Click on the photos to enlarge them, if you wish to.....
Here is the snow that greeted me my first day in Manitowoc. Since I arrived in the darkness, I could not really appreciate the enormous snow piles on this and other properties in town. The grader came later in the week to scrape away the accumulated ice and snow from the parking areas.
Everyone got a chance to hold the baby, Angelo, over the holidays. Here Angelo is sporting the same Santa outfit that his brother, Gabe, wore when he was this age. Justin and I had bought Gabe a Humphrey Bear which also sported a Santa outfit and Lisa took a photo of them together. I will have to search for that picture....it is so darn cute!
For some reason all are looking my direction: Lori, Kerry, Jill, Noah, and Mom are in this photo. The little boys are on the floor, opening their presents while the adults looked on. We would rather snack anyway!
This photo was taken the first time I met Angelo in person. He and I had a funny face contest and I won!!!
On CHRISTmas Eve, Lynn was cuddling with her newest grandson while the older grands opened their presents. Next year, Angelo might be down there in the fray with the bigger boys!
Manny is trying on his fireman's helmet without taking it out of the box....such a character! This present was special in that it was originally purchased for Timmy's birthday but he did not live long enough to receive it. Manny REALLY likes it and this brings me joy.
Manny is showing his Grandma K one of his new toys, likely a write-on tablet where the picture or text disappears when you pull up on the page. An old-timey toy much loved today!
The lovely CHRISTmas tree at First German on the 24th, where we attended the candlelight service. The grand piano is in the foreground and had to be pressed into service while the pipe organ is being worked on. Thankfully skilled accompanists were able to play our hymns and liturgy for us.
I peeked over the shoulder of Julie Butler, Angelo's godmother, and caught him smiling up at her!
On Sunday, December 26th, our family worshiped at Calvary Lutheran, Sheboygan, where we witnessed Angelo's baptismal reaffirmation. The pastor is Tim Kuske, a distant cousin to the pastor at Good Shepherd. Lisa and Noah's friends from church, the Butlers, are Angelo's sponsors.
When I went to see Sharon, a somewhat difficult visit this time, she was quite proud to model her new, youthful wig. She had a tough year in 2010, loosing both her dad and her caregiver, Rochelle, within two month's time. Mona and John took her out for lunch on the 24th but she was not feeling well and missed church on CHRISTmas Day. A paid caregiver takes her to church and to other appointments. It is hard for me sometimes to be so far away....you know?
Lynn served a wonderful spaghetti dinner to Mom and I but before we trashed the table, I captured it. What a gorgeous table she sets! Mom told me Lynn is thinking of replacing her set which is nearly as old as Lisa is. I guess it's time!
Fortunately my cold subsided enough that I could visit my sister-in-law's parents, who are quite dear to me, Harvey and Clara. They are around Mom's age, but with more health problems, although it slipped out that they were out driving around the countryside that day. Oops! Busted! When I tattled to Harv and Barb about this, Harv winced and then said, "Well, they likely won't hurt anybody or anything going only 5 miles an hour....." When I told Justin, via text message, that I was going to see them he wrote back, "Jealous", because he likes them, too.
Unfortunately no one enjoyed my birthday lunch at the Green Street Tavern, as this photo shows.....Linda J. was able to come, as was Karen Wordell, and even my nephew, Danny, ventured out to help me celebrate my 55th birthday.
This is such a great photo of Manny and Lisa, and it just happened, not even posed really. This was at my birthday luncheon and I was so glad they were able to come up from Sheboygan to share it with me.
There it is, folks----my favorite birthday lunch! A perch sandwich and an order of cheese curds! I shared the curds with those around me, because that is just too many to eat....I am so happy....
I rode with Lynn to Sheboygan to return these boys to their parents. We met them at Johnston's Bakery which was busting at the seams with customers. They have artisan breads, fresh baked rolls, cookies, Danish, doughnuts, and yes, even soda! See if you can figure out where I was seated....For Mom I got a cherry turnover, her heart's delight, and took it home for her. She opted to stay behind that day so I was able to go.
This baby is so content, you can see it in his face. At least in this shot he is not making funny faces. Angelo made us laugh with his tongue which he flicked in and out of his mouth, and screwed up his face as though he had something to say.
On a bad hair day, I decided to go visit Dolly in Two Rivers. Lynn was my driver since Jill had Mom's car and we three enjoyed a perch lunch in this bar. Dolly was not aware that the booths had been replaced with party bars and we had a good time trying to keep ourselves "perched" on the stools!
We rang in the New Year at Linda J.'s house, beginning first with a lovely dinner before church, and then resuming the fun afterward, first taking Mom home as she requested. Linda had a game called "Would you rather.....?" with even her granddaughters able to play. Alayna enjoyed Madison and Cassidy, and they her. Tommy pooped out and went to bed not too long after getting home from church, but Lynn, Alayna, Linda, the girls, and I watched the ball drop in Times Square at 11:00 pm central time, and then went home. I pulled the covers into place on my bed at 12:01, January 1, 2011!!!
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