Christmas time... Time for gingerbread houses...

The boys disappeared before it was finished, but of course the girls didn't mind. :) They ate leftover sugar and candy until they were bouncing off the walls.

Time for Christmas stories...

I love this book- have always liked books with animals as the characters.

And gifts start to show up under the tree...

Antoine made this 'card' for me and put it with the gifts...

Making snowflake cards for cousins...

And Christmas programs... Kalei's first one at school...

Victoria couldn't stop smiling and choking herself with her braids. :)

And Cameron was a father who went off to war and never returned.

This little guy  would turn around and stare at me almost every time he heard the camera. Then he would just grin and grin!

And of coarse, there's cookie baking, candy making, menu planning. For today though, I want to focus on Antoine's birthday. Need to bake and decorate a cake (cringe!) and wrap his birthday present. But oh joy, I don't have to make supper- we're going out for that! Then having cake and ice cream here. :)

Off to the races...

~ellen

i♥faces...

This weeks theme is 'Sweet Dreams'. This picture has been posted before, but not for the contest. It's my dad, a hardworking farmer, on a typical Sunday afternoon. :) Go to http://iheartfaces.blogspot.com/2009/12/week-48-sweet-dreams-photo-challenge.html for more sweet dreams photos!

~ellen

                                                              It was a beautiful snowy day yesterday. Quiet and windstill.

Transforming this place into a wonderland.

The kids wanted to go outside and build a snowman so I bundled them up. That can still be a lengthy process- their time outside usually lasts about as long as the bundling up. :) They finally got outside and then forgot about the snowman.

Why is it so fun to taste the snow? To catch it on your tongue? I don't know, but I must admit I still do it too.

Even the animals seemed to be having a good time. :)

Cameron missed out becuase he was at basketball practice. But I was right, it didn't last long and they were soon back inside asking for hot chocolate with snowman marshmallows.

The snow was also perfect for putting me in the mood for decorating the tree.

Here we are. :)

Hope you're enjoying the season!

~ellen

iheartfaces...... this week it's "we ♥tooshies" :)

I picked this one out because it's just always made me laugh! You can see his backbone, but his little belly is hanging out the side! Hop on over to iheartfaces to see more tooshie shots. :)

~ellen

Thankful for a husband/father who works hard and is a great provider for his family.

 Thankful for beautiful weather in November.

We took our chance, loaded up the bikes and went biking. The kids were delighted!

Antoine cried big tears when he realized his bike wasn't going to work with a broken training wheel. But all was well when he got to ride with Steve. :)

my boys :)

Saw some milkweed along the way. I love how the pods look when they pop open and the seeds go floating away.

I'm still trying to convince Kalei that her shoes are cool. For a buck, brand new, you know they're cool!

And I'll leave you with one more... ;)

~ellen