It is now 2 days after Christmas. It is time to talk about the newest Christmas memory. We had a very relaxing Christmas Eve. When we arrived at Val's, they were having lunch. Mag, Pui-Yee, and Val were seated at the table. Tony Sr.,Tony Jr., and the rest of the Pui's were doing their annual last minute shopping.
By 6:oo everyone had made it home. Michelle came over with Mark and his 2 daughters(Hannah, and Savannah). We played skipbo and I lost AGAIN. We sat and visited for a while. Rick was in bed by 9 and Tony was busy with putting finishing touches on a christmas gift. I was in bed by 10:30.
Val, Rick and I went to Mass at 7:30 and by the time we got back everyone was waking up. The tree was stuffed with christmas presents. Tony Jr. had to take care of preparing 3 ducks for peking duck for christmas meal. The ham was put in the oven for its tanning session. It was backed up by the turkey spa slot. Val made some awesome sweet potatoes. Our usual mashed potatoes were on the menu. Our green vegetable was asparagus. Linda brought her awesome green bean casserole. Everyone was so busy that it took forever for all to gather around to open gifts. The first gift was opened about 10 a.m. After that, it was a blur.
Linda arrived with Betty (Linda's Mom), Jasmine and Jacob. Chris chose to ride his motorcycle over so he could check out his new shirt that will keep him warm while riding. Christopher showed up later and stayed for a while. Jackie was sick and was unable to attend. She was missed. Danielle came in shortly after them.
The second round of gifts began. We gave envelopes with money in them. The younger kids exchanged their gifts. The children played for a while and all of a sudden it was time for dinner.
After dinner the adults had their gift exchange. This year we agreed to make gifts for the person we drew. Chris made a kaleidoscope using an empty pringles can for the tube. Rick made a birdfeeder. I made an apron and potholders. Tony Sr. drew Chris and his Mom and Dad and framed it. Tony Jr. gave a 4 gig flashcard? with an audio book on it. Mag and Puikay made reversible vests. Dominique had a scarf knitted for her gift.
Rick and i were very pleased with the gifts we received from our children. Rick got a bread machine from the girls. We got a nice selection of meats sent from omaha steaks care of Kristen and Alex. Becky sent me a gift certificate for amazon.com so that I could use it with my kindle that Rick gave me. Heather is paying for a 3 month subscription to weightwatchers online. I will have to keep you informed on how it is working.
Now that you know how our Christmas went, please let us know how yours was. Let us follow this with a blessed and prosperous year.
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Christmas time is near.
Twas the Friday before Christmas, and all through the house, Rick was not stirring, he was quiet as a mouse. Cleo was napping and I was thinking of Christmases past.
To my brothers and sisters, let me take you down memory lane. Do you remember the years of going to Midnight Mass and having our Christmas after mass. I have so many fond memories of Christmas when we were growing up. I can remember the living room was full of gifts under the tree, and the table was full of cakes and pies and ham. Mom had dressing in the oven and noodles with spaghetti sauce was on the stove. We never knew who was going to show up after midnight mass and celebrate with us. We had 3 or 4 gifts to open and it seemed to take forever for everyone to open presents. I can remember staying up till 3 or 4 in the morning and having a hard time sleeping after we opened our gifts. (oh I wish I could feel the anticipation I felt growing up. Now that I am grown, I should anticipate the Lord's birth just as much as I anticipated the presents. When you celebrate CHRISTMAS this year think of letting the Lord in your heart and let him do the directing in your life. Yesterday was supposed to be the end of the world as we know it. May we wake up on Christmas and realize what our purpose in life is. May it be the beginning of a wonderful dialogue with God.
I have not written anything about our happenings while we are at Lake Livingston since the week after Thanksgiving. Many changes have happened in the park. We are shorthanded in most areas of the park. Teamwork here has been fantastic. The managers have hired a new interpreter and a new maintenance specialist. We are expecting to hire a new person in the office to help with reservations.In the middle of hiring these people our team has made renovations to the office. We now have tile floors in the office instead of carpet. Our walls are no longer a drab white, they are now a medium tan color with a dark brown trim. The best thing in the office is the new desk that was made for the office.
Please permit me to tell you about the new desk in the office. During the summer Lake Livingston had loggers come into the park and cut down about 5000 trees that had died because of the drought. One of the trees was very big and was near the office. When they cut this tree down, they had TDCJ(texas department of criminal justice) to take the tree and cut it into plywood for a desk. They even left a knothole in one of the planks. TDCJ also made a wooden sign to show it was texas parks and wildlife property. Rick polyurethaned it 3 or 4 times and built shelves for the ladies in the office to keep site maps and trail maps next to them so it is convenient to give them out. He spent about a week installing the desk and connecting the computers back up. I have a picture of the new office but it is too dark in the picture. It was overcast on the day it was taken. I would like to get a group picture taken of many of the helpers and workers.
Since Rick was busy working, I decided to make a travel pillow for Lindsay and Gracie. I made a rabbit travel pillow for Gracie and a cat travel pillow for Lindsay. I have to get Rick to insert the pictures of them, so you can see how they turned out. I hope they get some use out of them.
We had several people come to the park this year to pay us a visit. Our first visitors were friends from the hospital. Charlie and Rich Bothman spent the night in the park so they could check out their new class c motorhome. We enjoyed their company and showed them around the park. We hope they come again to enjoy the sights in the springtime.
Our next visitor was Liz and Harry Nystrom (lizzy borden to us). They came up for an afternoon visit. We ended up playing pegs and jokers with them. We caught up with all of the comings and goings of the hospital. Lizzie is the only one that calls every couple of months to see how we are. We love hearing from her.
Sunday before last, we heard a motorcycle drive up. Low and behold it was Chris. Linda was out christmas shopping and grocery shopping, so he decided to drive up just to say hello. It was late in the afternoon when he arrived. We were so pleased that he even took the time to come see us.
Yesterday, Ted and Donna Rogers came up to spend time with us. They gave us some chocolates from Harry and David. We spent an hour or so catching up and decided to go to La Casita for lunch. The food was great, and the company was enjoyed very much. We thank them for taking time out to come visit us.
Now is the time for all good people to say their prayers and go to bed. So with that being said, I bid you good night. May the blessings of the lord be with you always.
To my brothers and sisters, let me take you down memory lane. Do you remember the years of going to Midnight Mass and having our Christmas after mass. I have so many fond memories of Christmas when we were growing up. I can remember the living room was full of gifts under the tree, and the table was full of cakes and pies and ham. Mom had dressing in the oven and noodles with spaghetti sauce was on the stove. We never knew who was going to show up after midnight mass and celebrate with us. We had 3 or 4 gifts to open and it seemed to take forever for everyone to open presents. I can remember staying up till 3 or 4 in the morning and having a hard time sleeping after we opened our gifts. (oh I wish I could feel the anticipation I felt growing up. Now that I am grown, I should anticipate the Lord's birth just as much as I anticipated the presents. When you celebrate CHRISTMAS this year think of letting the Lord in your heart and let him do the directing in your life. Yesterday was supposed to be the end of the world as we know it. May we wake up on Christmas and realize what our purpose in life is. May it be the beginning of a wonderful dialogue with God.
I have not written anything about our happenings while we are at Lake Livingston since the week after Thanksgiving. Many changes have happened in the park. We are shorthanded in most areas of the park. Teamwork here has been fantastic. The managers have hired a new interpreter and a new maintenance specialist. We are expecting to hire a new person in the office to help with reservations.In the middle of hiring these people our team has made renovations to the office. We now have tile floors in the office instead of carpet. Our walls are no longer a drab white, they are now a medium tan color with a dark brown trim. The best thing in the office is the new desk that was made for the office.
Please permit me to tell you about the new desk in the office. During the summer Lake Livingston had loggers come into the park and cut down about 5000 trees that had died because of the drought. One of the trees was very big and was near the office. When they cut this tree down, they had TDCJ(texas department of criminal justice) to take the tree and cut it into plywood for a desk. They even left a knothole in one of the planks. TDCJ also made a wooden sign to show it was texas parks and wildlife property. Rick polyurethaned it 3 or 4 times and built shelves for the ladies in the office to keep site maps and trail maps next to them so it is convenient to give them out. He spent about a week installing the desk and connecting the computers back up. I have a picture of the new office but it is too dark in the picture. It was overcast on the day it was taken. I would like to get a group picture taken of many of the helpers and workers.
Since Rick was busy working, I decided to make a travel pillow for Lindsay and Gracie. I made a rabbit travel pillow for Gracie and a cat travel pillow for Lindsay. I have to get Rick to insert the pictures of them, so you can see how they turned out. I hope they get some use out of them.
We had several people come to the park this year to pay us a visit. Our first visitors were friends from the hospital. Charlie and Rich Bothman spent the night in the park so they could check out their new class c motorhome. We enjoyed their company and showed them around the park. We hope they come again to enjoy the sights in the springtime.
Our next visitor was Liz and Harry Nystrom (lizzy borden to us). They came up for an afternoon visit. We ended up playing pegs and jokers with them. We caught up with all of the comings and goings of the hospital. Lizzie is the only one that calls every couple of months to see how we are. We love hearing from her.
Sunday before last, we heard a motorcycle drive up. Low and behold it was Chris. Linda was out christmas shopping and grocery shopping, so he decided to drive up just to say hello. It was late in the afternoon when he arrived. We were so pleased that he even took the time to come see us.
Yesterday, Ted and Donna Rogers came up to spend time with us. They gave us some chocolates from Harry and David. We spent an hour or so catching up and decided to go to La Casita for lunch. The food was great, and the company was enjoyed very much. We thank them for taking time out to come visit us.
Now is the time for all good people to say their prayers and go to bed. So with that being said, I bid you good night. May the blessings of the lord be with you always.
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