CHRISTEPHI

My first Christmas as a married woman I tried my hand at gingerbread men and have continued to make them every Christmas since. I prefer them plain because they're just that good, but of course there's a lot of fun to be had in decorating gingerbread men (and boys and girls)! Today we packed up our cookie cutters and went to a friend's house for a rollicking good time baking and decorating gingerbread men. Most of the decorating was done by the kids (who have not yet learned the wisdom of "less is more"), but here's one I made as a sample for the kids to see how to use the supplies. ----------------------- Gingerbread Men Cream together until smooth: 2 sticks butter, softened 1 cup sugar Stir in: 1 cup molasses 2 egg yolks In a separate bowl, mix together: 4 cups flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 2 teaspoons ground ginger 1 teaspoon ground cloves 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg...

This evening I snapped a shot of the light from the setting sun illuminating the upper branches of our sycamore tree.  The sun sets so early this time of year, but it's awfully lovely while it's going down!

It's not the worst snowstorm I've ever seen, but anytime there's snow on top of ice it gets awfully dicey out there.  But it is awfully beautiful watching the snow blow around from the warmth of the indoors. At one point I couldn't stay in any longer, so I grabbed my camera and went for a little trek around the house. The snow is delightful even when the weather is frightful!   This is the house across the street from us. It's what I look at out our front windows day after day. Today it is frosted and lovely!

I spend a great deal of time with these keys this time of year -- keeping up with holiday events, weather forecasts, Christmas shopping, tracking deliveries, and sharing the festivities with friends near and far.  I've also been prepping some for our new school year that starts in January.

I didn't have a chance to pick up my camera the whole day yesterday. I did snag this quick shot of daddy and daughter at the supper table with my phone. Daughter had been baking and was adorably smudged with flour -- or is it powdered sugar? She baked chocolate Christmas cookies for today's tea party! Today we were up bright and early (for us) to get everything ready for a last minute Christmas tea party we hosted for some local homeschoolers. We had a great turnout and the house was bursting with fun! I snapped a few shots and then gave Miss M my camera to go around and photograph everybody. Somehow, this is still the only shot that came out even halfway decent. Oh well... 

The Christmas lights adorning our front porch make super neat patterns on the ceiling of the living room where they slip in between the closed blinds. I used a slow shutter speed to capture how cool it looks!

In my youth I was "early to bed and early to rise," typically getting up before the sun. These days, not so much. Hubby and the kids are night owls, which means I'm usually up late right along with them. And when I stay up late, I sleep in late the next morning. (Because sleep deprivation is for the birds.) This morning, however, I was up early and caught this beautiful beam of the just-risen sun casting shadows of my jade plant on the kitchen wall. Due to the position of the window, and neighboring houses and trees, it only stayed illuminated like this for less than five minutes. Five magical minutes, and I captured it!

Today my youngest child lost his first tooth. What a bittersweet milestone!  Here he is giving it a tug with a piece of dental floss. He ended up pulling it out himself a little bit later, no help necessary!

I was far too busy today to look for interesting camera shots, but I snagged this one quickly as my son's friend's little brother borrowed a pair of monster feet and chased the bigger boys up the loft bed. Rawr!

Today my mom, sister, brother-in-law, and nephew drove in from out of state. I had been expecting my mom, but the rest were a last minute addition. I also didn't know they were bringing Christmas with them! Christmas music, advent reading, and a silly Christmas story read by my 7-year-old led up to opening presents and snapping lots of pictures.  I snagged this one of my sister's camera just as she reached to pick it up again.  It's the cooler, newer, more trendy version of mine, just like my sister is the cooler, younger, more trendy version of me...or something like that.

At some point along the way while I was busy raising this girl, she transformed from a little girl to a young lady.  Isn't she gorgeous?

It has felt more like spring than fall the past several weeks. My pathetic rose plant in the front yard seems to have thought so too. It decided to put out a blossom. Imagine! A blooming rose in December in Missouri! This is my first photo for this year's  December Photo Project . It's not too late to join in! 

Miss M adorned our nativity play set with a "palm tree." Merry Christmas everybody! December Photo Project

One final gift, made entirely by hand. This adorable polar bear will get lots of cuddles and kisses on Christmas Morn! December Photo Project

Olives on fingers is a Thanksgiving and Christmas tradition! Is it at your house too? December Photo Project

Hubby and Little Guy after ditching their Santa hats at our annual Christmastime breakfast at IHOP. Miss M and I followed protocol and kept our hats on! December Photo Project

Our lovely tree, haphazardly decorated by Hubby and the kids. December Photo Project

Snow day! And by a happy coincidence, Hubby has the day off! So he got to play in the snow with the rest of us. December Photo Project

When you have a young daughter, My Little Ponies are just a part of life. She arranged these today according to family after "having an orphanage" and making them "all get adopted into families." This family is actually made up of ponies from my own childhood. December Photo Project

Today's high, 58. Tomorrow's forecast: 3 to 5 inches of snow! We decided to take advantage of the nice weather with a little jaunt in the park. Of course, I forgot to grab my camera, so this one was taken with my phone. December Photo Project