Home Again!

I guess it's time for real life again isn't it?    Eight days on Maui was wonderful but now it's down to the wire for Christmas!

I'll try to post some more pictures of our trip tomorrow but for now I'm just passing through to let you know we made it home safely. 

Our flights were both late, (of course), so we didn't get home until after midnight.  Dennis had to be up at 5:00 a.m. to go to work so it was a short night for him.  I've been up and running since 6:00, laundry, sorting mail cuddling the dog.  Then it was errands. The post office, bank, grocery store, nursing home, drug store.  I'm finally home and it's almost time to think about cooking dinner.  Tomorrow should be a stay at home day to clean the house and bake a little.  The grandkids come on Friday so there's no time to waste.  We bought all of them a few things in Hawaii so there's more wrapping to do to!  Whew!  I'm tired just thinking of it.

Back tomorrow with more pictures. 

Blessings,

Betsy

Hawaii

Guess where I am this week?  One guess would probably be sufficient!  This is the view from the condo we're staying in.  Isn't it beautiful?  We're about 30 feet from the ocean!

 I thought this flower was absolutely stunning.  It was by the highway and I made Dennis stop so I could take a picture of it.  Flowers are absolutely everywhere!

These next two pictures were taken on the Road to Hana of Elvis Presley fame.  There are 617 curves and 67 bridges on this highway that is about 60 miles long.  The drive can be very scary at times but the views are worth all of the "white knuckle" driving.

We're having a wonderful time and have three more days here in Paradise before we have to return to the cold and snow in Spokane.  I'll see you all again next week!

Blessings,

Betsy



Some Pictures for You

Well, I've suddenly found myself with a few spare minutes.  I've packed all that I can, until I do the last minute laundry tomorrow, (you know, undies and such!).  Little "Miss E" is asleep right now too.  Very unusual.

My blog friend Teresa posted some pictures of some of her favorite ornaments the other day and I thought I would do the same.  I hope you enjoy them.  Most of the bloggers I read are such good photographers.  I am not.  My photos tend to be dark, blurry and cut off.  But, there it is, the best I can do!  :-)

This nativity scene is 47 years old.  It was given to me by my Sunday School teacher when I was 4 years old!  The wooden star behind it was made by my husband's cousin for us the year we moved across the country from them.  Each piece was hand cut and burned.  It makes the perfect backdrop for the nativity scene otherwise it tends to get lost in the tree.

This knitting basket was a gift from a friend last year.  Isn't it cute!  Knitting needles, yarn, buttons and thread.  Even a pincushion!

 This angel was made for me by Alex when he was 4 years old in 1992.  I cherish her.

 This angel was made for me by my son Jamie when he was 3.  He's now 28!  It has graced the top part of our tree for 25 years now.  It's one of my favorite ornaments.

Jamie also made me this pinecone and cardinal ornament in cub scouts.  It's about 9 inches tall without the ribbon!  Isn't it cute though?

 I bought 6 of these glass balls for our first Christmas 33 years ago.  We still have 4 which I think is doing very well since we've had 3 kids, many pets, grandchildren and a home daycare!

 This picture and the one below is of a sea shell angel a group of Japanese students gave me in 2003 when they stayed with us for the holidays.  They each wrote a message on the back.  Unfortunately without Alex I have no idea what the messages say!  I should have written it down in English when I was told what it said.

This is a little snowman "tree" that has each member of our family on it.  Dennis and I are at the top.  Jamie and his wife Crystal are middle left.  Mandy and Brad are middle right.  Bottom left are Caleb and Kyleigh our grandbabies and bottom right is Alex.  All alone.  I have more snowmen/ladies to add as more are added to our family.  I think it's cute and the grandbabies love to play with it when they're here.

As you can probably tell from these few pictures, I absolutely love angels.  I have several dozen of them around the house.  I love knowing that there are angels watching over each of us.
That's it!  If I can get the computer to work I'll try to post some vacation pictures while we're gone.  If I can't, I'll show you when I return.

ALOHA and have fun preparing for the holidays!

Blessings,

Betsy