Visit with the Kids...

Wes, Cheryl and the girls got to go to Florida for the holidays. When they returned we got to spend an evening catching up and......

.......playing with the new Wii!

Stan is Coming...Stan is Coming...Stan is Coming..

Our other son is coming home for a holiday visit! Those who follow this blog know that over the years Pat and I have picked up a few other children who have lived with us in various stages of their lives. They now lead these amazing lives and every now and then we reconnect and "catch up!" Stan lives near Muscle Beach California and has apparently been spending his spare time working out.
Can't wait to see the NEW YOU, Stan!!!

Christmas at Bob and Claudia's is a Special Tradition

..........a warm welcoming cabin in the woods.....

.......special symbols of the past......

.......Bob's special "outdoor touch" on the turkey and bisquets........

........and a chance to kick back and reconnect!

I Just Love the Ambiance In Their "Cabin InThe Woods..."

I Took A Walk Away From The House and Up Toward Scout Camp

..........the Ampitheater brought back lots of memories of when Pat and I dated and Bob was involved in scouting....

Opening Gifts

..........a very special gift........

.......and lots of laughs! A good time was had by all!

Pat Decided WE Would Make Baby Beds For the Girls for Christmas...

........she drew up the plans......and with her degree in HDTV....guided construction....

....while I simply followed orders.........
The results are shown below..........

The Opening of the Beds!

.......sturdy enough for a good nap......now that's my kind of bed!

Christmas Day At The Weavers

Christmas Eve With Sam and Mel

....throught the use of Skype we were invited into the living room of Sam and Mel's apartment where we watched them open gifts we had sent. Here Eloise opens a present while a twinkling hatted Mel watches on in the background.....

....and of course a kiss through cybespace from Eloise.

Sam displays his new biking outfit and Mel her new sweater and socks!

Forty Years Ago The Most Amazing Thing Happened

I remember it as clearly as I remember the day Kennedy was assassinated. It was the end of a very bad year. Nineteen-sixty-eight saw the Tet offensive in Vietnam, the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, riots across the world and the My Lai massacre.

But on Christmas Eve, Americans turned on their TVs to see perhaps the first good news all year: Apollo 8 astronauts reading from the Book of Genesis as they became the first humans to orbit the moon. On the 9th orbit which occured on Christmas Eve evening you could see the crew in their orbiting capsule as they chose to follow the directions given to them by NASA preflight....."Do something appropriate...."

....and they did....

"And God said, Let there be light: and there was light," read Lunar Module Pilot William Anders.
His crewmates, Commander Frank Borman and Command Module Pilot Jim Lovell, followed with more verses. I remember tearing up as we heard those words and saw the earth from a whole new perspective. One tiny jewel in orbit in a vast expanse of the universe.....on the Eve of the celebration of Christ's birth on this place called earth.

Borman concluded the broadcast with these words. "Good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas — and God bless all of you, all of you on the good Earth." That is my greeting to those of you who have checked in on this blog throughout the year.

Merry Christmas from the blogging Weavers!

Today Grandpa Took The Girls To HIS AND GRANDMA'S Favorite Place....

.......Dawes Aboretum...... In spite of the 15 degree cold we made our way to the island......

........got a picture in front of the Winterberry.....

.............and treked across the bridge........to spend some quality time together.........

We Enjoyed The Island.....

........in spite of the cold stone seats.......

.........while Hailey "read" quite a story about a fisherman we saw here this summer from this little sign post.........

........and Alyssa just......well.......did what she does best........