2009 Thanksgiving brought all four boys and their families as well as Tim's parents to our home. It was the first time all six of our grandkids were together. The day was a special time of past and present coming together.

Tim's mom made stuffed like Grandmom Ruth use to make.

Cut date in half without completely separating the two halves. Fill one side with about a teaspoon of softened cream cheese. Roll the whole filled date in white sugar. They are so good!


Tim and his parents did all the planning, shopping and cooking/baking. I was in the last month of school with day classes threes times each week plus five nights a week of classes and clinical hours. I was grateful to be able to enjoy a lovely Thanksgiving with family without having the stress of it.


Katie & David and Bella were in town from GA. It was so good to have them with us!

Bella has grown! She is an active, sweet little girl. David's shoulder is healing from surgery, but it makes caring from Miss Bella a challenge.


Little Lexi is also walking all over now.

Watching our children and grandchildren interact continues to delight me.


Grammy had prepared fabric for Christmas chains. It was a fun girl time.

We heard family stories-many which I had never heard before.


Of course football....

Talking...

This has become a normal kitchen activity...pretend cookie baking. If people are in the kitchen cooking you can count on these two being on their "stoops" baking their blocks. Normally its a safe, clean activity....Christmas pictures will show how they more fun then we all anticipated.


Setting the table is what I enjoy doing, but this photo doesn't really show much of the table which was set with my growing collection of individual china place setting.



The kids table kept things simple plus we didn't have room on the big table anymore.

I had plans for a whole family photo but somehow in the midst of the active day if was forgotten. Sad... But here Grammy & Pop-Pop are with Rob and Ashley's three little boys.

Jon, Christina, and Jade with grandparents.
I think we need to have a checklist of photos we want to take during get togethers. Then as someone takes that picture they check it off...maybe we'd be sure to get the important ones.

The Week

The following article was taken from The Week magazine's September 11, 2009 issue (volume 9 issue 429). It is interesting in and of itself, but deeper personal application is there as well. Tell me what you think.
 
Going in Circles
It’s not just a cliché: When people get lost, they really do tend to walk in circles. German researchers gave volunteers a tracking device and had them walk for several hours, either in a forest or in the featureless Sahara desert; later they mapped the paths the walkers had traced. “I was trying to simulate what happens when you get lost and try to find your way out,” psychologist Jan Souman tells Australia’s ABC Science. Only when the sun or moon was visible as a reference could the subjects walk in a straight line. Otherwise, they often traced circles, some as small as 20 yards in diameter, without ever realizing it. “They didn’t really believe when we showed them afterward,” Souman says. Without external signposts, he says, people rely on internal signals provided by their sense of balance and the movement sensors in their legs. These signals often contain small random errors; without landmarks to help us correct course, those errors often accumulate in a circular direction. “Don’t trust your senses,” Souman advises would-be explorers. “You might think you are walking in a straight line when you’re not.”
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We all need landmarks in life. What are some of yours?