Random......Dishpan Hands!!

I know this is really random.........considering I never finished blogging about the DC trip. Things have just been crazy at our house since we got home the day after the Inauguration and except for my missionary blog, I haven't had the energy to blog.
I've been taking care of Mom since Bob died....helping with everything that needs to be done after the death of a husband. We found her a new place to live and have been packing her up in preparation to move this week. Mom called me into the back room the other day and told me she wanted to give me something. I couldn't imagine what it would be as I took the boxes down from a shelf. It turned out they were some dishes they had bought which I had never seen. Mom knows how much I enjoy pretty dishes during different holidays and things and wanted me to have them. That night, I spent hours re-arranging my cupboard in the kitchen to fit them in. This is my cupboard. I really love it...it has a light inside. All the dishes were stacked on the bottom shelf for storage, but with these new dishes I wanted to display the pretty blue goblets she gave me as well, so I just went crazy rearranging by "color" on the different shelves.I thought it would be fun to display the glasses with the dishes on the same shelf instead of all on the same one like before.

Here are the ones she gave me. The blue goblets are BEAUTIFUL but huge.....they take up alot of room. Not all of the dishes are here because Josh wanted to used them to eat on tonight. He loves setting a pretty table:)
This is the Noritake china I got when I was married to Paul. Bill and Sidney Belle bought us most of it. We use these at Easter and other special holidays. The pretty dessert glasses were a wedding present. Today I am much more practical, and would never buy them, unless of course I found them at the Goodwill or DI.....and probably not even then!!These are my Christmas dishes. I LOVE Christmas!! I bought the dishes at the Dollar Tree....the glasses came from Dairy Queen about 15 years ago and the pretty goblets were from Arbys. I kick myself for only getting four of them!!
Now these are NOT in the china cupboard...but are in another one. These are our everyday dishes. Most people want clothes for Christmas, but I wanted new dishes one year, so Richard got me these. I found the cute placemats at the Goodwill....they're reversable:) The boys love eating cereal out of the huge bowls.
AND finally (are you still with me??)....these are some clear glass dishes that Sidney Belle gave me. They were Paul's when he died. I kind of resisted her giving them to me, but boy am I glad she did. We use these ALOT!! They are multipurpose dishes. In our family we have alot of "Special" dinners. I just put a co-ordinating tablecloth for whatever holiday we're celebrating and these dishes ALWAYS match!! We just used them for our Valentines Day dinner and in a few weeks we'll use them for St. Patricks day.
So now you have a history of my dishes......and so will our kids. If they end up with any of them they will know where they came from:) Is it any wonder I have "Dishpan" Hands!!