This was the first year we let the kids stay up until midnight. They had so much fun playing with their friends. When it came time to celebrate the new year, we gave them each something to bang on, and took them outside to make some noise and light some sparklers. This is them just before the big moment.
Today in my 9th anniversary! Eric and I always share a bottle of champagne to celebrate. This is my attempt at an artistic pic of my pretty glass of the bubbly.
It actually snowed in Portland today! I love the snow, mostly cuz I never have to go anywhere. We played outside all afternoon and into the evening. I built myself a pretty respectable snowman too!
Do you remember the game Perfection? Well, it was one of my favorite games as a child. We got it for our kids this Christmas, and they love it! They frantically struggle to find the correct holes for all the pieces and then scream when the timer goes off and the thing pops up.
Living in a house with all boys means I will have to get used to certain things. All the boys got lots of Legos for Christmas, so many that we had to go buy bins for them to live in. I'm guess I just have to deal with the scene in the pic cuz there's nothing I can do about it! LOL!
I decided that with 9 children in our house on Christmas day, we needed an activity or two for them. I made each child a goodie bag that included: pipe cleaners, glue, jingle bells, google eyes, candy and a candy cane reindeer. I also had a bowl full of brightly colored pom-poms on the table. This is a pic of the aftermath. The kids really enjoyed the craft time!
My quilt is finally finished! I layed it out on our bed so I could take a pic of it just before I wrapped it up.
We enjoyed a nice dinner out as a family tonight. After we were stuffed to the gills, we decided to walk off some of our dinner. As we strolled, the boys ran ahead of us. And while this isn't really a good pic, it's one of the only one's I took because my battery died shortly after this was taken.
I went over to Donna's today and watched as she quilted the last of my quilt. She has a long arm quilting machine. It was fantastic to watch her work on it. The finished product is just beautiful! This is an up close pic of the lovely quilting.
We had a lovely church service the Sunday before Christmas. The choir sang several amazing songs that gave me goosebumps as I listened!
My friends Tyson and Tina played in a brass group in front of Nordstrom in downtown Portland. They did a fantastic job!
This is my buddy NancyLou! She's one of my fellow Ebenezers. This pic was taken at our monthly meeting and she's reciting her scripture passage for the month. Nice job NancyLou!
I've made a lot of paper cranes in my time. I love origami, and when I found this tiny origami paper, I had to buy it. The boys asked me for a "tiny paper bird", so I got to folding. I think they're so cute!
Eric got my mom for Christmas this year, and I'm helping him with her gifts. I made her an apron because she desperately needs one. She's always in the kitchen making something amazing. This apron is made from some asian fabric and it's in her colors, red, black and white!
The kids made pomanders today. You take an orange, some whole cloves and a toothpick, poke holes in the orange with the toothpick and shove the cloves into the holes. It is supposed to last up to a year, smelling wonderfully spicy.
At Clackamas Bible Church we have a tradition that we call the "Soup and Sing". We gather together and sing Christmas carols, listen to special performances and scripture readings. Then we go downstairs and enjoy an amazing soup buffet. There are so many choices that several people have started bringing muffin tins so they can sample more of the soups!
Portland has a lot of Christmas traditions. "A Tuba Christmas" is one of them. Every year tuba players gather in Pioneer Courthouse Square and play Christmas carols for the crowd. This year there were more than 300 tubas! It was really neat!
It's been really cold here in the Portland area for quite a long time. Whenever it's this cold for this long, the falls in the Columbia River Gorge start to freeze. We took a trip up to see the frozen Multnomah Falls. It was spectacular! I've never seen this event before and it was wonderful to share with my family!
My oldest son, Ethan is learning to read. He's getting pretty good too! Today he sat on the couch and read a whole book to his little brothers. I am very proud of him!
Since we don't have much time to complete my quilt, I joined Donna at her quilting group today. We got the main part of the quilt sewn together! I'm really excited about it!
My friend Donna is helping me make a quilt for my grandmother for Christmas. I don't sew, but I really want to make something special for her. These are the first squares of the quilt. My grandmother is Japanese and she loves all things that represent her culture. I know she's going to love this gift!
Ethan got Legos for his birthday and the boys have had so much fun putting things together and taking them apart again. I guess I should get used to this sight, seeing as I have a house full of boys.
We decided to cut our own tree this year. It was quiet a successful outing! The boys thoroughly enjoyed running through the field of Christmas trees. We finally all agreed on one tree and got it cut. The lighting was perfect as I held the tree while Eric cut it down. I couldn't resist snapping this pic.
Game night! We played Yahtzee, and Jacki kicked all our butts. Mostly because of this roll! She was the only one that actually got a yahtzee!
The Knot Club is our little knitting/crocheting group. We meet once a month to have an evening of crafting and chatting. This is Pat, and at tonight's meeting she was trying to unravel a lap-full of knotted yarn. It's not the best quality, but the only choice for today.
When I was a child, we used to make advent calanders each year. We had a long strip of celophane that we tied Hershey Kisses into with ribbon. Every day you cut a kiss from the bottom of the strand to count down the days until Christmas. This year I made them with the boys. They're so much fun!
December brings lots of hot drinks to enjoy after the kiddos go to bed. Apple cider happens to be my favorite. Eric and I got these mugs on a trip we took to Seattle when we were first together. It's still one of my favorites to use.
