friday, again

Tell me... how did it get to be Friday again, already?? I just can't believe it. The weeks are whoooshing by.... B and I are having another "lazy" day at home, though I have a whole ton of things I need to get done around here. (And, just in case you're wondering... no, he did not break his record last night, unfortunately. He was up at 4am, wanting a bottle. Sigh. Thankfully, the screaming did not go on for as long as it has in the past. He fell back asleep after ten minutes or so. However, I could NOT get back to sleep for almost 2 hours, even though I was exhausted. And then, of course, it was time to get up again!)

Today's Photo Friday picture is an oldie! This was taken way back in 1976, on Christmas Day. I actually orchestrated the whole thing, even though I was only 8 at the time. I really wanted to have a photo of my grandparents and my cousins to show to my friends at school, so I begged my parents to take a picture of us all. I remember Grandma telling Grandpa that he should go change into "something nicer" for the picture, but I insisted that he keep his flannel shirt and bib overalls on ~ I wanted him to "look like my grandpa"! :) As it turned out, you can't even see what he's wearing in the pic, LOL!

My very favorite thing about the holidays as a child was spending Christmas Day at the farm, with all my aunts, uncles, and cousins on Mom's side. For me, Christmas was (and still is) all about being surrounded by the people I love, in a noisy but happy house. I'm very glad I have this picture of so many of us ~ I keep it on the bulletin board above my scrap area because it makes me happy every time I look at it.

(Back row: Pamela, Grandpa, Grandma, Sandy, Matthew, Keith, and me.
Front row: Steve, Michelle, Jacque, Tammy, Christine, and Michael.)

Today I am thankful for:

• Our freshly painted bathroom (and having 2 bathrooms we can use again!) We're not totally done in there ~ the trim and door still need to be painted, and we have towel racks to put up ~ but it already looks SO much better than it did!!
• Trees. They're all pretty bare around here right now, but that just makes them interesting! They always look so beautiful covered in snow, and then I look forward to them budding in the spring, being lush and green in the summer, and changing into dramatic colors in the fall....
• My extended family ~ my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and my cousins' spouses and children. They were a big part of my happy childhood. I have so many fond memories of spending time with them all. Now I only get to see them once a year or so (if I'm lucky), but I miss them and love them all so much!