The house is all decorated.....

And it has been for a while, actually. I have mentioned before how Amanda does a fantastic job of making our humble little abode very homey, cozy, and festive. Every year she seems to add a new piece to her already pre-existing layout. More pictures will follow, but here is one of my favorite parts of the Christmas decorations: The nutcrackers. The Nutcracker (the one by Tchaikovsky) is one of my favorite things in all the world (Christmas or otherwise, for that matter), and I love any decorations pertaining to this wonderful ballet. Amanda has some priceless ones. Callum loves the nutcrackers too, and he always asks to be picked up so he can see them. He calls them "ka-koooors." It is really cute. As a sidenote, I should mention that we are going to see the performance of The Nutcracker this Saturday night in Bangor. It is one of my favorite parts of the season....



This picture doesnt do this justice....our tree is one of the best ones we've had in the last five years. It is the perfect size for our living room. The star is still not on top....that is Callum's one and only job, and he keeps putting it off so he can look at trains on the internet....The tree looks so nice against the backdrop of half-stripped walls.....we'll be painting soon!
This past Saturday night was "Advent Family Night" at church. It was an event for all the kids of the church (and their parents) to go and sing carols, do crafts, and eat dessert. There was EVEN a visit from Santa Claus, and I hope to get a picture of that monstrosity up soon....Amanda didnt take any pictures, because she videotaped the whole thing. In case anyone wants to see it......

Callum has several girlfriends at church--one of them being a three year old named Mia. Callum just loves the attention, as you can tell. Callum loves being at church, actually. When he is there, he is always full of energy, and he always wants to run around, play, and laugh. Basically, all the things you should save for when you are NOT in church....haha
Some of the parents singing carols with their kids. Our church council president's name is Fernando Goueva, and he is a very distinguished math professor at Colby. I guess he is a pretty big deal. He is at the top left of the picture. His wife, Mari, is essentially a professional pastry chef....she made all the desserts for the affair, and they were awesome. Fernando and Mari are from South America (I cant remember the country!), and they are wonderfully cultured, intelligent, and kind folks. It was a great night all around.