Christmas at our House

A few days before Christmas we got a new kitten. His name is Toffee. He's going to be very unhappy when the tree gets taken down & put away.
Here's the tree after Santa came....it was a pretty lean year.
The stockings hung with care.
A better look at Toffee.
Melanie was very pleased with her gifts.
I think she would have been happy if the candy was all she got.
Marissa loved her gifts & candy too....especially the candy!




Maggie got an American Girl Just Like You doll. She LOVES it. This outfit is also from the American Girl store, but they didn't have the matching version for her doll.
Maggie also got a new Lands End winter coat.
Maggie & I made this headband for the doll.
Morgan's BIG present was a Nintendo DSi.....he is rather obsessed with it.
Mason came over early in the morning to open presents with the younger kids, then he took a nap....yes, he always looks this grumpy when he first wakes up.
Lily came over in the evening to open presents & visit.
Maggie LOVES to read & was very excited that her brother Marvin got her this book.

Mason LOVES to get the little kids worked up
but sometimes it backfires on him
Morgan also got a couple of new Lego games for the Wii
Marvin was very interested in helping him with the Star Wars game.
Marvin & Lily with Marissa on the loveseat & Marvin's wife, Mary next to the tree
Maggie worked for 30 minutes to be able to do this with her fingers.
Melanie still doesn't particularly like clothes....but she LOVES to play "Flying Baby" with Mason.

We had a fun Christmas! It was wonderful to have all the kids & our granddaughter together. I only wish we had gotten a good group picture.

How was your Christmas? Did you get to spend it with family?

Merry Christmas!!!

I'm now approving comments because of SPAM

I've recently started to get a LOT of random SPAM. I'm hoping it is last minute marketing for Christmas, so I've turned on comment approval to eliminate it showing up here.

Music Monday--God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Last year I chose the Loreena McKennitt version of this song for a Music Monday post. It is one of my favorite songs. This year, I've got a couple versions to share.



This instrumental version by Jethro Tull is AMAZING!!!

Another death....

sigh....the last few weeks have been really hard.

On Wednesday I got a message on Facebook from a friend in California that one of our friends had died. I went to High School with Beth. We were both in the band, but we didn't really hang out much. She was shy & quiet, I wasn't. After high school we became much closer friends. She went away to college, but we still got together whenever she was in town. Then she became depressed & was later diagnosed with mental illness. She moved back to the town I lived in & we spent a LOT of time together. Her mental illness was a major struggle for her and she would end up in the hospital on a frequent basis. She would always call once her medication had been adjusted & I would go wherever she was to visit & cheer her up. This went on for almost 15 yrs.

Not long before I left California, she had a particularly bad episode and she was committed to a facility. At the time I was told that her illness had progressed to the point that she would no longer be able to communicate with friends and she was expected to stay in a residential facility from then on. That was at least 6 yrs ago...and I haven't had contact with her since.

Beth was not in touch with reality. She wasn't on the internet, she didn't have e-mail & she didn't really have conversations on the phone. She has been on my mind lately, but I didn't have a way to get any information about her. I befriended her mother on Facebook and had been watching her updates hoping she would mention Beth, but she never did. I knew they were estranged, so I didn't feel comfortable asking her Mom for information about her.

On Tuesday, Beth was living on her own, renting a room in someone's home. For reasons nobody understands she took a large knife and walked a block to the closest elementary school. She was cutting herself on her head & upper body with the knife and she gained entrance to the school playground. A yard duty saw her & immediately got all the children to safety, then the police were called. When the police confronted Beth, she charged them and they fatally shot her. I'm not upset at the police, their lives were in danger. I am upset that the system was never able to help Beth. I am extremely sad that it does not sound as if anyone was looking out for her day to day welfare, she was severely mentally ill, yet she was renting a room in a strangers house & living on Social Security disability. I am thankful that the children, the school staff & the police were unharmed. Beth had tried to harm herself in the past, but she had NEVER in my knowledge been a danger to others. I have to believe that she was off her medication and had no idea what she was doing. This article in the Modesto Bee gives a lot of information about the specifics of her illness.

Rest in Peace Beth....you will not be forgotten.

Take Me Back Tuesday--Christmas 2006

I've probably shared this picture before. This was our Christmas card picture in 2006. I was pregnant with Melanie at the time....the baby here is Marissa.

Music Monday--Another Celtic Christmas Favorite

I've recently realized that I'm really into Celtic (Irish) music. Here are a couple of my favorites from the Irish Rovers. I'd LOVE to see Celtic Woman do this first song.



Their accents in this one are so thick, at times I wasn't sure they were still speaking English. I LOVE the idea of this one as an Irish drinking song. The men in this video are not the Irish Rovers, but it is the Irish Rover's singing.