Goodbye, Grampa....

Varrell Wakefield
10/23/17 - 12/26/08

My grandfather was a great man! He was selfless, generous, outgoing, kind, and always putting everyone else first. And his mood was ALWAYS upbeat, with a wisecrack that would make the grouchiest person crack a smile! I love you Grampa, and will miss you so much. Thanks for being the best grandfather ever, and for making my life so much more special. I am so blessed!

Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Our children are loved by so many... a million thanks to all who made this Christmas special for them this year! We are extremely grateful. Our friends and family are the best of the best! We love you all more than you know!

Our Christmas eve was such a nice time. We spent the morning/afternoon finishing up last minute shopping. Our candlelight service at church was great... I played Christmas eve service for the first time in my life, and I gotta tell ya... CHRISTMAS CAROLS ARE HARD TO PLAY!!!! Lord have mercy! I made it through, but it was not without a large share of mistakes! But it's okay. After church, my brother came over for our traditional Christmas eve gathering, complete with bacon wrapped scallops (a tradition for us, started by my mom). Sandy was here also, as was a new friend of Jason's from the fire department, Steve Pettite. Our neighbor Chris came over for a little while too. It was funny to watch Tim and Jason boxing on the Wii! LOL! We had a great time hanging out!

The presents are now wrapped and under the tree. It is 2:30 am... I can't sleep. Not sure if it's the excitement of the evening, or the medication I am taking (probably both). But nonetheless, I am not sleepy at all. Bad. This will surely catch up with me tomorrow........

My oldest son is currently awake and trying to sneak a peek at the tree... uh-uh!

Speaking of tradition, here is a picture of our traditional "first ornament" on the tree...

It is a spike, symbolic of the nails that pierced the hands and feet of our Savior. The red ribbon is symbolic of His blood that cleanses us from all unrighteousness. Really, the miracle of Christmas is only the beginning of the story. The stories of Christmas and Easter are inseparable. We never want to forget the real meaning of this special season.

Well, I should really head to bed. I love you all! Have a great time with your families and friends! God bless you, and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

First day of winter

Winter arrived today with all the pomp and circumstance that winter brings....
LOTS OF SNOW! Check out these pictures of my family in the white stuff...








Yeah, they're dark. I waited too long to get out and take pictures. I mean, here in Vermont, winter means it's dark as night by 3:45 in the afternoon! However, take heart, Vermonters!! Today is the SHORTEST DAY OF THE YEAR! Starting tomorrow, the days get LONGER each day!! YAY!!!! Bring on the daylight! Those of us with SAD (seasonal affective disorder) crave the sunshine........ the snow I could DEFINITELY do without!

New Rank in MGD

Well, here he is! Sporting a new RED belt! Woo hoo!





This picture shows all the belts (starting at the bottom) he has progressed through, up to the red right on top of the brown. He has one belt left (the top red belt, or 1st red) and then the black belt in CA.

Our son has given us so many reasons to be busting with pride! He received the Holy Ghost in June of '07, he is very close to obtaining black belt status in a martial art, he is an amazing trumpet player in the band, and he is an Honor Roll student in Middle School! Add to that - he is just so pleasant to be around... kind, responsible, respectful, happy, etc etc. I LOVE YOU ADAM!!!!!

Bustin' proud mama!!

I have no words to tell you how I'm feeling! I'm so proud of my son, I could just bust!

End of year "catch up"

So, as we approach the end of 2008, there are a few very random pictures that I MEANT to get on the blog, but never managed to. So.... here in no particular order, are the random, non-related pictures....

Pumpkin carving contest.... one family night just before halloween, we had a contest... Nick and Mom vs. Adam and Dad.....
Cross and Bible ....................................... Storm Trooper


Adam's new suit.... VERY sharp!




Adam's 12th birthday party with A-Train and Ian... they had a blast!




A beautiful sunset out in my backyard.


So there we go... I feel like my "loose ends" are all tied up now. I know they aren't so exciting, but they are part of my "northern apostolic mom" existence!

Christmas traditions... the stuff memories are made of.

I love the Christmas tree farm in our town. It brings back such great memories of my childhood days when MY family went and "tagged" a tree at a tree farm in Maine. We are passing that tradition down to our own children... they couldn't wait for this day! Here are some pictures from the "2008 Christmas Tree" experience!


Trees, trees, everywhere!

Nick proudly points out the winner!

Dad does the honors...

Adam, working on his manly skills, uses the saw to cut off bottom branches.

Adam and Nick carry the tree to the truck.

More manly skills... I would have no clue how to attach the tree to the roof of the truck... that's what guys are for! LOL!

This is a favorite part of the tradition... the hot chocolate with candy cane!

Adam is totally into the Christmas spirit!

Adam putting the ornaments on "just so"...

Nick putting ornaments on....

Voila! A beautiful tree! Thanks for sharing in our special day!

God is...

Okay... I haven't posted a praise/worship video on here in a while, but I found one (thank you Jason) that is just way fun to praise God to! I do believe I will be introduing this one to our church! Click play, turn up the volume, and praise Him at the top of your lungs!