Tonight was our monthly game night at church and as a special treat we had some of our Nepali friends come and teach us to make momos, a filled Nepali dumpling. Taryn came home from Nepal in November talking about them, so I was glad to have an opportunity to try them. Basically you put the filling made with chicken, onions, cilantro, curry, etc. on the pastry wrapper, fold them up in a decorative way, then steam them.  It was not as easy as it looked when the Nepali ladies demonstrated.  They were so much fun to make and yummy to eat.

Crystals frozen on the windshield with early morning sun:

Artistic snow:

Sledding:

Elijah wasn't thrilled with it all:

But once it started warming up a little, he at least got a few rides on the sled with Rebekah and he seemed to enjoy it:

And he definitely had fun warming up in the car with Rebekah while the others played:

Watching the snow fall:

Imitating Mom, grading schoolwork and always cold:

(I do usually try to match my socks and clothes though...)

Sunset tonight:

Around the house tonight:

Another of our daily walks,but Elijah walked instead of riding in his stroller:

Boys got a hanging chair for Christmas. Until their room is finished being painted, we have it hanging on the screened-in porch. I took these from outside the porch and looking in at Elijah:

Love the light in this room in the morning:

Decided to try morning light. Didn't have any idea what I would find in the yard, but these are what I came up with:

These are bamboo which had been cut off and were filled with water:

I made up my mind earlier in the day that I would try to get a picture of Elijah as the sun was setting. But I put him down outside and he would have nothing to do with it. So I called Tina to help. Still did not have much success, but I managed to get a couple with Elijah that I love.

Had to get one with the penguin on the bottom:

Bribing with Cheerios:

And the added bonus was this beautiful one of Tina by herself:

Talking to Grandma on the phone:

My cookie helper:

There is a little bit of a story behind this one. John found some cute animal cookie cutters in an outlet store while shopping one day in early Dec. They caught his eye because everything on the box was written in German. So, he bought them thinking they would be a fun stocking stuffer or small gift for nieces/nephews. Well, they were set aside and forgotten about until David found them this week. He asked about them. John told him to close his eyes and put out his hands. He put the cookie cutters in David's hands and said, "Merry Christmas, David. We forgot to give you this present." He was very excited and immediately wanted to bake some cut-out sugar cookies. So tonight we made them. He was a great helper and it was fun!

Silhouetted boys throwing parachute man from the deck:

And sweet boy in the twilight watching them:

Elijah, like any youngest sibling, loves to make his brothers and sisters laugh. And the absolute best time to do this is during our evening prayer time. Sometimes John and I are very adult-like and serious. Sometimes we can't keep a straight face and we just have to give in to the laughter. This was one of those nights! He was hiding behind the curtain and peeking out. Also, "reading" the Wii instructions out loud.

Trying to get organized for this new year... over 2 weeks into said year. That's how we roll!

Somebody (not even sure who) got sidewalk chalk in their stocking from Grandma. Tina spent a long time using it to make this beautiful design. She wasn't quite finished, but it was quickly getting too dark to take a picture, so I grabbed one in the fading light.

Taryn passed her driver's test! Just have to get over to the DMV to trade in the beginner's permit for the real deal and she'll be legal. I can't believe it. When did they start giving licenses to children?! You can tell she is thrilled! (and Tina is thrilled for a reason to throw confetti).

The boys did a ton of work today. John split wood and they hauled it and hauled it up the deck stairs and stacked and sorted. Joseph was at a Bible study after church, so he got in on the work late, but helped also. So thankful for the big pile of wood to burn on all these cold days and to the boys for their hard work.

So much rain! This is our driveway. I had to clear out the drain. You can see how the water is standing due to the clog.

Drain is all clear now, but the water is still just rushing down the drain.  Everybody here is wishing this was snow instead of rain.  It would be piles of snow!!

Last day of Christmas decorations. They are back in the box today! Strange how the beauty I appreciated when they went up in December becomes a reminder of an undone "to-do" list in January.  And how the excitement of rearranging for the tree and other decorations gives way to "just put everything back where it belongs".  But the decorations on my mantle I do love and never seem to get tired of, especially this mantle scarf which is one of my very favorites.

It is 9 days into January, tree still up, half the lights out. A little pathetic perhaps, but we like to think we are still enjoying Christmas. And half the lights are still on, right?!

Daily walk. He loves it:

It is so, so cold that we just could not do school in the basement. We moved the school tables up to the living room and built a fire. But the sun shines in the sliding glass door so brightly, we had to close the curtains to keep the glare off our books and papers. Odie, however, wasn't too happy about that, so he found a way to lay in the sun:

Had to get the requisite Christmas tree bokeh before we put the tree away:

I can't decide which I like more. I love the laughter in the second, but I also love the lashes, the sweet hand, and the concentration of the first. (he was eating a SweeTart).

Playing outside before the dreaded ride home. Of course, Preston doesn't have the ride back to Clemson. He's just cute!:

Stole my hat! (he's cute too):

Today was Christmas celebration in Dalton. As with all our celebrations, there was food. Lots of food. But that happened before the pictures (and after the pictures too if truth be told). So much fun to celebrate with family. And new family too this year!

Christina putting the finishing touches on the presents with Buttons:

Silliness and laughter abound:

Modeling the new pajamas:

Minions assemble: