Christmas Eve

I have come to love the frenzied, task-driven days leading up to Christmas almost as much as the day itself.  There are concerts to attend, goodies to bake, gifts to purchase, parcels to mail, presents to wrap, cards to sign, stockings to stuff, schedules to manage... and the list goes on.  It's fun, but overwhelming to think about and exhausting to execute!

Which is why we really enjoy Christmas Eve.  This is the day that we generally set aside to deliver little gifts to our friends around the neighborhood.  This year it was homemade apple cake and caramel sauce.  The gifts are fun to make, but its the relaxed few minutes we spend with each of our neighbors that make these visits special.  It's a joy to really connect after snippets of passing conversation in the grocery store or at the post office over the past 12 months.

At the end of the day, we sit in front of the fire, talk about the day, and open up our Christmas Eve presents, which always consist of a new Christmas movie and book to enjoy.

We have hot cocoa with giant marshmallows, scarf down way too many sweets, and then tuck the kids in for the night.  I stuff the stockings, bask in the glow of the Christmas tree, and enjoy the luxury of a silent night.

We are so grateful for our blessings, the greatest of which is our Mighty God humbling Himself to come to earth as a baby.  He grew and loved his neighbors, ultimately giving the best gift of all - eternal life for those who believe in Him.

Merry Christmas Eve to all - and to all a good night!

Christmas Pageant

We just got home from the kids' Christmas program at school.  Annabel narrated, Thane was a solemn wise man, and they both did a fabulous job.  We are so grateful for the education and opportunities they are receiving at their new school!

 

It was the perfect way to usher in some Christmas spirit.

Birthday Tea

We celebrated Annabel's birthday with a tea party.  After all, a celebration full of tasty treats and a warm, soothing brew is a perfectly splendid way to mark such an auspicious event as turning eleven.

Annabel and some of her besties enjoyed three courses, and there was more than enough tea and mulled cider to go around. 

Annabel is a beautiful soul who adores animals (both small and large).

She loves to sing, read, knit and color.  We've had such a fun year together, and we look forward to many more.

Love you so much girlie girl!

Thane's Cooked Goose

A few weeks ago, Thane's teacher retold a conversation she had recently had with him.  It started when Thane informed her that "homework just isn't going to work for me."  When asked why, Thane responded that homework is "a waste of time."  "After all," he continued, "I need to be out hunting to put food on the table for my family."

Not one to make idle threats, Thane did just that last weekend when he caught his first goose.  We'll be making goose chili tomorrow for dinner. 

Well played, Thane.  Well played.

Sisters, Sisters!

We just had an amazing visit with my sister, who flew in from Arizona for a few days.  Let's just brush over the fact that she actually wanted to visit Maine when it's cold and snowy.  What can I say?  Clearly too much sun isn't good for the brain...

Despite her peculiar climate preferences, to say that we had a blast would be a definite understatement.  She took the kids to Helen's for pie, helped with homework, read them stories, decorated cookies and watched Christmas movies.  In fact, Annabel and Thane had such a good time that I'm fairly certain they are plotting Jordan and I's demise so that they can move in with Jon and Kim.

She was a huge help to me as well, laboring to make 17 dozen cookies and a couple batches of bread.  Not to mention her willingness to share sage advice on everything from decorating to parenting and health matters to cooking.  It was really, REALLY great to have her here.

After a much too short 2-day stay, we slowly made our way down the coastal route to southern Maine.  We visited with some of her in-laws, and shopped for antiques and Christmas gifts.  We ended in Freeport with Uncle Carl, Aunt Judy and Cousin Liz.  Suffice it to say that hilarity and slightly inappropriate behavior ensued.

Thank you for visiting from the very bottom of our hearts!

Celebrating Family and Friends

This week we spent a wonderful two days celebrating Thanksgiving.  On the first day we had a crowd - my Aunt, Uncle and cousin, our dear Pastor and his family and an old friend Dan.  

This was the first year that Annabel has taken an interest in helping to prepare for the big day, and she made this crazy yummy pumpkin-shaped cheese ball for an appetizer.

It was Matt's birthday, and we enjoyed cheesecake on his behalf (rough, I know - but we were willing to take one for the team!)

The kids entertained us with songs, and then they made special turkey cookies.

On Friday, we had the York's over for seconds.  We have made such amazing friends here, and our collective children are especially close.

 

We are so grateful for the blessings of family and friends.

The Rise and Fall of Halloween

The kids were Marc Antony and Cleopatra for Halloween.  It was a bittersweet day.  After some discussion, the kids decided that they were getting a bit old to participate in Halloween.  We'll be on our road trip next year, and the kids thought that they would have more fun giving out candy once we are settled in our new home in 2020.  They ended on a high note though, with a record haul (4 whole full sized candy bars - each!)  

It doesn't seem like that long ago when Annabel & Thane celebrated their first Halloweens:

It seems that times flies faster than a witch on a sports broom!  Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Picking

It's that time of year when even the most pickiest of children can be persuaded to venture outside in search of the perfect orange vegetable: the pumpkin.  Our two are no different, and we took Annabel & Thane to Treworgy Farm last weekend to select the perfect specimen for their Jack-o-lanterns.  Their standards are not particularly high.  Simply stated, their motto is: "The bigger, the better."

We also bought some freshly picked apples and spent a few minutes admiring the horses on this wonderful farm.

The Colors of Fall

It's autumn in New England - the very best time of the year as far as I am concerned.  And Mother Nature has pulled out all of the stops.  It's been a breathtaking year.

 

Keeping Busy

I tried to keep the kids busy while Jordan was out west hunting.  We went to southern Maine, scheduled play dates, shopped in Bangor, attended festivals & fairs and celebrated a birthday. 

Thane especially missed his Dad.  In part to cheer him up, Thane's teacher and classmates surprised him with camo cupcakes.  Best.cupcakes.ever.

We tried to spend as much time outside as we could, knowing that frigid temperatures will be coming soon.

We definitely missed Jordan, but we had a lot of fun.

Fairs, Farms and Family

Southern Maine and the Fair were a blast, but what was really special was getting to reunite with family for a couple of days.  Here's the Ahlquist clan that were able to hang out in Freyburg:

After the Fair we headed over to visit my Great Uncle Leon and Aunt Ann, who have a miniature horse farm.  The kids had so much fun feeding and looking after the horses.

Thane leaned on Uncle Carl to help out (literally!)

The next morning we had a wonderful breakfast with Uncle Ron and Aunt Sandy at Cracker Barrel.

What a wonderful weekend!

Fryeburg Fair

I have a confession to make.  I was raised in Maine and have lived here for over half of my life, but I've never been to the famed Fryeburg Fair.  I've always wanted to go, but I was either too young or too busy.  At long last, I can finally check that off my bucket list.  

The kids and I left Downeast Maine on a Friday afternoon, spent a short night in Scarborough, and then headed over to Fryeburg at 5:00am with my Uncle Carl, Aunt Judy & Cousin Liz.  The early bird truly gets the worm as we were the 7th & 8th cars in line.  What a day!

We visited the booths (here's Thane with the marine recruiters), shopped, viewed all of the animals in their respective barns and literally ate our way through the grounds.  In a rather foolish turn of events, we opted to go on the rides AFTER we ate - not the smartest thing we've ever done.

We met up with Uncle Dale, Cousin Katie and her two girls, and I even saw a few people from Machias including Christine, a co-worker from UMM who gave demonstrations on cranberry processing.

It was a chilly, smelly, loud, crowded, whirling, gut-splitting, hilarious day - and we wouldn't have wanted it any other way!