O Tannenbaum, Du Kannst Mir Sehr Gefallen!

The day after Thanksgiving, we went to our favorite Christmas tree farm for our $10 tree. We saw our friends, the Rowes, there on their way out, so Michelle snapped our picture for us. The day was gorgeous up there. There was snow at that level, so the kids had a lovely tromp through the tree farm throwing eating snowballs. The farm is acres and acres of gorgeous noble Christmas trees off an old country road on a gentle hill surrounded by tall firs and nobles. For as long as I can remember, one of my very, very favorite things that makes me so, so, so happy, is the sight of tall pines covered in a hazy blanket of low-level fog in a cold, gray sky. It's right up there with a dark, rainy day and the smell of chimney smoke. The Northwest pulses through my veins deep and heavy. This was just such a day, and I was blissfully happy, tripping along through the snow with my family in search of the perfect Christmas tree with plenty of space between the branches for our larger ornaments and icicles.


And we did, indeed, find the perfect tree. It's amazing to me how small and almost scrawny and sparse it looked at the farm next to other, fuller giants, but it was beautifully symmetrical and so it made the cut (so to speak).



I don't know what is wrong with these guys- they are all so silly when it comes to taking pictures... They look like robot babies, with their awkward poses.



The kids got to hang their ornaments first, so Buzz Lightyear and Hello Kitty achieved VIP spots on the tree.





This picture makes me smile- first, because the little dumplings are cute, and second, because my Mom took a picture like this of me and my brother in the toy box when we were little.













I don't think Christmas cards are happening this year, so, in the spirit of Christmas, we wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS filled with light, beauty, laughter, and love. May your homes be filled with the joy, compassion, and serenity that the Saviour paid so dearly to bring us. Families are eternal, God lives and loves us, and Jesus is the Christ!

Fall Into Winter

Nobody got the Indian Summer they were anticipating/hoping for. Straight into the rain and cold temperatures for us. We had a few halcyon days of warm sunshine in between the monsoon-like rain; in fact just enough to rot our pumpkins and trick our tulips into sprouting... We were very meticulous about removing the newly-fallen leaves off of our tender new sod- no mulchy grass-less spots for us! This was the first time we've ever had enough leaves in our yard to jump in and the kids took full advantage.











Little imps.



We went directly from Fall rain and mild temps straight into Winter snow- before Thanksgiving, people! Unheard of! At the first sign of snow flakes, the babies promptly performed their version of the snow dance which consisted of making snow angels on the kitchen floor.


It worked, apparently, because we got just enough snow and ice to cancel school for the day. I think everyone is hoping it will still be canceled tomorrow and give us all a nice long Thanksgiving holiday week, but I don't hold out much hope for that. The school superintendent is pretty stingy with the days off. At least, I always thought so when we'd get a dusting of snow and still have to go to school anyway. It's so traumatic when you're a kid...


Have I mentioned that I love our neighborhood?! So peaceful and beautiful... I love that I can actually see vast amounts of sky around our house- one advantage to a street full of one-level homes. It feels like something off of a Christmas card.


A gorgeous, if cold, winter night sky.


Sterling was completely enthralled with the ice that formed on top of Doug's gutter contraption pit. The water drained out overnight, leaving just a thin layer of ice suspended on the top of the hole, which he promptly broke, of course, and converted into a likely weapon.


This little guy wants to do EVERYTHING his big brother does, 'Baby do!'


Our little princess is a little smarter and opted to stay inside where it's warm. Puzzles are her specialty, she can put them together, all alone, in no time!


Hylton is utterly enamored of "choo choos." Everytime someone wants to watch a movie, he runs over and picks out a Thomas movie and insists we watch it, and this usually leads to tears and a time out because, of course, he is not the only little munchkin in the house with opinions. This is how I usually find him after a time out. Some punishment, huh? He looks completely contrite, no?




Barbie.com is another staple in our house- especially while cold out! Evie loves her Barbies and Disney Princesses! She is especially fond of the coloring pages that she then prints out and tapes to her wall.


I, unfortunately, contracted a cold and am going stir-crazy not leaving the house due to both the body cold and the outside cold. It leaves me no choice but to get crafty... *sigh* It's a tough job... I combined several modes of fabric flower making into one hair piece for Evie to wear with her holiday dress and have decided I just might steal it! (Not really, but I think it turned out so classy- and of course it's black, so I'm bound to covet it!)

Vintage Halloween

There is just nothing like a deadline (or a party, in this case) to spur one to action. Earlier this month, we decided to throw a Halloween party. Within this month we finished hanging our upper kitchen cabinets, the range hood, fully cleaned out our garage, laid down sod in our backyard (finally), rearranged our living room, and decorated and decorated and decorated! If you have things you want to get done, throw a party!



The theme was Twisted Victorian/ Steampunk/ Goth. The decorations were disturbingly creepy, instead of gory scary. There were glittered and metallic skulls, butterfly "specimens" pinned to the wall with T-pins, framed anatomy of bats, brains, bones and eyeballs, yards and yards of tattered cheesecloth and black tulle, bloody candles, spiders, kerosene lamps, Vintage Halloween postcards banner, and apothecary jars full of eerie liquids containing pickled snakes, blood, a human heart, a brain, and some skeletal remains in a glowing substance. I had SO much help from friends! Stephanie meticulously cut out all the butterflies, Julie came and helped make, paint, and assemble the graveyard and ghosts (and brought child laborers too), Rachel came and helped decorate for endless hours, and Michelle came over twice to help with decorations as well (she even touched glitter for me when she HATES glitter), my mom picked up the kids that night so I could finish prepping, and of course, you'll see David's photos below. We have such awesome friends!









A few of my girlies... We have an 80's valley girl, a Roman goddess, a vampiress, and a victorian lady.


What's wrong with a room full of men enjoying a good game of Just Dance for Wii...? Haven't you ever seen an Amish man dance?


We had a couple of different areas set up to hold everyone, which is why the garage needed to be cleaned out. The garage was transformed into a dance floor (which, frankly, few people danced on) but most people sat out here for a while trying to talk over the music...


My handsome hubby.


Valley Girl and the Gothic Princess finding common ground on the dance floor.


Erin and Janae looking for the perfect tune to dance to.





Binghams rockin' to Walk Like an Egyptian


Julie totally kicking my trash (hence the stern look of concentration and consternation on my face).


Medusa's toga is having a wardrobe malfunction while her beau-turned-stone shows us how it's done.


These steampunk goggles were handmade! So cool!


Miss Jamie is leaving us for the Spud State, so we took the opportunity to get a good group picture of the girls.




Graveyard at night.


And during the day. After the windstorm, it doesn't look so hot, but you get the idea.


Dave Bingham set up his equipment in a back room at our party and took some amazing pictures of all of us. I am a Victorian Raven Lady and Doug is my "handler" who wears an eye patch because I pecked his eye out once. It's a bit involved, I know. David did just such a wonderful job on the pictures!







We were so busy with the party prep that we didn't carve (or even get) pumpkins until Saturday morning, after the party.






Then we had a family party in the garage that night. The kids loved dancing under the black lights to the loud Halloween music.




My scary bat boy.


My brother brought back this Lederhosen set from Switzerland when Hylton was a baby because he thinks he looks like a Swiss baby. Hylton is finally big enough to fit it, so he got to wear it to trick-or-treat Grandma Bobbie and Papa Jack-Jack last night.


A witch, a Swiss boy, and a bat.


And here's our new backyard. It's still pretty bare, but compared to what it looked like with mounds of dirt for months and months, I think it looks so beautiful with that long expanse of luscious greenness and the pretty fall leaves.



Half of the yard is done and we are MUD-DY! It was lightly drizzling while we were laying the sod and then right after we finished, it started POURING! Nothing like great timing!