2008 - The Year In Review

The older I get, the faster the years fly by. It just seems like a couple of months ago that we trudged home in a blizzard from last year's New Year's Eve party in our neighborhood - and now, we prepare to bid "good-bye" to 2008. I'm also quick to realize that two of my daughters just celebrated their last Christmas as a "Knight" and that the first of our two weddings is in less than 8 months.

Looking back on the high points of 2008....

• Kelli turned 16 in February and got her driver's license.
• Bob and I spent a week cruising the Caribbean with family and friends in April.
• Chrissie and Brock were engaged in June.
• Kevin turned 21 in August.
• Our 6th grandchild - Andrew Joseph Van Fleit was born in October.
• Katie and Satiago were engaged in November.

It was a year of change, a year of blessings, and a year of one major miracle.

An "American Girl" Christmas

About six months ago, Kelli decided to part with her American Girl Doll (Kit). Now Kit was in really good shape, having spent the past several years stored safely in her box. So, when she was passed on to Grace - she was almost like new. Grace was thrilled!!!! We weren't sure she was old enough to appreciate Kit, but she has proved us wrong. And because of that, Grace had a real "American Gir" Christmas. We got her the DVD, Kit's dog - which just so happens is named Grace, and I got Kit and Grace matching pajamas, as you can see from the photo below.

Ice, Ice Baby.....

The day after Christmas is a day to hit the mall for all the great bargains!!!! Except when the roads are covered with INCHES of solid ice! What a mess!! By noon, Colleen was stir-crazy and ventured over to our house. Kelli and Kevin entertained Benjamin while Colleen and I and little Andrew headed to the mall. Once we got out of the subdivision, we were "ok" - that is, until we reached the mall parking lot. Total strangers were helping each other maneuver across patches of ice. While I pushed the stroller, a nice gentlemen helped Colleen and Andrew make it to dry and non-slick ground. Once inside the mall, Andrew slept for 3 hours and his mom and I hit the sales!!! We met Aunt Chrissie and Aunt Katie for lunch and little Andrew slept through the entire event. Even though I found some GREAT buys, I'm glad to be home in my warm, dry house for the evening - and hopefully I can keep Kevin and Kelli off the roads.

Christmas 2008

Our Christmas was absolutely wonderful!! We enjoyed Christmas Eve with our 7 children and their spouses, fiances and signifcant others, along with our 6 grandchildren. We shared lots of laughter and stories, ate until we were stuffed, opened gifts and watched the Irish play in the Aloha Bowl. Here's a few photos of our evening. Of course, our little Andrew was the "man of the hour" - considering it was his first Christmas.

Here's ALL of us...




Cousins - Jack Urbanski and Andrew Van Fleit



Kelli, showing Ben her new Beatles Monopoly game.

And So It Begins....

The cooking frenzy has begun. In 24 hours, my house will be invaded by approximately 25 people - hungry and ready to open presents and watch the Irish play in Hawaii. This will be a first - football on Christmas Eve.

So, back to the cooking frenzy. I was up early and out the door to stand in line for 40 minutes at Eby's Meat Market with Bobby's generous gift certificate from HRP Construction. We will now be dining on a beautiful Prime Rib Roast and of course, plenty of Polish Sausage (with garlic).

All of the groceries have been bought. Bobby's in charge of the beer, and I brought lots of Rum home from our cruise. I think we're set. Now, I'm ready to settle in and start cooking. So far, I've completed the Iced Sugar Cookies, the Chex Mix, the Tortilla Roll-Ups, the Tempting Taco Cheese Ball and the Chipped Beef Dip. The Shrimp is thawing. That will take care of today.

Tomorrow's line-up includes: Sausage Stars, Queso, Taco Dip, Buffalo Chicken Wing Dip and of course, the Sausage and the Prime Rib.

That's it - the kitchen is calling my name!!! I'll report back tomorrow, with photos of some of the goodies.

A Place of Honor

Bob and I were married on December 15, 1973 and just celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary.

Thirty-five years later, there's only one wedding gift I remember - and that was a box of specialty Christmas ornaments, with a note - "For your 1st Christmas Tree". Most of those ornaments haven't survived 35 years and 7 children, but one has. That ornament is a Bride. Every year, I hang her front and center on my tree.

Unlike me, she looks just as beautiful as she looked 35 years ago.

Our Christmas Tree

Christmas trees are hard to photograph. Of course, maybe if I took some time to read about all the bells and whistles my camera has, I might be able to take some really awesome photos. In the meantime, here it is. Sitting in the same corner of the family room - year after year. Topped with the same Angel that I made the year I was pregnant with the twins. Decorated with a hodge podge of ornaments I've collected over the years - the oldest one being a Hallmark Bride, that was given to me as a wedding gift - 35 years ago.

Building a Gingerbread House

While Carrie and Joe attended a Christmas party, Grace spent the night with Grandma and Grandpa over the weekend. I did my best to try and come up with some fun ideas to keep a 4 year old entertained. I learned quickly that this 4 year old has the attention span of a gnat. Anyway, with some guidance from Kelli and Ben, Grace built a gingerbread house. We cheated a little - this kit included the house already assembled. All we had to do was ice it and decorate it.

Aunt Kelli was in charge of the icing - Grace and Ben did the decorating.

Rolling Right Along....

Things are falling into place in regards to Katie and Santiago's wedding plans. We met last night with a photographer and he seems to be the perfect fit. We have the date, the church, the reception venue, and the wedding gown. We've decided on a color - dark purple - now we just have to agree on a style for the bridesmaids. She's also decided that as for flowers, she just wants white. AND, my friend Jenny Hoke is doing an engagement photo session with them over Christmas break. The guest list is nearly completed - thanks to the groom, and a meeting is set with Fr. Chris at St. Adalbert for Monday.

So, here's a link to our photographer's website and some photo ideas of where we're heading.

http://www.markcoffman.net/

I think it was the photo on the main page of his website that sealed the deal for her.

December Design Team

My assignment for this month - Inspiration Avenue - which means a sketch - which I LOVE! As far as I'm concerned, just give me a sketch every month!! We get our assignment and the three members of my "team" have to create a layout, all using the same sketch.

...and here is my layout. An easy job when you have a TON of ND tailgate photos to chose from!

Night Time Visitors

Saturday, it snowed all day and most of the night. Sunday morning, I woke to bright sunshine and a pristine front lawn. Unlike when the kids were small, and running through the fresh snow and building snowmen and snow forts - I now have a beautiful, untrampled front yard.

Pretty, huh? Not a footprint to be found.

Wait a minute! What is this?? Look at this MESS under my crabapple tree! Just who might the guilty culprit be??

Well, last night I was laying in bed about 9:30 watching a movie and the phone rang. It was Bill, our next door neighbor. "Patty, go look out your front window". Ah-ha! I'm going to be able to catch the culprit! It turned out to be four culprits - four beautiful deer. Two standing "guard" in the street and two, standing under the tree, munching on the crabapples.

Kelli and I sat for a few minutes watching them from our dark living room window. They were no more than 8 feet away from us and I'm sure they could hear us whispering, because a few minutes later they looked at the window and with a hop, skip and a jump they were across the street and into the woods.

2009 - My BROADWAY Year

I got an early anniversary gift last night from my husband - tickets to see WICKED in Chicago in January. I've wanted to see it for more than a year!!! So, here's my upcoming Broadway season....

January - WICKED - with Bob

February - JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR with Mary Lou, Michael and Kelli, Melissa and Ryan, Chrissie and Brock.




July - MAMMA MIA - with Mary Lou

High School Sweeties

Kelli and Ben have been dating since early summer. He's a senior and she's a junior. I look at the two of them and can't help but remember back just a few years. Bob and I met as juniors in high school and look where we are today - 7 children and 6 grandchildren and 35 years of marriage.

Enjoy these years and every moment of your high school activities. They'll be gone in a blink.

Wedding Number 2

We are now underway on WEDDING NUMBER 2.

We have a date - November 28, 2009.

We have a reception site.

We have a wedding dress. After trying on probably a dozen, she came across "the one". Her sisters all agreed (which is saying something). And I knew it was "the dress" when I heard her say, "I don't want to take it off".

We have interviews set up over the next couple of weeks with photographers and decorators.

By this time next year, it will all be OVER and I will be in need of a very long vacation to somewhere warm and tropical - but probably won't be able to afford it - after two weddings.

Thanksgiving in Review....

Our Thanksgiving weekend was a never-ending "on the go" marathon of food and family. We left at 6:00 a.m. from South Bend (which was 5:00 a.m. in Greenville) - three carloads of us. I've lost count as to how many family members were crammed into the house on Maple Drive, but suffice it to say that we were lucky that the weather was nice and we could "spill out" into the yard. Aside from eating and visiting and taking a ton of photos, I also managed to:

• Visited my aunt in the nursing home and introduced her to Anna and little A.J.
• Let Bobby and Grandpa babysit, while Angela and I went to see "TWILIGHT".
• Fought the crowds at the mall and did a little Christmas shopping.
• Took Angela and Kelli to downtown St. Louis - where Angela got her first glimpse of the Mississippi River and the Arch.
• Enjoyed a horse and carriage ride along the historic riverfront - wrapped in warm and cozy blankets.