Christmas Eve 2018

Christmas Eve 2018 was spent with my kids. That meant wearing Christmas pajamas provided by Sandy - so much fun! The other photo is mine and Jace's second gingerbread house (first was in 2017.)

Jace has a baby brother!

My last post was so long ago! Two years! A lot has happened since then - including that Jace has a baby brother now! Phin Foster is our new little one's name and he is a sweetie. Jace is the best big brother ever.

Jace has a puppy!

Jace has a puppy! Rocket is a little black rescue dog with lots of energy to match Jace's.

JaceTown

Here is one of the towns Jace and I have built together - JaceTown. They vary from time to time, but all are colorful concoctions made of disparate toys of varied sizes.



He loves pulling out all the toys, but he is not fond of clean-up time and has come up with a ploy to 'leave it up til tomorrow', haha.

Jace is growing like the proverbial weed, and we enjoy each day we get to play together. This summer has included lots of pool time. Coming up this fall - a trip to Disneyworld to see his favorite guy, Mickey Mouse. We must hurry! Superheroes are to be the focus of his new bedroom, and I fear Mickey will be taking a backseat before too long.

Being a grandparent is similar to living your own childhood again. I highly recommend it!

Is Facebook the new Blog?

Is Facebook the new Blog?  Kinda sorta, I think.  I have been very busy on FB, but not too busy on my blogs.  I update my wedding blog regularly, but this one has had short schrift.  Jace has been a frequent star on FB, and my life happenings too.  Here are a few Jace photos:

Here he is helping me make Unbaked cookies.  Yum, yum.

Here, he is helping me make lemon bread.  He liked using the mixer.

 December 2013 - just my little guy, growing up too fast.

Coloring with Daddy - good times!

Back to the question, is Facebook the new blog?  In many ways, I think it has taken over.  It is easier to stay up with since you're scanning messages there anyway.  It takes less effort and is more accessible.  I have a new Facebook page for my art that is updated almost daily - please join me there!  I also have a new website, but I still have two fairly active blogs, the aforementioned wedding blog and an art blog, and this friends and family blog which has been ignored of late.  I'll try to do better, but FB is a better way to catch me now, or my wedding blog or website.  Happy 2014!

Art and Wedding Blogs

Hello, All! Some people may be expecting to see my art and wedding blogs here, but this blog has become more of a family blog than an art blog. I have two art blogs that are more active than this. www.letterladysletters.blogspot.com is my main art blog, and www.weddingletterlady.blogspot.com is my wedding calligraphy blog. In addition, I have a new website! The old PictureTrail site here is still active. It was never an interactive website, but a hosted photo storage site for the most part. Now I have a true website. Ta da! Please view http://www.louisvillecalligraphy.com/ here and tell me what you think.
This rose is from the bouquet Steve gave me for our anniversary last month. He still does flowers after all these years.
Here is a bouquet of tulips he gave me for Easter.

Speaking of Easter, we spent Easter at my sister Angie's, and it happened to be Angie and Jim's wedding anniversary. Sweet!
My brother Roger's grandson (1 1/2) is pretty smart. At the Easter Egg Hunt he spied the stash of plastic eggs and decided why settle for one plastic egg when he could get the entire cache? Such a cutie, and in his large family he is already learning survival tactics like this.


I will close with this image of the Jace Man Band. Jace loves my Mom, his GGMa, to pieces, and she returns the love.

Jace Enjoys Talking Tom

Jace enjoys Talking Tom on my iPad. It's a free app and is a lot of fun! These pictures testify to Jace's enjoyment. (Click on the pix to see them larger.)

My Little Prince

My little prince is wearing a crown his daddy made for him as he plays with his Leappad (a Christmas gift.)

In the second photo he is in his toddler bed (no more crib!) surrounded by his babies (stuffed animals.)

My sweet Jace the Face is growing up very quickly.  He will soon be three years old!

He was at our house today for a while as I worked on a calligraphy project.  Maybe one day he'll be running my calligraphy studio.

What a Difference a Year Makes!

What a difference a year makes! I don't have a copy of Jace's "official" 2011 Santa photo, but he was crying in it. Here's one taken at a photos shoot about a month before Christmas. Such a little guy!

And here is my little guy enjoying Santa's lap this year. Santa even called him the other night to check up on him and to remind him to be a good boy.

The Great Santa Caper

We are calling this "The Great Santa Caper". First of all, my husband (aka, 'the kidnapper') is sometimes a funny prankster. Yesterday morning that was apparent. He decided to kidnap Santa.

There's the target, totally unaware of the impending threat.

In his bathrobe, the kidnapper sneaked across the street in broad daylight - target in sight.

The neighbors didn't notice their Santa was missing, so a ransom note was written.

"We have Santa. Don't call police. Don't do anything stupid."

And delivered.

As we went out for the evening, Santa was left inside wistfully looking across to his home - but maybe enjoying the warmth indoors.

Max kept watch.

If the kidnapper hadn't grown tired of waiting for his telephoned ransom demand (whole cashews and two Christmas cookies) to be delivered, perhaps Santa would still be waiting at our door.

But, the kidnapper's patience wore thin. Santa was returned unharmed...perhaps remembering how nice it was to be inside, out of the cold, and maybe knowing who loves him best. Much laughter ensued, but no cashews, no cookies.

When the kidnapper was questioned by this house detective, he said he's retired and has time to think up fun things to do to torment his neighbors. He could do worse.

It Started with a Hankie

It started with a hankie. My new daughter in law gave me a gift on her wedding day to my son. It was an embroidered handkerchief - too pretty to use - with the sweetest message from her to me. It touched my heart.

I opted to have it framed. But then I went on a little shopping spree and found a collage frame. I decided to use it for the handkerchief and other wedding mementos. My friend Jen had given them a triple handful of her lovely Jen Stones as wedding favors. They had Steve and Sandy's names on them and their wedding date. They have mine, so it hasn't made it into the frame yet. Nor has the wedding photo I will include. Their photographer hasn't sent their photos yet. It does have their invitation and its hand-lettered envelope, a starfish on green ribbon that served as an aisle decoration, a piece of excess sash ribbon from Sandy's dress and a cork from a bottle of wine used in the pitchers full of sangria that Steve made.

I am pleased with this shadowbox frame filled with reminders of their beach wedding. It will be even nicer when the remaining pieces are installed. --- And my new daughter in law wants me to make one for her too. Hers won't have the hankie.

Halloween with Jace

Halloween with Jace is always fun. This year he went as an airplane pilot. His mama found the cutest authentic looking jacket and hat with flaps. They added some goggles, brown pants and shoes. I bought a glow in the dark ghostly bucket to hold his candy, and he was all set to beg for candy on my mother's street - arguably the very best trick-or-treat neighborhood for generations!

Here's the Jack-o-Lantern that met Jace at our house.

Second cuz Celeste rocks his goggles!

We all had fun. Jace's great grandma enjoyed all the kids who stopped by in costumes, and of course she enjoyed seeing her own grandson and great grandson. Great Aunt Angie and her family, just down the street, had fun with Jace too. It's a whole 365 days til the next time!