So, Monday was my birthday. And, well, I'm not 30 anymore...
For the last three years it has been our tradition to go and pick out our Christmas tree the weekend before my birthday so that's what we did Saturday. Usually we would come home and decorate it as well but this year we opted to go over to Becky and Charlie's to help out with the work that is required after
deer hunting. 'Tis rather interesting having a brother-in-law who hunts. This year he was especially successful and that means we have our own stash of venison in the freezer. I never thought I'd say this but I am going to make venison stew this year... Never thought I'd actually eat the stuff but it is rather enjoyable and really, really good for you.
So, anyway, that left the decorating of the tree til Sunday, which was also the day we celebrated my birthday with the extended family. It was also the first Sunday of the Advent so we celebrated that as well. It is the beginning of the Christmas season and every year it becomes more rich as we seek to dig into the true meaning of the Holyday and share that with the kids. Celebrating the Advent has really helped us to do that.
When we got home we pulled out the boxes of decorations (amazing how much you can collect over the years) and got busy decorating. It was a fun time and the kids had a good time helping to make it pretty. Here are some pictures:
Then yesterday I let the kids make their own ornaments that they can give as gifts. We made them out of salt/flour dough (4 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt, and 1/2 cup of water) and used Christmas cookie cutters to make the shapes and then microwaved them. Then they got to decorate them. They had a lot of fun doing that...and so did I.
(Lily and Ariel's dresses were made by their Grammy. Aren't they gorgeous?)
