Holidays ... survived

Our elf ...

And the year goes round again ...

Getting the Christmas tree!


Mark stayed warm and cozy at home on the couch. Grandma had suggested a fake tree this year but the girls protested and insisted on cutting their own. So Cailley drove us a few miles to the local tree farm.


Hot mulled cider was delicious!


Townsend tree lighting on the common! Isabelle was there early singing with the girl scouts.


and then there was light!


Guess who ... pays a visit on the town fire truck?


... Santa of course hands out candy canes!


Warm hobo stew after the choir concert at one of the local churches on the town common.


Mid-December finds us enjoying the girls recitals and concerts. Isabelle played second chair in her orchestra and enjoyed dressing up for the concert.







Postcards of Christmas!







Our Christmas card for this year. Each girl made their own snow globe.






The Christmas table ...


Santa pays a visit ...


Singing Christmas carols after dinner ...


Our very own "Elf on the shelf" arrived late in the season and will stay until New Year's Eve!

After Christmas .... recap of pre xmas prep

This year seemed a bit more unplanned than usual. We did make our norwegian krumkake cookies and lefse for Christmas eve. Our tree was dressed in lights more like a candy cane with alternating white and red strands of lights. This was more of necessity than by design as the new lights we newly purchased were broken. It did however ending looking rather pretty.



The girls concert at Jordan hall before Christmas was beautiful. Their music was beautiful!



This year we have a little angora bunny for the girls. He is getting a lot of love and cuddles and appears to enjoy it.

Winter is racing by at a snails pace... and obsessing about CPSIA

I can't say that January has been my favorite month of this year (though it has been the first). It seemed to be consumed by all the colds that our little family has suffered through. Somewhere in that time Christmas was packed up and put away for another year.



And somewhere in that time between trips to the doctors there was time for creative endeavors too...









Any free time I've had I have spent reading up on the new CPSIA laws. Though I don't make toys or clothing for children I have wondered if my ring pillows and flower girl baskets would be covered under these laws. And though I don't sell children's toys my husband and I have been avid creators of toys for our children. I would hate to see all the lovely small businesses dedicated to making beautiful and creative toys put out of business by this law.

I think the initial intention of the law is correct because our children should be protected from lead and pthalates in their toys and clothing. In the interests of making a profit large companies purchase cheaply made toys overseas without any regards to safety. In response to this small businesses have sprung up making lovely handmade toys with natural materials. But its these small businesses that will now be forced to close with the stringent CPSIA testing requirements. I do think that small businesses should be held accountable to certifying that the components they use to make their toys are safe. We can't just assume that they are safe. We need to demand supplies and materials that are safe and have the certification from the manufacturers to prove it. Any way I hope the CPSIA stay goes into effect and that during this time the laws are better worked out so that small businesses can be allowed to continue.