Christmas at Home 2014

It was a fine Christmas at home this year. Hannah and Charles were sick in the days leading up to Christmas, but thankfully everyone was pretty much OK by Christmas day. See the photos below for highlights.

The tree at dawn on Christmas morn

Presents round the tree

Sophie organized them in piles by person

The leftovers from the snack we almost forgot to set out

The stockings (and a silly man, to boot)

Snuggling with her new blanket while waiting to open stockings

Santa must like pink

Christmas breakfast: homemade cinnamon buns and bacon

This guy liked it

Her? Not so much.

Mmmm, bacon...

Now we're ready to open the gifts under the tree

Black ankle socks for work

Showing off her Harry Potter textbooks ...

... and telling us all about them too!

Sophie and I matched in red

Opening a tiny gift

Going on a scavenger hunt ...

... to the kitchen drawer ...

... to the candy dish in the dining room ...

... and finally to the garage.

The aftermath

More mess

A sweet card from Sophie

Getting the fish tank ready

Putting together the telescope

A couple of builders

Magic kit in hand, ready to deliver cinnamon buns next door

Spying on the neighbors

Looking for the moon

Beautiful twilight sky

Light Come Down, EMES Christmas Program 2014

Last Tuesday the girls participated in the annual Christmas program for their school. The theme was light: candles, stars, and the light of Jesus. Since Hannah is in 5th grade she got to have a speaking part (though she declined a singing solo) and got to learn the traditional sword dance that the 5th graders do each year. Below are photos and videos from the program.

The entire school, K-5th grade

Hannah is on the top right

Sophie got to play a bell for one song

Sophie is on the bottom right

This next song is my favorite. It's from the movie "Home Alone."

The 5th grade girls sang together for this traditional Swedish song.

5th grade girls preparing for the sword dance

The program ended with a celebration of Jesus' birth. The 2nd graders dressed for a nativity, and the kids sang and danced to "Light Come Down" to celebrate. The wise men dancing were my favorite, though they were all adorable and very fun to watch.

2nd grade nativity scene

Circadian Rhythms, November 2014

View on my last long run before the race, 13 miles to Timberville and back

A witch wearing glasses and a cloak. She sure looks mean to me!

And glasses for Banky too

Banky's owner is a little cuter than Banky, I think

They borrowed the calligraphy feathers and ink from History Day

Both girls enjoyed writing their names as well as other letters and designs

Cream cheese on a mini bagel

I think someone stole my phone and took a photo

Bathroom selfie after escaping the traffic jam on the way to the race in Roanoke

Beautiful Thanksgiving table

First snow of the year was perfect for building a snowman

Snowy Mountain Fun

The cabin adorned with beautiful icicles (Photo by K. Keane)

We were fortunate to have Kelly, Jon, and the boys join us for Thanksgiving this year. They drove up on Thanksgiving Day, and plans were to go to the cabin that day and stay until Saturday, when we'd come home for a big turkey meal.

Cousins playing at Grandma's

Henry's moving around now

Wednesday we received snow though, and Grandpa got snowed in at his friend's cabin in West Virginia. Since he couldn't get out until Thanksgiving Day, the cabin wasn't really warm and ready for inhabitants. So we decided to have our big meal on Friday mid-day and then go stay at the cabin from Friday evening through Sunday.

Sleeping boys waiting for the meal

A festive table with enthusiastic diners

We each had a turkey marking our place

Lucky for the kids, there was still good snow when we got to the cabin on Friday. We had a lovely few days of relaxation and time together. The highlight was watching Hannah and Sophie experience their first time being pulled on a sled behind the 4-wheeler. Jon zipped them all around the field, and they had a blast! At the bottom of this post you can find some videos of them sledding.

Ready to go for their first joint ride

Sophie returning from her first ride

Hannah *might* be having a good time

Grandpa whipping them around (Photo by K. Keane)

I took a few photos of typical cabin scenes.

Hanging out and snuggling

Grandma and Grandpa resting and watching TV after all the kids were in bed

Playing blocks on the floor

The girls brought their Kindles this time

Sitting in the chair by the front window, watching the field

Kelly and Jon playing cribbage, Jon's favorite game

Sunday was warmer, and the snow began to melt. First Jon and the kids managed to built a snowman though.

Carter had fun adding buttons down his front

The snowman team

Sophie and her snow heart (Photo by K. Keane)

And now, the sledding videos.  The videos show Sophie's first ride (#1), Hannah's first ride (#2), Hannah and Sophie both riding (#3), and a video Kelly shot from the back of the 4-wheeler while Hannah and Sophie were pulled behind (#4).

Thanksgiving / Birthday Celebration

On the Hendricks side of the family we always celebrate Papa's birthday (November 25th) on Thanksgiving. This year, however, we celebrated the summer and fall birthdays at Thanksgiving as well. Each family was so busy that we neglected to get together for our usual summer celebration, so we had a giant birthday gift exchange in between the main course and dessert.

Granny, Jared, and Zach with their gifts

Chris showing off his "Don't tread on me" shirt

Thanksgiving dinner was at our house this year. We had a huge 22lb turkey (not sure why I got such a big one!), lots of mashed potatoes, Stove Top stuffing, green beans, corn, gravy, jellied cranberries, and homemade rolls. Chris brought a red velvet cake (Papa's favorite) and sugar free brownies for Granny. I tried making a sugar free pumpkin cheesecake with pecan crust, which turned out OK I think.

Nom, nom, nom

Mostly empty plates but still lots of food on the table

It's always nice to enjoy a meal with family and have an excuse to use the fine china. Next year we'll look forward to a celebration where Granny doesn't need a walker to get around after breaking her hip!