Christmas Surprise!

The whole gang gathered before dinner.

So . . .  we were talking with Liberty on the phone Christmas morning around 10 a.m.  The boys were telling us about their presents.  And we were talking about when they would come home to visit.  All of a sudden, Tommy says to Liberty, "Do you want to go to her house?"  Liberty says, "Who's house?"  Tommy says, "Your mom's."  Next thing I know, they've decided to drive home and be here in time for our Christmas dinner at 6 p.m.!  This was a wonderful surprise for us!  The last time we were all together for Christmas was in 2007.  They left from here and drove to their new home in Florida.


Grandparents, aunts and uncles were there too!


I feel so blessed that we were all together on Christmas Day this year.  Who knows how often this will  happen as all three of our children build their own lives.  And so I offer this prayer of thanks and appreciation of this special day:

Oh Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for the food on the table, the rooves over our heads, and for our family being here together to celebrate the birth of Jesus.  Help us to remember that family is for growing up in, going away from, and for coming back to.  It is for love and concern, helping each one of us through the happy times and the sad ones.  Even though we may live far apart, with your blessing, Father, we will always be together in our hearts and in our memories, permitting us to lead our own lives and be our own persons.  Amen.

This is Addison playing "Paper Jam" - I had never heard of this before, but basically, the "amps" provide the vocals and will provide the music if you strum the guitar.  It's pretty neat!

Grayson played Paper Jam, too!  He did a great job and even danced a little as he played.

Pap and Uncle Jacob provided the spotlights for the performances!

Tommy is standing behind the rocker, Liberty is sitting in the rocker, Addison is in the fore ground playing with the train, and Grayson is in the background playing Paper Jam.  It was truly a special Christmas!

A Great Christmas

There weren't huge piles of presents under our tree this year.  The kids are getting older and the things they wanted cost more . . .  And we try hard to find the balance between having a nice amount of gifts and a ridiculous amount of gifts - Christmas isn't about the presents, it's about how you treat people all year long. 

Jacob wasn't truly surprised by his big gift.  I had asked him whether he really wanted a PS3 or more train cars for his Farmall collectible train set.  After some deliberation, he said he wanted the PS3.  I never committed to the PS3, but he knows me well enough to know that I would get him what he really wanted.  I think he's really enjoying the PS3!

I did manage to surprise Jordana.  Over the last couple years, she has said she wanted her own skates.  I would always respond, "We don't skate often enough to make it worth while to buy skates."  So not only have I always said no, I also wrapped them in a cowboy boot box.  When she unwrapped it and saw the box, she thought it was boots.  She was really surprised when she opened the box!  We are going skating this weekend for sure!

Jesse gets the prize for orchestrating the biggest surprise. He had a custom coat made for me! I had not asked for anything. In fact, I truly didn't have any idea of what I wanted for Christmas. So, he had to be creative in trying to think of something I would really like. He did good.

Jesse has needed a new cordless drill for some time.  Every time he tries to use his drill, the batteries are dead because they won't hold a charge anymore.  I wasn't sure what brand to buy, so I had the kids print out a picture of a cordless drill and we put it in a card.  I'm going to let him pick it out so I'm sure he gets the kind of drill he wants. 

Jordana had asked for a reversible saddle pad which her Pap and Grammy Trick gave her.  Pap and Grammy Hughes gave her money which she wants to put towards a skate case for her new skates.  Aunt Dee gave her a very nice reconditioned lap top.  She was pretty happy all day!

Pap and Grammy Trick gave Jacob the caboose for the collectible train set.  Even though he chose the PS3, they wanted him to have the caboose because it would probably sell out quickly.  Pap and Grammy Hughes gave him money which he wants to put towards another PS3 game.  He was a pretty happy camper too!

Merry Christmas to All!

This, the spirit of Christmas, that forever and ever endures.  May it leave its richest blessing in the hearts of you and yours.

~ Author Unknown

Merry Christmas to All! 

from the Wagners

Jesse, Classy, Kate, and Anita

Jacob and Cletus

Jordana and Mac

Semi Formal

Jordana went to our school's semi-formal dance tonight.  She looked so beautiful!  And she had a great time hanging out with her friends.

Jordana with proud papa!

Jordana with me.

My mom hemmed the dress for us.  Jordana and I went shopping for the shoes and earrings.  And, I did her hair by curling all of it and having it cascade down the back of her head.  She was stunning!

Holiday Party

We had our annual Christmas Party at my mom and stepdad's house on Sunday, 12/12.  It's always a nice time when we get together for some great food and conversation!

This is my mom, Sharon.  Jacob was taking the pictures and she struck a pose for him.  We also celebrated her birthday (12/14) with a cake that Jordana baked for dessert.

This is me!  I'm usually the one taking pictures - so there aren't too many of me at family functions.  But Jacob took my picture so here I am!

This is a pic of all the girls hiding from the camera!  It was Jordana (age 13), Katie (age 16), Ashley (age 16), and Molley (age 14).  There are 7 grandchildren between the ages of 13 and 16.

This is Jesse on the steps talking to Mom.  Julie, Gordon, Dee, and Chuck are in the background.

We put tables up in the clock room to put the food on.  Nobody left hungry for sure.

This is a beautiful Christmas Cactus.  It was on Mom's porch and actually was frosted twice before she brought it in.  It is huge - I bet it's 2.5 or 3 feet in diameter.  And the blooms are so pretty!

Historical Society Train Show

Our local historical society hosted a train exhibit recently.  The proprietors of the train exhibit are two very special people for sure!

This is Jacob and Jordana with Cindy M (aka Hobo Cindy).  Cindy was our school nurse for years and the kids both really like her.  And she was the instructor for childbirth classes when I was pregnant with Liberty; and was actually working the day Liberty was born.  We've known her for years and just absolutely adore her!

This is one end of the Polar Express Display.  The 10' long train disappears in the 2.5 wide tunnel (the the left center of the pic).  It's pretty amazing!

And this is the other end of the display.  Around the Christmas Tree, there are 350 "people" made out of pipe cleaners.  This is awesome train display!  Engineer Rob is sitting in the background.

This is my stepdad (center in suspenders) with the model of the local railroad that he created and donated to the historical society.  He was on hand that day to answer questions and talk about the local history.

And here are Rob & Cindy M. (Engineer Rob and Hobo Cindy) with their Polar Express train.  All the kids who came to the display just loved it.  Mr. M. was my elementary school gym teacher.  When I was in 5th grade, I broke my foot and was casted for a few months.  He used to lift me on and off the stage in the multi-purpose room so I could watch gym class.  He was one of my favorite teachers!

Toy Show

Jacob took his toy tractor and train collection to a local toy show.  He has a large assortment of tractors, mostly featuring Allis Chalmers and Farmall; with a few John Deere for good measure.

Jacob received a trophy for best open class display.  He was pretty happy!

This is a shot of the display - hard to see the details, but he has a nice limited edition Farmall train, and some precision/Franklin Mint tractors.  The pedal tractor in front is actually Jordana's but she loans it to him for shows!

And, on a side note, Jacob got a deer on 12/2.  It's an honorable thing to be able to put food on your family's table and we have no doubt that he will be a good provider to his own family.  With our own eggs, pork, venison and beef, we are pretty self-sufficient when it comes to groceries.

Jacob's Teachers

Just have to do a little bragging . . .  Our school district had parent-teacher conferences this week.  Both kids get good grades so we don't schedule conferences with all of their teachers.  This year, I only scheduled one with Jacob's automotive teacher.  This is Jacob's first year in the technical program and I just wanted to touch base with the teacher.  The teacher had nothing but great things to say about Jacob.  It was wonderful to hear such nice things about Jacob and his grade is excellent.  Then when I got home, I had a super e-mail from another one of Jacob's teachers who said that Jacob was a dependable, hard-working student who is a pleasure to have in class.  I'm just so proud of him.

Bon Fire

Saturday, November 20th, Uncle Wayne and Aunt Doris hosted the annual Bon Fire and Hay Ride.  Because of football games and other events, we can't seem to have it any earlier in the Fall.  Sometimes, we've had snow flurries for the hay ride!  

The stack of wood for the bon fire was huge.  This is a pic taken shortly after the fire was started.  For reference, the building on the left is the end of the pavillion.  This end is two stories with sleeping quarters upstairs.  The pile of wood was higher than the 2nd story. 

Here is a picture of Jesse (6' 1" tall) and my nephew, Tyler, standing in front of the fire.  The whole thing wasn't burning yet.

The flames were very high!  You could feel the heat from 100' away!

Jordana and her cousin, Katie.  Their great-grandfathers were Wagner brothers. 

A pic of the some of the crowd.

Jesse, our friend Logan, and Jordana sitting on the bench.  Jacob is standing in the back.  The hole in the wall of the pavillion is a spot for a future fire place.  Uncle Wayne never does things on a small scale!

Jordana's Veteran's Day Speech

Jordana was asked to recite President Obama's Proclamation at our school's Veteran's Day Program.  I cannot express how proud I am of her.  She did a fabulous job speaking in front of an auditorium full of people.  All the students who participated did a great job.  It's just awe-inspiring! 

I know it's many girls dream to be in Homecoming Court or May Day Court.  But those are just popularity contests . . .  To be asked to participate in the Veteran's Day Program is truly, truly an honor.  To speak in such a mature manner about the sacrifices of soldiers . . .  It was very moving.

4-H Banquet

Our 4-H Banquet was held on Saturday, November 6th.  We had a nice time, it's a great group of people.  And I am so proud of my kids.

 Jacob receiving his completion awards for Dairy Beef, Market Swine, Leathercraft, and Shotgun.

Jordana receiving her completion awards for Market Beef, Market Swine, Leathercraft and Basketry.

Dear Friends

On Friday, Nov 5th, many members of my work family gathered for a retirement party.  Our dear friend, Jane, is retiring in December.  She is a wonderful person and great mentor.  Several people shared funny stories.  We laughed and cried and wished Jane well as she looks forward to traveling with her hubby. 

Best of Luck, Jane!

And the lady in the white turtleneck and gray sweater is another dear friend, Diane.  She's been off work for the last few weeks after an unexpected illness.  She surprised us all when she was at the retirement party.  She is hopefully on the road to recovery and we look forward to having her back at work soon. 

Get Well Soon, Diane! 

Happy 1st Anniversary Mac!

All horses deserve, at least once in their lives, to be loved by a little girl.

 

These pictures were taken the night we gave Mac to Jordana (Nov. 5, 2009). I had actually bought him a month before. But October is a heavy horse show month, and Jordana couldn't have any lessons for over three weeks because Tipson was busy with shows. I didn't want to give her a new horse and then not let her ride him. So we decided to wait until the night lessons resumed.

 

It was so funny! She saw the sign on the stall door which says, "Te Dee Mac loved by Jordana" and she didn't figure out that he was hers. Tipson, her trainer, and Beth, the lady we bought Mac from, were there and we kept saying, "Get YOUR horse out." She just had this confused look on her face.

Finally I sent Jacob out to the car to get the bucket full of new grooming tools with a big blue bow on it. When she saw the bucket and bow, she said, "You mean he's mine?" I said yes. And then she started to cry -and so did all of us. No horse has ever been loved more than she loves Mac. I'm so glad Tipson guided us to him and Beth sold him to us. It was a wonderful moment and I hope she looks back on this someday and treasures it as much as I do.

Movie Date

Today, my husband called me at work and asked what I was doing tonight at 7 p.m.  He kind of took my off guard  and I said "laundry?"  He asked me if I wanted to go see Secretariat!  Well of course I did!  It is playing at the theater in Muncy.  So we went on a movie date!  Believe it or not, it's only the 2nd time we've ever been to the movies as a couple in our whole lives together.  When we were dating, we just did not have the money to go to the movies.  Right after we got married, I went to college and we really didn't have the time or money to go to the movies.  And then we had kids - again, no time or money for movie dates.  We've taken the kids to movies over the years, but never went as a couple until July of this year.  Jesse took me to see Eclipse.  It was a lot of fun, but I have to admit it feels a little selfish!  Of course, I had already taken Jordana and several friends to see Eclipse.  And I told Jordana that she could ask a friend to go to Secretariat this weekend if she wanted.

Secretariat is a wonderful, wonderful movie.  Very suspenseful, even though we already know he wins all three races.  Also a very inspiring movie.  Great for young girls to see.  I won't mind taking Jordana and a friend this weekend!

More of the Boys!

Just a few more pics of the boys ~

Addison, Jordana and Grayson - coloring and eating snacks.

Grayson and Addison with Yoshi - who was a great sport and actually played a lot with the boys.  You know how most cats would hide from young boys - he stayed out and left them carry him around all the time. Yoshipurra is a stray who showed up on Liberty and Tommy's patio back in November of 2006 in Virginia.  We went down for Thanksgiving and ended up bringing him home.  Jesse took one look at him and said, "I'm going to K-mart to buy a pet taxi."  There was no reasoning with him - he had to have this cat.  I'm awful glad - Yoshi is a wonderful pet!

Our menagerie includes 5 White New Zealand rabbits.  They are all named for characters from The Walton's TV show.  They are too big for the boys to carry around, but they like to pet their very soft fur.  And of course, one of the kitties (Stripes) had to be in the picture with Jacob, Addison, Jordana and Grayson.

Here is Classy with Jesse, Grayson, Addison and Jacob.  Addison had to write a journal about his vacation and did an entry about big and small animals.  I'm not sure our 15 lb. rabbits count as small, but I'm sure Classy counts as a "big" animal!