The Twelve Days of Christmas . . . begun.

On the first day of Christmas (1999) my true love gave to me a partridge in a pear tree . . . or at least it was hand-painted on a Limoges porcelain snuff box . . .


Here are some Christmas day pictures . . . Christmas pajamas . . .

Drinking morning coffee by a toasty fire . . .

David's new exercise ball . . . John's dirty socks . . . Ah . . . the children are home . . .

Goblets drying and a brand new, flamboyantly red teapot, a Christmas present from John and David, has found its home on the stove top.

It's been a lovely but quiet Christmas. We've been given time to truly enjoy each other, to nap by the fire, and, at least for me, to pray. I've prayed for our loved ones, spread out all over the United States, may they be healthy and safe, and have found joy in their celebrations today. I've prayed for our soldiers, so very far from home, that they be safe and able to return to their families soon. I've said so many prayers . . . but Lord, if you hear only one, then grant us peace . . . peace . . .

St. Nicholas Day Pajamas

Every year, St. Nick stops by on December 6th, leaves pajamas for the boys and some candy, and picks up their Christmas wish list.

This year, St. Nick (me) was up at 4:00 a.m. to lay David's pajamas by his bedroom door, when David, simultaneously, started heading towards our bedroom to let us know that the intercom key on our phone was stuck and he could hear our conversation.

We ran into each other in the pitch dark hallway, not expecting anyone else to be up and about at this hour . . . and scared the wits out of each other! The pajamas and candy went flying out of my hands. We were both so startled! Then we laughed and I handed him his present.

I went back to bed, now wide awake, wondering how long the intercom button in our room had been stuck . . . The possibilities are a bit unnerving . . . I mean, had we been snoring . . . ?

Long johns and trampoline.

Oh, those long johns! Thank you, Hannah Anderson! I would have been perfectly content to always see the boys wearing either long johns or overalls. They looked so cute! I remember trying to show the boys how to jump on the trampoline, but I wasn't wearing a bra, so I held my arms under my breasts. Then, when John began to jump, I noticed he was holding his arms in exactly the same way. He was, after all, trying to get the jumping right . . . And, David, well, David loved sitting on the trampoline while his brother jumped next to him. Scary to watch and not at all what we had intended.