Christmas Day 2009 - Open House at Deb & Dave's

Christmas Day, 2009, was spent at "THE" open house above all others at daughter Deb's and son-in-law Dave's home. The collection of pictures below are just a glance at us enjoying ourselves with great food, wonderful stories, laughter and overall merriment. This is a general grouping with other specific photos and explanations below. Thanks so much Deb, Dave and grandson Davey for all the work you put into this special gathering. It meant more to me then I can express to be with the whole family to celebrate this holiday. And, thank you to all of my family members, especially all of the grandchildren. It was wonderful to see all 12 of you. I am so blessed. I soooo miss the days when all of you were younger and we spent a lot more time together. You are always with me in thought and in my heart. You are cherished.

Demolition time for the gingerbread house. Each person had their eye on a particular goodie. Rich, Di's significant other, went at it with a vengence.

Deb did such a great job, worked so hard, I figured KP duty was in order.

Merry Christmas Katrina, Brandon, Di and Brad. We take this picture every Christmas and, after losing Tom, we have to know that he's in this picture with you in spirit. We will never forget him. His spot is right behind Di. If you close your eyes you can put him in that spot. Merry Christmas in heaven Tom.

Purple seemed to be the popular color on Christmas. The ladies in purple are daughter, Deb, in front. Granddaughter, Nicole, on the left. Daughter, Diane, in the middle; granddaughter, Katrina, to the right of her mom and standing, daughter, Donna. What beautiful smiles you all have. Di, like me, is cursed with rosacea, she's not sporting a sunburn as it appears. You're beautiful Di.

It's been a while since the sisters have taken a picture together. Another great picture! Everyone was full of smiles on this day. For me, having all of my children, spouses and grandchildren in one place and celebratiang a wonderful holiday together was priceless. I was so busy visiting that I neglected to take group photos of the 12 grandchildren together and my five children together. My goal now is to crop each person from my inventory of Christmas Day photos and placing them in group photos to give me the two groups mentioned here. So far I've cropped Zack for the starter.

These guys are always photogenic. And, they host the best Christmas Day open house ever. Thanks Deb and Dave for opening your home to the family. It's a very special day for me. In order above are grandson, Davey, daugher, Debbie, granddaughter Stephanie and son-in-law Dave. Your event really makes my Christmas and is the perfect end to the year. Love you guys so very much.

Our first family photo. This was taken on Christmas Day 2009 at Deb's house. As you can see, we tagged Antonio before he got out the door. Nothing like waiting until the last minute. It was pointed out to me that, as always happens, my belly is wet from doing dishes. Thus the wet spot on my red sweater. I love the photo! We actually got a good one.

I'm getting caught up. Finally! Three more to go.

Three more posts to catch my blog up-to-date. I just wish the pictures downloaded faster. It's a slow process. I hope the folks who read it enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it.

Anita's Bowling Birthday Party 12/13/09 A SUCCESS!

The party was a success. Twenty-one of Anita's friends attended her bowling birthday party. We were glad that the weather didn't prevent folks from getting to the party. It was slippery and wet and the roads were questionable. I almost fell when I stepped onto the front porch because it was covered with ice. Surprisingly, two hours turned out to be enough time for kids to bowl, eat lunch and cake and, still have a little more time for bowling before it was time to leave. My anxiety over hosting such a large number of thirteen year olds turned out to be unfounded. The kids were great. Anita truly had a fantastic 13th birthday party.

Happy 13th Birthday Anita 12/3/09. We Love You Very Much.

Our Anita has a birthday. We now have a teenager in the house. She turned 13 on Dec. 3rd. She even got a card from Sofia. Easy to buy presents for, a jar of peanut butter and some chocolates. Happy Birthday Anita. I love you so very much. You are a delight to have as a granddaughter. I know you're looking forward to your bowling birthday party on the 13th. You were patient, waiting three years for this event.

Neat sky 10/22/09

Not a sunset but I thought the sky looked cool! My kitchen window affords me great views of the sky.

"Love Bug" turns 21 on 10/11/09

A nice birthday present for Jess. She is an intern at a local newspaper, wrote an article about the Children's Garden at Adventure Aquarium and got published! Yea Jess!! Happy Birthday. You know I love you very much.

I've always called granddaughter Jessica (on the left) my "Love Bug." Well, the Love Bug turned "21" on Oct. 11, 2009. I drove down to Atco to take her to dinner and a movie. Sister Roxanne joined us even though she wasn't feeling well. We went to PF Chang's for dinner. My first time at the restaurant. Great food!

A beach day in Oct. 10/4/09. Too chilly for swimming!!!

A familiar sight. We had a last ditch effort to enjoy the beach in October. If you notice the lady perched up near the sand dune, she's there because it's chilly and that is a warm spot. It wasn't freezing but it was too cold to go in the water. We only made it to the beach at Ocean Grove twice this past summer. Because there was so much rain, it pretty much ruined our beach days. For the first time, I bought a season pass, to only use it once. When we went to the beach in Oct. the beach was free because it was after Labor Day. Oh Well!!! We'll try again next summer.

The kite!!!!

With a little guidance from a fellow beachgoer, Stacy and Antonio got their kite up in the air.

Ocean Grove never fails to afford me an endless supply of great sky photos. This cloud looks like a tornado. Or a plume of smoke.

This cross is on the beach in Ocean Grove. It seemed the sea gulls stopped for a quick prayer as they made their way along the beach.

I think the top of this building looks like the top on a cruise ship.

Entrance to the old Casino. This and other buildings will be awesome when they are refurbished.

Anita and Antonio strolling ahead of me on the boardwalk in Asbury Park.

One of the old buildings yet to be refurbished at Asbury Park.

This mural is inside the walkway into Asbury Park.

Pilgrim's Pathway where we stopped to rest on a the bench below.

We're a bit tired at the end of our walk. Taking a rest before going for our ice cream at Day's, our new favorite ice cream parlor in Ocean Grove. We love sitting on their porch.

Caught this sunset out my back window 9/28/09

Sunsets have a special meaning for me so I try to get a picture whenever I can. Just happened to look out my kitchen window.