All Good Things. . .

Our VERY dry Christmas tree made a quick exit this morning. It was hard to say good-bye to the "perfect" tree. Andrew pays his last respects: The inside lights are wrapped, decorations put away, stockings stowed for another year. A busy morning (inside and out) but kind of nice to have it done. On to the new year. . .

A Merry Christmas cont'd

The gift giving and playing continues. . . personalized nightgowns and robe, bouncing ball, stilts, card making kit, fun fusion "beads", legos, Lincoln logs and more. . . (and that is just the stuff the kids got. Ask Mom about her KINDLE!!!! :-))

Merry Christmas to All!

As I was uploading this post, Lloyd's parents arrived (with a car load of gifts) so more pictures to come as we continue to enjoy the blessings of the season!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Best Christmas Present. . .

This weekend we received a surprise phone call from our dear friend, Dana, from Sunnyside. In trying to get home to Penn. her flight had been cancelled and she was stranded in San Fran overnight. She had a hotel near the airport for an early departure but she mangaged to sneak away for dinner. It was such a blessing to see her. Anika was ecstatic!

Seeing Santa

Our local Bass Pro shop offers something for the whole family at Christmas time. They offer free pictures with Santa so we took the kids. Not only do you get a free picture but they also let you try your hand at the remote control trucks, slot car racing, foam bows & arrows, cookie decorating and more. The kids had a great time. Kathryn was completely enthralled with the train and the huge fish tank. Anika & Andrew couldn't wait to see Santa. In spite of the crowds, it was a great time!

Christmas Cookies and Cookie Monsters

The kids and I tackled the annual frosted sugar cookies today. A little bit different spin today because I'm taking some of them to a cookie exchange so I "oversaw" things a little more particularly. They did a great job on the sprinkling. We also made Russian Tea cakes (as my mom called them) or Mexican cookies (as Anika calls them; her kindergarten class is studying how Christmas is celebrated in different countries so she recognized these.) I think we will have to make more cookies before Christmas at the rate that these are disappearing!!!
Russian Tea Cakes:

Cookie Monster #1 (fresh from her nap):

Cookie Monsters #2 & #3 and expert sugar shakers! (Andrew is jumping up and down in this picture; he isn't really taller than Anika, although he is close):

An Early Christmas Gift

Anika is getting into the spirit of the season. She has become very interested in giving! Yesterday she banned me for the living room while she worked on a "project". She emerged with a wrapped present for Mommy. (She wouldn't let me wait until Christmas; I had to open it that night at dinner.)

She made me a very touching "book". "Love, Anika Two: Mom", it says. She wrote everything herself. Then she had to take a picture of me with the book in front of the Christmas tree. I'm so blessed:-)

"Operation Holly" Christmas Program

Anika was so excited about her Christmas Program last night. It was wonderful! The older kids played character roles with lines and everyone else sang. It was precious. Anika got to hold the "o" of h-o-l-l-y in the "Operation Holly"song. She was VERY serious about her responsibility:-)The play-by-play:-)

Craft Time

I had hidden away a few dollar crafts from Michael's (for a rainy day). Friday was just such a day. Anika built a model sailboat with Daddy while Andrew and Mommy attempted a fighter plane. (Daddy took over construction - whew!)

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas. . .

. . . at the Wicker house!

Anika let us pick out the tree while she was in school, as long as we didn't decorate it without her. We were amazed to walk up on the lot and find the perfect tree. (In the past, we've had lots of conversation about the right tree. In comparison, this year was a breeze.) We had a delightful day getting the tree decorated, stringing lights on the house, listening to Christmas music, and eating peppermint ice cream.