Christmas 2017

 Late Merry Christmas everyone. We had a great day with some of our children here to celebrate with us. This is what the tree looked like on Christmas Eve. Yes Kismet spent most of her time under the tree playing with the ornaments.

 The stockings are filled with goodies to be discovered in the morning.

 Passing out the gifts to everyone.

 Family tradition of starting at the youngest one opening a gift. Yes we open one at a time so everyone can see what was given and their reaction to the gift. David opened up this gift from Tara and John. The red shirt was included with the candy.

 Next youngest is Aryan. He is wearing the shirt that Tara and John gave him while holding the gift he just opened from his grandparents.

 Ashley was next. She is holding a movie that Bekah gave her.

 Then onto to Bekah. She just opened up one of the gifts we gave her. I made all the girls hats, arm warmers and several other items.

 James came next. He is Bekah's boyfriend who came with them to celebrate Christmas with us. He is displaying all three sunglasses that Tara and John gave him.

 I was actually next but there isn't a picture of me since I was doing all the picture taking.
Last but not least was Mike's turn. He gets help from Zeus to open his gifts. Mike got a lot of candy and nuts this year. He takes them to work for quick snacks.
After Mike we start all over again until all the gifts are opened.

Here is the pile of paper after the gifts are opened. Kismet was having fun playing in the paper. When the children were younger we use to put them in the pile of paper and take photo's. They are too old now. Another thing we use to do was take pictures of them with all their gifts.
We had a great time and enjoyed ourselves with eating and movie watching and just hanging out with one another. Hope you had a joyous Christmas.
Until next time.

More of Tara's Favorite Christmas's

Tara has submitted more of her favorite Christmas's.  Enjoy her stories and until next enjoy your day.

One year, while we were in Del Rio, I remember staying up waiting for Grandma and Grandpa to arrive.  It was always so exciting to have them come.  It made the holidays seem more real.  That year (I think I was in 3rd grade) I remember waking up in the middle of the night and KNOWING that Santa was in the living room because I knew without a doubt that I heard sleigh bells ringing.  I can't tell you what I actually heard even now, but I remember waking up at the crack of dawn and thinking that I must have been VERY bad.  The girls got a toy kitchen.  I don't remember what Michael got, but it was also big.  And I saw NOTHING for me.  How could Santa bring MICHAEL something and NOT me!!  I did end up finding my present from Santa.  I believe it was a watch, so it was hard to see in the early morning hours.

Then there is the year I spent Christmas vacation sick with mono.  I was in college and felt AWFUL.  I was staying at my apartment until Christmas Eve, when the whole family was meeting at Grandma's house in Spanish Fork.  I walked home from work a couple days before Christmas, bundled up in every coat and blanket I had, blasted the heat to 80 degrees and was still cold.  That's when I knew something was definitely wrong.  So I called Grandpa to come get me. At the time we weren't sure what exactly I had, but I knew I wasn't feeling well. Christmas Eve came and Ashley and I shared a drink (probably Dr. Pepper, but I don't remember exactly).  Little did we know she would REALLY come to hate that decision to share a drink with her big sis.  I continued to feel really sick and got to a point where I couldn't eat or drink anything.  And I couldn't talk.  If you know me, you know how hard it is for me to not talk! So we went to the ER where I was diagnosed with Mono.  I spent the next 2 weeks laying in bed absolutely miserable.  Then, a month or so later, Ashley got her belated Christmas present from me. MERRY CHRISTMAS ASHLEY!!!  Here's some Mono :)

I also love the tradition Mike and I have started.  A few years ago I bought him the best present he could have asked for: a shirt from his favorite college, BYU.  Mike always gives me a hard time because he is a University of Utah fan and I love my BYU Cougars.  The BYU, U of U rivalry is HUGE in Utah, so we have to jab at each other whenever we can.  So I gave him the t-shirt as a joke, along with an actual gift of candies and other goodies.  The next year Mike got his revenge when he gifted me a clown.  I HATE CLOWNS!  I opened the box and threw it across the room.  Last year, as payback for the clown present, I asked Mike what he wanted for Christmas.  Mike normally responds with "I don't want anything. Save the money to get you and John something".  Last year he gave me a very sarcastic answer of "I want a 1967 (I don't remember the exact year) Chevy truck" because he knew I can't actually buy him a truck and didn't want me to spend money on him.  But in today's digital age I took to Amazon and found him exactly what he wanted.  It takes up no room in his driveway at all!  But probably occupies some space on a shelf somewhere.  That's right, I got him a model of the truck he really wants.  Did Mike send me a prank gift this year?  I won't know for a couple of days.  Mom, any insight??  

The truck was a 1955 and the color is orange.

Mike and the boys thought on Christmas

Well I am back with another installment of a Christmas memory. I asked Aryan what his favorite Christmas was and he didn't have an answer but does enjoy having his nieces and nephews around. This happened in 2014 and at that time he only had one nephew. David didn't have a favorite Christmas either. He will remember when he gets old enough and reflects back.

Mike says he doesn't have a favorite Christmas but gave me a few memories from his growing up years so I will tell you those.

He always remembers going to his Grandma Payne's house on Christmas Eve and having a big family get together. They would have a big family dinner and open presents from the rest of the family. He can't remember what he received but most of the items were handmade.

One Christmas he remembers most was the Christmas he wanted a bow really bad. They were expensive as they are now. His mom found one on sale so pick it up for him. He came out on Christmas morning and saw this bow under the tree. He was so excited and started stringing it up. Then trying it out and realizing it didn't feel right in his hands. Comes to find out his mom bought a  left handed bow for him. He was a little disappointed because he wasn't able to shot it. He never did tell me if they were able to exchange it or not.

He also enjoys having family around for the holidays. He usually ends up having to work on Christmas so we rearrange how we celebrate. This year he gets off at 5:30am and will be home by 6am. He will sleep a little and then we will start our day.

Until next time enjoy your day.

Bekah's Favorite Christmas

Here is Bekah's Favorite Christmas story. I haven't heard from the rest of the family so I am not sure who I will post next. I have two children still at home, myself and Mike. It will be from one of us unless I get something from someone else. You will notice she says she is a slacker but no she isn't.


Ok so I am a slacker about writing my favorite Christmas. Ash took my favorite memory but another one came to mind recently that I quite enjoy. One year while everyone was out shopping for Christmas presents I stayed home with Michael and Grandpa, I think I was 7 or 8. Grandpa was taking his traditional Christmas photo of the tree and as he was leaning on the couch, it fell with Grandpa in it. Thus begins the tradition of Grandpa and falling furniture. To this day I still laugh thinking about it. 

John's Favorite Christmas

Here is John's favorite Christmas. For those of you who don't know already John will be joining our family officially in October of 2018. He has been with Tara for about five years now. If I am wrong Tara please correct me. Number 7 is blank because he can't remember what it was. Tomorrow I will be posting Bekah's favorite Christmas.

 John struggled to think of a favorite Christmas at first.  He told me to go with a generic "my first Christmas with you" answer.  But then, while decorating the Christmas tree with Betsy (John's mom), he decided on a most memorable Christmas.  John's family normally spends Christmas Eve or Christmas day (it alternates) all together: cousins, aunts, uncles, everyone is invited. Over the course of 2 years (1-7  written the first year, the rest the following year) John, Jacquelyn (John's sister) and Nana decided to write the 12 days of Christmas - Fede Edition
12 cruise ships cruising- John's Aunt and Uncle used to cruise all the time
11 gallons of hair dye- John's Aunt Colleen dyes her hair all the time
10 flaming toes- John's Uncle Jim is a recovering alcoholic.  One time while camping, Jim got very drunk and fell asleep with his feet up in front of the fire.  The shoes he was wearing caught on fire and he woke up with flaming toes.  Don't worry, all 10 toes are still in tact
9 dysfunctional Fede's and 1 who thinks she's normal- written this way because they all have their imperfections but John's Aunt Maribeth, a psychologist, thought she was perfect.  This line caused some family drama, which tends to happen when any family gets together, especially with the drinking that tends to happen.
8 destroyed napkins- Betsy used to wear a lot of lipstick.  She would destroy the nice cloth napkins, so John's Aunt Mary started giving Betsy paper napkins at the dinner table
7
6 cigar smokers- The men in John's family love cigars
5 perfect children - John, Jacquelyn, Cousin Andrea, Cousin Aaron, and Cousin Sean
a four-legged dog - John and Jacquelyn's dog Mally
 3 White Haired loonies- John's Nana and 2 great Aunts
 2 Obsessed Golfers - Uncle George and Aunt Mary
1 annoying gym teacher - John's mom is a Phys Ed Professor.  She HATES being called a gym teacher (it's PE, NOT gym).  So naturally her children had to throw that dig in. 

Tara's Favorite Christmas

Today I will be posting Tara's favorite Christmas. She also has two she is writing about. Tomorrow I will be posting her fiancé, John's favorite Christmas.

2 Christmases immediately come to mind when I think of my favorite Christmas.  The first is the Ansley Christmas of 1994 (I think that was the year).  We had so many people all together in the house in Tomball.  I loved it!  I thought it was so cool hanging out with the older cousins.  I remember walking through the woods with Michael, Jimmy, Ronan, and Keisha on an adventure. I thought it was awesome that there were so many people visiting we had to ask the neighbors if we could use some of their extra rooms.   I remember anxiously awaiting for it to be my turn to open presents.  And I remember when Michael and I opened our big box of "POWER RANGER STUFF!!!!!"  There is a video somewhere of this precise moment. Ashley, Bekah, and now John like to quote it while teasing me.  But come on, Power Rangers (the original) were awesome and what kid our age didn't LOVE them.

The 2nd Christmas I think of when I hear "favorite Christmas" is the last Christmas our family was all together- 2014.  I love the holidays and spending time with the family.  When John and I found out that Michael and Rachel were going to be in Colorado for Christmas the decision was instantly made that we would be making the drive as well.  We don't get to see the kiddos as much as I would like to, and Christmas is the perfect time to see kids.  The excitement and joy on kids faces is what makes the holiday great.  John, Ashley and I drove up on Christmas Eve, car loaded with presents, 3 animals in tow as well. (In case it hasn't already been mentioned, this is the year Ashley found Kismet and gifted her to Mike). We arrived to a house full of family.  After Bekah and James arrived, the total in attendance was 18.  We had to gate the presents off because there were 4 dogs, 2 cats, and 3 kids all anxious to get their paws on those gifts!  Every room was filled to the brim.  John and I slept in the living room with Jimba and Griz (Shroud wasn't around yet). We got the first glimpse of Santa bringing the gifts and we got to see everyone's face as stockings were opened- full of candy as they should be.  I'm pretty sure Aryan and/or Mike woke me up at 4 am.  But it's Christmas and that's when you should wake up, especially when their are little ones!  We had our traditional Christmas breakfast of cinnamon rolls and got to the present opening.  With 18 people opening 1 gift at a time, this took a few hours.  I don't remember exactly what gifts I received. But I remember having a blast as nieces stole cameras to take pictures of the entire house.  I remember being told "It's YOUR turn to play with me".  And my turn being a LOT longer than everyone else's. And of course, the traditional game of Trivial Pursuit - one of my favorite traditions any time our family gets together.  Christmas isn't about the presents you get, or the presents you give.  It's about spending time with the people you love the most and making memories with them.  I think this Christmas sticks out to me because it's the last Christmas I've been able to share with our family.  John and I haven't been able to make it out west for a Christmas since moving to Connecticut so this Christmas sticks out when the holidays come around.  Not to say I don't love Christmases with the Fedes.  Those are their own sort of memorable!  But until I can spend another Christmas with the Biggerstaff/Ansley/Payne bunch, this will be my favorite Christmas.

Ashley's Favorite Chritmas

I have asked my family once again to help me out with this blog and some up coming ones. Each family member is suppose to tell about their favorite Christmas. If everyone submits a story I should be posting one a day until Christmas. I am hoping everyone will have a different one to tell.
The first one to respond was Ashley so hers goes up first. Tomorrow I will post Tara's.

The Christmas that stands out most to me was Christmas of my Kindergarten or 1st grade year. That would have been Christmas of 1999 or 2000. That was the year Bekah and I got our Purple Barbie Bikes. All the kids woke up really early that Christmas- It must have been 5 am. We were so excited to finally have "big-kid" bikes.

I also remember the Christmas that Michael got the rolling suitcase. It may have even been the same year as the bikes, but I think it was the year after. Once again, all 4 of us "older-kids" got up really early. Michael saw the suitcase and started rolling it all around the living room singing a nonsense song like "do-do-do-do-do". We were making a lot of noise and woke up Grandpa, who told us to go back to bed. Instead of going back to bed Michael started making the cinnamon rolls. 

D.A.R Service Project

As I have mentioned in my profile I am a member of the D.A.R (Daughters of the American Revolution). I thought I would share with you our most recent service project we did.
The top photo are crocheted/knitted crowns for babies for a center called A Pregnancy Care Center who help young mothers with classes and clothes. The next two photos are the items we gathered either by making ourselves or donations we received to make bags to give to the army base in our area. We had a lot of fun and we worked on this project all summer long. The gathering of the items happened in November. We are still getting the bags put together and will hopefully get them to the base soon. The bottom photo is the group. This is only a small number but we work hard in the community and have fun doing it.
If you know you have an American Revolution soldier contact your local D.A.R group and if you don't know there is one in your area just look on line or comment below and I will give you the information.
I have a lot of fun and have made a lot of friends.

My new Blog

Thought I would update everyone on what is new.
I have started a new blog called Debbie'sreadingcorner.blogspot.com
I wasn't sure I was going to do this but I really wanted to have my books separated.
I want to have this blog for other things like family outings and my other activities and such.
I am hoping I can come up with ideas for this blog like my reading blog. I am working on things for next year that I hope everyone will like.
So stay tuned and enjoy the month of December.

Being Thankful

Since today is Thanksgiving I wanted to do something different. Yesterday I asked my family to help me with this post. I asked them to tell me what they are thankful for. I got a pretty good outcome with only giving 24 hours. I will tell you what I am thankful for at the end.

My Dad's response

I am thankful for many things, too many to enumerate, but a  few stand out.  First I am thankful for “Our Father-in-Heaven”; for his grace freely given, and for the many blessings he has bestowed on me these past 76+ years.  Second,  I am thankful for my family; that they are Safe, Happy, Healthy, and Strong. Third, I am overwhelmed by the blessing of my Wife.  She is the love of my life, the Mother of my children, Grandmother and Great Grandmother  She is always there for me even when I am undeserving of her.  She is my rock that I cling to when the stormy waters of life try to sweep me away.  She completes me in a way that only God can describe.  She and God are the things I am most thankful for.  God has richly blessed this undeserving man.

My Mom's response

Mom is thankful for the Love of God, for her extended family, her children, her grandchildren, and her great grandchildren.  She is thankful for a loving husband even though he is sometimes annoying, inattentive, lazy, and frustrating.  She knows he would move mountains for her or die trying.  She is thankful for her friends, and her church.

Ashley's response

I'm thankful for my family and friends who offer companionship and support. 

I'm thankful for the food I eat and water I drink, and am very thankful that I've never had to suffer from  lack of either.

I'm thankful for my general health and fitness. Though, like all people, I suffer form the occasional illness or injury I have never had one so damaging as to prevent me from living a normal life, nor any one so permanent.

I'm thankful for my education and for the fact that I've always had easy access to it.

I'm thankful for my job: though it isn't glamorous and requires hard work, I am thankful for a means to pay my bills and go to college without debt. 

Bekah's response

I'm thankful for my job that pays for my school. My teacher friends who have given me experience in their classroom by letting me teach. My family and friends. My wonderful, beautiful daughter and her adoptive family for raising her so well and for James who has been so supportive of me the past year in all I've done.

Tara's response

I'm thankful for the boys (their dogs) and their unlimited kisses and John and his unwavering support of me.

John's response (Tara's fiancé)

I'm thankful for Tara and the boys (their dogs)

Athena and family response (Mike's family)

We are thankful for are family and friends. A roof over are heads and food in the house. A car to drive and are health.

Aryan response

My parents and supportive friends

David's response

Kismet (our cat)

Mike's response

I am thankful for my health. A job to be able to provide for my family. My family. The country we live in which gives me the ability to do and have all the above.

My response

I am thankful for so many things. I am thankful for my Heavenly Father and his son Jesus Christ. I am thankful for a husband who let's me do a lot of things I enjoy doing like seeing my family, staying home and all my extra activities outside of the home. I am thankful for my children and all they have been able to accomplish. I am thankful for our country which gives the freedom to be able to do a lot of things that other countries can not do. I am thankful for my friends who stand beside me and let me be me.

Some family members didn't respond but than is okay. If you want to tell me what you are thankful for just put them in the comment area. All will be welcome.

Enjoy your Thanksgivings.

Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts

Friday we went to Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts. We got early and had breakfast at Paul's and then headed to Massachusetts.

As you tell it was cold. The wind didn't help. We had a great time anyway.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love history and love this time period.

The gentleman in this picture with us is John. 

This  is a cider mill and yes you can smell the cider. This is the first building we saw. We did take a carriage ride around the village to get a guided tour. Needless to say the carriage didn't help to keep us warm but very informative.

Tara trying to stand on stilts. Had to fast with the camera, she only lasted about 1 second.

Driving past the capital in Hanover on the way to Massachusetts.

The  tin maker. All the employees were dressed in costume.

He also demonstrated the turkey shoot. I didn't get pictures of that.

The black smith.

The potter.

The printer.

An old school house. You are looking at the teacher's desk.

A meeting house.

 A Friend's (Quaker) meeting house.

John pointing out the cheese in the house's we saw.

Tara trying on  a shoe in shoe maker's shop. Do not call them cobblers.

I have a lot more pictures but decided to not put them all on the blog. If you want to see more I will of course add another post. It was a great day even though it was cold.

We only stayed until 3 pm because we had a dinner party at John's dad's house.

Dinner was eventful. I met a good majority of John's family. They are all very friendly and easy to get along with. They are extremely Italian and have strong opinions on how meatballs are to be made. Poor John got ridicule for using dried parsley in his meatballs. I of coursed kept quiet. They wouldn't like that 75% of the time I cheat and buy my meatballs premade. When I do make meatballs I use dried parsley. Of course I wasn't going to volunteer that information. John's meatballs tasted great even though I didn't try the chicken one's; I'm not a fan of ground chicken. 

It was a full and fun day.

Trip to Connecticut

As you know from the previous blogs I went to Connecticut to visit with my oldest daughter, Tara.
I spent all day Monday on a plane. Tara and her fiancée John picked me in New York at the airport. Let me tell you the movies are correct about the airports in New York. They are extremely crowded and loud. Tara took off the week from her main job but had to work two nights at her part tie job. Tuesday we went and looked for things to make center pieces for the tables at her up coming wedding in October of 2018. We did find some wine glasses she wants to use but not having luck in the flowers. She showed me the place of the wedding but we weren't able to look inside of the building. For lunch we went to a Mexican Restaurant called Senor Ponchos. We both ordered build your own burritos and they were huge. In fact I ended up leaving a 1/4 of my burrito at their place. That night Tara had worked so John cooked dinner. John by the way is a great cook.
Wednesday we went out and bought dresses for the wedding rehearsal and I bought one for the day of the wedding. We found some great deals and had fun. We didn't do much because we were going to New Haven to see the Sound of Music. Tara took me to her favorite pizza place called Rossini's to try there plain pizza. To me it was okay but I am not a fan of tomatoes so it had too much of that taste but the cheese pizza was great. The above pictures were taken at the theater where we saw the musical Sound of Music. It was great. We had a little scare afterwards when we went to get the car. The parking garage was closed and locked. Lucky for us we saw one of the workers who let us in and told us we only had to use a ticket from the garage to get in. We left the ticket in the car. Also it was lucky for us that one of us brought a debit card because that was the only way to pay for parking. This was lesson learned.
Thursday we went to Hobby Lobby to check on flowers again no luck but she did find the grapes she wanted. Then we went to Barnes and Noble because she needed to get a book for a baby gift and we just enjoyed looking around.
Yes I did buy some books. For lunch we went to Olive Garden. She had to work that night so we made it a short day. Again John cooked dinner.
I am going to skip Friday for now and write about it tomorrow in its own blogs.
Saturday we went wedding dress shopping for her. She tried on four dresses. There was myself her future mother-in-law and sister-in-law and friend with us. The first dress she tried on we all liked but she really didn't care for it. The second dress she liked but we didn't. The third dress was the winner we all liked it. This is the one that she bought. The fourth dress she didn't like even as she was putting it on. It was too tulle. I will not post the dress because I want to make sure John doesn't see it. You will have to wait until they get married before it gets posted. We went to Savin Rock Roasting Company for dinner. One of John's cousin owns this restaurant and this might be where the rehearsal dinner will be. Not for sure though.
Sunday back on the plane coming home. I enjoyed myself and was glad to spend time with Tara. I have never been to Connecticut and it was beautiful and full of history. I can't wait to go back and do some sight seeing.

Aryan's Birthday

Aryan turned 15 on November 6th. We actually celebrated a day early.

The reason for this is because I was leaving the next day for a week. I went to visit my oldest daughter in Connecticut. We went to Wendy's for his meal, that is what he wanted. I made him a cake but he didn't want it until his birthday so we didn't get a picture. He received a bunch of books as normal but he also got a cell phone in October for his birthday. In all he was happy. One more year and he will be driving. They grow so fast.

September 11

Sixteen years ago today the twin towers fell.
Where were you?
 I was working at a shipping from 8am to 6 pm.
I didn't hear about the event until customers came in and told me.
The first thing I did was call the schools to see if I needed to pick up the kids. They told that they were safe there and that they didn't need to be picked up.
I was kept update by customers and a radio that the shop had.
When I got off I went to my parents house because that is where my kids were and I watched the news.
I didn't have a TV or internet at my house so that is where I watched it.
When we got home I did have a radio and we listened for updates.
I know no one will forget that date if they were old enough to hear about it.
Aryan and David weren't born yet so they can only hear about from everyone else.
Aryan asked us about that for his history class. His teacher wanted them to ask what we were doing when 9-11 occurred.
I just wanted to write about what I was doing when the towers came down to help remember thata dreadful day.

Aryan

As you know Aryan is now a Freshman in high school. So what does that entail for him  and for us. For him it means a lot more homework and needing to stay on top of things better and keeping his grades up. For us it means it is time to get him a cell phone. I was dreading this day not as much when he will begin driving, but one step at a time. High School is a busy for him because he is involved in several things already. He is in TSA (Technology Student Association) and student council and I finally got tired of relaying messages to him that was texted to me. So Mike and I broke down on Saturday and bought him a phone. He knows how we feel about phones in the schools and that he has to keep his grades at a 3.5 GPA or better. We know he can do this. He is also taking a few honor classes which means a lot of group projects.
It is hard to believe that he has grown so fast and is in high school. So many memories of him being little and just starting school and now he only has four years before he is off to college.
He is good kid and we love him dearly.

Baby Gift Ideas

I just thought I would let you know what I give out as a baby gift.

This can very on what I have on hand.

I try real hard to always have something at home to give out.

A lot of what is pictured above I have made myself.

I also picked up a few things from the dollar store, but I enjoy making things for the new little ones.

I am also willing to make and then sale them to anyone interested. I will ship them to you but will have to charge you the shipping. If you are interested just post me a comment and I will contact you.

Until next time.

Jazzy

Remember this picture from last September. Jazzy had a lump remove then and we had it tested it was cancerous. The vet gave her 19 months.

Here she was after her surgery and she better and back to her old self.

Well I am sorry to say that in April her lump came back.  We knew what it was and tried to make her life as comfortable as possible. Well, today at 5 am I woke up and she decided that she was done fighting. She has gone to better place and is now cancer free. She was only 7 years old and our Queen is gone. She will bet greater missed. We loved her very much.

David's Birthday

This is the only picture we took for David's birthday.

We went out the night before to AppleBees for his birthday dinner.

On his birthday he received from us a baseball mitt and headphones. We had a couple of friends come over for cake and homemade ice cream. His Grandparents gave him two goose bump books.

His one friend gave him his favorite chips which are salt and vinegar with a chocolate bar. He had those eaten within two days. His cousin gave him some money.

In all he had a great day.

July 4th

Aryan getting ready to light fire crackers.

David and his friend, Jeff  setting up the fire crackers to be set off.

David showing me a shot off fire cracker

One of the fire cracker as it is going off.

We went over to a friends house to celebrate the 4th of July.

We had a nice BBQ and spending time with friends.

We were even able to see the fire works that one of the farmers set off every year.

We had a blast.

Until next time.