5th Annual New Year's Ball

Christ Church hosts a ball each year for New Year's.  I got pictures of the girls before we left in case their hair got messed up later.

Bronwyn doesn't look very comfortable.  :)

Amelia and Cecily can both dance the Patty-cake Polka.

The girls with their friend, Katrina.

Samuel and Amelia dancing the Gay Gordon.  (Amelia's first time)

I kind of liked this picture because the only thing that was in focus was our friend, John's face.  He did a great job with Millie.

Pastor Peter reading to some of the under-5-feet crowd.

 

Bronwyn spent a lot of the evening with the lovely Mrs. Bolyard.  I was able to take these pictures because she held her.  :)

Eli was getting tired...

But then it was time for refreshments!

Calvin and friend, Samuel.

The Falkenstines!

Mr. and Mrs. Woody!  These two did a lot of the labor involved in this event.

Samuel and Sarah Grace doing the Salty Dog Rag.

This was the last dance we stayed for and then we headed home to put little people to bed and get ready for church.

I couldn't forget to get a picture of the Kichers, working the sound system.  The  people who put this event together did a super job.  It was well-planned and lots of fun.  There was dancing, but also games and contests and the music was great and the kids were very involved.  We made some good memories this year!

Christmas Decorations

 I wanted to do this post, not because our decorating was amazing, but because 1) it is an accomplishment for us to have achieved much decoration at all, 2) this is our first year to decorate at this house, 3) it gives me an opportunity to post a few pictures of the inside of our house, which I haven't done yet, and 4) I got a new camera for Christmas and some of these are a few of my first pictures taken with it. 

 These first two shots are from the standpoint of entering the front door.  The dining room can be seen directly ahead and part of the living room/stairwell can be seen on the left.  These were taken on Christmas Eve with my old camera.

 Looking further to the left, you can see the entrance to the kitchen, which is by the white door that leads out onto the deck.

 Moving into the living room, you can see the entrance to the hallway.

 Turning around you can see the entire living room from the perspective of the kitchen entry.

 I'm still working on permanent decorations.  I wonder if I'll ever be done?  I just printed out my home-taken portraits of the kids and framed them and hung them above the piano. 

 The Christmas card wreath.

 Above the kitchen sink.  These decorations were done entirely by Cecily (4).

 Down in the basement, looking back towards the stairwell.  The wreath is hanging on the laundry room door.

 And the basement itself.

This is the front porch with the lights that the children hung.  None of it was perfect.  But it was done in a spirit of celebration of the most wonderful thing we have to celebrate, the gift of Jesus, come to earth, to purchase our salvation.  We want to teach the children that it's WORTH the effort it takes.

Happy Birthday to William!

Maybe I'll give a try to post a picture of the kids on their actual birthdays this year.  I'm 2 for 2 so far...we'll see how it continues to go.  Will isn't feeling great today.  But we're about to have his birthday party and are hoping he'll feel well enough to enjoy it.  Here he is at breakfast, with our favorite scones, bacon and homemade yogurt.  William is 12 today.  It makes me smile.  Out of little boyhood and into young manhood.  He's come a long ways from the little child I've raised.  We're very blessed to have him.

Christmas, 2012

 It's seriously out of place to post pictures of Christmas when everyone is fully out of the Christmas spirit.  I'm sorry.  But the only way to move past this is to get them posted so I can move on!

 Christmas morning begins with stockings.

 Socks.

 Cece's excited about a purple pen in her stocking.

 Trying it out.

 All four of the older boys got watches in their stockings. 

 Will is opening his watch.

 Next is breakfast, with our traditional sausage souffle.

 I put a hot cocoa packet in each of the kids' stockings so that they could have cocoa for breakfast.

 Bronwyn woke up to join the celebration for a little while before heading back to nap again.

 She got a sweet, little, yellow vintage hat and matching sweater from my mom.

 Millie was admiring her new ornament that she got from my mom this year.

 Peter's sister, Leslie, got the girls some cute stuffed dogs that have purse carriers.

 Leslie got the boys West Virginia University hats.  They love them.

 Cal is showing off his plastic knife and sheath that he got in his stocking.

 Reproduction vintage Candyland from Papa and Grammie.

 A tactile, new game to try for Ben and Cal from Papa and Grammie.

 A bad picture, but a super-fun new card game called Dominion for the eldest two from Papa and Grammie.

And a drawing toy for Elijah from Papa and Grammie.

 My sister, JoAnn, got the kids the 5th season of Little House on the Prairie.

 JoAnn also got Peter some new tunes as well as some books and a mug.  We draw names in my family and she drew his name this year.

 Will's gift:  a new scooter to replace the one he wore out.

 The girls got "new" dolls that I bought for them from Ebay.

 They got a box of doll clothes to share that came with the dolls I bought.

 As well as a diaper bag.

 Ben and Calvin also got matching gifts.

 Amelia has everything sorted out already and is about to diaper the doll.

 Samuel got a nice set of 6 throwing knives. 

 Sam's gift was split in half because there wasn't anything very big he wanted this year.

 The other half was a double set of airplane models for him to build.

 Ah...there's B&C's gifts!  Lever-action rifles that shoot soft plastic bullets!  (But not inside or aimed at anyone, just the same).

Trying to be serious?  Seriously goofy maybe. 

 Bleak House by Dickens was one of the books Peter got me for Christmas.

 

A new Bible was one of the things I got for him.

That's all folks.