Christmas Eve 2015

We celebrated Christmas Eve at Jenny and Jay's again this year. It is nice to have traditions and it is nice that Jenny and Jay are great hosts and willing to do that at this busy time.

We started out the festivities with mass at St. Cletus. We worshiped in the gym with our favorite vocalists and got to sit in the front row. It was beyond special that I got to hold Ellie during mass, even when she pooped near the end of mass and we weren't quite sure if the diaper was going to contain it! Jack and I said that this time last year we had no idea that we would be grandparents this Christmas and we could not be more thankful for our sweet Elliebel. We were blessed to be at mass with Wayne, Julie, Matt, Sally and Ellie. Very special.

front row at mass

laughing with Grandpa Jack

We had a great time at Jenny and Jay's. It was different this year because Arne, Beth, Abbie and Nina were on vacation in Florida and also because Karen did not come. Thank God our numbers were beefed up with the addition of Charley (Kjell and Lisa's daughter, born in March) and Ellie (born in August). We miss our family members who are no longer here to celebrate with us, but we are confident that they are all rejoicing in heaven.

Kjell, Lisa and Charley (9 months old)

Charley with the bear that Wayne and Julie gave her

Mo, Jay and Jenny

After Jenny and Jay's, we came home and opened our presents to each other. We only stayed up until 1am because we knew we had a fun Christmas day ahead of us.

Julie and Wayne 

Christmas Eve Eve

We celebrated Christmas Eve Eve with our traditional party with Chuck and Teri and crew. It was extra special because everyone was able to attend. Brittany and Chase were in from Nashville with their dog Turner...and they are expecting a baby in May, so it was fun to see the baby bump. It was Chase's first GHeide and he brought his grandmother's egg nog (spiced and not spiced) which was delicious (even for non egg nog folks). Chas and Julie were there and theirs is the next wedding we will be celebrating. Henry (Caylen and Joe's son who is 7 months old) and Ellie had their own photo shoot. And best of all, my goddaughter Grace was home from Napa where she is studying at the Culinary Institute of America. Grace made some amazing food for us and was very gracious about it, even though it meant that she was slaving in the kitchen. Her arugula salad with lemon was out of this world great and then there were the huge beef tenderloin roasts coated with rosemary and other herbs and cooked to perfection. Wow. What I loved most about this meal is that this crowd gave my Cheesy Potato casserole and baby hot dogs wrapped in crescent rolls the same level of appreciation. We just love this special night every year. Time spent with a family who has meant so much to us and with whom we have shared so much through the years... relationships are all that really matter at the end of the day.

the adults

the babies

selfie 

Jack and Chuck checking out the keys 

Teri closed out the night with a customized version of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Loved it!

Christmas Break and another anniversary

Christmas Break has begun. Our last day was Friday and it was a pretty low key day. No complaints, no restraints (not at least while I was present).

We celebrated the beginning of break with dinner at Ken's with Bucky. Have I mentioned how thrilled we are that he is home for Christmas?

me with two  handsome men

Jack and I spent Saturday cleaning the house, not a fun task but very necessary. We did some Christmas shopping, though we were striking out pretty much everywhere we went. 

On Sunday, we went to mass with Bucky, then had a great lunch at Jenny's Steakhouse, whose owners are cousins or something with Ken's owners. We went to the cemetery and visited Marie and Mike's final resting spots. As we got out of the car, I was struck by the bit of a rainbow in the sky. It was so subtle. In my family, rainbows are such a comfort. In the Bible, rainbows are a covenant or promise from God. My parents often told the story of the rainbow that appeared in the cold December sky the morning after my sister Marcia died in the early 1950s. Friends from miles around called to tell them about the beautiful rainbow, such an unusual sight in winter. And we were blessed with another winter rainbow, albeit a little one. It gave me such assurance.

the lit girder on the building points to the bit of rainbow

Today was my first real day of break, meaning it was a day that I didn't have to go to work. I hosted a birthday breakfast for Mary at Egg Harbor. It was a super fun way to start break. Mary is such a wonderful person, kind, caring and so incredibly generous. 

celebrating Mary

Today was also the fourth anniversary of Marmar's homegoing. Wow. I thought about putting something on facebook  to mark this day (Marmar LOVED facebook!), but I didn't want to be dramatic or attention-seeking. God bless my mom. She loved her family like no other. 

a beautiful sunset

With rainbows in winter, a beautiful sunset and a loving family, God's majesty is ever present. 

Happy Birthday, Bucky!

We were thankful to have Bucky home to celebrate his 87th birthday with us.

We started with a family dinner on Sunday at Bucky's house. We had Thanksgiving dinner, take 2. Bucky missed Thanksgiving dinner at our house this year and we knew we needed to make it up to him. It was a great night. We are a fun group, if I do say so myself. 

selfie stick pic; notice my bossy face

these three were not in the selfie stick pic so they got their own shot

Bucky's actual birthday was Tuesday, December 15th. Jack, Sally and Ellie had lunch with Bucky at Coopers Hawk. I wasn't too jealous. Not much anyway.

Look at them. 4 generations. That is a miracle right there. 

We are so blessed! 

Four Generations

Today we had four generations together. It was a profound experience.

Jack's dad, aka Bucky, returned from Florida on Friday. It is wonderful to have Bucky home for the holidays. 

We told Bucky that we wanted to go to mass with him today. When Sally and Matt heard that, they said they wanted to go as well. Jack and I picked up Bucky and met Sally, Matt and Ellie at church. 

It was beyond touching, meaningful.

Ellie met her great grandfather at the church where Bucky and Grandma had been members for 62 years. So much history there.

Bucky, Jack and Ellie sat in the same pew where Jack's folks have worshiped for all of these years. Matt, Sally and I sat directly behind them.

I am not sure what the highlight of mass was. There were so many, beginning with Bucky meeting Ellie in person (they had already met via Facetime, of course!)

The new pastor at the parish was amazing. The mass was incredibly kid-friendly, including St. Nicholas and chocolate gold coins for everyone. The homily was all about peace and being a peacemaker while acknowledging the fear of what is happening in the world including ISIS. 

It was touching to worship with our granddaughter for the first time.

It was sweet to watch Matt sing Salve Regina to Ellie and to see her smiley reaction. I could not believe that Matt knew all of the lyrics to Salve Regina. That made me cry. 

It was truly the best advent worship experience ever.
Advent is truly the season of hope. 

love

front row seats

singing hymns with dad