We finally found some time to get together with our dear friends from Haiti! We had tried several times before, but today we FINALLY had our lunch time with them. The food was wonderful… turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, chicken nuggets, cresent rolls, green beans, fresh apple cake, ice cream, and mini cupcakes.
Our table was packed with Jean and Bithar and their 6 kids… We looked like this around the table…
The girls were intrigued with our nativity set and played with it a long time…
The picture my hubby took with me in the picture turned out blurry…oh well…
They loved the food and this is what it looked like when we were done…
While we were eating I asked the kids if they had ever been fishing…and they all said no… but I got them excited when I told them all those presents under the tree…
…were theirs, BUT they had to “go fishing” for them first!
I rigged up a “fishing pole” with a piece of PVC pipe, a piece of string, and a huge paper clip bent open tied to the end.
They were REALLY excited when I told them what they had to do. I put all the presents in the middle of the floor and got out a little stool. I told them they had to stand on the stool and “hook” a present and that was theirs to keep. But we had to wait for everyone to fish first until all the presents were “caught” and then we could open them one at a time and see what everyone got.
Here are a few pictures of everyone. I have to say, it was quite a hit! :o)
I put those Highlights and Puzzle Mania books in the bags and everyone loved them… Bithar said she LOVES stickers! Then my hubby gave the kids a great idea… he said, “The next time your dad falls asleep, take some stickers and put all over him!” I’m almost positive it will happen soon! Kids don’t forget those kinds of things… :o)
Then we sat around and watched each person open their gifts…
Here are a few videos of Samuel, Esther and Bithar “fishing!” (8 seconds, 3 seconds and 12 seconds)
Everyone was happy with their gifts but I think there was going to be some “swapping” when they got home…they especially LOVED the $5 bill I taped inside each card. Every time the next peson in line opened their card, they slowly opened it and peeked inside to see if they got one too! :o)
Esther and Deborah (the two oldest girls) spied my dolls in my sewing room. So I took them in their… they were intrigued with HOW MANY DOLLS I HAD and so I told them why I had so many… because I make and sell the doll clothes so I needed all the different sized dolls. Well, this is what “they heard”… “I SELL DOLLS…” so they went and told Bithar I had dolls for sale and could they have one? Well, it was quite the Debbie Downer for them to find out, I didn’t sell my dolls, only my clothes… but I did have something for them that made up for all that disappointment. Remember these 2 little Mini American Girl dolls I had found at the Goodwill?
They went home with the two bigger girls… they did spy Navi on the shelf and said, “there’s another little doll…” Uh, I don’t think so… :o}
I loaded up the bits of leftovers and sent it home with them. Friday is actually their 11th Anniversary. I didn’t know that but I told Bithar maybe she wouldn’t have to cook ! :o)
I also received some pictures from Kathie and wanted to share them before the year ended…
Kathie “narrated” her pictures…
Somehow over the years I have collected several Nativity sets.
This first one belonged to a priest who donated it to a Christian gift shop. It lights up and plays music.
This one is not really lovely ….but ….was made from the ashes of Mount St. Helen after it exploded… my brother lived in Seattle at the time and sent it to us.
I love these little happy figures made of ceramic clay. They are European I think
This one I loved because of the barn shelter and the cute animals.
My Sister-in-law gave us this when we had our first grandchild.
This Santa and Baby Jesus bring both Christmas themes together so well. The kids in the photos are me and my siblings.
Last and favorite is the Nativity we staged in the barn at the farm where we lived . It was 13 years ago… when Landon was a 6 week old “ baby Jesus” it was cold as you can tell from the Angels red nose. Landon’s Mama kept him all wrapped up until the very last minute..so he was only cold for a second or two. It is framed over the fireplace and stays there long after Christmas cause I love looking at it.
Well, this finishes up my last post for 2021!!! Thank you to everyone who reads my blog, buys my doll clothes, comments on my posts, gives your opinions when I sometimes get stuck, sends me pictures and cards and sometimes gifts… and SO much more!! I pray this next year will be a better one for everyone and may the love of the Lord shine brightly in all our lives!!
With much love and gratitude,
Blessings, Jeanne
Dear Jeanne, I am still up from the night before or I would never had gotten to post before Charlotte (smile).
How lovely to see photos of Bithar and Jean. I think the family has grown by one since the last posting of photos. It looks like the children and the parents had a wonderful time. It was so sweet that you gave the girls dolls.
It was nice to Kathie’s photos. I enjoyed seeing the children’s pictures. I so remember those coats.
Happy New Years Eve to you and to all of the Sofa Sisters.
What a fun way to do Christmas gifts, Jeanne! You always come up with such good ideas, and something like this makes the fun of receiving gifts even better! That’s so cute about the girls thinking they could have your Navi because she was small like the other two dolls! They have no idea of relative values, I’m sure!!
Kathie, thanks for sharing your pictures of your nativity sets! I used to have the kneeling Santa, also–love it! But when my brother and his wife had children, I gave it to them, as our son was beyond Santa, at that point.
My favorite, of course, is that wonderful photo!! So cute! But of the other sets, I think my favorite is the little set made of ceramic clay. They’re all special, though.
We had a little more snow overnight last night, and today while I was sweeping the snow away from the shoveled tracks, my neighbors across the street came running with shovels, and told me to go in and keep warm, and they would do it! They shoveled all around my car and all the way down to the street! I have wonderful neighbors, both next door and across the street! That’s the third time this week someone has come and done some shoveling for us!
Next week we won’t have to worry any more, though–it’s supposed to get up to 40 and rain on Sunday!
Happy New Year to all the sofa sisters!!
Oh Jeanne, what a wonderful post today! You certainly do represent the best of us in the way you treat others! I had so much fun watching them snag a bag, it was almost like I was there too! What a spread of food, and how enjoyable to see Jean and Bithar’s family again!
How funny about Navi! For sure, the girls have no idea of the worth of a doll! To them, a doll is a doll!
Kathie, your Nativity sets are wonderful! I especially love the last pictures you sent, the ones with you with Santa, and your grandchildren. I have a picture with Santa too, almost just like yours that was taken at a department store, here in St. Louis! Those were the days! And what a treasure that last picture is! I don’t blame you for keeping it up longer than the Christmas season! Maybe you should have copies made and given to each child that was in the picture to treasure in the years ahead.
Let’s hope and pray that 2022 is the year that this horrible pandemic comes to an end, and we can once again live the way we are meant to. I wish all of you a very happy New Year!
Jeanne, you and George made a beautiful day for your friends. You’re really something else and thanks for sharing your day with us.
Kathie, thank you for sharing your pictures, too. We used to have different nativity scenes all over our NH house and loved them. But I must say, I especially enjoyed the Santa pictures. So precious and sweet.
Elaine, I am so happy you will be getting your pup this summer.
Barbara, congratulations on your Waterfall Wren. Those dolls are gorgeous.
Marilyn…we are very concerned about your safety with all those brush fires in Boulder. Hope we can hear that you and your circle are all OK.
Joy, good luck intercepting Freida today. She is SO pretty.
Got word that my RR Alice from Samantha is in the mail. She was ordered in July.
Happy new year. Love to you all, especially the creator of this blog.
Yes, I was near that huge fire. It appears to have been caused by a downed power line, a great deal of dry grass, and 70-110 mph winds.
Here’s a map https://bouldercounty.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=13ab214fe2bb4da5a850df0ca0f00fc5
Top left are squares that will let you enlarge what you see. If I enlarge twice, I can see the streets near me. The red is the evacuation area. Near the west end is South campus. By the S is a green park. West of the first bend is a small squarish block. My house is on the middle of the flat side facing the park. Remember that the fire did not come to the edges of the evacuated area.
As far as I can tell, the part of the fire near me is out. It smells smoky here and the sky is not clear, but I’m not seeing signs of active fire. I’m not seeing anything indicating it’s contained.
You Haitian family looks so healthy, Jeanne. You do need a bigger stool for Jean’s feet. How that cute little baby has grown. You have given them memories that will last forever.
I checked out your link. So glad you weren’t directly in the line of fire – no pun intended. Hopefully the fire is out by now and the smoky smell has gone away. Not the way you want to end the year. Praying that the fire danger is totally over for you.
So nice of you to share the photos of Jean, Bithar, and family. Looks like everyone had a wonderful time.
Loved seeing Kathie’s vintage black & white photos. Brings back memories. How special is the photo of the nativity in the barn. Great costuming. Might be fun to restage it now that everyone is 13 years older. 🙂
Hope they have the fires under control in CO. Thinking of Marilyn, family, and friends.
Hope everyone has an exciting New Year. We’ll be home watching tv. 🙂
Happy New Year!
It was so nice to see pictures of Jean, Bithar and their children. The children have grown up so fast! It was fun to watch them catch a Christmas bag too. And I love that the girls got those two little AMG dolls. How sweet of you. Your dinner menu was wonderful and it looks like everyone enjoyed themselves!
Kathie, loved all your nativity sets. And the pictures of you and your siblings are adorable. That last picture of all the children replicating the nativity is absolutely wonderful. All the costumes! Loved the angel holding up the star! Too precious. Thank you for sharing.
Happy New Year to Jeanne and George, Jeanne’s family, Jean and Bithar and their children and all the Sofa Sisters. May our New Year bless us all with good health, peacefulness and much happiness!
Thank you for sharing your precious memories of Thanksgiving/Christmas with your Haitian friends. The fishing game was brilliant, looks like a good time was had by all!
What a variety of nativity’s. Each special in their own way.
Happy New Year to all who visit here and cheer my days. 🙂
Debbie
What a beautiful post. A great meeting. Wonderful nativity scenes. Happy New Year to all sisters from the sofa.
What a wonderful holiday celebration you had with Jean, Bithar and their children. They are truly a beautiful family. Your menu sounds totally delicious. How great you did have some dolls you could give the girls. Now you can give clothes for them as gifts. You do tiny clothes very well. When will they be returning to Haiti or are they planning to stay here? I know things are difficult back there right now so they may want to wait awhile. I love the idea of fishing for presents and everyone seemed to have a blast doing it. If Jean is smart he will not fall asleep while his little ones are still awake. He may end up with “sticker shock”.
I was amazed at the thought of having six children in eleven years, but then I remembered my grandmother had six in ten years and two of them (my mother and a brother) were born within the same year. Since the cut-off for school back then was December 31 and my mother was born in October, they were both in the same grade in school. People thought they were twins, but they were eleven months apart. I stopped at two in 18 months. I decided to wait on grandkids for more wee ones.
But I have to admit I breathed a sigh of relief when Skyy and Jaiden reached the age of not getting into everything. Now I have another tiny one to make sure he doesn’t pull the tree down on him. Sean and Dionne put their tree inside Azure’s play yard this year. He’s no longer using it and the tree fit perfectly. The baby and the ornaments remain safe. I didn’t put my nativity set out yet and won’t until they leave tomorrow afternoon. I will have it up until Epiphany. It’s a large-size set and sits on the floor. When my children were small we had a little inexpensive nativity set that they could touch and ask questions about. Because of tiny, exploring hands several of the pieces were broken and fixed over their early years. When they were older we bought a very nice set and the other one was sent to the dustbin. It was in pretty sorry shape by that time.
Kathie, I love all your nativity sets and the pictures are all wonderful. The picture of the children portraying the story of the Nativity was absolutely precious. I think i would never put that one away. I have the ornament of Santa and the Christ Child. It’s one of my favorites.
Well, we have been experiencing a subtropical, balmy end of 2021 but that is about to change at least for a few days. It will still be warm through the weekend (like A/C warm) and then I think it’s Sunday and Monday night will be in the 30s, actually 30 Monday night. The days will not be much warmer. But then toward the middle of the week it will be in the 60s during the day and that is very nice. With the cooler nights it takes longer to warm up during the day and reaches the high about the time the sun is going down. I like those days if it’s sunny.
I hope everyone has a fun New Year’s Eve. We’re staying off the roads and watching festivities elsewhere on TV. Happy New Year to Jeanne and all my Sofa Sisters and their families!
So glad you checked in, Marilyn, and that you are safe. Hearing about the fires in Boulder was quite scary.
What a great time you had with Jean, Bithar, and their children. How fun to have them go fishing for their presents. How nice that you gave the eldest girls the AG minis to enjoy.
Kathie, your Nativity sets are lovely. I love the figurine of Santa kneeling to the Christ Child. There is a house on the way to church that has a similar display in there yard. You and your siblings are just so sweet. The Nativity photo is precious. Love the little angel holding the star..
Happy New Year, Jeanne, your family, and all my sofa sisters. God’s richest blessings for health and happiness.
Your friends had to have felt so special with that great meal and the game to get their presents! That fishing game was so clever!
The kids looked so cute all dressed up and shiny clean. Loved the fishing game. Sometime if you have them again you will have to do the “Saran wrap ball” . Directions if you want😵💫 My big grandkids still get all excited doing it.
Giving them the mini AG dolls was a good idea too. Thanks sisters for the nice comments on the Nativities. Yes, Joy there is a re-enacted picture that the kids did a couple years ago… with Landon’s (baby Jesus) arms and legs hanging way out of the manger🤗….and Linda I did frame each family an 11×14 copy one Christmas. We sisters do think alike☺️
Marilyn…Hope that fire is smothered in snow and put out soon! Charlotte…that shovel is not a good thing for you to be using. Lucky you have good neighbors!
HAPPY NEW 2022 EVERYONE!
Hi Jeanne
Happy Friday! What a Fun luncheon you had with Jean, Bithar and their kiddo’s. Looks like the fishing game was a huge hit. You are so kind and thoughtful! I’m sure the family was and is very appreciative of your generosity.
I’m so excited to see how well your lovely coats are doing in auction. I see others are jumping on the coat making wagon. I guess it was bound to happen but there are plenty of people interested in a Jeanne Marie Original so it’s all good I think.
I hope your two friends that contracted covid are on the mend now. To answer your question, Nope I still don’t have my sense of taste and smell back. It’s been a whole year since I was sick. I’m still doing essential oil therapy but honestly can’t say it’s helping. Jeanne I was so sorry to read about George’s knee. I thought something was up when you said he needs help more than anyone knows but I didn’t want to ask so on the prayer list he went. I hope and pray the next surgery he has will correct the issue.
We are still house hunting, actually going to see a big old house tomorrow. It’s slim pickings for home sales right now. The place we are seeing has 5200 sq ft. Yikes! Someone is going to need help keeping this place clean! My Dad wants room to spread out… I’d say that’s plenty of room for four adults. The address is 301 East Ave. Lockport NY if anyone is interested in checking it out I’d love feedback. https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/301-East-Ave-Lockport-NY-14094/143187339_zpid/ I’m really not a city person and this is smack dab in the middle of Lockport. I love to garden and I’m pretty sure there isn’t much of a back yard… sad face : (
Kathie, I think your Nativity sets are so special, I love them! I also have a small Nativity collection but this year was crazy busy, the only one I put out was my Williraye set. I really love the photo’s of you and santa, what a sweet memento. The Nativity reenactment is the cutest thing I’ve seen in a long time.. how special and sweet!
Charlotte, I’m so jealous of your snow! Here in Western New York (think Buffalo) everyone makes fun of us for the huge amounts of snow we get, so far our yard man has plowed the driveway twice… I so wanted some snow for Christmas but there was just a dusting nothing like years past. I hope you are enjoying the white stuff while it lasts. So wonderful that you have lovely caring neighbors!
Oh my Marilyn! That fire is way to close for comfort. I’d probably have a bag packed and waiting by the door not to mention all my important papers packed away in a roller suitcase. Prayers coming your way and please stay safe.
On the doll front here… I’ve busted out Connie Lowes Hazel again. I had a second go at placing eye lashes. The first time I tried the eye ball went in wrong and when I tried moving it the lash let go. It was so disappointing after all the time it took to get those tiny eye lashes in just so, I gave up and put Hazel away until I felt brave again. This time I let her lashes dry for a week. It worked! She’s looking so cute! I also put eye lashes in/on my newest and smallest… My meadow Twinkle Giggi. Oh my word! I now know why twinkles don’t come with eye lashes. It took me four tries! I’m not sure the lashes are even but I’m leaving her alone for the time being. I’ve been thinking about Sally’s beautiful Freida since she showed us her photo’s and well today I did the deed! lol
I really need to get my girls together for a photo but I’m back to babysitting Dominic 5 days a week. It’s dark when he gets here and dark when he leaves. Well this quick little hello sure turned into a book.. LOL Sorry
I saw someone write “May all your troubles last as long as MY New Years’ resolutions” it cracked me up
Hugs and New year wishes for health, wealth, and happiness to Jeanne and George and all my SS (Sofa Sisters) and their families
Ingrid
Ingrid, you might be in luck; it says that that house sits on “0.4 acres”–that’s almost half an acre. I think the pictures just don’t show much of the yard!