The Nativity Story

"And she brought forth her first born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn."

"And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the Glory of the Lord shone round about them."

" Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger."

"Then Herod (Prairie playing 2 parts)... called the wise men... and he sent them to Bethlehem and said, go and search diligently for the young child."

"And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh."

"And when they were departed behold the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, arise, and take the young child and his mother and flee to Egypt... he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt."

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

And a very, very Happy New Year!

The Nativity Cast

Christmas Eve was wonderful this year.  Braeburn, Golden Delicious and I went to children's mass and when we came out it was snowing!  (this happened the first year GD and I went and it was so miraculous that we wish for it each year.)  Mass is such a delightful ceremony to go to - I'm not sure what makes it so fun - but I personally love the smell of the incense as it swings down the aisle and when we have to say hello to our neighbors. 

I don't understand any of it though, and it's not even in latin!  Braeburn and Golden Delicious have the whole thing down and know what to say when appropriate.  I just smile.  Afterwards Golden said, "I always just skip the Nicene Creed part, don't you?"  And I said, "what?  They talk about the Nicene Creed?  When?"  Totally missed that.

Anyway, then we came home and made clam chowder.  Grandpa and Grandma came over and we had a lovely dinner and then our traditional nativity.  

Here is the cast:

The audience:  Grandma

The Angel:  Grandpa

The Narrator:  Mr. Bechtel

The First Wise Man:  Nova Spy

The Shepherd:  Prairie Spy

Joseph:  Granny Smith

Mary:  Golden Delicous

The Second Wise Man:  Braeburn

Stay calm.  The show will begin soon.

The Spy Twins Hit the Big D

The Spy Twins spent their 17th Birthday in Dallas.  Mr. Bechtel had to be down there working, and he didn't want to miss their birthdays, so he just decided to take them with him.

They had a good time.  (not good enough that they really want to move there, but a pretty good time.)

Nova Spy looked like a local with his Dallas Cowboys Hat.

They even went to Billy Bobs -  "The largest honky tonk in the world"  in Fort Worth.  It was pretty good, but they left before the Lee Brice concert even started because, as Mr. Bechtel said, "if you're not drinking, and you're not looking for love in all the wrong places, there's not much to do in a place like that."

I guess you can only play pool so long...

Christmas Party FHE

We used to have people over all the time.... "we used to go on vacation.... we used to have fun..... etc. etc."  But then somehow we became really boring and we haven't had friends over for about 100 years.  We decided to remedy that this year (despite Mr. Bechtel's faint protests) and invited Morrells, and Hemsleys, and Russells over for Family Home Evening.

While I read the Christmas story Katie Morrell took random photos of everyone:

Here we have Ryan and Ben

and Doug and Annette

and the engaged couple, Jessica and Westley along with Batman Tim.

Steve and Virginia in the background.  Look at those horrendously dirty windows!  No wonder no one has bought the house yet!

Shauna and Justin.  (Shauna's girls, Brittany and Crystal were around earlier for dinner, but then ran off with their ballroom boyfriends.)

And Braeburn with his cronies, Nick and Isaac.

It was a ball and everyone helped, and the food was yummy and it was super fun to see everyone.

The Pie Princess

Well, when Golden Delicious decides something, it is decided, and I am pleased to report she was wildly successful with the pie project.

After Laura's great tutorial, and then after we switched to coconut oil instead of butter or crisco, everything came together.

The boys at Crabapple Farm were more than happy to act as taste testers.

Aunt Laura to the Rescue!

Part way through the epic pie making session, Aunt Laura arrived.  Thank heavens.  Our crust was horrid.  I had even purchased Crisco to try and do things officially, since I usually use butter, but nothing was working.

Laura took one look at thing, washed her hands, and got to work.

Of course she made it look effortless and easy.  Elaina has a pro mentor!  It was so instructive to watch.  Golden Delicious and I felt like we were watching food network.

Meanwhile Uncle Bechtel entertained Gracie.

Playing the binky game!  Gracie liked Mr. Bechtel.  Me too.  Smart girl!

Everyone's Home!

Thanksgiving was great!  Everyone was home!  Braeburn had to update the kids on all the stupid, stupid old spice commercials.  They are hilarious in a very strange way, I guess.

Golden Delicious decided that, as a Wadsworth, it was her duty to become an epic pie maker.  She made LOTS of pies!

 Braeburn offered to draw me a design to go on the hearth for Christmas.  I love it.