WTP

Duncan is still very close with some of his high school friends. Back in 2000, the __TP or the __Tree Party was born. It was decided that being neither on Christmas or New Year's, it could not be a Christmas or New Year's party. Back in 2000, it was the Fir Tree Party.

Very profound, I know.

Ever since, there have been__Tree Parties of many varieties.
There was the Palm Tree Party, in Southern California, of course.
There was the Crab Tree Party, hosted by us in Maryland.
There was the Honeymoon Tree Party, immediately following the wedding of one of these friends, in his house even. Fortunately for he and his new bride, they were NOT present.
Then there was the Orange Tree Party in the actual OC.
Next was Anniversary Tree Party. The sixth __TP, but also the fifth anniversary of the original FTP.
This was followed by the Natal Tree Party the year in which every one of the friends (well, their wives, I guess) had a baby. (Violet is the oldest of the five babies that were born in 2006. Four of these babies were present at the WTP. One had to stay home in CA.)
Last year was the California Rustic Tree Party, on the west coast again.

Which brings us to the __TP of 2008: The Wing Tree Party.

Wings are a very important element to all of these parties and it was decided that they should finally get the attention they deserve.

What is all of this silliness you ask? It comes down to a bunch of guys and their wives (and now their many children) that loves each other and have a blast getting together once a year. Not everyone makes it to every one (Well, except for Alan. He's been to every one.), but a _TP happens every year and I imagine (and hope) they will continue to happen for many years to come. Without further ado, Ladies and Gentlemen, the WTP:

Linus became buddies with Alan, who traveled the farthest. He and one of his daughters flew in from CA to attend the grand event.

Aubrey and Amelie got reacquainted too.

Our host, Culp, prepared the guest of honor: Wings!

The Wings.

Linus gave them a try.

Amelie read to Wade.

Duncan gives baby Jill her first taste of Coke.

Duncan and Amelie spend some quality time with Baby Jill.

(Almost) The whole gang:

11 adults (2 not pictured) and 11 kids (one in utero) shared 1600 square feet and one bathroom for a little less than 24 hours. Until next year, y'all.

Will it be a Peach Tree Party?

Gingerbread Houses

For three years running, my sister, Karen, has had us over for a Gingerbread House Extravaganza. She bakes these houses, from scratch. Since she only has one mold, it takes her like a week to bake all of the necessary pieces. Each "kid" gets their own individual house. Not just my kids, but Karen's too. Her youngest is 15! Unfortunately, the oldest, Erin (who turned 21 yesterday--shout out!) has never been a part of this event. We thought this year was the year, but she HAD to spend the night in Paris since her flight from Italy was delayed. Poor thing. Seriously, we missed her and hope that maybe next year, she can participate. But Patrick and Megan, 19 and 15 respectively, have been a part of this tradition every year! Our kids LOVE it and look forward to it! Who wouldn't LOVE the candy buffet that IS gingerbread house making? We are so thankful to have an Aunt Karen that takes care of our gingerbread house needs. She ROCKS!

Amelie arranges Christmas Peeps in a bowl, while Megan waits patiently in the ready position. Can you even believe ALL of that candy?

Bowie Grandma (my mom) assists Amelie, who really didn't need much help this year.

Duncan was on Linus duty.

Linus could have cared less about the house. But once he got a taste of that frosting, he kept snatching the candy that Duncan used to decorate the house. It was hilarious!

Bowie Grandpa assisted Violet, who was a bit more independent this year.

More candy snatching...

Violet was interested in how everyone else decorated their houses.

She picked up a few ideas.

Megan is always masterful.

Patrick (Let's Go, Mountaineers!) always does a nice job. See that uniformity?

It was the last straw when Linus grabbed a handful of sprinkles. He had to be removed from the table.

Amelie took her time this year.

Violet and Megan had completed their houses and were taking a break. Everyone was quite pleased with the gingerbread outcome this year. Such fun!

On a final note, the Rudolph dress worn by Violet that day was made for Erin when she was a tiny tot. It's been passed down all of these years and is still in great shape!

I think I need to go and schedule some dental appointments or something.

Homestead Gardens

I know it's been AGES since I've updated. This morning I cleaned off the camera of nearly 300 pictures. So, let the posts-of-what-happened-in-December begin!

The first week in December, we went to Homestead Gardens one evening after dinner. We hope to make this an annual tradition. Homestead is a huge garden center that is beautifully decorated, both inside and out, at Christmastime. They have Christmas villages of many different times and places arranged in one area. Each series is cleverly displayed in or on something having to do with the theme. For example, the North Pole series is displayed in an old freezer. The New England series is displayed on what looks like a fishing pier. And, as you can see below, the "Christmas in the City" series is displayed in the trunk of a taxi cab. We spent most of our time studying these villages. There was just so much to look at!

The other highlight is their model trains. They have a huge train table with countless tracks and many trains all running at once.
Violet thought they were too loud.

Linus couldn't get enough of them!

Amelie found it pretty exciting too. And, as seen below, Violet got used to the "loud" trains and was able to remove her fingers from her ears.

And what else did we do in the month of December other than NOT blog? We made gingerbread houses, attended the WTP, watched Linus fall in love, ran a day care center out of our home for a day, celebrated Christmas at three different locations, and much much more. Keep checking in! The pictures are a comin'!

Happy New Year!

Updated: Sharing Christmas 2008: A Salada Holiday

So many of you have asked about the Noah's Ark Christmas tree. My parents found it for me at a Plow and Hearth tent sale four or five years ago. They don't carry it any more, but a quick Google search found this result. My parents bought it for $5 or $10 and it was originally $50 at Plow and Hearth. I will say that I don't believe the quality warrants the higher price. It's cute, but it's not very durable.

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Original Post:

Last year, I participated in Megan's Sharing Christmas event. Well, she's hosting it again this year and even though I'm a day late, I figured I'd join in!

To start with, I'll remind folks that our last name rhymes with the word "holiday," so my post title is a bit catchy.

Our home looks a bit different this year even without all of the Christmas decorations. We are thankful to have been able to do some redecorating this past October and November.
Let's get down to business!

Since our nativity is very child-friendly, it usually looks something like this.

Our Noah's Ark Christmas tree is also a favorite plaything. Therefore, the animals aren't always arranged as Mommy would have them!

We once again made gingerbread houses at my sister, Karen's, house. This is Amelie's marvelous creation. (If I get time, I'll post more pictures from our adventures with gingerbread.)

This is the debut of our dining room on the blog. The floor used to be carpet, but now, thanks to Duncan's craftiness, it is laminate. We LOVE it!

In the center of the table is a wreath made of live greenery from our yard and a Swedish angel chime. When you light the candles, the angels twirl around, making the bells ring.

Because of our furniture rearrangement, our tree is in it's new spot. I LOVE having our tree in the front picture window!

A new addition to our tree is this skirt. In the late 80s or early 90s, my mom made latch hook tree skirt for herself, each of my siblings (who were all married by then) and my grandparents. I was still living at home and had no need for my own. Since my grandparents both passed away last December, my mom offered me their tree skirt. I LOVED the one we bought at Target several years ago, but this one has meaning and I'm thankful to have it.

Another change is how our Christmas cards are displayed. I cannot take credit for the idea. I stole it from MckMama.

I hope you've enjoyed a little peek into our home this Christmas. I also hope you head over to Megan's blog to enjoy even more decorated homes.

May you know the love of Jesus this Christmas. After all, "That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown." -Linus van Pelt in A Charlie Brown Christmas

A Letter to the Editor

To the fellow residents of My Hometown:

Isn't Christmastime wonderful? I love the decorations, the sense of anticipation. The preparation we do as a family to celebrate the birth of our Savior. Telling the story of Jesus' birth to our children. Imagining. Answering their questions. Driving around at nighttime and seeing all of the decorations. Which brings me to the purpose of this letter. My request; my plea, if you will. While putting huge blow-ups in my yard is not a choice I would make, I'm thankful for their presence (in seemingly more and more home displays each year) in that they delight my children. I recognize that they are fairly easy to set-up...easier, at the very least, than the wrestling match my husband had with our icicle lights this past Saturday. They are festive and cheery. I get all of that. What I don't get, however, is the failure of most of their owners, or caretakers, to inflate them during the day. It's not like we wouldn't be able to see them during the daytime. Quite to the contrary, we see them. In puddles. Flat on the ground. Having small children during the surge in the use of said blow-ups has caused many a stress-filled car ride around town during the Christmas season. "Mommy, what's wrong with Santa?" or "Oh, no, Mommy! Frosty fell down!" You see, small children don't have the ability to discern between animate and inanimate just yet. Seeing some of their favorite Christmas characters splayed out on your front lawn can be quite distressing for both the child and the parent that already answers 6, 279 questions each day. And that's just before lunch.
So, I'm pleading with you, begging even, that you would consider my plight. If you are going to purchase a large blow-up holiday decoration, please have it "up and running" both day and night. Please don't allow your blow up to lounge around all day. Make sure he's standing tall and proud! For the sake of the children!

Sincerely,
Nancy
Mom of three under five

Luxury is...

Violet and Linus playing contentedly in their seats while Amelie quietly read Boxcar Children as I cleaned up the lunch dishes and did yesterday's hand washing. (Luxury is also a husband who at least partially empties the dishwasher nearly every morning before he leaves for work. Have I ever mentioned I loathe emptying the dishwasher almost more than anything?) Now, Amelie is helping Violet color Christmas ornaments while Linus plays happily on the floor. Life is not usually this calm. While I love all of the craziness that life with three small children brings, I'm thankful for little moments like these when they sneak up on me. God is so good to me. And now, the someone that just crawled up next to me smells like he needs a change.

Family and Friends

Did you know that Duncan has four step-brothers? He only ever lived with two of them...one for any significant amount of time, since they are a good bit older than he.

Way back on the last weekend of October, we headed on a short weekend jaunt to visit with one of them and his marvelous family. Doug and Nancy (yes, it causes problems since Duncan is often referred to as "Dunc") have nine children. Their oldest was married last May and their youngest is two months older than Amelie. Their second youngest is just a couple of years older than Amelie. Needless to say, the four little girls had a ball with one another. Duncan's mom and step-dad met us there and we had a delightful visit lasting a bit more than 24 hours. We talked, laughed, ate cookies, and had a wonderful time.

Here's a (almost all) family shot. Doug and Nancy are on the right. Seven of their nine children are pictured here as well. As I wrote earlier, their oldest is married and the youngest must have been somewhere with Amelie. (Violet is is the lion costume at the bottom right and of course, Duncan is in the center.)

Linus with his Ducky (what we call Duncan's mom).

Violet, aka Cinderella, pauses to hear a story from Grandpa Bob. (Doug's dad and Duncan's step dad, if your at all confused by the relationships.)

The little girls spent most of our time together in Fiona's (#8) and Natalie's (#9) room.

Amelie and Natalie...just two months apart.

Natalie and Violet aka Pooh Bear.

Fiona and Amelie.

Linus had some kissy time with Fiona.

If you were counting, Violet had on three costumes in these pictures! The girls played dress up the majority of the weekend, I think.

We had such a great time. We hope to spend more time with Doug and Nancy's family as the years go by. They are such a blessing to us!

So thankful to count so much of our family as our friends too.