The Christmas season has begun - we had Christmas pictures taken Friday night at Wal-mart. I think that is my official 'beginning' to the season! The fact that I have been working on snowflakes all year makes it hard to pin point a beginning otherwise. The pictures turned out pretty nice. We even got Ralph to come with us this year - so we have an actual family portrait! Alli was on her best behavior (well, OK, she was on pretty good behavior!) and took some good pictures. This year, she was actually smiling in the pictures!

I did sit down and make a list of needed snowflakes, and I have 55 made, and need about 75. I know the number I need will go up, so I am planning on making extras. One problem - the 55 are crocheted, but not stiffened! I will have to start stiffening a bunch every night here pretty soon (yes, I am still procrastinating!) I still haven't made my list of 'things to get done' before Christmas.

I don't know if we will have a 'cookie decorating party' this year or not. I haven't checked with AJ lately, and it doesn't look like the Derby's will be able to make it up. I don't know that AJ really wants to do it with his 'guy friends'. I am sure he would love to have them come over, but I don't think they want to interrupt their video games to decorate cookies! As the kids got older, it was easy to see the gender differences (at least for the kids that usually come!). I have to force Dallas to make an ornament and decorate cookies to take to his mom. (Now, if the cookies all made it home, I would be very surprised, and it is a very short walk!) The girls, on the other hand, spent a lot of time making the ornaments look just right, and decorated a lot more cookies that AJ and Dallas do.