“It is December, and nobody asked if I was ready.” ― Sarah Kay

December 1

When Ella stops by to visit, she always asks for cream—

the kind you shake up and squirt from a can. You know, the good stuff.

December 2

Knox celebrated the BIG ONE-O with pizza ...

… and a big fat chocolate chip cookie cake. 

He’s not used to blowing out all those candles yet.

December 3

Ella likes to help Grandpa feed the birds

Heavenly sunlight in a bright blue late Autumn sky

December 4

Neil and I took Knox and Ella to the depot museum open house

where Santa was receiving requests for Christmas presents.

This is as close as she’d get to the right jolly old elf.

December 11

Ella enjoyed making Christmas cookies with her Aunt Holly

More fun than pint-sized humans should be allowed to have.

Holly said she had to put Ella in the tub after this. No doubt.

December 12

Holly’s birthday wasn’t for another four days, so she never saw it coming ….

She’s shooting that look directly at me even though I had nothing to do with this.

Sorry, Holly, blame it on your dad.

December 14

This is the place for Christmas cookies. And also doughnuts.

December 16

That face you make when you open a Christmas present from your party at school.

December 16

Holly celebrated her 43rd birthday, happily, without the sombrero.

December 18

Saturday brunch with peeps and Anna and Elsa at Grandma’s Pancake House

Elsa’s got her eye on my coffee. She’s probably frozen ….

Do you see it, too?

December 20

Neil and I and a whole bunch of other folks came to pack 1500 food boxes 

at Churches of Christ Disaster Relief in Nashville. 

December 22

Knox and Ella found our weird version of ‘elf on the shelf’ hiding under the Christmas tree.

Knox doesn’t believe anymore, and Ella doesn’t know enough about it to care.

The ‘elf’ doesn’t perform any tricks, but we move him around the house anyway.

December 24

An awesome fiery Christmas Eve sunset that a snapshot can’t do justice

Christmas Eve is our family get-together at our house

We enjoy a spaghetti dinner topped with my dad’s spaghetti sauce recipe

Ella and Uncle Jerry sharing a moment

She carried that present around after dinner, knowing it was hers

probably because it was wrapped in Mickey Mouse paper.

Christmas peeps Elijah, Shelby, Holly, and Knox

That face you make when you can’t open your presents until

after all the picture-taking is done. And that lasts forever.

Kelly (her mom) took this one and most of the ‘portrait’ shots (thanks for sharing, Kelly!)

Christmas grands Shelby, Elijah, Knox, and Ella 

Our two eldest grands Shelby and Elijah

Shelby said she couldn’t believe she got an actual hug from her little brother

without the usual poke or pinch. Miracles do happen.

The Myers Family

Shelby, Elijah, Jerry, and Holly

Reindeer games

Our two youngest grands Knox and Ella

The Kimbrough Family

Kerry, Ella, Knox, and Kelly

Ella found a different gift to hang on to, probably knowing it’s for her

because it’s suspiciously shaped like a Barbie doll box.

Beautiful Shelby

Neil and me with our grand girls 

This just might become a tradition

Ready for the unwrapping

Calm before the storm

Neil pretended to take away her present but she wasn’t about to let it go.

Sometimes we lose track of what’s in the box, so Shelby ended up opening 

the film before the camera. Oops!

Not sure what Knox unwrapped but pretty sure he liked it.

Was Elijah happy about the Mickey Mouse jammy pants? 

Kelly will be making lots of coffee

Jingle bells, shot gun shells

Jerry can repurpose those shells now

Life Is Good for Kerry who is Yeti to party

I never get tired of that look

Her Barbies got a set of wheels

Holly’s giving praise hands for whatever she found in that box

It is essential to have essential oils for your diffuser.

Shelby’s top two are orange and peppermint.

Knox is big time into the anime character Naruto

(hope I got that right)

Elijah loves the vintage Nike styles.

Anyone remember this one from ’77?

Ella’s looking for something with her name on it. Or wrapped in Mickey Mouse paper.

That face you make when you’ve unwrapped the same gift your sister unwrapped earlier

and you snapped a picture of because you’d like to have one, too.

Jerry will use this bird bag to carry quail when he’s in the field training his 

German Shorthaired Pointer, Cooper.

Time to admire his new watch band for his Apple watch

Ella was excited to find a box of Skittles in her stocking. 

It’s the little things.

Holly says Bombas are da bomb

Unstuffing the stockings might be the most fun

"For Christmas is tradition time—
Traditions that recall 
The precious memories down the years, 

The sameness of them all.”

~Helen Lowrie Marshall

We had a Merry Christmas!

Hope you did, too!

Oh, snap! You should see some of the photos she’s taken.

December 25

Blueberry waffles, crispy bacon, scrambled eggs, OJ

A Christmas morning tradition that began when Kelly moved away

and came home to stay over the Christmas holiday

Santa brought Ella a kick scooter which she took to immediately.

She tried to race with Knox on his go-kart and got mad at him

when she couldn’t keep up.

Last year on Christmas Day there was a quarter inch of snow on the ground.

Today we got 64 and soggy. I’d rather have the snow.

Christmas Day get-together with some of the Mabry clan at Holly’s house

We enjoyed soups, veggies, and all sorts of yummy goodies

We had fun playing Dirty Santa with a mug exchange

So many pretty packages to choose from

So many mugs to steal

Ooo Ahhh

I don’t think Kelly wanted this one

Knox played along, too. The mug he chose got stolen once or twice but he ended up with it in the end.

These three couldn’t hold onto their mugs for very long.

I know one true thing about this family:

We’re a bunch of ruthless thieves.

We had a great time together, and thanks to the Myers family for hosting once again!

Sweet cousins who have fun being together and keep this traditional group shot going through the years

Merry Christmas from (some of) the Mabry Clan!

December 26

Playing with the Barbie doll house Santa brought you is way more fun

when you’re wearing a tutu and a crash helmet.

Happy Happy Joy Joy

(thanks for sharing, Kelly!)

December 27

Knox expressed interest in hiking, so we gave him some hiking gear for Christmas.

He and Neil enjoyed hiking around the woods in the Ensor Park area close to home.

They found this shallow cave and overhang and also an enormous sink hole.

Meanwhile, Ella spent time coloring the Disney coloring pages we gave her for Christmas.

She’s killing two birds with one stone here:

Practicing her coloring in the lines skills and planking, apparently.

December 29

We finished off our last two Ralph’s Donut Shop Christmas cookies. Until next year.

Maybe they’ll make some for Valentine’s Day.

December 30

Dinner and a movie night with grands Shelby and Elijah.

Pigged out at Panda Garden, then watched The Matrix. They had never seen it.

Red pill or blue pill? Hard to believe that movie is 22 years old.

December 31

We always enjoy hanging out with these two.

Thankful they’re still willing to hang out with us old geezers.

We enjoyed a yummy New Year’s Eve dinner at Outback

(thank you Jane and Don for the generous gift card!)

And that’s a wrap for 2021. Can’t say I’m unhappy it’s in the rearview mirror.

Always high hopes for the year to come.

Happy New Year!

“How did it get so late so soon?” 
― Dr. Seuss

 

Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. 
- Hal Borland

“December, being the last month of the year, cannot help but make us think of what is to come.” 
― Fennel Hudson, A Meaningful Life - Fennel's Journal - No. 1