Baby Girl Grew Up and Moved Away.....

Merry Christmas 2018

Our Annual Christmas Eve Open House

As usual, I open up the house for anyone and everyone who wants to drop in on Christmas Eve and have a bite to eat and to visit.  For more years than I can remember, I've had Chinese food on Christmas Eve, but this year I did sandwiches, veggies and dips, cheeseballs and crackers, chips and desserts.  It was SOOO much cheaper BUT was definitely more work for me.  This has never been, nor will ever be, a formal thing.  Its just for whomever wants to pop in.  We had my mom, Dan & Suz with Chase, Nate & Kate, Joel & Julie's family, Julie's mom Sonia, John & Scarlett's family - excluding Gunnar, who didn't make it home for Christmas and Amberli and her kids, including AJ and Jessie.

Everyone had a bite to eat and visited - and "debated" over stupid crap, haha!  Afterwards when everyone was gone, we went to the cemetery to put candles on the graves.  The whole place was lit up SO pretty!  Salem does such a nice job with candles at the cemetery on Christmas Eve.  The cemetery is always so busy on Christmas Eve night and looks like Memorial Day does with flowers, only with luminaries.  They're EVERYWHERE!  It's like a flickering fairyland.  There were also lots of people sending Chinese lanterns up in the sky.  Its a great way to remember those who have gone before us and still include them in our family.

Gingerbread Houses

I love to decorate gingerbread houses!  We decided to do a competition again this year and we put it to Instagram to have people vote for their favorite.  Mine won with Molly's coming in second.  Jens and Cade only got 1 vote each, and that vote came from themselves, haha!  But it was still fun - no matter WHO the winner was..... it was ME!  I was the winner!!!  HAHA! Victory is mine!  (just sayin')  Sidney was out on a date with someone so she missed doing it with us.  She was always going to make one later just on her own but she never did.

Cade's

Molly's

Mom's

Jens'

Elf on the Shelf 2018

Bernard the Elf has been with our family since 2006 - and for the last 12 years we have SURE enjoyed him!  He's been cute - creative - naughty - funny - and even boring at times!  This year was no exception for us.  He had lots of tricks up his sleeve.

He hid in a jar in our Christmas Village with a note that said, “I farted in here - wanna smell?”

He made a swing and swung from my range hood

He did a little laundry in the laundry room

He roasted some marshmallows to make s'mores

He showed off his acrobatic skills by getting 13 feet high up on our ceiling fan

He was super sneaky and hid in the silverware drawer

He put on a toy soldier outfit and read the Nutcracker

He drew Minion's on our bananas!

He climbed inside a stocking and answered all of Molly's questions

He put on his hula skirt and lei and pretended he was in a tropical paradise in our poinsettia's

He climbed up on the clock - looking like a smarty pants

Lilly even showed up one day and had a gunny sack race with him.  They had to be the first to race up to Grace, the American Doll.  Molly will be 12 this coming May so I'm not sure how much longer Bernard will be with us...... Maybe this was his last year.  It kind of makes me sad - and yet it also makes me G L A D!!!