Happy New Year's Eve!

Anyone out there going to be doing a little bit of this tonight? Who were the big puzzle putter-together-ers in our family? Abraham, I remember. Brigham? Gabrielle? Definitely Rosalynde. Definitely not me.

Mother and child

Merry Christmas Eve to my beloved family, here and everywhere.

Sunday Club

No photo documentation of the actual planning meetings, but this is evidence that they took place! Rosalynde, you were such a good ring-leader for this magical time of year. How long did Sunday Clubs remain a tradition for planning the Christmas program?

One, two, three--open!

These must be our Christmas Eve pajamas, huh? I loved those flannel night-gowns--they are a big incentive for me to learn how to actually operate a sewing machine!

Santa Babies

Mama and Daddy, do you remember who may have been hiding under that long beard? Or what Rosalynde and Gabrielle may have been wishing for that year?

Success!!!

Now this is what I'm talking about... Two hours driving + two hours choosing + numerous arguments in the car + numerous arguments in the lot = the perfect tree.

O Tannenbaum

I'm guessing we didn't cut this tree down, did we? When was the last time we all piled into the van and went to a U-Cut lot, singing Christmas songs all the way down and eating candy canes all the way back? The trees we buy pre-cut are beautiful, but I also have fond memories of that drive that seemed like it lasted forever (and wasn't the lot down by Magic Mountain? So it did kind of last forever...)

Christmas babies

What a good little shepherd... And will Eva be debuting as a sheep, or is her role simply to look adorable? Apropos of nothing, I'm thinking that I see some similarities between my little Cici and Eva at that age. I hope I'm right!

Mary and the Young Child

Methinks this baby Jesus is a little too big for his manger...

Christmas of the Twins

What a brilliant idea--if you have two toddling mischief-makers, just raise the tree off the ground! We would have saved several ornaments if Dave and I had wised onto this idea sooner...

Ward Party?

Now to which holiday event would Mama be wearing that smokin' hot red? Married women with young children don't have permission to look so good (at least, that's my excuse these days :).

Mary Mild

I have to say, this might be the sweetest, most angelic looking Mary to grace our family nativity scenes...

A Christmas Princess

And yet another transformation of Rachel... The Frandsen Rose Princess was so good that the Nordstrom's Santa came a little early that year with a bag full of new outfits which she got to wear over and over and over again for months straight :).

A Christmas... Clown?

Okay, Gabrielle, you're holding the face-paint in this picture. Do you remember the story of how Rachel harangued you into transforming her into a Christmas clown?

Say cheese!!!

I have vivid memories of this Christmas outfit that Mama made for all of her little girls. I loved the pink sash, the tights, the little rosebuds on the blue fabric. Mama, how in the world did you have time to sew with so many children underfoot?

Two Little Stockings

It's funny to look at those two little stockings, knowing how many more would be coming over the years! Mama, when did you make all of those homemade stockings? Did you make them all at once or piece-meal as the babies arrived?

Merry Christmas, Brigham!

I bet Brigham was glad to get toys that were a little more geared toward his gender :). Looks like Grandpa Hansen was eager to get his hands on it, too!

Christmas Smiles

Look at these adorable boys... All innocence--no thought of raiding the caramel side of the three-flavor  popcorn bucket behind them, right?

The Nativity Cast

So this is where the Nativity cast started. I remember Gabrielle being the angel for many years--is that right? Was it her beautiful long hair or the fact that she's the only one that could properly drape the tinsel :)?

Name that Baby Jesus

Shouldn't be too hard, given our Mary and Joseph of that year :). On an entirely different note, that was the year of The Perm for me. What do you think? Should I adopt curly hair? And on another note, isn't Abraham adorable?

Setting up for Christmas

Now we know what Mama and Daddy were up to in the music room while we were all upstairs behaving ourselves over a congenial game of Clue :).

 But they certainly did a good job of putting on a magical Christmas morning, didn't they?

A North Carolina Christmas

So what elements of this Christmas still exist today? Do you recognize anything from these pictures? (besides the beautiful mother and the now-grown baby?)

Sacred Christmas

On this first Sunday of the Advent Season, this is a picture of one of the most sacred parts of Christmas for me. I wish I could take my girls to go lay a wreath on Jacob's and Isaac's graves this Christmas, too.

Christmas Nightgowns

I'd love to start the tradition of giving my girls a new nightgown every Christmas Eve. Maybe this means that it's time to learn how to sew... I love this glimpse of Christmas in the old old house!