without whipped cream, sans creme



avec du creme, with whipped cream



It's starting, ca commence




retaliation, la revanche




Escalating, escalader



My friend Marie came up with Advent socks.  The socks are numbered and inside each is a piece of paper with an activity for the day.  Wow, what a great idea.  Instead of socks I made a flip advent calendar.  I love papercrafting.  Each day we have been flipping over the calendar and reading what we are supposed to do for the day. Some days it doesn't get done such as going to Green's Corner.  Isaac spent the day sleeping on the couch.  We went the next day.  We hurried to finish our school work (except for reading) and then walked down there.  We ordered hot cocoa for the kids, one with whipped cream and two without, and a coffee for me.  I graded papers and the kids read their books.  On the way home it occurred to me that my kids have never walked home from school with a group of other kids. As I watched them walk home together it brought back memories.
I remember walking home and teasing my brother or having a pushing match between the two of us for fun.  We walked home when we lived in Lewistown the first time (3rd grade for me and Kindergarten for Jon).  We had to walk through a horse pasture and one day he got to close to the horse and was kicked.  That horse pasture is now a large town park.  We walked home in Salt Lake (4th/5th grade and 1st/2nd grade for him).  Some days if we had a quarter we'd stop at a lady's house who sold suckers for 25 cents to kids after school.  Then when we moved back to Lewistown, we'd walk home until we were in high school and then we'd ride home with our Mom.  After my 6th grade year we were never again in the same school at the same time - so we never again had those pushing/teasing/laughing wars on the way home.

Mon amie Marie a un calendrier pour advent qui sont des chausettes.  Chaque chausettes a un numero et dedans un papier avec un activite pour chaque jour.  Oh, cette un bon idee.  Je veux faire quelque chose comme ca mais avec papier.  Alors j'ai cree un calendrier avec papier.  Chaque jour nous lisons l'activite du jour.  Un jour c'etait allee chez Greens pour boire des chocolate chaud et un cafe.  Les enfants lisent leurs livres et moi, j'ai corrige des papiers.  Sur le chemin chez nous, je realize ques les enfants n'ont jamais marcher chez nous apres l'ecole.  Je souviens le faire avec mon frere.  En Lewistown, le premier fois que nous l'habitons, il faut que nous avons marcher a travers un paturage de cheval.  Une fois, il etait tros pres des cheval et le cheval lui frappe.  En Salt Lake City, nous avons marcher chez nous.  Si nous avons un peu des pieces de monie, nous avons achete un bonne chez une femme qui les fait.  Apres nous demenagons a Lewistown encores, nous avons marche ensemble pour une annee et apres nous ne sommes pas dans le meme ecole.



Christmas Tree Lot, un place pour acheter des sapins de noel



James Street Estates

Bedtime, Temps de coucher



A different perspective of my house.




Bedtime for the boys, Temps de coucher pour les garcons

 One of my favorite things about Christmas is the lights.  Walks around the neighborhood, looking out the window to see the lights dangling from the roof, having to drive the long way home with all the kids piled in the front seat, looking into our house and seeing the glow of the tree, candles lighting a room - all these things make me excited.  I have fallen in love with little star lights twinkling on the tree.  I love it when the lights twinkle and sparkle. Big white bulbs dangling by wires surrounding a tree lot or  I'm also trying to get the beautiful bokeh of soft white out of focus lights.  I think that a tree looks much better with lights.

Mes favorites chose sonts les lumieres.  Les lumieres atours des maisons et sur les arbres.  J'aime les bougies dans la maison.  Tous me faisents exciter.  Il faut que nous conduire le route longue de voir les lumiere et tous les enfants sont dans la premier place en voiture.  J'aime quands les lumiere entincelle et je pense que l'arbre est plus jolie avec les lumiere ouvert.

Opening the nativity scene, Ovrire la nativite



Judy in her element. Judy fais la decore



three little helpers, trois petites aides

On December 1st a group of us got together to decorate our church.  This is the second Christmas in our Church.  The first Christmas we had been a church for only 4 months or so. The gals had talked about it and there were some decorations put up.  This year it was more organized.  Judy got the ball rolling by setting a date and talking to some of us gals.  Then we showed up and things just came together.  On of the trees in a neighbor's yard blew over and John saved some of the branches for me after clearing it for her.  We spray painted those branches silver.  Judy purchased three prelighted trees, brought ribbon, and her expertise.  Marie purchased lights for the fig trees already there.  I think that some of the decorations came from last year too.  Karen, Judy, Marie, and Caitlyn and a slew of children got to work on decorating.  Unfortunately I couldn't stay until the end but here are a few photos from the day.  I'm hoping that next year (maybe in another building) we'll have even more people.  Maybe even having a "party" with hot cocoa, coffee and drinks, lots of goofying off and lots of fun.
Nous aidons decore l'eglise.  L'annee derniere notre eglise est seulement quatre mois alors nous n'avons pas decore l'eglise.  L'autre jour nous avons allee pour decore.  Je pris la nativite.  Mon amie Judy est un decorateur et elle pris trois arbres, des guirlandes et rubans.  Mon amie Marie pris des lumiere.  Avec beaucoups des enfants nous commence.  Apres quelles heures nous finissions.  Je n'ai pas reste pour tout, il faut que je quit tot.  J'espere que l'annee prochaine nous pouvons plus des persons et on peut avoir un fete avec le chocolate chaud, le cafe et des biscuit pour decorer.

We opened one advent day and the activity was to decorate the Christmas Tree.  I can see this becoming a tradition.  We haul our bench upstairs to our room and then haul the box with the Christmas tree inside. We are a fake Christmas tree family.  One year we had a real tree but the needles fell off.  I'm not good at watering it.  I don't like crawling under the tree.  Then the boy scouts usually pick up the trees but not the year of the real one.  Instead John hauled it around in the back of the truck meaning to drop it off but since it was so dry it blew out onto the interstate.  That was the last year for the real Christmas Tree.  The fake one is it for us.  We have a procedure.  The kids put in the platic branches as I wrap lights around them.  I think it takes over 700 lights on our tree.  After the tree is assembled and the lights are on, the decorations come out.  The kids put on the ornaments.  There are ones that they really like.  There is a bird and a bear that they hide in the branches every year.  When one finds it, then they get to hide. This goes on until Christmas.  John has the honor of putting on the star.  Then all the boxes go back into the garage.  I usually rearrange the ornaments after the kids go to bed.  Call me picky. This year we had an extra helper - Adrienne.
C'est annee nous fabriquons notre arbre de Noel.  D'abord nous commence avec les branches.  Quand nous mettons les branches sur l'arbre, je mis les lumiere.  Je mis presque 700 lumiere sur notre arbre.  Nous avons un arbre faux parcque nous sommes terrible avec un vrai arbre.  Les enfants ont mis les ornements sur l'arbre.  John a mis l'etoile tout en haute.  Et mois, je pris les photos.  Cette annee nous avons une aide, une amie de Lona - Adrienne.

For the last several years I have wrapped presents in brown paper bags.  I love the look of the packages wrapped up with string and a cute tag.  I think it's the tags that make the presents inviting.  The tags are different each year.  The packages reminds me of the song "A Few of My Favorite Things".  Some day I may look back and think how was that ever cute/pretty but so it goes with fashion.  Anyway our school desk is a mess while I create and stamp and glue but I have fun.  I got the idea for the rosette flowers and tags from Shimelle.  She has lots of crafty things on her site.   Merry Christmas

Chaque annee j'enveloppe des cadeaux avec les sac  en papier bruns.  Je pense que des cadeaux semblent beaux mais c'est les etiquettes devients joli pour les cadeaux.  Quand je vois des cadeaux en papier bruns je pense d'un chasons "Quelques des choses qui sont mes favorites" .   Alors mon bureau n'est pas arrange.  Je coupe, colle et attache des papier jusqu'a je cree un etiquette que j'aime.  C'est idea je vois a Shimelle.  Elle cree beaucoup des joli chose.  Joyeux Noel.