The Bellairs family had their Christmas get-together on Christmas Eve day. Everyone gathered for fun, food, fellowship, and of course, what I have been anticipating: the Griswold bears adoptions. The bears were left under the tree, still tangled in garland, and then covered with a sheet. We had shoe boxes wrapped for each grandchild with a couple other gifts and a card, introducing each one to their bear. I uncovered them, and they were able to find their bear according to the description they were given, and then find the ornament each bear hung on the tree. The grandchildren were all told that they needed to name their bear before taking it home with them, so I could get adoption certificates made in the next few days.
Five bears went to the Michelsen family.
Ian is our oldest grandson at age 19, and thankfully, was very happy getting a Viking bear. T10's name was changed to Björn Griswöld.
Amber, age 15, named her bear Samwell. He is perfect for Amber, because he is a little bookworm, just like she is. His favorite place is curled up under the covers in bed with a book. He was even caught a few times with a flashlight, reading after lights out.
Emily, age 12, received the prototype bear, T1. She is the granddaughter that helped with the Teddy bears picnic and pumpkin carving. She fell in love with her that day, but I couldn't tell her then, that she was going to be her bear. She named her bear Cheeka Bear.
Davey, age 9, named his bear Othar. I think it is another Viking type name. That's good, because they both look up to their brothers.
Bobby, age 6, got the pretty red bear. He named him Benjamin, but is just going to call him Ben. Ben is going to look a lot like Bobby soon, because he has a loose tooth. I bet he will lose it in a few days.
The next four bears went home to the Bellairs/Schlegel family.
Trisha, age 14, was glad her bear was made out of her first choice fabric. Her new name is Sugar. She is very soft, because her white yarn is a blend of wool and angora. When I first showed the girls the fabric and told them to tell me a first and second choice, she couldn't pick a second choice, because she wanted her first choice so badly.
Payton, age 12, got the orange angora bear, dyed to her specifications. She had a hard time choosing a name for her, but finally decided on Truffel Bear. Truffel is wearing a rayon chenille scarf I also gave to Payton.
Hailee, age 11, hates to smile for photos. She was so happy with her bear, that she put on her most beautiful smile. She named her bear Sweetheart, and she really is. They both are.
Morgan, age 9, didn't think I gave her the right bear, but after holding her a few minutes, they fell in love. Her bears name is Hunysuckel. Morgan wanted an unconventional spelling for her bears name. Hunysuckel is a fuzzy mohair, so Morgan will have fun brushing her fur.
On Christmas morning, I got a text message and photo of our grandson Landen just after he opened his bear. Landen wasn't able to come to our house because he was with his dad at another family gathering.
I think he looks pretty happy with his new bear. He called me on the phone a little later to thank us and to tell us he named his bear Sweety.
Sweety is a boy bear, and loves to golf. He made a few practice shots at our house with his golf set that he got for Christmas.
Some of the bears went upstairs after presents to watch the Teddy Bears Picnic DVD that we gave each family.
Our daughter Rachel, from out in Washington state, was unable to join us for Christmas, so we included her and her boyfriend Nick and her bear, Nilla,on Skype. Nilla was very excited to meet all of the baby bears. Here is a screen shot of Nilla taking a look at the sewing machine we gave Rachel.
As evening arrived, the families started to pack up to head for their own homes. Two of them had close to four hour drives. We gathered everyone for one last picture of the grandkids and bears.
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| Front row: Emily and Cheeka, Morgan and Hunysuckel, Bobby and Ben, Hailee and Sweetheart, Davey and Othar. Back row: Payton and Truffel, Trisha and Sugar, Amber and Samwell, Ian and Björn, and our daughter Carolyn holding Sweety. |
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The sad part of the day was saying good-bye. One bear didn't get to be adopted yet and she was very sad.
Here she is with Great-grandpa bear at the window waving bye-bye to the first family to leave.
Thank goodness for grandpas. They are very good at comforting a sad bear. We are hoping she will be able to go to her new home with our granddaughter Elisabeth very soon.
Today, after some discussion, we decided that T11 shouldn't wait till she gets to her new home to get a real name. Because she is pink, our daughter Carolyn, our son Edwin (Elisabeth's daddy), and I decided she should be called Rosie. She is very lonely, so I found Dolly bear for her to play with. Great-grandma bear is holding her so she wouldn't be so sad, and Patty Bear and Uncle are trying to cheer her up. Great-grandma looks pretty good since major surgery earlier today.
My Grandma Gladys Hobbs made Great-grandma and Great-grandpa bear years ago. Great-grandma had one of her arms fall off and a couple other limbs were also getting loose, so I took her apart and replaced some of the incorrect hardware. She is recovering quickly, and was happy to give some comfort to Rosie.
Hopefully we will have a picture of Rosie with baby Elisabeth real soon.
I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!
I think he looks pretty happy with his new bear. He called me on the phone a little later to thank us and to tell us he named his bear Sweety. 
