Images of Christmas Eve

Ha Ha!

New jammies made by Mom.

Chrismas Eve was quiet this year, just us, no big family party. We had a simple dinner of salad from our garden, fried potatoes and onions, and Swedish sausages from A.J.'s. After the little ones were in bed, Jill & Lucy finished crafting homemade gifts and Mom & Dad finished all the wrapping. It was a peaceful, if late, night. Santa's visit came before the wrapping was done. He enjoyed the Lebkuchen and donuts and went on his way, leaving Mom & Dad to finish up around 3:00 A.M.!!!

Elsa's First Nutcracker

On December 20 I took Elsa and her sisters to the Nutcracker Ballet. It was Elsa's first ballet, so of course she received her very own tiny nutcracker doll. It was an enchanting performance and a magical evening for us all. It made me think of my first Nutcracker Ballet...I was almost six, Oma and Opa took Missy and I to Gammage to watch the matinee performance by Ballet West. I was so swept away by it that it began a lifelong love of ballet. I can remember dancing down the stairs outside the theatre that afternoon, and for years afterward dreaming of becoming a ballerina. Although it is a dream left unfulfilled, it did awake within me a sense of beauty and appreciation of the cultural arts that has enriched my life. That appreciation is what I hope to pass on to my own children...

Grandparent's Day

Yesterday the kids were all invited to a Grandparent's Holiday Party at the Bielefeldt Grandparents house. (The invitation was made by artist Grandaddy - it even has our black rooster on it!) They all had a ton of fun, making ornaments and cards and playing with the cousins. They are working on some kind of secret project for the parents, I know this because they all had their pictures taken in front of the tree yesterday, and today we parents were asked to send Grammie a picture of them in front of our trees at home. That can only mean that there is a suprise in the making!

Well, just you try to get 5 very silly kids to take a nice picture on a Sunday afternoon. I have been trying for about 8 years now, and it usually ends up looking like this....


Ok, I guess that one will work...I do love these kids! Today in sacrament meeting the three oldest started giggling so hard. Now it's usually the younger two that are the handful at church, but since we switched to 8 AM, those two are mostly in a sleep-deprived stupor for the first hour. Anyway, after I reached over and pinched (gently, really) the three big kids, they admitted that they had just realized what "geeks" they all are: Jill in her long black gloves, Lucy with her Scottish family tartan scarf, Jesse with his long hair, all had been quietly arguing about Star Wars. And we wonder why we don't perfectly "fit in"..... :-)

Saint Lucia Day

Today our own sweet Lucy made these beautiful saffron buns for us. They are a Scandanavian tradition on this day, usually served to the family early in the morning by the eldest daughter. Well, even though Lucy is not the eldest, and didn't wear a white dress and wreath of candles on her head, we sure appreciated her tribute to her heritage!

Advent

This is the very sweet, very Christian Advent Storybook that I am reading each night with Robin and Elsa. I love the soft, dreamy pictures and tender message that goes with each day's little story. It is perfect for bedtime and keeping us focused on the true meaning of Christmas. I think that next year it would be awesome to have an Ostheimer wooden figure that goes with each day. Then we could set them up around our wooden nativity scene and watch it change through the season.

Christmas is a coming...

...fortunately, these litte geese have nothing to worry about. Maybe they are bringing feathers for the Baby Jesus' bed...