Dance like nobody's watching~

When you are 3 years old, everything is magical. Like Christmas trees, and lights, and ornaments, and mirrors.  We took our little granddaughter to Anthropologie to see the Christmas decorations there and this is what happened~

~in her own little world

she thought no one was watching~

(if you are reading this from an Apple mobile device,

the video won't load- that's just crazy!)

and then she found the Christmas tree~

Did I tell you that she is a Princess?

Oh yes, and--- a Diva.

Her Mommy made her little rag tag tutu,

which she insisted on wearing when we left the house-

along with her new cowboy boots.  

Oh, and she wanted to wear her tiera too --

but somehow we managed to get out of the house

without it!

~there's something so very special

about watching a child discover all that is

 Christmas

it's nice to have your Papaw

help you reach the really tall ones~

xoxo

Proof that she really IS a princess.

(Keri Beth and her baby sister Kadence.)

~

ALL of our babes

are growing and changing SO fast.

This past year has been a blur for me

and I've been remiss on my

"grandma" picture postings.

So just wait!

(lots more to come!)

~

My holiday wish for you all~

As this magical new holiday season begins,

I hope that you can all enjoy these special times

through the eyes of those you love,

 and appreciate the truest beauty

of the season. 

Love,

Vicki

ps~

To all of you who so kindly emailed me to say thanks for the photographs of your pink scarves, I think I have finally answered all of your beautiful emails.  Your words and thoughtfulness have meant so very much to me.  You know, I could start to get gushy here~~

A favor for a friend~

My friend Karen whose blog is Todolwen, has asked me to share some updates for her~~ while attempting to change the URL of her blog, she accidentally deleted it!  If you were a follower of Karen's blog and have noticed that she is gone -- you can now find her here at her new blog location!

AND finally~~

if you still have Christmas shopping to do~

(or maybe something special for Yourself!)

~

My latest design in something warm and snuggly.

(I've been knitting all summer long!)

~

coming up in my next post~

xoxo

Our Christmas Memories

Have Yourself a Merry little Christmas

let your hearts be light~~~

We gathered on Christmas Eve for our family celebration of feast and fun. My sister Denise is always the host for this reunion (she has the biggest house!) I've selected a few photos from our wonderful evening to share with you. Here is your chance to meet my family~~

My attempt to try and catch a Christmas photo with Miss Maddy girl and our little grand daughter Keri Beth. (have you ever tried to take a picture of two tornadoes?) Forty three snaps later and this is as good as it gets!

Our Maddy girl in her new Christmas frock~~

She came running and met me at the door saying, " Oh Aunt "Bicky" - it's Christmas!!"

When Keri Beth learns to say Papaw - this guy is done for!

(she has a little boo-boo on her head - she is learning to roll over - but not when to stop. She crashed into the entertainment center at her house!)

Maddy said, "I want to hold her - I want to hold baby Keri Beth.) Right after we took this picture the baby flopped over on the couch! (the Family Circus has got nothin' on us!)

Keri Beth's Mommy and Daddy. Maddy girl wanted to be in the picture too!

We are all smiles with our baby~~

Off come the Christmas dresses~~ Maddy is sporting her new Rudolph outfit~ Keri Beth is sporting the latest in birthday suit finery!

Check out those bell bottom pants!

Don't you love giving gift cards!! (Poor Rob - last year he got several gift cards that somehow did not get activated! We make a practice of always giving the receipt with gift cards from now on! It's become the family joke~~)

This gb bought little Keri Beth her first Vera Bradley purse! (in case you forgot - gb stands for granny boster (but we aren't going there!) - so it's gb - little g, little b. gb) There will be a test later~~

~~ and I bought Miss Maddy girl her first Vera purse too - and this little kitty cat purse!

Maddy got lots of toys (of course) but her favorite thing - this Thomas the Train picture story book! Go figure~~

Maddy LOVES books and will sit and "read" the stories out loud over and over again! (she is almost 2 years old!)

Cute - huh?

Meet Kenzy - the three year old granddaughter of my sister Belinda.

Belinda and her husband Woody open their gifts~~ (Maddy is still "reading"!)

Kenzy joins in to help~

Kenzy has a new baby brother - Braxton. He is 4 months old. (what a cutie!)

Who has the biggest smile here? (he is the best little baby~~)

We take time out for Maddy Girl to help Keri Beth with her first giveaway drawing~~

~~~ and the winner of the Vera Bradley purse is sweet, sweet Erin from The Painted Garden. You must go meet Erin and her studio assistant Bentley (the dog) - Erin paints fabulous pictures using inspirations from her beautiful home. I love my visits to Erin's blog - she is immensely talented and her blog is a place of pure delight. I know she will welcome your visit and you will LOVE meeting her and Bentley! Congratulations dear Erin!

now - back to Christmas~~ the Gardener got a fancy underwater camera from me. (feeling pretty smug about that purchase, I am!)

but what he loved the MOST - was the bright orange "life preserver" strap for the camera! Hilarious!

(I need to clarify - the Gardener and I don't buy Christmas gifts for each other (we consider our travels as our gifts to each other) - BUT his BIRTHDAY is on the 28th. So I gave it to him early~~

Maddy girl helped her Auntie "Bicky" open my Christmas gifts.

She is all about the unwrapping - that's for sure!

Looks like a Vera Bradley box!


A new ornament to add to my collection. (I have 3 so far - so not sure if that counts as a collection or not!)

Denise - my youngest sister. There are three of us and there is not a year between any of us (yeah - you do the math!~~)

Denise is Miss Maddy girls' "Meme."

Wonder who bought this purse with lots of bling and seashells for their sister?
Maddy's pretty Mommy. Treva (we call her TJ) is a nurse just like her Aunt Vicki - we are so proud of her!

Maddy's sweet Daddy - holding the favorite book that our friend Mary gave to both Maddy and Keri Beth.

THE family portrait - me (the oldest), Belinda (the middle sister) (in the back) and Denise (the youngest sister) in the front with me.

and THE other family portrait ~~

Happy Holidays from the Gardener and me to all of you. Thank you for being here for me throughout this past year. Your sweet comments have brought tears to my eyes and also made me smile and laugh. Your friendships mean the world to me. Corny as it may sound - I love you all~~

Vicki