Tree trimming party 2013

It was a whirlwind of a weekend. We had pageant rehearsal, parties, tree-buying, and tree decorating. And the tree trimming around here is one of our major events of the season, so it made for a fun, if tiring weekend. Plus, our college-aged people were done with school and they have joined us again. Hooray! This is what B. looked like for the first hour or so of his arrival.

G. and L. and K. didn't really want to let him out of their sight, much less arms. B. did admit that they are getting a little too big for even him to carry them around like this for very long. Happy girls, happy boys.

Yesterday afternoon was our tree trimming party, complete with many treats that we don't normally indulge in.

M. holding the traditional Christmas pickle.

(A child was wielding the camera... so you have to overlook the blurriness.)





And since it is rare for my house to look all picked-up and orderly, I thought I would take advantage of it and document that fact.

The tree.

Looking toward the front living room. That blur would be K.

15 stockings

Back living room fireplace

Front hall fireplace

Front stairs

Now, one of the joys of older children is that they are just fun to have around. As well as M. and B., we were joined by one of M.'s roommates (who needs a place to land for a few days until she can get home) and M.'s boyfriend. We also had a selection of coats which were going begging and I asked the girls if any of them wanted to take one (or all). The next thing I know, B. has decided to become a catalogue model.


Not to be outdone, he was joined by the others. I spend much time laughing when my older children are around.


Now that my house is all decorated, perhaps I will be motivated to tackle my to-do list. I have been remarkably laid back about the whole thing, but that doesn't help one make a lot of progress. And I may scratch Christmas cards off my list this year because I meant to get a family picture yesterday, but we were having too much fun to stop and bother with it. Oh well.
___________
Two other unrelated things. First, I have a new article up, Advent and Homeschooling. Take a look. Second, if any of you remember me advocating for Joseph who was at Shepherd's Field with H., please pray for him. He has been home with his family for about a year, and just a couple of days ago underwent open heart surgery. He is not doing well. They are concerned about brain damage, oxygen levels, and the heart may even be failing. Please pray for him and his family.

Comments

Owlhaven said…
Looks great! What a lovely staircase you have!
12/16/2013 10:09 AM
Shonya said…
Ha! The coat modeling is my favorite part. :)
12/16/2013 10:57 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Making bias tape... otherwise known as the Sew, Mama, Sew! Giveaway

Image
( Sorry, the contest is now closed .... though you're welcome to leave a comment if you like.) [This picture has absolutely nothing to do with this post, but is here solely to give Blogger a different photo to post in the thumbnail.] It's Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway time again.  I love bias tape.  It is so useful and so easy to use... finishing edges ... finishing seams ...  And while the pre-packaged stuff has it's place and I use it often, I really like to have patterned bias tape as well.  Enter one of my favorite little tools: the bias tape maker.  This one make 3/4 inch bias tape and I will be giving one away at the end of this post.  But first, I thought some of you might like to see what it does if you've never used one before. I don't have a rotary cutter, nice cutting mats, or even a proper cutting table (I cut-out things on my floor), so if I can do this, so can you.  Here is my admittedly quirky method. Step 1:  Lay out the fabric and fold a corner ove
Read more

An uncomfortable post

I hope it comes as no surprise to my readers that when I vote early next week I will be casting my ballot for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. Being in a blue state this feels as though it is a very little thing in the effort to bring our country back past the brink of no return . I'll be honest and say that I am feeling such stress and fear about this election that I can't listen to any news or look at social media for very long. The radio is pretty firmly set on our classical music station even though they are in the middle of a pledge drive. The pledge drive is preferable.  But for those of you who are supporting the other side, if there are any of you left who continue to visit my blog, here is what I need to say. When I drive around and see signs in people's yards supporting that man, I treat it as an early warning system. The people who live in this house are not safe for my family to be around. This is far more than a difference of opinion. That worked for all the preside
Read more

Sew, Mama, Sew! Giveaway

Image
Sew, Mama, Sew! is hosting another giveaway day , the day where many bloggers giveaway things they have made or supplies to make things or both.  It is great fun to visit a lot of blogs and try to win cool stuff.  So fun that I thought I would participate this year. I had great hopes of making a set of coordinating mother/daughter aprons.  But reality reared its ugly head and I came to terms with the fact that my time is not limitless.Instead of aprons,  I must continue to spend quality time with yards and yards of red plaid flannel.  What am I making?  Well, as I tell my children, it is the season not to ask questions... I will be able to let you know sometime after the 25th. Instead of making something, I went to my favorite thrift store and found some supplies in the form of sheets and pillowcases (some of my favorite raw material).  I'm giving away three pillowcases and one twin flat sheet. I decided to go with bright, springy colors, because if you are anything like
Read more