Christmas

Well (it's a deep subject), we had a good Christmas Day.  We went to church in T-town and then came home and opened our presents from each other.  Little miss surrounded by gifts... don't worry, they're not all for her.  *grin*

She got Christmas books, doesn't she look thrilled?

And then we headed to the farm.  Mom made cornish hens and all manner of good things to eat.  Jakey made us Apple Scrumptious for dessert.  I did not get to enjoy the food... Cecily was fussy so it got inhaled and then I got to take care of her.  She cheered up in time for presents. 

So... my parents did not make good lists this year.  They ended up with some interesting things... hehe.  One of the funnier moments of the night was when Dad opened the box with air holes.  Mom was extremely nervous... "is it a gerbil? or a cat? or a houseplant?"  O man.  And Dad was totally playing it up... this picture makes me laugh a lot.  Anyways... there was a toy puppy inside and they're getting a puppy when it's old enough.  *Grin*  This is what happens when you don't make lists. 

Cecily got a sled!  It's so cute!  Now we just need snow...

So I forgot to replenish the supply of diapers in the diaper bag after church... oops... and we used all of them and she made a mess on Bob.  Thankfully Grandma got her two more cloth diapers for Christmas and saved the day.  The pink one even matched her dress.  Very fortuitous.   

She had pretty much had it with Christmas by the time we got home... she cried for quite awhile until she fell asleep and then she was out for the rest of the night.  I woke her up in the morning and then she went back to sleep for a few more hours.  Hooray! 

Monday afternoon Bob had some guys over to play games.  Little miss and I did laundry and chilled where it was quiet.  Anytime they got loud her little lip would come out... so funny.  Jakey stayed for supper; I was lazy and ordered pizza.  

And now we've got a few days break before our last two Christmases.  Woot woot. Shelly left for India and I am so incredibly jealous.  Someday.  Although, they don't get to see the Taj Mahal so that makes it a little bit less enviable. 

Blessings. 



The Night Before Christmas

’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

(We hope... so far so good, only spiders...)

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

(She might be in bed, but there's no guarantee she'll stay sleeping for long...)

I don't own a kerchief and I'm pretty sure Bob doesn't have a cap.  hehe.  Last night we had Schlipf Christmas in Gridley and tonight we went to the Koch Christmas... good times.  Three down, three to go. 

Merry Christmas to All, and to All A Good Night!

Field trip

Yesterday Cecily and I invited ourselves to the farm for lunch and then we went to visit Aunt Freida at the home.  She's on hospice because, well, she's 95 and there's not really anything more they can do for her.  I hear people practically have her dead and buried already, but, to quote Monty Python, she's 'not dead yet.'  'I think I'll go for a walk...' 

Anyway. They were happy to meet Cecily and she got fussed over by everyone there.  She wouldn't move her hand away from her face though... 

I wish I would have tried harder to make the time to learn how to make her famous buns. 

Blessings.

Merry Birthday

So I'm 27 now.  I feel so old.  *grin*  I did something to me knee the other day and I'm starting to sound old with all my aches and pains... anyway.  I had a pretty good birthday.  Really low key.  We relaxed at home all day and met my family for supper at Firehouse pizza in W-ton.  Then we stopped at the farm for cake and presents.  I've decided that I like chocolate angel food cake better than regular, it was yummy. 

Bob wrapped my birthday present in Christmas wrapping paper.  I forgave him.

Mom and Dad got me a shirt with a Louisa May Alcott quote on it: "She is too fond of books, and it has addled her brain."  I haven't quite decided if I need to forgive them too.  hehe. 

Cecily enjoyed my birthday flowers...


Christmas started on Sunday with the Beutel Christmas.  Only five more to go.  woot woot.

One day!

Until my birthday!  Yippee! 

I made my birthday cake yesterday... chocolate angel food cake.  Angel food cake because I had 10 egg whites left over from making Lukovitch bread.  Chocolate because it was right under classic angel food cake in the Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook and I like chocolate.

Bob sent me roses today.  They're so pretty. 

And then on a whim and because the mess in the extra bedroom closet is starting to get to me... I tried on a bunch of my 'regular' skirts that were still a little bit snug a month ago.  Most of them fit again!  And are back in our closet!  Happy Birthday to Me!  *grin* 

I love birthdays.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

I've decided that since it's raining and dreary today I'm going to curl up and be lazy.  And maybe work on my quilt squares or wrapping presents or other cozy things.  *grin* 

Last night Cecily and I braved the drizzle to do something Christmasy- the W-ton Christmas Tour of Homes.  We met my mom and dad (I get my love of houses honestly, hehe) and went through three of the five houses on the tour. 

The first house was about a year old and was nice but not fabulous... it had a very large master bathroom with a big walk in shower with two shower heads.  Really pretty, but it felt like a locker room.  *grin* 

Then we went through one of the big old Victorians on Main.  It was originally built by the Denhart's in 1884. (They were bankers... now there's a Bakery with their name...)  It was a funeral home from the 30's until the current owners bought it.  It. Was. Gorgeous.  The ceilings were so high, and there was beautiful wood and wallpaper everywhere.  The paper on the ceiling was super cool, at least two or three different patterns on each.  Two of the closets still have original wall paper- they were so rich they even papered the closet ceilings! So cool, although the lady that owns it said when they moved in they had to take out a lift that had been used to move caskets and bodies in it's funeral home days.  Um. Weird.  hehe.

Our last stop was just down the street at a cool little Bungalow.  It was in the paper a few weeks ago and I was super excited to see inside.  Way more my style house.  So much more functional, but still architecturally cool.  It had awesome built-ins all over. The coolest was the whole wall of built-in bookcase with leaded glass doors.  *sigh*  The kitchen even had the original dining nook.  And to top it all off, there was a beautiful sun porch.  Sometimes it's hard not to covet... haha.   

The two houses we didn't go through were big, new, look-at-my-garage houses which I'm sure were cool, but it was getting late.  Cecily was quite popular on the tours... we told them we were teaching her to love old houses early.  Good times.

And then I went home looked up Stickley chairs.  Because after seeing them on the tour I think they're exactly what would work in front of our fireplace. 

Blessings.

O Come, O Come

I love Christmas time.  I love decorating the house... and the smell of baking springerli...packages in the mail... and Christmas shopping.  *grin*  Although, since I do more than half of it online, I don't know if it really counts as "shopping."  More like I love finding/getting cool things to give to all the people on our list. 

Anyway, it's been quiet around here.  We didn't go Christmas caroling anywhere this year.  Sad news... next year.  Matt came over on Friday night to avoid a girl party at the farm.  He's lucky he didn't come Thursday... Thursday was curry night... hehe.  Saturday I ran off to Walmart and the Quilt store for a little bit while Bob watched little miss and we chilled for the rest of the day. 

Sunday evening we went to the Christmas program at church.  Grace was in it this year, and I'm starting to know who some of the kids are which makes it more fun! 

Cecily and I went to the mall today to buy Christmas presents.  We're down to two gift cards to get yet,  woot woot,  and waiting for a few things to be delivered.  Poor UPS and Fedex trucks that have to turn around on our tight street full of vehicles... at least the boat is in storage now!  Hehe.

Randomly, I decided that I don't like any of my Christmas CD's so I haven't been listening to any of them.   What I want to listen to and sing along with is plain old Christmas Hymns.  The old ones.  Like 'O Come, O Come Emanuel' and  'Lo How a Rose.'  (Katie, why didn't we ever make that CD we talked about?! I'm sure it would be exactly what I want to listen to right now!)

Blessings.

Abby and Tyler

Well, we survived the weekend.  Little miss traveled like a champ! 

She may have been worn out from this:

Saturday morning we went to Jamie's and tried to get a picture of all the Koch great-grands. Then we high tailed it to Leo.   She slept the entire way... woke up just as we pulled into the hotel and demanded food.  And then she made a terrible mess all over me... *sigh*  it's a good thing I packed lots of extra clothes.

We met Will and Joanna and boys for supper at Cracker Barrel.  It was great fun and so good to see them again!  Probably the highlight of my weekend, since I was the least stressed.  New things are just hard, and trying to figure out how to deal with a baby at a different church and a reception is not my idea of fun. 

The rest of the evening we chilled at the hotel... and spent a little bit of time with the rest of the family.  Little miss Cecily is still a night owl, it's usually at least 10:30- 11ish before she decides she's sleepy, so with losing an hour on Indiana time we were up until midnight.   This picture cracks me up; wide awake and chilling watching a western with Bob...



Sunday we were late to church... but hey, I've never been on time to Leo, so why start now?  haha.  I tried to get a picture for Christmas cards that morning... she was happy, but she moves her arms so much it's hard to catch a smile.  O well.  

The wedding was lovely... I got teary when she walked in.  And then I spent the rest of the service paranoid that Cecily would get fussy and I'd have to take her out.  Anyway.  They got married and we headed for the reception, which was at the Alan County Courthouse.  The historic Alan County Courthouse. Which is still in use so we had to go through security to get in.   It. Was. Gorgeous.  The food was fabulous.  I took all of three pictures, not sure what I was thinking.

Kendra, Shelly, Lys

 

Lys did not know I was taking her picture.  hehe.

The only picture of Abby and I is blurry.  Sad news.  But she was a beautiful bride and her dress was super cool.

I stole some pictures from somebody else who was there:

 So yeah, it was quite the doings.  *grin*  We left from the reception after hauling our luggage in through the metal detector and scanner to change clothes... so weird.  We had a pretty good trip home- Cecily cried a little bit until we could stop to feed her and me.  (Convenient.)  She was really happy to get out of her car seat when we got home though, so funny. 

This week we've been laying low... I've been baking cookies and not doing a whole lot else.  We listened to services with Grandpa and Grandma Beutel tonight because Cecily got her shots today and I was afraid she'd be super fussy.  But she wasn't.  O well, it's good to spend time with them and we delivered some Springerli. 

Blessings.

O Cannon ball

Guess who's excited for Christmas?  *grin* 

So my plans to have a cool mantle by Christmas hit an unexpected snag... so for now I put up a sort of mantle-like shelf that was on clearance at Menards.  It was super cheap for a reason... the edges are dinged up bad and it was missing hardware... but, the greens hide the bad spots, it's temporary, and did I mention it was cheap?  Hooray for having someplace to decorate and hang Cecily's stocking! 

Yesterday my Mom and I went Christmas tree shopping.  It's always good to have a second pair of eyes to point out bad spots and crooked trunks.  hehe.  I think we did good.  Ours didn't get drilled perfectly straight, but it's not too obvious... and it's an otherwise gorgeous tree.  It makes me smile.  I realized this year that most of my ornaments are gold, silver, or white... and white lights... it might need a little more color. 

I've been having lots of fun decorating our new house. 

Oh, and I took Cecily to the Doc today for her two month checkup... she weighs 13.3 pounds... which is the 96th percentile or something like that.  Bob started calling her Chubby Hugs... hehe, poor girl.  And I panzed on getting her shots until next week.  I have no desire to deal with an extra fussy baby all the way to Leo and back.
Blessings.