Capes!

Tim has been dying for a cape for a while. I was planning to make him one for Christmas, but I ran out of time. I was able to sew him one on Saturday, Tim was thrilled. Then Emmi (with help from me!) made a cape for his toy turtle. Here are the two of them, they both look pretty happy, don't they?

Next on the list are capes for the rest of them, and perhaps a few more for stuffed animals too!

CHEEEESE!

Baking Bread

For Christmas I received a new Kitchen-Aid standing mixer! I received one as a shower gift eleven and a half years ago, and its motor is giving out. So my dear husband got me another one! I have to say, I use my mixer a lot, and I was delighted by the new one! After a couple of experiences baking bread, I confessed my frustration with the process to him. I just didn't understand it enough. He responded with getting me this:


This is an incredible book! It explains the process really well. After reading through at least 100 pages of how the steps in bread baking worked, I was ready to try again! Here are my bread baking apprentices:



The final product! A bull's-eye rye with light and dark rye swirls. It tasted good too!

Decorations are down

Well the Christmas decorations have made their way back into the basement. We were greatly helped this year by a very mild spell which made taking the outdoor decorations down very easy, though muddy. I also popped some tulip bulbs in the garden which I had forgotten to do in the fall!

Inside, we are still a little disorganized as some of the furniture is not put back, notably the drum set (I guess that's not furniture though!), but the house has a much sleeker and pared back feel. It's a good feeling! The routines are being re-established, and good intentions (organize the kitchen!) are beginning to be acted on. A Happy New Year.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope 2008 will be a year of blessing, getting to know God better and deepening your relationships with others.

We were happy to see Uncle Chris today - he's visiting home from England.


The children in particular were happy to see him - so much so that we had trouble seeing him for a while!


Uncle Chris didn't seem to mind!

Choirs!

As well as acting, we have been involved this fall with a new venture - a homeschool choir. I direct the Junior Choir which has my oldest three in it. We had two Christmas performances recently, the first not all the choir members were able to attend but those that did, did a great job!




Later, the full choir was able to perform. There are 25 members.

Dr. Luke's Book

Several of our family were involved in a church play recently - it was called Dr. Luke's Book and followed Luke as he decides to write his gospel and does early research. The play was written by me, the role of Luke was taken by David, his daughter Evie by our Emmi, and Tim and Ben appeared as shepherds!

We also had a real baby in our play - a six day old baby girl took the part of Baby Jesus. I think she stole the show!


Luke and Theophilus converse with Luke's daughters looking on: