Jingle Bells

It appears I succeeded in loading a short little video of Eva for you to enjoy. It isn't quite as clear as what I see on my computer, but it does allow you to see Eva in action. After seeing a friend's Flip video camera at a party on Saturday, we literally stopped on our way home and I bought one. It is smaller and lighter than my (pretty small) digital camera and so easy to use (just plug it in to a USB port and it downloads automatically). Eva has had more fun having me film her and, of course, play it back. I am looking forward to capturing some great moments more readily than if I had to cart my larger video camera around. [Loading it onto blogger appears to be a bit harder or at least longer. I may need to try something different next time.]

Enjoy!

Contest Results

Having given it nearly a week and having received no correct entries, I thought it was time to reveal the true identity of the "trash turned treasure" ornament. It is the foam core of a self-inflating whoopie cushion. I have to believe we have THE only tree in the world with a whoopie cushion ornament.



I will be bestowing the valuable prize on Eva Maria (a friend from work) whose "Christmas wheel of brie" guess was the most clever.



Thanks to all who participated!

Eva's Special Ornament

In a shameless effort to get comments from our faithful readers, I am
hosting a contest to see who can first identify what this special
ornament originally was. To provide a little background -- pretty much
each day, Eva comes home from aftercare with some "trash turned craft
project," and it has begun to bleed over to items we have around the
house. Soon, I will post some of the collages she has made recently.
But for now, I challenge you to come up with what this lovely ornament
once was. The first person who can identify it will win a valuable
prize. And if no one can identify it, then the one who comes up with
the most creative guess will win the prize.

Unfortunately, the rules of the contest require that no one who already knows what the item is (i.e., Noel) is eligible to participate in this contest. You can, however, submit creative guesses to throw others off track!

Thankful

As is often the case when we travel, when we get home Eva is ecstatic to play with her things and in her room, etc. We came back from Asheville on Saturday and had the better part of the day on Sunday to get reoriented here. One of the first things she did was draw this Thanksgiving picture. It made me think of the many things I am thankful for, most especially my bright, happy, busy girl.

Eva is thankful for her teacher, Mrs. Flynn, her family (and by this she means the whole family -- Mommy, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins), Erma (her nanny "who isn't my nanny anymore, but who is still my friend, Mom"), and Ocelot (her favorite stuffed animal).

We're both thankful for all our dear friends who support and encourage us in so many ways.

Horsing Around

We spent Thanksgiving weekend in Asheville, NC, visiting my aunt and uncle. Aunt Jan and Uncle Tom have 4 real horses, but it was the wooden horse that most captured Eva's attention this time. She spent quite a bit of time grooming, riding and talking to the wooden horse.

While Eva enjoyed the horse's company (and the 2 dogs and 2 cats), I favored the human company, which included my parents and Sean and family (the couple days after Thanksgiving). There were also several interesting, nice friends of my aunt and uncle's up for dinner on Thanksgiving, too.

I enjoyed all the great conversations, playing games with the kids and having a few quiet moments to read in the beautiful, peaceful mountain setting.

Fall Fun

One of Eva's and my favorite places to visit any time of year, but
particularly in fall and spring is Cheekwood Botanical Garden (and
Museum House). We stop by the drop-in craft session, which is held each
Saturday morning, and then run around the grounds. This fall, they also
had a really fun scarecrow exhibit. The pictures above are from one of
our fall days at Cheekwood. Eva had so much fun throwing Osage Apples
into the ponds and racing leaves down some rapids. It sure is the
simple things in life that make us happy, isn't it?