Hail to the New Year!

Christmas has come and gone and the New Year is upon us.

Old Man Winter is having a blast!

He came early in December, dug in his heels, and seems determined to stay for the duration.

This past week he has socked us with plenty of wintry weather. We've had snow every day in varying amounts, and today the temperatures were frigid, the snow heavier and the wind wicked.....a good day to rug up and stay warm inside.

This sweet little Downy Woodpecker, on his way to the suet cage, obligingly took a minute to pose nicely for a photo (or two or three).

I felt sorry for the birds having to deal with the such cold temperatures and that nasty wind today. They were busy at the feeders all day. That's a Tree Sparrow on the left and 2 House Sparrows on the right.

December flew by with the busyiness of Christmas preparations. Hannah "helped" me decorate the Christmas tree.

Hanging the ornaments brings nostalgic memories of Christmases past, children growing into adults.....

and having families of their own.

Celebrating the birth of Our Savior.

I love baking and decorating Christmas cookies!

One of my favorite presents came in a package of lovely surprises from my very dear friend Alice, who blogs in Canberra, Australia at A Growing Delight.

It's a card with a picture of Kookaburras. When the card is opened it plays the sound of the birds "laughing". I almost died of fright when I first opened it (thank you very much, Alice!) and Hubby and I had a good laugh :) Hannah was completely enthralled, and determined to find the creatures making that wierd noise.

Jasmine also came to investigate....

but decided she was not particularly impressed.

Another very sweet surprise came from my dear friend, Vero, who blogs in France at Au Fil du Jardin. She sewed this beautiful card! Isn't the little snowman adorable?

Hubby and I spent a quiet Christmas Day with an old friend visiting in the morning, and then all the family came on Saturday for the weekend. We had a wonderful time of laughter, good food and just being together. It's such a treat to have everyone here at the same time...something not so easy to accomplish these days.

Daughter 2 gave the grandsons noisemakers.....and won the hearts of all the adults, especially their parents (uhuh). Do you suppose she holds a secret grudge against her brother for some long ago incident? Hmmmm.

The big kids had to get into the act when the "Whacky Sticks" were opened. I can't remember their exact name, but this one is fitting. They made a lot of noise when whacked together! (I think those toys were probably mysteriously "lost" shortly after they arrived home).

And now here we are in 2010! (already!)

This white world of winter is very beautiful, despite the cold.....

but I'm dreaming of spring and the flowers to come!

(there's still one Anemone de caen flower blooming and another one coming).

Alice and Richard, there's still some shortbread left!
It won't last long, but
I'll bake a fresh batch when you come to visit :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Thanks for a wonderful year of blogging and friendship. I look forward with eager anticipation to this next year of blogging adventures.

May God bless you all, my dear blog friends.