Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas morning - Dan, Nicole, Jackson and Parker joined us. We opened presents then had brunch. It was great.

Parker would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Doesn't she look cute in her new Christmas outfit from the O'Leary's?

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

Temps this morning of -12 (yes, MINUS 12) and howling winds. This is why we live in Minnesota - the challenge of surviving winter. Dave and his damn seasons. Bah, humbug! I should be living next door to Tim, Diane and the girls.

We flipped a coin to see who would shovel. I used the same two-headed coin I use every year. It's been 28 years and Dave has yet to complain.

The girls (chickens) don't seem to mind the cold. They laid 13 beautiful brown eggs today. Since it was Sunday and I was home, I collected them a couple times during the day. On the weekdays we don't collect until we get home from work and if it's cold they can freeze. You can tell a frozen egg because it usually has a lengthwise crack. I look closely when I first bring them inside. As they thaw, the crack closes up and you can't tell. Freezing doesn't really hurt anything, but you don't want to keep a cracked egg very long because germs, etc. It might appear cloudy when you crack it too.

Can't you just hear the piano music?

We got our tree late last week from a no kill tree shelter in Faribault. We finally got around to decorating it last night. We probably have more ornaments than ever before, but they just can't fill up all the space between branches. We think it's beautiful, especially with the room lights down low and the tree all lit up.

The week before Christmas and all through the house....

Little Miss P was sleeping and I thought she needed to borrow my glasses. We laughed, she slept through it.

We are dashing around to get things done. We picked up our tree on Sunday and it is a sad little tree. It is a Charlie Brown tree, sparse and thin. We are glad to give it a home! I will post a before (decorating) and after later. Next year we won't wait so long. Or maybe we will. We are excellent procrastinators.

Dave is fighting a nasty bout with the flu - I got to witness the projectile green vomiting. He got a flu shot, I didn't. Poor guy. Hopefully it will be short-lived.

You won't believe it!

It looks like I'm going to give it another go.......I've got lots of pictures, lots to say, and lots of time. Well, ok, pick 2 out of those 3! Anyway, watch this space for updates.

Here is a picture of the most adorable little girl in the whole wide world. Parker Rose. The picture was taken on Thanksgiving day after a large meal of milk.