O Christmas Tree

I love the beginning of the Christmas season and every year I am anxious to get it started as soon as possible. I'm very glad that this year we have an extra week between Thanksgiving and Christmas. (Do you remember last year we only had four weeks between them and it seemed so rushed?) I like an extra long holiday season. And, I get the ball rolling the day after Thanksgiving. Our Black Friday traditions consist of Christmas Tree shopping, rather than Christmas gift shopping.

Jeff, Joost, Grace and I bundled up on Friday morning and drove to a Christmas tree farm to find the right tree. We walked up and down every hill and path to see all the trees. We tagged a few possibilities, but finally decided on a lovely blue spruce. (note to anyone considering a blue spruce: they have very sturdy branches, great for hanging ornaments, but the needles are very sharp. I had to wear rubber gloves to get the lights on it.)

Then, Jeff took over and cut the tree down. We hulled it back to the driveway and loaded it in the van for it's ride home.



Joost, apparently, ran up and down the hills at the tree farm a few too many times.

We set up the tree and strung lights that day and did a lot of other decorating around the house. This is the first year we've put up lights on the outside of the house, so I'm very excited about that. We joke that it looks like a "winter wonderland."
Yesterday, we decorated the tree and the kids had a lot of fun doing that. It's great to pull out the ornaments each year and to talk about the memories attached to each one.
Gracie has become very attached to one of the ornaments and took it to bed with her. There was one ornament that was broken during the decorating, but considering the kids' ages, I'm surprised that it was only one!


In the end, we finished the decorating and are pleased with the results...

Thanksgiving

We had a lovely Thanksgiving spent with family and good food. My mom and dad hosted us and we were able to see my Uncle Jeff (my dad's older brother) and his girlfriend, Tina; Uncle Alan (my mom's younger brother) and his girlfriend, Julie; and my grandmother (dad's mom). It was good to be with family. My mom is the best pie maker on the east coast, and so we enjoyed some wonderful food. I made a butternut squash soup that was an excellent recipe. I will gladly share it with anyone interested.

On a more serious note, here is a Puritan prayer for Thanksgiving that I thought stated our thoughts more suitably at this time of the year.

O My God, Thou fairest, greatest, first of all objects, my heart admires, adores, loves thee, for my little vessel is as full as it can be, and I would pour out all that fullness before thee in ceaseless flow.

When I think upon and converse with thee ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up, ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed, ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart, crowding into every moment of happiness.

I bless thee for the soul thou hast created, for adorning it, sanctifying it, though it is fixed in barrens soil; for the body thou has given me, for preserving its strength and vigour, for providing sense to enjoy delights, for the ease and freedom of my limbs, for hands, eyes, ears that do thy bidding; for thy royal bounty providing my daily support, for a full table and overflowing cup, for appetite, taste, sweetness, for social joys of relatives and friends, for ability to serve others, for a heart that feels sorrows and necessities, for a mind to care for my fellow-men, for opportunities of spreading happiness around, for loved ones in the joys of heaven, for my own expectation of seeing thee clearly.

I love thee above the powers of language to express, for what thou art to thy creatures. Increase my love, O my God, through time and eternity.

First snow

It's rare for us to be able to enjoy the glory of the changing leaves and the beauty of snow all at once, but last night we had our first snow of the season. Combined with the late fall that we had, we are able to enjoy them all at once.

Holiday Parade

Today was Harrisburg's Holiday Parade. Jeff and I, the kids and my parents all went down to it. It was a chilly day and we bundled up for the parade. The kids really enjoyed it (although Joost doesn't look like it in the picture below--he was a little overwhelmed by the crowds at first and unsure whether or not his red balloon was going to blow away into the sky).
There were a lot of highschool bands from all over the state--but our favorite was Harrisburg High with their drum section who could dance and play at the same time. I should have captured it on film, but it wouldn't have done them justice.
It was also great to see all the armed forces that marched in the parade--many vets and reserve, but also some troops that just returned from Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Kosovo. We are grateful for all those men and women who have served now and in years past.
We all had a good time and it put us in the mood for the holidays. May our Thanks-
givings be one of gratitude as we look to Him who has blessed us more than we deserve.

The Nation's Capital

Yesterday, we arrived home from several days in Washington D.C. Jeff had some classes he was taking for work and we decided it would be fun for the kids and I to join him. We had the evenings with Jeff and then the three of us explored the city during the day without him.

It was the kids first time staying in a
hotel,and their excitement was roof raising! We all had a fun time sleeping in one room together for two nights.


Joost very much wanted to see dinosaur bones while we were in D.C., so we visited the National Museum of Natural History.
The kids loved the museum. I'm pretty sure we spent at least three hours there (and retraced our steps past the dinosaurs and the hall of mammals many times). It does have a lot of great stuff if you can get past the overdose of evolution that they give you in EVERY exhibit and description. And the elephant that greets you in the rotunda, is awe inspiring...very Night at the Museum.

We also had a lot of fun at the Air and Space Museum, The Old Post Office, the Navy Memorial and other stops along the way. Jeff was able to squeeze in a visit to the art museum on Sunday evening when we first arrived to see all his Dutch favorites.





We were very glad to be able to be with Jeff while he was away for business rather than being separated for three days. It is rare for the four of us to take day trips or any kind of vacation without others a long, so it was refreshing (even though Jeff was working most of the time) for the four of us to be away together and doing something out of the ordinary.

Gracie and her big-girl bed

Today we picked up Gracie's new bed and set it up in her bedroom. She is sleeping in it tonight and in the next few days we will be putting away the crib into storage. It will be the first time in over four years that we won't have a crib set up in our home. Hopefully, in time, it will be needed again...but time and health will tell. Today, we are excited for Grace and this new step into being a little girl.

(The bedding is yet to be decided on. What's in the picture is an option, but I really wanted paisley with pinks and blues for her quilt. If you know any good stores or sites for bedding that is feminine, classic yet whimsical, let me know!)

Reading, Writing and Arithmetic

Well...reading and writing, anyway. There's a great site that was passed on to me that I thought any of you with pre-school aged children might enjoy as well. It helps you make alphabet sheets for practicing and recognizing letters that you can print and use with your child. Joost and Grace really love to practice their letters and color the pictures. Here's the link:

ABC worksheets

My two year olds

Grace Elizabeth and Joost Jonathan at two years of age.