12 days of Christmas

 Christmas afternoon we spent at Grandma's house nibbling, playing games, eating, and playing more games.

 We smoked part of a fresh turkey. Since it was our first time trying to smoke turkey we only smoked to (gigantic) legs and a (gigantic) breast. It will probably about a 60 pound turkey with his feathers, wings and things while it was still alive. I might add, here, that it was mighty tasty!

 Everything was delicious and very, very pretty.

 This is the Nativity set set up so lovely. You can't really see all the details with the lights but each shelf has a scene on it. Very lovely.

 Then we had yet another farm incident. This time it warmed up  after Christmas and absolutely down poured one night, creating sink holes in the barnyard. This cow got stuck down in one. :(

 I went over to check the pigs and it was pretty sloppy (but pigs like sloppy) and it wasn't too deep.

 We spent several hours working on this poor cow as it was delicate work trying not to harm her yet getting a cow up. Cows are large creatures, and very solid.

 We got her out and let her rest a bit. We made a home for her under a tent of sorts so she could warm, gave her all the lovely juicy tidbits cows like, but alas, she was dead by morning :(

 Eternal Rest grant unto Leo Wipperfurth, O Lord, and let Perpetual Light shine upon him, may he rest in Peace.

 Since we had 12 days of Christmas off we were working on some projects. The first was a new office for me in the little loft in my room. They moved a walk back 4 feet and made me a nice little office that is nicely open style with a secret closet.

 We had stir fry (yum) and Aragorn used his hand made chopsticks, maybe by one of the TKD school dads.

 This is my secret closet. The only stuff in it is overflow stuff like empty "work boxes" and whatever didn't fit on the shelf next to my desk.

 Since we are also working on bookshelves I was able to take a nice shelf and the little cupboard we got at a flea market. They fit perfectly.

 Simple and hopefully something I can manage to keep neat and orderly, but that will be a feat in itself.

Rosie drew this awesome picture of Gimli!

 We celebrated Christmas with extended family on December 30th.

 We started the day with Rosary in their lovely little chapel.

 Which is complete with a little choir loft. Since we were fitting 50ish people in the chapel some prayed from the choir loft.

 The line for dinner was mighty lengthy.

 We also brought cheese balls. "Cheese balls, definitely cheese balls."

 The next day I was making juice and simply thought the fruits and veggies looked particularly pretty. This awesome colander I discovered at Willie St. Coop. Best ever.

 Then for New Year's Eve we went to the bakery to celebrate with our friends. 

 It had snowed-iced-rained-froze-etc. on New Year's Eve but it was glorious when we came home from Mass on New Year's Day.

 Blessed Mother statue with a fur cap and cape on (ok, it's snow, but it does look pretty)

 A beef got out and found the salt on Sam's truck to be mighty tasty.

 Part one of the book shelves are done. We have a very large home library. We homeschool, what else would anyone expect? We haven't counted in a goodly number of years but I'd guess around 2-3000 books, it's absurd, it's addicting, lots of good books here. We believe in books. I loathe reading off computers when I can read off paper. Books are a comfort "food" so to speak, not something you can get out of a computer.

 Then the living room turned into an infirmary. We had cases of vomits scattered hither and thither. Thankfully it was not bad cases. Believe me, I've seen worse and in multitudinous numbers simultaneously. We found some lovely geographical DVD's which showed various places on the earth. That and some movies helped bide time.

 January 5th some of the (healthy) kids were in a tournament. I decided not to compete as I wasn't ready.

 Frodo is the only one who did creative/xtreme.

 Marigold participated in her first tournament (novice, rather than competitive)

 She did a form

 And one-step

 She got 1st place in one-step and 2nd place in her form.

 Rosie kept score

 So did Bilbo for the first time.

 Bilbo and Pippin were in the same ring.

 Pippin: 1st in weapons, combat, and sparring, 3rd in forms
Bilbo: 2nd in combat and sparring

 Merry was home sick :(

Rosie also performed.

 Rosie: 1st in form, weapons, and combat, 2nd in sparring

 Bilbo trying to see how many kicks he can do on the solo strike

 Frodo spent most of the day judging and at the end of the day did his traditionals.

 Frodo: 1st in creative form, 3rd in xtreme form, traditional forms, and combat. He didn't place in sparring as he was in the first round competing against someone who was extremely good, he didn't mind losing to someone so great. :D

 Then we helped clean up some of the mats.