I had a fabulous time at Tiffany and Josh’s home for Christmas. Tiffany and Josh were the perfect hostess and host. First of all Josh picked Ben and I up from the airport which was extremely nice. It was great to not have to ride the Lafayette Limo. We would have arrived at their home much later if we would have ridden the Limo. Tiffany let my granddaughters stay up until we arrived which was very thoughtful especially because it was Christmas Eve the night we (Ben and I) arrived (Kimberly came Fri. Dec 19th). After the girls were in bed, my children and I watched “Joy to The World” (a video put out by the Church about the birth of Christ).
Christmas Day it was great fun to have the children open presents and enjoy them so much. After presents were opened, Tiffany cooked breakfast and hardly stopped cooking all day. Christmas dinner was marvelous. Everything was absolutely delicious. She did the cooking for all of us all week which was fine with me. I tried to keep up with the dishes. Mostly I succeeded.
I guess this Christmas was mostly about my granddaughters. In retrospect I didn’t spent much time with my children. Next year I will have to spend more time with my children rather than focusing so much on the granddaughters. My children played with the grandchildren at lot also. Bella really liked it when Ben would throw her up in the air.
I would play with my grand-daughters as much as they would let me. Isabella and I play memory match with eight cards (Dora cards no less). The top row had four cards as well as the bottom row. Although I helped her some she did quit a bit by herself. She had favorite cards that she wanted to use with in the deck. We also made a cloud picture together. Bella wanted me to come to the front window to see the clouds. That inspired me to ask her if she wanted to make a cloud picture. I asked tiffany to get a light blue piece of paper while I got some cotton balls. Tiffany got out Bella’s craft box. It was impressive to me that Tiffany had a craft box for her daughter. Bella put glue down on the paper while I stretched the cotton balls to look like clouds. Those are the only times I really spent one on one with Bella. Next time I am going to try to spend more one on one time with her. Cambria took a while to warm up to me. Actually she never did warm up to me all the way. Occasionally she would sit in my lap and let me read to her for a few seconds. The only way she would let me hold her is if I grabbed her from behind. When I held her like that it was only a few seconds before she would squeal until I put her down or gave her to her mother. While I was holding her, I did kiss the nape of her neck. My sister Sherry’s friend says that the nape of a baby’s neck is the softest place on his/her body. After kissing Cambria there, I tend to agree. In the morning when I was still laying down on the couch (my bed) or any time I was laying down on the couch, Cambria would run over by my head so I could play Peek-A-Boo with her. She is really a mommy’s girl, while Isabella tends to be a daddy’s girl.
All in all I had a fabulous, marvelous, stupendous time at Josh and Tiffany’s home for Christmas!

This is actually an entry from Fri. 1-2-09. I tried to write my entry in Word then cut and paste it to my blog. Obviously it did not work for me so I am typing it again in my blog tonight. I thought if I used Word it would catch my spelling and grammatical errors. My previous entries have mistakes in them even though I proof read them several times.Tiffany says that she was hurt by me stating in my last entry that Josh, Ben, and she were watching inappropriate entertainment on T.V. She said it sounded like they were watching porn. They were definitely not watching porn, but were waatching shows that I would rate as PG-13 and movies that were rated PG-13. My children and I have had a disagreement as long as I can remember about watching PG-13 movies. Personally I do not think PG-13 movies for the most part are appropriate entertainment. PG-13 movies today seem to be what used to be rated R a few years ago. Occasionly, I will watch a PG-13 movie if someone I trust has seen it and says it is really good. Before I went to Tiffany's for Christmas I watched "Australia" which was rated PG-13. It was an excellent movie. After watching a trailer of it on my computer and having it recommended by some friends I trust, I decided to see it. Very rarely do I watch T.V. At times I watch Channel 10 which is the public T.V. channel. If I do watch anything it is usually a PG rated movie that I have rented or own. Maybe if I had cable with the Family Channel or the Disney channel I might watch T.V. more often. Although I probably would not, because I don't have time for much recreation especially when I am working full time. When I am not working I don't often use the time I have watching anything. There are a lot of other ways I would rather use my time.

Yesterday was another fun day at Josh and Tiffany's house. I spent a lot of time washing dishes which Tiffany really appreciated. It actually was fun for me to do dishes for Tiffany. I knew that she would appreciate it, that why I did it. Later on during the day Tiff, Josh, Ben, Bella and C.C. went to Chuck E. Cheese to play games. At that point I was really tired so I stayed home and rested. When they came back, Josh ordered two pizzas and some cheese sticks. After the grandaughters were in bed Josh, Tiff, and Ben started watching a show I was not interested in watching. Tiffany came out to the living room where I was reading. She asked me if I was going to spend any time with them. I said I would if they would watch something I enjoyed watching also. We found a show that all of us liked, so I stayed and watched T.V. with them. Their choice of is entertainment is not what I consider appropriate. They are all adults, two of whom I have taught what I consider appropriate entertainmant. I have taught them, but they have to decide for themselves. When they choose to watch things I don't feel is appropriate rather than make a big deal about it, I just choose to go some where else. All in all we have gotten along very well. Sometimes I slip and act like a parent instead of a grandparent, but not too often. Today I helped Bella make a cloud picture. She then made pictures with fish and shapes on red paper. Red is her favorite color.

Today has been another fun day at Josh and Tiffany's house. This morning to start the day I read a couple of books to Isabella. After that I got ready for the day. The grandchildren ran around playing with toys, having Tiffany, Ben, or Josh read stories to them or play with them. When Cambria went down for a nap, Josh turned on the movie "Wall-e" for Isabella (Bella) to watch for the hundredth or so time. One day before Kimberly, Ben, and I arrived she (Bella) watched "Wall-e" six times in a day. Tiffany has a bookshelf with six shelves on it that is filled with books. One of the first things Cambria (C.C.) does every morning is empty as many books off the shelves as she can. She also really loves books. When she wants you to read her a book, she puts the book above her head and says "k" which stands for book. Her mother Tiffany has gotten really good at reading books quite quickly. Tiffany doesn't read quickly all the time. Sometimes Tiffany reads at a normal pace, if she isn't trying to get something else done. Josh reads to and plays with the girls a lot. He probably doesn't do it all the time, but since it is Christmas vacation, he has more times and can do it more often. Benjamin is really good at playing with the grandaughters especially Bella. The time Josh and Tiff spend interacting with their children in positive ways is very admirable. I wish I had spent more time playing with my children. Each night I did go to their rooms one at a time ( They each had a room of their own.) , read a story of their choice to them, and talk to them. During the day, I was usually busy with house work, church work, or laying down because I was so tired. My parents never told me that they loved me out right. I knew that they loved me because of all the things they did for me, but I would have liked to have them tell me. It wasn't as commom to tell your children that you loved them in my parent's generation. I made a real effort to tell my children that I loved them and give them hugs and kisses. It is much more common to hear parents and children telling each other that they love each other. Bella has even told me that she loves me this visit. It is great!

I have been here in Indiana with Josh, Tiffany, their daughters Isabella and Cambria and Kimberly. Ben took a different flight, but arrived about the same time I did at the Indianapolis, Indiana airport. Josh picked us up and drove us to their home. We arrived at their house at about 8:30 p. m. Eastern Time Christmas Eve. My grandaughters were waiting up for Ben and I. After the girls welcomed us, Tiffany and Josh put them to bed. Josh, Tiffany, Kimberly, Ben and I watched "Joy to The World" a video put out by the church about Christ's birth then went to bed. It was more fun to open the presents this year than last, because Isabella was older and more excited about Christmas. Tiffany bought a ball popper machine for Isabella and a bubble blowing machine for Cambria. Both of the girls loved each of the presents. Tiffany got a sewing machine and Josh got a watch. I helped Tiffany pay for the presents for her family. Kimberly and Ben got money from me to buy whatever they wanted. Kimberly bought me a Jane Austin movie that I already had so she is going to buy me the movie "Becoming Jane". Benjamin gave me money. Tiffany and Josh gave me a glowing candle, some body wash, and filled my stocking with goodies. Christmas Day Tiffany cooked a magnificent meal. The next day Ben and I got the sickness that Tiffany's family and Kimberly had before we arrived. Tiffany said it was hard on her to have us sick, but it wasn't that nice for us either. Thankfully the sickness only lasted two days. The rest of the stay has been great, except I only saw Kimberly for two days. She arrived at Tiffany and Josh's home on Fri. Dec. 19th and went back to her home Fri. Dec. 26th. It was good to see her even for a short time. It is really fun to be here. I hope we continue the tradition for a few more years.

Well today is Saturday. I didn't get to bed until 2:00 AM, but still got up at 8:00 AM after only 6 hrs. of sleep. I must be making up for the 10 to 12 hrs. I was sleeping the first three months of my leave of absence. Actually, I think I am just not depressed any more. Perhaps I am a little anxious, because time to get back to work is only two and one half months away. My typing is really comming along, but I am really dragging my feet on learning the computer. Maybe I should start learning Microsoft Office before trying to learn EZ Grade Pro. I have all kinds of helps for Microsoft and only one manuel for EZ Grade Pro. Maybe I can get Lauralee to help me after she learns. I guess this is turning into my blog instead of a family blog, but that's O.K. It's kind of fun to have a blog, although I cant's wait until I know how to use my digital camera and load the pictures on the computer. ( Have I said that before? I think I have.) So far I have the unassembled Christmas tree in a box in the living room. Maybe I'll get it set up today! Since reading on Tiffany's blog that the twelve days of Christmas has a religious meaning, I am excited to put my twelve days of Christmas ornaments on the tree. I have alwawys loved that song, hence the Christmas tree ornaments. Some of the ladies in my ward have a Jesus tree. The tree has ornaments about the birth of the Savior on the tree. I think that's a great idea. Since I have a small tree also, I think I will turn it into a Jesus tree. Another friend of mine has an angle tree which is also a great idea. I am really getting excited to go to Tiffany and Josh's house for Christmas. Since I had such a good time last year while I was still teaching school, I should have a really great time now that I am on a leave of absence and much more relaxed. Well I had better go. I have all my Christmas presents, but need to wrap and fit them in a suitcase.