The end of 2012

Better late than never, huh?!

Despite my general apathy this Christmas season, I was inspired by my husband to decorate our house.  We normally go out to a tree farm and pick out, then cut down a tree together.  This year Nate went to Menards and came home with this beaut.  She's real, but she was an ugly old girl.  The decorations helped her looks considerably, and thankfully the girls didn't notice!

My little German Christmas village.  Large brewery, sausage shop, and restaurant.  Ha!

I made a batch of cookies for my sister.  The gluten free, dairy free variety.  They were actually pretty tasty.  I think I ate more of them than she did : )-

Elena helped me to make gluten free, dairy free chocolate-covered-pretzels.  By the second batch we had it figured out.  She was quite the helper, sprinkling the colored sugar onto the chocolate while it was wet.  Once again, I ate far more of them than my sister did.

My brother, Tim, recruited my other brother, Greg to sing with his barbershop chorus.  They participated in a Christmas program held annually in Bloomington, IL.  The program ran the gamut from choral music to orchestra, pop to jazz.  I thoroughly enjoyed it!

My dear sister Kates, pre-concert, eating out at Noodles and Company.  Gotta love us some tasty noodles! 

We celebrated our little family Christmas the night of a big snowstorm.  Of course, we didn't let this get in the way of grilling our steaks.  They may not have been grilled to perfection, but we ate them anyway.  Beef.  Yum!

Supper and then.... PRESENTS! 

There's just something about the wonder of a child.

After putting Anni to bed we watched Polar Express for the first time.  Elena liked it, but couldn't quite make it through to the end.  Maybe next year.  It was cute : )

We woke the next morning to a winter wonderland.  Some of us here in Illinois (myself included) love a snowy winter, so 2012 ended on a great note.  Happy New Year everyone (again)!