Luminary Night

My house is dressed for the holidays except for the outdoor lights. This is David's job. On occasion we have strung outdoor lights on roof and tree but in the interest of time we have settled for two spotlights on the house and candles in the windows. Working two sometimes three jobs, David has a few time constraints. The spotlights only take a few minutes and when he has time he will do it. Preferably before Luminary Night.
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This is the evening that our neighborhood turns on the lights and opens it's doors. Santa drives by on the local firetruck while sitting on the front porch of the neighbors house to greet small children. No one has yet to explain how he appears in two places at one time but he does!So there is a deadline for the spotlights. We will not exactly be keeping up with the Jonses but we will not be Scroogie either.

Finishing up the decorating today put me in mind of my little grandmother, Edith Mae Urban. The Christmas after her husband died she hung a wreath on her door. When we arrived at her home she apologized for the lack of decoration but explained that she had hung her wreath so as not to dishonor the Lord. I remember this sounding strange to me. I had heard so much more about the evils of materialism and missing the point of Christmas because we are so caught up in the trappings. Hanging that wreath and joining in the celebration must have cost her dear. But I think our Lord's heart was warmed that Christmas by a widow woman's two penny wreath.

Merry Christmas From Wheaton College

http://www.wheaton.edu/christmascard/

Baby Are You Down?

For my friends suffering from cancer, for those who work in the medical field and for those who just want to find a cure. Enjoy this up beat video and provide free mammograms to women in underserved population.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEdVfyt-mLw

Pusey's Farm

We've been going to the Pusey Farm for our Christmas Tree going on 25 years. When we started our tradition we had three little boys then four. The farm used to have an old Golden Retreiver that would play with the children but he has long since gone. This year it is just Dave and I keeping up the tradition. One year we got tired half way to Pusey's and turned into Pyles Hardware for a tree. It lost half it's needles by Christmas. We have not weakened since. Pusey has well kept trees and he is reasonable. The first year we paid all of $10 and now it is up to $20.
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Our first Christmas we did not intend to get a tree but Christmas Eve found us at a tree lot in a sentimental mood. We picked up a Charlie Brown Tree for just $5. Some years later an old Virginia farmer offered us the pick of his field for free. Enticed we came to have a look see at what turned out to be the sorriest lot of pine trees I have ever seen. With the farmer standing beside us we could not be ungrateful and cheerfully took one of the free trees. It was basically a broom handle with a few branches sticking out here and there. There were so many large "bear" spots I decorated it with the kids teddy bears. Oddly enough we left it up till February.
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My favorite Christmas Trees are Blue Spruce. I like my tree to look like the old German Christmas Cards with the baby angels and sparkles.



We saw a reindeer track .... can Christmas be far away?

Over The River

We had 19 for Thanksgiving Dinner at our house!
All our kids & grand kids except Jesse & Gabrielle (We miss you!)
Jeffrey & Jessica, My parents and the Craigs (my sister's family)

Melissa & Bryce Craig operate Presbyterian & Reformed Books (P&R) I believe the publishing company was begun by Bryce's father or grandfather who also published the magazine Christianity Today. My sister has several degrees in voice and has performed a major supporting role in the opera La Traviata just off Broadway. She has also taught private voice and for Covenant College. She has written her own music and lyrics and once had a piano accompanist who also played for Pavarotti. The Craig's live in Philipsburg, New Jersey.

Their oldest son Charles is a graduate of Messiah College whose expertise is computers. He works for P&R and coaches girl's volleyball at their local Christian School. Everyone in the family calls Charles for computer help.

Their oldest daughter Cherith is at Covenant for Elementary Ed. and could not be with us today. Julia is in her first year of music at Wheaton College, IL. She plays the violin and Sam is in high school and big into sports. Like the Birds all the Craigs are very tall and like basketball ... did you see that coming?
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Our family has a lot of ties with Wheaton & Covenant. We are direct descendants form the first two presidents of Wheaton College (Blanchard is a family name). Wheaton was the college where Billy & Ruth Graham graduated. David's mother, Mary Bird was in the graduating class with Ruth Graham. My mother and her parents and my sister attended Wheaton and quite a few other family members. Covenant College is a Presbyterian College supported by our denomination. My uncle Ed Kellogg has taught art there for years. To view his art you can go to http://www.16patton.com/artist_work.phpid=23&PHPSESSID=4e19bf971ef120aad1f9472208ce0b6d Josh and Caelen graduated from Covenant. Josh with a History & English degree and Caelen with a Fine Arts degree.












After turkey we got sleepy.









Wait! Asher had oatmeal.

This Week So Far

One day Kim and I made a chocolate souffle. Kim had never made one before and it was on her Bucket List.





I subbed in the art department today (girls gym and computer lab too).

Baby Things

I like finding vintage fabrics at flea markets and yard sales. I decided to make a crib quilt out of this piece with some embroidery. I took the fabric to Staples to get an enlarged copy of the teddies to use as an embroidery pattern. I will use my light box to trace the pattern onto my muslin.




Speaking of baby things ..... Caelen & Samantha are expecting in June! Samantha has already rooted through my stash to find fabric for the baby quilt. Next time they are over she will look through my stash of baby clothes ..... little things that my kids wore and even some that were worn by me. I have a few sweet little nightshirts & blankies .... a layette that was made by my Gram (Great Grandmother, Lydia Clements) when I was born.