Merry Christmas!

A few days late, but here are some pictures from our Christmas Day 2007:

Santa listened and brought both girls the one thing they each (repeatedly!) asked for. For the past 6 weeks or so, all Caroline has requested from Santa was this bouncing-spinning zebra. Even as we walked down the stairs Christmas morning, she still wondering, "Do you think Santa brought me a bouncing-spinning zebra??!" She was thrilled to see that he had!

In Jordi's case, all she wanted, anytime anyone asked her, was this Disney magical wand doll. (Just wave the wand over her necklace and the skirt changes color!) She, too, was thrilled to see that Santa knew what she wanted and gave it to her!

Here's Caroline enjoying one of her gifts from Grandma Henri: a princess sleeping bag! (Both girls got one, and they liked the whole concept so much that they slept in them for the next couple nights - and Caroline is still taking her naps in hers!)

After Santa gifts at home, it was off to Nana & Grandad's house for breakfast and more gift opening!


Here's Daddy, showing off his gift from Jordi (a tape measure). Nana took Jordi shopping at her favorite store in the mall (Dollar Tree) and let her pick out her own gifts for everyone. As you can see by her expression, she was very pleased to be able to give something special to each member of her family!

Christmas Eve

Whew! What a busy & wonderful holiday we've had! We got things started with a festive Christmas Eve service at church:

This year, Jordi was chosen for the honor of entering with Father Chip and placing Baby Jesus in the creche. As you can see by her face in this picture, she was thrilled to be singled out in this way - and then get a big "OK!" for a job well done!

Since this was the early Christmas Eve service, there were mostly families & children in attendance. The atmosphere is usually more festive than serious, and this year Father Chip really took advantage of having the kids available. During the sermon, he asked them all to gather round, and then proceeded to speak directly to them about Christmas. What's in the box, you wonder? Christmas joy, of course - in the guise of boxes of candy! But Father Chip called it "joy," and gave a box of it to each kid at the end of his talk. The girls must have liked the idea of it being "joy" because they both only called it "joy" the whole rest of the night & next day while they were eating it!!

Keeping with the festive feel of the service, we heard a couple songs from the youth choir. This was the first year that Jordi was ready to participate, so even though they were a bit thin on members, we stuck with it regardless. They sang two songs for us - one with hand bells, even! As you can imagine, Jordi was quite eager to ring that bell! (She got it right almost every time, too!)

After church, we headed to the Ford's house for the annual Lewis family gathering & gift exchange. Our family increased by 2 this year (Ryan Lewis in January & Lily Lewis in April), so we had our biggest crowd yet - 27 adults & 10 kids! Here's a picture of Jordi modeling a gift from cousin Sarah: a hand-knitted princess hat!

Stay tuned for Christmas pictures!

Greening of the Church

On Wednesday, we participated in an eagerly-anticipated annual tradition at Calvary: the greening of the church! It's a lot of work, but a lot of fun, too, because the end result is so beautiful.

In honor of Christmas, the whole church is decked out in greenery, mostly fresh. It just smells like Christmas! It's a team effort, and everyone pitches in to do what they can. Here's a picture of some of the men handling one of the bigger jobs!

The kids were assigned the task of decorating the big tree in the parish hall. They did a great job, and just needed a little help getting the angel on top... Thanks, Richard!

More Ballet Pictures

Monday was Jordi's last ballet class until the new year. Same as last year, all us parents, grandparents, etc., were invited into the classroom to observe the girls. Then, at the end of class, the girls participated in a gift swap.

The girls went through their regular class agenda, then showed off their repertoire of Christmas songs for everyone. I think they enjoyed having an audience!

Jordi was very pleased to receive her gift: a ballet puzzle book that included a ballet music CD!

Then, the next day, the girls had one last roadshow - this time at a retirement home in Ashland. It was a very nice place with a very picturesque foyer; doesn't it look tailor-made for our group?? Once again, the girls did a good job with their performance and their audience seemed to enjoy it very much!

Youth Advent Play at Calvary

Yesterday, the young folks at church put on a topical Advent play for the congregation. It was kind of a contemporary spin on the story of Christmas - very lively & fun to watch. They all did a wonderful job, and I was very proud that both Jordi & Caroline had the opportunity to participate!

This is Caroline before the play. She was the sweetest-looking little angel! (Sadly, it didn't last; you'll notice that she's no longer in costume by the last picture!)

Here's Jordi as one of the three shepherds. She really wanted to do a good job - and she did! She paid attention very well, and took guidance from both the youth director & other (older) kids. It was nice to see her have the chance to do so well!

For the finale, the entire cast led everyone in singing "The First Noel." Jordi got the special honor of holding the big star - she was thrilled! It was even her idea to change into the angel costume for the big moment. Caroline was supposed to be an angel, too, but - alas! - it wasn't meant to be. (But that didn't stop her from taking her spot up there with the others!) No matter... a hearty "Well Done!" to all!

Taking the Show in the Road

Tonight, we did something very special. Miss Maria took Jordi's ballet class to two local retirement homes where she gave the little girls the chance to perform a few of their Christmas songs for the folks there.

The idea for their costumes came from the main number, a song called "Mrs. Santa Claus." It's just an over-sized red sweatshirt with some lace trim & buttons, but look how cute it turned out! And how about those glasses??! (Miss Maria was nice enough to let Caroline wear a pair, too!)

Here's the whole crew just before the first performance. That's Miss Maria (in white) coaching her charges before their first show. Note all the proud mums (& their cameras!) in the background!

Here's Jordi in action! (I think this was during the "who wouldn't go?" line from Up on the Rooftop!)

I took this picture just before the girls went on for their second show. Isn't she a cute little Mrs. Santa - such a nice smile, and right next to the Christmas tree, too!

Happy Birthday, Aunt Renee!

Today is Aunt Renee's birthday! We actually celebrated with her a couple weeks ago during her short visit to Kentucky:

In this picture, Renee is wearing one of her presents while the girls help her open the other one. Even though we didn't have cake, it was still nice to celebrate her special day with her in person. Aunt Renee, we hope today is a wonderful day for you!

Picture with Santa

This is our first picture with Santa of the 2007 Christmas season, taken last month by Julie Thacker at the Festival of Trees & Trains. I would like to publicly thank her for thinking quickly and taking such a wonderfully unique picture!

When it was our turn, Caroline decided she would have nothing to do with Santa. She would neither sit on his lap nor stand anywhere in his vicinity. As there was a growing crowd pressing around us as they waited their turn for pictures, I really started to worry about how I was going to handle what was happening. Julie, however, saved the day by suggesting that I put Caroline on my shoulders and then crouch behind Santa's chair. Whaddya know, it worked! Terrific! Thanks again, Julie!

AYB School Show

Last Friday, we had a wonderful morning at the Paramount Arts Center. The Ashland Youth Ballet performed a holiday program for hundreds of local school children - and us!

Here's a post-show picture of the girls with their cousin Emily, still in her toy soldier costume. We had a great time, and enjoyed all three acts of the performance. Thank you, AYB!

UK 50 - Tennessee 52

That was the score - after 4 overtimes! - of last week's game, the last one of the regular season. It was a chilly, gray day, but we didn't let the weather get us down. We just bundled up and enjoyed ourselves! (Plus, the outdoor heaters at the tailgate helped a lot!)

My sister Renee came to visit us the day after Thanksgiving. We loaned her some long-johns & a hat to help her keep warm, and then Jordi instructed her who to cheer for: "not the orange team, just the blue team."

The day began with Caroline helping me in the kitchen. I made a honey-bun cake to bring to the tailgate. It was yummy!

Here's Jordi introducing Aunt Renee to a fixture of the tailgate scene: corn hole! (Check out Renee's blog for her comments on this...)

Daddy & Caroline, ready to head into the game!

One last game-day group picture! I was very lucky this season to have both of my sisters and my Dad all attend football games with me. Going to UK games is a big part of Pullem family life each fall, and I was very glad to have had the chance to share it with the Eastman side of the family!