Christmas on Fogg St. Chaotic, fun & relaxing

We've managed to string it all out! Christmas morning had Audrey and 1 month old Ethan seeing their Christmas stockings and finding THE perfect last minute gifts that came from Big Lots and Goodwill. Peter and Jill came over later with Aly..... The next day Colleen and the 3 girls arrived from Twin Falls, en route to California, so we did MORE Christmas. It is DEFINITELY all about kids and seeing their faces...though I love getting at least one thing on each person's dream list that they like. I was surprised with a new laptop from my sweet husband. Good thing, cuz we learned the hard drive on the other one is FRIED! Sure hope we can recover a whole year's worth of financial records!


There is a satisfying release when 9 people throw all the wrappings boxes and bows into a common junk pile during opening! Such abandon for a control/neat freak like me!
And it is just the best when you find the perfect gift - a serendipity moment at Big Lots on Christmas Eve! This wonderful little lounger that is just the right color for Audrey's room! And it is NOT plastered with picture's of Dora or decorated in some unearthly girly PINK! Blegh! All the grandkids loved taking turns sitting it!
Becky's Charles has even caught the Goodwill/Salvation Army bug that has infected us all this year! This is HIS Christmas Eve purchase contribution! I had asked him earlier if he was going to get Ethan a football for Christmas... but this one is a little over the top! It will help hold all the new toys in the new house once they get into it, though! For now it is Audrey's new favorite hiding place. Featured now, are the three main trees we put up this year. This is the "Family Tree" with handmade wooden and scrapbooked photo holders for pictures of cousins, ancestors and core family members. Had a lot of fun making the pictures and loved seeing those we love each morning as I came out of our bedroom.

This one is the Candy Cane Tree. Sorry the pictures don't do them justice. Decorated in all red, green and white ornaments, mostly plastic and real candy canes. The lights on the white tree are a very soft green so at night the tree is really interesting. I, personally, can think of no other good use for a candy cane (except for tiny pieces crushed in hot chocolate), but I did notice that after all the grandgirls left the tree was several candy canes shy of the original! I guess you can't get sick on a candy cane that is 5-8 years old, can you?
This is the Fuschia/teal/Pink tree.....again, not nearly as pretty in a picture as it was in real life! Really glowed at night with the white lights reflectinf off all that shy plastic! Carried this color scheme across the mantle and onto the two side hearth trees as well. And of course could only put blue, silver and white wrapped presents underneath!
Ethan slept peacefully through most of the gift unwrapping hoopla, but he was bright eyed and awake long enough to get his Santa sock. Seems so amazing that just two years ago at this time it was Audrey having her first Christmas as a newborn, right after we got home from our mission to Chile.

Why is it so much easier to buy gifts for kids? Here are Peter and Aly. Her parents were more impressed than she was with the pretty clothes she got, but her little face beamed over the talking cow toy. (This girl LOVES music!) Peter and Jill told us the new rule is that any toy that makes noise stays HERE! But they did proclaim the cow sufficiently not obnoxious to get to go home with Alyssa!

Christmas Eve found Grandpa Vic and Grandma Adele all alone at the home while the kids were at their in-laws places for Christmas Eve observances. Alone, but not lonely. It was actually a very lovely evening together as we prepared a few things for the big day and then took a break and walked up to the Baptist Church's candlelight Christmas program. (We had been invited by a bunch of carolers from their congregation a week or so earlier). Don't know what we expected, but it wasn't quite what we had hoped for. Rock music instruments just don't belong in a church. Certainly nothing to fault in any of their doctrine or their good intentions, but reverent and sacred it was NOT. We were still glad we went. This building was added on to and turned into a Church after its former inactive, but LDS dwellers moved back to Utah. We had a few moments of nostalgia after the services as we drank their hot chocolate and had a piece of cake in the room where we used to home teach the original inhabitants!

We broke with tradition and had Christmas dinner the day AFTER Christmas. MUCH nicer. We had Jill's good "mamma tacos" Christmas evening and did the prime rib thing the NEXT day when Colleen and girls arrived and we were all less frenzied. Tasted mighty good!

May the sweet peace of this wonderful season stay with each of you. May your days be filled with gratitude for family and for the rich abundance of all that we enjoy... even in the face of economic crisis and strain. By and large ALL of us still have much more than the vast majority of the world's peoples and we can always find moments of giving and grace and gratitude if we will but seek them each day. MERRY CHRISTMAS !!

A HUGE SCARE; BUT ALL IS WELL

Most of you know that Becky and Charles delivered their second child, our first grandson, the day after Thanksgiving. Ethan Austin Graf is a sweet, calm little boy with dark eyes which promise to be brown (or very dark hazel). He perpetually has just the touch of a smile behind his lips - like he has a fun secret or is just glad to be here with you. Audrey adores him as you can see from the photo.

We had a pretty big scare last Friday night. Becky was trying to place him in the baby bjorn (a body carrier which they use when they all go out for a walk together) when somehow he pushed off with his legs at the wrong moment and fell backwards out of her arms. Unfortunately she was in their bathroom which has a concrete floor beneath the linoleum so he cracked his head pretty hard. She was able to grab at the sleeper he was in and break the fall just a little but it was not enough to protect the impact very much. The goose egg was huge and immediate. They rushed him to quick care at the bottom of the hill and from there to emergency. The hospital kept him overnite to continue to observe and watch for any possible brain swelling or bleeding. You can imagine the feelings of his parents as they waited to get test results. I immediately called the temple to get his name onto the prayer roll and phoned some close family members to add more faithful prayers on his behalf.

We are happy to report that even though he did, indeed, fracture the skull (from the tip of his head to just behind the ear) there appears to be no further problem. Both the neurologist and the pediatrician feel that all will be well and that there will be no problems down the road. We are grateful, so grateful, to hold him in our arms once again and look into his sweet little face. Words cannot describe our relief and gratitude that he will be OK.

The Austentatious Austins are at it again!

Didn't think Charles could top last year's outdoor light display...but he did! We don't have the tree forest inside though. I decorated a "modest" number this year - only three trees....though we have one or two more with just lights for atmosphere!