"It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas"....

Not really, on the outside the leaves are all brown or have fallen onto the ground. But, inside the school kids have been given their parts for the program and Sara brought the music to me today for the them to begin listening to. This afternoon we really enjoyed listening to Squire Jr. sing some beautiful Christmas songs on the cd that she made us. Some of the parents are already shopping, and Geary and I purchased the materials to make presents for Jacob and Caleb...I'm not even giving them a hint. I have already started handcrafting presents for the rest of the family, Miranda and I had the same ideas and are working together on stuff. A quick trip to the dollar stores in the area find them full of decorations, and some really cute (cheap) trees. I'm not sure if we will do a tree this year or not.
We decided to celebrate with the grandkids on Christmas, but wait until Chris and Ben get home to celebrate with the adults in the family. It won't be Christmas until they get home anyway, and I know that we really won't be in the spirit until they are home with us.
Friday evening some of us went to hear Trans-Siberian Orchestra....ok, now, I've done it, and probably never again..but I do want their Christmas DVD. I think the music will be so much better when I can control the volume. I sort of described the concert as "orchestra meets heavy metal; the real story of Christmas and rock dancers...."
Christopher called on his birthday, and I don't know about him, but it made it very special for me. The longer the boys are away the more i realize how precious our family is. I can't wait until they get home and we can share their lives again. God has been so very merciful to our family, and I think this experience has helped us to love each other more and more. Miranda has blessed us very much with beautiful, wonderful, (yes I am prejudiced) grandchildren and it has been such a blessing to see how much she loves and misses her brothers.
On a lighter note, thought I would share some summertime pics of Geary and I in Florida. We had a good time visiting mom and Mel, and really enjoyed the beaches. We had our first taste of alligator meat, yes, it does taste like chicken, and got to drive and park on the beach.