Christmas Random Stuff!

Well, just some little things to remind me of the time of year we are now in.  So here are some recent pictures!

So yes, it snowed it Utah and then after the snow storms, the temperature dropped to super low.  That made it icy and slick conditions.  Because it was so cold I have not taken the train to work since.  I can't stand waiting in the cold, wind or snow.  It's too hard for this grandma!

At work it's starting to look like Christmas, too.  The people in the book order dept. brought over goodies.  Notice there isn't much left. 

Heidi does all our decorations, each year.  This year we have a Scandinavian Christmas tree.  She always does a wonderful job of decorating.  Glad that is her job and not mine!

Above is my little cube Christmas!  Since I have to live here as my home away from home, I like a little festivity!

 This is part of the largest set of nativity pieces ever.  It must be the whole town of Bethlehem!

Here is one of the many nativity sets on the B-1 Floor.

The annual office Christmas party went through several changes of plans before we finally ended up doing what we have done over the years.  Lunch at the Lion House with a wild and rollicking game of "White Elephant"  and somehow we really get some very "white" elephants.  This year was no exception.  I often wonder what the Lion House people think of our rowdy little group of people!

Here we are at Timberline Jr. High waiting for Tyson after his DANCE performance!  Yes, that's right, Tyson danced!  It was for the program of a class he was in.  He isn't a Brecklyn, by any means, but he held his own and it looked like he was having fun.  They performed in 2 numbers.  As Jamie said, I bet you never thought you would be coming to something like this!

And here come "the boys".  All 4 of them!  Sorry it's blurry, my cell phone isn't the steadiest, or is it me???

Then last nite, because I had gotten the random ticket win for the Motab Christmas Choir, we went first to the Lion House, that is Jamie, Tyson, Brecklyn and myself and had a nice little dinner.  Tyson seems to enjoy Salmon.  The rest of us no.  The rolls were fresh, and tasty! 

Breckie had the kid's meal of chicken strips and mashed potatoes, rolls and RED JELLO!
And as maybe you can see, or not, she will be singing the famous Christmas song "All I want for Christmas is my 7 front teeth!"  Yes, it is a wonder this child can even eat!  But, better now than later.  And when they come in, "if they ever do" she gets those wonderful things called braces, like her handsome bro!

So here we are waiting for the show to begin.  Notice Tyson making a face for the camera.  Little did he know I would be posting it!  Jamie is preparing a lesson while we wait.  It was a nice program and that is the last week or two in a nutshell.  One more week and I have vacation!  I love having a little time off!  I think we all need it now and then!  Till later!

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories Christmas Tree Ornaments

In the past years, our tree has looked pretty much like this, below:

Which is how it looks now, as well.  I have an admission to make, and I will tell you that in all honesty, Spencer and I do not see eye to eye when it comes to Christmas trees.  I am traditional and he is more for "pretty" and such.  I like the ornaments the kids made in school, and that special people gave to me over the years, and that I have kept and not, for the most part, used in the last years.  He likes the matching bows, ribbons, flowers, and ornaments that all coordinate.  And to me that isn't all that important.  I am more for the memories.  I guess that's the genealogist in me.  So I have in the basement a container with ornaments that haven't been used in a while, but well, one day...maybe I will just haul them all out again! 

I do like the tree which our daughter decorates for us each year, but I miss the old, slightly mismatched sort of tree.

We have lots of German and European ornaments and so I enjoy those and we both agree on those, so no problems there!

Here is a little piece we found in Midway, Utah at Swiss Days two years ago.  We like to go to Swiss Days every chance we get.  It's got some very fun vendors and 2 years ago a man from Wyoming was selling these from patterns he purchased in Germany.  There were so many wonderful things to buy at his booth, I really could have bought a lot of them, because I liked them all.  He was very talented and the prices were not too bad for what you were getting.  Unfortunately, my house is not big enough to hold everything I would have liked! 

Here it is without the lights. 

And of course, the stockings.

I have 4 German pyramids, some Swedish items, Swiss and assorted things like this which are amongst my favorite items.

And my Christmas village.  This is just a small part of it.  I didn't even set all the pieces up this year.  I must be getting lazy! And why do I do all this craziness?  Just for the cute grandkids that enjoy seeing it and knowing that this is Christmas at Grandma's house!'
















 And last but definitely NOT least, and the "Reason for the Season" .
Spencer made this ceramic nativity when we were first married.  It has suffered a few broken parts over the years, but for the most part survived kids and grandkids quite nicely!

Enjoy the holidays and remember why we are celebrating it!

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories: Christmas at Work

Christmas at Work

OK, so it isn't December yet, but I had time tonight and won't tomorrow for sure.  Every year the Geneabloggers post Christmas blog articles every day in Dec.  I did it last year and so I thought I would try it this year again.  Except I will try to think of some of my own subject matter.  Today is a quickie, and I thought I would just show some pictures from work.  Christmas at my work is usually pretty nice to look at.  My floor at the Family History Library, is the International Floor where we represent countless countries in Europe, excluding the British Isles and the US. 

We always have a pretty ancestor tree: 

Here I am standing in front of my ancestor who is hanging from the tree.  It's my dad and I will show a close up below.

All the little ornaments are pictures of someone's ancestor.  In my case, a very recent ancestor!

Here is a close-up of my dad on his first day of school in Freiberg, Germany.  Notice the sack of treats which is a German tradition!

And here's Heidi, and her parents.  They are the "ornament" 3rd from the top.  Heidi is the famous floor decorator.  And she does a fantastic job every time.

We have displays of many nativities.  This one from Poland! 

I am not sure where these are from, but they are sure nice to see!  I think that they all belong to Heidi.  I wonder what else she has at home!

And last, but not least my own little corner of the world.  My tree, my nativity and my candy bowl! And my first card of the season, to boot!  I love Christmas, even the hustle-bustle, but most of all I love happy faces of my four grandchildren who delight in everything they see!  It's worth every second and it is great to have a 4-generation family within the same block in town.  What could be better than that???

Advent Calendar The Christmas Tree Dec. 1

As a GenealBlogger they like us to do certain posts.  I haven't been really great about it.  But I like the Advent Calendar part.  We write about certain topics.  This one is THE CHRISTMAS TREE.  Well, as a German girl growing up in America, Christmas was an exciting time.  German custom has the family decorate the tree on Christmas Eve.  And usually the mother does the decorating and later opens the doors to let everyone come in and see.  I remember this as a child.  My dad would find some activity to keep me busy and the one that I really remember is that he took me sledding.  We didn't have too many great hills back in the Minnesota town I grew up in but there was one and in my little girl eyes it was "HUGE".  I loved this time with my dad and I guess I will always remember it.  When we got back, frozen and shivering, the tree would be ready and the gifts underneath.  Saint Nicolaus had come while we were gone. 

The tree in those days was a mixture of German and American.  My mom had brought the "real" candle holders for the tree from Germany and put the clips on many branches and then placed candles in each one.  For our German family this was the way it was always done.  I remember though neighbors coming by and having near heart attacks when they saw it.  Although pretty to see, scary to think about I guess.  For us not at all.  And I don't remember any worrisomeness about it.  Eventually we became true Americans and went with the electric light system. 

Our tree was always a real tree and I remember one year my mom left the tree up till my dad's birthday 2 months later.  Wow, that was interesting.  In those days the tinsel look was in.  I remember everyone had it on their trees.  And the really nice trees had carefully placed single strands placed over the branches.  No big handfuls of the stuff.  I do remember it had lots of static electricity and would attach itself to your clothes if you got too close to the tree.  Trees were simple back then and many to most of the decorations didn't match or have a theme as is more popular now-a-days.  I remember making something most years at school and these things were always on the tree...no matter how beautiful they were or were not.

Below is a picture of me, my mother and my visit with Saint Nicolaus while still living in Germany.

Christmas was a great time as a child and the Christmas tree was a real focal point every year.  I can't even imagine not having a tree.  I love just thinking about it and growing up in a new land and celebrating the old German ways.    I will try to write one of the themes each day I can.  This will be a busy month, so I can only do my best!  Hopefully till tomorrow!