Boxing Day

I think it might have a different definition but Peter figured itout soon enough

Christmas Round Two

A quiet moment

table settings & meals

The beginning of christmas

Our visitors were very gracious Christmas morn and we didn't start with Luke 2 and the nativity replay until mid morning.

Delainey truly had the princess thing working for her with the combination Snow White and Miss Roy look. What a grand Christmas look.

Other candid shots

Santa is Circling

Due to a shift in schedule the traditional Christmas Eve cinnamon roll party will be the day after instead of the day before Christmas.


For evening fun we snag christmas carols then after watching the video Joy to the World and Luke 2 it was time for pajama pants.

MN Snowcave IL Snow

Its great having Robert & Laura in the neighborhood.
We had a sincere snowfall that was perfect for playing & building & all that goes with it.
Robert started the cave and invited others to join in the fun.

Florida Visitors

A breakfast of champions was shared with our drop in visitors from Florida.
A shame Naperville is so far from Mpls.

Soup is On

We enjoyed a delightful soup and gaming with Robert & Laura and kids. Petr dressed in full pirate regalia in discussing the pirate seen with Parker. They introduced us to a new game which was grand fun though I never was quite victorious;l I was always Ingenious.

Let the Festivities Begin

What a great kick-off to the holidays:

• we participated in an activity at the GoodWill store that helped spread the cheer
• we found and captured a beautiful christmas tree
• we retrieved two college boys from the airport
• we briefly dropped in on a friends caroling party
• we be-decked the tree as it should be

The holidays have started may yours be glorious

enjoy a little christmas montage right now

Ex Libris

My father is a man of books. He loved to write, he loved to read, he loved to dialogue concerning that which he wrote and read. Books were always an integral part of the household and were embedded deeply into any gifting situation.Parents always kept a major dictionary readily accessible to clarify meaning of the not so randomly obscure word employed by father which should I ask for meaning was quickly directed to the source for my enlightenment. Grammar and style books became de rigor in graduate school and have continued as intermittent reading.

Clearly it was no surprise that one of the major items we recently unpacked was hundreds if not thousands of books. Even after gifting and culling many we still need new bookcases to compensate for the lack of massive built-ins of plymouth.

I've always read to my children a wide variety of books and continue to discuss with them what they read as I discussed with my father what he or better yet what he and I had most recently read.

Imagine my delight when a friend shared a new find,written by Anne Fadiman, with me entitled Ex Libris -Confessions of a Common Reader. Described as "This witty collection of essays recounts a lifelong love affair with books and language. For Fadiman, as for many passionate readers, the books she loves have become chapters in her own life story". Books indeed have defined family relationships and have been and are essential to life.


Go gleefully and consume a few thousand bon mots.

Pirate King

With a bit of practice this will be Pakrer as he has the part of The Pirate King as North High School presents Pirates of Penzance at the end of February 2010. Come join us.

Happy Number Two Birthday

So we all know it is true -time flies on wings of lightning.
In an effort to not let it pass us by we drove up to Watertown yesterday to celebrate with the Julie,& Blair & theRentmeester family. After a delightful dinner we were entertained by Eden opening and playing with her presents. What's not to like about that.

First the Cake







Then the gifts