On the first weekend in December, we headed out to cut our first Adirondack Christmas tree. It was 9 degrees ... brrr! We were excited because there was snow on the ground - a first for a Stoner tree cutting.
Wayne measuring to make sure the tree will fit in the house. In a twist of irony ... we have moved to a house that is 3 times the size of our old one, but our tree had to be 4-5 feet shorter!
Girl Power! We dragged our "little" 8 foot tree up to the bundling guys who immediately said, "WOW - that's a big one!" (It really is all perspective isn't it?!) The tree was a Balsam ... the only choice available. It appears to be the official Christmas tree of the Adirondacks. And it sure makes the house smell good!
On December 21, we picked Katie up at the airport in Burlington, VT. She spent 4 days with us and we enjoyed talking, cooking and ... being really lazy!
We attended the Christmas Eve service at the little church in town. The church was packed and the service was beautiful and meaningful. We were especially impressed with the choir which did a fantastic job for such a small church. The highlight of the service was the ending with everyone standing in a circle around the sanctuary with candles while we sang "Silent Night." This was a favorite tradition of ours at New Cumberland Alliance Church and we were going to miss it ... so this helped us to feel more "at home!"
Just had to show you this picture:
Only Katie would attempt stilettos on the ice in the Adirondacks!
Only Katie would attempt stilettos on the ice in the Adirondacks!
Another tradition is the annual Christmas Eve family photo. This year's picture was taken in front of the fireplace in the Keene Valley Church. We've done this every year since 1999 ... Christmas morning .... and it was a white one!
We opened our presents by the crackling fire in the livingroom.
Happy Christmas smiles ... the girls each got a small digital camera. Maybe someday I'll teach them to blog ... or maybe NOT!
Presents were followed by Christmas brunch ... which is never complete without a batch of the wonderful Mishler Christmas muffins!
Wayne and the girls enjoyed sledding down the lane in the late afternoon. It had rained the night before so the snow was coated with a glaze of ice which made for some wild rides!
The morning after Christmas, we piled in the truck and headed for Pennsylvania to visit Wayne's family. Katie was less than thrilled to learn that she would be spending 7-8 hours in the "cozy" backseat with the girls, but they all survived and even had some fun!
While in PA, we enjoyed seeing Wayne's family and meeting our new nephew, 4-month-old Benjamin (Joe & Christa's). We also had a great time visiting our old church family at NCAC and sharing lots of Christmas hugs. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get together with my family this year ... but the kids had fun spending the WalMart giftcards that Grandma and Grandpa sent. Sodie found the perfect thing to spend hers on...
2 comments:
Funny - just the other day we saw someone in Stilletos in the ice and I asked Christian who'd be ridiculous enough to do such a thing. He answered, "I duno - Katie?" And I think Sodie is a much prettier Hannah Montana :) Sure wish we could visit soon! We miss you guys and love you much!
What a beautiful Christmas for you all! I love the pictures, wish we were there to enjoy the fire, sledding and good muffins! (Just not the -20 degrees!) We had all the kids home for the holidays, it was wonderful. And Hyun Tae, our student from Korea, seemed to enjoy the extra people, noise and presents! Our love to you all, we think of you often and how good God has been and is. Denise and Keith
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