Backlog 13

Today's backlog documents Easter last year. Anyone else gearing up for Easter? I'm really looking forward to it!

Backlog 12

Ethan had a late nap today and was acting all goofy at bedtime, so I decided to let him stay up a bit and play. I got some really good laughs out of him. :) Then I sat down to find something to write about and settled on Ethan's first trip to Delta. We got some good video of him laughing on that trip, and it was just fun to see how he's changed and how he's still just his happy, joyful self.

Backlog 11

And now you finally get to see our Christmas Tree. . .in February! Aren't you excited? I actually really am. I made a bunch of ornaments this year, and I've been looking forward to sharing. But Terral took the pictures for me on his fancy camera, and the whole blogging process seems to take forever when that happens. Not that I'm complaining. I really like the pictures. :) Thanks again, honey.

Backlog 10

And here's the last post about the reunion, I promise.

Backlog 9

Here's the beginning of Day 2 of our reunion.

Backlog 8

Day One of our summer Reunion.

Backlog 7

Ethan didn't get a little critter during our reunion, but I had made a larger one for him for Easter.

Backlog 6

Here is the first in a series of posts about our summer family reunion.

Backlog 5

And now for something completely unrelated : a snippet from our summer.

Backlog 4

Here is today's post about our Christmas Tree hunt.

O Christmas Tree

I was really excited about our Christmas tree this year. It started when Ethan was playing with an empty baby food jar. I realized that those things are fairly indestructible. Suddenly I was looking at the jar in a new way. With the label gone, it was really quite pretty. I decided to make some ornaments. I didn't have enough time to make all of my ideas, but I was happy with the way the ones I did make turned out.

I hope you like the pictures Terral took for me. I asked him to take them during the day because I love the way the sun looks through the glass. Also, we have LED lights, and the blue just kind of throws everything off. I need to get some white lights.

For the jar ornaments, I spray painted the lids, and then used jute twine and hot glue to decorate the jars. Next year I'd like to gather mini pine cones to put in some of the jars, and maybe do something with glitter or shredded sheet music. But this year I kept it pretty minimal.

I really like the snowflake ornaments. I made some extra for gifts to friends, and I filled them with candies.

I really like the look of this one with the red and white striped candy. I actually didn't hang any like this on the tree, but I had several of them on the piano.

For the bell garland, I got some copied sheet music and aged it with tea. Then I used a bell punch I got at a thrift store for $2 and punched out a bunch of bells, making sure to utilize the notes well. Then I sewed them all together on my sewing machine. I really like the way it looks, but it was kind of time consuming, and is rather fragile. Not the best thing with a babe around. On the up side, it cost next to nothing, and I can always make more.

My mom gave me these violin ornaments several years ago.  I only have three of them, but maybe someday I'll get some more. I love taking them out of the box every year and thinking of my mom, my years studying music, and all the times my family has supported me in that. Music means so much to me. There's a reason why Christmas Carols abound. What better medium could we have for praising our God?

Messiah

When I was in high school, I played in the orchestra for our community production of Handel's Messiah three years in a row.  It was a such a good experience, and it really instilled a love for the music in me.

The first time I attended Cedar's production, I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the performance.  It was by no means perfect, but it was really, really good!  I loved listening to it and feeling that special spirit.  Every year after that, I wished I could be a part of it, but never felt that I could make the time commitment.

This year was different—no school, no student teaching, an old-enough baby, and a supportive husband.  I finally got to do it!  I auditioned for a solo, and they asked me to sing "O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion". 

The first night the house was packed.  They had to turn away over a hundred people!  The second night was very full, but there were a few empty seats.  All my pictures are from the second night.

This is me, of course. . .

 with Maestro Sun

 with my friend Linda (who went to all the practices with me)

 with my lovin' hunny

 with my fellow soloist/friends from school

Getting a Tree as a Family of Three

One of our favorite Christmas traditions is going out to get a tree.  Terral and I were really excited to take Ethan on his first tree hunt—well the first one that he could actually participate in.  I was 36 weeks pregnant with him last year when we searched for our tree on snowshoes.  Those weren't necessary this year, and we had wonderful weather for traipsing around in the snow.

Here's Ethan all bundled up and excited for his first sledding experience.

 Aunt Heather got to be pulled in a sled too. :)

Terral took Ethan on his first little hill.

 Once we started our search in earnest, it didn't take long for Ethan to fall asleep.  I'd probably fall asleep in a set-up like that too.

This was one of the trees we considered, but once I got up there we realized it was too big and wimpy.

Beautiful, no?  I love wintery wonderlands.

And this is Terral checking out the tree that came home with us.

Ethan still napping in his parked sled.  We got that sled for Christmas a couple years ago and haven't regretted the purchase once.  It's so useful and fun!

We forgot the saw, so we had to go back and get it.

Once we had the saw the tree was down in no time.

This is Terral getting the tree across the stream.

Erin and Corey with their tree.

I didn't get a picture of Heather and Chris with their tree, but at least I got one of them. :)

 And McKade and Macey already had their tree, but they came along anyway 'cause we always have such a good time.

Our little family lovin' the fresh outdoors!

On our way back we rode the sled behind the 4Runner.

Crochet Cable Ear Warmer

Like a lot of my crafts, this was inspired by the need for a gift. I wanted to make an ear warmer a little different than the ones I regularly do, and this is what I came up with. I was pretty excited to learn how to crochet a cable stitch. :)

So what do you think?  Is this something you would wear?  It could be any color, of course.

Reunion: Second Day Afternoon

When we got back from the larger Henke reunion, we had some fun with water.

  Terral and I had a little fun with our waterproof camera.He caught me a little off guard the first time. I was better prepared the second. ;)

 Ethan really enjoyed the little fountains at the end of the slip-n-slide.

 Then we all got together and played some good old water balloon volleyball. I do enjoy that game. :)

 And of course, it all turned into a waterfight when we were done playing. This is the tail end of it. (Sorry about the fingers on the lense. That's what happens when someone's not familiar with your camera.)

 Later in the afternoon the kids, with plenty of help from their moms, did a craft I had planned. I would definitely do some things differently if I did it over again, but the kids seemed pleased with the end result, so I'm happy with that.

 Here are some close-ups of their food face plates.

And here are a few pictures of the Lisonbee kids' plates a few days later.

We were so glad everyone was able to come! We love spending time with family. And I'm glad that it will be another seven years before it's my turn to plan again. ;)

Reunion: Day Two Morning

We started Saturday morning bright and early. Sarah had convinced several of us to do the Hinckley Pioneer Classic. Since I wasn't really planning on doing it, I had to borrow some clothes from mom. This was the first official race most of us, including Terral and me, had ever done. It was fun to do it all together. It was only two miles, but it was a challenge for me since I hadn't hardly run at all since before Ethan was born. Also, I was wearing my new unshoes, which was fun but a very different experience from sneakers. Rachel and Dave were behind me at the beginning (I finished last in our family) and they said afterward that my head looked like it was just kind of gliding along. I thought that was a really great compliment. :)

I planned our reunion to be the same weekend as the larger Henke Reunion, so after the race we all gathered to be on my Grandma's float. She turned 90 on the 25th, so my Aunt MaryAnna planned for us to celebrate it at the Pioneer Day Parade. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures, but the banner said, 

Florence Cook Henke

Paved the Way for her Legacy

10 Children, 62 Grandchildren and 166 Great Grandchildren

Yup, my grandma has over 200 descendants.


After the parade, everyone went over to a pavilion that was reserved so we could eat, visit, and celebrate Grandmas' birthday some more.

Some of the kids started a game.

 And it soon grew in size. :)

 Here is my grandmother with her living siblings.

 And most of her children. My dad's the handsome one second from the left.

 Ethan fell asleep in my arms. He didn't seem to mind the awkward position.

 Here's my dad with his Uncle Rulon. Dad was born on his birthday, so his middle name is Rulon. I didn't know that until we were searching our families' Books of Remembrance for Ethan's middle name.

 And here's Ethan with his Great Grandma Henke.