This is Keith taking a picture of himself in his new hat I knitted for him. I wasn’t sure about the color but it’s what he picked out at Hobby Lobby so I went with it.
It’s beautiful. It works on his sweet face. I adapted some other patterns to make it a sportweight, double thick stocking hat – exactly what he ordered.
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…….Corey’s sleeping….and so is Chloe. This was a beautiful New Year’s Eve. Corey and Danielle came and we had pizza and Corey and I made chocolate crinkle cookies (Keith’s favorite – sorry you missed it Keith). Corey fell asleep pretty early but Mark, Danielle and I stayed up till 12:30 or 1:00 and then they spent the night. This picture of our sleepy boy was taken at 11:56 p.m.
Danielle and I knitted and crocheted. Danielle finished her first baby afghan at 11:58 p.m. I told her to hurry and weave the ends in before midnight so she could say she made three scarves and one baby blanket in 2009. She did with Mark supplying a little pressure while she weaved in the ends. Here’s the blanket – I think it’s Bernat boucle. We’ve since decided that in order to fix one of the wonky corners and make the blanket a little bigger, Danielle is going to learn how to make a border. So technically, it’s not finished but here it is……..
I’m way behind in posting so it’s time to play catch-up. This is what we did on Thanksgiving after a big, wonderful dinner. We all made little gingerbread houses. It was so much fun. These kids are all so creative.
I should have used the digital camera instead of my iPhone because the lighting wasn’t so great and a flash would have really helped – but here’s a shot of all five of our gingerbread houses……
…..and here’s Keith with his…..
…..and Justin…..
….and Corey and Danielle, who chose to put their little picture that was at their table-setting instead of their sweet faces…..
…..and this reject is the one Mark and I made. We made a very pretty one last year so gosh only knows what happened here.
It’s time to play a little catch-up with some great pics (for me anyway – because I love my family and sharing what’s important to them).
The first pic Corey e-mailed to me. He titled the e-mail “my house on a trailer”. It is all the old siding off of Corey and Danielle’s house, headed to the recycling center (being pulled by Mark’s joy, his Jeep). The house in the background is not theirs. I’ll post a pic of theirs with the new siding in another post.
This is a pic Keith e-mailed to me – it’s the ever-beautiful Molly in all her glory.
This is the computer that Corey built. In his e-mail, he calls it his “new UV reactive mod”. It’s really cool and he’s got some great artistic talent.
Keith sent an e-mail with this pic. He wrote: “This little guy was sitting on the sidewalk and was gracious enough to pose for a photo shoot”. Gracious indeed.
Keith called one day and asked how to make homemade noodles. I talked him through it and voila! He did it. I’ll share my super secret (not) homemade noodle recipe in another post when I get the recipe section of this site moving.
How proud am I of my kids? Very! They are both very well-rounded – they can cook and clean and sew (if they had to – somehow the sewing always comes home to Mom though – but I love that). They can change oil and Corey is remodeling his home. They both learned to crochet when they were little. Keith didn’t take to it but Corey made a sweet little something which I’ll share in another post. He doesn’t crochet anymore – he only did it for maybe a week or two when he was maybe twelve or thirteen……but I digress. Keith, your noodles rock and your Mom would be proud is proud. Much love son!
Keith and Justin went on vacation and we went to stay at their place and give Molly a little lovin’. Instead of having her come and terrorize Carrie and Chloe, she had to stay alone at her home for a couple of days, then we stayed with her for two days, then she had to stay alone again until Keith and Justin got home. This is the picture we got from Molly before our visit.
This is a YouTube video Keith posted when he came home for Grandpa’s birthday (Happy 76 Dad!! How many times do I have to tell you to stop getting older???). This was taken from the swing in our back yard – it truly is beautiful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HZVaNB7OQs
Imagine………..you grow up with dreams of having a family someday………..
Imagine………..you find the person of your dreams………..
Imagine………..you fall deeply in love with that person………
Imagine………..you want to be married, have children and live that “happily ever after” life………
STOP!!!! There’s just that one catch – you’re a guy and you’re in love with a guy………or you’re a girl and you’re in love with a girl……….
As the mom of Keith, a loving, caring, kind, giving young man……..I don’t get it. I’ve never “gotten it”, even before it was MY son. I can’t cry because I have to be strong for my son. It’s an ever-present reinforcing of “Keith, some day” or “Keith, your day will come” or our new favorite “2009!”. Keith and I often share good news from 2009 – there is a lot – more states are allowing or considering gay marriage. More people are accepting of gay marriage. A majority of people – and I mean a HUGE majority of people – maybe 99% – have been kind and accepting and “so what” of Keith being gay. I was surprised at how many family members have a problem with it, having known this child of mine for twenty-two years before they even knew he was gay. Him being gay changes nothing about him. The only difference between he and straight people is private – what happens in their bedroom – big damn deal. The comments could be taken as hurtful but I choose to believe that everybody has their own opinion and that mine is right – my child is equal to anybody else’s child.
P.S. to Justin – I love you and someday you will technically be our son-in-law but we will always call you son.
Please read the following:
http://keithmcd.com/2009/07/11/wedding-bells-or-not
Keith, Justin, Mark and myself went to this Japanese restaurant last weekend. The tables were each in “pits” where you sit on cushions on the floor and your legs and the table are in the pit. As is tradition, you also take your shoes off before you go to your table. We had a blast, especially watching Justin with his wasabi. His face would turn beet red with every bite. When Keith suggested avoiding the wasabi, Justin said no, he liked the feeling when it got to his stomach. Keith, Mark and I got the tempura chicken (typical Americans). Justin ordered this beautiful plate of sushi.
Myself, I like sushi but not the kind with raw fish. I’m not a seafood fan so I’ve actually never even tried the ones with raw fish. I did it this night because Justin asked and I usually try whatever the food is that I haven’t tried yet unless it still has eyes in it or repulses me, i.e. squid and roe. For the record, the brighter orange item on this plate is roe. Wiki defines roe as “the fully ripe internal ovaries or egg masses of fish and certain marine animals, such as shrimp, scallop and sea urchins”. Wiki describes eggs as “usually chicken eggs, but also those of other birds and turtles, as well as those of fish”. It even seems the Wiki definition is trying to scare me, even though an egg should just be an egg.
I ate a piece of the green sushi, which was cucumber. Mark also tried that one and didn’t like it. His palate is not adventurous. He likes a good burger or some lasagna. I also tried the raw fish one. It’s not for me – it’s hard enough for me to eat cooked seafood let alone raw. Keith had already tried the raw previously and is o.k. with it if you can get past the texture. All in all though, we had a great time.
That is an exact quote from an e-mail from Keith on Friday, which we got on my iPhone on our way to visit Keith, Justin and Molly, of course. Here’s our pretty little girl waiting at the window (really for birds and squirrels and not for Mark and I, but the thought was nice).
