Update Shmupdate

It's been awhile since I've posted so I thought I would write an update for y'all.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving. We drove "up north" to spend the day with Kyle's mom and his family. The meal was great, and it was fun to see his brothers and their families again. The kids had a grand time playing with their cousins!

We decorated for Christmas last weekend, and I love walking through the living room and seeing the lights. I don't do much - just a small tree, the manger scene, some lights on the banister, and a few "Christmasy" decorations around the living room. A couple of them (a bell-shaped candy dish and a candle-holder shaped like a yule log) were ceramic pieces made by my Mom. I remember sitting at the dining room table when she painted the yule log/candle holder, watching her skillfully wield the paint brush with green and red, brown and black. She loved to do ceramics and was very good at it.

I've been cleaning the house "FlyLady-Style" and plan to go through every drawer, closet, nook and cranny before I have family visiting the week after Christmas. I have a lot of bags of clothes to take to the thrift store for donation. I also plan to re-arrange and thoroughly clean the basement. We recently had drain tile and another sump pump put in - so basically everything we had stored down there got piled along the center of the basement. It will be a good opportunity to get rid of more stuff! I also hope to rent a steam cleaner for the carpets and some of the furniture. Nothing like a family gathering to prompt me to thoroughly clean and declutter!!

Not much else is new. It's getting cold up here in Minnesota and I told Peachie yesterday that I truly understand now why people head south in the winter! If I could, I might too!!

Stay warm! ~ Beth ~