A Sentiment

God knew what He was doing when He sent a gentle breeze and brought a lovely butterfly to set my heart at ease. The happiness of your friendship and the gentleness of your words have touched my life in special ways and now I feel assured. Thank you for your loyalty and for reading everyday. I only hope you find things to make a happy day.

Monday, December 2, 2013

Christmas at Our House

 Here are a few pictures from our early Christmas celebration with both sides of our family. We were missing Tyler, Xoie, David and of course Tim. The above picture shows Joe and his gang.
 These are my kids and grands. We missed the ones that weren't able to be with us. The picture just doesn't look complete without them.
 LuAnn brought tiny tomatoes that she stuffed with hummus and topped with little tomato and olive tops. She brought olive tapenade  with crusty french bread. Yum!
 This is grand daughter Lindsay cutting up the Hawaiian bread for her spinach dip.We had everyone bring an appetizer. There was artichoke dip, spinach dip, ham salad, meat balls, shrimp, onion dip, veggies, taco dip, another kind of taco spread, stuffed cherry tomatoes, olive tapenade, cheeses, hummus, chips and crackers of all kinds, and a huge bowl of fruit salad.
 Here's grand daughter Syd with her boyfriend Dave. They look like they are having an interesting conversation.


Our daughter in law, Julie.... with great grandson, Luke. Also in the picture are Charlie Brown and Curious George...who got thrown to the wayside by huggable Elmo later on.
 Here's a picture of great grandson, Drake after he opened his Elmo. Drake is between Joe's son, Mark and grand daughter, Ashley...Drake's mom. Grandson Brandon is on the far left...on the floor.




This  picture is of one side of our crowd watching the end of that miserable Bear game. We are all Bear fans....You can see my son, John on the far left with grandson, Collin over his shoulder in the white shirt. Daughter in law, Karen is in the white sweater.



It looks like maybe the Bears will pull it off by everyone's smile. Joe's son, Dan is on the right.

We had a wonderful day...the weather was perfect for those traveling. The food was great and the company too. We always have fun together...By the way the family is growing...some said  we need a bigger house. My feelings on a bigger place to get together...In a blended family like ours...in a big house you are spread out more and don't get the close contact with everybody. You might not even talk to someone on the other  side of the family. When everyone is closer....conversations will include everyone. It just can't be helped...It's a much better way to get everyone to blend.

Well, our Christmas started out with good food, good company and wonderful presents.  So many new things...books, plants, good smelling things, kitchen gadgets, warm blankies and so much more. It was a wonderful day.
Balisha

10 comments:

Val said...

That all sounds beautiful, Balisha. Beautiful family--and the list of appetizers alone was something else. :) What a sweet gathering.

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

What a lovely early Christmas you had. I love the photos.

I'm inspired to do more decorating and have Christmas right here in my little cottage.

Love and hugs to you and Joe,

FlowerLady

debra @ HOMESPUN said...

Oh did you make me hungry thinking about all of those wonderful appetizers!

Beautiful family and photos :)

Gardener on Sherlock Street said...

A full house indeed. Much like when our families gather. Good to be cozy once in a while and enjoy each other!

lynne said...

Beautiful family, Balisha! Looks as if you had a wonderful day and made great memories.

Judy said...

You are right about the size of the house. Love the pictures!

Brenda Pruitt said...

Fun and family and cute little ones!
Brenda

Sharon said...

Your family gathering looks like so much fun. The idea to have everyone bring an appetizer is a good one ~ what a variety of tasty treats you had. All your preparations paved the way for a wonderful day:)

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

what a beautiful
and very big family....
know this was a great time
and many memories made.

Balisha said...

We had a great time with everyone who was here. Missed those who weren't so much, but it couldn't be helped.
Yesterday is another story. The girls cleaned up before they left and encouraged me to take it easy. There were still so many gifts to find places for, dishes to put away, furniture to put in the right places, things to go downstairs. We were pooped and didn't do a lot of it...so it's still here to do today. I figured that going to the pool, yesterday morning, would be relaxing...so that's what we did. I've never left my house in a mess like that, but yesterday I did. I fixed Joe a turkey sandwich and a bowl of soup...and guess what I had? A chocolate instant breakfast and a snack at night. Today, I feel much better and full of pep. Funny how age takes it's toll on us. It was one of the best planned holiday parties that I have given.
Balisha