Our Family.......

Christmas....Part 1

i am so far behind.........

this is probably going to take 2 posts.

partly because I haven't even gotten all the pictures uploaded.....

partly because there are so many of them!

and let me just say right off..... my camera really sucked this year.

getting run over by a trailer  will do a little something to the focus.....

we started off celebrating Grandma's 94th birthday on December 16th. 

she has full time care in her home....

this is the night nurse's bed in her living room.  or......springboard to a trampoline, depending on your age and how you see it.

a trip to the local small town grocery store is always fun!

i kid you not.  but, hey, my grandson wanted strawberries. 

he got strawberries.

the whole refrigerated/frozen food section.

loooooooove this place!

in the big white barn live two white owls...  we didn't get to see them this time, but Riley scored some feathers.  SO cool....

and of course we had to see the Christmas cows......

and have a "piggy ride".    riley was SO patient and they had so much fun together! 

then we loaded five kids in Shell's car......and Maddie brought her boquet of what might or might not have been ragweed........

Chad rode with Charlene.  don't know why....... :o)

mmmmmmm.......a ginger bread house!

some of the candy even made it on the house!

the rest of our Okeene Christmas kind of looked like this:

and then it turned to utter chaos.

i forgot to take pictures of gift opening......

of our meal.........

of a whole bunch of other things.

but it was wonderful to be together.

I will not be held responsible.......

should blog pictures come with warnings?

like the weather forecasts sometimes do?

I guess I should issue a "cuteness" warning......

but if I were to select a warning, on a scale...say.... "windy" or "light rain" as an example.......

I guess on the "cute" scale......these would be a 'hurricane warning'........

 

 

or typhoon.......earthquake..........EF-5.............

i'm not biased or anything............

really. 

just over the moon about two wonderful little kids........

Pumpkins, Hayrack rides and broken cameras......

we got to take one of our favorite little muchkins to the Pumkin Patch!

 grandpa thought the sun was a bit much, so he put his ball cap on Josh.

truth be known though.....grandpa is in a whole lot more danger of a burned head than Josh is........ :o)

they had the COOLEST hay bale maze...........

then everybody loads up on three flat bed trailers to ride out to the pumpkin patch!

(yes, that is my stupid finger on the lens...)

ready to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(now it's grandpa's finger on the lens...... we just can't seem to figure these things out.......)

Now, shortly after this picture, we have a little, shall we say "faux pas"??

Josh wanted to sit on the outside edge of hay bales instead of safely in the center of the trailer where we were.  I wanted to let him, but wasn't going to turn loose of him, so I laid down my checkbook (Cox Farm doesn't accept credit cards) and my camera on the hay bales where we would be moving.

Bad mistake.

As Josh lifted his foot onto the hay bale, it just happened to bump them enough that.....you guessed it, camera and checkbook went flying off the trailer.  I looked back just in time to see them go under the wheel of the following trailer.

Why, oh WHY didn't we sit in the end trailer!!

I could have grabbed them before they flew off, but I would have had to turn loose of Josh, and, there was no way in heck I was doing THAT, checkbook be damned.

However, a dashing young man came to my rescue and leaped off the trailer, picked up the camera and checkbook, then ran and JUMPED back on the flatbed. 

I am so thankful all that strenuous activity didn't give my husband a heart attack!

Checkbook safe.  Camera?  Broken.

Flatbed trailers have no respect for Fuji finepix cameras.

 

So in this space........imagine the Sunderland's walking peacefully through the pumpkin patch to select the perfect Halloween pumpkin...

 

 

 

In this space......picture our bonding experience and happy faces.....

 

 

this was taken with my camera on my phone.  That was in my pocket and saved from the tragic accident.

the day was a complete success since we found some tractors to sit on!  That kid LOOOOOVES tractors!

Good thing too.  His grandpas all like farming!

How to tie a scarf!!

TOO good not to share.............

 

Happy Friday!!

 

fall festival!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

it was SUCH a great weekend.........

 
FALL FESTIVAL BABY!!

 
our little town has a festival the first weekend in October. 

On Friday night, the carnival (which is conveniently RIGHT BY OUR HOUSE) has a pay-one-price wristband thing.

 
there wasn't much for Miss Macey to ride......so she just charmed the crowd.....  first time to try cotton candy............ YUMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

cousins to ride the rides with!

it's all the charm of a small town.  all the FUN of something a little out-of-the-ordinary to do on a fall weekend.

 
the parade..... complete with a couple of high school bands!

 
and "Great Pumpkin" shirts!!

 it was a FABULOUS weekend!!! 

He keeps me guessing......

bet you can't guess what this is......

 
....one might say it's a telephone cord in a toilet.

 

 but one might be wrong.

 
"MiMi!!  I pish for a SHARK!!" (complete with chocolate pudding face.....)

I love these kids more than I love breathing........

A bit late....but HAPPY!

 Happy Birthday Chad!

We remembered (and celebrated!) on time, it's just not on my "defunct website" on time!

 

 Someone.......who shall remain nameless...took the "3". 

 
Quite possibly the same 2 year old that this sweet little finger belongs to.

 Say CHEESE!!!!!!!!

 She adores her grandparents.....

 Reading at the table....

 

...not any real reason for the post except....well....how often do I get to post a picture of my son-in-law in a goofy hat on the internet??!! 

My Defunct website......

That is what Charlene calls my blog. 

Or....as she would say....."blog".  Cause I never update it.

Well....I don't have a really good reason.  Except:

 

 Miss Luci - the newest member of the family!  Her birthday is June 16th. 

and Miss Macey:

 wait........it's blurry but it's the only one I have at the moment!

And of course, there's this guy:

 

 Light of my life! 

It's been a busy, busy, hectic summer!  I have another pic of our summer and allllll the work from the stupid hair storm.

I've GOT to get busy!!!

Summer so far...........

it's been a busy summer.......

 
LOVED spending time in Tulsa at the Miss Oklahoma Pageant.  Cheered on Brittany Jo Bisel!!!!  Of course....the judges needed seeing eye dogs ... she didn't win. :o(

but then came home to.......

 

 

storm damage.  Plus a MOUNTAIN of sticks, leaves, broken toys, etc.,

And 87 door-to-door sales snipers that want to replace your totalled roof......
 

I raked four 39 gallon bags of sticks and yard debris and I'm still not done. 

But then one morning last week, I got up and was starting my first cup of coffee......and right in my line of view...between the curtain openings.......

 God put her right in my sight.....where I could not miss it.  Every morning to start my day.....

and I thought about all the wonderful things that have come my way so far this summer.....

 
....these would be my cavalry.  They don't ride up on trusty steeds, but in a grey Ford pick up. 

  okay, so one of them has more of a "supervisory" position than the other......

 and he works for cookies and juice!!

And I was just struck by the wonderful example that his Daddy was setting for him......and all the things he was teaching him about helping others and working hard and being kind and thoughtful.

 

 
and how insanely, wonderfully, ridiculously lucky I am.....

 

 

Blessings from Heaven.......

 

God, in His infinite mercy....smiled on us this week.

 Miss Macey Ann made her debut......

 

 
Six pounds.....twelve ounces.....19 inches of Heaven!

 

 Macey.......
 Her Brother........ I think they look alike!

 

 So tiny.......so perfect. 

We are SO lucky.........