All That's Left

I'm going to finish up the tour of Christmas this evening.  However, it's been a rather eventful day and I want to remember those happenings.

To begin, Ellie has the crud.  Her nose is a leaky faucet of ick and she is at the point where she's not happy down, and she's not happy being held.  She just cried and cried for much of the day. :o(  I hate it when they get like that.  Finally, I just had to lay her down because I HAD to teach and I HAD to do some house work, and if she wasn't happy being held anyhow, what's the point?  There is nothing more frustrating than being unable to make your baby feel better. :oS

The Bit and I began learning all about Advent today.  I'm hoping she will remember that it is a time of waiting for Jesus to be born.  We have begun a number of activities to make the waiting a little more bearable and I'll post more on that tomorrow.  :o)

Dinner tonight was a variation on this recipe.  Since we didn't host Thanksgiving, we didn't have a carcass with which to make turkey soup.  Well, I didn't let that deter me.  This time of year I'm supposed to have a creamy, delicious soup, and by goodness, I was gonna have it!  So, we purchased a "woast" chicken from the grocery for dinner yesterday (to eat with the leftovers from "fauxgiving") and I made soup today.  Pretty resourceful of me. ;o)

Brien too has been feeling a little under the weather, and I'll be darned if he didn't eat three bowls of soup!  I'm a big believer in the healing power of chicken soup, and this evening was no exception.  B actually said he was feeling better eating the soup.

Oddly enough, Beanie seemed to feel better as well, after having eaten some.  Yes, she ate the soup.  More to the point, she chowed down on that soup.  I have yet to find a table food she doesn't enjoy--especially now as she has become accustomed to chewing and mashing up "chunks" of food--and it's getting harder and harder to get her to eat any baby food.  I still say I don't blame her a bit.  The soup was FAR better than the cereal and strained squash she had this evening. 

Too bad Lil didn't feel the same... It was like pulling teeth getting her to even try it, let alone eat it.  :sigh:  She too was once a fantastic eater.  What in the world happens between 9 months and 2 years to turn them into such finicky eaters?!?

This evening, Bitty, B and I enjoyed a couple go 'rounds of Mario Kart and then had a lovely story time and bedtime.  It's been a lovely lovely day. :o)


Okay, on to the rest of the decor. 

Hannah's tree, as seen from the front door, looking into the family room.  The playroom/schoolroom is off to the right and the dining room the left. 

Our Hokies tree in the dining room.

It's pretty easy to see I had a special helper who was only about 39" tall helping me, huh?  Look at the placement of the ornaments. :oP  I put a couple of them up high, knowing the baby gate doesn't always contain the Bean. 

Sure enough, I'll hear a jingle bell ornament jingling along and I'll rush to find her under the tree.  Only this one, though (oh goodness, I've just jinxed myself once more!)--she's still left the family room tree alone.

The tree skirt is a favorite of Waylen's, and with the front door open, we get a lovely afternoon sun (it is MUCH better in the fall/winter/early spring than summer...).  Waylen scopes out the choicest spot under the tree in the sun and he is set.  :o)  I'm convinced one of the main reasons he is still alive is because I'm home all day now.  I think if he were to be crated during the day, he'd have a pretty crummy life and wouldn't want to carry on.

I digressed again, didn't I?  :sigh:

Ah, my new garland in the daylight--complete with Fisbee. :o)

Once we got the garland up, I began thinking it needed something.  I found my tin of gold ornaments and voilà! I had worried they might not look good with the silver stocking holders, but they work beautifully. :o)

And, my sweet tree in the light of day.  For a "fake" tree, it's pretty nice.  I'm more and more in love with this tree every day--that's a good thing. ;o)  I know I'll return to a "real" tree in another couple of years, but for now, I'm rejoicing I have no dangling wires for Beanie to pull on and gnaw (right, Jessie?) and no needles for her to eat.  :o)

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Today's Sparklies:

1.  Goodness I LOVE this time of year!  My heart feels full to bursting with warmth, love and happiness.  :o)  I had no idea I would ever feel this again once we lost Hannah.  It's amazing the capacity a heart has for healing.  It's not whole, and it never WILL be whole again, but it's healing.  The scab on that wound is far far smaller and doesn't bleed nearly as profusely as it once did when it's ripped off.  The down yo's still come, but not with the frequency they once did. 

I can't help but wonder if removing a big trigger--stress--from my life, didn't help.
2.  School with Lil is going to be SO fun this month!  I'm going to do TONS of Advent and Christmas activities that I could NEVER do when teaching. :o)
3.  The chicken soup healing something in my honey and my Beanie.
4.  Only five more gifts to be purchased!  Woo hoo!!
5.  Family time.  Ahhhh. :o)
6.  Sticking to my reduced internet time plan.  I'm working on it.  It's easy to do when the girls are so wonderful to be with.

No milestones, just the reflection above.  :o)

Off to work on Christmas cards!!!  :o)