Christmas at Our House!

Merry Christmas!
Christmas Eve was the "Chandler Christmas" at our house. We had a beautiful sunny day in the low 50's... just right for a fire and getting in and out without freezing or needing heavy coats! We had lunch at noon, followed by gifts around the tree, and then, of course, a game of dominoes. Mam-ma Polly doesn't think we should have a holiday without a good hearty game of "Chicken Foot!" She plays for blood. At times she smiled... others she grumbled... and she even shook at fist at Greg for playing a domino that blocked hers! hehehe

We had eleven people share our lunch - Greg and me, Greg's mother Elaine, Mam-ma Polly, my mom and Lee, Suzanne, Mike, Jasmine and Braeden, and Mike's mother Reba. We all ate until we were stuffed and darn nearly miserable! We discussed passing out pajamas for a group nap! (Be sure to click on the photos for larger images.)






During the afternoon, our cousin Carl Dial and his friend Mary came by for a visit and dessert. We were very glad to see Carl Dial and get a dose of his wit and "wisdom." Nobody can tell a story like C.D.! We also got him to tell us about his time in WWII. Only 20 years old, he was sent to Scotland and England, then Belgium and France, where he marched to the Rhine just short of Germany, before frozen feet sent him to the infirmary and ultimately stateside again. For a time, he served under the command of General Patton... we'll just say he was not impressed with the General!

Following are photos of the "Chicken Foot" domino game.






















We finished the day with Candlelight service and Holy Communion at our church - Greg, me, Elaine, Mom, Lee, and Mam-ma Polly (and Spot the dog, who spent the entire day in Mom and Lee's Jeep! - he got a walk before church and didn't seem to mind). Mabel and Lucy slept most of the day, getting up briefly to entertain guests. However, they did pose for a few Christmas pictures in the morning before everyone arrived. In all, we had a wonderful holiday and great visits, and we hope you enjoyed time with your families and friends, too.

Merry Christmas Notes!

Season’s Greetings…

Greetings to each of you. We hope you have had a good year. Ours has been busy and eventful… but aren’t they always?! We moved into our new house at 31 Timberline Drive on September 7th. We are enjoying living here. We sold our house on Elmwood to Stephen and Melissa Choate, and they have moved their family in and are starting to feel settled and at home there.

In the process of building the house, Debbie fell and broke her ankle, which gave her a 9-week stint on the couch, and Greg time to hone his household skills, in addition to all of his other duties with supervising the house construction. Everything is healed now, thanks to lots of TLC and physical therapy, and the only lasting effect seems to be a greater appreciation for two good feet and the ability to walk without pain!

We traveled to Iowa in July to celebrate the 98th birthday of Greg’s great-aunt Vivian. Greg’s mother, Elaine, went with us, and we visited other aunts and cousins in Iowa and Illinois. We saw a LOT of corn… it seemed that every field and yard from northern Missouri on was covered in it!

We all seem to be doing fairly well except for Debbie’s brother-in-law, Mike, who has been diagnosed with cancer. Doctors are still testing, but so far they find metastatic tumors in his liver and are searching for the origin of the cancer. Treatment options are forthcoming, hopefully. Please keep Mike, Suzanne and Jasmine in your prayers.

We are both staying busy. How did we hold down full-time jobs?! Greg is still tying up loose ends on the house project, managing all of our business affairs, and acting as an occasional sounding board for the Workamper News folks (the business is booming, and we are very proud of how well the Andersons have done!) Debbie is still writing daily devotionals, singing with the Praise Band, caring for her grandmother (who just turned 95 and still lives alone!), and she just started a new small group study for college age to young adults. Our cats are both well and keep us very happy and feeling needed! We still go to auctions several weekends a month and try to sell a few things on eBay, but that million dollar sale has eluded us so far!!!

As this year draws to a close, we hope you will remember the true reason for celebrating this season – our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Had God not loved us enough to send Him, none of this would matter. We pray that you are all healthy and prospering this Christmas, and that 2008 is filled with blessings and joys for each of you.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Photos from the Robus Christmas... Dec. 15th...(click on pictures for bigger views)

These little guys are ornaments I made for the neighbors and family... supposed to look like their pets! The ornaments are totally "green" - made from recycled light bulbs, an old sweater and an old fur coat, plus a few things I had in my crafts box!