Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Christmas Season

Merry Christmas!! We have had a wonderful Christmas season this year, our first Christmas in Virginia!
On December 17th, eight of the kids had their Christmas concert with their choirs, the Blue Ridge Chorale and the Top of Virginia Choir.

Here are Sarah, Caroline, Elizabeth and Hannah singing. Hannah says she thought it was a "really really good concert" and her favorite song was "Ride the Chariot." Sarah thought that overall the concert was "awesome except for one song which I hate!!"

We went to a Christmas tree farm to get our Christmas tree last Saturday and took a very long time to decide which tree to get. We ended up with the perfect one, then decorated it. The branches are drooping with 15 years worth of ornaments.

Our first guests came this weekend, Grandma, Uncle Daniel and Aunt Lisa. We enjoyed eating the cheese and crackers that they brought-- the children are gathered around the hors d'oeuvres ravenously devouring them in this picture.

Yesterday afternoon Caroline, Grandma, Elizabeth and Dad had a Christmas Eve scrabble game. Dad won by 180 points and Caroline was last with 70 points. Caroline says that it's a "stupid stupid game." She was challenged on the words Towne, Bodet, Noel, and Len and lost 4 turns.

This morning was our delicious Christmas breakfast of Kringle (a Danish pastry with fruit/nut filling and frosting), 5 dozen eggs and bacon. Yummy!!!!

After we went on a walk after breakfast to walk off some breakfast calories, we opened the presents. Here is all of us with our new paper slippers that Daniel got for all of us from the foot doctor. He warned us, "They might not last very long..."

Elizabeth made four pounds of fudge for the family as her gift. It was really good! I know because I've already eaten most of it.

Caroline and Susannah gave Mom and Dad some pots with faces on them and cactuses for hair.

Dad got us a Polar Express Lionel Train set to go around the tree!!

Caroline, Elizabeth and Sarah tried on their new formal dresses this afternoon. They love them!

Hannah was outside rollerblading on her new roller blades and missed the fancy dress picture. Here she is modeling her new dress:

Hope you had a wonderful CHRISTmas!!

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Candid Shots

Caroline on top of a pile of dirt at the construction site down the road

Daniel's 8th Birthday

The children watching a movie on the laptop (note Emily crouched on top of the couch)

Bingleton enjoying Calvin and Hobbes

Timothy and Emily reading

Susannah and the bunny reading

Elizabeth and Sarah

Some of the boys singing in the choir

Nathanael and his tower

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Vacation to Charleston, SC this summer

@ the Beach










Making Donuts


Touring Charleston




Elizabeth's Birthday

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Cake Decorating Lessons

We learned how to cake-decorate! Our friend, Mrs. Earl, came over to our house 3 different days to teach us. These pictures are from our last lesson, where we made a cake. At the bottom of this post are some other cakes that we've made since then.



Hannah practices making clowns:


Her practice clown-


Those pesky kids ate half the icing!


Elizabeth works on her clown.


Finished:


Sarah works on hers-


And Hannah perfects hers:


And Caroline works on her clown:


Those clowns are some masterpieces...


With Mrs. Earl, after completing the cake


Complete cake with finishing touches added-


Cakes we've made since then: