balanced!

By the way, thanks for your prayers. I am sure they were a very important part of the healing process.