The kids had all of this last week off from school which was a nice break. Joseph lost yet another tooth (the Tooth Fairy is feeling a bit ragged at this point, haha), we went on walks, and we just relaxed around the house. Thanksgiving was nice because we invited a friend of Paul’s to come (he doesn’t have family close by). Abigail was so excited and asked him so many questions and showed him all of her favorite things. He was very patient with her, which was greatly appreciated. The day after Thanksgiving we put up all of our Christmas decorations. This morning, Abigail woke me up, forlorn, because Santa had not come to fill her stocking. Poor kid! We had a couple of discussions about putting up decorations early so that we could enjoy them, but it wasn’t really sinking in. I just finished making her a countdown chain, so hopefully that visual will help. 😀
Play wrestling. 🙂All ready for church. I love bright colors so much!One of my favorite cozy outfits. I love that it’s cooling down enough to wear them!Taking a break while walking around the neighborhood.This is my new hand pie maker.You can make a full hand pie by putting down a circle of dough down on the white part, using the scoop to put in some filling, putting another circle of dough on top, and then putting the gray part on top of that. When you press it all together, the edges get sealed together. The white part can also be used to cut out the perfect sized circle. If you want a half-moon shape, you put a circle of dough down on the gray part, use the scoop for filling, and then you flip it shut (it hinges) and push to seal. It’s awesome!I made blueberry hand pies. I used store-bought pie filling, but made the crust. Once they were put together, I cut a slits for them to vent and then baked them in the oven.Once they were cooled, I made up a glaze to drizzle across the tops of them. Yum!I also used my hand pie maker to make Abigail a crust-less cheese sandwich. 😀She kept asking me for underdogs…I love her giggle-shriek when she swings back after I let go. 🙂I made pecan pie from scratch for Thanksgiving dessert. I used my food processor to make the crust dough and it turned out so good!All cooled and ready to chill in the fridge.The Tooth Fairy got a little creative because she knew Joseph would get a kick out of a pirate tooth.Our Thanksgiving feast! Paul smoked the turkey and it turned out soooooo good. I made the rolls ad sides (except the cranberry sauce…we got that out of a can, haha.I made fresh whipped cream to go on top of the pie. I’m kind of proud about the fact that I made everything in that bowl, haha.Decorating her tree.Decorating his tree. It’s in his room to keep it safe from sister. 😉Some fun new decorations (the trees, angels, and little truck). I love the black and white gingham!I also got this little plaster tree and these cute little birds.My piano set-up. Some wall decorations. I love my palm frond reindeer!Some other wall decorations. I love my grinch sign!Oh! One last new decoration this year: this light-up lantern.It has a cute winter landscape inside.I love having our tree in the middle of the room. 🙂One of my favorite quotes from The Grinch…The outside lights.Abigail was really excited to see it all lit up. I love the bow on the garage door.Paul tried to get a close up of our toy soldiers (you can kind of see one of them in the previous pictures), but got a bouncy girl instead. 😉One of my favorite sights. 🙂One more shot of my new lantern. I really like it when all the overhead lights are off. It puts off such a warm, pretty light!She was excited to get the Santa hat out again.Our countdown chain. 🙂
