Jenessa came over the night before Thanksgiving to have me give her a pie-making class. We made pumpkin and banana cream. They turned out beautifully. Jenessa is trying to get domestic! Fun!
This is a photo of Thanksgiving with the Swans. It was fun to host! We had a delicious turkey! I followed Sara Voortmeyer's recipe and it was fabulous. Thanks Sara! You are such a great cook! My whole meal was made of your recipes: pear & pommegranite salad, pies, veggies, YUM!
After dinner, Olivia took a BUBBLE bath! Woah! These were the biggest bubbles this bathroom had ever seen. She made herself a Swan hat and gown for the occassion :o)
THEN, the day after Thanksgiving, we started getting ready for Christmas! Kent and the kids went to pick out the tree while I graded papers! They did a fabulous job! Kent does an amazing job with the tree and the house each year. I love NOT being in charge of all the decorations!!
One early morning, a few days before Christmas, I was just looking at the house. It was quiet. Everyone was still asleep. I loved how the kitchen looked from where I was sitting in the leather chair in the family room. I actually got the presents wrapped several days before Christmas, so that made the house seem extra festive! (usually I am wrapping the night before!)
Kent's client in Jackson sent the kids a present they got to open on December 1st.
They each got their own Advent Calendar!
We made a Gingerbread House. That was fun! :o) and MESSY!!
Isaac LOVED to keep track of the days until Christmas!
The Primary kids performed the Nativity Scene at our Christmas party. It was a riot. Amy and I sewed for 6 hours to have the kids wear little sheep hats, camel hats, or cattle hats. Then we didn't even get a picture of them! Ben was the donkey who carried Mary (Olivia) on his back into Bethlehem. Donald Brown narrated Luke 2. Olivia thought it was funny when the shepherds "hastened."
They RAN across the stage! LOL
Christmas MORNING was fun and simple! Isaac thought it was a blast to wake up to TOYS and BOOKS! Cool beans!
Olivia got new clothes for her American Girl Dolls, and a way to organize them in her closet!
New Year's Eve was also fun. We went to the NUTTY Nutcracker with April and her kids. Thanks for the tickets MOM! They had some silly things in the ballet (like Waldo!) and so that kept the kids laughing. They had a ton of balloons come down at the end. Festive touch!!
On New Year's Day we went sledding with the Dickerts. What a great day to sled! The kids had a BLAST! I didn't take enough pictures. I was too busy sledding with the kids. I'll keep their squeals of delight in the back of my mind. What a great sound...laughter and squeals :o) But even after a while, those fun sounds turn into "GET ME HOME" looks on a little boy's face! How many times can a
3-year old march back up to the top of the hill after 2 hours??
After all the sledding, doing errands, and the events of the day, plus recovering from the late night on New Year's Eve, we were too tired for dinner. So I made a gourmet meal of grilled cheese and tomato soup. We toasted the New Year with our sparkling cider. That was pretty silly! We all got to say what our wish was for the New Year. I'll write them down and see what happens this year.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010!
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