Some of My Favorites

Hello Everyone

Wow you probably think we have all stop working on our blogs but we have been just a little busy. As many of you know John, Sarah and Grayson are now living with us until they find a job then their own home. And also Jess came home for good so she needs a job also! Needless to say there has been alot of adjustments. First of all David and I have been mostly by ourselves and now we share our home with 4 more. Good thing there is two bathrooms! Last night we had our weekly sleep over with Stacy's kids, although Kaylee had a rough night and went home around midnight. So we had 9 in the house. Then we all got ready for church the next morning:) Wow, we made it on time too.

The slideshow is of some of the pictures I took. Some are when we were down in NC helping Sarah and John pack up and some here home for Christmas. Check out the box of hangers. One of the pictures I took of them moving. I packed that box of hangers. Couldn't believe I got them all in. Watch for more moving pictures on Sarah's blog - enjoy the slideshow

I've Been Tagged ~ Christmas

First, an update - we are in NC helping Sarah and John get ready to move! Yeah - we are excited to say the least. Pray for them as they have alot to do. They will be staying with us until they find a house to buy and of course, John needs a new job.

It truly is a miracle that they are coming home. After they were home for Thanksgiving they went home and put their house on the market and it sold within a week after getting home.

Now on to my Christmas tag:

Wrapping paper or gift bags?
Hate to wrap but that's what I usually do. Although if I can get someone to do it I will.

Real tree or artificial?
Never had a fake tree - after all I live in Maine!

When do you put up the tree?
Depends on what's going on. If we have time we go to the Christmas tree farm and pick one out around thanksgiving.

When do you take the tree down?
Usally New Year's Day

Favorite holiday theme?
Snowmen - so easy to decorate with - Dec - Jan. Then I'm ready for spring:)

Favorite gift received as a child?
Don't really remembe - there were 10 of us. ALthough I do remember Christmas presents and a real tree.

Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes, two small ones.

Hardest person to buy for?
My adult married children and my mom.

Easiest person to buy for?
All my grandkids

Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
Don't remembe the worst either.

Mail or email cards?
E-mail - don't have to have stamps and like the ones that animation.

Favorite Christmas movie?
Christmas Shoes and Frosty the Snowmen

When do you start shopping for Christmas?
This year I did most on black Friday at Kohls. That's the plan for next year!

Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Yes but I'm not saying who I gave it to! :)

Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Like to make a big meal - ham, mashed potatoe and veggies - dessert - pies

White lights or colored on the tree?
flashing colored lights.

Favorite Christmas song?
Enjoy them all but my favorites are Mary, did you know, I'll be home for Christmas and let it snow.

Travel for Christmas or stay at home?
Stay home but we usually go to Stacy's.

Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?
Yes, but only with the help of the rudolph song.

Angel on the tree top or a star?
Angel because the angel was the one to tell Mary that she would have baby Jesus.

Open the presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?
We open one present on Christmas Eve and then the rest on Christmas Day.

Most annoying thing about this time of year?
The crowds at the stores.

What I love most about Christmas?
The real meaning of Christmas - Jesus is the reason of the season! And to be with family. And I am so thankful that we will have everyone home for Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our house to yours! Remember the most important message of Christmas is Jesus. Take the time to read the Christmas Story to your family.
We love each of you and we are praying for you! Have a Merry Christmas and remembe to "Keep Christ in Christmas"

Finally An Update

These are some of the pictures that I took when John, Sarah and Grayson were here for Thanksgiving. Sorry its so long I haven't had time to get to the computer.

The next slide show is of our favorite cheerleader.

That's the update for now. Many of you know that John, Sarah, Grayson are moving home. We leave Saturday to go help them pack and move from NC to Maine. Can't wait to have our family all home!

Until then - If I don't get back on before Christmas - Have a Merry Christmas!

Everyone is home!

I am so glad to have my three girls home, plus grandchildren. We are enjoying them very much! Since it is Thanksgiving week I thought I would post 5 things that I am thankful for, although I have much more but don't have the time to list them all. I have many things for which to be thankful but here are my tops.

1. My salvation - one day when I was a young girl during a meeting after school, our pastors wife, showed me how I could receive Jesus Christ has my saviour and know that when I die, I would have a home in heaven. One day I will not only get to meet Jesus but I also will get to be reunited with my dad and grandmother, Right now I can only imagine what that will be like but someday I will see them again!

2. My family - My husband, three girls, two sons (son-in-laws by marriage and by law sons by heart) and my 5 grandchildren.

3. My Mom and my dad, brothers and sisters and families, plus extended family.

4. My church family. Their love and support through the years is what a church family is all about.

5. Recently my oldest daughter and I have started back to the gym. We used to go to curves but they closed. I have enjoyed our time at the gym. going together and of course getting healthier! We actually have fun at the gym and we get some get away time doing something that is good for us! My request for my girls is not to wait until your almost 50 to get in shape!

Well that's my 5, I could go on and on but I won't. Not to long ago we were tagged by Stacy well this time I am tagging Stacy, Sarah, John Jessica, Aunt Joan, Joleene, and Sue but this is the catch ~ The theme is Thanksgiving and the five things I am most thankful for. I'll be waiting to see if you get your homework done!

Have a great week and enjoy your families! Plus give them lots of love, hugs and kisses!
Mary
PS Pictures to come soom

Rollercoaster Ride @ Fryeburg Fair

Fall Fun With The Maine Grandkids

Hello everyone - its been awhile but I have a bunch of pictures to share with you all so I made a "Fall Slide Show". The slide starts off with a Halloween event they had at the camp ground that Doug's family always went to. The next event was "Old Fashioned Sunday" which is an annual event at our church, we have all the services in a "white church tent" and for lunch we have a "Pig Roast". Early in Septembe we were off to the Freburg Fair, and then this past weekend it was a "Free Activity Day". We went to the fire dept for "Fire Prevention Week", everything was free - "Free is Good!" Then we went to the bowling alley for "Free Bowling". We did finish off the day apple picking but you will have to check Stacy's blog for those pictures. Then we finished off the night with our usual "Saturday Night Sleep Over". The last picutures were of the kids after showers - bonding at Grammies!

New Slide ~ The Penny War Fundraiser

Penny War Fundraiser

For the last three weeks we have been having a "Penny War Fundraiser". Each classroom had one of the water cooler bottles and they have been trying to collect the most pennies. However there is a catch - you can sabatage another classroom by putting in silver and bills into their jug. Anything that is silver or bills gets deducted from the penny total. The kids have had fun with it. One of the promotions we did was the group (either elementary or hs) who got the most pennies for the week, got to throw water balloons at the principle. The slide show is of the elementary throwing the water balloons at our principle.

My Four Chefs

I picked up the baker apron and hat sets at the Dollar Store. On Monday we made Zuchinni Chocolate Chip Cookies. Yum!

More pictures of grandkids

The first slide was taken at the Toy Library. The kids and some of their friends from church had so much fun and really enjoyed themselves.

The second is of the train tracks that Jordan is making. Latoya enjoys taking the pictures of his tracks.

Fun with the Grandkids

These are from the trip to the Boston Aquarium that we took Labor Day weekend. This was also the last outing with Auntie Jess before she went back to college. Enjoy!

I was tagged - Thanks Stacy

Well, its been interesting to try to think of 8 interesting things about me. I will give it my best and then I will try to think of some of "my friends and family" that I can tag:)

1) I am from a very large family. 26 total kids, of which only 5 have passed away and two of those were infants and two were in the recent months. I am the oldest of the second litter. That is what one of my father's aunt used to say. One father - two mothers. I have 12 half sisters and 4 half brothers, (share same father) I am the oldest of 10, I have 5 living brothers, 3 sisters and 1 brother David that passed away as a baby. My father was much older than my mom and has been gone for a number of years now, my mom is still living.

2) My childhood growing up was very interesting. As the oldest there were many things expected of me, one that sticks with me is babysitting. I remember telling my mom and dad that I would babysit only if Randy was not in the house - why I don't remember but I used to lock him out. The other thing I remember was that the three oldest girls shared one bed. Also, I never knew that we did not have much money, I knew mom and dad loved us, we had plenty of food and clothes to wear. I don't remember going out to eat or much tv.

3) One of the things that used to bug me when I was in school was that I had a niece from my half sister that was my age and in the same grade as me and I remember her yelling down the hallway - Aunt Mary. I really did not like that at all.

4) Fun Grammie - When I first found out that I was going to be a grammie I wasn't to sure that I was ready for that. I knew that I did not want to be called Grandma or any names that would relate to an older grandmother. I had heard a speaker at our church talk about her grandchildren and she was a long distance grandmother and she said the one thing she wanted was for her children to remember her as a "Fun Grandmother". So I have made it a point to try to be a "Fun Grammie". I do that by trying to be involved in as much of their lives as possible and also since my oldest granddaughter was 9 months or so, I started having a grammie sleep over night. And now there are 4 that sleep over. The kids seem to ask quite often - is it Saturday or are we sleeping over tonight?

5) Cubbies - I have been teaching a Cubbies Class for many, many years. Cubbies is the 2 & 3 year old at our church. I teach them during the church service so that moms and dads can go to church and not worry about their kids. I really enjoy that age, they are little sponges - they not only learn songs and sing, they also learn Bible stories and verses. My youngest two twin granddaughter are in my class now.

6) My mom and I were pregnant at the same time. I was 19 and not sure how old my mom was but my oldest daughter and youngest brother are 6 months apart and my middle daughter is 7 months older than my youngest brother.

7) There are now 4 generations of girls in my family. We did have 5 and if you check my older post you will see a post of in Memory of Eveline Beaulieu. She was my grandmother and we had a Five generation picture taken when she was still with us. But we still have 4 Generations, with My mom, me, My oldest daughter and my oldest granddaughter.

8) My hairstyles - I have had many different hairstyles - long and straight, short and permed, short and styled, highlighted. I have very fine straight hair so it has been a challenged to find something that will work for me. I have found the short and styled works best. Maybe someday I will make a slide show of my different hairstyles.

Yeah - I made it now to see who I can tag! Linda - my cousin, Sue W - my cousin and I guess that's it for now.

My Videos of Grayson

These are from when we were there - all short but wanted you all to see them. Sorry, but I have been playing the catch up game so they are a month old.

The first is the first video after we meet Grayson at the airport.


The next is observing Sarah giving Grayson a bath - quite funny!


The next one is Grayson swinging.


The next one is Grayosn holding his pacifer in his bouncer seat holding his pacifer.


Bath time again!



My last video was taken on the day we left. Grayson has a little baby's book and I had read it to him and Sarah took this video of me reading to Grayson. I'm sure he enjoyed his book has much has I did reading it to him.

New slide show of our visit with Grayson

Its been very busy since we got back from John & Sarah's with getting caught up at home and getting ready for school to start. School started on Tuesday and we are off and running at full speed. Things went very well for the first day of school, Latoya look all grown up but I guess that's expected has she has graduated to the "big kid building". Jordan I get to see often as his class comes by for bathroom breaks and when heading out to recess. He has grown up over night. They both are doing very well. I am so proud of them.

Back to Grayson, the slide show is of our visit with them. I can't believe that he will be three weeks old on Friday. We miss him and John and Sarah so much and are counting the days until they come home for a visit and maybe someday for good.

Slide show of our visit with Grayson ~ Enjoy

Hi everybody - we went to Wal=Mart and put my pictures on cd so now you don't have to wait until I get home. We are babysitting again for Grayson. Mom and Dad are at the gym. Sarah is doing really well, doing anything that she wants but mostly enjoying time with Grayson. John went back to work today, only called twice. I thought he would call every hour. Enjoy the slide show.

Visiting Grayson & his mom and dad

We arrived late Tuesday and we will leave Wednesday, August 22. When I get home I will post pictures and videos of our visit. We have mostly hang around the house getting to know our little man! He is so cute and so sweet. I can't wait for everyone to meet him when he comes home at Thanksgiving! Until then, take care!

Meet our handsome grandson ~ Grayson Cole

Early this morning our daughter Sarah gave birth to our second grandson, Grayson Cole. Here are the two pictures that Sarah and John have sent to me.

Added to my grandmothers slide show

I added pictures to my grandmothers slideshow. The picture of the magnets were hers. Her house was loaded with magnets and some were given to me. I have them up on a frame but no one gets to play with them.

Added picture on the slideshow for my dad

The newest picture has the names and birthdates of all Dad's kids. One of my half-sisters made it for him, it was a way for him to keep track of the kids and their birthdays.

If Roses Grow in Heaven ` For Meme

If Roses grow in Heaven, Lord,
please pick a bunch for me,
Place them in my Mother's arms
and tell her they're from me.

Tell her, I love her and I miss her,
and when she turns to smile,
place a kiss upon her cheek
and hold her for awhile.

Remembering her is easy,
I do it every day,
but there's an ache within my heart
that will never go away.

In Memory of my grandmother ~ Eveline Beaulieu

My Grandmother was Eveline Beaulieu. We enjoyed going to visit her, especially with my grandchildren. She was so proud when Latoya was born and we had the five generation picture taken. In that picture was myself (top), My mom - Jeanne Keene (middle on left) Stacy, my daughter (middle on right) bottom Meme on Left and Latoya age 3 months on right.

To be continued - need to get more pictures and information from my aunt Joan - Joan if you read this please help me update this blog.

In Memory of My Dad ~ Harold Frank Keene

The first is My Dad, although he has not been with us since October 1995, I think of him often, miss him everyday, and always think how he would have loved to see my girls grow up and to meet his great grandchildren. He would be so proud and I know that if its possible he is looking down from heaven looking out for his family.

My Babies All Grown Up!

The following slide show is of my babies all grown up. The pictures were take recently at the baby shower we had for Sarah.
Stacy is my oldest, mom to four
Sarah is my middle girl, soon to be mommy
Jessica is my baby, our recent college graduate.

Look at the size of this Giant Yellow Jacket Nest

My hubby was going down the deck stairs on the front deck and got stung a couple times by yellow jackets. Under the stairs was this giant yellow jacket nest. Thank God that he was ok and the amazing thing was that all four of our grandkids play out on the deck in the sand box all the time. In fact they were out there last night and Jordan went down the stairs to jump on the trampoline. Again, Thank you God for your protection!

Slide show of my grandchildren

This slide show is some of my favorite pictures of my grandchildren taken this summer. They are the joy of my life! I love each one of them and enjoy being grammie or meme as I am sometimes called by Kelsey and Kaylee.

Ladies Outing

We had an outing today with the ladies from our church. We went to the Botanical Gardens in Boothbay and spent 2 1/2 hours walking through the many gardens. It is a site to see. Many of our ladies couldn't make it today so there was only four of us that were able to go but we had fun and we're sorry the other ladies couldn't be there.

20th Anniversary @ Boothbay Harbor Maine

For our 20th anniversary we spent four days at Boothbay Harbor in June. We stayed at Smugglers Cove in East Boothbay. The motel has four buildings all with private balconey and ocean views. We stayed in the Dory building on the second floor. The motel does packages which comes with breakfast buffet, a 25.00 dinner coupon, and we chose the Windjammer Cruise.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Some of the pictures are of Ocean Point which was just down the road from the motel on Rt 96. The road was inches from the ocean. We walked along the road and on the rocks and I collected shells and rocks.

There is also pictures of an old stone church built 1899 - 1917. It is opened during the summer so we were able to go in and see. Amazing! The have services during the summer on Sundays.

We love Boothbay and go there each year. If you ever get a chance to go check it out, I would recommend it highly!

Help - Needed tips on being a long distance grammy!

Not sure who will be reading this but I have been a grammy going on nine years. Our oldest daughter and her hubby has four children who we see just about every day or so. We have really been blest to be able to share in our grandchildren's lives. I have really tried to be a fun grammy and spend lots of time with them. My problem is that our middle daughter and her hubby are soon to be mommy and daddy. I am excited for them but sad because I want to be a fun grammy to their little one but I don't know how to. I know I'm not the only one in that situation so please help me.

Grandkids are so much fun

We are the proud grandparents of four plus one more to come in August. Being a grandparent is so much fun! I truly enjoy all our grandkids and plan on having lots of fun with them!