The "Griswold Family Party"

this here is Robert, Ty

and Griffin (notice his shoes). We think Ty

is a real Cousin Eddie wanna be -

and that's Lucy in the left bottom corner, she is looking for the squirrel in the tree.

Robert is the eggnoggingest nogger that ever nogged an eggnog.

He marches a mean band march in his marching shoes too. But the winner of the shoe competition has to be Griffin.

Ty. Well, the boy is just not right.

We don't know what happened.

Robert and Lizzie getting ready

for a little nog with a sippy cup.

And this here is

Catherina. She's cute but rite bossy.

The Day after Christmas

364 days until Christmas.

We were left all alone at 3:45 p.m. when Catherine and Griffin left with two babies in a stuffed van. It is all quiet. The counters are all wiped off but the floors still sparkle. Christmas is being

wiped away until next year. The refrigerator is empty, the pantry empty, the eggnog, gone. The moosehead cups and wine glasses are still in shock. There is a fog of happiness left over the whole house that I hope never lifts and if I listen real closely, or call one of the kids I can hear babies crying in the background...ah, the sounds of life.

I have photos to share and plan to post a couple each day with a few comments.

It is a wonderful life.

11 Hours and 14 minutes until Christmas!!!

I'm BACK!!!

It is Christmas Eve!!!

I have been locked from my blog, not because I have been naughty or anything like that, but I

could not remember usernames or password, and it took my computer savvy daughter, Faith

to figure it out for me.

OH MY! So much has happened since the last blog.

Faith and Chris flew in from LA on Saturday. Elizabeth and Catherine drove in from B'Ham on

Monday with three children under the age of 2, Robert and Griffin arrived yesterday and Ty, Ellen and the two girls will come tomorrow.

The Griswold Christmas party is tonight and I have had a glimpse of some of the party attire

(redneck casual) and it is pretty awesome. I am quite proud of my new sweater that I bought today for half price and I know that when the photos of all the party goers are displayed on

tonights blog, everyone will be inspired to go out and buy Christmas sweaters for next year.

The refrigerator has been restocked 3 times already and I just went back to the store again.

Jody has been to the liquor store 2 times and we have enough eggnog in the house for the whole neighborhood.

It's coming on Christmas! fa la la la la....la la la laaaaaaaaa.

You Better Watch Out, You Better Cry!

7 days, 16 hours and 45 minutes before the BABIES arrive!!

Another Glimpse

I find myself wandering in our house like I am sleep walking in another person's home. It is pretty amazing and I'm right
proud of it. The floor has so much glitter on it that even a broom and mop won't budge it...but I don't care - because its
like walking on stars and It's Christmas.

Tonight I am going outside to see if the stars are any brighter. I feel sure that one star is growing brighter each day, just as it did so many years ago. "Let Heaven and Nature sing!"

The Elves of fluff and puff

The elves (Rose Watson and Bev Wood, sisters in force with super-human powers of fluff and puff) arrived at our home at 10:00 a.m. and with the snip of the green, the sprinkling of glitter and the twist of the ribbon, they were gone by 5:00 p.m. It is a sparkling wonder! I can only
look in awe and remember the bare wood that is buried beneath all the greenery and be amazed by "what a difference a day makes". God bless the hands of those who create beauty for others.

13 days, 19 hours and 13 minutes before Christmas!

The decorator, Rose, is coming tomorrow (Friday) and says she will be through Saturday. If I was decorating the house, by myself, it would be finished. The tree is up. The tree is a tall , not skinny
but not too fat tree - shaped much like me, little at the top and big at the bottom. It is full of various ornaments that have survived the attic and tree falls over the years. Jody's favorite playtoy is the shuttlecraft that talks when you press a button. It says "Shuttlecraft to Enterprise, Shuttlecraft to Enterprise, Spock here, live long and prosper". Right now, my favorite item in the tree is the squirrel like the one from "Christmas Vacation". It looks like it is ready to jump out of the tree at any time. I am wondering if Rose is going to have a sense of humor or remove the squirrel when I am not looking and hide it somewhere. Well, at least I don't have a flat, scorched, electrocuted cat sprawled out under the tree (remember the grandmother's white cat that chewed on the tree lights?)
I'm going to Dirt Cheap to look for one today.

Santa Claus

14 Days, 19 hours 36 minutes until Christmas!

There was something about Santa Claus that scared the begeebies out of me when I was a little girl.
The idea that some strange person could see me asleep and awake, and knew when I was good or bad (thanks to the elves), well - that just freaked me out. God is enough to think about at an early age. Now there is God and Santa.

I can't understand why society allowed the image of a fat man (not that there is anything wrong with being fat) wearing red velvet and white fur to come into their private homes and watch their children. AND keep a list all year long to find out if they are naughty or nice...that is pretty unforgiving. I guess the fact that I really did get ashes and switches does not help. I figured that if Santa had it in for me, then just imagine how God felt. It is tough being a kid at Christmas time. I'm going to try to be nicer to the grandchildren...
"OOOOOOOH, you'd better watch out! You better not cry....You better not pout" cause there is
a fat man in a red velvet suit with white fur who is watching you day and night, all year long to see if you are naughty... or nice.

Christmas Rush

18 days, 7 hours and 27 minutes until Christmas

It is hard to explain what defines Christmas Rush, but it encompasses more than just traffic jams
and long lines. I noticed it for the first time today in Jackson while running into a few shops.
There is an edgy tension like standing on a razor blade. Shoppers are beginning to show signs of
holiday fear. I have experienced my own holiday fear, but when I do I have a system to relieve it.
chocolate. It is better than any anti-depressant on the market. I just discovered Moose Munch.
It is popcorn and chocolate covered nuts mixed up together, and it only takes one handful to eliminate all the fear factors of holiday shopping. I am going to keep a bag in my purse at all times.
I am feeling a panic attack coming on right now...

It's beginning to look a lot like....

CHRISTMAS!

It might be hard to see but that is a tree full of lights and the Nutcracker and a Christmas train
that runs around the tree. And I actually wrapped all the gifts myself, like I usually do, and this year they really look good - as if someone else did it! Betti McCready wraps the most beautiful
gifts of all - she even puts real holly and fir tied up in the ribbon so that her gifts look and smell like Christmas. I think I'm going to spray some of that Christmas smell onto my gifts right now -
fa, la, la, la, la.....la, laaaaa..... la, la!

Zhu Zhu pets

Beware of shopping while drinking.
Jody has a quote by Tennessee Williams that he uses often "The confidence I feel after noon wine is only an illusion". I suppose it can go for nighttime too, because after a couple of glasses of wine (possibly more) I bought on the internet a gerbilly hamster animal that runs on batteries. Why is this so bad? Because it cost $60.00. Yes, I paid $60.00 for this stupid little toy that runs around on the floor like a mousey rat. What is worse is that Ty just found one for $12.99 at Toys or Us.
I am going to string it from my neck for the rest of the year as a reminder of what can happen after a couple of glasses of wine (or more).

The Elves

19 Days, 6 hours and 5 minutes before Christmas

Elves are everywhere. Elves are on shelves, in trees, in classrooms, up high usually, in spots where they can't be stepped on, and since they are little, I understand. Elves used to be naughty little people who played tricks on others but Santa came along and converted them. Now they are so good that they report to Santa about everyone who is bad...this sounds a little unfair to me.

We have elves in our neighborhood on Dogwood Drive. They drive the dogs nuts. They show up every Christmas Eve, usually when everyone is in Church, and they leave little treats to let the children know they have been good and to expect a visit from Santa. They leave snow behind and everything, even though we have never seen them we did hear their tinkling bells in the distance once.

This year I have been worrying a little about the elves and for their safety. Most of the children in the neighborhood have grown up. The next door neighbor, Seward, has a gun and hunts, she is a
real hunter. I'm thinking about sending a text message to Santa warning him that maybe the elves should wear camouflage this year just as a precaution.

(...Seward has a gun...the elves had better run...)

22 days, 10 hours and 18 minutes before Christmas!

"It's fruitcake weather!"
My friend Amanda Bailey knows well, what line this is from and it is one of our most prized books, especially at Christmas time. Truman Capote wrote "A Christmas Memory" in 1956, 4 years after I was born. It is one of the dearest stories about a boy, a dog and his old aunt growing up in a house with two other "relatives". It is a book about love and about simplicity and pureness of heart.
In the midst of wonderful things like family gatherings and circles of friends, Amanda and I will always say to each other our favorite line from the book..."As for me, I could leave the world with today in my eyes."

My book is in my lap as I type, but it will be carried off to my favorite reading spot where all is quiet and I will take an hour to read it once more, like every year before and most possibly I will cry all over again...when I imagine a "lost pair of kites hurrying toward heaven."

Homemade Christmas Balls!

24 days, 2 hours and 26 minutes before Christmas!

Thanks to Jennifer Wimberly, I had one of the most fun nights making these christmas ornaments. This is her instructions to me:
I purchased clear glass balls at Hobby Lobby - they come in two sizes large and small. I bought 1 box of small and 4 boxes of large. In the craft section buy acrylic paint in the colors of your choice...I bought yellow, white, blue, green, red, gold, turquoise, silver. One day before you are
going to start your project, remove the silver stopper (I put all of mine in a ziplock bag) and then
wash them out with an equal part of vinegar and water. I mixed up 1 cup and poured using a funnel from one ball into another...turn them upside down and let them dry out overnight.

The fun begins!!
One ball at a time. The first one I did was red, white and yellow. Into the opening of the glass ball squeeze some paint on one side, turn it and squeeze some down another side, and another.
Swirl the paint until it coats the ball inside, or shake it like a martini and it will marbleize.
If you shake it you better have the opening completely covered or you will have polka dots all over your kitchen too. Once you begin to get the hang of it, you'll squeeze more stuff into the
glass ball than you intended to, just to see what will happen. When you are finished, turn it
upside down into an empty plastic throwaway cup to catch the leftover paint. It takes a long time for all the drips of paint to drip out. Go to bed.

This project is not as dangerous as gingerbread houses after 5:00 and would be a really fun project with children, as long as YOU are in charge of shaking the ball (with the opening covered). Thanks again to Jennifer Wimberly - mine are still not as cute as hers.