Christmas Helper

Kyle has been the Christmas Chief around here this year, making Chocolate Covered Cherries, Peanut Butter Cups, Buckeyes, Peanut Clusters, Gingerbread and Sugar Cookies. He really took off in the candy department this year. (Thanks Aliza!)

Of course, he hasn't had to do all the work himself - Alaina was happy to help him!

Okay, okay, so maybe he did do it all himself!

Alaina likes to help me with my chores too, like folding the laundry. She likes to put clothes in her mouth to make sure they taste dry. We wouldn't want to put away damp clothes, you know.

Merry Christmas and Happy 2010!

Merry Christmas!

We have been rescued from our enemies
so we can serve God without fear,
in holiness and righteousness
for as long as we live!
(Zechariah's prophecy, Luke1:74-75)


Merry Christmas to you all,
and especially to Ellyson,

Gracelyn

Kanah,

and Kashaiah S.!

Date Night!

Kyle and I escaped all by ourselves a few nights ago for a special Christmas date - what fun! We drove down to this marvelous restaurant in a renovated barn. The whole place was decked out for Christmas and it was simply lovely!

We came here last year (when I was "great with child") and the food and ambiance were so delightful we had to come back. All the old barn partitions, wood and windows make for such fun surroundings.

This time they weren't too busy, and they put us off in this little lean-to section all by ourselves. It was just perfect!

Everything was SO good, and Kyle wants to see if he can replicated those delicious fried mushrooms with horseradish sauce. Yum!

On our way home we drove through a couple small towns to see the lights. We came across an old fashioned candy shop with a soda fountain and decided to stop in for dessert (though I'm not sure how we found room after that dinner!).

Altogether, it was a simply wonderful evening! Thanks, Honey, for another lovely time!
I am a very blessed woman. :-)

A few more Dancing Pictures

The Grandparents with their Grandbabies.

Somebody has to provide the cuteness!

"Ok, now we're going to do a circular hey, which is just like changes of rights and lefts, only without hands . . ."

Ready and waiting!

Me and my favorite sister. ;-)

Catching up 1

Blurg. I hate being sick! But then, who doesn't? ( No, I know what you're thinking. Not that kind of sick. This was the headache, sore throat, light fever variety.) It's gotten me a bit behind in my Christmas plans and - obviously - a bit behind in posting here.


Before getting sick, Nate and I got to call an English Country Dance for a group of friends. It was tremendous fun, and went much better than last time since Alaina is now much older, right Nate? ;-)




Megan P. did Haley's and my hair for the occasion - what a treat!


Such a great group of dancers! We tried out some tough dances on them, and they were such troopers! I think everyone got a good workout. :-)


Faith H. and Haley between dances. I didn't get many pictures myself, since I was busy calling, so these are off the blogs of others (Thanks C. Crew and P. Fam!).


New friends! Susan, Emily, Kristy, Carol, Britteny and Megan.





More pictures to come (if I can get mine to load!) . . .

For the Seamstresses

I made Alaina a play dress out of flannel scraps this fall, and I used an easy technique that imitates smocking. I call it the "Mock Smock".

You simply put in several rows of stitching, gather them and leave the thread in. Easy as can be, looks fun and it's even held up to all the crawling and twisting babies do. At least so far. ;-)

Best Time of Year

Well, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving - we sure did! We had five wonderful days with family, lots of visiting, splendid times, and no pictures. No, not one. Sometimes it's more important to live life than to document it. ;-)



We're gearing up for Christmas, playing music non stop, and planning our gifts and goodies. Oh yes, and learning that the Christmas tree is to be seen and not touched. While I love this time of year, I have to admit that I'm still in a Thanksgiving mood. Then again, gratitude is never out of season!

Not much else of interest . . . yet. Just wanted to stick something up. Happy December!