I was going through photos from this past year and realized I had never posted these of our girls’ weekend all the way back in March! In fact, some of these photos are from two years before that (which I had not posted, either). In the spirit of ‘now or never,’ here are some fun, non-chronological, un-Christmas-y pictures of the four of us (Mom, Shannon, Holly, and me) living it up in Portland.
The boys took off as soon as we arrived, and I followed Lola around. We met up with our friends from the charter school, and we all had the place mostly to ourselves. It was wonderful!
Luke was the only one willing to sit on Santa’s lap. He NEVER turns down an opportunity to ask for gifts.
And, drumroll please, I actually got in a picture:
Have you read the book? Watched the Broadway musical? Listened to the music?
Les Miserables is a fantastic story about the power of redemption. Do not miss it.
If you aren’t familiar with the story and would like to prepare yourself in anticipation of the movie releasing on December 25th, I have a few suggestions. Read the book is an obvious suggestion. {grin} I will say that the completely unabridged version is a rough book to get through. Victor Hugo goes on for pages and pages (sometimes chapters) about things (the life of a Bishop, life in a convent, politics and war) that are somewhat related as background information or side stories but unnecessary to the plot or the pivotal characters. (Just as fair warning.) Because of the side stories and details as well as a complex plot, it can be helpful to have an idea of the main characters and plot before diving into the original story.
If you want a great taste of the Broadway musical without attending a performance, the 10th Anniversary Concert is spectacular. It is available on DVD, but thanks to the wonder of YouTube, you can watch it with one click of the mouse:
The above concert will give you an idea of what ages the movie might be appropriate for.
For a superb, family-friendly Les Miserables experience, I highly recommend Les Miserables Radio Theatre production by Focus on the Family. It is an abridged, full cast audio drama that my boys think is riveting.
In fact, I highly recommend all of the Focus on the Family radio theater productions. The Chronicles of Narnia production is spectacular. At 22 hours of listening pleasure (including an original orchestral score), the series is well-represented. Ben Hur is another family favorite.
Dickens for Christmas. Yes, please.
At the library I recently found a little treasure for our book bag: Charles Dickens: Scenes from an Extraordinary Life by Mick Manning. It fits in perfectly alongside our Christmas repertoire.
I’ve said it before, but I do love great biographical picture books. And I love mixing biographies in with great literature selections for the younger crowd. When it comes to A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, we have a couple favorite retellings.
Have you listened to the audio stories by Jim Weiss? We have most of them (the result of collecting for years) and A Christmas Carol and Other Favorites (includes The Gift of the Magi, and Dick Spindler’s Family Christmas) is a fun one. I love being able to listen to the stories as we are running errands or heading out for activities.
We have several of the Eyewitness Classics collection. The Dorling Kindersley books have such a wealth of background and supplemental information. They make the stories come alive.
Eyewitness Classics: Christmas Carol is an excellent introduction to the story for younger children, complete with historical information about life in London in 1843. It has beautiful illustrations and photographs.
For Leif (my stubborn son who only wants to read Magic Tree House books) we have Magic Tree House Fact Tracker #22: Rags and Riches: Kids in the Time of Charles Dickens: A Nonfiction Companion to Magic Tree House #44: A Ghost Tale for Christmas Time because, when it comes to books, I always try to have something to please everyone!
We attended the Oregon Coast Aquarium’s Sea of Lights event on Friday evening. It was a dark and stormy night to be driving over to Newport, but the kids were great sports and we arrived safely. We met up with friends and enjoyed our stay whole-heartedly. There were lights, special music, and a great new play area for the kids.
I love the blur on that last shot. It is authentically what it is like to take Lola somewhere. All a blur. {grin}
We headed back home in the dark, wet, late night, eating fudge and singing Christmas songs together the whole way. It was lovely. Just lovely.
Everyone is posting pictures of their decorated Christmas trees on facebook this evening.
But I have a confession.
I have no desire to get a Christmas tree.
No desire to decorate my house for Christmas.
No desire to do a single craft.
Nope.
If I add one more thing, one more mess to this space I will go insane.
That is all.
I’ll resume my more cheerful attitude in the morning. I promise.
In celebration of my sister Shannon’s Christmas baby, we put together a “Bonjour Bebe” French fete fit for a queen. My sister Holly, my mom, two of Shannon’s best friends (Larissa and Domini), and I made a great team. (Ilex and Ivy helped, and Drake even helped people park out in the freezing rain). It was a dark and stormy day and I didn’t get all the pictures I wanted to get, but I think I caught the essence. {grin} (A few pictures here were taken by Larissa.) We had a great turnout of over 40 people, some traveling a long distance in nasty weather!
Shannon is the queen event-planner so it was a great privilege (and challenge!) to throw her a party (in classy Shannon-style) where she could just relax and enjoy herself. After years of creating parties for others, she deserved to be the star of the show!
Details:
Menu:
This was the invitation (with some of the personal information erased):
