Merry Christmas

 King of kings 

‘Twas the Night Before Christmas

 'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; 
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds;
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave a lustre of midday to objects below,
When what to my wondering eyes did appear,
But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny rein-deer,

With a little old driver so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment he must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:

"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;
So up to the housetop the coursers they flew
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too—

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly
That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight—
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

Fantasy 12

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:

Twelve blazing dragons

Eleven strutting centaurs

Ten flimsy fairies

Nine mystic mermaids

Eight hearty hobbits

Seven dwarves a-mining

Six flying horses

Five magic rings

Four mountain trolls

Three phoenixes

Two forest fauns

And a unicorn as white as the snow! 

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Fantasy 11

On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:

Eleven strutting centaurs
Ten flimsy fairies
Nine mystic mermaids
Eight hearty hobbits
Seven dwarves a-mining
Six flying horses
Five magic rings
Four mountain trolls
Three phoenixes
Two forest fauns
And a unicorn as white as the snow!

Fantasy 10

Ten flimsy fairies,

Nine mystic mermaids,
Eight hearty hobbits,
Seven dwarves a-mining,
Six flying horses,
Five magic rings,
Four mountain trolls,
Three phoenixes,
Two forest fauns,
And a unicorn as white as the snow!

Fantasy 9

On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:

Nine mystic mermaids

Eight hearty hobbits

Seven dwarves a-mining

Six flying horses

Five magic rings

Four mountain trolls

Three phoenixes

Two forest fauns

And a unicorn as white as the snow!

Fantasy Christmas 8

 Eight hearty hobbits

Fantasy Christmas 7

 Dwarves

Happy Double Birthday

Happy double birthday to my big sister Christine and my little brother Christopher! Hope it’s been a great one for you both.

Fantasy Christmas 6

 Six

Fantasy Christmas

 Five magic rings 

The 12 Days of Christmas - My Fantasy Way 4

On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:

Four mountain trolls

Three phoenixes

Two forest fauns
And a unicorn as white as the snow!

The 12 Days of Christmas - My Fantasy Way 3

On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: 

Three phoenixes

Two forest fauns

And a unicorn as white as the snow!

The 12 Days of Christmas - My Fantasy Way 2

On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:

Two forest fauns

And a unicorn as white as the snow!

Party at Kneaders

Had a fun little Christmas party at my work this evening. Absolutely delicious food (and loads of it!) and good clean fun with friends and associates. 

The 12 Days of Christmas - My Fantasy Way 1

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:

A unicorn as white as the snow!

Ward Christmas Breakfast

Today was the day of our ward Christmas party. 

This year we held a breakfast at the Stake Center, and it was just me and Chris this time. Michael had to go to work and Corie didn't want to get up so early in the morning. Plus, Lizzie had come over for a sleepover and she didn't want to come to the breakfast either, so Corie stayed home with her. Mom eventually caught up with me and Chris after dropping Michael off. 

I did save a bit of chocolate muffin for Mike, Corie, and Lizzie; those muffins are huge. 

After we ate, there was a nice 12-minute clip about the Savior, of which I played a small part. Then the Primary kids performed a very nice version of "Silent Night" with their own little bells, and finally I participated in a little ornament painting craft. That paint was trickier to use than I'd thought, but it was still good clean fun...or mostly clean! 

Decorated Tree

Ta-da! The tree is officially decorated! It may be smaller than our old tree but it still looks very nice and some of those ornaments take me way back. 

I'm partial to the "Santa, Do You Take Bribes?" because that was bought in my WSU college days. When I saw it, I just had to have it for keeps. And of course, we always have to put Mickey and Minnie Mouse close to each other.

Putting Up the Tree

A few family photos while we enjoyed our Christmas tree, as well as some classic Christmas songs on my Smartphone. We'll add the official ornaments tomorrow.

Mather Family Party

Tonight was the night of the annual Mather Family Christmas party. Since I work in the daytime anyway, this was perfect for me. 

Aside from a nuthouse at work (I'm used to the Christmas crowds but they never cease to amaze me; everybody wants everything all at once) and getting briefly lost on the way, not to mention narrowly avoiding a wreck because another car ran a red light, it was fairly smooth sailing. We had a great time seeing everybody, with plenty of hugs to go around, and the food was delicious.

Good news for Mom, too: she's making excellent progress on her diabetes, to the point where the doctors are going to try to ease her off insulin (she'll still need to take special medication and watch her blood sugar) and it's possible her diabetes could be reversed altogether. I'm well aware that reversed diabetes is not the same as cured diabetes, but knowing the doctors are happy with what they're seeing is very heartening indeed. Goes to show healthy habits do pay off.