Christmas

Christmas this year was (so far) fairly quiet. Christmas Eve we all went to the Christmas Eve service at church then came back to the house to open presents. What a wonderful thing to have all the family together!

Alethia started opening her presents first. She clearly wasn't as interested in the presents as the paper. She seems to have a thing for wrapping paper (or any paper for that matter) - she wants to eat it.



The boys seemed to like their presents. They modelled them for us.

Patrick and Brianne got some presents for BT (Baby Tonker). It is rather difficult to buy unisex clothes for babies, but the zebra outfit is very cute!



We are very blessed to have such a wonderful family. God has indeed been good to us.

We will be celebrating Christmas again this weekend with Byron's family in Pennsylvania. People will be coming from Arizona, North Carolina, New York and the Middle East. It will not be quiet, but it will be fun.

Growing Up

Alethia Grace is 6 months old today.

Watching her grow and change is a wonderful thing, but it is happening so quickly! And check out those Converse All Stars. They are not exactly like Grandpa's, but pink suits Alethia better than black.

Christmas Blessings

I was surprised tonight by my quiz team. They came to our home singing Christmas carols and brought this beautiful gingerbread house. What a Christmas treat!

Food, Glorious Food

It has been a great frustration to me that Alethia will not take a bottle from me. She doesn't like a bottle much at all, but has taken them from both her father and grandfather. For me, she just gets madder and madder (yes, she has a baby temper) and ends up crying which in turn has me crying. Not a pretty picture.

All that has changed!! Alethia was introduced to applesauce this week. These pictures were taken when Dave and Danielle were acquainting her with the new taste treat on Monday night. On Tuesday (my regular babysitting day) Danielle left applesauce and a bottle for me. WE DID GREAT!! She likes to take her applesauce from Grandma. Today I babysat again while Danielle went to a seminar on writing grants. Alethia ate a whole container of applesauce, then settled in for a nap. Tomorrow night Dave and Danielle will be going to a Christmas party and Grandpa and Grandma may be introducing Alethia to pears. I love it - it makes babysitting so much easier for me!

Alethia's First Snow

While we were in Iowa, Alethia experienced her first snow. It was a beautiful time in a beautiful place.

Giving Thanks

This past week has been one of many thanks. We spent time in Iowa with my family.

On Tuesday, Lori and Mom gave a shower for Brianne.

By Thanksgiving day, we were all together for the first time in two years with the new addition of Alethia.

Byron's niece, Lindsey, was also able to join us since it was a bit far to get home from Maranatha Baptist Bible College.

We are all home now with the exception of Lindsey who is on her way back to college. She will be going home in mid-December before coming back east to spend time with the Leas family.

Plans

Sometimes when we make plans, something changes those plans for us. For us this week, it was Grandfather's health. He is in the hospital with congestive heart failure. His heart is functioning at about a third of normal capacity. The good news is he was aware of changes in his activity level and got to the doctor before any permanent damage was done to his lungs where fluid was beginning to accumulate. The doctor seems to think it can be handled with medication, not surgery. God is so good!

We took some time today to make a quick trip to see Alethia (and Danielle and Dave).

She is really growing fast. I took a couple of pictures to share. Hope you enjoy.

Halloween

Last year, shortly after we found out we would have a grandchild this year, we were outlet shopping. We found a Halloween costume just the right size for baby-to-be and brought it home with us. Dave and Danielle took Alethia to Awanas on Wednesday evening in the costume. While I don't think she looks much like a cow, I hear she was a hit.

(She thought her "hooves" were very funny.)

At the Beach

After a week at home, I have finally pulled all the pictures of our vacation from my camera. These are of the Brown family at the beach. Hard to believe from these pictures that Alethia is still three days short of 4 months old.

Back from the Beach

We had a great time at the beach! God blessed us with beautiful weather and time with all the kids.

On our way home we went by White Lake, NC. We were there in May to watch Brianne participate in her first Sprint Triathlon. It consisted of a 750 yard swim, a 14 mile bike ride and a 5K run (about 3.5 miles). She finished first in her group in the swim, but didn't do as well in the bike or run. It was very interesting and I think she may do it again sometime.

At the Beach Part II

Danielle and Dave got Alethia ready for her first day at the pool. I think she makes a quite a bathing beauty.

She seems to like the pool, but then, for the most part, she is a very agreeable baby.

At the Beach Part I

Our first night at the beach, the boys decided they would like a picture of their women set against the background of a beautiful sunset.

Babysitting

Today I babysat my granddaughter. Alethia has come to understand what it means when Grandma gets out the camera. She doesn't like it and I think this picture says it all. As soon as I put the camera away, she started smiling.

My first blog!

This is my first blog. I hope to continue regularly. We will see.