Christmas Eve ...

December 24, 2015

We made the trip to High River for Christmas Eve ...

having our traditional evening meal ...

with part of our family ...

knowing that Ian and his family will be celebrating it as well ...

The kids did have a variation of the meal ...

omitting the warm potato salad and sauerkraut ...

but the rest of us enjoyed every morsel of all that was served ...

After diner we played a few rounds of cards ... a new and fun game ...

before Katie had to leave to go work for a couple hours ...

An early family gift was opened before Katie left for work ...

and it didn't take her long to disappear once the Nerf guns came out ...

the war was on ... no one was safe ...

Craig had built himself a robot ... and was showing us how it worked ...

we were surprised that he had made it walk ...

Great job Craig ... !!!

It was time to make the "Knight Family Fudge" ...

a tradition that usually only the males in the families make ...

we all took turns stirring the pot of goodness ...

as some of the gang had other things to do while waiting for the fudge ...

James had fun with Oma ... dressing her up and playing games ...

Nathan and grandpa helped Craig out with is invention ...

To be continued ...

 

 

Special Gifts ...

December 21, 2015

These few gift packages were delivered to Joseph Creek Village ...

to share with a few of the special people in my life ...

Oma was so excited to have a received her package from Austria ...

she waited until I came to her place to open it ...

We couldn't wait to open them up and have a taste of Resi's strudel ...

and her Austrian Kletzenbrot ... (hopefully I'll get her recipe) ...

The filling can consist of dried pears, apples, prunes, apricots, peaches, raisin ...

and other ingredients ... put into a yeast dough ... rolled and baked ...

It is sooooooo delicious ... !!!

I also received moms fruit strudel, poppyseed strudel and her nut filled strudel ...

Always grateful at this time of year for these treats ... !!!

Joe's gifts were delivered this day as well ...

bringing him his favourite Irish Cream coffee beans ...

and a bottle of Irish Cream syrup to be added to his decaffeinated coffee ...

for him to enjoy at any time ...

I loved bringing him a few of my cookies to have with his coffee ...

Joseph Creek Village was having an Ugly Christmas Sweater competition ...

at this night's dinner special event ...

Joe was happy to participate in this activity ...

and

he was fortunate to have won ...

hmmmm .... still have not heard what his prize was though ... !!!

 

 

Merry Christmas ... 2015

 

Schoolhouse Christmas ...

December 20, 2015

Once again ... Christmas in Mayook at the schoolhouse ...

was a wonderful event ...

with lots of music ... singing and children ...

It was unbelievable when Santa and his elf arrived ...

the noise level rose so much ...

poor Santa could not be heard ... calling out the names of the children ... young and older ...

with all their excitement ... squealing and laughing ... !!!

There is always a house full ...

and a table full of goodies to munch on ...

When Santa was finished with giving gifts ...

and the Elf handing out mandarins and candy canes ...

the music continued for a few more hours ...

It was a delightful evening ...

starting the first of our Christmas festivities ...

 

Special Gifts ...

December 20, 2015

Kendall sent us this wonderful information ... of Ian taking part in this awesome cause ...

for children less fortunate ...

you can see the story by clicking

here

Kendall also posted ...

"So proud of my husband to donate truck, trailer and time to get these 73 bikes and helmets to less fortunate children in the Houston community!!! These Kiddos were over the moon:)"

We are very proud of our son as well ... !!!

 

 

Candles Lit ...

Oma and Joe hosted the first get together at Joseph Creek Village ...

lighting a candle on the Advent Wreath ...

Each Sunday leading up to Christmas ... another group hosted a get together ...

until all the candles were lit ...

(The Advent wreath, or Advent crown, is a Christian tradition that symbolizes the passage of the four weeks of Advent in the liturgical calendar of the Western church. The Advent Wreath is traditionally a Lutheran practice, although it has spread to many other Christian denominations.)

December 18, 2015

The Christmas Buffet dinner was held at Joseph Creek Village ...

They put on a wonderful selection of delicious dishes ...

It is great for families and friends to join in these festivities ...

to celebrate the upcoming holiday ...

Our group gathered at the table ...

Oma and myself ...

unfortunately Mike was unable to join us this day ...

Joe, his son and daughter-in-law ...

and

dear friends Burke and Rosel ...

After a delicious meal ... we enjoy visiting the dessert table ...

there is so much to choose from ...

Oma and Joe helping themselves to a few goodies ...

The smile on Joe's face says it all ...

mmm ... mmm ... good ... !!!

 

 

It was a lovely evening ... great way to start the Christmas Celebrations ...

 

We're Ready For Christmas ...

December 13, 2015

The house is all ready for the festive season ...

The tree completely decorated ... it took us a couple hours to finish ...

before we headed outside to play ...

The view of the Christmas Tree from the upper floor looking down ...

is one of my favourites ...

Lots of snow had fallen ...

it was time to head outside and clear it away ...

but ...

first Mike took the snowmobile ...

to pack down the snow on the driveway ... getting it ready for the kids ...

when they come over Christmas ...

to go sliding around the track ...

In the evening ... the last batch of cookies were made ...

these ones melt in your mouth with a delectable flavour ...

they are a meringue cookie ...

made with chopped pecans ... chocolate chips and crushed candy canes ...

They take the longest to bake out of all the cookies ...

these cookies are well worth the waiting time ... !!!

MMMMMMMM

Let the Christmas festivities begin ... !!!

PS: Vern ... just to let you know ... your order has been filled ... !!!

 

Cookies and Christmas Tree ...

December 12, 2015

While Mike was putting up the Christmas lights on top the tree ...

I was busy in the kitchen ...

decorating the cut-out cookies ... with icing and sprinkles ...

These delicious cream cheese spritz cookies were next to be baked ...

It was so fast and easy with the new Cookie Press ...

Once the cookies were baked ...

I gave Mike a hand with the lights ... it helps him out ...

when I feed him the string of lights ...

It took us about 2 hours to string these lights ...

the inside of the tree has 200 lights that are on a 16 sequence controller ...

then 400 lights finishing off the outside of the tree ...

By the time this was done ... and me with my cookies ...

we decided it was time to call it quits ...

and leave the decorating until the next day ...

 

 

Fallen Snow ...

December 10, 2015

The snow started to fall early in the evening ...

just love the Christmas lights shining on the snow covered bushes ...

it sure makes them glisten ... !!!

Venturing outside early the next morning ...

to capture these pictures of the snow on the moss of the large fir trees ...

then seeing the fungus on an old stump with a light dusting of snow ...

makes me smile with this beauty of nature ...

It was a really foggy day ...

when I headed down the mountain to the highway ...

driving into town to see Oma ...

When I arrived at Joseph Creek Village ...

I saw a herd of deer near the building ...

they were actually really close to Oma's car ...

The never moved at all when I stood there to take these pictures ...

I think they are used to people looking at them ... !!!

 

 

More Cookies Baked ...

December 9, 2015

Another day in the kitchen ... baking a few more batches ...

the aroma filling the air ...

with these jam filled Christmas cookies ...

The new cookie press was used for these Shortbread Cookies ...

it was so easy to press them out onto the sheet ...

then adding the sprinkles ... before popping them into the oven ...

We also managed to wrestle the tree into the living room ...

setting it place ... securing it ...

to be decorated within the next couple days ...

when the new strings of LED lights we had ordered ... arrive at the store ...

to be picked up on our next trip into town ...

It's all coming together nicely ....

 

Tossing Teddies ...

December 6, 2015

Nathan and the kids went to the Calgary Hitmen ...

annual Teddy Bear Toss ...

When the first Hitmen goal is scored ...

the fans toss already bagged Teddy Bears on to the ice ...

The Teddy Bears are gathered up to be donated as Christmas presents ...

to hospitals and charities ...

There were over 28,000 Teddy Bears tossed that evening ...

This is a wonderful event for the WHL to have this annual event ...

bringing joy to so many children ... !!!

 

 

Decorate The Boys ...

December 8, 2015

Today was the perfect day to spend my time decorating the gingerbread cookies ...

Here they are all finished ... about 2 hours to decorate them all ...

taking a few breaks to rest my hands ...

I love bringing a smile to their faces ... tee tee ... !!!

We decided to bring in the Christmas tree from the deck ...

after days of rain had stopped falling ... plastic tarps placed under sheets

as the tree needed to dry out so that we could put it up to decorate ...

This gigantic tree ... all 14 feet of it ...

reached from the dining room door all the way to the living room ...

Since the Royal icing was already made ...

it was time to decorate the snowflake cookies ...

Just as the real snowflakes have their own design ...

so do these decorated ones ... no two alike ... !!!

It was nice to sit down and relax after a busy day in the kitchen ...