Happy December!

It's officially the Christmas month! Today is cold, WINDY and grey - could that possibly mean snow?!

We put up our Christmas tree last week. We had a bit of a tragedy. The kids and I unpacked the tree on Tuesday morning, set it up, and I spent the afternoon putting on lights and beads. We saved the ornaments so we could decorate with Daddy in the evening. Well, as we started hanging the ornaments, the tree started to tip over! Earlier, when I moved the tree back into the corner, a piece on the bottom of the stand (cheap plastic) got caught in a groove in the hardwood floor. I lifted it over the spot, but I guess not before the stand had already cracked in one spot. I didn't realize it at the time, but when we started decorating it, it was quite unstable. We tried a couple of things and continued until we had about 2/3 of the ornaments on the tree. We finally realized things were NOT going to work out. It was not one of our best family nights, to put it mildly! Joshua ended up going out to buy a new tree, while the kids and I were left at home to undecorate the tree. Joshua was not a happy camper at all, so I put the kids to bed, not knowing what to expect. He finally came home with a tree and was upset that the kids were in bed already. So....we got them back out of bed and they helped put the tree together! The next day, we started all over again and we finally met with success! I actually like the new tree better. It's a foot and a half taller, more realistic looking, and comes down lower to the floor. It took longer to fluff and decorate, but next year it won't seem so bad because it won't be my second tree! That bow on top is one of the bows we used in our wedding 9 years ago. The gold beads are from the wedding too! (Our anniversary is December 10th.)

Here are a few pictures of our Christmas tree decorating - take two! I thought the ones of Sara and Sky individually turned out so sweet.

A big Christmas hug before going off to bed! All that hard work finally paid off.

I hope you're enjoying your Christmas season this year. It's such a busy time. Here are a few things already on our calendar for the month of December.

Dec. 3rd - Visit in the morning from homeschool facilitator, Monica.

Dec. 5th - Red Riding Hood play at the Fringe Theatre (it has nothing to do with Christmas, but it was a good deal open to homeschoolers - now I wish I could give my tickets away!)

Dec. 6th - Chronicles of Narnia musical presentation at 7 p.m. after supper at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Dec. 7th - Winter piano recital, at 5:30 p.m., starring Sara and Sky!

Dec. 10th - Our 9th wedding anniversary. Dinner out has yet to be scheduled...

Dec. 14th - Kid's Christmas Party for all children of bank employees.

Dec 15th - Sleigh ride, tobogganing and bonfire at Pegasus Stables with homeschool group.

Dec. 19th - Big people Christmas party for employees of the bank. :-)

Dec. 20th - Evening performance of Handel's Messiah, by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. This will include children, grandparents, sister-in-law, and friend. We will be so cultured!

This doesn't include the weekly music lessons and ski racing that I mentioned in the previous post! Whew! If I go missing at any point during this month, you will know why!