We are always interested in the temperature. Here you can see just what the reading is on our remote thermometer this morning at 8:18 a.m. Nice inside temps - but pretty cold outside!!
What? This robin forgot to fly south! I'm sure he's confused. 
Another view of another thermometer. 
The 8 of '08
The 7 of '07
The 5 of '06
The 3 of '05
The 2 of '04
We're having another nice snow storm - and it really brings the birds to the feeder to fill up.
Here's the perspective as to how close he was today.
This was a great capture of Mr. Goldfinch. He still has such pretty yellow.
The gazebo feeder was a popular site - here the wind just came in to blow some snow just when I snapped the picture.
Greetings from our home to yours. Following the reading and reenactment of the Christmas story was the musical portion of the performance. It seemed to be the part the... ah... children liked the best. I can't say the same for the adults, though we did seem to encourage the mayhem... taking pictures, etc.
You may enjoy this.
Sean Patrick has learned that when the camera is pointed his way he should smile and say "cheese." He actually says "cheese" too. I had a little fun snapping some pictures of him today. 
Again... CHEESE.
Such big blue eyes.
Finally I captured a few pictures of him just playing.
He sure thought that little puppy was fun.
Today, our last day to be together as family this Christmas season, began with a wonderful breakfast cooked by Adam and Andrea. Yum! Thank you, it was so nice to wake up and have breakfast made by someone else, in my own home, no less!
Then we had a really special treat- a book party! Not just any book party, but wonderful children books lovingly shared with our grandchildren by my growing twin nieces (and my youngest brother and his wife). We brought back a number of boxes of used books to share with the 8 Berge grandchildren when we visited my family in New Jersey over Thanksgiving.
So we drew names and each one got to pick a book, then the next, etc. etc. until we had selected lots of great books! The children thought it was very special, indeed.
Our thanks to Jeffrey, Ann-Margret and Stephanie & Jacqueline.
It felt like a much more laid-back day today. During nap time for the youngest ones, the rest of us all seemed to find a quiet activity to do... such as coloring... or..
concentrating on strategy.... or....
regaining ones strength for the rest of the day.... or..
Tobias showed off his newly learned "sitting by himself" skills while familiarizing himself with his new giraffe. I think this giraffe also says "I love you, Tobias."
Brooklyn needed some cuddle time and found a grandpa who was willing to provide said cuddle.
Later in the afternoon we had to try out our skills on the Wii. 
And then it was time to say good-bye to all our grandchildren. 
Tonight I was helping Preston into his pajamas. He was also playing with Tobias' new little animal train and he asked me "Grandma, what does the giraffe say?" 
To which he replied "I know... he says 'Preston, I love you!'"
The noon meal today was sponsored by Daniel and Meghan, at their home. 
The menu was simple and classic! Make-your-own pizza's and a delicious salad. Here are some of the toppings ready to go..
Ah, that sauce and cheese is good!
Yup, there they are! Each family got to make the pizza just to suit their tastes.
For dessert everyone made their own gingerbread cookie. They were really delicious.
We celebrated Sean's first birthday (which was the 17th) and he couldn't wait to get his hands on his cookie! He had help blowing out his candle.
The oldest and the youngest grandchild are bonding. Brooklyn is such a tender little mother to Tobias.
Now, isn't this sweet? 
Grandpa does some reading too.
Ah, even when they grow up, they are still little boys. This is what Daniel got for Christmas (and he really was excited about it.) 
No, the children are not boxing on boxing day... it's a day to "box" up your extras for the needy. For those of us with Canadian ties, it's a special holiday with roots in Great Britain.
Here are the youngest 4 - while Sean had his hat on...
Grandpa's little helper. He really wanted to be held to see what was cooking!
Oh WOW, big news today! The first lost tooth of the grandchildren - and today, this morning at breakfast with everyone around to say "yeah" and "wow" and "I can't believe it" - Where did the time go? Wasn't he just a little baby?
One tradition we started about 6 years ago was that each son and wife cook a meal during our days together over the holidays. It is quite fun and we love it when John & Sara, the gourmet chef's, prepare us dinner. After the children are all nestled and snug in their beds, we had cherished family time (ah, so quiet!) and delicious food. 
I've had lots of wonderful Christmases, but this one has to rank at the top of the list!
This would be the 2nd bi-annual re-enactment of the nativity scene by the sweet grandchildren. The former sheep have now become the shepherds as we now have new sheep... they have been losing a bit of their cotton (balls) along the way though!
The shepherds were pretty happy to hear the good news of the birth of the baby Jesus!
However, the sheep didn't seem to notice the angel's announcement at all.
Following the pagaent, we enjoyed a birthday cake for baby Jesus, complete with candles and sprinkles. A very fine tradition, indeed. 