Our Christmas weekend

At last.  I have a chance to sit here and share the pictures from Saturday and Sunday.   In case you forgot from my previous post, we and Ray and Thyda were at Sam and Jenn's for Christmas evening and overnight.  

Saturday morning - nothing like morning snuggles!

Dick fried bacon and saugages, then I made pancakes for the crew. 

Sometime during the morning Bjorn and Jess dropped in.  I'm glad for every little minute I get to catch up with these busy kids!  They were on their way to spend the days with some of Jess's relatives.  

Thyda, Jenn, and I (and Bianca too) went grocery shopping for the food for our fondue supplies and other food too.  We had fun, as usual, filling up two carts.  In fact, we shopped till Bianca dropped!

The guys were busy too.  They had to go to Home Depot for a few things. Dick was coming up with a new invention, which you'll see later.

Dick and I took Sammy and Bianca with us to Dick's parents for dinner.  Our niece Juanita Stauffer, who now lives in North Carolina, was in Lancaster County for a few days.  The aunts and uncles and a few cousins got together to see her.  Juanita's parents, Bob and Doris, live in Minnesota, so they of course were not there.  

Grandpa enjoys time with his boys. 

Juanita is the one in the black and white stripes.  She was the first grandchild in the Stauffer family, born a little over a month before we had Lisa.  

My dear sister-in-laws Deb, Faye, and Carolyn.  

After we said our goodbyes we stopped in to see Grandma Mary.  She will soon be leaving for a couple of months in Florida, so I wanted to be sure to have some time with her.  I showed her the book Miki wrote.  The bear in the book is a stuffed bear that Grandma Mary gave to Bjorn when he was little!

And then she surprised us with an apple pie fresh from the oven!  What a treat!  

Sunday was our fondue day.  Last year was our first time to have it in Sam and Jenn's basement, and we decided that it is the perfect location.  Those side tables are built in, and make it so easy for us to line up all the food cafeteria style.  Jenn and Thyda are always my right-hand girls at getting things set up.  I'm sure Ray was offering his advice, hahaha!

Meanwhile Sammy told me to come over to another room in the basement where he was decorating.  He was so proud of what he was doing with that red string of tinsel!

Please notice that tinsel decorating the lower wall!  Isn't this the most lovely wall and fireplace?

Dick had gone to Reading to pick up Destiny and J'von from Frank's place.  He and Lauren both work at a restaurant which had booked a huge party for that day, so they were not able to get off work.  I was really disappointed.  

Sometime after 1:00 we got started.  Notice the new addition to our oil kettles - Dick came up with a wire edging that nicely kept our forks from slipping into the oil!

This girl just loves to eat!

Sammy and Bianca had a table of their own, but they were at our table most of the time!

Soon after we got started Anthony also arrived.  (Lori and Austin were in NYC with her parents.)

Bianca loved the chocolate and strawberries!

Then it was time to give our gifts to the kids. 

Sam and Jenn's new dog, Bella, decided that Anthony was her new best friend!  

Family picture - Jenn, Sammy, Bianca, and Sam.

Ray, Thyda, and Leo.  Look at Leo posing, haha!  He's so sweet!

These kids kept entertained with their devices.  In case you're wondering about their gifts - they're at the stage where they prefer money!

Bella is really a cuddler.  She likes to be held like a baby!  She is a blue healer cattle dog.  Ever hear of that?  I never had, but everyone says they are very smart. She was a rescue dog and after a number of foster homes, has finally found her forever family. 

J'von and Destiny had a lot of fun with Sammy's new play-doh hair set while the kids were napping. 

These were their creations!

After everything was cleaned up Jenn finally got to sit down with her tired little girl.  I think Jenn was even more tired than her little girl was.  Being a hostess is exhausting, but she does it so well.

Around 6:15 we said our goodbyes, taking J'von and Destiny with us.  We did our annual trip under the beautiful canopy of Manheim square's Christmas lights.  Even in the rain they did not disappoint. 

We met J'von's mother Danielle at a Sheetz gas station near Mount Joy, said our goodbyes to him, then headed for home with Destiny.  She usually stays the entire New Year's week, but this year her mother had other plans for her, so our time together was very short.  I'll post a few pictures from that tomorrow.