December

there's a Christmas tree farm a few blocks from our 

house. that's where we got our tree last year. it's fun walking 

through rows and rows of trees and having that wonderful Christmas

tree scent in the air. sure brought back childhood memories.

last year we chose a Christmas tree on
the narrow side. our living room isn't big so
i didn't want a tree that would take up much room.
it's fun searching for a tree ourselves but cutting it down
is somewhat of a tedious job ... not to mention the freezing
temperatures. Jacob had to stop several times to warm up his hands.

the Christmas theme for our tree
last year was mostly red ornaments
with forest critters. once the stores began
setting out Christmas ornaments i began buying
some. my sister got me two fox ornaments (the one
to the right of the partridge) and my sister-in-law also
gave me two fox ornaments (the one under the partridge),
that was a total surprise. i loved them all. see, the gold partridge?
I made that one (made a dozen) and the white felt star (made four of
those) with the red beads that's in front of the mouse. it sure kept me busy
but i had a lot of fun making them. this is the good kind of busy that i'm constantly
talking about.

our homely Christmas tree.
i love how many different style
foxes and forest critters i've acquired
within the last couple of years. to me, it gives
out that cozy rustic feeling. i love that!

our first Christmas family outing
was at the Puyallup fair grounds for
the Victorian Country Christmas. it was
our first time going to it but we first let riley
have a bit of fun.

this Christmas presentation was so
neat. there were dancers then we honored
our country and military then a play. they sang
Christmas carols which was wonderful to hear. it
was so well put together and it's an event that we hope
to go to each year.

i know Riley is getting big but
i'll let him sit on santa's lap as long
as he wants. i've told him the real story
about St. Nicholas and our version of Santa
... so he knows St. Nicholas is the real one and
he knows the history behind it. he is also very aware
the real reason we celebrate Christmas. i'm glad it wasn't
a big deal to him.

  family traditions are the threads that

link one generation to the next.