Finally Christmas...

Thought I should throw a few photos up on the blog before we take off for a Memphis New Year's. So here are some scenes from the many days of Christmas...
We started out with a quiet celebration and dinner in Deerfield.

Van waits patiently for dinner to be served.

Henry tries his first bite of Lefse.

Henry was very tired by the time we got to present opening, so he needed some assistance.

Liz listens for a telltale rattle.

Pete struggles with some Help Me Dress Elmo packaging.

The next day Mom and then Will, Sandy and Lucy arrived. Our house was starting to take on that warm, full holiday feeling.

There was much cookie making to be done, as well as preparations for Christmas day dinner.

Our luminaria greatly improved the look of our sad Christmas lights display and they stayed lit until well into the night, still burning when I went to bed at 12:45.

Pete and Henry and I dressed up and snuck out to a Christmas Eve party for a bit, but we didn't make it to church.

Henry had a new plate and cup from Grammie to leave cookies and milk for Santa. Henry promptly dropped the cup on it's edge right onto the table. So we used Pete's traditional Sylvester glass to leave the milk. We also left some cheese for Santa Mouse, of course.

Henry did come out to check on the plate of cookies first thing when he woke up on Christmas morning. He wanted to finish off the cookies that Santa didn't get to.

The tree was resplendent, surrounded by piles of gifts.


Will used some caramel he had brought to make us all caramel pecan rolls.


Henry brought his stocking in from the family room.


The dogs enjoyed some extra large dog biscuits.

Henry stayed mildly interested in discovering the treats from his stocking. Later on the gift opening all became too much. He had to take frequent trips to the family room to play quietly with his train.

My battery is low, so I'll wrap it up for today. These final shots are of Christmas day. Rob and Carrie arrived with Oscar in tow. I was pleased to have a yard to shoo the dogs out to. Mary, Liz and Peter arrived as well, with no dog. Some drank wine and chit-chatted while others finished up dinner.

The dinner was only half an hour past schedule. The roast was maybe a little rare for some, but Will and I thought it was perfect. Other food served: mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, zucchini, salad, spinach-Gruyere casserole...cranberry upside down cake for dessert.... I think that's it.