"What a difference a day makes . . ."

Well, December 27th 4 years ago seems to have made a difference in our family!!

This was the "family shot" that year - and my, how the family has changed!! Note the differences - number of grandkids, how grandkids have grown, length of hair, color of hair for some of us (ahem), and we're all a little older, wiser, but most of all, happier to see the family tree bloom anew.

A day does indeed make a difference.

We love you Matt and Eliza - and wish you a happy day of remembering and celebrating!!

"On Christmas Day in the morning" - just barely!!

It's really tomorrow now - and Dad is busy sealing the grout so it can sit through the night. Things are looking up - I think you will be able to take a shower in the "new " bathroom when you come! I'll bet you can hardly wait!!
Don't get too excited, the cabinets aren't even ordered yet - we are doing this in stages. But a bona fide shower in the "big bathroom" has been a long time coming - and there were doubters out there I know!!

Christmas Morning found a somewhat small gathering, but a festive one nevertheless. Noah was duly excited with his gifts (Dad and I gave each other the bathroom for Christmas/anniversary, so there were not many gifts under the tree - and the family gift exchanges will take place at Crestline.)

Thanks to Harry and Dawn we each had a gift to unwrap - don't you love my sweatshirt??

We went over to Harry and Dawn's around 11:30 - this was truly the latest I've gotten up on Christmas morning in a long, long time!! Eve was excited about her new pink boots and her pink stove and fridge.

They were still plugging away at the puzzle - I think they are getting discouraged - where is Bruce when you need him??

Made pumpkin cookies in the afternoon and took some over to Erin for her birthday last week - she is a fan of the Terrill staple, so I try to get some to her whenever she is in town. She and Mandy were both YW of mine!!

Had the sisters join us for Christmas dinner. They are a fun bunch - and very helpful!! Sister Lee has captured Eve's heart!

And we had potato soup, fruit salad, Apple Dumplings and some Korean treats Sister Lee shared with us. Did you know they make Waffle Cookies? They are good - taste just like waffles!

Afterwards, we settled down to some serious Super Scrabble - and Dad and Bill won - in a big way!! I like Super Scrabble - I like having quadruple letter and word scores!!

Dawn and the kids patiently waited while the game dragged on.

And Baby Harry had fun with Dad.

So once again, Christmas is over - seems like we wait, and plan, and shop, and write cards, and wrap gifts, and go to parties, and visit friends and family and neighbors - and suddenly it's over!!

This was a very quiet Christmas for us in many ways. There was a flurry of activity yesterday as we "got serious" and said, "Whoa, tomorrow is Christmas!" But we mostly picked away at chores and the bathroom and other details of our daily lives.

Very different from years past. A taste of the years to come I suppose.

I didn't mind not having to get up early. And I didn't mind not having tons of ribbon and wrapping paper to gather up. And I didn't mind not having to find places for lots of new things.

We did miss Hannah - who is at Robbie's home in Tucson. And we did enjoy the phone calls from those far away.

And we are looking forward to seeing everyone soon!

Merry Christmas to All....

And to All a Goodnight!!!!

Christmas Eve - 2007

Seems fitting to start a post about Christmas Eve with a shot of our own Miss Eve, shown here with her new Cabbage Patch doll from Karla and Corey! They made a special delivery (no pun intended) of the new Miss Leslie Erika!

For the first time in 35 years, we did not spend Christmas Eve in our own house - but we went to Harry and Dawn's.

Bill and Marjorie are here from El Paso - Harry had them all working on a 1000 piece puzzle - pretty much kept them out of trouble all night! Karl was with us.

The sisters joined us for dessert - the dinner was fine Mexican food as only Marjorie can make it - with Flan for dessert - yum! The sisters feted us with some carols, which added a nice touch to the evening.

As usual, Dawn was busy in the kitchen - everything was very lovely. Paula, Rebecca and their mom Carol joined us too.

The big screen T.V. was a real magnet too! We watched the end of "It's a Wonderful Life," and the MoTab Choir, "Spirit of the Season" on PBS. Greg came too.

I asked Noah to take a picture of Dad and me "for the record" but he's not much for picture taking - thinks I do too much of it, so he didn't even give me a chance to smile or hide my double chin!

Most of the day was taken up with some finishing work on the bathroom. It's looking good.

And the toilet is back in - it's been tough with only one - and that one in our bedroom!

So some traditions end - or maybe take a break - and new ones are born. (I didn't feel a bit bad about not having to shop for pajamas - and we will have potato soup tomorrow for Christmas dinner - the sisters are joining us again for dinner and to call their families.)

Merry Christmas!! We are looking forward to everyone joining us at the end of the week.

May Your Days Be Merry and Bright....

A Little Bit of Terrill Christmas......

She sits and giggles

The quality is poor, but it's so fun to listen to!

Grandma Terrill's Party - 2007 Edition

Chris and Robin came from Cherry Valley,
the Bolanders of Malibu made an appearance,

and the Fortners of LeMoore showed up too.

The Ciesla Clan got the "early bird" prize - all the way from Lake Elsinore!!

Harry and Barb - with Noah in tow - were tardy because they not only had to come all the way from Monrovia, but they had to go back for the Santa costume!!

Harry had to work, but got there in time to be a Wise Man!!

Dawn and the kids had a good excuse - Bill and Marjorie came all the way from El Paso!!

The tableau was as smoothly run as ever!! (hey, why do you think we always call it "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever??")

Ara as Angel Gabriel, Eve, Maddy, Esme and Ella as shepherds. Drake was a donkey - you can tell by his Shrek hat - and he was a great donkey!!

Santa had gifts galore in his bag of goodies. Scarlett seemed to tolerate Santa better when she was with Bruce!

Dawn apparently thought twice all year too!

No pouting or crying from Annika!

Even Grandpa T. got a turn!!

And of course our gracious hostess with the mostess got her chance too.

Baby Harry seemed skeptical, but he didn't cry!!

Grandma and Susanne - ever vigilant about the kitchen chores!!

Yours truly enjoyed a little chat with Santa about some important details.

Bill was pretty impressed that Santa found him in Southern California.

You're never too old for Santa Claus!!

The party was fun - we noticed everyone who was not there and thought fondly of the years past when you were there! And even though Jim wasn't there last year, we felt his absence keenly this year.

Thank goodness that the "reason for the season" gives us comfort and hope.

Celebratory Lunch

Never let it be said that Dad is not a romantic at heart and a man of invention!!

We have the Terrill Family Christmas Party tonight - which we have had on a number of previous anniversaries over the years - and we did "The Forgotten Carols" last night with the Bolander crew - and both events are important to us, so I just figured that like most of our anniversaries, this one would not be "celebrated" with any particular event or a weekend away - which we used to manage nicely because Bonny would be on her quarter break from UCSB and could babysit for us. Working and other situations have precluded much celebrating since those days - not that we aren't happily married and not that we don't celebrate often for no particular reason - but the ever-resourceful Dad said, "Why don't we go out for lunch to the Peach Cafe?"

And we did. And the bus boy who snapped this photo for us was duly impressed that we had been married for 40 years.

And we had a nice lunch.

And Dad even asked if I wanted dessert! (He usually drops not-so-subtle hints that maybe I should skip dessert!! Heavens, why else did I clean my plate??)

And we went Christmas shopping afterwards!!

There is something to be said for celebrating!

The Big 4-0!! (And some other random notes!)

Well, the big day has arrived - and of course I am not on the 2007 post by a long shot! It was a noble goal - and one I plan to pick away at - but it turns out that our lives are much more complex than I ever realized. For example, when I started them, I was only writing about the two of us, and I didn't take a lot of photos back then, so a year post didn't take much.

For example, this is one of about a half dozen photos that covers 1967!!


And the above is one of about a gazillion photos for 2007!! (We went with B,B,A,E andE to "The Forgotten Carols" last night - a good show, by the way. We all really enjoyed it - of course, Michael is always great.)

And of course you all want to know how the bathroom is coming along - so here it is - coming right along!!

We're having fun being a one bathroom family at the moment!

And Dad gave me "Super Scrabble" for a gift - so start reading those Scrabble dictionaries and be ready for some serious challenges!!

In true Harry/Barb style, we are going to Grandma's Christmas Party tonight - and doing some Christmas chores today - when you get married at Christmas time, you either have no time or no money to celebrate - it's a good thing we've been celebrating all year!!

(But I did go treat myself to a manicure yesterday!)

And we will enjoy reflecting on a great 40 years together - and looking forward to the next 40!!

And the posts will keep coming - in true Harry/Barb style!

Catching up on the week that was -

Here's the way the bathroom walls look now - they are supposed to set the tile tomorrow and Saturday - looks pretty exciting, doesn't it? (Although I confess I'm enjoying the sense of roughing it when I use the sink and toilet in there! And of course I love using the old shower in our bathroom - it has the world's finest showerhead in my opinion! But I'm waiting for the shower pan to cave in!!)

There's a new window waiting in the carport, so say good bye to the old one with it's "nails in the sides" lock!)

Here's Dad, snuggling up to watch

Your favorite and mine - Holiday Inn! (I'll let you know how long he stays awake - he's been working hard on a bid he got today - so he deserves a rest!!)

Last Sunday night we enjoyed a nice game of Scrabble. Harry F. is pretty serious about the game - be ready for a challenge when you come!!

This was Greg's very first time playing Scrabble!! Porter was helping Dad.

He was helping me too - he's an equal opportunity helper!!

My secretary in the R.S. presidency was called to be our ward's R.S. President - Jennifer is on bed rest for the duration!

Brenda and her daughter's chuckle over the Survival Bag contents.

We are sorry to see her go - but know that she will do a great job - so we presented her with a "Relief Society President's Survival Bag" - such things as "gel inserts for your shoes so you can run and not be weary" and PowerBars for obvious reasons and Pepto Bismol for the "little upsets along the way" and Charity NeverFaileth Lip Balm (no fooling - this one was for real!!) and a "Sugar and Spice" candle - that you can't burn at both ends!!

And tomorrow night we are going to the "Forgotten Carols" in Thousand Oaks. Watch for an update!! And we have a half day at school - yippee!!