ahh, the end of the day

 This was taken as we sat on the couch before chasing the kids to bed.

The picture below was from earlier, at the tree farm.  This was a new place and the drive there was a little hazardous with Heidi, Joe, p.j. and Kirsten following.  U-turns, quick corners, yikes.  No harm done though.

Heidi phoned and asked me, "Is Dad trying to kill us?"

I answered her truthfully. "No. That's the furthest thing from his intentions."

 Okay, here we are cutting the tree.  I don't know what I'd do without him.


Yes, that's Tim in shorts.

Sigh.

 Here she is, picking out a tree for her own home, for the first time.

Lovely.

 And below are Heidi and Joe.   Last year they had that dastardly fire the week before Thanksgiving, so their first Christmas in their own house, there were no holiday decorations.  They were living with us while their house was restored.

So this is their own first Christmas tree in their own house too, and that makes me incredibly happy.

 Aww, happy girls.

 About this time there were giddy kids raiding the cabinet where the Christmas stuff is stored.

 This is our neighbor across the street.  It's very Las Vegas, and yet I don't really mind.  The enthusiasm is a good thing.

 This is us.  I like those little candlestick lights in the windows.  The days are so short and the dark so long.  They make me happy.   We leave them up until end of January usually, just because we can.

After all that was done, there was still time and energy for the Christmas Village.  My parents gave this to me as gifts over many Christmases. 

It's not Dept. 56's  best selling village, but I like that too.  It's about the Alps and Heidi and Peter and Grandfather and the goats, and that old story.

Last year I was more tired and overwhelmed, and it never did get set up, so I'm proud we got it done this year.

Plus these two girls were so sweet, so excited about it, opening the packages, arranging all of it.  They haven't seen it in two years, so it was very fun for them.

Oh, but then these boxes had to all be sorted out and put away. It was like a big puzzle.

She's playing with the nutcrackers. They each have a different voice and were talking to each other. I couldn't follow the plot, but that's okay.

Oh, onward to Christmas and all the fun that goes with it. love always, Val