Thursday, February 3, 2011

Wrapping Up 2010: Christmas Day

Once again we completely and totally overdid it! But boy...was it fun!

Overstuffed stockings...

...and a new bike for Maclaren.

1,000,000 Legos for Angus...

...And warm, woolen mittens.

There was magic...

...and music.

And relaxing...

...and laughing.

It was the best day we could hope it to be!

Wrapping up 2010: The Night Before Christmas

Aunt Johanna hosted a cocktail party.

Where the drinks flowed...

And the conversation never dulled...

And we all felt festive in our holiday attire...
(Styling for Maclaren by Maclaren)

And the lights twinkled in anticipation of Santa's arrival.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

2010 Lookback: A Christmas Tradition

We have a Christmas tradition/adventure that we share with a friend and her kids. It started as an adventure a few years ago when we ventured to Fort Mill to see a colleague's church production of a Singing Christmas Tree. For the past 2 years we've minimized the adventure component and settled for the Oven's Auditorium production.


Here are a few snaps of the girls (this was the first year we included the boys). Maybe more of a flash-forward (to the teenage years) than a look back?

2010 Lookback: A Foster Family Christmas

For the past few years, Allan's sister, Candy, and I have been hosting a little "drop in"*

This year we were lucky to host all of the sisters and most of the cousins for a casual, Saturday brunch. There was plenty of...

...bacon


...and catching up


...and eating (is that a princess in our midst?)


...and drinking


...and napping


...and working on our annual, 1,000 piece, Christmas puzzle


...And laughing


And other than the HUGE white snowflakes that tumbled from the sky mid-party, it was pretty much just your typical day with the Foster family at the old homestead!

*I think "drop-in" is a southern term, right? We used to call it an "open house" in Michigan. Do you use that in the south, too?

2010 Lookback: Preparing for Christmas

(To the Tune of "Deck the Halls")

Trim the tree in our pajamas
Fa La La La La
La La La La!




Spread the frosting like a sandwich
Fa La La La La
La La La La!




Wrap the books so every day
We open one up and read away!




Don our hats to look like Santa
Fa La La La La
La La La La!

The Stairs

We have stairs that lead from our kitchen area to the second floor. I have two questions:

1- Why do kids INSIST on playing on the stairs?


They aren't comfortable (at least I don't think so). They can be dangerous. We have an entire floor dedicated to the kids...and they play on the stairs?


2. Why is there ALWAYS a pile at the bottom of the stairs waiting to go up? And why is there ALWAYS a pile at the top of the stairs waiting to go down?


I ALWAYS take an armload when I go up. And I ALWAYS take an armload when I go down. But why do the piles persist?

One day I made a proclaimation that everyone was to take an armload up and/or down when traversing the stairs. Maclaren confirmed she was "in."


Angus kind of sat there sucking his thumb not saying anything.


And Allan simply refuses because he claims his own mother worked him to death when he was a child.*



* I haven't been able to verify that with any of his sisters.

2010 Lookback: Thanksgiving

Sooooo much to be thankful for. And family is at the top of the list.

Her.


And him.


And, of course, him!


We celebrated at home with my mom and my sister. I had fun with setting the table...



...while Allan was busy in the kitchen!



Here's a cute shot of Nonnie and Angus. This is when I realized that my lens was having a hard time auto-focusing. Or....I had it wide open on 1.4.


And one of me (compliments of Johanna). Looking quite the matron of the house, don't you think?


And here I am focusing on one of my Thanksgiving favorites...

jellied cranberry straight out of the can! I've tried making all sorts of fancy, home-made cranberry sauces before, but this remains my favorite. It's a reminder to be thankful for the simple things in life, too.