Yipee!

Ray and Thyda and Sam were here overnight. I fed them a good brunch of pancakes and sausage, and they are now on their way to Sam's for New Year's Eve. Dick and I and Destiny are about to leave for State College. Anthony's band, Holy Smoke Blues, will be playing at their First Night Celebration this evening. I haven't heard them all year, because every time they played we had other conflicting plans. I'm so excited! We'll be back tomorrow.

Happy New Years!

Stauffer Christmas

After church today we went to Dick's parents for our annual Christmas gathering. We had an absolutely wonderful day, even tho we forgot to play any games or sing any Christmas carols. When the Stauffers are together, humor abounds, as well as lively, animated conversation and story telling. We just love being together.

It used to be our children who were the little people at family gatherings. Now it's our grandchildren!

Four generations - Dick's dad on the far right, his son Steve on the left, his son Joe in the middle, holding his son Avery.

Later in the day it was delightful to have Ray and Thyda join us. They had left Virginia Beach this morning right after she got off duty. It was the first time Dick's family had a chance to meet her. They entertained us with all their stories and experiences. As usual, Ray was a comedian.

What do we do with this guy? Thyda and I just look at each other and shake our heads!

My Christmas vacation projects

So what have I been doing with my Christmas vacation so far? You saw the other day the literal "cut and paste" family portrait that I did. That picture was to go with the annual Stauffer newsletter that I send to family and friends each year. If a person receiving it is a regular reader of my blog, there probably isn't much news in the "news"letter, but for the others there's plenty of news in it. I have been writing an annual letter ever since Christmas 1974 when Lisa was a baby. I have saved every one of them and someday in my spare time (!!) I'm going to compile them into a book to give to our children.

In addition to putting together, copying, addressing, stamping, and mailing the letters, I also have made trips to CVS (where I get my pictures developed) many times. I discovered that when I send my pictures to them online, they don't get centered properly, but when I take a CD directly to them, they do get centered properly. What was I doing with all those reprints besides sending them with the annual letter? I was making photo albums for each of our children. (I have more details about that below.) That's what's in those boxes above, ready to be mailed around the world to our children.

I also spent time finding the best flight for Dick to Sweden and booking it, as well as starting the process to get his authentic birth certificate and passport. Yes, Dick is finally going to visit our daughter in Sweden, March 7 to 15. At this point we can't afford for both of us to go at the same time. I went over in the summer of 2002 for two weeks with Destiny. Now it's Dick's turn. I'm so excited for him and it brings back memories of my trip. What an adventure for me - never having traveled abroad before, and with a 20-month-old! But I was so desperate to see Miki and the kids, I just went ahead and did it.

Here's the front cover of the photo albums I assembled for our children. It's a really neat silver frame, and the back cover is black velvet. I ordered them online from Get Smart Products in New York.

Inside the front cover of the album is a list of each of our names, just in case anyone forgets who all belongs to our family! The next pages are everyone's mailing addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses, and following that is a list of each birthday and anniversary. And then it's page after page of the best pictures from the year 2007, in age order, starting with Dick and I, then Miki's family, Lisa's family, Anthony and Lori, Sam, Frank's family, Jeremy, and Ray and Thyda. I just love looking through it and I hope they do as well. (You can see the pictures I put into the albums if you click on my web album on my sidebar.) I used to do a customized calendar each year, but decided this might be more enjoyable and sharable, but still include the vital information all in one place.

We are rejoicing with Lori and Jim

When I got home this evening I was delighted to find pictures from my neice Lori from Michigan. This past Saturday Lori got married to Jim. Pictured here are Lori's daughter Sydney, Lori, Jim, Lori's son Jared. In front is Jim's son Bradley. We are rejoicing with Lori and Jim. They have each walked through the deep waters of heartache and pain in the last few years, and we wish them a lifetime of true love and joy together. (Lori is my late sister Janet's daughter, and I hope that Janet somehow knows the great and mighty things God has been doing in her dear daughter's life.)

An evening at Grandpa's

This evening some of my family got together at my dad's. We spent some time singing Christmas carols together. Even the children enjoyed helping.

I did a song with sign language with Destiny and my great-neice Emily. Emily is one of my 2nd grade students. The song we did is one that was in the musical I directed at church the other week, and I had also used that particular song for my primary chorus at school; therefore both girls knew the song and the sign language.

The main reason for our get-together this evening was to be able to spend some time with my nephew Steve and his family from Texas. I didn't remember to get a family picture of them, but here is Steve enjoying my dad's harmonica rendition of Silent Night. Steve is my brother's son. Next time you eat at a Marcaroni Grill, check it out and think of Steve. He designed the building.

Unfortunately the only picture I have of 7-year-old Laith was when he was coughing! (Destiny took the picture!)

This is Steve's wife Beth and 5-year-old Timothy. (Destiny took this one too and Beth obviously had no idea her picture was being taken! Sorry, Beth!!)

Our family portrait (ha, ha!)

So this is what this mother does when it's impossible to have her whole family together for a family portrait. Neither does she have Photoshop on her computer. So she cuts each member of her family out of various photographs and arranges them the best she can on a piece of construction paper. Then she takes a picture of her creation with her digital camera, and viola! a family portrait!! (I can hear it already - "You used THAT picture of ME?")

So who's who? Across the back are Kris & Miki, Anthony & Lori, and Sam. Miki & Kris's children, Bjorn and Katrina, are kind of sticking in the middle behind me. The next row across are Frank, me & Dick, George & Lisa. The front row are Jeremy holding his dog Molly, Frank's children J'von, Destiny, and Adrias, Ray & Thyda, and Lisa and George's daughter Sophie. And that's our gang, folks - all together on one piece of construction paper, ha, ha!!

(I must add this yet: our family is like a little United Nations, and I just love it that way. Dick and I, and of course our biological children, are from Swiss-German descent. I think Miki's roots are German as well. I'm not sure about George's. Kris is Swedish, Frank, Sam, and Ray are Puerto Rican, Lori is Jamaican, and Thyda is Cambodian! Hmmm, what are we missing here? Maybe Sam should look for a wife that's Italian or French or Indian...just kidding, Sam!)

Our Christmas

This has to have been the smallest Christmas family gathering Dick and I have ever had! But we still had a really nice time. I knew Frank was going to be bringing J'von, but he surprised me by bringing Adrias too! He is at the cutest age (four months), so don't be surprised that he was the subject of many of my pictures today!

When he first woke up he wasn't too happy to see so many strangers fussing over him!

Our traditional fondue meal. Pictured are Dick, Sam, Frank, and Destiny. J'von (age 3) didn't have much patience for such a slow meal, so he was already playing with toys by the time I took this picture!

Adrias was quite interested in the food! When he watched Frank eat a piece of fried smoked sausage, he spit out his pacifier!

But no meat for baby - he had to be satisfied with Similac!

After lunch it was gift-opening time.

Adrias didn't miss a thing!

Destiny was completely surprised when she opened her gift and found an American Girl "Just Like Me" doll.

Don't they look alike?

Grandpa and Adrias having a heart to heart talk!

Uh-oh! Just when I snapped the picture of Adrias with his gift, he burped!

Adrias was entranced as he watched Sophie dancing on Lisa's blog!!

Destiny just loved helping to take care of him today. After she gave him this bottle he went to sleep.

Grandma and the kids.

Watching basketball on TV - even Adrias!

Around 5:00 Dick took Destiny to Enid so she could spend some Christmas time with that part of her family, Frank left to return the boys to their respective mothers, and Sam left to start setting up the new apartment he just moved into.

This evening Dick and I and my sister Mary Ellen went to my parents' house to spend some time with them. Later this week more of the family will be getting together there to spend some time with our nephew Steve and his family who are visitng from Texas.