A few of my favorite things....

The Christmas decorations are up. After 14 years (and the last few Christmases having my stuff in storage), I really want to update some of it. After cleaning much of it out, here are some of my fav's that made the cut:




...Still trying to convince Jay to hang more lights along the roof line. :)
I loooove Christmas lights!




This Santa is my very favorite! (and who doesn't love a fireplace?)




The pickle ornament is an old German tradition we started when Blythe and Oliver were babies. It's hidden in the tree and the first child to find it gets a gift. We always make it a treat that can be shared so that whoever finds it can share it with everyone. (just to be fair and not start any unnecessary arguments between 5 kids)




The kid's tree in the playroom that they decorated themselves. (and I used all of my self restraint to not move ornaments to where I wanted them)




The big Christmas tree!

Thanksgiving

In a nutshell...I fell behind, then I had no internet connection at home (except for my beloved iphone), then we had service again (the tower by our house was being serviced), then we had family in town, THEN came Thanksgiving.

Jay's sister, Tina, and her kids were with us last week for the holiday. I couldn't have pulled Thanksgiving dinner for 14 people off without Tina. We also had my mom and friends of ours from Portland over for dinner and fun over the weekend. We all had a great time. So much so that I have only a few pictures to show for it. Really pathetic! I'll post some later, once someone else who is a better photographer/parent sends us some.