ANNALEES, "ISLANDS" AND MEMORIES . . .

Hello, Alert Readers! Christmas Annalee dolls were everywhere!  ;-] Mom's house in Tempe was covered in them. Jody and Jill (Denny's twin sisters) had spent 2 or 3 days organizing the dolls in preparation for us to gather together and divvy them up. Dolls were covering the dining room table, the counter in the kitchen, a card table in the family room and all of the furniture in the living room. Big ones about 4 feet tall, medium ones, small ones, and then –everyone's favorite these days- the tiny tree ornaments. Each Annalee doll is handmade, hand painted, and different from any other. Our family has been collecting them for about 40 years. Mom had a great collection, and we three families are going to enjoy them the rest of our lives. Each of us selected dolls for ourselves and mostly for our children and grandchildren. What fun to look at each doll and remember Mom, who got us started collecting in the first place! 

Half way through the Annalee division, Denny, Jody, Jill, Jiggs and I sat down at Mom's dining room table to look over and discuss Mom's will and estate. We started with a prayer- because we ALL want to get through this situation with absolutely NO hurt feelings or anger of any kind. And that's exactly what happened! Denny, as Executor, gave a report on Mom's bank accounts. We discussed the disposition of the house, furnishings and odds and ends. Decisions were made as to who would inherit what. Of course, we included our Pop's children and our own grandchildren. Even our GREAT-granddaughter Rory was given something cute! When we finished the discussion, everyone felt that the division was fair and square, and peace reigned- just as we planned and expected.  We've been blessed with a wonderful family!

Then it was BACK TO THE ANNALEES! What fun! We came home with two packing boxes and two garbage bags overrun with dolls. Denny and I will choose a few that we really want, and then give Kristin and Ali a chance to come choose. We are going to put a couple away for our granddaughters-to-be as well. Our grandsons are not interested, but we bet the girls will be when they see our houses decorated for the holidays. And, of course, we need a REALLY cute one for our REALLY cute li'l Rory!

We've heard of families being ripped apart during occasions like this. Brothers and sisters not speaking to each other! Cousins not even knowing who's who! What a shame. We decided from the beginning that we would be fair and honest with each other- no matter what. Denny's sisters are waaaaaaaaay more important to us than ANY piece of furniture or amount of money in the world. We are family forever! ;-]

We left Tempe, came home to unload our goodies and then hustled ourselves over to the Mesa Arts Center to see AYT's "Once On This Island". Our grandson Trevor had a featured part! The production was excellently done! Beautiful set and scenery- great costumes- and the kids did a WONDERFUL job! Of course, our eyes were on our Trevor and on Nick's favorite girl, Emily, but all the kids did well. We were both impressed! GOOD JOB, AYT! This was an excellent way to kick off your 10th season!  ;-]

It was a day of sweet memories- memories of Mom, memories of holidays past, and memories of each other. Family first?????  Yes sir, FAMILY FIRST!