He Leadeth Me

2009 has been a year of many big events in our family. Not only did both of my parents celebrate their 80th birthdays, but they also celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary. Of course, we had a party. Our family looks for any reason to celebrate and this was a big one. I'll explain more later about the very special scrapbook they are reading. Although Poppy and Sweetie's grandson Jon and his wife Bethany (far right on couch) live in Arkansas, they were able to be home for the big event. That was especially important because although each member of the family had a part in creating the scrapbook, Jon is the creative genius who put it all together. The cake was beautiful as well as delicious. Each family brought a bouquet of flowers to celebrate the day. The very special scrapbook that the family wrote and Jon put together was entitled "The Things We Have Learned from Sweetie and Poppy". I will include some of the quotes below, but if you ever want to read all th...

Another big event in 2008 was my dad, Poppy's, 80th birthday. Poppy has been a great Patriarch of our large family. He is the true example of a Christian father, father-in-law, grandfather and great-grandfather . Poppy's motto has always been "eat the dessert first." Poppy and his girls Nathan, great grandson, enjoyed the party. As always when our family gets together, there is lots of laughter. When I was a teenager, one of my friends told me that she loved coming to my house because we always laughed a lot. Sweetie and Poppy--Married 60 Years! Great Grandsons Andrew and Nathan enjoy posing on Aunt Kim's front porch at the end of the party. Make a wish! Granddaughter Stacie. This is a classic Poppy pose. Always ready with a big hug. Everyone sings "Happy Birthday" including great grandson Caleb.

Please excuse me while I do some blog catching up. I seem to have a little more time to blog than just a few months ago when I was working full time. As many of you know who follow my blog, my mom's grandma name is Sweetie, and the name fits her perfectly. Well, Sweetie turned 80 on April 13, 2009 so the girls decided to do something special for her. We transformed my sister Kim's house into a Tea Room and surprised her with a fun evening. Surprise! We do love Sweetie, as does everyone who meets her. We have had the delight of sharing her with lots of other families through the years. The Tea Room food tasted as good as it looked. The entryway table. Sweetie is a master at writing encouraging notes so we each gave her notecards. Another view of the food. Look at all the wonderful pictures that have been collected throughout the years. Checking out the pictures. Good memories. A good night was had not only by Sweetie, but by all her "girls" as well.

Little boys do things with their aunts at age 2 1/2 that they will never dream of doing again. Thank goodness for cameras. Here, let me help with that lipstick. Oops! A little too much blush! Aunt Kelly's not so sure about this. Let's see what I can find to put on your face. I think I'll use my hand instead of the powder puff. What a gentle little guy! How about some eye shadow? Let me just rub it in a bit. So this is what a powder puff is for. When Caleb's a few years older, he won't believe these pictures.

Hope you enjoy the highlights of Kelly and Adrian's recent visit to Colorado Springs as much as we enjoyed having them here. Can you see our future grandchild in this picture? Isn't she/he cute? Karen, Kelly and Adrian David, Kelly and Adrian Don't let Balancing Rock fall on our future grandchild (or Kelly and Adrian of course). Caleb enjoys playing with his Aunt Kelly. Uncle Adrian playing "Squish the Buggie" with Caleb. Wish you could hear the gale of giggles coming from that little guy! And the real reason for the visit. The Pittsburgh Steelers were playing the Denver Broncos in Monday night football. The guys got to enjoy the game live and in person and Adrian (who is from Pittsburgh) was very happy with the outcome. Can't wait for their next visit!

When you have a sweet little visitor at your house, you often find reminders of their visit after they are gone. The images below brought a smile to my face and I almost didn't want to clean them up, but a picture and a blog post will keep them in my memory long after the time of playing with little animals has past. Little Nutbrown Hare from Guess How Much I Love You Several friends including baby bear from a set made by my Grandma Bergeron for Kelly and Jeremy. David from No David, and One Fine Chicken from Philadelphia Chickens . Tacky from Tacky the Penguin and Mouse from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie . Madeline and The Gardner .

This is a wonderful time of the year to snuggle up with your favorite child, whether they are young or old, and read some of the classic Christmas picture books. I have so many Christmas books that I love that it was hard to narrow the list down so I will probably have multiple lists. Because I have so many favorites, I have to start reading them early in November so there is plenty of time to enjoy them. Here is List #1 in no particular order of "favoriteness". I hope you enjoy! (All book covers courtesy of Titlewave.com ) If you love Berkeley Breathed's cartoons, you will love this book. My third grade teacher, Mrs. Monroe, read our class The Birds' Christmas Carol and I loved it so much that I borrowed her copy and tried to write it word for word. This isn't really a picture book, but it had to go in my list of favorites. I don't know where my handwritten copy disappeared, but I now own several copies of my own. Warning: A real tear jerker. Kate...