GREAT CHRISTMAS !!!

The blog still isn't working right so I'll have to just comment on the photos in the order that they were loaded though they are out of sequence. Look how sweetly and gently Dayton touches his new cousin's face. Courtney is a pro with babies.
How wonderful for us to see Uncle Don and nephew together finally. I was running around and didn't get as many photos as I wanted. Lori got some nice ones of Gaylynne and the children with Andrew that she gave to me but I can't get them to load. Doh!

Lori said that Andrew is the best Christmas present she's ever received.

The fire in the fireplace was so beautiful and the idea to toast marshmallows was too much for Neal. He made the best of the fact that I only had mini marshmallows in the pantry. Silly man.

Matthew played along.

And so did Lori. We all had to admit that they were delicious.

You can see how deep the snow got.

I really loved this photo. It reminds me of a very large sno-cone.


Lori baked us a very delicious Lemon Meringue Pie using Grandma Coates' recipe (and then she added her own touch) Yummy !!!

What a lucky little boy to have such a devoted mother.

You can see in the photo above that Neal was delighted to have his grandson in his arms too. You can see the family resemblance in this photo. He reminds me of Stuart.

The first thing Don did after they arrived was to clear the driveway for Neal. He's a hard worker.

Look how deep the snow is!
We got the tree up and ready for the kids. As we put the ornaments away this year Lori took pictures of each ornament and I wrote down who they were purchased for. It was long but fun work.

Poor little Melanie wasn't feeling well when they arrived. A cold I think. But Grandpa asked Heavenly Father for good health for our family during the blessing on the food and she was soon dancing and having a wonderful time.

We had thought that we would be driving up to Don's and Gaylynne's home to have dinner among all of their beautiful decorations. We sent the ham home with Don but then the storm got worse. Because they have 4 wheel drive on their car they thought it would be safer to just come to our home and we hoped that Teresa and the kids would be able to come too.

They cooked the ham and bread and rolls and brought veggies to cook. The dinner was delicious.

Right after the blessing Andrew decided that it was his dinner time and so Lori happily left the room to nurse him. I called to her, "And that is why you get the flowers and candy on Mother's Day".

Matthew kept us laughing with his anecdotes. The kids love him very much.

Don enjoyed having a baby in his arms again as he shared Andrew with Emma and Dayton.

See how attentive the girls are.

One of the sweet memories that we will have of Christmas 2008 is of the blessing of Andrew. It was important to Lori to have Don participate in the blessing which was done in our living room.
Lori made the cute little outfit for the occasion.

After dinner and gift opening we were entertained by the dancing of Melanie and Emma.

Courtney played several different songs for their dances.

On Christmas morning Lori made breakfast for us all. And yes, that is a metal knife stuck into an electrical appliance. Maybe I should explain to her about electricity and the little sparklies!!

This is the Coates' Family traditional breakfast. Bacon, eggs, and Bestemor's Christmas Bread, topped off by a big glass of orange juice.

Lori ceremoniously hung Andrew's first Grandma/Grandpa ornament on the tree. It is a little German bib that we picked up at Ornaments to Remember.

Don and Gaylynne spent a lot of time making all of these delicious grain mixes for us. We have enjoyed the Apple, Cinnamon whole grain cereal and loved it. I tried that one because Courtney said that it was her favorite. It feels good to have our food storage back up again.

Our Christmas dinner was tostadas and Spanish rice. I chose that because Matthew loves Mexican food.

For our entertainment a couple of nights we played Uno. Lori and Matthew picked the deck up at the store because "I thought we were going to be in Texas, and packed up everything".

Andrew has such a sweet spirit and it is a joy to be around him.


With the exception of not being in contact with Brian, this was one of our most wonderful Christmases. The snow kept us from Church for two Sundays. All of the Church festivities and programs were canceled.

Teresa and the kids were snowed in just a few miles from us but unable to be with us on Christmas Eve for dinner.

We couldn't get to Great Grandma's house because of the dangerous roads full of ice and snow.

Don dug himself out of a snow filled driveway and probably a ditch or two and had to make a running start just to get up the street not only once, but twice to come to our home to greet Lori and family and share with us. Gaylynne got the kids packed for their long trip to Arizona and still made sure they would be at our home on Christmas Eve.

Lori, Matthew and Andrew surprised us by driving through a horrible snow storm all the way from American Fork just to be here with us. How can all of that turn out to be one of the most wonderful Christmases we have ever had? Well, everything just turned out to be so F-a-m-i-l-y.

Don and Gaylynne brought our ham back fully cooked to perfection for Christmas Eve dinner. Lori and Matthew stayed with us for more than a week so that we could get acquainted with Andrew.

The rain washed away all traces of snow so that we could visit with Great Grandma and introduce her to her newest great grandson and on Sunday attend Church.

Teresa and the kids were able to come by on December 30 so that we could exchange gifts. They got to meet Andrew and then went out to dinner with the Kimberlins. Dad and I went out for Italian food at one of our favorite restaurants.

Don and family made it safely to Arizona where we know they are having a wonderful time. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone of you who worked so hard to be sure that Dad and I had a very, very Merry Christmas!