Is it really December?

We face another day of beautiful weather.  My parents are working in the backyard, raking, trimming and mowing.(I helped hold the bag) Mark had raked earlier in the fall, before the majority of leaves had fallen, so we really needed it again.  With our beautiful, green all year long fescue grass, the wet leaves laying on top could kill it.  

Christmas Tree Napkins

Yesterday morning, we had pancakes for breakfast, then opened our gifts.  Scott was thrilled with the deluxe drum set for Rock Band 2 on PS3.  Mark got all kinds of computer and game accessories and Angela got lots of clothes.  She's sending some of them back and is looking forward to the money she'll get, instead.  Archie got all kinds of things, ranging from clothes to computer toys.  I got scrapbooking tools and accessories, solo handbell music and a hot paraffin treatment system.  

 My parents arrived this afternoon and the exchanging of gifts is finally over.  After a steak dinner we exchanged gifts, then watched Scott play drums with his Rock Band 2 on PS3.  After that, we went to the basement to Play Wii Fit.  Everyone participated - Archie, Angela, my mother and me.  It's really quite a lot of fun and you're always trying to beat your previous score. 

Yesterday, after opening the gifts, Mark was very disappointed that he didn't get "The Dark Knight" on DVD and I was a little disappointed I didn't get the Zutter binding machine.  In a way, I was sorry for being greedy, yet I still really wanted that machine.  Today, our dreams came true - my parents got those things for us, as well as some other nice things.

For those of you who don't live near us, the weather today was BEAUTIFUL!!  It was hard to believe that it was the day after Christmas since it got up to 70 degrees and right now, at 10:45 PM it's still 63 degrees.  Tomorrow, it's supposed to be winter again with rain and a high of 40 degrees.  That's the way it is here - just wait - the weather will change.

Winter has Officially Arrived

I don't know what the low was this morning, but it's 13 degrees right now with a forecasted high of only 20 degrees today.  The kale and pansies on the front porch seem to be frozen solid.  I think they were not designed to withstand temperatures this low.  The furnace seems to run continually.  Today, I'm not working - I'm taking my birthday day!

We had approximately 40 people over last night after the church choir's Christmas program.  I supplied the house, our social chairwoman supplied the hot cider and everyone brought goodies.  Several people left their goodies, so we're well stocked for now.  The choir gave Archie an i-Tunes gift card in appreciation for playing with the older children during choir practice.  The choir gave Brian a money tree, and unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of it.

The party made me clean up the house and get it decorated.  I took pictures of some of the decorations for a scrapbook I'm working on, so I'll post some of them here.

 

This year, I put up one less tree than normal.  Above, the tree in the dining room is 10' tall and decorated in blue, cream and gold.  

Left, the Barbie tree sits on the stair landing in the foyer.  To the left of the Barbie tree, I hung the kids stockings, made by my high school friend, Maggi, when each child was born (see below.)

Below, the mantel is decorated in gold with new stocking holders that proclaim: Christ is born,
King of Kings and Prince of Peace.  Since our fireplace is only decorative, I keep it filled with a basket of flowers year round.  At Christmas, I put in white and gold poinsettias.

Left, is the tree in the foyer, decorated in red and white.  Almost all these ornaments are handmade.  Notice the quilt on the love seat - it was one of the first ones I ever made and it's even hand quilted.

I'll post more decorations later.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

The "Case of the Missing Office Christmas Tree" is solved!!  It turns out that nobody stole the tree, it was just in a different room behind the sump pump and lots of pipes in a dark corner.  We guess our former handyman put it there last year and didn't tell anybody.  Now our office looks more festive.  I've hung a Christmas quilt in my office.  It's pictured here in the blog.

My birthday was a couple of days ago.  I attended a class at the local scrapbook store - we made several small gift items - it was loads of fun.

We had our first true snowfall on my birthday - officially 1.5" fell, with some freezing rain.  The streets were solid ice on Tuesday night and the town was pretty deserted.

New house update:  We've applied for our construction loan.  The contract with the builder should be in our hands tomorrow.  The builder, Joe, contacted Otto, the basement guy, and we are next on his list - scheduled to begin in January.  It still seems like a dream.  I guess when they actually start digging it will seem real.  

Scott came home from OSU today - his last final was this morning.  He's moved back into his room for a month and will begin work tomorrow or Monday.  

Staff Christmas Party

Above:  Jackie & Ron Fore, Sherry & Keith Miller, Sue & Roger Norrie, Russell & Teresa Parks.

Tonight, Archie and I attended the FBC Staff Christmas Party at my bosses' house.  We had 20 people there who enjoyed rib-eye steaks.  Everyone brought something to go with the meal.

After eating, we exchanged gifts, but in a special way.  Two days ago, everyone brought a sock to the office (one per participant) that contained a piece of paper with the owner's name.  We exchanged the socks, drawing from a large paper sack.  Then everyone purchased a gift, $10 maximum.  The twist is the gift had to fit in the sock.  Tonight, we brought our socks with gifts inside and ribbons with gift labels tied around the necks of the socks.  Archie and Andy played Santa, distributing the sock-gifts and one-by-one we opened our socks.  It wasn't as much fun as a "Dirty Santa" or "White Elephant" exchange, but everyone took something home that someone had purchased especially for them. 

Below:  Jake & Julie Adams, Ginny & Mike Addington

Below:  Me & Archie, Brian & Marquita Dickinson

Mark's Birthday

Our oldest child, Mark, turned 27 today - guess we're getting old!  We gave him a video game and took him to Rib Crib for dinner.  Then we stopped by the mall and picked up a cookie-cake.  

I told Mark at dinner that on my 27th birthday, I had an 8 day old baby boy - him!  Mark replied that he was sure glad he didn't have a baby boy and as his parents, Archie and I agreed whole-heartedly.