Christmas 2008

"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Upon those who who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone" ~Isaiah 9:1
"For a child is born to us, a son is given us; upon his shoulder dominion rests. They name him Wonder Counselor, God-Hero, Father-Forever, Prince of Peace. His dominion is vast and forever peaceful." ~Isaiah 9:5-6.

Christmas with the Williams Family.

Santa brought Pepper a bone that she has spent the day moving from one hiding spot to another. Santa brought Nick a new Colts santa hat. And for me...a new book that I immediately got comfortable and began to read.

We wish you a Merry Christmas season. May the joy and peace of Christmas day be with you today and throughout the year.

Operation Cookie - 2008 Edition

Over a decade and a half ago .... I was searching for gift ideas for my dads, grandpas, and uncles. Boys are hard to buy for... but they do like food. Since I was (and am) the baker in the family, my mom had a great idea- why don't I make several kinds of baked goodies and make Christmas baskets for the guys in the family. What a great idea!! And that's what I did.... and that is what I still do. I tried to get out of it one year, but when I mentioned it to the recipients of the baskets, the response was not overly postive...so every Christmas, I put on my Christmas music...my snowman apron....dance, sing, and bake.

Nick offered to help this year- and I'm no dummy- I readily accepted! And help he did!! He made two different kinds of fudge and was in charge of wrapping the cookies in addition to his usual job of getting things off the top shelf for me. Pepper even helped by being in charge of floor clean-up in the event of a spill. She takes her job VERY seriously.

MMM...cookies. I think I will have a glass of eggnog (another Nick specialty) and do some quality control.

Now I just need someone to come do all the dishes....

Chocolate Cake for Breakfast

Today, my wonderful co-workers threw me an early birthday party- complete with a chocolate cake and tiara.

Since my birthday is during the Christmas break, I won't be here my actual birthday, so we celebrated early. And since we're adults... we had chocolate cake for breakfast. I love being an adult....but in case any of you question my decision due to chocolate cake not being a healthy choice for breakfast.... listen to what my favorite comedian, Bill Cosby, has to say.


Bill Cosby Chocolate cake
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Happy Anniversary, Nathan and Sarah!!!

Happy 1st Anniversary (and one day), Nathan and Sarah! May the next year be as perfect as the first!!

Christmas in Santa Claus- Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire

After the parade... I went home to warm up... and then this evening we headed back out to enjoy more Christmas festivities. This time we headed over to the Candy Castle for some hot cocoa and roasted chestnuts. That's right... real chestnuts...roasting on an open fire...just like the song.

The Candy Castle is owned by Kevin (the one roasting the Chestnuts). In addition to the chestnuts...he also has 25 flavors of hot chocolate (tonight I had raspberry -YUM) and about any candy cane flavor you could imagine. There is also chocolate....lots and lots of chocolate. The Candy Castle is my favorite place here in Santa Claus. And lucky for me... it's going to be right down the street from our house when it's finished!

MMM....Candy

Christmas in Santa Claus- Christmas Parade

With all the publicity this season about our little town of Santa Claus- I thought I would share some highlights of this year's Christmas Festival. For the record...there is no Rudolph Cafe here in Santa Claus like the Radio Shack commercial would have you believe. We do have a Silent Night Cafe with wonderful latte's.

We started the weekend off with the Christmas Parade. It was a little chilly...but Nick's little cousins were ready. They also made sure to let us (the adults) know when we'd missed picking up a piece of candy. Since Abe Lincoln spent much of his youth just a few miles from Santa Claus... he also joined the parade festivities. No parade is complete without a clown car...

Father Christmas... or the Pope??? Either way...beware of the kids throwing the candy!

In Santa Claus, the fire department has something no other fire department has- their fire trucks are named after Santa's reindeer....

And because it's Santa Claus... there were also elves in the Christmas Parade. He was right jolly old elf who seemed happy to pose for my picture!

You would think that Santa would arrive in a sleigh like this one....

But instead... he flew by in a mustang. Guess he was in a hurry to get back to his list of those who are naughty and nice....

Merry Christmas!!

2008 Christmas Tree

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,Your branches green delight us.O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,Your branches green delight us.They're green when summer days are bright;They're green when winter snow is white.O, Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree,Your branches green delight us!

The Christmas Tea

My dear friend, Nikki, invited me, Nancy, and Sarah to the annual Christmas Tea at her church. It is one of my favorite events of the Christmas season and this was the third year I have attended. Nikki has a table at the tea- actually this year she had two tables. All the tables are different (there are about 50+ tables and 500 women attend the tea) and the hostess at the table is the one who decorates the table and comes up with a theme for the year. Every year the tables are different. Nikki always has something feastive and creative.

Nikki- THANK YOU SO MUCH for inviting us to be part of your table at the Christmas Tea! There is no better way to get ready for the greatest gift of all than to be reminded of what is truely important in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season!

The Held ladies at the Christmas Tea.

BUSTED!

I know I'm not supposed to be up here...in your chair... laying on your Illini blanket... but it just looked so comfortable I couldn't help myself.