A Good Time with Little Boys

This has a been a wonderful holiday season to be a grandma.

On December 16th, Andrew and Lindsay had a healthy baby boy.

He weighed in at 8 lbs. 10 oz. and was 22 inches long. They are naming him

Riley Thomas Briscoe.

On Dec. 19th,  Lisa and Cameron and Benjamin came to visit. 

They spent 5 days and we had so much fun.

Benjamin loves anything electronic and understands the uses for most of them. One day while we were traveling to Kaysville, he was upset because no one would share their ipod or ipad with him.

He loves his blanket and his mom and dad.

Benjamin was a pro at opening gifts and was willing to help everyone else.

When Cameron climbed in Benjamin's tunnel, Benjamin tried to get him out. We got many laughs from watching their antics.

Having fun with grandpa

Benjamin helped Aunt Jessica get packed.

He was amazingly quick on the stairs.

it was fun to get all the kids old toys out and watch him enjoy them.

Benjamin found the baby and tried to feed it. The mustard bottle was the closest thing to a bottle he could find. I thought it was fun to see that he knew that the baby needed a bottle. 

On the 27th, I flew to Pittsburgh to meet Riley, spend time with Andrew and Lindsay and see a few of the sights in Pittsburgh.

Riley in the rocker his Great-Grandparents Hatch gave him and the giraffe that his aunt Mindy made for him.

Andrew with his little buddy.

Riley made for a very special Christmas.

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

I decorated a bit more simply this year than in some years. I only put up 4 nativities. There are no lights on the roof and we didn't put up the biggest tree. 

Quite often as I'm setting things up, I wish I had pictures from the previous year especially if I was pleased with how things turned out. The planter by the front door was one of those 
things. I think it turned out okay this year but I know it's not the same.

This is a really slim Christmas tree I bought last year and it is perfect for the space that is available in the parlor. It is decorated in glass ornaments.

The gingerbread corner of the kitchen.

We added a mistletoe crystal to the swag this year but it isn't lighted.

My Christmas Cactus is blooming like crazy. It is so pretty.

It makes me smile to see my bougenvilla blooming and the poinsettia in color at the same time.

The Santa tree in the loft.

We did our first holiday puzzle of the season, well actually Alyna and her friends did it but we provided the goodies and got a couple of pieces put together.

Just a few of our international Santa's.

Dominican Republic and Brazil

Sinterklaas - the Netherlands

There are 8 nutcrackers in the transition, in and amongst all the plants.

I love Christmas. The music, the smells, the good food, all the opportunities to remember Christmas' past and look forward to the surprises and joy of this holiday season.

Tis the Season

I was talking to Mindy this morning and we were talking about how we had decorated for Christmas. We thought it would be fun if everyone in our family did a blog showing some of their holiday decor. 

I didn't get around to that yet, but I had to spend some time at Macey's this morning while I was waiting for photo's and prescriptions and they had 62 amazing gingerbread houses on display. I hurried home and grabbed my camera  so I could share some of the joy.

While I was looking at these gingerbread houses, I reminisced about the many years that we had fun making graham cracker gingerbread houses when the kids were small. We had so much fun using our creativity and skills to make cute little houses and scenes and the kids loved all the candy. Even though we made gingerbread houses for several years, our skill level never quite equaled that of the buildings on display at Macey's.

Gotta love the talents of those in our community 

and their willingness to share.

 I love this time of year!