Christmas at Grandma & Grandpa's

We went to Grandma and Grandpa Delaney's for Christmas the day after Christmas. We had a yummy dinner and opened presents then visited. Mark and Beth were there with Markie (Mark is here with me while I'm typing this and he told me to type that instead of Mark the III). Anyway, it's always fun to get together and watch the kids play with one another.

This photo was taken shortly after opening presents.

Madison is laying on Emmalene's pillow pet.

This is the best picture of Mark.

I snapped it right before present opening began.

Madison smiling for the camera!

Madison wearing her Santa hat given by Grandma.

Mark put his Santa hat on Emmalene.

She loves playing with him!

Grandma and Grandpa's Christmas tree.

I'm feeding Emmalene at the dinner table. Grandma decorated everything beautifully! We ate on Christmas china with really cute table decorations.

Grandma and Grandpa posing for a photo in their kitchen.

We had lots of fun and ate lots of yummy food. Granny Osteen came down at the end to visit for a little while and see the kids. Another Christmas full of memories. That's the way to end every year!

Sweet smiles

On my new camera, I can snap pictures continuously and I did this the other night while Emmalene was in the tub. She had the cutest expression on her face and I just kept snapping photos. Sweet smiles!!

Oh my!

Madison was playing with Emmalene the other day and taught her to put her hands on her face when she says "Oh my!" Well, Emmalene picked that up pretty quick. Now Madison loves to watch her do this and says proudly, "I taught her to do that!"

I captured these photos while Emmalene was taking a bath and Madison was doing the "Oh my" game.

A gift for you...E-M-M-A-L-E-N-E

Madison bought Emmalene some bathtub letters for Christmas. When the letters get wet, they stick to the tile and tub. Madison spelled out Emmalene's name while she was taking her bath. Emmalene thought that was pretty cool. She smiled and touched the letters. She took them down and tried to put them back up.

Emmalene's still teething so she loves to chew on her washcloth.

She looks like a little puppy dog with a chew toy!

Christmas Eve & Christmas Day

On Christmas Eve, we went to Loretta & Harold's for dinner. Bruce's mom and dad were in town for the holiday and we had a huge meal together. After leaving their home, I headed home with Emmalene to get her in bed and start getting ready for Santa Claus. Bruce and Madison stayed a little longer at Loretta's to visit with his parents.

On Christmas morning, we got up to see what Santa had brought. Madison got a Wii, a movie, an extra game for the Wii and some smaller items. Emmalene got a little car. It's kind of like the dashboard with controls to turn the signals on/off and vibrations and sounds. She also got a box with shapes that you slide into the holes. She got a few books and other small items too.

Normally in the past, I take photos during present-opening-time, but this year I set up the video camera and just enjoyed the moment. That was my gift to myself - watching the girls without having the camera blocking my view!

We had breakfast and shortly after Bruce's mom and dad came over to spend the afternoon. Later that night, Loretta and Harold's family came over for dinner. The kids played with the Wii and and everybody visited a little longer. My mom and dad came over to see everybody and stayed for a little bit.

The food was set up buffet style in our kitchen with appetizers for dinner.

My mom, Whitney, Loretta, Raymond and Merlene visiting at the table.


Whitney let Emmalene play with her REAL cell phone.
Emmalene was in heaven!

Damon, Daysha, Emmalene and Madison posing on the couch.

Papa, Madison, Nanny, & Emmalene

Nanny, Emmalene and Madison on Christmas morning.

Emmalene and Grandma on Christmas evening.

Hanging out in our pajamas

Madison and Emmalene were wearing some warm Christmas pj's and sliding around the living room on the floor. Had to take this photo as they passed by the tree!

Madison's First Job!

Madison was asked to serve as a hostess for one of Bruce's clients. They were hosting their annual Christmas party and needed two hostesses for their front door. Madison chose her friend Camille to help out. The girls were asked to be dressed in church attire and greet the guests by opening the front door for them and handing out small gifts to them as they left.

The girls were so excited. Madison and Camille would talk about it at school in anticipation of the big day. They were dressed so cute and got lots of compliments from the guests. The party was an open house event from 1-6 P.M. They were tired when they left, but excited about their rewards. They were paid $50.00 each and given a few small items for their appreciation. What an exciting first job!

This photo was taken in the foyer of the home of their first job!

Annual Christmas Photos

As many of you know, my brother Mark is a photographer. He comes down to my house to take pictures for my photo Christmas cards. He has all the fancy equipment, lights, etc. that I don't have.

Madison looked directly at the camera, but we had to give Emmalene a Christmas tree ornament to hold to keep her focused. She's not used to the bright lights and really big camera that Uncle Mark has!

Madison was telling Emmalene to look at the camera when

Mark took this photo. Too cute!

This photo is of Madison and Emmalene wearing their Christmas pajamas.

Mark had his photo taken too. He's wearing what he'll be dressed in for his chorus concert next week. He told us that he will be singing three songs that are all in different languages.

Isn't this the cutest Christmas photo that you've ever seen!

Gourmet Girl

Back in March, I started a lunch delivery service on Fridays. I love to cook, but the point of being home is to spend time with Emmalene while she's a baby. So, I had to limit the lunches to only one day a week. It started a little slow, but quickly picked up once word got out. I make southern gourmet-style lunches that are homemade with a dessert. For example, one week I did chicken grape salad with sour cream butter biscuits and creamy cocounut cake. I package them in brown paper gift bags with a red tie and a label describing the contents, etc. I send out a menu via email each Tuesday and take orders until Thursday at 5:00 PM. Then, it's cook, cook, cook! Sometimes I'm up very late depending on the menu. I want it to be fresh and homemade so that means time.

I've picked up a lot of business from the schools. The teachers have supported me as well as local businesses. I've added cakes during holidays (Easter, 4th of July, etc.) which brings in a little extra too. For Christmas, I picked up a small catering job and have made many cakes for parties. As a matter of fact, I had to put a hold on Friday lunches for the rest of December due to cake orders and small catering jobs. I love it! It doesn't seem like a job because I get to do what I love, but it also brings in some extra money. It basically buys groceries each week. A little something never hurts!

This a photo of a recent cake I did for a Christmas party. It's a red velvet cake with cream cheese icing. I decorated it with a gingerbread theme. I took a quick photo before delivering it.

Say Cheese!

An elf delivered a new camera to us a couple of weeks ago. We were very surprised and have been reading the directions to make sure we get full use out of it. Well, Bruce has been reading them. I read them for about 5.2 seconds and he's been teaching me. Madison will inherit my old camera. It's still in great condition, but this new one is fantastic! As you can see, the pictures are very clear and crisp.

It's not very often that you'll catch Bruce in a photo,

but Madison took this one. It came out great!

Madison took this self portrait.

Madison also took this one when I was giving

Emmalene a bath in the kitchen sink.

My girls are camera trained.

Anytime the camera comes out - they start smiling!

Animal Cell

Madison had to create a 3D animal or plant cell along with a key for a grade in Science. She chose the animal cell. Normally I help with nightly homework and Bruce has "project" duty, but I was actually excited about this project unlike my normal response to projects.

When Madison was brainstorming her construction process, it reminded me of having to make a plant cell when I was in Mr. Durrance's 7th grade Biology class. My dad helped me make the cell on a sheet of heavy cardstock with window sealant as the cytoplasm. He helped me find stuff around the house to represent the other stuff in it. I remember having fun with my dad at the table trying to glue everything down. I told Madison about that and she thought it was funny.

So, Madison was thinking of different ways to create this 3D model when she opted for a cake. We made a two-layer cake so the model could be eaten later. The cytoplasm was the icing on top and the cell parts were all edible. She used red hots, a fire bowl for the nucleus, gummy worms, cotton candy, licorice, sugar strings, and jelly beans. She also had to create a key showing what each item represented. That was done on a sheet of neon pink cardstock. She was so excited that we took pictures to document her work.




The next morning she gathered everything and headed off to school. I don't know who was more excited, her or me, about finding out how well she did. Later that day, I picked her up from school. She hopped in the car saying that one other kid had made their project out of a cake, but that her's was a hit. They ate it in class and she turned in her key for a grade.



After the weekend, Monday finally brought the grade she hoped for. It was a 100!!! She grabbed my camera and took a photo of her grade and I took one of her holding it. (We had to throw the key away since it had food on it.)



You can see from this photo just how excited and proud she was!