A Festive Yuletide

Hello, all!

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Hope you had a wonderful Christmas! We sure did! I've got a couple of posts with pictures of our celebration. Hope you enjoy them! I probably won't be posting again till after the new year, so if you don't hear from me before 2009 - I'll see you next year!!

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Have a great day, and thanks for visiting!!

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P.S. I just had to tell you that I was going to name this post "A Merry Christmas" but everyone says Merry Christmas - so I went onto an online thesaurus and looked up synonyms for "merry" and "Christmas." So... that's where I got it!! Ü

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Abby and Mom, all dressed and ready for the Christmas Eve service at a local church. It was a good thing Joe called to get the time of the service, however... because we discovered that it had been cancelled due to stormy weather!!! But, we did have a great time at home, eating our Christmas Eve dinner in our fancy and festive Christmas church clothes! Ü

After a while, a certain someone came began hanging a spoon on their nose. (cough - we won't say who...) That turned our Christmas Eve into a spoon-hanging competition!!

(Yes, we know we're a little weird...)

Competition. Ü

All seriousness.

The beginnings of... Christmas morning...

Ooooh - I am so excited. Can you tell?

What is it?

Yes, Hannah - I will allow you to take one picture of me. If you must.

What 'cha got there?

Okay...

Sarah acting like.... Sarah! (in Joe's new hat)

Hi!

The official "Hannah-Sarah Picture of the Event"

New scarves - thanks, Grammie!!

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Hope you had a marvelous Christmas... from your faithful blogger - Me!! (aka Hannah)

And from the entire family!! Ü

Wishing You...

Hope you have a very

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MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

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Best wishes from the P family for a blessed, peaceful Christmas Day!

The True Meaning

Merry Christmas!!

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"For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this."

Isaiah 9:6-7

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"Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"

Luke 2:8-14

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O Sing a Song of Bethlehem

O sing a song of Bethlehem,

of shepherds watching there,

and of the news that came to them

from angels in the air.

The light that shone on Bethlehem

fills all the world today;

of Jesus' birth and peace on earth

the angels sing alway.

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O sing a song of Nazareth,

of sunny days of joy;

O sing of fragrant flowers' breath,

and of the sinless Boy.

For now the flowers of Nazareth

in every heart may grow;

now spreads the fame of his dear name

on all the winds that blow.

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O sing a song of Galilee,

of lake and woods and hill,

of him who walked upon the sea

and bade the waves be still.

For though like waves on Galilee,

dark seas of trouble roll,

when faith has heard the Master's work,

falls peace upon the soul.

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O sing a song of Calvary,

its glory and dismay,

of him who hung upon the tree,

and took our sins away.

For he who died on Calvary

is risen from the grave,

and Christ, our Lord, by heaven adored,

is mighty now to save.

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May you have a wonderful and blessed Christmas!! May you always remember that Christ is the true reason for Christmas Day - that He is the reason that we live every day!!

Talk About a Winter Wonderland

How many of you know that song, "Winter Wonderland"? Well... we've kind of made up our own words to that song to fit what the weather here is like. Ü So, here it is!

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Cowbells ring, are you listenin'?

In the lane, snow is glistenin'

A cold and dark night,

It's snowing all right!

Talk about a winter wonderland!

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Gone away is a blue sky,

Here to stay is the gray kind,

It leaves lots of snow,

Oh, don't we know?

Talk about a winter wonderland!

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In the pasture, we will build a snowman

And pretend that he is Farmer Brown.

He'll say "Are you merry?"

We'll say "Sure, man...

'Specially since this great snow came to town!"

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Later on, we'll conspire

As we chat by the fire.

A way to face unafraid

The storm of the day...

Talk about a winter wonderland!

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Well, we're not the best songwriters in the world, but... there you have it! Ü Have a great day, and enjoy the pictures!

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Hannah

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These pictures were taken a few days ago, and the snow was up to Abby's knees. Now it's halfway up to her waist, and she has a hard time going anywhere that Dad hasn't plowed!

Her face reveals her feelings about the dog.

A snow cap on the fencepost. Isn't that a funny shape?

The snow really weighs down the clothesline!
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Come back soon!

Christmas Recital

Hello, everyone!!

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Here are the pictures from the piano recital on December 6th. Really late, aren't I?! Thanks for putting up with me... and enjoy the photos!! Hope you have a great day!!

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Your usual and faithful blogger,

Hannah

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Ready to go!

Anticipation!

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Sarah performs "Still, Still, Still" a totally beautiful song!!

It was Abby's very first recital - and our piano teacher let her play in it even though she's my student. She did "We Three Kings" very well!!

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Roberta's own arrangement of "I Saw Three Ships" and "Bring a Torch, Janette, Isabella." She arranged it all by herself, and it sounded great!!

A really hard part in my Gesu Bambino. I'm so glad I hit the right note the first time!! Ü

And now, I leave you, with Joe's art. And a question (or two...). What's your favorite Christmas song, and why is that your favorite? (To play, sing, hear... it doesn't matter!)

Come back again soon!

Farm Question #8

Hello, blog readers and FQ fans!!

Here's Farm Question #8 and the answer to Farm Question #7! Which was (to refresh your memories)...

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True or False? Apple trees are in the same family as roses?

The answer is true!! DJ found the following on an online encyclopedia: "The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family Rosaceae." So, as surprising as it is, it's true!! Ü

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(Photo found here.)

Apple blossoms actually do look closely related to roses, don't they? The rosehip ("fruit" part of the rose) is edible and used for medicinal and herbal purposes.

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Okay! Here's Farm Question #8!

What were barn lofts originally used for?

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You can either leave your comment here in comment form, or email the family email with your answer and check back soon to see if you were right!! Thanks for playing along!

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Congratulations to DJ for getting the correct answer to FQ#7!!

Blizzard or Not

Well, the blizzard didn't really turn out to be too much of a "blizzard" - and the expected snow didn't come. Instead of one to two feet, we got about three to four inches. At least it covered the ground! Ü I have a few pictures from after the snowfall. Unfortunately, my camera's battery died and I had to come back in to get it recharged and all, and after you've untangled yourself from all your layers of scarfs, jackets, gloves, hats, etc... you don't really want to get it all on again to go outside! Ü

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So I hope you enjoy the pictures!!

Hannah

Cutie in a new hat.

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Playing with a very cooperative subject... and my new photo-editing software!

More art.

Huh?

The beautiful barn with a beautiful new wreath!

An up-close. (Mom and Joe made this wreath, by the way! Isn't it pretty!?)

Snow on the birdhouse. Not the best photo... Ü
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Come back to visit us again really soon!!

Of Trees and Things

Just a note: With this post, we went over 200 posts!! (not including drafts that were never published). This is the 201st post! Ü

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Hello, everybody!! Here we are again with pictures of our Christmas tree excursion and Dad's birthday! Hope you enjoy the pictures, and have a wonderful day!!

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Hugs,

Hannah

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Oh, yes. Tweedle-de-de and Tweedle-de-dum are ready to go find a Christmas tree!

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So is little Miss Abby!

Helloooo...

This one?

This one?

Not that one, this one!

No, no, no! I've got it!! (And this is "it")

And... "it" is finally ready to go home!!

Grins!!

Abby, with the yummy traditional tree-decorating punch.

Almost done!
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Placing the angel on top... and...

Ta-da!

Dad's Birthday

Here are the pictures of Dad's birthday celebration. (I know, his birthday was on Dec. 1st... late again!!)

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Oh, sing a birthday song...

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New boots!

At dinner.

Eager photographic subject... to say the least...

"Oh, don't worry, Daddy - I'll help you with opening your presents!"