It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

 

 

 

Nolan wasn't feeling well today.

 

 

Only Grampa is good enough

Every child needs a Grampa, who can make you feel better on your worst day.

 

 

Grampa is repairing my CD player that holds 300 CD's.

The good news is, it's now fixed.

How long will the rubber band he fixed it with last?

 

 

Nolan was excited to find his gluten free chips in the pantry.

He's getting taller and can reach the next shelf up.

 

 

Nolan operates technology better than Gramma.

I need to have him help me with my cellphone.

 

Nolan is very serious about keeping the floor clean.

Every tissue for his nose means one for the floor.

 

 



 

Nolan is getting ready for shopping.

He took off the headband he was wearing earlier.

 

 

 News from California

 

 

 

The boys were glad that Gramma had pennies to throw in the fountain.

 

 

Is Nathan wishing or praying for his wish to come true?

 

 

"Gramma's supply of pennies seems endless.

I'll be able to wish for everything I've ever wanted."

 

 

Andrew's concentrating hard on his heart's desire.

 

 

He thinks of another wish; even better than the last.

 

 

Andrew concentrates on his wish,

while Nathan ponders where they'll keep the monkey he'll be getting soon.

 

 

St. Francis hangs out at his own winery;

a channel of peace for all who come.

 

We spent a lot of time playing 20 questions in the car.

This game reveals a child's mind.

When Andrew was thinking of a ceiling fan,

he responded "No" to the question, "Does it plug into a wall?"

 

 

Gramma and Grampa decided to give the boys their

Christmas presents early.

 

 

Following Goedken tradition,

the assembly was a good father-son project,

covering three generations.

 

Uncle Jim entered the Boy Scout Pine Wood Derby race two years in a row.

The idea of the project is for the fathers and sons to bond working together.

Grampa Mel Goedken drove a truck and knew how to design a vehicle that would be fast.

Terry came home from college on the weekends

and made the necessary modifications to the wood block.

Uncle Jim pleaded for the opportunity to be a part of the team.

Eventually they let him do the painting of the car,

although it was highly supervised.

It was a father/son (Terry was also a son) project....

and Jim's car won a prize in the derby!

 

 

 

This was the first year THEY entered.

 

 

Uncle Jim's prize winning derby car.

 

 

We went ice skating in San Jose.

The bottom of the rink is frozen, but the sun melts the top.

The worst part of falling on the ice is landing in the inch of water

sitting on top of the ice.

I was determined not to let Nathan or myself fall.

After we made our first ring around the ice,

Nathan explained to his friend's mother that his Grampa skates fast,

but his Gramma does not.

 



 

 

The decorations looked like Christmas,

but the near 70 degree temperatures made it seem more like Santa's Village.

 

 



 

Any rock simply must be climbed,

even if it's plastic.

 

 

Daddy impresses his boys with his techno-savvy.

 

 

We played at the park across the street from their house.

They rode their new bikes to the park.

 

 

The boys were eager to show Gramma their favorite attractions.

 

 

 

Gramma couldn't be stopped from trying to enjoy everything with the boys.

 

 

We built forts at home.

 

I was reading with Nathan. 

We came across the word cloud.

I explained when "O" and "U" get together they sometimes play rough and you can hear "OW!"

Then I thought of words like you and through.

So, I added that English is a hard language, because there are many exceptions.

Nathan asked me, "Gramma, do you know English?"

Surprised, I answered that I did.

"Can you teach it to me?" he asked.

 

 

A Spiderman bike and an Ironman bike were just what the boys wished for.

It was great that we had enough time to watch them learn to use them.

 

 

Good looking boys in their suspenders.

 

 

"Would you like to buy a car or insurance from us, someday?"

 

 

"Gramma can you do this?"

 

 

"Or this?"

 

 

They learned to play Gramma's favorite game, Jewels.

They watch Gramma and Grampa play it as a team.

Gramma really gets into it; pushing Grampa to play faster, better, smarter.

When Grampa was playing with Nathan, he filled in for Gramma,

telling Grampa what he should have done differently.

He has Gramma's eye for finding the matches.

Andrew enjoys blowing up the special blocks, just like Grampa.

 

 

 

Daddy's there with a boost to reach the top of the tree.

Christmas is definitely on the way.