Love & Be Loved: A Very McHendy Christmas

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After family Christmas parties last weekend and on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Monday was our McHendy Christmas.  A day we gather together with our “best friend family” – the McKinneys and the Hendersons – to celebrate.  We have been a McHendy friendfamily for over 25 years.

This year welcomed a few new members.  Here are the new moms with “B” and “C.”

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New moms mean…

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new grandmas…

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and grandpas…

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who nurtured while the rest of the gang…

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played crazy games like the hilarous SpeakOut – where you put a contraption in your mouth and try to enunciate what is on your card while your team mates try to guess what you are saying,

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and the social word game CodesNames, which I totally recommend for a great, easy to learn and fun to play group game.

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It was so fun to get this gang together in one place from all over the country this holiday season.  From tiny babies to adults and growing families, wings have stretched and flown, but when we’re all together, it feels just like home.

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We decided on a no-gift theme this year, and instead, contributed in a small way to a charity of choice, Ronald McDonald House Charities, by purchasing matching #LoveandBeLoved T-shirts.  You can learn more about LoveandBeLoved here, a great organization I learned about through the receptionist at my office who heads the local chapter with her husband.  Their mission is a simple yet profound one:  It is every human being’s God given responsibility to show love, and every human being has the right to be loved regardless of their race, gender, age, sexuality, or beliefs.

Sending Love with Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

A Christmas Cookie Exchange Party

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My sweet daughter-in-law never ceases to amaze me!  With a brand-new baby, she still managed to pull off the loveliest of Christmas Cookie Exchange parties this past weekend.  I am so proud of her.  I love that she values creating traditions and memories for her family…. and admire that she does it on a few hours’ sleep each night!

This year, three new babies attended the party.  Although our granddaughter is the first grandie on our side, she is the fourth on her other side – three of which were born this year!   What a joyful occasion.

Of course no cookie exchange party is complete without a hot cocoa bar (oldest nephew’s fave – especially when stirred vigorously with peppermint candy cane sticks).  And my daughter-in-law’s s’mores cookies made it even more special.

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And don’t veggies taste better when shaped into a Christmas tree on the platter?

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And cheese and sausage on a bed of aromatic rosemary shaped into a wreath?

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Deviled eggs are more festive, too, when dyed red and green.

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There is nothing like Christmas through the eyes of children and passing down traditions.

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Lovin’ from the oven!  The best kind.

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Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Creating a Nursery at Grandma’s House

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I am having so much fun creating a nursery at “Grandma’s house” for our new granddaughter.

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A sweet little haven for her to rest if I ever decide to let her out of my arms when she is at our home!

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I promised I’d show you how I turned bumper pads into a window treatment valance.  Didn’t it turn out great?!

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Almost everything in this room was a passed on from a friend, was given as a gift, is something I made, or something I re-purposed.

Thanks to our friends Sue and Rodney for “gifting” us with this beautiful crib they had outgrown from their two beautiful granddaughters.

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And thanks to our BFFs Jill and Todd who gifted us with this beautiful rocking chair when we learned we were going to become grandparents.  (Hope you don’t mind I painted and distressed it!)

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And thanks to our sweet Joyce and “Oh Rob” for this darling antique child’s art desk with paper roll that will be so fun in coming years!

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And a dear friend, Diane, who sent this sweet little hanging pillow months before our granddaughter arrived, but made me wait until her birth to open (and I really did!).  What truth there is in this message!  What joy!

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I’m looking forward to reading many, many books – over and over and over – in the years to come.

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And playing with the basket of toys generously passed down from a sweet friend and incredible young Mom, Stefanie.

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Sometimes I just walk into this room and smile… thinking of the memories that are going to be created and the love that is already there from the sharing of so many.

I remember the days when this was a little boy’s room with blue marbled walls and baseball trophies.  I reminisce about the two boys who shared a wall between their rooms and secrets I still don’t know about…  Two boys who were best buddies when they were little, didn’t like each other very much when they were teenagers, and are back to being each other’s “bests” as young adults.

Creating a nursery at Grandma’s house…
It is so very much
home sweet home.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

Revised Christmas To Do List

My Revised Christmas To Do List – I posted it last December and also the year before.

It is a great reminder every year around this time for all of us.

With only 10 days left until Christmas Eve (which to me is just as special a day  as Christmas Day), let’s not get caught up in what is not important.

I know I could.

I still have gifts to buy, let alone have anything wrapped.  I’ve barely baked, haven’t written or sent out cards yet….  The list of things I have not done yet could go on.

But the older I get, the less it matters.

I am going to cocentrate on the revised list…

I want to focus on being present, giving hugs, sending love, taking time for and with the people I love and myself.

Will you try too?

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

Happy Thanksgiving

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So very much to be thankful for…

Warm fires.
Full bellies.
Joyful laughter.
Tight hugs.
Soft candlelight.
Growing family.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Krautfest 2016!

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This past weekend was one of my favorites of the year!  Time for the annual Brugnoli Family and Friends Krautfest Party!

Those of you who have been hanging around here awhile, might remember Krautfest 2015 or even Krautfest 2014.

The festivities kicked off this past Saturday in the beautiful Autumn weather at  Conneaut Lake, PA with our dear “Oh Rob” welcoming guests and instructing newcomers on the sauerkraut-making process.

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It starts with cutting….  800 lbs of cabbage cutting!

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The cut cabbage goes to the shredders, where experienced cutters teach newbies on equipment passed down through generations from grandparents…

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and taught to new generations – where Moms teach sons…

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and sisters show brothers….

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and families do together.

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It then gets measured,

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and salted,

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and pounded…

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while friends and family chat,

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and laugh,

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and hug.

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Old friends meet up after decades.

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and new relationships bloom.

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There is plenty of fun for kids of all ages!

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From Jumbo Jenga…

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to pick up sticks…

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to lawn bowling,

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and searching for bones and candy and money in hay.

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There was pumpkin painting…

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and t-shirt painting.

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There was apple picking…

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and apple pressing.

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The kids loved learning how to turn apples into fresh apple juice!

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and so did some of the parents and grandparents!

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There was lots of food.

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I made Grandma’s halupki – another Krautfest tradition served up next to hot dogs and kraut and homemade pierogies and cheesy polenta and fresh smoked ham and lots of other yummies.

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There was an entire dining room table filled with desserts.

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and of course plenty of wine.

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There was tire swinging,

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and bonfire-building.

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There was Marty (hubby – on the left) and Martin.

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There were quiet moments from afar,

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and lots of singing and music after the sun went down and drew us indoors.

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Even dogs of all sizes made friends!

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Can you imagine a better time?

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Thank you Joyce and Oh Rob!  We love you!   We ALL do!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Reflecting…

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Geneva on the Lake, OH – Rocks at Sunset – Summer 2016

Reflecting on the day
And contemplating life

A kaleidoscope of color
Evoking variegated memories

Discovering along the way
Acquiescent acceptance

Sometimes distancing ourselves
to ultimately save ourselves

Healing comes in waves
Crashing, splashing, breaking

Sometimes hitting the rocks
Other times reflecting the light

Remembering to pause
Remembering to cherish

Time spent reflecting
Time spent sharing

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

 

 

 

We’re So Excited!

Engagement Ring Watercolor 5x7

Engagement Ring Watercolor

We’re so excited!

We are being blessed with another beautiful daughter-in-law!

Our son, Nick, proposed to his beautiful fiance, Liz, this past weekend.

So today’s little painting for #WorldWatercolorMonth is a diamond engagement ring.

It’s not nearly as beautiful as the real ring…
or the future bride-to-be…
or the smile on Nick’s face…
or the joy in my heart.

But it is a symbol
of a beautiful commitment
for a lifetime of love.

Nick and Liz Engagement

Nick and Liz Engagement

Nick created a beautiful “forever rose” from copper and metal as part of his engagement ring presentation.

Forever rose

And we enjoyed celebrating the happy couple – the new #McKinneytoBe this weekend!

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Love you Nick and Liz! ❤

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Hanging Out: A Charlie Guest Post

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Are you looking at me?

What……Don’t you like to roll on your back and chew on sticks in the warm, soft Spring grass?

I LOVE Spring!

I forgot how wonderful it is to hang out in the yard with the birds and squirrels and rabbits and chipmunks and deer.  There is so much going on, I can hardly believe how much time I spent sleeping through winter!

There are so many sticks to chew, so many things to smell and taste and chase.

And there is so much room to ZOOOOOM!  I sometimes just start running – in circles or straight lines – whatever suits my fancy – but I love to RUN…. as fast as I can… and make my ears flap and my eyes squint from the sheer force of the wind!

Running, rolling, smelling, tasting, chewing, zooming…. it’s all in a day’s work – hanging out.  A dog’s life.  My life.  There’s nothing like a dog’s life in Spring.

Jealous?  Sorry!  But don’t be…..take some time to hang out outside yourself… even for a little bit.  I bet you’ll want to thank me.  (doggie wink)

Woofs & Wags,
Charlie

PS  My “assistant” is on vacation, so if I don’t respond right away – just know I’m hanging out until she returns.

Rocking Into GRANDparenthood

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It is with GRAND excitement that I share the GRANDest news of all!

Our son, Jake, and Daughter-in-Law, Colleen are expecting a baby!

Which means hubby and I are rocking into GRANDparenthood!

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The GRANDest handmade GRANDparent Card – custom made by Jill

We could not be more GRANDly excited and happy!

You may remember my bestie Jill’s daughter just had a baby a month ago – the first McHendy GRANDbaby….

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Ben and “McHendy GRANDma” Jodi

Well – now Baby Ben is going to have a McHendy GRAND brother or sister!

And Jill made this GRAND rockin’ card, which she and Todd gave to Marty and I this weekend to go with a GRAND rocking chair for our front porch to rock our new GRANDbaby!

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The Happy GRANDpap-to-be, Marty

We went out to dinner to celebrate, and they surprised us with this chair right in the restaurant parking lot!  (We sure have the GRANDest of friends!)

So if you haven’t figured out, I am GRANDly excited!

My Grandma was the greatest role model in my life, and I feel she has prepared me to be a GRAND Grandma.  If I can be only a fraction to our new GRANDbaby of what she was to me, it will be my GRANDest honor.

Cheers & Hugs,
Grandma-to-be, Jodi