Just a quick drop-in to say we’re having a fun time down here in NC. We did encounter some major delays on our travels here as the weather was horrific on our original path, and a rock slide in Asheville forced us to take yet another route. We made it safely though, and we’re enjoying the warmish and sunny weather.

I haven’t even gotten around to wrapping presents yet, so this video makes feel really behind.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afreOsPe83M&feature=fvw

I hope everyone is enjoying time with family and friends and having the most lovely Christmas.

It occurred to me the other day that Violet didn’t have a winter hat to keep her bald head warm during the frigid days. I decided I could help her out and crocheted her an earflap hat one evening. I was surprised at how quickly it was to make, so now I want to make a dozen more. Have I? Of course, not. If you haven’t noticed, but I’ve been a teensy bit swamped around here lately. Time on the computer has been minimal these days. Enough complaining. Instead take a look at Violet in her new hat. Love it!

Despite the hectic times around here we did manage to make up several different batches of cookies to take to some church members. The girls had fun, but Mimi got fired from her frosting job after getting caught licking on the job.

And lastly, forget Nascar!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8uLcsri9Qw

This will be my last blog post for about a week (maybe since there may or may not be internet access where we’re going) since we’ll be heading south to NC. I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!

My friend, Julie, posted her top 10 favorite Christmas songs on her blog yesterday. I don’t plan to do the same, but I was struck by her #1 pick which is “O Holy Night”. This song also tops my favorites list of Christmas songs. As a matter of fact, one of the songs currently getting replayed on my iPod is “O Holy Night” as performed by Sufjan Stevens. Have a listen for yourself. Wait, I added a couple of other songs to the list (couldn’t resist). Another favorite this Christmas season is “Winter Wonderland” by Goldfrapp. And an all-time, fun favorite is “I Want A Hippopatumus For Christmas” by Gayla Peavey. Enjoy! E.T.A.: I’ve added “Did I Make You Cry on Christmas Day? (Well, You Deserved It!)” by Sufjan Stevens because Julie requested it after I mentioned it to her.

The sick bug has struck Annie again (and probably the rest of us soon) with coughing and wheezing. I noticed her incessant coughing and wheezing the night before last and started her on the breathing treatments the doctor prescribed to her. I thought she was fine to go to school yesterday, but her school decided otherwise and sent her home. We did round the clock breathing treatments all day yesterday, and by bedtime I noticed her coughing had subsided and her wheezing is much less pronounced now. She’s back at school today, and I’ve got my fingers crossed that she won’t get kicked out again.

This picture was actually taken from the last time she was sick, but you get the idea of what she did all day yesterday.

In other news, our church ward had it’s annual Christmas party. This year it was decided that we’d have a brunch. My mom came along with us, and I think everyone had a great time.

I couldn’t help but get the girls dressed up in their Christmas dresses.

You know that I couldn’t resist putting Violet in this little Santa dress.

My mom was the designated babysitter for the day since I had to assist with all the activities for the brunch. Thanks, Mom!

I called on Julie and Seth to volunteer as Mary and Joseph. Well, Julie has the Mary “look” and Seth has been bearding it, so they really were the perfect fit. They thought otherwise but were willing to do it anyway. We had a hilarious time getting them dressed up for the their moment on stage. {Does anyone (ahem, Sara) noticed anything in particular on Seth’s head? I couldn’t resist.} The original plan was for Violet to play baby Jesus but because I had a bad feeling about it instead I brought along a dolly to use. That bad feeling turned out to be a good thing because about halfway through the program Violet had a violent blowout. Seth and Julie said they about laughed out loud on the stage when they saw Violet being escorted naked by my mom back into the cultural hall (I didn’t think to give her the extra change of clothes).

The girls got to visit with Santa. They were very excited to finally tell him in person all the American Girl stuff they hope to get.

Violet also get her chance with Santa. She had lots to say. Notice the new pants Violet is wearing thanks to her blowout earlier.

Of course, I had to get a picture of all the girls with Santa. So cute!

It was a really fun day, and I’m glad my mom also got the chance to come.

In an attempt to transfer my domain (that’s website address for all you laymen) to a new company to save a whopping $6 per year, I made the mistake of waiting a bit too long to make the transfer and lost my website for a couple of days. Sorry about that. The website should now be available for viewing from now on and forever and ever. I cross my heart.

I know I’ve been remiss in updating the website for the past couple of weeks. To say that I’ve been a bit overwhelmed is an understatement. The week PRIOR to Thanksgiving Mike was out of town for his annual hunting extravaganza in SD, and I also had to travel with the girls alone to Minnesota for the week of Thanksgiving. Preparing and packing for the trip ate up much of the week while Mike was gone along with all the other daily grind. During the week OF Thanksgiving I had VERY limited internet access, as in my mother-in-law has dial-up access with which I didn’t want to bother. Of course, the week AFTER Thanksgiving was full of unpacking and getting back into the groove of things.

Much has happened these past few weeks, and I do plan to report on everything I can think of. I’ll have to spread it out over a few days though because I don’t want to overwhelm anyone so that you don’t feel the way I have.

I’ll start with our trip to Minnesota. I was awful about taking pictures the whole time. When I saw Sara, Mike’s sister, taking so many pictures, I think I thought in the back of my mind that I could just steal her pictures:) Speaking of Sara, we had our annual day of crafting. Jessie, one of Mike’s other sisters, joined in on the fun, too. We did something different this year. It was requested by Jessie that we do Halloween crafts, and we decided that each of us would find a craft to make and bring enough supplies for each person to make it. So we each ended up with 3 Halloween decorations to take home. It was an awesome day, and I hope we get to do it each year from here on out. Here’s what Sara had to say about it (yes, I’m copying/pasting everything from her post because I’m lazy):

I got to play with some friends today (one friend related by marriage and the other by blood). Both of these friends brought other friends along with them for playdates with friends of mine that I keep in the house. Mike’s Jen came with Mimi and Violet and Jessie came with Bon. Mimi played with Fake Child and Bon played with my kids.

Mimi hugs her foot
Jenny is SO EXCITED to be here
So Jen was sitting on my couch and fingering an afghan sent to me by a different Jen. Something poked her. She found this many pins in the afghan. And this is in addition to the four I found previously. Jenni in Florida: that old lady must be wondering what happened to all her pins.
Here Violet demonstrates the proper rolling-over technique
Jessie and Jen get started. Each of us picked a Halloween (yes, Halloween) craft for which we bought the supplies for three sets. Jen did countdown blocks, Jessie did a Halloween advent calendar on a cookie sheet and I did a framed piece spelling out “boo.” You’ll see the finished results in a little bit.
Jessie is happy to be here.
I stole the baby
Hayley and her cousins. I LOVE Mimi’s expression!
Mimi and Fake Child play in a box
The boys play Wii with Bon. Side note: I forgot to tell the kids that I was having a craft day so when the kids came home from school I had to make introductions. I forgot to introduce Paul to Bon, so a few minutes later, Paul came upstairs and said, “Who’s that guy downstairs?” I had to laugh because the poor kid probably thought I was going crazy and letting strangers hang out in the basement.
OK, here’s what we did. This is my craft.
This was Jen’s craft, the countdown blocks
And Jessie’s craft. Notice the “october” at the top. The letters are glittery black, which doesn’t show up well in the picture. And the orange thing at the bottom is the day marker. It’s a magnet you move from one day to the next in the countdown to Halloween. We ate Chinese for lunch and pizza for dinner. Good times! And good company! And fun crafts!

While in Minnesota we did lots of fun stuff in addition to the day of crafting and the Thanksgiving feast. We met up with some friends, the Mortons, that moved from Kenosha to the Twin Cities. I felt they needed to see the Wild Rumpus, so we ate lunch and then headed over to there. They loved it, and I’m so glad! Sara and I went and saw New Moon one night, and we had ourselves a lot of MST3K moments. Mike and I saw The Road the next night, and I have been depressed since.

On our last day in Minnesota Jake and Steph invited us to see Hansel and Gretel at the Old Log Theater. The girls were in utter awe from start to finish. They were so excited to get a picture with Hansel and Gretel afterward, but only Annie was brave enough to pose with the mean, old witch.

An another important event that occurred, Annie lost her first tooth! Up until this point she was so jealous of all her toothless friends at school/church and would ask daily if she had any loose teeth. At her dentist appointment a couple of weeks ago, the hygienist noticed a loose tooth, and we had been counting down the days ever since until the big moment. Annie was beyond ecstatic when it finally fell out (I was deaf for a few days after her hearing her squeals of joy). Mike was the one who yanked it out without Annie even realizing it. It’s a good thing it finally happened because Annie’s already got 2 teeth coming in behind those bottom teeth.

One more exciting milestone transpired. This time it was Violet. She rolled over from her tummy to her back. It happened the first night we arrived in Minnesota. I had her on a blanket, and she was bound and determined to do it. The fun part was that we were eating dinner during the event and got to watch the whole show. So cute! Violet rolled over dozens more times while we were there, but she hasn’t been too interested in doing it since we’ve been home.

Ok, I think I’ll stop there for now. Tomorrow I’ll post about our Christmas brunch that we had at church on Saturday and a couple of other things. There I can finally breathe now that I know that I’ve posted again.