Lego sets

"It's just what I wanted!"
Jamie was thrilled to receive two Star Wars Lego sets, and even more thrilled to have Daddy help him put them together this morning. Jim wisely warned us to get a picture of them then, because they wouldn't last long in their original, intended form. And he was right - they now cover the computer room floor as they get changed into another "ship."
Here you can see Jamie playing with them at the end of the "photo shoot." Check out the cheek action as he does his own sound effects!

Christmas at home

It's not fair to your kids if you open your presents and then order them to leave them at home as you go on vacation. And it's not good to take all those presents with you - invariably they will lose pieces, and they'll be getting more presents anyway...
So, we opened our presents last night. The kids were happy with their loot, and were very happy to be able to play with it all today. Even Norah had fun...








Merry Christmas!

The plate 2008

Every year I put together a plate of Christmas treats for a certain number of people. Here is the result of this year's work:








date pinwheels, molasses cookies, lemon-iced cranberry oat cutouts, frosted sugar cookies, fudge snowtops, oreo balls, buckeyes, and strawberry candies








Those of you from Calvary, do you remember these strawberry candies? I found that the recipe was in the older church cookbook, and they seem to add a nice dash of color to the plate. They are incredibly sweet, though! I remember loving them as a kid - I guess my taste buds have changed some.

O Christmas tree

Years ago we strove for an elegant Christmas tree; that was before we had kids. Kids bring home hand made ornaments. Bright, multi-colored ornaments. Now we have a bright multi-colored Christmas tree so all those kids' ornaments match. It works - we actually like the overall look of the tree. It's fun! It's kitchy! It's green - we have upgraded to LED lights set on timers. The kids *like* to help decorate the tree - they pick out their favorite ornaments: the ones they made, the ones with their pictures in them, the ones that are their favorite characters (robots, unite!).

Family movie night

Prince Caspian came out on dvd this week. Redbox had a copy, thankfully, and we quickly snatched it up. After dinner we all got our chores done and our pj's on - the movie is a long one, and we wanted the kids ready for bed when it was done. We turned off the lights, piled on the couch, and started it up. Nearly 2 1/2 hours later we had a hard time getting ready for bed - the movie was so exciting!
We thoroughly enjoyed the movie. They did a very good job on it. Even Jamie stayed to watch the whole thing! We can't wait for the next one (which isn't supposed to come out until 2010!).