Pur et Simple

Cookie exchanges are such fun.  Hannah and I each baked and baked.  She made a delicious oatmeal chocolate chip cookie.  Not "Christmasy" but such a great basic cookie recipe to have. 

So - do you know how they work?  You bake 6 dozen of one type of cookie.  You are able to leave with a sampling of all the other cookies brought by others to total 6 dozen.  It's a terrific way to get a large assortment of Christmas cookies without having to bake 12 or more different recipes.

Look at all those cookies!

Fellowship and fun with good friends during the holiday season....it was a lovely day. 

Later that evening we enjoyed a piano recital.  What fun to sing some carols and listen to the many children play skillfully on a beautiful grand piano.  (A sure delight for Hannah!)

Hannah played "The First Noel".

Daniel played "O Come All Ye Faithful".

 

Singing carols was what we did for Day 7 of our Advent calendar.

 

Day 8's card was to read the "Legend of the Pine Cone".  Pine cones make for beautiful, natural decorations.  In fact, I used just a few for a simple porch decoation with some fresh greenery, but this "legend" was a bit ridiculous and has absolutely nothing to do with the birth of Christ. It did make for good conversation with the younger children as even the ridiculous can be a good teaching tool.   A much better story would have been The Tale of Three Trees by Angela Elwell Hunt.  {though this story doesn't specifically state that the trees are pine trees - so not sure if the pine cones would correlate.}