To.....morrow, Tomorrow!!!!

Well, today is almost over. And tomorrow is almost here. And that is a good thing. Tomorrow is going to be the beginning of a terrific Thanksgiving weekend.
Kelly, Josh and I are so excited for what is in store. My brother, Ken, his wife Michele, and their two boys, Ian and Nathan are coming from Ohio to spend some holiday time with us. They will probably be the first ones here.
Then....Jessie and Ammon and little Noah will be driving up from North Carolina. I can't wait! It seems like forever since I've seen Noah! He's doing so many new things! He is beginning to "talk" quite a bit and I plan on having a long talk with him. Fun.
Then....next comes Michelle and Andrew and little Toby driving the longest...from south of Atlanta. It looks like they should get here around 9 or 10. I can't wait to snuggle with Toby again! He's walking everywhere...so it will be fun to see what he will get into. I wonder how the dogs will be with him. He loves his two dogs at home.
Then....Laurie and Jeremy are driving in from Ohio. They won't get here until about 1 am. I am so excited they get to come! They are bringing some great games for us to play....like the Movie Scene-Its. One has the action/drama "guy" movies pitted against the "chick-flicks". Cool!
And Drew, Steph, Kimmi and Alli just live up the street, so they will be here whenever we gather. I am excited to see Kimmi and Alli with Noah and Toby. They will be able to play so much more together now that the boys are older.
And...I hear that maybe my sister Beth, her husband Mike and their son Michael are coming in from Cleveland, too! That will be fun to have so many here.
I will miss Mom and Dad, Steve and his family, and Aunt Chris so much, though. Mom is making Thanksgiving dinner for them at her house in Ohio. I love being with her on Thanksgiving and it is a real sacrifice for me not to be with my mom. I will miss a number of loved ones who have passed on. I think of them during this time even more than usual.
I will especially be missing my Megan. We just couldn't get her home from BYU with paying to get her home at Christmas. I talked with her tonight. She said it just dropped about 40 degrees there and could I please send her the scarf and gloves Jessie and Ammon got her for Christmas last year. She was at the library when I called her, checking out some good reads to enjoy over this break...some Pat Conroy, the Work and the Glory book she was reading when she went out, and the first book of Joseph and Emma. Fun! And she will be hanging out with one of her best friends, Steven. They will go over to his sister's house for the big dinner. But I know it will be a little lonely for her. She loves her brothers and sisters and their spouses so much. I know she will do OK, but I'll be thinking of her every minute.
Kelly talked with his dad tonight....they live in Vancouver, Washington. I know he misses his folks and his brothers so much. I do too. They are great people. It just doesn't seem right. Everyone is just too far apart. And we are a big part of that problem.
But...I am not going to complain. I am going to enjoy this time we will have together. I will laugh, talk, play, cook, clean up, play with the little ones, cook, clean up, play games, cook, laugh some more, and clean up. No...I'm actually kidding. I will have so much help in the kitchen I won't have to do much at all. Just enjoy everyone. And I can do that.
I still need to change sheets on two beds, clean the bathrooms up here, dust and vacuum a little. Then one more trip to the store, a last "clean-up" and get ready. Then.....the cooking begins! Although we will have 22 here, I think we will have enough food for 50. I'm making a ton, and everyone is bringing things. But...lots of people for the entire weekend...so I'm sure there won't be much that goes to waste. I think 4 or 5 other people are planning on dropping by at different times, as well.
I went over to Deb F.'s tonight. She is so sweet and is lending me some goodies to make this weekend go even smoother. I planned on borrowing a table, crockpot and tablecloths. I came home with all that and a high chair, 3 oblong serving dishes, 4 corelle platters, 4 nice pillows, and a set of sheets. And a hug and something to drink for the road. Good friends are good things.
I love Thanksgiving. Although I could use a good night's sleep first. I don't do so well at that. My body's telling me I'm getting older, and maybe I should start listening to it and give it a little more rest. Don't want it getting too cranky on me.
Happy Thanksgiving!!!

The Many Faces of Meg

I MISS MEGAN!!!!

And all her craziness, goofiness, sweetness and goodness.

yep...... I miss my Meggie. I talked with her two hours last night....from 2:30 a.m. my time until 4:30 a.m.
I am so glad she knows she can call her momma whenever she needs me. And...I'm so glad to be her momma. It's a nice gig. Think I'll keep it for....eternity.

Seventh Heaven

Grandma with her two princesses.


On November 4th, we celebrated Kimmi's 7th birthday. Her birthday is November 10th, but their little family would be in Ohio on her birthday attending Drew's oldest buddy's wedding. So....we were invited to Kimmi's Princess Party a week early. We got her handmade invitation in the mail earlier that week. She worked so hard on it. Lots of stencils, pictures, writing. She even addressed the envelope. It took her a LONG time, I'm sure.
Steph and Drew invited our friends, the Goodman's to celebrate with us. We call them "our" friends.....Drew and Steph call them "their" friends. Hey....we can share. Joey Goodman was out of the country that weekend, but Tresa and their kids, Elizabeth and Ryan came. It was lots of fun having them there!

Kimmi and Alli LOVED the little tatoo kits Steph got them for a little pre-dinner activity. They went crazy on their own arms....especially Kimmi....and then decided Uncle Josh needed some too. So...some girlie tatoos for him (and I think he enjoyed all the attention)

For dinner, Steph had made up some great dough and had lots of different toppings for pizzas. We designed our own "personal"pizzas and they were delicious! I brought my oriental salad and Steph had a variety of things to drink. Of course...pink cups and plates. FUN...and YUMMY!

When Kimmi started opening presents, the first one she opened was a cute Princess blanket from the Goodman's. She loved it. It was wrapped in fun striped paper. Josh picked up the end and put it on his head and wore it the rest of the night. I think he looked like some kind of crazy chef.

Kimmi loved her fuzzy jammies....one of the presents Grandpa and I gave her. With new footie jammies...it will be easier to slide down their carpeted steps on her belly. They go SO fast!




Kimmi opened lots of fun presents and was so happy with each one of them. I love this picture of pure joy, though, when she opened her very own digital camera that her mom and dad got her. She was SO excited to be able to take her OWN pictures and see them in the screen right away.

Future "Very Famous Photographer" Kimberlee Diane Hebdon taking her very first picture.

Every year the girls get a "designer" cake made by their parents having to do with the theme of their party. Kimmi thought it was so terrific that there was actually a real Barbie in her "Cinderella" cake! Good job, Steph and Drew!

The Princesses and their Parents.

I LOVE this picture. I zoomed in and captured a moment that was very private. Just a dad, helping the "un-birthday" girl know how very special she is.

We got Kimmi a stationary set that turned out to be a real hit. They were writing letters left and right. Alli worked on this one all by herself at the table, and then sealed it up tight and gave to Kimmi. So sweet.

Princesses in PJ's......happily ever after. (well...at least for this little moment)

Out and About

"C'mon, Poppy.....keep up!!"





"Ok...a quick smile for the camera. Now....Let's Go, Nana & Poppy!!"

"It's so fun to play outside with my dogs."

"Hey....Daddy and Poppy.....I thought we were going to watch the game! Is that how you do it?"

Fun at Toby's House

The last weekend in October we decided to make a quick trip to Georgia to visit Michelle, Andrew and Toby. We missed Toby SOOO much and it had been the longest we'd gone without seeing him. I talk to Michelle at least once a day, and usually "talk" to Toby too....but even though I saw pictures and she told me all the new stuff he was doing I ached to just be with him. So I was excited Kelly got Friday off that weekend. We got to Atlanta just in time for Friday night rush hour (good planning) but we finally arrived at their house (they live just southwest of Atlanta). When we pulled into the drive, there was Michelle and Toby and the dogs...outside on the driveway. I couldn't believe my eyes. I said goodbye to Baby Toby in June, and here in October, was Little Boy Toby. We stopped at the top of the drive with our mouths open. Toby started almost "running" up the driveway hill to our car. Michelle scooped him up and we pulled in and got out of the car and he just wasn't real sure about this crazy lady and man and boy who were all googly-eyed to see him.
By the time we got inside and talked a minute, Toby was happy we were there and showed it.

He loved showing Josh his toys. "Uncle Josh" loved it.

Michelle and Andrew took us to a restaurant about 30 minutes away. It was a great place called Bugaboo Creek Steak House. It was kind of a fancy steak house with lots of personality. Terrific food. It had animals everywhere ...both real ones that were stuffed, and fake ones that looked real. And some of them would surprise you. Like....sometimes the moose would talk, or the squirrel would swing from the light, or the duck would follow you with his head. The chandeliers were all antlers or horns of different animals.
As interesting as it all was, the most interesting thing in there was Toby. He seemed to love sharing his dinnertime with Nana, Poppy and Josh. On the trip to the restaurant, I got to sit beside him in the car, and he and I had quite the "discussion". He'd pat my arm and say "Da...duh....da...da!!!"" In different tones and volumes. I would "answer" back. He would smile and we'd start again. Sometimes we were quite loud, but we had a lot of catching up to do.

In the restaurant he was so fun to watch. He sucked on a lemon, and offered some to Michelle. (above picture)
He got spaghetti for dinner...... and he can slurp those babies up like a pro. Made his Nana proud.

Oh....and I can't forget Michelle and Andrew's other "kids". Bailey and Hayes. They were pretty glad to see us, too, and came up to us often for snuggles and loves. I do love my "grand-dogs".