MissionS Accomplished!

I feel like I have accomplished several things today. Woody and I headed out this morning to accomplish a very important mission...find five shirts for the neighbor grandchildren that I can embroider an "I'm the Big Brother/Sister" design. It is not an easy task to find shirts that are plain enough to embroider on...most shirts have Disney Princesses, Dora, Hello Kitty, Skateboards, etc. on them and I didn't need much, if anything, on them. We finally managed after our fourth store to find five that should work. Said shirts are now either in the washer of the drier. Next will be to get them embroidered before the baby brother is born! The next mission that I accomplished was that I have finally managed to get the downstairs straightened up so we can once again enjoy the Christmas decorations for the duration of the holidays. I am still sorting pictures. I have started sorting through the pictures that I have taken with my little point and shoot camera over the last several months...there's still lots of days to go through...but progress is steadily being made.

Woody went with me shopping (not his favorite thing to do!). I really appreciate him going as he went to more stores than I probably would have and we found the shirts at the store that I probably would not have gone to. This afternoon he walked to the library.

I love tonight's picture of Woody and Graham reading. I took this earlier in the month when Graham was reading The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.

A Little of This and A Little of That

A little of this and a little of that equals not a lot done for me today. I'm still recovering from Christmas festivities. Yesterday's long nap late in the day meant that I didn't get to bed very early (which means that I read into the wee hours of the morning) and when I did get to sleep then I slept later in the morning. I have been sorting through things...gift bags, gifts (putting them away or on display if they are Christmas related), and the big sorting job...my photos. I did some of the photo sorting in the wee hours of the morning too. I am just about through December for one camera (my interchangable lens camera). The only problem there is that I got my little point and shoot camera this year and have taken more pictures with it than I have taken with my older camera...so that means that I still have LOTS of pictures to go through and get put into correct folders in the computer. I enjoy this task as it lets me review what we have done over the last around six months (but after a while it does make my neck burn...too much looking at the computer screen...don't want a stiff neck!). Why don't I do this sorting more often????? The sorting job is something that I do when on our trips to NIH and happily those have diminished in frequency ("only" five trips to Maryland this year). I have been listening to my Christmas CD's while sorting through all my photos. I did meet a goal yesterday...I finished my 52nd book for this year. So I have averaged a book a week in 2011.

Woody has done quite a bit of reading today. He also has worked on getting his gifts put away. He walked to the prayer room this evening and returned a little while ago. It has been rather damp and chilly today. We got quite a bit of rain last evening and into the wee hours of the morning today...a little over an inch since midnight. This has been a rather wet month. according to Weather Bug we have gotten almost 7 1/2 inches since Dec. 1! Good month for ducks!

Tonight's picture is one that I took at "Night in Bethlehem" last week and made it look like an old photo with my photo software.

Over But the Shouting?!

Just not sure that there is enough energy left to shout! Here we are gathered for our family Christmas celebration on December 24th. Before I went to bed prior to the party I got my tripod all set so it would stand on the stairs and got the camera all set. Then once everyone was here I got everyone to gather in front of the tree (note we just about covered the tree!). I even got in and didn't have to make a dash for it this time as I now have a remote shutter release...worked well!

Christmas Day Woody got up early and walked 8 miles. We both went to church at 10am. Then we came home and got our leftovers out and some warming so that we would be ready for Nathan and family to come over for Christmas lunch. Kathy's parents joined us too. The leftovers worked well for a second meal and we had a nice visit. Later in the afternoon Joy and Esther came over and played for a while as their siblings were watching a movie that didn't interest them or now that I think about it their words were that it scared them. Then they went home and it wasn't long till Nathan and Graham showed up. Nathan had promised Graham that after he read the first book in the Chronicles of Narnia that they would watch the movie: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe...and that would definitely scare the younger ones. So they settled in and Goosey and I watched it with them. (Not my favorite kind of movie.) We had popcorn and then after the movie they partook of some of the leftovers. Graham opted out for PB&J!

This morning Woody walked his 4-mile route. I attempted this morning to get into my gifts and put them away or put them into use. I still haven't gotten the living room back to the way it looked prior to Saturday morning...tomorrow perhaps? I want to get it straightened up so I can sit back and enjoy the decorations for a bit longer. I seem to enjoy them more after than before when it is so busy. Then mid morning we both went over to kidsit as Kathy had a doctor appointment and Nathan went with her this time. We played for a while (Joy and Esther and Elijah enjoyed the playdoh sets that Aunt Melany and Uncle Wade gave them.). Graham and Abigail were otherwise occupied. I warmed up some of their leftovers and we had lunch. We all did a few chores...emptied dishwasher (Goosey with Abigail and Graham helping to tell where things went), loaded dishwasher (me with Abigail's help), swept floor (Joy with a bit of my help), started a load of wash (Graham), and Abigail set the table prior to lunch and then wiped the table off after lunch. So we were busy for a while. Elijah even got in on the helping prior to the meal...he helped me heat up the food. After lunch, Woody and Abigail played a game that they had gotten for Christmas...Graham played banker and the little ones went back to playdoh. Busy times. By the time that we got back to our house I was rather sleepy, but Woody put in a DVD movie that interested me so I managed to stay awake during most of it! Then Woody went to run an errand and I really did fall asleep and slept probably too long...I think that my adrenalin has run out! When I woke up it was time for Antique Roadshow and I decided to watch that and then came upstairs to blog...and then the internet didn't want to cooperate...but finally (unless this doesn't post when I am through!). So that just about sums up our last two days of everything being over BUT the shouting! It has been a very merry and bright "'tis the season" this year!

O' Holy Night

Woody and I hope that you have had a joyous Christmas.

Silent Night

We have had a wonderful day spent together as a family. There were thirteen of us (well, 14 when you count the new little unborn member!). We had fun visiting, opening gifts, some of us playing with our gifts, and eating and playing and visiting some more. Melany and family headed home and the rest of us prepared to head to church for our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service. This is always a special service when we listen to Christmas musical selections, sing carols, listen to a message and then we all light a candle...I am always amazed to watch the light grow as each new candle is lit.

Leftovers Will Be First!

The title for tonight's blog has nothing to do with tonight's picture. I thought that you would like to see a behind the scene picture of Nathan and Kathy's "It's a Family Christmas" program. I took this during one of their practices. Elijah is missing as he hadn't been brought in from the nursery yet. Very good program! Once again God has given Nathan an inspiration for a new meaningful program with lots of entertainment and spiritual value! I went to four of their six programs. I stayed home tonight so I can be ready for our family Christmas in the morning.

Now about tonight's title...we really enjoy leftovers from a turkey dinner and usually don't get to have very many of our favorites. So this Christmas I decided that we would start with the leftovers! I have cooked several turkey breasts and they are turning into some of our favorite things...turkey sandwiches, hot turkey sandwiches, Turkey Ole (one of my mother's recipes and a big favorite of both Nathan's and Melany's families), Creamed Turkey on Toast Points (something that I remember Mother serving...so a childhood memory for me), and Turkey and Rice Soup (Mother always made soup from the very last of the turkey as we do also.) Then there will be lots of sides: Fresh Cranberry Relish (a dear friend shared this recipe with me just this week...I had eaten hers but had never made it myself...yum!), Sweet Potato Casserole (again, a dear friend's recipe and part of our traditional Thanksgiving meal), Cranberry Dressing (new recipe that we are trying from a cookbook that Woody's sister gave us many years ago (our token new recipe for this Christmas)), Zucchini Tomato Casserole (a recipe that we got from Southern Living magazine and have made several times and "most" all like...plus its red and green color just "says" Christmas!), pumpkin cranberry bread (gift from a dear friend), and Pineapple Casserole (recipe shared at a Sunday School class meeting years ago...definitely a family favorite!). All above recipes are oven or stove top ready except for the creamed turkey and the zucchini casserole. The refrigerator is getting rather full! But it holds an amazing amount...especially when I have Woody making space for each item (He said that if I made it, he would get it in the refrigerator!)! I'm tired but hoping that the fact that most of these dishes just have to be popped into a 350 deg. oven an hour or less prior to our lunch or heated on the stove...well, that "should" free me up to enjoy the festivities. I'm so glad that I had our class party here as there isn't a lot to do to get the house "ready"...at least what gets done will be only minimal...too tired to do more than minimal! I do still have to arrange the presents under the tree and there is a bit of vacuuming...just hitting the traffic areas. Oh, and mop the kitchen floor...after all this cooking!

Woody walked his four-mile route this morning and he has been walking behind me helping to keep the kitchen clean. He also ran an errand to the grocery store for me...he said that it is very crowded "out there!" He said that the traffic is much more than usual, that the lines in grocery store are much longer than usual, and that people just seemed to be every where! (Glad that I have stayed home all day!) After our rain yesterday, we have cooled down quite a bit. It is now in the upper 30's and is supposed to get into the upper 20's during the night.

Well, big day for us tomorrow. Guess I had better get back to "whatever!"

We Three Kings

Woody got up early and headed out on his walk in order to beat the rains that were predicted. And, predictions came true...we have gotten around an inch of rain today (according to Weather Bug...Woody's rain gauge isn't recording at the moment). The rains have moved on so it looks like things won't be a "wash-out" tonight for the Nativity. Perhaps a bit soggy under foot but that is better than downpours! After his walk, Woody headed to the grocery stores. I started cooking when he got back and have cooked most of the rest of the day in order to be on top of things on Saturday. I want to enjoy Christmas festivities rather than constantly be attending to something in the kitchen. Woody and I are about to head out the door to go to the second night at Night in Bethlehem: A Living Nativity. It will be colder tonight. I want to take a few more pictures...over all I am pleased with what I got but there is room for improvement. Always practicing with what might be a better setting on the cameras!