Peace On Earth

I always like the week between Christmas and New Years because things seem to settle down into a very peaceful time after all the hustle and bustle of Christmas preparations and then the "big day!"  Our family Christmas celebration was a great day...lots of laughter...lots of food...lots of family...lots of fun.  And, only one glitch and since Joseph didn't get hurt it wasn't a very big hiccup!  While several of us were in the kitchen doing last minute meal preparation and the rest scattered about the house...there came a clatter and then a cry...it was Joseph under (literally) the corner Christmas tree in the family room.  There were folk in the room with him, but no one saw exactly what happened.  We figure that he decided to pull himself up with the aid of the tree...oops!  Well, he was quickly rescued by his daddy and then the fallen tree was righted and the ornaments that came off were gathered up and we continued on with our day.  I'm not sure what it is with our Christmas trees...last year it was the big tree in the living room that came crashing down on our family Thanksgiving Day and this year it was the corner tree in the family room that came crashing down on our family Christmas Day celebration!  Yesterday was a very quiet day.  We did have the neighbors (Nathan, Kathy and family) come over for leftovers for lunch.  And, today has been another fairly quiet day.  We did have excitement to start the day out.  Elijah got two animal traps for Christmas.  Goosey (Woody) decided that they would be the perfect present for Elijah.  For quite a few years Elijah and Graham have been attempting to build various types of animal traps.  Well, Elijah and his daddy set the small trap up under their bird feeder and put bird seed in it hoping to attract some little chipmunks that seem to be living in close proximity to their house...including their garage at times.  So I got a call this morning that the chipmunk was in the trap, but that it hadn't triggered the trap door.  By the time that I got over there with my camera it had scurried out and gone under their house.  So I went back home.  I had hardly gotten in the house when I got another call telling me that one of our pesky squirrels had gone in to check out what the chipmunk was eating and he did trigger the trap door.  So off I went with my camera once again.  It was quite an exciting time for Elijah...his first live trap catch!  Nathan donned his heavy gloves and he and Elijah headed off to release the squirrel in the woods...far, far away from our neighborhood...one less pesky squirrel around here.  Good trapping, Elijah!  This afternoon Woody walked downtown to pay our city taxes.  I managed to get the living room back to what it looked before our rollicking family times on Wednesday and I finished an e-book that was going to be whisked away from me this evening. Woody has read and watched some TV.  Isaac spent some time with me this morning and then Elijah came over for a few minutes this afternoon.  But he left quickly when his dad came over asking him if he wanted to set the big trap!  Wonder what he will catch next!?! (Hope that skunks stay out of the traps! He will not be baiting them with cat food!) Right now they are baiting them with bird seed...a favorite gourmet food for the neighborhood squirrels...especially when it is in a bird feeder!

Neighborhood Squirrel Ridder--Elijah!

I believe that Nathan has this squirrel praying!

Off to the woods!