Christmas Celebration 2011

Each year I try to be imaginative and ... creative when it comes to Christmas gifts. This year, I was brilliant! I usually give the kiddos a small, $10 gift card or something. This year, along with a few packages (paper for Josephine to tear :-)) I gave them some cold, hard, cash.

Travers had a McDonald's cup while Josephine & Richard had Java Loft cups. Inside each cup was a coil of $25 in ones.

A slit was cut into the side of the mug, the money inserted from the top, and the lid firmly placed on top. A tab marked "PULL" was protruding from the slit.

Each of them was handed their respective cups and they figured out the rest on their own. :-)

Yes, it was fun to watch them. As you can see from the picture above, Josephine & Richard just kept pulling and pulling and... well, you get the idea.

Travers asked me how long it took me to tape the money together and roll it into the cup. He appreciated the effort and enjoyed it. Both my kiddos were asking where I got the idea. Can't I be naturally creative?? :-) It's not always the gift,

it's the thought and creativity that go into the gift.

For the record, Oliver received no money. He did get a Pittsburgh Steeler sleeper!

E- Book

Last Friday was Fav Son's birthday. He insisted. Repeat, INSISTED we drag his cake and gifts to LBB so he could celebrate. Two Cavaliers, a cake and gift in tow, we loaded the suburban and went to LBB at O'dark thirty in the morning.

We had lunch at a steak house, did some black Friday shopping and looked at Oliver, wondering where our baby went. :-)

We arrived in town a little early and amid screeches of "Madre! Padre!" we went to Hastings and saw Josephine. AKA Favorite Daughter. :-) We wandered around, sneaking in a few brief chats with Jo. Travers bought a calender, using Jo's discount. I looked at e-books. (You were probably wondering when I'd bring it up)

I'd asked Santa for an e-book. Specifically, a Kindle Fire. Not that I'd been snooping or anything, but I did find out there would be no e-book in my stocking. With plans in the back of my mind to purchase one after the first of the year, I began looking at what Hastings had to offer.

Josephine walked by and saw me and began her unplanned sales pitch.It was a Nextbook 7. Color, a good deal, and customers seemed to like them. Best of all, there had been no returns. Included was a case, screen protector and 3 stylus.Bill was with me and with his support, I indulged. So, after having had it a week, what do I think?

I wanted an e-book for travel. All those early morning trips to Amarillo with nothing to do because it's too dark to read. It would also be convenient for cruising and traveling on long trips. The adjustable font is easy on these old eyes. Last trip to PA I had 2 bags of books to read. Cumbersome! I also wanted one with internet capability so I could read email at hotspots along the way. Much easier than dragging in my laptop. The charge lasts 3 x's longer than my laptop.

I've download a few e-books. Played with it. Took it to Amarillo yesterday. For all the reasons I mentioned, I love it. There are some downsides.

I can't program it for my email. Customer Support, HELP! I downloaded a cookbook but can't quite see myself propping him up in the kitchen to follow the recipe. Maybe there's a way I can send it to my printer... Stephanie, can you help me out here??? :-)

Josephine will receive a small commission on the sale. That's nice.

Now, as for Travers' birthday.... we had pumpking spice cake. His choice. We also surprised him with a new hoodie featuring logos from the original Star Trek series. He actually amazed us all and smiled.

Travers has been fighting me about taking pics of him and his new hoodie. Eventually, I will prevail!

Now please, I need everyone to rush out and buy an e-book from Josephine. :-)

Richard's Birthday

Favorite son-in-law's birthday is Nov. 30. Trans Siberian Orchestra was coming to LBB on Nov. 14th. As an early birthday gift, we decided to surprise Richard with tickets. They were tucked into a wallet, wrapped in gift wrap, duct tape and more gift wrap. Yes, he was VERY HAPPY! He later told me he knew something was up because both families were in town at the same time. After opening them he asked if his parents were going, too.

Left to right, you're looking at the back of Richard's family: Dickie, Ginger and his sister Robin.

You can see the stage and all the equipment. In front of Dickie was the control booth plus a small platform they used a few times during the show.

There were flames, near-constant laser light shows, OUTSTANDING musicians. A broken bow didn't stop the violinist! 2 1/2 hours of non-stop entertainment! NO intermission. The worst part was getting out of the parking lot. :-(

It's something you need to see at least once. Caution: once you see it you will want to make it an annual tradition! Tickets were only $50. Mainheim Steamroller is coming to LBB and their tickets start at $80. OUCH! Over 6000 in attendance and $1 from the price of each ticket was donated to the local food bank.

Pumpkin Dump Cake

A cousin I don't recall ever meeting saw a post on FB where I mentioned making a pumpkin dump cake. He asked for the recipe about 10 days ago. I never saw the msg. :-( Terry, this is for you.
It came from The Clovis Nazarene School Cookbook printed several years ago. Travers LOVES pumpkin and it's a nice change from a pie. It also serves more than one pie.

Pumpkin Dump Cake
Preheat over to 350 degrees.
Grease a 9x13 baking pan.
Start with:
1-29 oz can pumpkin puree
3 eggs
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 can evaporated milk (12 oz can)
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger
1/4 t. cloves
dash of salt.
Mix above ingredients together until well blended.
Pour into the baking pan.
Sprinkle evenly with:
1 box of dry(yes, dry) spice or yellow cake mix
1/2 c. chopped pecans (I leave these out, for some reaason)
1/2 c. melted butter
Bake at 350 degrees for about 50-60 minutes or
until edges are light brown.
You can serve it with whipped cream/Cool Whip.
I like a drizzle of carmel, too. :-)

Crafty Week

It's been a crafty week for me. Jo's former youth pastor, Meghan, is pregnant with a baby girl. I wanted to do or make something special for her. Terry told me Meghan's and Kevin's favorite scripture and this is the result. The stripes are the back of the blanket. There's a yellow border surrounding a nursery rhyme print. The border has their fav scripture going around it. Work, yes, but I love the idea of wrapping God's word around anyone. Especially a baby! This is Oliver's stocking. I asked Josephine if she were going to buy one or if I could make it. Her response was a question, "You made my first one, didn't you?" What she doesn't remember was Bill at Wilford Hall in Lackland AFB undergoing radiation while I worked on her stocking. Yes, we've been blessed! Anyway... I'm not real thrilled with this. It's lined with the same fabric I used on the toe and heel. It also has interfacing so it doesn't droop when it's hung. I used polar fleece for the cuff. That's what I really don't like. I have some shiny satin-like fabric I will probably replace it with.

Meg, the director of Big Brothers & Big Sisters has her office at Matt 25. She is 3 weeks away from delivering a boy to be named "Benjamin Wynn." Wednesday, Matt 25 is hosting a shower for her. Automatically, Bill suggested a diaper cake similar to the one I made Oliver. This one is smaller, with only 50 LUV's brand diapers. In the middle is a bottle of Dad's rootbeer. :-)It's still cute and I'm sure she'll love it.

Next week, I decide what to do about the stocking. I'm also making supcakes for the shower. Thursday, I need to begin working on Christmas presents!

Random Musings/Dedication

Josephine texted me today about Oliver's dedication. I was pleased. My daughter and her husband are going to publicly promise to do their best to raise Oliver to love and honor God. They won't promise to raise him as a good Nazarene or even a good Church of Christ. They will promise to raise him to fear and love God. That's it. Period. Honestly, is there anything else that really matters? Love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. Everything else is just details.
I still remember the year Josephine came home for Christmas and told us about Richard. We were sitting at Rib Crib eating our Ribwich sandwiches. Josephine kept wringing her hands looking at her green fingernails. Something was on her mind. We had no idea what was simmering inside her.
Finally, still focused on those nails, she told us she was seeing someone "and" he was coming to see her at Christmas. She explained they were in a "committed dating relationship." That was it. The way she'd been acting, I wasn't sure what to expect. She gave us a few details and I accepted the challenge of moving the conversation elsewhere. What a challenge!
Josephine had looked at 3 Nazarene Colleges before deciding on LCU. They were in Ohio, Ca and OK. Part of the reason she chose LCU was because we would allow her to take her car. A decision based on a lot of knee time before God. While she was at LCU, she was involved is SS, and had participated in choir for a little while at Lubbock First Church. She knew a few people from the church who attended LCU but most of her friends were Church of Christ. We were fine with that.
Our trust was in God. Not our parenting skills. :-)
At LCU she attended chapel and learned about the Church of Christ through chapel and several instructors. I will never forget the day she told me they sing without instruments in chapel. She also pointed out "we sound pretty good."
This man Josephine so nervously told us about at Rib Crib was a nice guy. We knew that. He had to love Jesus, otherwise God would not have led them to each other. They never shared a class. Never saw each other at chapel. Had no contact at school. It was through a small group of friends that they came together. Obviously, God was doing the leading.
The morning Richard officially asked Bill for Josephine's hand was... humorous. Josephine had gone downtown with me to walk and Java Loft. Bill was in the family room getting dressed. Richard had spent the night before in the camper. He came in the house nervously, walking in on Bill struggling to pull up his Jobst stockings. That made the situation a little more nerve-wracking, I'm sure. :-) Short story: Richard asked "May I?" and Bill asked him to "love her."She was then handed over to Richard ... and God.
So many times in her life I've had to re-hand Josephine over to the very capable hands of God. I've had to rest in the fact Bill & I didn't raise her alone. We had a family of supporters and prayer partners. More importantly, we had a wonderful, all-knowing God who was actively involved in all our lives.
Oliver is going to be dedicated. He will be handed over to His Creator, the one who gave us this wonderful gift in the first place. May I do my part. May we all do our part to pray for and guide Josephine and Richard. May we be living role models to encourage Oliver and his parents "Trust in God with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding." Ps 3:4-6. May Richard and Josephine and Oliver find the strength to do just that in the years ahead.
I love to read about Hannah in the book of Samuel. She promised God that if He would give her a son she would "give him completely, unreservedly to you." Samuel was dedicated. In many ways, Oliver already has been, too. :-) Now, we'll do it before man and God.

5 days old

This blog was never intended to be a tool to chronicle Josephine's pregnancy or Oliver's birth and life. It began as a way to vent my fears when faced with a cancer scare. Lately, Oliver has become the "Hot Topic" Within the next week I'd like to stray from my adorable grandson, reserving the right to always wander back his direction.

Oliver hasn't been the most cooperative little guy when it comes to breast feeding. Jo has resorting to pumping and feeding, which is fine. No guilt in doing that. She has some fancy bottles called "breastFlow" she uses. It's supposed to be similar to feeding from the breast. I guess Oliver's the only one that would know that for sure.

He's a good baby. Oliver cries when he's wet, has a dirty diaper or when he's hungry. Josephine has to frequently wake him up to eat.

He's not chubby, which surprises me. Solid. Not puny but certainly not chubby. Josephine took care of herself during her pregnancy and I think it paid off with a healthy baby boy.

These are more pictures Jo's friend Melody took of Oliver today. She really does an excellent job. I'm impressed.

We just got back from Lubbock today. Now I have to copy pics from my laptop to this computer then get some prints. I know. I know. I could order them from my laptop. I just like everything together. We all know every grandparent needs to carry pictures. :-)