Enchanting....

Several years ago our family started going to a movie on Christmas Day. Last year I was sick, so we didn't go, and this year, Stan didn't feel well, so he stayed home. Holly and I decided to go anyway, and choose the movie "Enchanted." For anyone who grew up with the princess movies, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, etc, this is a movie that should not be missed!!! It is an "enchanting" film about a fairy-tale princess sent to earth by an evil stepmom. The princess, Giselle, lands in the middle of New York City - Times Square - and finds the real world much different than "Andalasia" where she lived. It is cute, funny, and McDreamy is in it, too! We loved it!

Technically Challenged Christmas.....

We had a special visit from jolly ole' St Nick at our house on Christmas Eve. Since the under 2 year-old set is scared of Santa, Reese was the only one who would sit on the big man in red's lap. Good ole' Santa, he left a gift for Grace and Ryan, too, then left to finish packing his sleigh for his big trip that night.

Now to the title of this post, I lost - or hopefully just misplaced - my digital camera in the middle of gift opening. So, I didn't get pictures of the kids as I had hoped. The pictures here are ones Kristy sent me, so I hope she doesn't mind. Then, when I tried to post them here they wouldn't post in the same sizes. I think Kristy must of did something so that Reese's picture as well as their family picture would be bigger. I could not get the others any larger, so I don't know what was going on with them. I give up!!!

Our Dynamic Duo...

Hey, Ryan, wait until I find the music.....








Okay, Ryan, here is the song I want to play, "Amazing Grace."

I always thought it would be fun to have twins, and they do run in Stan's family. One of his great-grandfathers was a twin, his sister, Susie, has twins, and he has twin cousins. Even though we don't have twins in the immediate family, we do have a dynamic duo - aka Grace and Ryan. Ryan will be 2 on January 16 and exactly 8 weeks later, to the day, Grace will also turn 2. Since they are together often, they get along well. When they first started walking, they were in to everything! What one didn't think of, the other did! Together they were a little de-construction crew. ( Sorry, Kelly and Kristy!)


I am now happy to report that they have outgrown this phase and enjoy such things as playing "Elmo" on the computer, the piano, and playing with toys instead of pulling everything out of drawers and cabinets. Funny thing, we have a basement set up like a pre-school, with a Little Tykes workbench for Ryan, a house for the girls complete with washer, dryer, table, chairs, high chair, baby cradle, and many other numerous toys to mention. The grandkids even have their own bedroom, filled with Fisher Price toys. However, their favorite thing to do is to get in one cupboard in my kitchen and get out a basket where I keep all of their sippy cups. They dump them all over the floor and try to put the lids on the cups and them carry them around. I don't know why this is so much fun for them, but it entertains them, so who am I to stop them??? We are looking forward to Christmas Eve. Maybe I should have bought a couple of extra sippy cups to play with instead of more toys....

At Marsh, We Value You!!!

Years ago, when the girls were in grade school at St Lawrence, Marsh (the supermarket chain) had a big advertising campaign and their slogan was, "At Marsh, we value you!" Our youngest daughter, Holly, now works in their corporate office. Since she works in the Legal Department, she is on the same floor as the CEO. One of the perks of working for Marsh is they often have little goodies for the workers. Holly has gotten free tickets to suites at Conseco for games, Symphony on the Prairie, Home-a-Rama, and many other Marsh-sponsored events. She also brings home food samples and flowers. Last night, she brought home at least 2 dozen long-stemmed yellow roses. Apparently the CEO had bought a bunch of flowers for his wife and gave the extra ones to the ladies who worked on his floor. Holly and I arranged them in a vase and this morning, they had opened nicely and are absolutely beautiful!!! Wow, I could get used to this.....

Little Debbie...

Today is my "little sister's" birthday. I always called her Debbie, as it seemed to fit. She is 10 years younger than me, and very petite, so when I was growing up, she was always little to me. When I went away to Purdue, Debbie was only entering 2nd grade! Anyway, about 10 years ago, she told me I was the only one who called her "Debbie" anymore. To everyone else, she is simply "Deb."

I was looking at some old pictures tonight, when I saw this one of us together, taken in 1999 as I recall. She had the lead part in her community theatre's production of "The Best Little Christmas Pageant Ever," playing the role of Grace Bradley. Grace, is a mom who, at the last minute, had to fill in for the regular director of the town's annual Christmas pageant, who had broken her leg.

I know some of Deb's kids - if not all - were also involved, along with their 3-legged dog, Chopper. My family went to see the play and afterwards, we proudly stood in line to congratulate the cast in a fine performance. I think this was Deb's drama debut, but she has since gone on to sing at her church in a small group and plays the piano sometimes for the worship service. Add to that, teaching 3rd grade, raising 4 children - who are all in college!- helping her husband with their business, serving on various school, community, and church committees and coaching Destination Imagination, plus too many other things I can't think of right now....her life is anything but "simple!"

Happy Birthday, sis! Although you are definitely a "Deb," to me you will always be "My Little Debbie."

Watch Out World!!!

Ryan, with Grace in background

It's been interesting observing the development and behavior of a boy after raising 3 daughters and having a granddaughter first. Ryan - who will be 2 yrs old in one month - has been a little different from the girls. Not in a bad way, mind you, just a little different from the girls. Here is what I am noticing:

1) Ryan runs into the room at full throttle, flings himself onto the chair while you hold your breath thinking he will hurt himself in the process

2) If he gets a shot, ten seconds later, he is all smiles, whereas his sister carries on for---how long???---lets just call her "Miss Drama Queen." She can't walk, it hurts so bad, etc., etc., etc.

3) He is really into trains and is a natural thrower and kicker!

While his parents noticed a month or so ago that he is talking more, we have been seeing this, too. We laughed a couple of months ago when Ryan would make the sign for "cracker" and mutter something which sounded totally unrelated to cracker when he wanted a snack. Then there is little Grace, 2 months younger, who would say, "I would like a cracker too, please, grandma,"

It is fun to watch them all go at their own speed and enjoy the special qualities of each. Now that Ryan is talking more, look out world!

Happy Birthday, Kelly!

I don't know how I can possibly have a daughter who is 32 years old! It seems like only yesterday - or maybe the day before - that I was in my 30's. When you have little ones, some days seem to go on and on...especially when they are sick or worse yet, when mommy is sick! However, when you look back, it seems like that period of life has gone by way too fast. I guess that is why you savor each moment with the grandkids...it is a way of also getting back your lost youth, too.

I posted this picture of you and me, taken in July 1978, just a couple of days before Kristy was born. We had taken you to the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo, so if you look closely, you can see animals in the background.

Kelly, you are a wonderful daughter and an outstanding mother to your own two little girls. Enjoy each day with your girls...even when Gracie colors on your sofa, or gets into your makeup... I hope you have a very, Happy Birthday!!!

The Cabbage Patch Kids

Back in 1984, there was a line of dolls called "Cabbage Patch Kids." They were very popular gifts for Christmas that year and I had relatives scouring the state for them...or should I say, "Santa had relatives scouring the North Pole for them?" Anyway, along with their dolls, the girls each received a Cabbage Patch ornament when "Santa," aka Ralph Bretz, a neighbor, made a visit to our house. This is a picture of my dolls holding their ornaments, which they still put on their trees today!

The Schenher Homestead

It's hard to believe, but it has been 32 years since Stan and I celebrated our first Christmas as a married couple. At the time, we lived at Ege (pronounced Egg-EE) at the Schenher homestead. This is where Grandma Schenher raised 12 children after Grandpa Schenher died, leaving her with 5 boys and 7 girls. I am not sure what ages they were, but the youngest, Stan's dad, was only 18 months. The older ones worked and helped out on the farm. It couldn't have been easy, but it built a closeness in their family that was next to none. When we married, we moved into the farmhouse, recently vacated by the death of an uncle, and lived there a little over 7 months. Kelly was born while we lived there (December 12) and this is the house she came home to. It hasn't changed much on the outside (other than the shrubs - which need to be cut back or removed!) and when Stan's nephews - Pierce and Taylor - from CA visited in 2006, we took them to Ege and showed them where their grandfather grew up. It is funny, how things have changed...the young couple who bought the farm in 1976 added on to it when they had 2 children. We live so differently these days! Sometimes I think it would be good to go back to a simpler time...

Making Memories...

Today Reese and I went downtown to the Conseco Fieldhouse to see Walt Disney's "High School Musical on Ice." We have both been looking forward to going and I am sure for Reese, it seemed like today would never come! She was a little lady - very well-behaved - and we had a wonderful time. The production was excellent and Reese enjoyed every moment! When it was over, she wanted more! Taking from Kelly's post a couple of weeks ago:

Cost of 2 tickets: $50
Souvenoir Photo: $16
Ice Cream for 2: $ 6

Time spent making memories with my granddaughter: priceless

Girl's Night Out!!!

For Christmas last year, Keith and Joel gave Kristy and Kelly a gift card to Fionn McCool's in Fishers. This was to be used for a "girl's night out," a break from the usual routine with the kiddies at night. Lucky for us, they invited Holly and I to go with them tonight. We had a very nice dinner, without the usual interuptions when we are all together! All of us actually were able to eat our meal while still hot and no one had to get up from the table to take Reese to the potty. It is wonderful to have 3 loving and thoughtful daughters and to enjoy being together. I hope we continue this and evenutally, include the granddaughters when they are older, too! Sorry, Ryan, you will have to have a "boy's night" with Grandpa Stan, daddy and Uncle Keith!

Make New Friends, but Keep the Old....

The Girl Scouts have it right: "Make new friends, but keep the old; some are silver and others gold." Today I met a "golden friend," Kathy. We go back over 38 yrs to our freshman days at Purdue. Kathy was from the Lafayette area and I was from a small town in northeastern Indiana. While Kathy "grew up" with Purdue, I had only been there once for a few hours, before being dropped off by my parents. I was terribly homesick for weeks. Kathy lived in the room beside me and it wasn't long before I discovered we had some of the same interests - TV - and we both liked vanilla ice cream with broken saltine crackers on top! I knew I had met a soulmate !

We were eventually roommates our Jr and part of our Senior years, and have remained friends throughout the years. Even though Kathy stayed in Lafayette, and there were years we didn't talk or see much of each other, we always picked up where we left off when we saw one another.

While I was busy with 3 daughters, Kathy had a very successful teaching career. Our lives merged again 7 or 8 years ago when she began dating a high school friend, Terry, who had lost his first wife to cancer. They are now happily married and living about an hour away from Indy.

Terry is a wonderful man and I am thrilled that they are together. This golden friend surely deserves it! (Now, I wonder if Terry likes vanilla ice cream with saltines???)

"The Bachelor"

I don't know exactly when it happened, I think it was at the end of the season of "The Bachelorette" when Trista choose Ryan. It was at that moment when I became a hopeless reality love show junkie! I was hooked on "For Love or Money," which reminded me of a saying one of my childhood friend's brother told her, "marry for money, love will come later..." as well as "Marry my Dad," or something to that effect, where the children selected a woman to marry their dad, as well as "The Bachelor," and "The Bachelorette." I was there when Andrew Firestone choose Jen, and followed their relationship until their breakup and her subsequent much-touted appearance as "The Bachelorette." Here she had a hand in personally selecting her 25 eligible bachelors, and at the end, didn't choose any of them. Then there was the dashing Vanderbilt Doctor who choose the adorable little teacher, but by the time the last rose was given out, they were already a thing of the past. Of course who could forget the dashing Naval Officer and Gentleman, Andy Baldwin, and his pick, Tessa. Again, a thing of the past.

I thought this season's bachelor, Brad Womack, would be different. He was there to find the love of his life and I thought for sure he had found his soulmate - if even for a few weeks - in Deanna. Alas, it was not meant to be as he picked neither one - Deanna or Jenni - at the final rose ceremony.

Okay... what is up with this??? Could they not just pretend - for the sake of romance - at least until the credits on the final show are over? I mean, this is the modern real-life version of Cinderella. Girl meets her prince, falls in love, and lives happily ever after - or, in this case, until the final rose ceremony.

The Creation of a Fashion Diva

Many kids have favorite clothes they like for one reason or another. Grace is taking that one step further...the other day, I stopped at Keith and Kelly's to drop off a Christmas outfit I had bought for Grace. She was finishing her lunch in her high chair and as I pulled the outfit out of the bag to show Kelly, we heard Grace say, "that's cute! That's cute!" I couldn't believe she was giving a fashion review at 19 months of age. Look out Kelly and Keith...I think you have a baby fashionista on your hands! Here is a picture of Grace, taken today after Clare's Baptism. Of course she is fashionably dressed in an aqua blue velvelteen dress with brown dots and brown trim, white tights, and the perfect little brown ballet flats! Little Clare was cute in her Baptismal Gown - made by her daddy's grandmother for his Baptism 32 years ago. After the ceremony, we had a lovely luncheon at Keith and Kelly's.

A Somewhat Photogenic Family....

Every year we try to get a family picture taken. Usually we go to Target and crowd in their tiny studio for a few minutes of agony. The pictures are okay, but the girls and I have often talked about having some outdoor pictures taken. Of course my family knows we have a lot of "Schenher Talk" = which means we talk about a lot of things and most fail to happen for one reason or another. Anyway, several weeks ago, Kelly mentioned she had found the name of a photographer and had checked out her website. I promised to give her a call and then...you know how it goes...you get busy and forget. The only weekend we could possibly do it was this weekend and calling last Saturday, at the last minute, I wasn't sure if we would find anyone available. Luckily, our photographer had a client cancel that morning, leaving her free most of the day on Saturday. It was a cool, but sunny, day and all 11 of us posed for various pictures. It is so hard to get 7 adults looking the same direction, with their eyes open, etc....yet alone 4 kids age 3 and under! We ended up with some wonderful pictures, taken in our back yard. By the end of our session, Reese was really working the camera! At 3 1/2, she was old enough to follow the photographer's instructions. Next time she might have competition from Grace and Ryan, since they'll be older....

...Then it's Back to the Real World!

Not too long after we returned home from Nashville on Tuesday, grandson Ryan had an allergic reaction to something Kristy was cooking. He has severe food allergies and began having labored breathing. Unfortunately, daddy Joel was in Arizona, so Aunt Holly watched Reese while Kristy ran Ryan to the ER. By the time she arrived, he was sleeping and his breathing was better, so after debating a while, she decided to go back home. I was at their house shortly thereafter and helped get the kiddies ready for bed. I don't know what Kelly and Kristy would do without Aunt Howwa! She always seems to be there to help when needed! Thanks, Holly!

The good news is that Ryan was okay and that Kristy did the right thing by taking him to the ER. Even though she didn't have to take him in, she would have been seconds away from getting medical attention if he had needed it. Kristy - if you think about moving, you might consider moving closer to an ER!

The saga continued the next day with Kelly being really ill with a virus. Thankfully Keith stayed home to help with the kiddies. The day after, both Grace and Clare had fevers and again, Keith was able to come home early and help Kelly take them to the doctor. I had mommy guilt (see, girls, it never goes away) by not going over to help, but we had things going on both days and also, the last time I tried to help, I got sick, too! Anyway, after a day, Kelly was starting to feel better. All just had a virus, and today (Friday) they all seem to be doing better. We have a big weekend - tomorrow we have family pictures taken and then Sunday is Clare's Baptism. We can't afford to be sick!

Getting Away from it All

Monday, Stan and I went to Twin Oaks Lodge in Nashville, IN, for an overnight stay. This was a gift for our Wedding Anniversary (back in May) from our kids, so we decided we had better take them up on it! We really enjoyed our drive down - it was a nice, but windy, day and there were still some trees with color. The lodge is out in the country and was very nice. It is a log cabin and was built especially for the B & B. There were 3 other couples staying at the inn Monday night. One couple was from Toledo, OH, and another from Lexington, KY. We never heard where the other couple came from. If you want to "get away" from it all, I would suggest you give it a try! The setting was nice and there was a nice gathering room with a wonderful fireplace where we visited with the Ohio and Ky people. No TV's - but since we had such a nice time talking to the other guests, we never missed it! Of course, my DVR was set to record "The Bachelor" so I could see who was received roses! Thanks, girls, Keith,and Joel for giving us such a lovely gift!

Shop 'Til You Drop!

This afternoon, my three daughters and grandbaby, Clare, headed to the outlet mall in Edinburgh. Grandpa Stan wins Grandpa of the year for watching Grace from the time we left until her daddy, Keith, got home (about an hour.) Then 3 hours later, Grandpa went to the babysitter, picked up Reese & Ryan, and took them back to Grace's house. Grandpa then watched all 3 little ones for almost 2 hours until we got home! Yeah, Grandpa!!! What a brave guy! (Daddies Keith and Joel are engaged in a competition this weekend - the DeCastleton.) Anyway, it was a lovely day to shop and I think all of us - especially Grandpa - are tired tonight!

Happy Halloween/Birthday

Yes, my birthday is on Halloween and as a kid, it was a magical day for a birthday. A big party every year!!! Once I became a mom, the emphasis was on the kids having a good time. Of course, I manged to sneak a little fun in there, too. Especially when my good friend and neighbor, Dale, brought me a water bottle filled with a special "witches brew" and we would walk around the neighborhood taking our kids Trick-or-Treating. Talk about deseperate housewives!!! We were ahead of our time! Anyway, now the focus is on the grandkiddies-Reese, Ryan, Grace, and baby Clare...

Reesie Cup

Our oldest granddaughter, Reese, (Kristy and Joel's daughter) is into "High School Musical" right now. Even though she is only 3 1/2, I think it was more of a self-preservation move by her mother that prompted her fasination. Every time they were in the car, they were listening to Dora, Elmo, and other kid's songs. Kristy had finally had enough and bought the 'High School Musical" CD to have other musical options. Well, Reese decided to be a cheerleader from the movie "High School Musical" for Halloween. Rah, Rah, Reese!

My Punkins'

Little Grace is so cute! She is so verbal for her age (probably if you ask her mommy, she might say "too verbal sometimes!") Everytime she sees a pumpkin, she points them out and says "punkin." For Halloween, Grace and her little sister, Clare (who was born August 8th) are my little punkins!

My Buddy

After having three lovely daughters, several female cats, and then blessed with a granddaughter, Reese, in 2004, we had a grandson. Ryan Jacob was born on January 16, 2006. He is such a sweetie and all-boy! So different than the girls - rough and tumble - loves to kick and throw and is naturally attracted to dirt, rocks, etc. Even though his name is Ryan, Grandpa and I affectionally call him "Buddy." Love ya, Buddy Boy!

Bubbles Galore!

The grandkids had fun with bubbles this past weekend. Funny how you can spend so much on some toys, only to find that the tried and true things are still favorites!

Swing, swing, swing...

All kids seem to enjoy swinging and my 19 month old granddaughter, Grace, is no exception! Here is Gracie in her backyard, loving her swing. It looks like she could be getting a little sleepy, too!

A Bloggin' Grandma!

Since I have enjoyed Kelly's blog so much, I decided to create one for myself. I am sure mine won't be as entertaining as hers, but I thought it would be fun to post pictures and events to keep friends and family updated as to what we are up to here in Fishers!