2014 continued!

I'm back before the new year!!

And, I am continuing on with what happened in the life of the McMullen's 

from August 2-December.

August

After Evan and Ashley's honeymoon trip to Saint Joseph, MI 

they were home just long enough to pack up and 

then head to their new townhouse

in Bloomington!

After cleaning all of the appliances, counter tops and cabinets with bleach water and 

409 it was time to polish them!

I helped unload the kitchen boxes.

Look at all of their beautiful Kate Spade everyday china!

 Todd putting together their coat rack.

Todd and Evan putting their beautiful new kitchen table together.

I hung some pictures j u s t right to cover up the outlets on the wall.

(as seen in the picture with Todd)

Ashely sent me this picture of one of the first dinners she made for Evan.

Looks so good!!!

After Evan and Ashley were all settled in

we watched Graham compete in a 

USTA Men's tennis competition that next weekend.

And they won!!

That was a blast to watch!

And, Kiely and Alan went on their first family summer vacation to the same place 

where Evan and Ashley went on their honeymoon.

But, they had to cut it short because it was so cold!

(hence the long socks)

Who would've thought that MI would be so cold in late August.

No beach pictures this year :(

The end of August also brought the beginning of Law School for Evan. 

Ashley helping Evan shop for school supplies…

a women's work is never done! Ha!

And, it brought Graham to his 

Sophomore year at Wabash.

We went to Hagerstown to visit Mammy before he headed back.

Graham was loving on Trixie, Mammy's dog, and Shelby was loving on me, 

and I on her…ok, you get the point!

It was a fun afternoon.

The end of August usually leaves me rather melancholy. 

I always miss my kids when they go back to school and this year

was no different.

But, I was able to take one last boat ride with these two crazy people! 

They always cheer me up!

And, celebrate 27 years with THE love of my life!!

September

We went to Bloomington one weekend to take the kids out to dinner 

and to stock up their pantry and freezer at 

Sam's Club.

And, Evan took us around Maurer Law School.

One of Evan's classrooms.

Evan and Ashley on the steps

Of Maurer Law.

Proud parents :)

One more!

Then they came home for Ashley's birthday.

My sweet beautiful daughter-in-law daughter :)

She has been working so hard at Dottie Couture Boutique in Greenwood.

This is usually how we see this poor Dottie Girl!

(this picture was taken after working black Friday!)

She works a tremendous amount of hours…

and LOVES it!

Besides managing the Greenwood store 

she also has her own blog

"What Ashley Wore"... 

...where she gives styling tips on hair, make up, and clothing.

She also did some modeling for Dottie's Instagram and Facebook accounts.

And, this shoot was where her braiding talent was noticed!  

So, she was asked to start styling the Dottie shoots and...

…that in turn sparked an Instagram account called forthedaintydays. 

Here she posts different hairstyles from the many Dottie shoots.

It's also a way for those who are in need of a hairstylist 

for special occasions to contact her. 

Again, she is one busy girl!!

I got to watch Vera and Greyson a couple times this month!

(Greyson in the top picture)

Greyson is Todd's cousin Sandy's grandson. 

Her daughter, Greyson's mom, grooms the doggies here at the house

so I get my baby time! 

Greyson and Vera are six weeks a part.

On September 14 we went to Wabash to watch Graham

get inducted in to Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.

So happy for him!

This is the house that he always wanted to be in from 

the first Wabash visit.

This year's composite picture.

My handsome boy!

Kiely stopped by one day for a visit.

Tom was here so he got to see Vera.

Nap time for this sweet baby girl :)

I also was painting away in the ping pong room down in the basement,
and cleaning, 

and washing windows, and planting mums etc. 

because
the Wabash Men's Tennis Team was playing in a tournament

nearby and we were going to host half of the team at our house.

Fall was definitely in the air!

I found these sunflowers so I planted those and mums in all of my pots.

Windows were washed!

Basement was painted and cleaned!

 Mantles in the family room and kitchen were finished!

And pumpkins inside and out were placed.

Now all I needed was an Italian Chef to make dinner.

Good thing I know one!!

Tony and Todd worked their buns off! 

I was supposed to help but one of Kiely's good friends, Lindsay 

came in from California! 

I HAD to see her…

…and Ashley,

 who surprised me and stopped by for a few minutes, 

and Vera Lyn!

She had her shots that day but she was still all smiles :)

Anyway,

The Italian feast was a HIT!

Thanks, T!

October

Love this month!

As I said before, Fall was quickly approaching. 

So, when Tony stopped by after work one Monday with his dog, Boiler

we ALL took a walk around the lake to enjoy the colors of Fall.

The leaves, of which there were MANY, changed quickly.

Here are some pictures of the front of the house as the leaves changed

throughout the month. 

We had 11 dead Ash trees and one dead Hickory tree that 

had to be removed.

These are some of the Ash trees. 

And, this is the dead hollowed out Hickory.

If you look really close to the upper left branch, in the center, there's a raccoon that 

made this tree his/her home. 

 This is one side of the back of the house.

Todd and I spent a lot of time blowing leaves back here!

This picture shows before and after we would blow leaves.

Unfortunately, we would wake up and have to do it all over! 

The next three pictures show the progression of the lake leaves.

So beautiful!

Pictures of the back of the house...

...leading to the other side of the turret. 

And, this is my favorite picture from Fall 2014.

Graham, Ashley and myself had been down by the lake and were walking 

up along side of the house (on the right) on the golf cart path. 

It was THE perfect day!

The blue skies made the orange, green and red hues POP!

I absolutely loved our first Fall here!

I could look out of any window in the house and see 

color!

Until next year!

I got to babysit Vera for a whole afternoon and evening!

Mom and I had been to a baby shower in the morning and she

drove over to see Vera before heading home.

She was so busy!

All smiles!

And getting so big.

 She absolutely loved it when Evan and Ashley stopped by!

Next up…Vera's first Halloween!

 She was a ladybug!

I love her.

Doug…always her protector!

She loved the feel of Graham's beard!

That little bug rolled over for the first time!

What an absolute joy she is!!

That evening we went to see an Indy Fuel Hockey game.

Such a great time!

FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!

He came out of the penalty box swinging!

Nitro the mascot.

If you are in the Indy area you should absolutely go to a game!

November

We started out the month going to

 Wabash to see the musical "Guys and Dolls".

What a performance!

This was taken after the musical at Arnie's Pizza.

That Sunday Vera was dedicated at church.

"Start children off the way they should go, 

and even when they are old they will not turn from it."

~Proverbs 22:6~

Prayer during dedication.

Alan's mom, Phyllis.

Isn't this bracelet just precious!

Phyllis gave it to Kiely at her baby shower for Vera.

I love how she's holding her hand :)

May Vera always know God's undeserving grace and love for her.

My project for the month, besides leaf blowing, was to stain the garage doors.

It was such a windy day but one of the last warm days.

I had procrastinated long enough it had to be done.

I have never stained anything until that day so I was a little nervous. 

The top picture on the right is the before and the bottom is after the stain.

That following week Tony, Todd and I had to go to 

St. Louis.

While we were there we visited The Hill district

(and Italian neighborhood)

 and Volpi grocery!

We were buying ingredients for the Timpano that Tony 

was going to make for St. Nick's Day/my birthday.

No, that's not a case of beer and pampers! ha!

The box is loaded full of goodies and that is flour for the noodle!

After our shopping spree we ate at Lorenzo's Strattoria.

An Italian restaurant in The Hill District.

It was such a fun time!!

That weekend I went to see another musical in Richmond, IN
at The Richmond Civic Theater.

Peter Pan!

Starring this beautiful girl, Lily

 as Tinkerbell :)

 What a great job the cast, which was made up of all children, did!

So proud of you, Sweetie!!

That Sunday we had the first snow of the season!

Ashley and I had been in Greenwood that afternoon in to evening so I

took this picture when I got home.

The next morning

 I was glad to see the sun was out!

A month's difference…almost to the day!

All of the snow made me want to decorate for Christmas!

So, I did!

Yes, I decorated before Thanksgiving…believe me

I had my reasons! 

I needed the distraction and this was the perfect thing.

I purchased a new tree this year at Pier One Imports.

I wanted to go with a woodland/lodge feel 

and they had everything that I wanted!

I got "Mikko" for Ashley.

In the spring there was a baby raccoon that had 

gotten separated from it's momma. 

Ashley went to the tree and held it while feeding it crackers 

so 

she named it Mikko!

And, the owl hanging above it is for the huge owl

we have that sits in a tree outside the kitchen window.

I HAD to get the squirrel and nuts for Doug and V!

They chase those poor things all the time.

The birds are for me.

We have sooo many different varieties around here.

I really enjoy listening to them and watching them.

I've never seen a porcupine but it was made out of a pine cone 

of which we have many!

I used a faux fur blanket for the tree skirt which matches 

the fur stockings!

Pier One had it all!

They also had these beautiful wreaths for my dining room doors and windows.

As always, I used Grandma's nativity scene.

I absolutely will never part with this!

I also went to Homegoods and found these pine cone trees. 

I found the deer at Lowes.

Speaking of deer!

Look at these cuties!

I found these at Maknemera Floral.

We have a lot of deer around here too.

 I couldn't have been more pleased with how everything turned out :)

I went to see Vera before she went to KY for Thanksgiving.

Kiely was needing to go grocery shopping so of course I volunteered to watch her!

She woke up right away when her Momma walked in.

Such a happy baby! :)

Thanksgiving was the next day.
Todd's mom's side of the family is rather large.
So, they rent out an old gymnasium.

Graham talking to Aunt Rosie, Aunt Nita, Aunt Linda and Bob.

Ashley posing! ha!

Jordan, Melissa, Conner and Evan

Kids side of the table

Ellie and Evan

Lily's boyfriend, Graham (embarrassing Lily in front of her boyfriend), 

Lily, and sister Lindsay

Lindsay's Greyson and me

Aunt Linda and Aunt Kathy helping out in the craft room!

Kristen's Drew and Kaitlyn

Ashley and Kristen
(and her Bennett in the background)
It is ALWAYS a great time seeing everyone!

December

The next weekend we celebrated my birthday.

My Mom and Dad took me out for my birthday.

Kiely and Vera came too :)

That evening Tony came over and he, Todd and I spent five hours preparing for the 

next day's Timpano meal for my birthday/St. Nick's Day!

The morning of my birthday Tony and I took a quick walk around the lake.
There were so many swan and ducks!

Tony had worked so hard to prepare for this and I sure do 

appreciate all of his hard work!

He is such a great friend to Todd and I…

we would be lost without him in our lives.

So, those that showed up early helped to "stuff" the Timpano.

Tony rolled out a large pasta noodle and lined a stainless steel bowl with it.

Everyone had either cheese, pasta noodles, homemade meatballs, 

homemade "gravy" or spaghetti sauce, salami, pepperoni, mortadella etc.

Each person takes their turn filling the pasta bowl

and continues to layer the ingredients

until the bowl is full.

After it is full Tony wraps the excess pasta around the inner ingredients.
He then pours egg on top to bind it all together while it bakes.
It bakes in the oven for 2 hours and sits for 30 minutes.

In the meantime I greeted more guests and we ate anti-pasta and
played darts, pool, and ping-pong.

Christmas baby!

Julie, Kiely and Amy

Gretchen and I missed you, Sandy!

It's out of the oven!

Ok, T…Cross your fingers!

Voila!

Isn't that amazing!!

You outdid yourself, T!

And, it tasted amazing!!

I had to have Taylor's cake!

And, Tony (our old neighbor) made homemade terimisu!

It was a great way to celebrate my last year in this decade!

Later that week we went with Tony and his date to 

Wells Fargo Night 

at 

the IRT to see A Christmas Carole.

This wouldn't be the first time we would see it this December.

It is a family tradition to take our boys and their dates/wife every year.

It's such a great way to start out the month!

Another tradition this time of year is cookie day!

Vera's first cookie day!!

Aunt Ellen came to help!

Evan, in his "ugly Christmas sweater" that Ashley got him last year,

and Alan 

were very busy!

Graham and Kiely

Becky!!! 

And,

Chad were here too!!

I'm so glad it worked out that he wasn't deployed over the holiday's.

And, Ashely got off of work in time to join in!

Todd was there…to eat them when they were done baking! ha!

Such a fun day!!

Tony came over that next morning thank goodness, so we could walk. 

I needed to walk off those cookies!!

We walked down to the marina. 

This was on our way back over the bridge.

Our home is over the bridge and about a mile or so on the right.

Only one boat still docked.

The ice was really beginning to form.

The last three pictures were taken on the part of the lake by us.

The last one almost looks like sand on a beach…but, it's ice!

Later that night we took the boys and their girls to see 

A Christmas Carole.

Papa T photo bombing such a serious moment! ha!

Graham and Shelby exchanged gifts before Christmas.

I needed some new pictures of them and they obliged.

Merry Christmas, Shelby!

The day before Christmas Eve I got to watch

Greyson while his Momma groomed the doggies.

He loved Graham's strings on his sweatshirt, and playing with the train, 

playing ball with Vladimir, and playing, 

"Watch me shake my food," with Doug!

What a good little boy!

Christmas Eve we had Todd's mom and her friend Jim over.

Boys hugging Mammy thanking her for their gifts.

I'm so glad that the weather held out so we could celebrate 

Christmas AND Mammy's birthday!

Christmas Eve was turning in to Christmas Day

so, we all decided to go ahead and open up our gifts! 

This is Ashley hiding her eyes while I was placing one of her gifts by the tree.

It was this dress form!

She can use it to place outfits on and to make her clothes.

We had a ball shopping for her!

Papa T got her a radar detector.

She got a sweater from Free People.

Some Uggs.

Some more Uggs!

A Kate Spade purse.

And the best gift of all…

…diamond earrings from Evan :)

First Christmas memories!

The boys didn't give us a list so Todd and I had a few 

things for them to unwrap and we gave the rest in money.

Oh yeah!

Johnny football jersey.

Todd thought of this…great surprise!

Evan and Ashley got him this fraternity sweatshirt.

Another unexpected surprise 

a ukulele!

I love to hear him play it!

Evan was next!

We got him a shoe shining kit and cash.

If there is one thing that The Citadel teaches it is to shine your shoes!!

And for the first time in MANY years Graham got 

Evan a gift! ha!

This is Evan saying all is forgiven :)

Huggin' it out!

Ashley's gifts for Evan were next.

She got him the softest robe!

Three beautiful sweaters…which he desperately needed!

And, one of his favorite presents

a beer pong champion shirt!

She really knows how to spoil him :)

And speaking of spoiling…

Todd gave me black pearls and a Louis Vuitton billfold to match 

the Louis Vuitton bag he got me for my birthday!

I do not deserve such things. 

He knows how to pick out gifts I'm telling ya!

We weren't supposed to get each other anything but I caught wind that 

he was getting me something so I got him…

…"manly" steak knives!

He is always complaining about my "girly"

Cutco steak knives.

Now, my gift doesn't even compare to his. 

But, 

believe me when I say that it was the thought that counts!

He was not only surprised but can't wait to try them out!

The next day we celebrated Christmas with my side of the family.

Baby's first Christmas!

She had fun opening her toys! 

She had the unwrapping down pat…and,

eating the Christmas wrapping! ha!

Her first baby from Aunt Ellen and Uncle Troy.

Ellen, I didn't get her unwrapping her tea set on my phone 

but, I got one on Kiely's camera so you will be able to see it!

I will also insert the adorable picture of her sitting in the car seat that 

Grammy Kay and Pappy, and Todd and I went in on

as soon as Kiely downloads it off of her camera. 

Eating her Christmas dinner.

This is how a lady does it!

It's the only way to sit in a Bumbo seat with a fancy dress on :) ha!

We took one more picture and then took the dress off!

Ahhh, 

happy baby!

Oh, how she loves the poodles!

Soon it was time to go night, night.

What a wonderful first Christmas!

Before everyone said their goodbye's we wanted to get a picture of the 

boy cousins…which is not an easy task!

First picture we said, "Chad, scoot in."

Second, this is him scooting in!

Third, we told Evan to stop acting like a dork…oh my!

Fourth one…well, Merry Christmas!

#guysarejerks #kielysaidthat

Boys will be boys!

Just a few more sunrises in 2014.

Finish the year strong!

In the new year: 

I pray for good health most of all.

Without it, we have nothing.

Thank you, Lord for your daily healing power!

"But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings."

~Malachi 2:4~