Merry Christmas!

The snow was beautiful. Everyone safely arrived. Here are some pictures from the day.

Where is Paul??? Behind the camera!

The 4th Sunday in Advent

A living nativity was staged at our church this past weekend. Larry was the angel Gabriel on both Friday and Saturday.
On Sunday night, the live nativity was held from 5-6:30. Then there were treats inside before the music concert. Marlys played hand bells, the choir sang with a brass quintet and the praise band accompanied some of the music too. It was a night of beautiful music ending with the Hallelujah Chorus!

We send Christmas greetings to all who read this blog. May you know the Christ of Christmas as your Savior and Lord.

Baking Cookies

Well, I managed to bake cookies with each of my grand children this year. The picture shows Genevieve with her finished gingersnaps. She was a big help rolling the balls of dough in the sugar. Mom took Vivienne out for the afternoon. Pat's family baked roll out ginger cookies and oatmeal drop cookies. Paul's family made spritz. I like the interaction with the kids. Hope there are still a few left to eat on Christmas.

Winter

Winter has arrived in Minnesota. It seemed like as soon as December arrived, so did the cold weather and snow. We love the snow but the really cold weather is like January. But as Minnesotans we take it in stride and enjoy the beauty that God has given us.

It has been so fun to decorate for Jesus' Birthday. Some of the baking is done but I haven't started my Christmas letter. Hopefully, that will be finished soon.
In the meantime, we wish you the joy of knowing Jesus as your Savior so that Christmas has a special place in your heart.

Sunday School Christmas Program

Last weekend was the Sunday School Christmas program at our church. The children did a wonderful job of presenting the message that it isn't just a great time of year, but it is the birthday of the King - Jesus! They sang with enthusiasm and endured three hours of wearing sometimes uncomfortable costumes. We had a great showing of kids. I didn't take a class photo until after the last service, so I missed many of my students, but here is a sampling of the group.

Thanksgiving 2009

This was a sickly Thanksgiving for our family. Those of us who gathered were the healthy ones. But half the group was sick. We had planned to gather at Paul's house but their whole family was sick including mom and dad. So at the last minute we moved the party to Grandpa and Grandma Wilson's. Grandma had already cooked a turkey to bring to Paul's as a second. So that was done. Everybody was bringing something so we just exchanged sweet potatoes for mashed potatoes and the menu was set. Grandma, Genevieve and Vivienne provided the female component and the rest were 'men.' Both other daughter-in-laws stayed home under the weather too. There was plenty of food and plenty of wrestling too. Pete taught two new games which caught on. The computers got looked at and were working better when they left. We were all thankful that our health was good. We are looking forward to gathering at Christmas and hope that everyone will be able to be here.

Vivienne was a big hit with Pat's boys. Genevieve had the older boys' attention for the day. Pat got in a nap and so did JP. JP can sleep in the middle of the action because he just turns off his cochlear implant and falls asleep. Grandma got to hold the baby quite a bit, so she was happy too. Pete did a great job with his girls.

This picture of Vivienne was taken about a week later when she was eight weeks old.