Thanksgiving Photos

As I said in the last blog, I've been having trouble posting updates with photos.   As it turns out, I was out of storage space...go figure.

Here is what our Thanksgiving day looked like:

The Master Chef Getting Ready for the Big Meal

 

 

Good Plates, Good Food

Watching the Macy's Day Parade

The Big Guy

Good Friends; Rhoda and Tony

Jim and Tony

Wishing You Were All Here

 

 

What Our Thanksgiving Looked Like

I love Thanksgiving--mostly because I don't have to do the cooking, but also because of the traditions  and memories we have built up over the years.   Tony is always the first one up and by the time the rest of us were up, he had dinner preparations done and ready to pop into the oven. 

We would watch football if the boys were home, or the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  After dinner we would walk to the house near the opening to Chandler Commons and watch the Christmas lighting ceremony.  We usually had at least one "kid" in the house and sometimes more. 

It's days like this when I realize how much I miss not being in Cleveland.  Our holidays were predictable and comfortable--and maybe our routine was scripted, I love the players in the script and I miss not seeing them. 

Today, we had dinner with the Chinni's, our friends who used to live in Parma.  Rhoda had to work at 4:00, so we had an early dinner and away they went. 

The meal was fantastic--Tony did a turkey breast this year instead of a whole turkey, which was a good idea.  He made his sausage stuffing and we laughed about how much Marie loves it.  Rhoda made a pumpkin cheesecake which was light and fluffy.   We lit candles and had music on in the background.  We toasted to every one's good fortune and proceeded to stuff ourselves with great food. 

I took some pictures throughout the day but am having trouble posting them.   I leave you with the words and the pictures will follow.

We love you!

Pajama Day

It's a cold and rainy day here.   It's been raining since early this morning and it's already past 5:30 in the evening.  I had to move the cushions and pillows from the couch on the patio because they were saturated by the rain.  The wind is strong and pushes the flowers and plants over.  This is winter.  This season, we turn on the fireplace alot and enjoy the warmth it brings to us.

We decided because it was such a crummy day, we would honor Hugh Hefner and wear our pajamas all day.  Why  not???   It was cold and dreary and screamed for pajamas.  So, at 12:00 noon, we had our "jammies" on for the rest of the day and it was great.  The next thing on our agenda for the day was for Tony to cook chicken wings and then we were going to watch the Panthers game.

We have discussed how the Panthers and the Browns are similar in their football performance...but today, well, how can you have two "home teams" lead the entire game and then lose in overtime?  Good question, but both the Panters and Browns managed to do just that.

That made the wings the high point of the day--and it always is when Tony cooks, but geez, we thought we had a chance for two wins today and came up short.  

So, here is how the day looked and how pajama day turned out.

Rain and gloom from the patio

Flattened palm leaves and flooding next door

The wind pushes the plants to the left as the rain comes down

Trees and plants surrender to the gale

 

                                                 Notice the flooding in the front yard

Looking straight out from the front door...more rain

Less rain, more wind

 

My own Hugh Hefner!  Yea pajama day

 

No More Candles

Well, I heard from the church...I didn't get the Office Manager job.  I came in second.  The selected candidate comes from the church and I guess that carried alot of weight.  I asked for constructive feedback on where I was lacking (skills, personality, etc.) and was told I had it all.  My response, and maybe it wasn't a good one was, "I have it all, except the  job." 

Needless to say I am stunned and depressed. 

I have no more candles in the wind and I don't look forward to starting over. 

A Thousand Faces, One Sweet Boy

We took a quick trip to Charlotte today to see Tony, Marie and Coleton.  It was 7 hours in the car both ways, but definitely worth it. 

 

Cole is close to being 4 months old now--my favorite baby age.  Big enough to understand what's going on around him, but small enough to sit in your lap and enjoy being there.   Tony always says that he can engage more with kids when they are older and that 4 months is "my time" to enjoy them, but I think that Tony enjoyed his time with Coleton too.   It was wonderful to see the two of them interact.  Cole was curious about Tony and his silly sing-song dialogue.  He laughed, he looked confused, he pouted and he held us captive the whole time we were there. 

 

Marie and Tony cooked a Mexican meal for us, we watched the Carolina Panthers (lose) and took a walk.  It was a nice visit--the best part was being able to spend time with Cole, who is all personality and sweet faces. 

 

Here is our wonderful, smallest grandchild--just as sweet as our other four with a huge personality and a smile that captures your heart. 

 

Coleton says to Papa, "Ben told me you were funny...."

Papa and Cole talking about women

Coleton telling Papa about Sadie, his "girlfriend" in day care!!

Watching the Panthers lose...

 

Three generations of Swegle men

Momo love

Momo and a sweet boy

 

A thorn between two "roses"!!!

Yuck....

Holding on to Momo, checking out Papa

 

Papa bought this hat to go to Cleveland for Thanksgiving...how cute is he???

Playing "Pat-A-Cake" with Mommy

 

Tummy time

Almost bedtime...playing with his hands...

"Geez, I'm cute!"

 

 

 

 

When Children Become Parents

It's been an eventful September for us--David came up, Jenna, Jon and the kids came down and Tony, Marie, Coleton and Tyson just left.  Tomorrow, Chris, Shannon and Emma will be in for a few days.  I love the activity and seeing how each child has grown.  And, the parents too...

I can't tell you how odd it is to watch your children parent their children.  At each visit, Tony and I did the typical, "let us know if you need anything.....are you hungry.....should I wash that....send us a text when you get there," and I know that's part of parents being parents--but it's amazing to see what wonderful parents our children are and will be. 

I think the key is the teamwork we saw.  Each couple worked together on baby/child chores.  Each parent took responsibility for bath time and all of the things associated with it.  Each parent did diaper duty and they enjoyed everything they did for their child/children.   Each parent is involved with their child's life and well being, not just the mother, as it was when Tony and I were young. 

Ever since Ben was born, I have looked at Jenna's baby pictures identifying features associated with "sides of the family."  It's fun now, to do the same thing with Tony, as we look at pictures of Coleton and see so much of Tony (Jr) in him, although, I have said from the beginning that I saw Marie in his face too.

I have always said that we have THE most beautiful grandchildren in the world--and it's true.  From Ben to Coleton, each one is special, beautiful and lucky to have the kind of parents that they have. 

We had a great visit...look at how much Coleton has grown.

Enjoying some Daddy and Me time.

 

 

And Grandpa and Me time...

 

 

"Geez, am I cute"

 

 

"Even when I'm really serious, I'm cute!"

 

Enjoying some Einstein Time!

 

"Pondering my future..."

 

Waiting for the football game....

 

 

"Mommy makes me laugh!"

 

"Daddy's being goofy!"

 

"Mommy, Daddy, please let me stay with Grandma and Grandpa or I'll cry...."

 

And our photo gallery wouldn't be complete without a picture of Tyson chasing his frisbee!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Sadness of Silence

Shawshank Redemption has always been one of our favorite movies.   For those of you who don't know the story, Andy and Red, two prison inmates, spend years together behind bars sharing the long empty days together.  Each of them comes to rely on the strength of the other just to get through each day.

And then one day, Andy escapes.   Red says something to the effect that you really don't know how important something or someone is to you until you don't have it anymore and that makes the place where you are all the more dark.

Our house isn't exactly dark, but it sure is quiet.  Jenna, Jon and the kids left this morning.  I got my last 8:00 wake up call with kids jumping on  me as I slept.   I wasn't feeling very well, so I went back to bed after they left.  I layed there waiting for sleep to come back to me and all I could hear was silence. 

I watched Jenna and Jon pack up the car and laughed as Sammy broke into song, singing a Veggie Tale song about not going to Boston in the fall.   I listened to Jon talk to Ben and Sam, not in "little people" language, but in grown up terms just like Tony used to do.   They know what Velcro is and NASA.  Home schooled or not, these children will have a breadth of knowledge that I believe will surpass many of their peers.    I was often amazed with the people I interacted with in the business world who didn't know what I considered to be very basic information.   My sense is that their parents didn't talk to them--they just raised them.  That's unfortunate for both the parents and the children.

I'm watching Tony take down the air mattress in the "boys" room (that used to be my office!) and pack up the chair and other things loaned to us by good neighbors.  The sadness of silence is heavy in the house because yesterday, it was full of laughter. 

I often tease Ben about not getting any older.  I tell him that I want him to go back to being 2 where I could pick him up and cuddle him.  Ben isn't have any of that.  He gleefully tells me that soon he will be 7 and and 8 and then 9 and he will count all the way to 17 or 18.    This morning we had that conversation and I told him that made me sad, because when he was that big, he wouldn't want to come and visit Papa and Mo Mo anymore because he would think we were boring.  "What's boring," he asked in that cute little voice.   "Boring," I said, "means that you won't think we are fun anymore and won't want to come and see us."

"Oh no," Ben said, shaking his head back and forth, "I will never think that....my Papa is always fun."  

And so we go back to our routine--me on the job boards and Tony making the house and yard beautiful.  But every once in a while, we catch ourselves hearing the silence broken by far away sounds of the kids talking and laughing. 

I am so glad we got to see them.