Day 22

Day 22 - Tradition

We love doing the advent calendar with the kids, but it's hard to find stuff to fit in the little boxes, so we've started using post-its with little notes written on them.

Day 21

Day 21 - Peace

A picture of our Christmas Cards wishing us peace and happiness.  Yes, that one in the middle is from my push-up buddy George.  He sent me a Xmas card.  Thoughtful of him to remember me :)

Day 20

Day 20 - Tree Topper

Kurt had this when we met.  It's been on the tree ever since.  Micaela really likes it.  This was the first year that Jon got to place it on the tree, next year it will be back to Micaela who is almost tall enough to do it without being held up.

Day 19

Day 19 - Candy Cane

They are slowly disappearing off the tree, but there is at least one left!

Day 18

Day 18 - Stockings

Day 17

Day 17 - Presents

Of course I'm not going to show a picture of the presents, they aren't wrapped yet!  (see Day 10)

So instead I'll show you a present I got from one of the full professors in the department.  It's homemade wine that is very good (well, was very good, it's gone now).  The label says "Grape Expectations, Holiday Red, Dirtman Special Reserve".  Thank you COL Fleming!

Day 16

Day 16: Outside Christmas Lights

Okay, not the greatest display of Christmas lights ever, but we were going to put them up today and then it started raining, so one strand is what you get.  And a Santa flag on a candycane pole.

Day 15

Day 15: Favorite Holiday Song

The Christmas Song.  One of these days I'm going to try a chestnut for the full experience.

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire
Jack Frost nipping at your nose
Yuletide carols being sung by a choir
And folks dressed up like Eskimos
Everybody knows a turkey and some Mistletoe
Help to make the season bright
Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow 
Will find it hard to sleep tonight
They know that Santa's on his way
He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh
And every mother's child is gonna spy
To see if reindeer really know how to fly
And so I'm offering this simple phrase
To kids from 1 to 92
Although its been said
Many times, many ways
Merry Christmas to you...

Or for an extra special experience, click here for Justin Bieber singing the song: YouTube Link

Day 14

Day 14: Christmas Tree

It's quite the departure from last year when we actually went and cut down our own tree, but I am quite thankful for this fake tree that came with lights on it and still looks quite nice.

Day 13

Day 13 - Family

It's Sunday morning and we are sitting on the couch watching a Christmas movie (we've been promising this to Micaela for two weeks).  Don't ask what we picked, it was a bad choice for a family movie (re-do tonight).

Day 12

Day 12: A Beautiful Sight

Okay, so I probably should have put up pictures of the kids, family, Christmas stuff, the Hudson Valley, West Point or any number of the beautiful things around here.  But this is more of what's on my mind right now- last day of classes is tomorrow!  It's been a fun semester, but looking forward to Christmas Break!

Day 11

Day 11: Green

Well, I've already shown a picture of our fake tree (which I am a huge fan of), so I won't do another.  Instead I'll thank Mari because Kurt took advantage of her generosity to redecorate the house with some cool new posters that he's wanted for a while.  This first one is mostly green, right?

Day 10

 Day 10: Wrapping Paper

I have no picture for wrapping paper, because we don't wrap presents.  If we do, it's usually in a plastic grocery bag.  Or for a really special occasion, tin foil.  That's why we give all our Christmas gifts to the wonderful Grandmothers to help us with the wrapping.  Thank you!

Day 9

Day 9: Something I'm Reading

Yes, that's an undergrad Physical Geography textbook.  I'm writing homeworks, quizzes, and exams, so it gets referenced a lot.  Very exciting, I know.

Day 8

Day 8: Ornament

One of my favorite Christmas traditions - finding the pickle ornament.  You can read about it here.

Day 7

Day 7: Bright

Referring to the candle below the pictures we just hung up in our dining room.

Day 6

I couldn't decide which picture was more indicative of our shopping trip today, so you get both:

Day 6: Shopping (a few small gifts and two rugs for the house)

Day 5

Day 5: Today's Temperature 

Perfect for staying inside on the couch under a blanket while the kids run around (and we'll just pretend that I posted this yesterday since I'm already one day behind from the start)

Day 4

Day 4: Joyous

Okay, so maybe school photos aren't exactly joyous, but the kids look happy!  It is crazy that Jon is old enough to have a school photo.  Glad they have Doug and Mari's photogenic abilities and not mine or Kurt's.   

Day 3

Day 3: Something Red - Gluehwein

And yes, that's a half eaten waffle that I'm having for dinner (had cereal first). 

Day 2

Day 2: Favorite Holiday Movie

I've been so busy working on this Dirt Skit for school that we haven't had a chance to watch any Christmas movies yet - but this is on the list.

December

Ok, lets give this a shot.

1. My View Today - putting the Angel on top of the tree.