Finishing Up 2009 Projects

It's hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone already. We had a great day, but I didn't get many pictures taken. Here's one of Wayne preparing the turkey for our meal... We were able to share parts of the day with some special friends. Bob was a real trooper and showed up at 6 a.m. to help get the chores done so we could enjoy our traditional cinnamon rolls, Bible reading of the birth of Jesus, and then the opening of gifts without the little boys going crazy waiting for the animals to be taken care of. Tami came to our rescue with chocolate cupcakes when the traditional chocolate truffle I made turned out tasting like soap!

Matthew gave the family a new digital camera so I'm trying to learn how to use it and hope to post lots of pics in the coming year. Matthew has now regained sole possession of his digital camera which we have used more than he has!
Ian has had fun spelling words with Katelyn's new game "Bananagrams". Here he's reading spelling lists to get ideas for new words to spell.

This week I've decided to tackle projects that I really wanted to accomplish earlier in the year but didn't have time to complete between school, work, and doctor appointments.

I started the tradition of making each child a quilt every 5 years. Last June was Katelyn's 10th birthday so she was due to receive her second quilt. Somehow I only got the quilt cut out by June and it's been pushed to the side several times as I tackled other projects that were not as time consuming or more portable. I started sewing on it the week before Christmas in hopes to have it done by the 25th. I had the blocks done, but the quilt didn't get completed until today. Happy birthday, Kate, 6 months and 4 days late!!
A portable project I've been working on is a sweater vest pattern I found in a library book. I had some very nice yarn I found in a yard sale a year or so ago and thought it would be great for this project. The patterns are all inspired by Maine scenery, but I decided to switch their pattern a bit to look more like my NY scenery...
Their sheep became my alpaca (minus 1)
Wayne's getting a major project accomplished this week thanks to our oldest sons and our friend Bob. They are putting up sheet rock in the hallway. The ceiling was done today (pictures to come).

I have a couple more things on my 'to do' list this week...spinning up some dog hair yarn for a customer and rebinding 2 of Matthew's quilts...then there's the alpaca yarn my sister ordered and the alpaca socks that a local woman wants made. Oh yeah, I have THREE birthday quilts to do this year (Ian, Rachael, Nathanial) . I don't think I'll have to worry about lack of projects in 2010.

Kate's Critters

This time of year brings lots of activity and excitement. The 2 little boys are bursting with energy (I wish I could figure out how to transfuse some!) and wake up every morning yelling, "It's Christmas!"

Captain decided to take a break from all the activity...
The kids are always happy to see the two dogs getting along. The other day they took this shot of the dogs 'holding paws'. (I'm not sure if it was a staged shot or not, but it's still cute.)
Katelyn has been researching and looking for an angora rabbit doe to be "Arthur angora's wife". She thinks it'd be great to have baby angoras to harvest wool and sell to other spinners. A good friend has listened to her talk about this endeavor for months and told me that if I could find an angora doe he would buy it for her Christmas present (and mine since I'll have first chance at the wool). I've been talking with a breeder in western PA for several months and she had a pearl doe ready to find a new home. Yesterday Katelyn and I drove out and picked up the newest addition to the farm. Let me introduce you to Sophia (formerly known as Calypso) a.k.a. Sophie.
I think the move has been a bit of a shock to Sophia...She came from a very posh rabbitry, but I think she'll get used to the new digs and with some love and attention warm up to her new owner.

So now the rabbit count on the farm is 4, but that could be changing soon!

Decorating for Christmas

This weekend we pulled out the decorations and moved into the Christmas season full force. Wayne directed the kids on hanging the lights...
This is the nativity that we have set up on our organ in the dining room. The 2 little guys love to stand before it and sing "Away in the Manger". They also like to listen to the music box that is hidden in the stable that plays "Silent Night".
Speaking of "Away in the Manger"...Katelyn played this song on her violin at church on Sunday. She was very nervous, but she did a great job.

Last week Wayne and Katelyn returned from the village to tell me that I better go check on Peter. He had blood all down his neck. "Indy" had blood from his mouth and under his chin. Upon further investigation, it appears that the 2 boys had been wrestling, which turned into a fight. Indy bit Peter's ear and tore it open. This picture doesn't show the full effect of what we had on our hands, but you can see the blood stain. Thankfully, they've calmed down a bit since that incident and we haven't had to separate them.

A Few More Pics...

Before Gramma J. left on Saturday she and Ian had to get in a game of Uncle Wiggley. (Gramma should have won, but she played by 'harder rules' so Ian won the game.)
Here are the boys trying to help sand the new banister for the hallway project.Captain has decided that being near mom is the most relaxing (and safe) place to be. He knows that the spinning wheel is off limits to the little boys so as long as he sticks close to her and the wheel he won't get caught up in their antics or tripped over.

Belated Thanksgiving Pictures

We did take photos on Thanksgiving Day, but I'm just now getting them posted. It was great having everyone home and having Mom J and Dan here as well. We filled the table to overflowing. (Some day we'll find the other table leaf!) Somehow I didn't get Dan's face in the pictures--or were you ducking when I snapped the pic, Dan?

Jonathan was happy to have a Thanksgiving peanut butter sandwich. Hopefully, some day he'll expand his diet to include a regular Thanksgiving meal.

They told me that I had to add this to the post to show the person behind the camera on the other shots.