TY'S LAST MEET THIS YEAR

 On Tuesday night we traveled to Homestead to see Ty, our oldest grandson, in his last meet of the season.  He was in a lower weight last year and has just jumped up this year!  He was going against someone who was in the 192 weight class.  Ty is in the 170 class, but was able to compete against someone much heavier than he is.  The exciting news is: HE WON!!!  We were amazed at how he could do the moves he did to someone so much heavier.  Great job, Ty.  Looking forward to another great season next year!

GRANDMA GETS READY TO RETIRE

Yes, it's true! All three of us signed the paper with the intent to retire at the end of the year. Can you tell we are happy about it?

Here I am signing on the bottome line. I don't know what is next, but it has to mean more time to spend with the grandkids!

That night Todd, Beth and Graham took us out to Italian Grill to celebrate my signing!  Graham says, "Yeah, my grandma is retiring!  More time to spend with ME!!!"

WINDOW MESSAGES

One of the activities we did for our Christmas celebration was to write messages on the patio windows. We did this with

Glass Crayons by Crayola.

Some wrote about memories of past Christmases

Some wrote funny things.

Some made artistic designs. But everyone had a great time leaving messages to Grandma and Grandpa. I am so glad I was able to capture these messages in pictures, because it was really hard to wash them off when the holidays were over!   This was so much fun, that I think we will do it for many celebrations to come!!

Grandma's Recipe

Thinking of MY grandma, Anna Parkison. My thinking went to her cooking. She used to make the most wonderful Red Velvet Cake. She told the story that the recipe was a secret. Someone in her family, I can't remember who, was given the recipe by the cook who worked at the Waldorf Astoria. this relative was sworn to secrecy, but made the cake and gave the recipe to my grandmother. Who knows if that is true, but here's the recipe. And the cake is awesome!

Red Cake from Grandma Parkison
3 tsp cocoa
1/2 oz red cake coloring
1/2 cup crisco--cream with 1 1/2 cup sugar
Add 2 eggs, one at a time--beat after each one
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour, add alternately with 1 cup buttermilk--Mix tsp of soda with tbs of vinegar while foaming--
Add to cake mixture
Bake 350 degrees. 30 - 35 mins

Basketball Game!

Last night we hurried home and got Dave, the dog, settled and then took off for Garrett.  Our destination was to watch Kiann's 7th grade team play basketball.  We got to the gym and climbed the stairs to sit with Todd, Beth and Graham.  When we got there Graham was standing watching the game while doing a little dance.

We were in time for the first half of the game.  We watched, talked and played with Graham.  Since the team they were playing was Hamilton, I looked around to see if I knew anyone from there.  Sure enough I spotted someone I had worked with and a parent of one of Todd's classmates.  I sat by her for awhile and caught up on her family.  She had a grandson playing, too.  However, he was playing for Garrett and was one of Kiann's teammates!

After the game, which Garrett won, Kiann changed and came out to talk to all of us.  He had to go over some of his great plays and we had to tell him what a good job his team had done.  Then we were ready to take off.  Beth looked over at Kiann and said, "Tell Grandma and Grandpa thanks for coming to see your game." 

Kiann then came up to me, gave me a big hug and said, "Thanks, Grandma." 

Then he went up to Grandpa, gave him a big hug and said, "Thanks, Grandpa."

Boy, for a 13 year old to give his grandparents hugs, we felt very special and very proud of Kiann!!!

Christmas Breakfast

                                            

This year our celebration took place in the morning so we had a Christmas brunch instead of our usual lunch.  It was fun to come up with a new menu and new recipes to try.  Everyone was great about bringing in dishes to share, too. 

Our menu consisted of:

•  Breakfast Pizza
• Egg Casserole
• French Toast Casserole
• Ham
• Bacon
• Fruit
• Bagels
• Fruit Pizza
• Banana Bread
• Cinamon Cake
• Pumpkin Bread
• all kinds of juices

One of the new things I made was the Breakfast Pizza.  No one seemed to ever hear of it before.  It was a big hit.  I got the recipe from Cooks.com.  I am going to share it here on the blog so others can use it, too.

Breakfast Pizza

1 lb. bulk sausage

1 (8 oz) pkg. refrigerator crescent rolls

1 c. frozen loose package hash brown potatoes

1 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese (4 oz)

5 eggs

1/4 c. milk

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese

Cook sausage until browned; drain.  Separate rools, place on ungreased 12 in pizza pan. Press over bottom and sides. Spoon on sausage, sprinkle over this the thawed potatoes. Top with cheddar cheese. Beat egg, milk, salt, and pepper.  Pour over all. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

 

 

Christmas Traditions

Kiann reading his book

 Shelby and Emma opening their look alike pajamas.            
 Ty & Lane got sweat pants with their books.


One of the things that this grandma always does is to give a book for Christmas to every grandchild.  Bet that doesn't surprise you, does it?

This year since we had our celebration on Christmas Eve morning, I decided to add to that book a pair of pajamas!  That way they could wear the pajamas and start reading their book on Christmas Eve while waiting for Santa.

Some of the older boys have even started adding the book they want to their Christmas lists.  This year 16-year old Ty wanted Hunger Games.  The 13-year olds: Lane and Kiann, both wanted the latest copy of Diary of a Whimpy Kid.  The little ones each got a board book. Audrey and Mallory, Meron and Bam got Mr. Mosquito Put on His Tuxedo because grandma is mentioned in the acknowledgements. (Adrian and Graham already have that book.) 

Promoting reading is one of the best things a grandma can do!  Make a reason to share a book any time you get the chance!

Another Christmas Story

On Christmas Eve morning, Grandpa drove to Fort Wayne to pick up Emma and Adrian.  Andy still lives in Arizona and did not come home for Christmas.  We were so excited to have Emma and Adrian with us this year.  While they were driving back to our house, I was cooking and getting ready for everyone to arrive.

As soon as they entered the door and gave me a big hug, their question was: "When can we open the presents?"

I assured them that opening presents was on the agenda.  First we had to eat breakfast.  They let me know that they were not one bit hungry and could go right to the opening part!  I stuck to my guns and said, "That's okay, you don't have to eat, but everyone else is going to eat and you can wait until they are done."

Next, Emma sat by the tree and found presents for her.  She then asked, "How about if I just open one now?"

Again, I said, "After everyone eats breakfast, we will open the presents."

Soon Adrian had his plan.  He said, "My stomach doesn't feel good.  I don't want any breakfast."

Again, I said, "That's okay, maybe you can eat some fruit."  He agreed to that.

I then got them busy adding comments to the patio window with the glass crayons.  They had wonderful messages:

Adrian's said: "Merry Christmas to the presents"

Emma's said: "I love you guys!"

Soon everyone was here and the eating began.  Adrian ended up eating not just fruit but fruit pizza, bacon and other stuff too.  It did take him awhile to realize he might as well eat...no presents for awhile.

We were so glad they were able to be part of the family celebration this year.  We were also glad that we had gotten to see Andy just a month before!

Our Christmas Story

This is one of the stories I have been telling all my friends:

After all the presents were opened, food had been eaten and the window had been written on, Audrey and Meron started their annual parade going from the living room through the dining room and the kitchen over and over in the circle those rooms made. 

I looked over at Angie (Audrey's mom), and asked, "So, do you think we will have any singing this year?"

She replied, "I don't know.  Hey, Audrey do you think you will sing today?"

Audrey stopped, looked at her mom and said, "Yes, I will."  Then she proceed to continue her march around those rooms singing "Jingle Bells" along with Meron right behind her.  Then behind them came little Graham toddling along swinging his head to the beat of the song.

When I asked Michelle where Bam was, thinking he would be joining the parade, she said, "He's still in the kitchen eating." 

I went in the kitchen and sure enough, there was Bam pulled up to the counter eating a tangerine.  He looked up at me and said, "Mor?"

A Christmas Update

It has been so long since I have had a chance to add to this blog.  This is the last day of our vacation so I decided if I wanted to add something it had better be now.  I want to share some pictures of all the grandkids so you can see how much they've grown!

Here's our two oldest: Ty is now 16 and loves to wrestle.  Lane is 13 and loves all sports.  Both are great, big brothers!

Here we are with Emma & Adrian.  She is 10 and he is 7.  They tease and have fun. Both are great leggo fans!

Here we are with Kiann and Graham.  Kiann is 13 and Graham is one.  Kiann loves to wrestle, play golf and soccer. Graham loves Mickey Mouse! He is also a pretty good dancer, he loves music!

This is Jay & Angie with Audrey and Mallory.  Audrey is three and Mallory just turned one. Audrey loves to sing. She loves to just have a great time doing anything!  Mallory loves her baby dolls.

Bamlaku is one and he loves to eat.  His favorite word is "Mor"!

 This is Meron with Audrey.  They are best pals! Meron is three. She loves to smile and pose for pictures.  If she is in a bad mood, but sees a camera pointed at her, she will smile in an instant!

Shelby is a little mother.  She is 10 and is great with the little ones.  You can always find her entertaining them and helping them put on some sort of production!

There you have all eleven grandkids.  Oh, wait a minute...our other news!  This year we are going to add one more to make it an even dozen.  Isn't that GREAT news?  Thanks to the parents, Todd and Beth!