A White Christmas!

We had a good Christmas. And just like one of my favorite Christmas movies there was an unexpected heavy snowfall Christmas eve. We woke up to about 6 inches of beautiful white snow that stuck for more than a day. Perfect timing.
The girls slept in our room so we could put together theirs. They had a terrific Christmas. We got to talk with Tyson on the webcam which was nice, but of coarse not the same. He did get to spend Christmas eve with our family back home. He had a great Christmas too. We sure missed being with him.
Unfortunately, but not surprising, we forgot to charge our camera. These are the only pics of the girls that Christmas morn taken from our phone. Heath did an amazing job on this table and chair set. They get used everyday. Later that day we shared a Christmas dinner with our friends the Anderson family. Christmas was quiet and relaxing.

Later that morning we went out to enjoy the snow.

Here are some pics of their room taken a few days later. I ran short on time and we left a few things unfinished. I didn't get the throw pillows for their bed finished and the pink ruffle on the board of pegs below the mirror. We have two more chairs built but unpainted. I must admit I'm totally motivated by the pressure of deadlines. So no progress has been made there.
Also the chinese lanterns can serve as nitelites.

I love oversized pics. I blew these up to poster size and modpodged them to some foamboard

Next time I'll be much more generous with the modpodge. See how that left pic bubbled up.

The trundle has worked wonderfully. We had our doubts but the girls actually really like this sleeping arrangement. Maybe I'll break down what we did later. They are happy with their purple and pink room.

Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve with our friends the Critchlows. We were so spoiled to enjoy the fun traditional activities of Christmas Eve without near the work. We made enough yummy food to feed 10 families. Amy put together these adorable graham cracker ginger bread houses for the kids to decorate. They loved it.
Mark read the Christmas story which he had the kids reenact by paying us taxes and the rest using their nativity. They thought that was pretty fun. Then the kids colored nativity pictures. We ended the night with opening their Christmas pjs. I of coarse forgot my camera but managed to capture a few on my phone. So even though we missed our family we had a great night with good friends.

Snow

Finally we got some snow. Not much by our western standards but enough to close everything down. Church was cancelled. Today held that cozy winter kind of charm. The girls played in the snow. We had hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls and homemade chicken noodle soup. We snuggled on the couch and watched Celtic Thunder's Christmas Program and Care Bears. We turned off all the lights in the house but the Christmas lights. It was a nice relaxing day and now I'm going to bed. I'll try not to pray for Heath to be snowed in tomorrow.

Girls' Christmas: Phase I

For Christmas this year the girls are getting a new room. It's been no secret to them, mostly because its a big job. Hopefully we can keep most things in hiding. Nothing will remain the same. Course that's not saying much, seeing how its looked like this for the past 2 yrs, minus a crib, toddler bed and a little handmedown Dora Kitchen, and a few things on the bookshelf. A little sad I know. In my defense we've been gone for at least 7 months of it. Ok, still pathetic.





So, phase I, we of course repainted. You probably can't tell in this really bad lighting. But we went with a pale pink and stripes on one wall in a glossier plummy purple. The stripes turned out a little too dark, but not enough to repaint. The girls love it.

And this is Saydee and Elli's new bed. The room is so tiny that it can't accommodate two twins, comfortably anyhow. Lucky for us we have some great friends who are always supplying us with some great stuff. This bed had been handed down through 3 active little boys. So of course it had seen some better days but still sturdy. We sanded it down painted it white and viola! We really like it.

This weekend we built Elli's trundle and a shelf for their wall, modified versions of Ana White's plans. She makes it so simple. Right now they are awaiting paint. Hopefully we'll have everything done and ready to be set up Christmas eve.

Feeling more like Christmas

Like everyone, we love the traditions of Christmas, the lights, the smells, the music. We are usually all decked out by now. We've been a little slower this year. I misplaced most of our decorations. So we improvised on a budget.

If you ask two little girls their color preferences you end up with a pretty girlie tree. We made some accordion fan flowers to fill in the holes of our missing ornaments. Of course after all that work we found the missing ones, but decided to keep the flowers lest we face a riot from the girls.

This was totally my siblings and I 25 years ago. I miss them all especially this time of year.



Two years ago we started a new tradition. We wrap up 25 Christmas books, some about Christ's birth and some about Santa or other Christmas stories. We open one a night until Christmas. Many of them are library books, so we have our familiar favorites and some fun new ones.

Do you have any Christmas traditions you love?

Congrats to the Husband.

Starting in Jan. Heath will be living his Dream. No, not the one where he singlehandedly saves the nation Jack Bower style. But teaching Math to those of us who just don't get it. And no he didn't quit his job here on base. There's that plus teaching 2 night classes at Southwestern Illinois College, our local community college just 10 min from home. What a blessing.

I haven't seen Heath this psyched for a while. He's always wanted to be a Professor, and this opportunity gets his foot in the door with a little experience. And if he loves it as much as he thinks, we might be seeing some major life changes in the future.

Enough speculating. Here's to Heath and his 7 hrs, to becoming debt-free, and to a loving Heavenly Father who knows our needs and answers our prayers.

And here are the kids at Barnes and Noble's story hour just because.

The Spirit of Christmas

In preparing my RS lesson for church I came across this powerful message. Howard W Hunter quotes the First Presidency of the Church back in 1919.

In defining the real spirit of Christmas:
"It is a desire to sacrifice for others, to render service, and to possess a feeling of universal brotherhood. It consists of a willingness to forget what you have done for others, and to remember only what others have done for you; and to ignore what the world owes you, and think only of... your duties in the middle distance, and your chance to do good and aid your fellow-men in the foreground --to see that your fellow-men are just as good as you are, and try to look behind their faces to their hearts -- to close your book of grievances against the universe, and look about you for a place to sow a few seeds of happiness and go your way unobserved."
[Improvement Era, Dec. 1919, 155]

"The real Christmas comes to him who has taken Christ into his life as a moving, dynamic, vitalizing force. The real spirit of Christmas lies in the life and mission of the Master."
-- Howard W Hunter