Day Three Hundred Fifty Nine 2013

MERRY CHRISTMAS                    
from The Mabry Clan!

Sister Ann and brother in law Terry hosted our annual Mabry Family get together tonight. We enjoyed yummy food and had a great time playing Dirty Santa [although settling on the rules of the game maybe took longer than playing the game itself]. Those who could attend this year from left: brother in law Don, sister Jane, brother in law Terry, nephew Ian, nephew Chris, niece Evan, nephew in law Shaun, niece Sarah, son in law Kerry, grandson Knox, niece Julia, daughter Kelly, sister Ann and front row brother Ken, moi, and hubby Neil and streaming live on Face Time on the iPad granddaughter Shelby, grandson Elijah and daughter Holly. Thanks, Ann and Terry, for hosting our good time. Love my awesome family. So blessed to be able to be together again on Christmas day.  Merry Christmas!

Day Three Hundred Fifty Six 2013

Christmas - that magic blanket that wraps itself about us, that something so intangible that it is like a fragrance.  It may weave a spell of nostalgia.  Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer, but always it will be a day of remembrance - a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved.                                      ~Augusta E. Rundel



Hope you don’t mind seeing more pictures of Christmas tree ornaments. Our tree is just about the only decoration we have in the house this year. I never get tired of looking at it [well, until December 26, maybe] because I love the way the lights reflect on the ornaments. [That’s my gratuitous Christmas selfie wishing you a Merry Christmas.]

Day Three Hundred Fifty Four 2013

Christmas gift suggestions:  To your enemy, forgiveness.  To an opponent, tolerance.  To a friend, your heart.  To a customer, service.  To all, charity.  To every child, a good example.  To yourself, respect.                                                                                      
~Oren Arnold
Happy TGIF!

Day Three Hundred Fifty Two 2013

Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.                          
~Laura Ingalls Wilder

Day Three Hundred Forty Eight 2013

Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.
~Calvin Coolidge

Day Three Hundred Forty One 2013

Here Comes Santa Claus!

The Cookeville Depot Museum held their Christmas open house today. We took grandson Knox to visit with Santa Claus. Kelly gave him a pep talk last night, telling Knox what to expect, but he was still a bit intimidated by the man in red.

“What’s your name?” Santa asked.  “Knox,” he said, pointing to himself.

Knox was very brave and sat on Santa’s lap. He told Santa he wanted Thomas The Train for Christmas. He didn’t cry or get upset, but he only sat there long enough to snap a picture or two.

For a little boy who adores trains right now, Knox was thrilled to be at the depot. He literally squealed with delight when he saw this display case with his favorite Thomas The Train stuff inside.

Best of all was getting to watch the electric train travel the track around the replica of the Cookeville Depot.


Another train on a track circling the Christmas tree caught his eye. I think he could have watched these trains all day.

He got to visit one of Santa’s reindeer ~ Comet ~ who was having breakfast.

Knox had the best time ever at the train depot. Seeing Santa wasn’t so scary after all.

Day Three Hundred Sixty 2012

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE MABRY CLAN!

For centuries men have kept an appointment with Christmas. Christmas means fellowship, feasting, giving and receiving, a time of good cheer, home. ~W.J. Ronald Tucker
Those of us who could be together this evening enjoyed all these things—fellowship, a whole lot of feasting, giving and receiving (also known as ‘Dirty Santa’), and also a whole lot of good cheer, and home, too, as my sister Ann and her husband Terry open their home to all of us at Christmas. Thanks for hosting our holiday happy time together, Ann and T! As always, it was very merry and bright. I am so thankful to be blessed to be a part of this awesome family. Love to all of you. Merry Christmas!

Day Three Hundred Fifty Nine 2012

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE RANFT, MYERS, KIMBROUGH FAMILIES!

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.
~Burton Hillis
We had ourselves a merry little Christmas tonight!

Day Three Hundred Fifty Eight 2012

Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.
~Laura Ingalls Wilder

Day Three Hundred Fifty Seven 2012

Keep your Christmas-heart open all the year round. ~Jessica Archmint

Day Three Hundred Fifty Five 2012

Grandpeeps Shelby and Elijah are out of school for Christmas vacation (winter break for the politically correct). They were here today, amusing themselves watching America’s Funniest Home Videos, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Captain America on Netflix. Shelby was productive and made colorful braided bracelets out of embroidery floss for each holiday. So far, she’s made ten. They’re very pretty.

I was productive, too, and made some cranberry white chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. From scratch. They turned out pretty tasty. Blustery weather here all day—rain and wind and now it’s cold. The grandpeeps are hoping to see some snow. The ground is too warm for it to stick if it did snow, but I wouldn’t mind seeing a few snowflakes. (FYI: today is the last official day of Autumn, although people have been saying it's Winter since before turkey day)

Day Three Hundred Fifty Three 2012

Grandson Elijah looked everywhere for our crazed version of elf on the shelf this afternoon after school and could not find him anywhere—not even upstairs. And then his sister Shelby was surprised to find the elf lurking in the freezer, just waiting for little kids to open it up for a tasty frozen treat, which is usually the first thing Elijah does when he gets here after school each day. He was too freaked out just looking for the elf to even think about grabbing a Bomb Pop. The elf didn’t mind the freezing cold, by the way. After all, he lives at the North Pole. So now he’s moved on. Who knows where he’ll appear next. You better watch out!

Day Three Hundred Fifty 2012

Christmas time is here
Happiness and cheer
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of year
Snowflakes in the air
Carols everywhere
Olden times and ancient rhymes
Of love and dreams to share
Sleigh bells in the air
Beauty everywhere
Yuletide by the fireside
And joyful memories there
Christmas time is here
We'll be drawing near
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year...
~Vince Guaraldi  from ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’

Day Three Hundred Forty Five 2012

YOU BETTER BEHAVE! ELF ON THE SHELF IS WATCHING.

I think last Christmas was the first time I’d ever heard of The Elf On The Shelf. According to Wikipedia, once everyone goes to bed, the elf—which apparently sits on a shelf and spies on the kiddos all day long  (which supposedly encourages them to behave themselves so Santa will bring lots of presents)  flies back to the North Pole to report back to Santa about what activities, good and bad, took place throughout the day. Before the family wakes up each night, the scout elf flies back from the North Pole and hides. By hiding in a new spot each morning around the house, the scout elf and the family play an on-going game of hide and seek. The original story was created in the 1960s but these shelf elves have been around since the fifties. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elf_on_the_Shelf

Neil and I have had this kind of creepy and crazed looking elf for as long as I can remember, and Neil insists of dragging it out every Christmas. Last year, grandson Elijah noticed it, so Neil started moving it around when Elijah wasn’t looking. At one point during our family Christmas dinner, the elf ended up sitting right beside Elijah at the table. Needless to say, it freaked him out. But, as freaked out as he was, the first thing Elijah asked about when Christmastime rolled around again this year was the elf. He saw it sitting on the shelf after school this afternoon. And it freaked him out all over again. But he’ll be looking for it tomorrow. Who knows where it will be sitting next. Waiting. And watching.

Day Three Hundred Forty Four 2012

IT’S TIME TO DECORATE THE CHRISTMAS TREE!

Christmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind.
~Mary Ellen Chase

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Day Three Hundred Fifty Nine 2011

My family enjoyed our annual Christmas get-together this evening at my sister Ann's and her husband Terry's house. There were 21 peeps in attendance. We enjoyed a fabulous feast of turkey and ham with all the delicious trimmings. After dinner, we played a mean game of Dirty Santa which is always fun. And of course it's always a treat to get to visit with nieces and nephews we don't get to see very often. The picture here is of my 90 year old mother surrounded by her grandchildren and great grandchildren (with three missing in action this year). Ann and Terry are always gracious hosts. They know how to deck the halls. Christmas is everywhere in their home. Thanks, Ann and Terry for hosting again! What a blessing it is to be able to be together with loved ones on Christmas Day! Merry Christmas, everyone!

Day Three Hundred Fifty Eight 2011

We had ourselves a merry little Christmas. Wishing you a Merry Christmas, too! From the Ranft, Myers, and Kimbrough Families.

Day Three Hundred Fifty Seven 2011

"Christmas is a time of little time.
How we get there is a mystery.
Racing madly mall-to-mall, we climb
Into fields of sunlit harmony.
Shopping, cooking, clearing walks and yards,
Trimming house and tree while working, too;
Making phone calls, wrapping, writing cards,
As all worn out we do what we must do
So that this day of joy might joy renew."
- Nicholas Gordon
(Hubby Neil and I braved Wal-Mart today for some last-minute shopping, as did the rest of the free world--and this picture is the view from our parking space, seemingly in a galaxy far far away from the store. I think we finally got it together. My feet hurt.)

Day Three Hundred Fifty Four 2011

The Christmas party at my mom's assisted living home was a blast tonight. We were serenaded with holiday tunes by the karaoke guy, enjoyed ham and biscuits, hash brown casserole, green beans and cobbler for dessert, and Santa Claus dropped by to hand out gifts for the kids and the residents, including snow globes which always bring happiness and joy (right, Jane?) as you can see by the look on grandson Elijah's face. We had a great time together visiting my mom, who is never ready for the party to end.

Day Three Hundred Fifty Three 2011

"Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childhood days, recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth, and transport the traveler back to his own fireside and quiet home!"   
~~Charles Dickens