Happy New Year 2014

The little boy and I made some party hats and new year masks, and then invited Daddy over to the RV for a surprise New Year's Eve party :)

Happy New Year one and all, and may the new year be filled with blessings galore.

Not quite the last Xmas Post....

Christmas Lane

As we went through the paces of celebrating the season, we did one of our yearly traditions of letting the little boy drive on daddy's lap while we traveled slowly through Christmas Lane.

This year, we went through twice, put in our donation, and then parked to watch the tree lights that were synchronized to holiday music.

Then we walked over to the main building, stopped at the phone booth out front and talked to "Mrs. Claus", who was at Santa's Workshop, over the phone.

First we went into the "display room", where there was a model train scene where the boy could press a button and start the train, and where there was a bunch of themed displays.

The highlight of the night of course, was getting to meet Santa. There weren't many people in line, but the boy couldn't keep still from all the anticipation.

Of course, once it got to be our turn, he turned a little shy.

However,  he soon warmed up to Santa and told him what he wanted for Christmas - "Angry Birds toys and books".  ( Which he later DID get both of those things and more )

I mean, seriously. How could Santa resist a face like THAT?

Christmas Lunch 2013

This year, the bulk of the clan was not in Abilene, including Cindy, who is in Africa for a month.  In fact, there was only 12 of us - 7 adults and 5 kids who were in town.

So, Judith invited some people from her church etc, who were also having "lonely" Christmases, to the shindig...

 

 ... and we invited Xia Yu and her parents, and the Foxes were there as well.

So, really, it was a little "different" this year, seeing all these unfamiliar faces at our Christmas lunch,

 

but I didn't get to "interact" very much, but spent my time at the workroom next door, doing crafts and drawing and whatnot with the boys.

All in all, we had a good Christmas, AND I still have a bunch of things to post, that happened BEFORE as well as on Christmas Day. ... Like Christmas MORNING!!

and so, as usual,

to be continued. :)

( A ) Pie(s) for the Season

My mom loves (rummy) fruitcake, especially in the holiday season, I suppose.

The hubs, in a similar vein, enjoys mincemeat pie this time of the year.  I didn't have enough fridge space for a pie to sit and be eaten over time, so I made several mini pies in a muffin tin so that they could be stored/frozen for future consumption.

I usually use the Nonesuch ( !!?? ) brand condensed pie filling and ready-made crust. 

 

That's the Sandra Lee semi homemade style of cooking that suits me fine :)

❄ ❆♬♪ Christmas Tree O' Christmas Tree ♫♭❄ ❆

This year, with the 3 of us decorating the tree together, we got it done in no time at all.  Daddy did most of the tall high branches, mommy did some of the medium height ones and the little boy had his own special ornaments that he had made in the years past etc, that were hung at little boy height.

And of course, in keeping with  tradition, the little boy helped to put the Star on the very top.

Holiday Happenings 2013

City Sidewalks and City Tree Lighting

We went out with the crowds on an unseasonably warm evening to watch the Parade.  The little boy plopped himself on the street and got comfortable :)

Towards the end of the parade, we made our way to the Civic Center where the Tree Lighting ceremony was going to take place, along with Christmas songs by the orchestra and singing group.

HEB Feast of Sharing

This is the 9th year that HEB is doing this in Abilene.  I can hardly believe we were at the very first one they had here.  The line was long, but moved pretty fast.

The little boy, who loves music and dancing, just couldn't hold all that jivin' in when the kids started their song and dance routine.

We stopped long enough to get our face hand painted, and was back in line with daddy.

Of course, we had to stop by the Children's Area after dinner.

The little boy built a house for Habitat for Humanity!

He also made a card, trimmed a Christmas Tree, played some games, and pretended to be Groucho Marx.

 

Breakfast with Santa @ Hillcrest and a chance encounter at Petsmart

The little boy was super excited this year to be meeting Santa. :) We wonder if this is the last year that it will be that magical for him :)

Mummy and Jaxon's Mickey pancakes

 

Cookie decorating..

More crafts galore.

The little boy noticed "Santa" leaving and peeked into his er, "domain" for a bit, and exclaimed, "Santa left his sleigh behind!!!"

Then we were off to Petsmart to get some stuff for the dogs, and lo and behold, who should we meet there, but the man himself again! Woah. :)

 

To be continued....

A Splash of Color

My handsome boys in late Autumn at Abilene Christian University

Today's Weather..

Last week we had Arctic weather with freezing rain, snow, sleet... with had us pretty much holed up at home, avoiding icy roads and frozen body bits. ( Although, I didn't manage to avoid slipping on the steps and having a huge purple bruise on my bottom, which wasn't so much fun.  We are thankful, though, that "we" didn't break anything... )

Today, I woke up to a Brigadoonish effect... The Freezing Fog...

which still deposits ice on the steps insidiously.

Thanksgiving 2013

We had Thanksgiving lunch ( as well as leftovers, later that evening ) at Mamo and Uncle Jim's church.  Xia Yu and her parents were able to join us, and they brought several Chinese dishes with them, which I was extra thankful for... :)

I am always grateful whenever Jaxon gets to spend time with his cousins, especially Allen and Anastasia, who live several hours away.