As hard as it is to believe another Christmas is in the rear view mirror. The hustle and bustle of the preparations and the joy of expectations of family gatherings were enjoyed.
From decorating the tree to greeting family as they traveled from afar. I am thankful!
Christmas morning is always exciting with all the children and grands gathering for breakfast and then opening gifts.
Before any of us got dressed we decided to take a few family photos. Our daughter tells us of a friend of hers that lost her mother. Her mother never liked to get her photo taken so she had very few photos of her. Taking that cue, I try to keep that in mind as I am usually the one that takes the photos so most of our family photos are of everyone but me. Our grandson got out his tripod so we could all be in the photos.
Our grandsons, Miles, Samuel and Alex!
Our son Grady and Miles and Alex.
Our daughter Noel with our son-in-law Peter, and their son, Samuel.
Grayden and I.
Grayden and I with our children, Noel and Grady.
Grayden and I with our grandsons Samuel, Alex and Miles.
After all the photos were taken Miles wanted to play Scrabble so Noel, Miles, Alex and I played. Alex decided we should use Webster as our guide for challenging words of question. After our fun round with Alex being the winner we began preparing the afternoon meal.
After dinner we enjoyed celebrating Noel's birthday. It's our custom to set aside time away from Christmas to do so. After singing happy birthday to her she opened her gifts and we all enjoyed low carb cheesecake.
Grady and the boys returned home in the late evening. Noel and Peter stayed on and left on the train to return home on Friday morning after Christmas.
The house is quiet now, but the memories of Christmas linger on.
As the new year is upon us, I want to wish you all a very happy 2025!
You have a lovely family! It sounds like you all had a wonderful time. Such a blessing! Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteOur family is one of our greatest blessings Mrs. White. I appreciate your kind visit very much! Happy New Year to you and yours as well.
DeleteLooks like you had a wonderful time with your family. What a blessing. Good for you in getting all those photos! Happy New Year to you and yours!
ReplyDeleteEllen I thank you for your comments friend. Our heart is overflowing with family blessings. Happy New Year to you and yours as well!
DeleteSo happy to see you here in photos, my lovely friend. Your family is beautiful and your Christmas sounds wonderful. Happy and Blessed New Year!
ReplyDeleteThank you Billie Jo for visiting. I appreciate your kind comments. Happy and Blessed New Year to you and yours as well!
DeleteI'm so glad you make the Christmas birthday a little special time, too. Your family is beautiful and you all look so happy! Your home is lovely, too. Sending all good wishes for a beautiful remainder of the season and a Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteJeanie having a Christmas baby has always been special for us. I thank you for your comments and a lovely New Year to you and yours friend.
DeleteSuch a sweet family gathering Martha Ellen. You have a beautiful family. Thank you so much for sharing all these splendid photos. I am very happy you took Noel's words to heart about her friend's mother. These family photos are very, very important and become the true treasures that we have in our lives. I am more comfortable behind the camera taking photos than I am in front of them, but I had a similar story about a friend who told me several years ago how she regretted not being in her family photo gatherings. It's something that I took to heart also, and you look beautiful my dear friend :))) Happy Belated Birthday Noel! Happy New Year to you all!
ReplyDeleteDenise you are so kind as always my friend. You are so right about photos becoming family treasures. When I think of the very few photos I have of my own Mama and Daddy it pains me. I will pass the birthday wishes to Noel--thank you. Happy New Year to you and your family!
DeleteA lovely post and photographs here, it certainly looks like you had a wonderful family time. It's always so nice to be together to share and remember old memories and make new ones as we move forward.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for your lovely visits and comments this past year to the low carb diabetic blog.
As 2024 draws to an end I send my good wishes to you and your family for the coming New Year.
All the best Jan
Jan you are so kind. I trust you had a good Christmas with your family as well. I appreciate your visits very much. Sending you good wishes as well as the New Year approaches.
DeleteIt is very apparent that you had a wonderful family Christmas, and I am sure the memories will live on. We play Scrabble quite often and we have a rule that unless you can use the obscure word you propose in a sentence, you lose twenty-five points! That levels the paying field a little!
ReplyDeleteDavid when we are playing Scrabble if a word is challenged and verified that it is not a word listed in the dictionary, the player loses his turn. Your way would definitely sting as well. Sending wishes for a happy New Year!
DeleteWhat a wonderful Christmas, Martha Ellen, and special photos of the family to remember all the moments together. Your red sweater looks pretty on you. I like that first picture of Samuel putting an ornament on the tree. And you had a dear red cardinal visit you at Christmastime. I hope the new year brings you much goodness, Martha Ellen. You are a dear blog friend to me. And I look forward to your special and charming posts in the coming year.
ReplyDelete~Sheri
We did have a wonderful Christmas, Sheri thank you! I appreciate all the dear comments you leave here in my humble little space. Sending you much happiness in the coming year dear friend!
DeleteIt was a delight to read of your Christmas and to see the happy faces of your dear ones! I am so glad that you were in the photos . . . wise choice, I think! Happy New Year to you and yours, Martha Ellen!
ReplyDeleteThank you dear Cheryl. I hope your New Year is starting off wonderfully.
DeleteOh, Martha Ellen, first how did I miss this post? The foibles of Blogger strike again! Second, belated wishes for a Happy Birthday to your own Christmas baby, Noel. Well, what lovely photos of you and your sweet family. I have very few photos as we were not a camera owning family until much later in life. I treasure the few photos I do have. How wonderful you were all able to be home for Christmas. There is such a strong family resemblance.
ReplyDeleteI wish nothing but the very best for you and your family in 2025, may it be filled with good health, prosperity and joy!
Deb, I will pass the belated wishes to our Christmas baby--thank you. We had the same situation with photos growing up. The precious few photos I have are treasures as well. I remember Susan Branch commenting once about looking in the mirror and seeing the relatives of the past. I find this to be true with our children and grands.
DeleteI hope your New Year is full of good health and joy, my friend!
Martha Ellen, thank you for checking in with me on my previous post. I appreciate that so much. I sent you an e-mail, but not sure you received it yet.
ReplyDelete~Sheri
What wonderful Christmas memories, Martha Ellen! Thank goodness for the tripod. Your family Christmas photos fill my heart with so much joy! I have watched your grandsons growing up right here on your blog over the years. 😊 You and Grayden both look so wonderful!! I know that Noel appreciates her special birthday celebration every Christmas surrounded by the entire family! Wishing everyone a healthy, happy New Year!! 🩷
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