It's Christmastime

"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful."
-Norman Vincent Peale

Tonight, Tanner will have his tongue stuck to a flag pole, and be drug all through the town. Macy will be incessantly going up and down a slide, and Karlie will be in a basket of bunnies.

Tonight is the annual Christmas Light Parade in our little town and the kids will be on the police department's float, which, you've probably guessed, is re-enacting a rather popular Christmas movie. The wassail* is warming on the stove. The girls are still basking in the glow of the success of their annual "Girls-Only" Christmas Party from this morning. And, we're having our Christmas Eve baby's 4th birthday party this afternoon, so her celebration isn't lost in the holiday glitter. Finally, Gertie the Goat awoke with a sheen of frost on her back a few days ago.

All of these clues make it official: the Christmas season has taken hold of us, and the warmth of the music and merriment of the season will keep the winter cold at bay.

We hope there's lots of hot cocoa and fudge in your stars for the coming days this Christmastime.

Love from the farm,
Teri

(*I learned this week that traditional wassail includes ale and wine. So, I'm not sure what we've been drinking all these years, but I can tell you it's yummy and we're going to keep calling it wassail in our family. All you purists can call it "Mormon Wassail," if you can't bring yourself to sully the good name of the original holiday drink.)

(P.S. I'm not sure the music and merriment of the season will actually keep Gertie warm. We're exploring other options so we can avoid the frosty fur. That's just sad.)