Douglas and Sam attended the Mannheim Steamroller concert.
Building gingerbread houses at Grandma's house.
Schofield wearing a wig.
Birthday girl!
Back to Grandma's house for Christmas Eve. The actors prepare for their roles in the Nativity.
I asked Grandma what the children were doing in this photo. This was Grandma's reply:
They needed to pick up the marshmallows with their cupped hands and build a snowman. Tallest snowman wins!
But wow was there tears, anger, and frustration like I have never seen. We also used the cups to play a tic tac toe game. They hated it! Then cups to build a pyramid and to blow off a marshmallow at the top. Again—anger. Penny and Schofield told me that they hated my cup games and to never do them again. They just wanted to play hide and seek! 🤣🤣🤣
I was amazed at the frustration! So—after all the cups were smashed and thrown in the garbage we played hide and seek.
Penny, Douglas, and Diana getting ready to open presents on Christmas morning.
Douglas loves Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
Penny and Diana setting up the stepping stones Penny received for Christmas.
Diana and Penny using the new karaoke machine.
Joseph and Maxwell
Joseph and Gideon
Gideon, Denali, Maxwell
My wonderful, righteous father reading the Christmas story. I love this picture!
Sam had a little family reunion on Saturday, 28 December, with some of her extended family members. Aunt Lisa gave this behemoth Kit Kat bar to the children, because it was an "extended" family reunion.
On Sunday, 29 December, I met my good friend, Mary, and her children at the mall where we volunteered for two hours at the Giving Machines. Josh, Mary's husband, was home sick and he wasn't able to join us. We had fun trying to get people to donate to various local and international charities.
What a great year. Bring on 2025!
