Brrrrr It is Cold

This is how I found Fred, when he was supposed to be getting his clean clothes on and coming to eat breakfast. He managed to come downstairs, but, that is as far as he got. And this is how I found George playing Legos.

Carp Party Pictures

Pictures from the Carpatho Rusyn Pot Luck Dinner (AKA "The Carp. Party"), which was at the beginning of January:

Partners in crime: Dorothy, Fred, Thomas



(Dorothy), George, Margie, Peter


























Dorothy, Gabriel, Luke, Andrew, Isaiah



Margie and Grandpa

























Michael and Jim














Thomas


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Christmas Photos

Christmas was wonderful. I got a lot of good photos, and am limiting what I am posting to 2. (Though, I am tempted to upload a bunch of the cousin photos, because they are really cute, too.) Here are Our Five at church, Christmas morning (George forgot his glasses, in all the excitement):












This is Thomas, caught in the act. I don't know how many times we had to say, "Don't touch the tree!" And, it wasn't only directed at Thomas, either.

Christmas Play

Yesterday, we had our church Christmas Play and pizza party. My kids pulled off the play pretty well, each with memorized speaking parts, and lots of acting. (What a bunch of hams!) It was a simple play, The Birth of Jesus. The only mishap was Mary falling off the donkey at one point.... All in all, I think people enjoyed watching the kids do their play. A lot of the lines the children developed, themselves, which I think it made it easier for them to remember. Peter was Joseph, a shepherd, and a magi. George was all three Innkeepers. He would pop out of the window, with a different hat on. "No room here. Try next door." He and Fred were also shepherds and magi. Margie was Mary and the angel.


Mary and Joseph, traveling:

























Innkeeper #3, "You can stay in the stable. The animals are friendly."

























The shepherds, afraid of the angel.





















Fred said his lines, this year. (Unlike last year, when he just laid down on the stage...)

All She Wants For Christmas Is Her

TWO FRONT TEETH!

We Cannot Forget Peter

Peter celebrated his 10th birthday, before Thanksgiving. He wanted a simple, Crusader Shield Cake. Except for having to go to school :) he had a nice day. Lots of people wished him a happy birthday, through visiting, cards, presents, and/or phone calls. His younger siblings went all out, making him cards, and he was so appreciative to them. As parents, Jim and I were very impressed with how Peter handled that. He spent time looking at what they each made, and making nice comments to them, personally.

This year, we stayed at home for a quiet Thanksgiving. Margie surprised us all, after dinner. In school, she prepared a series of drawings and puppets, depicting the story of the first Thanksgiving. She recited little poems for each one, and did a fantastic job.

This is from Peter's birthday:

Halloween Night

Here are some pictures from Halloween night. Our kids were so loud, yelling, "Trick or Treat"! I always think that is much better than ringing the bell or knocking on the door. Thomas got right into the spirit. He "had" to hold his own bag. He "had" to open his bag for the candy, himself. And he was yelling his own version of "Trick or Treat". It was very cute. We thought he would tire out, but, he went the entire neighborhood with the others. (Good for him.) As always, we drove them over to Uncle George's after trick-or-treating. Uncle George loaded them up with tons of candy, and gave them all glasses of pop.