It's looking a lot like Christmas at our house

    Bridgit and I have been doing some decorating around our house until Jess comes home on the 14th and then he can finish up with the outdoor lights. And more of the indoor decorations. It's one of Jess's favorite holidays as well as mine. I can't wait for him to get the Fireplace out of storage so we can put up my collection of Santas.

     We lived on Midway Island from April of 1965 to Nov of 1967. It's a beautiful little Island in the Hawaiian chain (1.5 miles long & not quite as wide, with a moderate hill in the middle that is 12 feet above sea level). It wasn't big enough for the 2,000 people to have cars so we all had bicycles (called Horses) for our transportation to and from our shopping at the base commissary and the exchange for clothes. There was a bowling alley and my husband and I bowled on a league and coached the pre-teens in the finer art of bowling. Lots of fun. And we had the greatest pristine beach (no littering allowed). We policed each other and we watched each other's kids as well as our own.  I was pregnant with my third child on this gorgeous island and yes, I rode a bicycle to the hospital (actually just a clinic with 2 beds in the end of the building called a ward.  I rode that bicycle all over the island except the beach which was only 1/2 block from my front door.
     There was also a ceramic shop which I frequented quite often. My "Horse" was equipped with saddle bag baskets on the back which is where my 2 girls (one age 4 and one age 3) rode because my box of ceramics was in the front basket. It was while we were stationed on Midway that I made the beautiful Nativity scene and it was while I was pregnant with my 3rd girl. I had just finished up the last of the Kings and the Animals which was great since she came in June of 1967. Husband wouldn't allow me to ride the Bicycle much after about March but when he left for work, he had no idea what I did. I still had to do grocery shopping so I went to the commissary with the girls in the back and put a couple of bags in the front.

     Those 2 paragraphs were a prelude to what happened to the Nativity scene. When I moved from Grand Junction back to Richland Washington, my daughter said she should have the Nativity because I made it while I was pregnant with her.  I agreed.  So I don't have one to put up but Jess has a village that means a lot to him so we will make a place for the village and I just found 3 of the cutest little American Indians about 2.5 inches tall and they just might look great in the village. I'm missing a lot of the ornaments I used to carry around from Midway, to Guam, to Japan, to Alameda CA, to San Diego and then up here to Richland Washington. I'm sure the Nativity Scene enjoyed all of those places as much as I did. But of all the bases and countries I liked Midway Island the best.

And now it's time to show you what I've been doing with the scrapbooking. I've taken up knitting on a loom and making beanies for the Pediatric ward at the hospital. I try to crochet a scarf to go with the Beanies.  But I'm slower than Bridgit. She whips out Beanies by the hour. I do them by the days. But I still get in some scrapbooking. I've collected a couple of new Christmas kits so I'll be happy for awhile.

Gr-grand daughter Kaddie on her 10th birthday. Girl is growing like a wild flower.

Another shot of Kaddie with a different scrapbook kit.

My good friend Cheryl in GJ has 2 Gr-grandbabies now. Both girls. This one is Emberly born inSept, I think.

This is Emberly's cousin Nova Ann. Cheryl's grand daughter and her grandson had babies 2 1/2 weeks apart. I thought they were twins but Cheryl straightened me out.

This beautiful baby is one of my cousins on the East Coast. She'd be my cousin twice removed (I think that's how they say it). Her name is Autumn and she's adorable.

I'll post again with the pictures from December.

Hugs from Grandma Sarge. God Bless America.