Christmas Eve at church 2011

This has been a full week with much to do which has put blogging on the way back burner. Here's a list of things that occurred in the past week. A funeral, college people starting a new semester, reading a book, daily Bible reading, a sickly boy child and finally, painting my den, kitchen, and hall. It's been a busy week to say the least.

Here's the checklist of those things completed:
Book reading: finished.
Daily Bible reading: one day behind. Don't judge me.
Sickly boy: on the mend.
Painting: all targeted walls are a new color but everything in the kitchen and den is in much disarray...freaks me out.

But due to people complaining...you know who you are....I'm gonna do a post today and see how many more I can do as the week progresses.

So here we go picking up where we left off blogging about Christmas..... after Carrie's arrival by arrowplane, we went to church for our annual Christmas Eve communion. We often have to wait for a group before us to finish, which gives us time to photo journal the evening. Let's get started shall we?

The available boys gathered together for a picture sans Bill, who hadn't arrived yet. Rebecca June's in the background doing the obligatory photo bombing. By the looks of this, a step ladder would have been a welcomed asset.


Becky thinks we can't see her back there hiding in the red coat, but she's there.


Caitlin and Carlie waiting to commune.


Olivia, Emma and Maggie trying to look innocent.


Emma began jumping from frame to frame.


Cute pic of Emma, Austin and Whitney. Maggie's looking a little sour. Remember Maggie, "Santa Claus comes tonight!"


I ixnayed Mags.


Mollie always tries to get hugs from Olivia because she knows Olivia's "all about the hugs." Anyone who knows Olivia, knows I'm fibbing. Olivia likes to mostly stay at arms length of any and all peeps. She comes by it honestly. I remember a time when our family....the 22 of us....went to a restaurant together in another city and as we were saying our goodbyes in the parking lot, I went in for a hug from Carlie. When she turned and saw it was me who was trying to lovingly hug her, she screwed her face up as if she'd smelled something awful and repulsive and IMMEDIATELY refused to hug it out. I'm STILL offended. STILL! Back to the pic....Caitlin looks skeptical. This face Carlie's making.....multiplied by 1000 is close to the face I saw that day. STILL offended. But wait a minute....make her mouth more churlish and vomitus (I just made that up) and that's what I saw that day. I had to go look up churlish to make sure I was using it correctly. Churlish - marked by a lack of civility or graciousness.....yep used correctly.


Caitlin looking a little spicious. Carlie trying to make me think she cares. Pu shu.


Maggie, Austin and Carlie. Photo bomber.....Mollie.


I ixnayed Mollie.


OK. When I checked this photo the night I took it, I saw Lindsey had the crazy eyes. BUT I loved it and therefore HAD to post the crazy eye pic because it cracks me up. If you're offended Lindsey, just go back to the previous post and look at my photos again. Even though I didn't have crazy eyes, I had a bad case of the uglies, and in my mind, it all balances out. Bill in this photo just amuses me. It looks like he snuck up and got in without the two females knowledge. It amuses me as well.


The crazy eyes are gone, but Bill looks like he's posing for a school photo. I'm laughing right now.


Austin and Grams.


Owen, Austin and Grams. Austin's place in this pic looks the same as Bill's in the previous, snuck in.


After communion we took the time to do some individual family photos. This fam is obviously not ready due to communicative issues. I have no idea.


NOW we're ready. Oops, no Olivia's not ready. Neither is John.


OK. Now Olivia and Emma are ready but Caitlin, John and I are not. I suspect Owen's getting goosed.


OK. Now we're ready.


Then John moved to the back so I couldn't see his weird pursing of the lips. Why the weird pursing of the lips. Why?


OK. This is it no matter what.


OK. THIS really is it.


Then our friend Judy's granddaughter needed some face time with the camera. Cutie pie Micah.


And her other grand, June, also a cutie pie.


Group grands with Gmaw. Yes Bill you are supposed to be in this group. Micah and June became honorary grands. Mollie and Austin obviously sat in the closed eye section.


Owen and Grandma's eyes are now closed and June's concerned about the curly haired lady holding her in the pic.


Sigh, all eyes are finally opened. Micah and June escaped.


And then back in for another.


Those eyes are amazing.


Micah then said, "We need one more picture!" So I obliged.


Carrie you aren't a grandchild.


Once more with feeling.


Again the eyes.


We're losing the moment.


OK. This could be the keeper even if Carrie's not a grand.


Some people refused to pose anymore, so a smaller group formed.


Because some people love to pose.


Owen with the short people.


A close up of baby William.


Coming soon....a baby near you. Photo bombers....present.


Maggie and Caitlin holding each other up.


Walkers' turn. Let's see if they can do better than us. Dale's not paying attention.


Hmmm on the second try not too bad.


Uh oh. If you have a Mollie or a Millie in a pic, you're gonna have closed eyes.


Good job here.


There's so much going on in this pic. Mollie went and got her hair wind machine, Austin's well placed bomb may be the first prize winner of the night and Maggie's trying to change her attitude so Santa makes a stop at her house....or she's praising the Lord. I'm going with explanation number one.


OK. Not even trying here, except for Randy and Bill being professional regardless of the craziness they're surrounded by. Well done.


They decided to get it together.


And again, good one.


Just the boys.


This is a Christmas Eve fake out for Santa if ever I saw one. These 2 girls do not exchange kisses....ever. Nice job in the background Millie and Whitney.


Once more with feeling Millie.


They look like they like each other. Love it.


Yep, this is a more accurate portrayal.


Another gaggle of boys for a photo op only this time Jared's absent. We just couldn't win that night. BUT Keith mistook this as a mugshot. Check it out and tell me I'm wrong. Now Dale looks a little spicious.


Randy's eyes are closed. Dale's talking during the shot. But Keith, realizing he wasn't going to jail, decided to smile, which caused the others to become happy and jovial.


Probably the best shot.


One more group shot of all the females with the Billie. This is good of everyone. We like each other....even though people reject my hugs. I'm talking about you Carlie.


And again.


A close up of the Gmaw and my girls.


Another great group pic.


Yes I know I've posted multi copies. I couldn't decide on the best ones.


Dispersement is upon us. Check out Lydia and Caitlin on the right side of the frame. they look enthralled.


And baby makes three.


And there you have it. Christmas Eve communion 2011 in the books. It will forever be remembered as the night of the photo bomb. If only it ended there, but it did not. Now it was on to Grandma's for breakfast and more bombing!

You'll see.

It's 2:22 and I'm tired. I'll check for typos tomorrow. Or make that later today.

The end.

The weird, the wild and the wacky

This next posting of pics is from Melanie's camera and were taken on that same Friday night at the Gmaw's. But after perusing them a bit, I'm certain she took very few or almost none due to the strangeness of them all. By the look on the faces of the peeps, it would seem the entire family was unaware their photos were being taken for posterity....or for laughter. Because very few of the photos flatters its subjects. So beware. If you're expecting to see yourself. Be ready to be amused or horrified. But because I'm an equal opportunity poster of bad or questionable quality pics....at least this time.....I'm posting mine up top. But only because even though these pictures are out of order in the grand scheme of things, they are in order in this post. Got it? No matter, because I do and it helps me sleep at night. SO I don't want to hear any whining about what people look like. We mostly look weird, scary or suspicious. I've studied them. I know.

Someone called my name. I was surprised. And it would seem the surprise scared all my makeup off which would mean I had no business throwing stones at Billie in the previous post. That face is frightening. However, Maggie in the background found yet another chance to bomb it.


Have no idea what's going on here other than she's doing an impression of a roaring lion. I think she nailed it.


As I'm in the foreground pretending to listen to someone intently (and still scary looking I might add) Maggie's moved on to her monkey impression. I think there's a future in animal impressions.


I'm guessing this is a recreation of Whistler's Mother? And look at that ski slope of a nose shadow on the wall. That thing could cut glass.


Otis wandered in looking embarrassed in his weird elf collar situation that he felt was beneath his dignity. Just wait Otis, you shall receive a cute new spring green normal collar on Christmas morn from me!


Spectators sat by and watched the weirdness unfold whilst hogging the comfortable seating.


When suddenly Whitney became suspicious when someone called her name. "What do you want?" she yelled. "I shant give up my comfortable seat even though I've been sitting here forever. AND I think people are in cohoots to try and make me give up my prime real estate. And besides, Marlie's not budging!!" Carlie....just off to the side....seems to have just remembered she forgot to bring people free money from her job for Christmas. FREE MONEY!!


Fingers would point at Caitlin, sitting in a hard back chair, as being one in cohoots trying to get Whitney's better seating. She thinks it's time for a musical chair shift.


Dale, who likes to make quick getaways, always stands on the periphery of the action in the room so as to make a hasty exit anytime anyone so much as blinks!


Grandma's clueless and could care less about the seating since her seat has a lifetime reserved sign attached to it. Billie moves for no male or female.


Carlie's now sad realizing she had the chance to make people's dreams come true and she ruined it. Free money!


Whitney remained suspicious the rest of the night.


Melanie in profile.


We see who Whitney was suspicious of. But why the pic of the bird? Why?


Lauren looks bumfuzzled at the weird people she's visiting with. Now Becky in profile.


If I close my eyes, no one can see me still sitting in the comfy spot. YES WE CAN!! WE CAN SEE YOU!!


Gasp! Olivia realizes there's no escaping this weird family. Crikey!


This is a great close up of Keith's shirt.


Just another example of the strange and weird. Historically speaking, it would be assumed that John is dozing here but he's not. And I should know because I've seen the man sleep in every position possible....including standing up. And I'm not kidding.


I think we now know who took all the weird and the wacky pictures because before it's all said and done......photo bombers can't not bomb themselves!


There are multi layers to this picture.


If half faces was the goal. They nailed it.


Mollie looks loaded and Maggie looks as if she's gonna tell some young whipper snapper, "Sonny when I was your age we didn't have photo bombers."


Maggie's now told Mollie to play hide and seek with herself and she seems to be doing it.


Marlie looks a little spicious.


And there you have it.

The weird the wild and the wacky.

Yep that pretty much describes all of y'all.

See how I did that?

See how I left myself out?

Bloggers have that power.

The end.

Christmas 2011 posting begins

I have quite the OCD when it comes to reporting any events in order of their occurrence. It's pretty extreme...bordering on, it's time to see a therapist. I can't stand it when the pictures aren't in order. All of these pictures have an assigned number, and I don't want the numbers out of order. I must have order! It's kooky but hey, that's me. So I'm beginning with the Christmas week and the first gathering of peeps as they came and went.

Lauren came to town first for duck hunting and present exchanging and togetherness was "what's for dinner." First up: opening gifts at the Turners house. Cute pic.


Uh oh, bad gifter. Did Austin really give Lauren a shotgun for Christmas? That would be so bad. Nah, he wouldn't do such a thing. They were practicing for the next morning's duck hunt. I'm not gonna say what I think of that look on her face. BUT, confident duck hunter ain't it. I feel certain my face would look very similar if someone handed me a shotgun and told me to aim at something. Ducks in the sky and all over Louisiana would be safe with me in a duck blind aiming a gun at them. Fly freely little duckies.


That looks' still not working in the, "I'm gonna kill me some ducks" category. Also as a disclaimer, no ducks were injured in the duck hunt the next morning, however, the same can't be said for the decoys......no really.


One more cute photo.


Then after the next morning's duck hunt, it was on to Grandma's Friday night to meet and greet Becky and Keith and visit with peeps. Billie decided makeup wasn't a necessity. Billie, you should have gotten a second opinion.


Awwww look at father and son.


Lauren, Austin and the BJ.


A girlie photo. On any given moment once a camera's brought up to the photographer's eye, someone in our freaking family is gonna be bombing. Count on it. Work on that smile Carlie.


There we go, much better effort.....thank you.


The three of these peeps make one motley crew.


An Emma with straight hair is a more mellow Emma than an Emma with curly hair. It's a scientific fact.


Keith in his Christmas red. I tried for a long time to come up with something smart alecky here and got nothing. I'm really disappointed in myself.


More girlies showed up so it was time for another girlie photo.


And then late that night it was time for some primping.


I pondered whether or not I should have posted this pic due to Emma maybe smacking me, but Maggie's expression was just too priceless to pass up. I'll now go into the witness protection program.


Up next: there are more photos from this same night at Grandma's, but in spite of them being out of order (it's making me shudder just thinking about it) I've decided to put all of them in a separate post. You'll see why when it's finished. Hopefully sometime soon.

Gots to go herd small children for a few hours!

Lata....

Still working on posts

But I saw this little gem and I had to share. This seriously may be THE funniest picture I've ever seen in my life. I laugh every time I look at it. It was taken with Melanie's camera at Grandma's on Thursday night before Christmas. I have no idea who was responsible for it but I'm really glad it happened. For those that don't know, this is Mollie's pup Marlie and what was happening at the time was people were trying to get her to show her teeth in a unique silent snarl that she's perfected. It's quite the amusing event when it happens. So, during the multiple photographic attempts to recreate the snarl, apparently Marlie got freaked.

It's awesome.


This photo below is what they were hoping for and even though it's not in focus, it's the closest thing they could get on film.....or on a digital camera that gets loaded on a computer and saves WADS of money on developing bad photos. Technology is AWESOME. SING IT!