The Best Part of Our Christmas!

Although we had a great Christmas at Colonial Williamsburg, I thought that I would list my top three favorite parts of Christmas 2008.

1) Kaitlyn's music program - Jason and Lacey invited us to go to Kaitlyn's first grade music program before Christmas. It was one of our favorite parts of Christmas. It was so fun to hear and see all the little songs. Children make Christmas special. The best part was being able to hear and see Kaitlyn sing. She did great!

2) Being able to talk to all of our children on Christmas day. Thank goodness for cell phones. We loved hearing that they were all having a wonderful Christmas with their in-laws and extended families. What a blessing to know that they each have great and loving in-law families.

3) The third best part of Christmas was being able to see Eric and Joy when we got back from Williamsburg and being able to go to the temple with them and the Kaisers. Being with family is the best part of the holidays. We were grateful for the opportunity that we had to share the holidays and Colonial Williamsburg with Margie.

Christmas in Colonial Williamsburg

Since it was our children's year to spend Christmas with in-laws, we decided to find some place to go that would be fun. Ranae had seen an ad for Colonial Williamsburg and the Colonial Christmas they have there. It sounded like an adventure. Well, after having been there, we must say that it was wonderful. We had a timeshare condo about two miles from Colonial Williamsburg and invited Margie (Ranae's sister) to join us. There was a lot of music concerts to attend and events to see. We even sang Christmas carols around the Community Christmas tree. We know you don't want to hear our travel itinary so we will just show some pics (I only wish I had got a
good picture of the Fife and Drummers but the night time pics didn't turn out very well).


The USS Wisconsin

We stopped at the Norfolk Naval Museum when we flew in and went on board the USS Wisconsin battleship. This ship was used in Desert Storm and is on reserve. It was huge-holds 3,000 military personnel.

Colonial Williamsburg

Typical street scene from Colonial Williamsburg.

Everything is decorated with natural items-no electric lights just candles in the windows.

The British Redcoats before doing a reinactment.




In the Market Street area.

Margie and Ranae with one of the patriot guides.




The Governor's Palace


British governor's lived here until after the Revolutionary War and then others such as Thomas Jefferson lived here. We went to a candlelight concert here Christmas night and one in the Capital Building. They were concerts played on harpsicords, flutes, fifes and violins.

Entering the Governor's Palace for the evening candlelight concert.

Jamestown Settlement and Historic Park

Jamestown was the first English settlement in America. The historic area had the actual remains of the church built by settlers. The settlement and ships pictured below were recreated to show what it was like.

Agecroft Hall
We went to Richmond to see Agecroft Hall - a manor dismantled in England and brought over in ships in 1925 to be rebuilt along the James River. The uniqueness of Agecroft is that it was originally owned in 1300 by the Prestwich family (Ranae's ancestors).

Yorktown
This is where the last Revolutionary war was fought.


We missed having our children and their families with us at Christmas time but did enjoy having Margie with us and being able to enjoy a Christmas where it was centered on Christ, the simple things in life, and the freedoms we enjoy.

Happy Birthday, Kaitlyn!

Today is our granddaughter, Kaitlyn's 7th birthday. What a beautiful, bright and smart granddaughter! She has brought alot of happiness to Grandpa and Grandma with her "I love yous!" and her special ways of saying "Hi!". We love her very much and hope she has a great day.

I am Thankful for....

Thanksgiving gives us time to ponder on what is important in our lives and what we are thankful for. I am so thankful for my family. To me nothing in life is more important than family.

I am so thankful for my eternal companion, Rick, for the thirty-three years we have been together, for his patience, love, his hard work ethic and even his great humor! He is my best friend!

I am thankful for our children: Jason, Matthew, Stephanie and Eric. Even though they are grown they are the most important blessings in my life and have brought me more happiness than I could ever imagine. We love you!

I am thankful for each of their spouses: Lacey, Katie, Brett and Joy. I am so thankful that their parents raised such caring and loving children. They have been a blessing in our family and I want each of them to especially know that Rick and I love and care for them very deeply.

I am thankful for our eight grandchildren and the little spirit to arrive in June. They give Rick and I a reason to life. Each one is so precious and a blessing from Heavenly Father. I now know why they say that grandchildren are god's gift for raising our own children.


Lastly, I am thankful for my own parents and siblings. I never knew my father and someday I look forward to being able to get to know him. What a wonderful plan we have been given, that we may each have a family here on earth and be sealed together forever. Nothing in life means more to me. Family is the essense of our life here.

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving at Matthew's home in Colorado. We had so much fun. Eric, Joy, Stephanie and her boys came, also. We missed Jason, Lacey and their family and Brett and wished they could have been there. We hadn't seen Stephanie, Noah and Cooper since July. The boys have grown so much. It was fun to see Cooper walking and Noah talking so much. Matthew and Katie's little ones (Carter and Keegan) have also changed so much. They just love to smile and coo and be talked to. We are so excited for Eric and Joy and their little spirit that will be arriving in June. We waited until Friday to have Thanksgiving dinner. It was great! The turkey was cooked in a big electric roaster and was very moist (loved it, Matthew). We watched the Nebraska-Colorado game on Friday! (Yes, there was a little excited cheering going on from Eric and Joy!) The girls (Stephanie, Katie, Joy and myself) went to Twilight the movie and left the guys home to babysit. Great movie and fun time being with just the girls. The guys had their time on Saturday- they went to an Avalanche game! Eric has waited for a belated Eagle Scout gift from Mom and Dad for eight years-a long time in coming! They had a great time. My sister-in-law, Gail, my neices Jami and Jennifer, their husbands and kids, and my nephew, Brady, came up on Saturday. Brady, Chad and Nathan went to the game with our guys. The girls and kids went out to dinner and then to the outlet mall. I must say that it was a busy fun-filled time. We loved it all except for the drive home. We didn't leave until 3:30 on Sunday afternoon and ended up in a snowstorm between Denver and Colorado Springs. It took us 3 1/2 hours to go forty miles. So by 7:00 p.m., we pulled over and stayed at a motel at the outlet mall by Denver and waited until Monday to drive the rest of the way home. I'm starting to think Denver and I don't mix...I keep getting stuck there overnight!

Here are some of the pics I took of our Thanksgiving weekend:

Matthew and Keegan Carter

Watching the Nebraska Game!

Saturday extended family get together!

Cooper and his binky with Eric

Noah in thought!

Grandpa and Cooper

Colorado winter-Monday south of Denver

My Gingerbread Lighthouse

I decided to do a gingerbread house for the Mormon Trail Center this year. The theme is Christmas Around the World. At first, I was going to do some little houses but that didn't work out. I then came up with the idea to do a lighthouse. I have decorated a little house before but the gingerbread was already made and in the shape of a house. This time I made the gingerbread. Quite the experience. Rick told me after I had the walls up of the lighthouse (no frosting on it yet) that it looked like the Tower of Babel. I was a little concerned but I must say it didn't turn out too bad.

A Military Flashback!

A couple of days ago, Rick had made the bed and I was giving him a bad time about not standing the pillows more upright. Well, I walked out of the room and when I walked back in Rick says, "They're standing at attention!" I looked over and this is what I saw........

It made me smile all day thinking about the pillows at attention!!! I just love my hubby's sense of humor.

Fall Colors

Looking out across the street from our house.

It is great to see the changing of colors. Sometimes winter hits before the leaves can change their color. Nebraska is seeing alot of color this fall. (I don't think the blog does justice to the color, though). The colors are really vivid.

Nebraska City

Nebraska City Lied Lodge Walk

Happy Birthday, Katie!

Today is Katie, our daughter-in-laws, birthday. Her and Matthew have been married for five years. We were so thrilled for them that they had two little boys this year. Katie is a great daughter-in-law and a wonderful wife to our son. She is becoming such a great mom. I know her boys will love her very much. We want to wish you Happy Birthday from Rick and Ranae.

We love you!

Ouch, Ouch, Ouch!!!

Okay, I'm going to complain! I have about had it this past week with bunion and shingle pain! Trying to buy and break in new shoes so my bunions don't hurt is getting nearly impossible (guess it is time for the surgery to fix that problem). In the last three weeks, I have bought and returned 6 pairs of shoes because once I get home and walk around on the carpet with them, my bunions start hurting. I can't keep wearing sandals during the winter but sure wish I could. Then along comes the shingle pain again. I have been plagued every two weeks or so with redness and pain in the area above my eye where I had shingles this summer. It gives me a migrane like headache and lasts for two to three days. It also makes my eye water. Yesterday at church it was really hurting so after sacrament meeting Rick and I came home. Unfortunately, there isn't much you can do with the pain. It can affect the nerves up to a year after the shingles. :) Okay, now I feel better-I complained!

Time Out For Women!

What a great event! I've always wanted to go to a "Time Out for Women" and finally was able to go to one. It was wonderful and so happened to be on my birthday! A couple of friends and I decided to stay at the Hilton. We got all of these extra benefits (a suite, executive lounge with appetizers and breakfast) because one friend's daughter works there at the front desk. The speakers and musicians at the Time Out were fantastic! I loved Mary Ellen Edmunds presentation. She has a great sense of humor. She talk about things that interfere with peace in our life and that through the Holy Ghost we can be taught to do things to be peacemakers if we listen to him and act upon it. We were reminded that God loves us because of who we are not what we are. We also got to hear Kenneth Cope, Cherie Call and Jenny Oakes Baker perform. I was really grateful that I was able to go and hope to be able to go again sometime.

Happy Birthday to Brett!

Brett has a special place in our family! He will always be the only brother-in-law! He has made his place though with the brothers in the family and is loved by them all. He is also a great son-in-law and we are so grateful for the wonderful husband he is to Stephanie and father to their two little boys. We love you, Brett!

Happy Birthday Stephanie!

It's hard to explain in words what your grown children mean to you but they hold such tender spots in your heart. You watch them from the time they are put in your arms, take those first steps, talk, go through school, leave home for college to be on their own, become adults, get married and have their own families. You look at them with such awe and gratefulness for all the choices they have made and the person they have become. Stephanie, we are so glad that you are the wonderful person and daughter that you have become. Thank you for being a part of our lives. We love you very much! Hope you have a great birthday!

Stephanie's 1st Birthday!

Second Birthday

We must have loved Strawberry Shortcake-birthday dress and both second and third birthday cakes are -Strawberry Shortcake! Wasn't Stephanie the cutest little girl!

A Good Quote to Ponder

I found this quote while reading the book, In Search of Eden, by Linda Nichols. I thought it was a good quote to ponder.

"If you are looking for the perfect place or the perfect person or the perfect life, you'll miss the good while looking for the perfect!"

Hockey Mom, UNO Mavericks and Sarah Palin!!!

Sarah Palin came to Omaha today! We decided to go and hear her speak at the civic center. Well, after waiting in line outside for an hour and half to go through security, we got inside only to find that we ended up in the overflow room with a big screen tv. To our surprise, Palin was brought into the overflow room first and spoke to us before going into the arena. Since she is known as a hockey mom (I can identify with that having been one), a maverick and was speaking in the UNO Maverick hockey arena, she was given (what else) a UNO Maverick hockey shirt. Anyway, great speech and an interesting time for us (especially for Rick who made the comment that he doesn't get into the clapping and chanting stuff that goes on at political speech events).

What a long line!!!

Pictures of Omaha skyline-bored waiting in line!

Unfortunately, I didn't get a good picture of Palin. This is when she first got there.

Our pocket stickers