Christmas Day

Christmas morning is such a special time. The children are so excited. The girls were up at 5:15 am, ready to open gifts. They had to wait until Joseph got up, so they looked in their stockings and ate a big breakfast of sausage and french toast before Joseph got up at 6:20 and we could open presents. The kids got a Wii this year. They all are really enjoying it, but Rebecca most of all.

Miriam was a cute Santa!

While we were waiting for Christmas dinner at Jack's parents' home, Joseph, Rebecca and Sebastian watched a Veggie Tales Sebastian had gotten.

Miriam played with her new cars that come apart instead.

David and Jack visiting.

John, Will and Julie

Julie with the beautiful bird she cooked.

Celebrating a Life

Last Tuesday we gathered as a family to celebrate the life of Tommie Fong. His funeral services were brief and focused. He was remembered. We laughed and remembered the great person that is gone from us at this time.

It was also a time to learn new things about Tommie. Who knew that Grandma met Tommie when her first husband brought him over to the house? I had no idea that Tommie traveled so much, going all over the U.S. and traveling abroad as well. I found out that Tommie would take his much-younger siblings out to amusement parks when he went home to visit. So Tommie was the best man at Bob and Lee's wedding, and Bob was best man at Grandma and Tommie's wedding. Tommie kept his marriage to Grandma a secret from his family until his sister Paula bought plane tickets for the two of them and put the wrong name on the ticket.

Tommie lived a rich, full, interesting life. He will be missed. John, Jack, David, Julie, Jennie, Linda

Tommie's sister Paula is sitting next to Grandma.

Grandma and Paula

Miriam in Tommie's hat.

Rebecca in Tommie's hat.

Halloween Happenings

The kids had a fun Halloween week. Monday there was no school, so a neighbor had a Halloween party the kids went to. Rebecca and Miriam were excited to dress up in their costumes early. A pirate and a wizard.

Fun crafts...

Carving pumpkins is always fun. This year is the first time Rebecca has pulled out all the seeds by herself. She had lots of fun with it. Nice and slimy!

Miriam and Joseph used poke-in face pieces to decorate their pumpkins. It was a lot like Mr. Potato Head, so Joseph wanted to rearrange the pieces after they were in place.

Jack's parents and sister stopped by for a while in the afternoon. The kids got all dressed up to show off their costumes. Joseph and Sebastian were both Tiggers.

Of course, the highlight of the day was going Trick-or-Treating. Joseph went out for the first time. Jack brought him back, and then went out with the girls. Miriam got cold and came back next. Rebecca managed to go the farthest.

So now we have tons of candy at our house. I am already thinking of ways to incorporate them into cookies for Christmas...