Our Christmas Morning.

Started out with anticipation.

It was so worth it.

The girls were counting on getting something very specific.

And there it is. Hannah, especially, has not been parted from it very much over the last week.

Hannah knew exactly what she wanted to make for her family for Christmas, so I helped her out.

They were much loved.

Did I say much loved?




Matt played dolls with them for hours.

The day ended with satisfaction - and a show. Of course.





*Many of these pictures were taken by my father.

Our to-do list for today.

Hannah's, Ainsley's, and mine.



















Gray just bounced and giggled when I asked him what he had on the docket for today. Then I had to go look up 'docket' for two curious girls. That'll teach me to use phrases that I don't really know the back meaning for - apparently I'm running a court of law here.

Today Hannah is going to:
-dehydrate pears
-play Gardenopoly
-have a game of Quirkle
-practice violin
-put on a show with my violin

Ainsley is going to:
-play with Gray all day
-play with Hannah and Mommy
-Eat

I am going to:
-cut out Hannah pants
-sew produce bags
-menu plan
-Reading Eggs
-sew violin cloths

Looking at that, I think that their lists look like a lot more fun.

Happy Holidays!

Ours have been busy so far - tomorrow's the final day.



Lots of present making.

I tried my hand at tracing another pattern.

And then gave it up because the cutting board was needed for much more important things.




Grandpa comes tonight - the whole family is excited for tomorrow.

Tis the Season

For lots of cooking. It seems to come with the winter weather. Inside more means cooking more.

(But first, go check out Ainsley's new apple pants. So cute! - the pants too. :) )

Ainsley goes for the sweet things like marshmallow fudge.

Hannah goes for the feel-better things like marshmallow crackles. (Same ingredient name, different basic ingredients - this is made with marshmallow root.)

Gray makes anything and everything that he can. He just loves helping.

Applesauce making was huge a few weeks ago - the girls insisted that I be Ma and I call them Mary and Laura.

Ainsley is big into pie-making these days. On this day, she asked her father for help, so she got to make a chocolate pudding pie - with extra flair, of course. Sprinkles in both the crust ...

and on top.

It was verra crunchy. Yum.

Oh, and her hair - I have to show you her hair.

She can wear it in pigtails now. Happy Day!

She loves how it looks.

New pants and a Tree.

New sewing post up over here.

We got our tree up last week and this is the first year in nine years that we have a store-bought tree. Usually we get one while we're in Wyoming visiting family - it's a tradition, hunting for the perfect tree in the perfect spot (too many trees in one place) and hauling it back down the mountain. Didn't happen this year, so we went to a local greenhouse and got a tree.

I forget what a magical thing this is - decorating a tree in the house.

So much glitter to be distributed!

Ornaments to be dug out and put on the tree.


All that we as adults did this year was get the boxes out, untangle lights, and help where asked. The girls did all of the decorating.

Gray just wanted to wear the hat and play.
So our tree is so clearly decorated by kids. All of the ornaments in the same spot, all of the lights in one area ...

It's perfect for this season of our lives.
Happy Holidays!

A new puppy and Grayson being goofy.

It's a cuteness overload post.

I finally got a border collie puppy. Oh, she's sweet. Come over to my other blog and help me name her. Pretty please?

And then there's Gray. He found his sleeping bag the other day, hauled it up the stairs, and spent the next few hours rolling around in it.

Every time I turned around, there he was, giggling hysterically because he'd been able to bump into my legs.

It kept him busy for a very long time.

Especially when he got stuck under the craft table for ten minutes.

Just look at that smile.

This moment is perfect.

Well, that moment was perfect. This very moment sees Gray running nekkid around the living room trying to tackle an ever-patient cocker spaniel, Hannah sketching a cat in the kennel, and Ains coloring in an activity book. This moment is pretty near perfect too.