Time for Christmas Decorating!

Hello, lovely readers!  It is our tradition to decorate the hose for Christmas as soon as we can after Thanksgiving.

 But first,

 . . . we have to take down the fall decorations.

 "Chrissa, Elizabeth!  I brought in all the Christmas decor!" Georgia announced.

"You buried Sugar!" I helped my puppy climb out from under the garland.

"Wow, Georgia.  You got everything except the kitchen sink!"  Chrissa said.

"Close." Georgia corrected. "I brought everything except the Christmas tree.  Dad said he would bring it out of the garage."

Mother sighed. "I wish we bought real trees."

"But Mom, why slaughter an innocent tree when a fake one does the job just as well?" Chrissa asked.

"I'll buy you a pine candle." I offered.

"Thank you, Elizabeth."  she smiled. "Why don't you help me decorate the kitchen?"

"I'd love to!"

 Mother and I brought the decorations into the kitchen, and started setting them up.  Across the hall, Father had just brought the tree in with Chrissa's help.  The three of them rearranged the living room to fit the tree.

Georgia walked in. "Can we borrow the broom?  The floor under the couch was dusty, and Chrissa said she'd sweep it up."

I handed the broom to her.

"Thanks!"

 We could hear the swish and sweep of the broom.

"Careful!" Georgia sneezed.

"Elizabeth," Mother said, "would you please go turn on some Christmas music?"

"That's a wonderful idea!  What shall I put in?" I asked.

"How about that Michel W. Smith album - Strings of Christmas?"

Georgia overheared our conversation.  "I love that one!  Turn it up louder, please!"

 "Of course Miss Violinist would love it." Chrissa said. "I wanted something I could sing along to."

"You'll live." Georgia replied.

 "Dad, can you help me get the lights on?" Chrissa asked.

"I'm going to plug them in, and then I will." Father said.

 "I just love bright colors."  Chrissa said.

"Oh!" Georgia exclaimed. "It's Joy to the World!  I'm playing that one this year at my Christmas recital."

Father and Chrissa started winding the lights around the tree.

"No wonder it sound so familiar."  Chrissa said.  She winked a Georgia. "It's not like I've heard you practicing it all the time."

Georgia laughed, her eyes twinkling just as much as the lights as she got out the tinsel. "I'm sorry, Chrissa.  I just love that song."

"Mother doesn't need my help in the kitchen anymore, so may I assist you three?" I asked.

"You can help us decorate the tree."  Chrissa said.

"Yea, we're just about to put the tinsel." Georgia added, handing me the bundle of white.

 Working together, we wound the tinsel around the tree.

"Time for the ornaments!" Georgia announced. 

 "How many do you think I can hold in my hand at once?" Chrissa picked up bulbs and hung them on her fingers.

"Four?"

"Nope - seven!"

"Impressive."

 "Last one!"

 "Make sure you space them evenly." Georgia said.

"Of course." I agreed.

"Let's unplug the lights while we put on the last set of ornaments." Chrissa said. "That way, we can have a final dramatic finish."

Once we had finished with the bulbs, we got out the snowflake ornaments.  

 "We're almost done." I hung another snowflake.

"Yep." Chrissa agreed.

"I'll go plug in the lights for your dramatic effect." Georgia said.

 "It looks fabulous!" Chrissa said.

 "Quite so." I agreed.

 I just love decorating for Christmas.

 Here's our Nativity scene.  You mustn't forget what Christmas is all about.

 I admired Mother's work in the kitchen.

Right down to the little bows.

What Christmas traditions does your family have?

Deck the Halls!

 Hi all!  We just got back with an awesome few days with our Orlando cousins Victoria, McKenna, and Kit (which included a visit to the new American Girl Store!  Elizabeth will be posting about that soon).  So, we FINALLY got around to decorating our tree!  It had been up for awhile, but it had stayed empty - until now!

 "Look!  I'm a Christmas tree!" I said, holding a few ornaments while wearing the tree skirt.

"Chrissa, you are ridiculous!" Georgia laughed.  

"I think we need to start with the lights." Elizabeth said, still smiling.

"I'm ready for them!" I said dramatically.

"Not on you, goofball." Georgia said. "Take off the tree skirt and put it where it belongs."

"Okay, okay."

After my two older sisters hung the lights, I tied the tree skirt around the base, and stuck the star on top.

 "The tinsel is next." Elizabeth said, dropping it into our outstretched hands.

 Then it was time for the bulbs!

 "Since there are twelve snowflake ornaments, we each can hang four." Elizabeth handed Georgia and I four each.

 "I think we're done!" Georgia said, brushing glitter off her hands.

"Yep!  It looks pretty good." I agreed.

While my sisters and I were working on the tree, Mom decorated the rest of the house.  The kitchen looks pretty good!

What's your favorite thing about Christmas?

We're Ready for Fall!

Hello, lovely readers!  While Mother shopped this afternoon, my sisters and I decorated our house for fall!

 "I think that's all of it." Georgia said, setting down the last load.

"Yep!" Chrissa dusted off her hands.

 "I think we should split up - one of us do the kitchen, and the other two work in here." I suggested.

 "I call the kitchen!" Chrissa nearly yelled.

"Okay, Chrissa!  You don't have to shout!" Georgia laughed. "Looks like you and I are working here, Elizabeth."

 "See you people later." Chrissa said, grabbing the table cloth and decorations.

"Elizabeth - why don't you do the mantel, and I'll do sofa." my sister offered.

"That is fine with me."

 Georgia tried a few different arrangements for the cushion (which I made) and blanket.

 Meanwhile, I set up the mantel with dried leaves and little pumpkins.

 A few minutes later, Georgia and I stepped back to admire our work.  Suddenly, the phone rang.

"I'll get it!" Chrissa shouted.

I turned to Georgia.  "Shall we go over and see how Chrissa is doing?"

"Sure!" she replied

 "Hey Chrissa - who was on the phone?" Georgia asked.

 "Oh, that was Mom.  She was just letting us know that she'd be back from Target soon.  And guess what she's bringing back?"

"Popcorn?" I suggested.

"Candy corn?" Georgia offered.

"You're right Georgia - it's candy corn!" Chrissa exclaimed excitedly.

"Yes!"

 "Nice job on the decor, Chrissa"

"Thanks!"

"If you two don't mind," I said, "I'm going to finish reading."

"Fine by me!  Hey Georgia - do you want to play Island Hopper?" Chrissa asked.

"Sure, why not?"

 They were just setting up the game as I went upstairs.

When Mother returned, she let each of us have ten candy corns.  They were delicious!

What do you like best about fall?

Ready for Valentine's Day!

Hi all!  This afternoon, Elizabeth and I decorated our kitchen for Valentine's Day!

First, I spread a dark pink cloth across the table.

Candy hearts and silver "X"s and "O"s made the perfect centerpiece.

While I had been adorning the table with pink and little hearts, Elizabeth frosted heart-shaped cookies that she had made earlier.

I hung up a "Happy Valentine's Day" Banner.

"O-o, that looks yummy." I commented, ...

... looking at the cookies my sister made.

"Thank you." She replied.

What do you think?

On a side note, I braided Nellie's hair to look like Anna's (from the Disney movie Frozen).  I LOVE FROZEN!  It is defiantly my new favorite movie.

How do you decorate for Valentine's day?