Winter Wonderland

Winter finally came to Western Washington.  Real winter, with snow and power outages and school cancellations.  This week of winter didn't faze us, though.  We were busy . . .

enjoying a bit of summer at Walt Disney World.  The natives might have thought it was January, but it felt like summer to us.

We rode carpets and monorails,

 boats and space ships.

We explored jungles, tree houses, forts . . .

and a haunted house.  Well, some of us did.

D2 went to sleep instead.

D2 dug DinoLand on the only rainy afternoon of the week.

We met a Blue Man,

an Army Man,

Miss Piggy,

and a troll.

Rollo took D2 on a speeder ride.

The way the Caterpillar drove, Scoot could barely hang on.

We hung out with Dandelionslayer's parents,

his brother, and his sister's family.

It was a magical,

technological,

beautiful week.

Crafty Christmas

I always enjoy creating gifts for loved ones, and this Christmas I was not alone.  Dandelionslayer was reminiscing about a soap-carving project of his childhood, and suddenly all the boys wanted to try it.  Here are the results:  a bear, a whale, an ornament, a tree, and a Viking longboat, ready to be sent to unsuspecting cousins.  I scooped up the shavings to sculpt some snowmen for the grandparents.  It was fun!

I wanted to add some cute washcloths to go with the carvings, but I couldn't find anything suitable at a Popular Retailer.  So I bought some plain ones and added cute initials myself.

These pajamas have a similar story.  I wanted to make the Caterpillar some pajamas that were cute, but not cutesy.  He likes owls, which are popular now.  But I could not find any owl-print flannel in manly colors.  So I used red, and made my own owl to add.  Which suits our little night owl just fine.

I crocheted these hats using the Charleston Cloche pattern.  I'm sorry you can't see the texture.  It was a bit tricky at first, but fun once I'd figured it out.

My inspiration for these silhouette ornaments came from this tutorial, though I went about things a little differently.  I entrusted the silhouette drawing to a professional, Kaya, who did a wonderful job.  Don't they look just like the boys? 

With such lovely silhouette files at my disposal, I had to create something else.  I used them to design matching sweatshirts for the boys.  When Dandelionslayer brought the older three to the hospital to meet D2 for the first time, he helped them compose a welcoming song.  The end of that particular tear-jerker was "Four wonder-brothers we shall be."  They may call themselves, or each other, different names, but I still think they're a wonder.  The shirts are, mostly, too large, so they may never wear them together again, but this band of brothers will stick together.  What a great gift they are!

The Year in Review

In 2011, guess who . . .

1.   Plays piano

2.   Went to school in the fall

3. Ran a road race

4. Likes the climbing wall at the YMCA

5. Plays the marimba

6. Wears glasses

7. Marched in a parade

8. Likes to write stories

9. Plays soccer

10. Is the financial clerk at church

11. Was baptized

12. Visited Vancouver Island and Banff in Canada

13. Wants to move to Canada

14. Plays trumpet

15. Goes to Boy Scouts

16. Goes to Cub Scouts

17. Is a soccer referee

18. Got a concussion at school

19. Plays baseball

20. Likes to film movies

21. Plays saxophone

22. Sings in the choir at church

23. Sliced his ear open at school

24. Hopes you have a happy new year

1. T, C, S, R

2. C, S, R, D2

3. T, S

4. D, C, S, R, and especially D2

5. D

6. T, R

7. C

8. T, D2

9. C, S, R

10. D

11. R

12. We all did

13. D2

14. C

15. C, S

16. R, T

17. D, C

18. R

19. S, R

20. D2

21. S

22. D, T, C

23. R

24. We all do!

Candlelit Christmas

I'm pretty sure that Dandelionslayer and I are not alone, among Mormons, in feeling a bit of a fascination with the candlelight Christmas Eve services held in other churches.  Not that we've ever been to one.  We're usually busy spreading good cheer and cookies to friends and neighbors on Christmas Eve.  And the LDS Church has a strict rule against lighting candles in the buildings, for safety reasons.  Still, a few candles might have come in handy at church on Christmas morning.  For, lo and behold, the electricity went out soon after the meeting began.

We were not left completely in the dark, of course.  The wind that must have caused the damage had blown the clouds away, so the windows at the front of the chapel provided some illumination.  Strategically placed emergency lights kept the rest of the room dimly lit, perhaps at a candle-like level.  Sitting near the front, we could hear the speaker.  And the power returned before our choir numbers.

It was not so at home.  We opened the curtains to let in the fitful sunshine, and enjoyed the quiet (broken only by a neighbor's generator).  The boys played nicely with their gifts, and it was a pleasant afternoon.  Of course, it gets dark early this close to the solstice.  The dimming sky sent the boys scrambling for flashlights.  I wore a headlamp as I grilled a few slices of ham, and boiled potatoes on a butane stove.  I'm so glad it wasn't raining then.  We managed to have most of the planned feast, and we ate it by candlelight.

Everyone loved it.  They were less interested in the opportunity to wash the dishes by hand and lamplight, but fortunately the power came back before we had to resort to that extreme measure.

I am so grateful for the true light that comes from our Savior, that lights our way through this dark world, and gives us warmth and peace. 

Merry Christmas!

We Are Grateful for Christmas Lights

We're trying to maintain an attitude of gratitude throughout the holiday season this year.  When I ran across this suggestion somewhere on the internet, I knew we had to try it.

We enjoy seeing the lights with which people decorate their homes at this time of year.  When we see a good display, we'll point it out to each other, oohing and ahhing.  We might even think, "Wow, that took a lot of work."  Shouldn't we thank the people who go to such effort, or display such good taste?

This year we plan to jot down the addresses of our favorite displays, and send thank you notes to those creative folks.  Here is a postcard I designed for the purpose:

The back quotes John 8:12, wherein Jesus Christ declares himself to be the Light of the World, and leaves space for the address, stamp, and signature.  If you would like to print this postcard for your own use, click here for the PDF!

Dictionary Moment: Fitch

We are grateful for words.  We exercised this gratitude after our Thanksgiving feast by playing Huggermugger, a game that presents a variety of vocabulary challenges.  On one of Scoot's turns, he was to list ten words rhyming with "itch."  Following our advice to go through the alphabet, he said "ditch, fitch..."  We all discounted the one beginning with F, and he went on.  But Dandelionslayer pulled out the red Webster's dictionary, and looked it up, just in case. 

It turns out that fitch is, indeed, a noun.  It means, "the fur or pelt of the polecat." 

You know, skunk fur.  A fashion statement for sure.  But what, then, is an abercrombie?