More tree trimming

I almost completed the tree today. I say "almost" because the branches haven't completely fallen yet, so I will be doing rearranging after they do. I bought a couple of new ornaments this year that I really love. The first one has Santa Claus kneeling at baby Jesus's side. A scripture is quoted at the bottom.

Phillipians 2:10

"That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow".

Maybe some would think this is sacreligious, having Santa Claus, the object of commericalism at Christmas time, on an ornament with baby Jesus. I think it is heartwarming. The ornament makes me happy just to look at it.

The second ornament I bought for our tree was a lion with a lamb in its arms with "Peace on Earth" across the bottom. This ornament is a reminder of the time of peace when Jesus will reign as King over the earth.

"The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, The lion shall eat straw like the ox, And dust shall be the serpent’s food. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,” Says the LORD. (Isaiah 65:25)

Morgan likes the tree so much that she wanted to sit next to it to play. I love having a real tree for her to enjoy!

Trimming the tree

I don't know why, but I have always decorated our trees by myself. I don't know if Jim just isn't into it, or if he stays away beause he knows I am a perfectionist and will want it a certain way. I any case, I do prefer to decorate the tree myself. From the time it's finished to the time itis taken down, I am always moving things around. With the real trees, the branches settle down and I have to move ornaments because they aren't positioned right anymore.

It was late, but I couldn't wait to get started on the tree. So, just after midnight, I put the star on the top and started stringing the lights.

Morgan liked the lights, so did I. Yes, it was after midnight and she was still up.

Tree hunting and boat parade

Jim and I decided to go Christmas tree shopping today. I usually wait a little later in the month to get a real tree, but then I found out that all of the trees in the lot are cut at the same time. Jim ended up working overtime the night before and was going back in that evening to work, so Morgan and I went without him. I asked Susanne if she could drive us over in her truck since she already had a car seat in her's and I would have had to move mine. Luckily, the tree lot is only five blocks away, so it was very convenient since she was already in the neighborhood.

When we arrived, Morgan was in awe of all of the trees we had to choose from. She had fun going around the lot, looking at all of them.

I usually know the tree I want when I first see it, and I did. But, I still went around the entire lot four times looking at all of them. When I kept going back to the same tree, I knew that was the one.

The tree is paid for and the guys are getting ready to load it onto Susanne's truck.

Now for the short trip home.

Two hours after we got home, I heard fireworks in the distance. I realized what was going on, the annual "Parade of Lights". It is a parade of boats on the river all decked out in Christmas lights. I had thought that the parade was going to be next Saturday! So, I hurried and got Morgan ready and rushed out to the river. We could hear the fireworks all the way there. Unfortunately, we arrived immediately after they ended. Oh well, it wasn't a total loss, the boats hadn't arrived yet.

I parked at the yacht club and we got out to walk to the boardwalk. It started to sprinkle, but it wasn't enough to warrant an umbrella.

You can't tell it in the picture below, but Morgan was excited because there were a lot of small children out there. She didn't quite know what we were there to see, but once she saw the boats, she really liked them. In fact, she wanted to ride them.

Here are just a few of the boats to give you an idea of the parade.

Some of the boats had Christmas music playing and the last one had Santa Claus. It was a small parade, but it was a nice treat. It was a shame that her Daddy couldn't come with us.

Thanksgiving 2008

I lucked out this year and was off the day before Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving day. Jim wasn't so lucky, he had to work. Since I was off on Wednesday, I was able to prep and get a lot of things done the day before, like the pecan pies.

But, since Jim was working, I had to load everything to take to Sandy's house on my own. Sandy and I always do Thanksgiving at her house since it is much larger than our house.

I made the turkey, gravy, stuffing, royal yams, green beans slow cooked with bacon, roasted vegetables, and pecan pies.

I usually make more side dishes, but Sandy and her daughter, Paula, made more than enough. Sandy made a ham, so we had plenty of meat.

As usual, I couldn't get Morgan to eat anything, not even mashed potatoes. She had a great time though. For the first time, she didn't cling to me at Thanksgiving and I was able to eat my food.

Morgan kept busy playing with the dog and cats and stealing the cat toys. Here she is showing me a toy mouse, or "cat rat" as Sandy's husband called it.

Here she is running away with the cat's toys.

She enjoyed hanging out with Sandy's grandkids. Here she is with Madison.

She finally wore down.

As for the rest of us, we enjoyed our feast! All of the food was great, (as usual)! Jim didn't miss out though. I packed several containers of food for him and took it to him at work.