Rediscovery Time!

  I just finished the new playroom in the nick of time!  The grandlittles (along with mom and dad) are on their way to the Bayou.  As far as I know, I have things ready for "little people" (as Son calls them) to be here.  Without spending a dime, I managed to pull together enough toys from the family stash of "heirlooms" for the room to be filled with joyous times.  I am hoping the grandlittles find it as fun as can be and know that MawMaw would do it all again for them if the need arises.

  I have not told my son and daughter-in-law about the room's transformation.  I wanted it to be a surprise for them as well.  Maybe this was a bad idea as they made a request to use the room for the baby's sleeping quarters.  Oops!  Sorry!  I removed the bed to make more play space!  But all will work itself out accordingly as it always does.  

  The playroom is filled with not only toys from days past but also has a reading area filled with books from when my kids were tykes.  One book in particular should bring back a few memories.  A small book called "Sun Up" was my oldest son's (dad of the grandlittles) favorite when he was a mere tyke himself.  This is the book that he always wanted me to read to him at bedtime.  This is, also, the book that has a story behind it.  One day when he was about three years old, Mark (son) was in his room reading aloud.  I was amazed!  My son was the smartest kid on earth!  He was reading fluently at age three!  I went in and listened. He was so proud to read the book to me for a change.  All was great until I realized that he was actually holding the book upside down!  He was NOT reading at all!  He had memorized the book word for word and was merely reciting it to me.  For a moment, my bubble was burst then it dawned on me that for him to have such a good memory was amazing in itself!  It did not matter that the book was upside down....it did not matter that he was reciting instead of reading....he had developed a love for books and knowledge and that was all that did matter!  He was the smartest kid on earth...at least in his mom's eyes.  

  Now the little book sits next to his very first bunny rabbit as it waits for his children to find the joy from their dad's childhood.  This should be a very interesting visit as I watch a dad and his children discover things...the kids will discover the love for the past and their dad will rediscover his past.  Time to sit back and watch....and enjoy.

Family Heirlooms

Last Christmas, I had asked only for ornaments as gifts. I figured that I had way too much stuff already crammed into the little Bayou House, there was no need to fill it to overflowing with more things. My daughter and (future) son-in-law complied with this and did indeed give me ornaments. I was and still am elated over this fact. When asking for them, I had made the comment that the ornament should relate to the person giving it and not be some random bauble that is simply plucked from the shelf of the nearest department store. Well, being the most crafty people that they are, they made my gifts. Only they took it a bit further..instead of just making two ornaments that represented themselves, they crafted ornaments for each member of the family.

The first ornament represented my daughter. She loves coffee! (Almost as much as me!) So she covered a styrofoam ball with coffee themed fabric. After completing this she cut out names of places from around the world as she also loves travel. (Much more than me!) These were pinned in place on the ornament. A ribbon was added for hanging and there you have it! An ornament representing my daughter..only I think I would have added a tiara in there somewhere..I think she should be a princess!

Then came her sweetheart's ornament. He loves to dance and actually teaches ballroom dancing. I must admit that I am in awe of his ability in this especially since I cannot. Anyway, for his ornament..a disco ball! Silver sequined fabric with black felt cutouts of "DANCE" and of a disco dancer. How appropriate! A ribbon hanger and the disco ball glitters on the tree!

My oldest son is in the Army and has gone through Airborne training. For the ornament representing him, they draped a stryofoam ball with fabric and added ribbons to simulate a parachute. A tiny Army man toy was then attached to the ribbons. This was so perfect! I have to say I think it was quite ingenious to use the plastic Army man and to make the parachute.

My daughter-in-law was represented with bright flowers and many colors. She is such a lovely young lady and always brings so many smiles to each of us that I fully understand why they chose to do hers in this way. Like this ornament she always brightens our day so much. I have no other ornament on my tree quite like this one and I think that is perfect since I truly believe there could be no match to my sweet daughter-in-law! (I think this one needed a tiara, too! Another princess!)

Then came time to do something to represent my youngest son. My daughter said she had a tough time coming up with something as her younger brother. After much thought, she covered a ball in black fabric and tied it with red ribbons. Now some will wonder what this is all about..but I say it is positively perfect. His favorite colors are black and red but the simplicity of the ornament says more about him than the colors. He is quite the minimalist and this is evident in my daughter's choice of design. Again perfection!

To describe her father, they chose to use a different medium. Instead of the styrofoam ball, a fishing bobber came into play. A cord was creatively wrapped on the float and then tiny weights or sinkers were added to the ends. This is so ideal since her dad loves to fish! (This could have also been the one to represent me!) I love this one..the ingenuity behind this one is awesome! I am so tempted now to do an entire tree in fishing gear and shells.

Lastly, mine. Here they pondered what to do and I am sure it was no easy task. They chose to go "home-spun" to represent me. A Christmas tree was sewn together out of scraps of fabric and then wooden buttons were sewn in place of baubles. I absolutely love this one! It makes me smile. When I think about it, I suppose I really am "home-spun" and the wooden buttons are representative of my sort of "earthiness" (which is defined as "unadorned and simple in style"). Yep..pretty much says it all! (No tiara needed!)

I love these ornaments and the fact that my daughter and son-in-law took the time to make them. I hope that they will continue this trend for they both are very creative.