9 foot 2 with Eyes of Blue

Who is 9 foot 2 with eyes of blue?

If you wander over to Spencer's house, you will know as soon as you see the front yard. Spencer and Rick decided to make an eight foot snow man. He ended up a ---little taller. If you will look close you can see his visor with his head sticking through. They had to get on a ladder to measure him. Rick said the sun on New Years day helped in the 'lean' of Mr. Snowman. Tom and I had to laugh when we drove up and saw the leaning snowman.

Here is Spencer with Mr. Snowman. Spencer is 5' 8". As you can tell, Mr. Snowman is a bit taller than he is. It is such joy to see what our kids do as a family. I am sure Spencer and Rick had a good time as father and son making the snowman. It warms my heart to know they are creating memories. Jennifer and Malia watched as the snowman was being constructed. They made a trip outside to give their approval.

It will be interesting to see just how long, with the sun shining down on Mr. Snowman, he will be standing. Good Luck Mr. Snowman.

Mahan Manor

Christmas at the Mahan Manor

Christmas was a little delayed this year at our house. We always have to work around schedules. We celebrated Christmas at our house in the usual way....lots of laughter, fun with the kids and opening of gifts.

Santa and his helper this year were Spencer D. and Sir Luke

Malia does not seem to want Luke to play with the Christmas gift he got. She seems to be winning!

Another reindeer and a Santa appear to be enjoying the festivities (Alex and Lauren)
Would you believe this is normal at our house........ !
'Santa' is really enjoying the unwrapping of the gifts. He is a right jolly ole Elf !

Malia was lots of fun to watch this year. Luke was hilarious with his antics.

The magic of Christmas through the eyes of a child is wonderful to watch. We must keep the real reason for Christmas close to our hearts.
God's gift to us, His Son Jesus!

Meaning and Traditions

Christmas 2009

Christmas is a day of meaning and traditions, a special day spent in the warm circle of family and friends." ~ Margaret Thatcher (1925- ), English political leader

We were so blessed this Christmas to have all of the family together at Mom and Dad's. Our size is beginning to outgrow their house. We have 37 of us in basically two rooms. Sometimes it sounds like a football game with everyone talking and little kids playing and making noise. Mom and Dad enjoy it while we are there, and really enjoy it when we all leave. Traditions being passed on from one generation to another. We truly enjoyed being able to have our traditional family Christmas this year.

Mom and Dad (aka: Santa and Mrs. Claus) they are always willing to have fun

Jack showing off his 'football' skills. Dad (Derek) seems to be very proud of his talent

This is what chaos looks like . . . watch where you step !

Thanks Mom and Dad for showing us how important it is to have traditions. We are so thankful that we have parents like you. May God's blessings be with you in the following years.

Topsy Turvy Two

H aaaaaappyyyyyyy

B irrrrtthhhddddaaaaaaaayyyyyyy!

(think of Frosty the Snowman)

Malia celebrated her second birthday with her family. She was the Belle of the Birthday Party. She wore her beautiful blue dress that was cinched at the waist with some bright shiny bobbles and wore black shoes to complete the ensemble.

Birthday girl with Daddy before the celebration begins.

Waiting for the gifts

"I thought the Ruby Slippers belonged to Dorothy !"

"Daddy, Did Mommy mean for my cake to look like this?"

*(Jennifer created the cake from a photo...looks just like it. Great job Jen)

She huffed and she puffed and she . . .

and blew the candles out . . .

Happy Birthday Malia Jo Lu!

Luke's Time to Shine

Lukes Christmas Program

Luke is in Noah's Ark preschool. He loves going. He is in the three day class.

The Christmas program was a week delayed because of weather. That time of year! The programs are so much fun to watch. They always seem to have that one little kid that makes everyone laugh. It always reminds me of the movie Prancer. In the movie the little girl sings louder than all the other children. I love when that one child enjoys the singing so much they can't seem to control themselves.

Luke is just behind the girl with the red dress with her hands held up. Luke has on a plaid shirt.

Kyle, Amanda, Lauren and Luke, Cassidy

Nice Round Numbers

Happy Birthday to our dear friend Sharon.

The number is a secret (notice the hat!). It was a surprise party organized by a couple of her very close friends. We had all that you needed for a party. Guest, cake, gifts and music. One special song was dedicated to the birthday girl by her Father. How wonderful to have a Dad that has such a beautiful voice. The Karaoke machine provided lots of songs for everyone to enjoy along with some fun. Loved your song Zach! How wonderful is it so celebrate with family and friends.

Happy Birthday Sharon

Sharon and Don

Tom having fun with the "Birthday Girl"

THANKS giving

thanksgiving: n - An act of giving thanks; an expression of gratitude, especially to God

While many families came together for the Thanksgiving holiday, we did so too. We are extremely thankful that Dad was well enough to enjoy the holiday. There are 37 of us. We attempt to squeeze all of us into Mom and Dad's house. Well first we had to squeeze all of the cars carrying the people into their driveway.

It gets very loud with 16 great grandchildren making noise. Mom and Dad's grandkids can get boisterous. The noise level can be deafening. Here is Dad playing with Matthew. Notice the shenaigans going on in the background. What is that all about?
When we just can't take the noise, running, yelling, laughing, jumping any more we shift the great grandkids off to Mother's sewing room. We realize that we are in need of a little larger place. Wonder if Mom and Dad will consider adding on to their house?
Food is always in abundance. So much that we are quite quiet after the meal. A real contrast to what goes on before hand.
There are always some people who can't seem to resist over doing it. Amanda and Jennifer don't know what to do with these two !
Here is Grandma's little beaded beauty. Malia is learning the flow of how all the kids play. She is a little independent, doing her own thing. Grandma thinks she is a doll baby !
Matthew is always good for a cute photo and a good laugh.

As I stated we were so THANKFUL Dad was able to enjoy the day. We are all so fortunate to have both Mom and Dad. We love you both so very much.
I took photos of the families with Mom and Dad. I love taking pictures. I can't really take credit for this one, since I am in it. I did direct how to do it, does that count? Tom and me with Mom and Dad.
Just a little addition to this post. Malia came over to Grammy's for a visit recently. Stephanie rarely gets to play or see her much. She came down and I got photos of them playing. I think Stephanie had more fun than Malia.

Malia playing peek a boo

Hoping you and your family enjoyed the love that you can share.

Halloween Weirdness

Happy Halloween . . . .

I hope the Ghosties and Goblins didn't eat all of your candy or play too many tricks on you.

Our family usually goes all out for Halloween. The grandkids dress up, the kids dress up, as well as Tom and myself. Everyone meets at the end of the evening at our house for the 'unveiling'. My Dad has not been in good health recently. With many visits to the Emergency Room and hospital admissions, we opted for just the wee little ones dressing up for Halloween. This time last year we were in China getting our youngest granddaughter, so we missed Halloween and the Annual Pumpkin Patch trip. Below are the photos of the scary people that paid our house a visit.

Kaleb

Sammy, Mallory and Abby

Our grandkids. . . Luke and Malia

our newest . . um . . granddog (?) Snickers

Spencer, Rick, Malia and Jennifer

Kyle, Luke and Amanda

Now . . . . I have seen some funny things in hospitals, but this one really takes the cake. Because my Dad was not allowed out of bed by himself, he was required to wear canary yellow socks and use a blanket of the same color. At IU Medical Center everything is color coded. People wear different colors dependent on their jobs and positions. Even the doctors wear different lengths of coats to refer to their position ! It was quite the education for us. Dad was released and is home again. We are anxiously waiting for him to regain some of his strength.