Gingerbread house 2008!!!

Here we are once again,,,the Brassell's gingerbread house made from scratch!! So much fun!
We finished the house tonight and then watched the roof collapse on one side! It was ok, we stuck a baby gingerbread man on the roof and pretended he was vandalizing the house of his parents...very disturbed little gingerbread fellow. Yes dad, that is the kitchen aid mixer you gave me for Christmas about 6 years ago!! still plugging along! makes great frosting!

We have made a different kind of cookie almost every day this month, that was my goal, and tonight we even made a PEPPERMINT CHEESECAKE from scratch! holy cow...it was amazing! Chocolate oreo crust and lots of heavy cream and sour cream and cream cheese...
we are obviously kicking off the end of the year with a bang! Might as well gain it all now so we can spend all next year trying to lose the winter insulation!

Christmas at the Billy Graham Library

John works at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, and the Billy Graham Library is adjacent to his office building..here you can take an hour long tour of the life of Billy Graham and see pictures of his ministry. There is a huge Christmas tree in the lobby (where we are posing) and they have a live nativity as well as carriage rides and caroling this time of year.

Bowling is only $5.00 on weeknights!

We took the kids bowling, it is only $5.00 per person and that includes shoes, and with a family our size it is still expensive but lots of fun! We have also found every "kids eat free" place within a 20 mile radius and can eat out for about $20 on a good night!

unfortunately Camden bowled a higher score than me this night, I think I bowled a 72!! but then again, you try bowling with a 34 week pregnant belly! balance is off, weight must be shifted, and the bowling ball blends in against the big old belly!

Planting tulip bulbs in the fall...

Since I planted 220 tulip/daffodil bulbs in the ground before we moved from Pennsylvania (and never got to see them bloom) I decided to try again...200 bulbs planted. Red, pink and yellow tulips and daffodils of several varieties..

Baxley helped me and had so much fun, each of the kids shares a different interest in things that I like to do...Savannah likes to be in the kitchen, Baxley likes to work outdoors and lick the beaters when I cook! Madison and John are content to eat whatever we cook and play outside while the rest of us work! Camden likes to direct things and tells everyone what to do!

Thanksgiving Dinner Fun!

Thanksgiving at the Brassell's house, with our newly painted dining room!! Mark and Emile, the inlaws and me and the kids..the rest are at the little kids table with John playing photographer!
We had such a feast! Turkey, homemade stuffing, cranberry sauce, and yes, that is sparkling grape juice NOT red wine! haha!