Here’s the rundown on yesterday:

• Two eye appointments took 3 hours of our morning.
• I now have all four kids in glasses… Jacob picked some awesome frames,
  
  very bold choice.  He’s got the personality to make it work though!
• A bit of school time at home in the early afternoon
• Another drive across town, this time taking mom’s minivan to the shop.  On Sunday after church, the motor on one of the back doors broke, and it would not shut.  Just stopped, at half-way open.  So, since a door being open automatically turns on the overhead light, and since the door would have to sit open all night long, Paul disconnected the battery.  Then when it was time for me to drive it, I had to re-connect the battery and then drive over there and meet Paul who was coming from work, and then drive home together. 
• Got home just in time to climb into OUR van and take Jake to karate.
• Got home just in time to pile everybody back into the van and drive to RCIA.
• Leaving RCIA at 9:15, Paul  and Megan (having had no supper) were hungry, so we drove through BK and ordered “3 value cheeseburgers” – 2 for dad, 1 for daughter – but the order got garbled through the speaker and we ended up with 3 DOUBLE cheeseburgers – way too much!  Thankfully one can always count on the eternally hungry boy at home to consume extra food.

Tuesday is off to a brisk start, with a cool morning drive (32°F) to the orthodontist and back.  School is underway.  I am expecting my new phone to arrive in the mail today.  My darling orange G’zone

started acting wonky over Thanksgiving, Friday morning Paul and I went to the Verizon store around 9am and found it completely empty.  It was my first and only experience of Black Friday shopping, and I’m happy to say we received exceptional service.  Unfortunately the phone I wanted was not in stock anywhere in town, so they had to order it for me.  We also found they had a deal on another phone that, with Black Friday sales plus rebate, made it FREE, so after going home, we brought mom back and she was able to replace her nearly worn-out phone as well.  Huzzah for good deals and not a lot of stressful crowds!

So that’s the dealie of today, with a little of yesterday, Sunday, and Friday thrown in for good measure. 

Upward and Onward!

It’s that time of year again.
The Day After Thanksgiving
Means………………………………..

Putting Up
The
Heidmann
Christmas Tree!!!

 

So turn up the volume,
press “Play”,
sit back, and observe
- and vicariously join in –
the raucous,
Mannheim Steamroller-fueled fun:

 

 

Enjoying a little eggnog to go with the festivities!

Have you met my son,
Jacob “Random” Heidmann?

She was sad…
her special porcelain Victorian shoe broke.

She was glad!
I gave her mine.

The village.

Ta-daaaa!!

The advent wreath, awaiting candles.

~*~*~*~*~

Thanks for joining us for our annual traditions.

 

The day in pictures:

Mom, Pat, Susan, & Fred conversating before dinner…

Setting up the beverage station…

The dining room, ready for feasting…

Brother Jon and family arrive and are greeted at the gate with drinks!

Chatting in the cool, but clement front yard.

Uncle Jeff with his very first Butterbeer!
Ingredients:
1 can creme soda
2 tsp. Butterscotch or Caramel flavored syrup
Generous Squirt of Redi-Whip
Sprinkling of nutmeg
(Serve in a clear mug or glass for added charm)

Perfection!
(Here is the Butterbeer recipe on which we based our version.)

Oh my, three kinds of pie!
Jess, you are awesome.

Oh my, oh MY, cakes,
and 7-layer salad (made by Meg, and so delicious)
and herb roasted potatoes, parsnips, carrots, & Brussels sprouts!
(Again, Jess brings the fabulous!)

Sam and Jess with their nephew, Lakota!

The Buffet.

Joe and Jake on the swing with their dinner plates…

The “Kids” table…

JT wondering if Meg will move over to make room for him.

Later, Mom snuck up on JT and Geneva as JT was playing some tunes on her piano…

Jacob regaling his uncle with myriad Star Wars minutiae…

Lakota.

Cousins returning from a blade around the block…

Cousins beginning a bike around the neighborhood…

Later after recovering from the first round of feasting,
we re-gathered to sing Happy Birthday
to Mother,
who surprised herself with the realization that she was only turning 71 this year,
not 72. 
In itself, a grand birthday present!

Susan looking on as Megan coos over Lakota.

Cutting the cakes…
(Geneva made the birthday cake, but I didn’t quite manage to get a picture of it.  She did an amazing job, as usual.)

The Paul and Fred after dinner cleaning team took on the dishwashing.  My heroes!
At this point in the day I had to sit down,
as I’d been on my feet almost non-stop since early morning,
so I disappeared
back to mom’s room and sat in her wheelie chair
and chatted with her,
and when I came back out,
all the leftovers had been bagged up for sending home.
I love my family!!

I found Sam & Meg out front playing darts…

And I found boys in the back yard,

Doing what boys do best,

Being yard-apes!

 

~*~*~*~*~

I am thankful for everyone who could make it for our little party this year,
and for everyone who couldn’t make it,
especially since those who couldn’t make it to our house
were with family from far away,
which was extra special.

And I am very thankful for cell phones,
which keep us connected with family we dearly love and miss,
living nearly 2000 miles away.

One of these days I’m going to figure out Skype… that will be even better!

 

During the week of Thanksgiving,
we have a tradition.
we have several traditions.

One: the grandparents come over and help us whirlwind clean the house.
(Finished in record time this year, thanks to some efficient work the day before!)
Two: they take the children back to Sun Lakes with them,
and bring them back Thanksgiving morning.
(Ostensibly to give us a chance to get ready here,
but I have a sneaking suspicion they just like spending time with the grandkids!)

This year we changed that up a little,
since my oldest wanted to stick around with her mom and be my right arm brain.

Yes, I needed her brain several times,
for her organizational skills and especially while braving the mad holiday crowds at Wal-mart.
Suffice to say,
she’s worth her weight in gold in the
“being my brain” department.

(I also understand that while Geneva and Megan were in Sun Lakes,
they each made a dish for Thursday as well, so Grandma is also reaping the rewards of
having older girls as her kitchen-angels!)

Here are some snaps from Tuesday:

Mother’s new ride arrived Tuesday –
naturally Paul needed to break her in
with a few gentle
wheelies!
This is such a great blessing,
enabling her to get around without worrying about that bum knee.
She’s pretty adept at operating it already.

The roasting of the turkeys began Tuesday night:

We scaled back to only 3 turkeys this year…

These are a girl’s best friend when it comes to tasty slow roasted turkey:
Old Bay
Italian Seasoning
Black Soy Sauce
Sweet Soy Sauce
Minced Onion
Smoked Paprika
Garlic granules
Worcestershire Sauce*
(*Not pictured due to photographer’s oversight)

Laurent got the primo job of rubbing in the seasonings.

~*~*~*~*~

Wednesday…

Here at chopping station number uno,
Celery chopping was on one side,
and potato peeling on the other.

Here the celery chopper is,
standing idle while her godfather
entrances her with youtube videos.
I thought originally they were orchestral flashmob vids
(which are so utterly cool)
but I found out later
he, knowing her interest in both languages and archeology,
was discussing
Boustrophedon
with her.

Meanwhile, mother was having a chat with her brother Dave.

And Paul was finishing stripping the meat off the last turkey carcass.

Ohhhh that juice. :~)

Ohhhh, those colors… :~)

Ham coming off the bone to go in the roaster.

High-Five that lady,
she peeled and quartered 20lbs. of taters!!

Back at her work station,
Laurent is just a crazed carrot grating blur of action!

And Jeff just got tuckered watching all the activity! :~)

Fancy corn, ready to cook!

~*~*~*~*~

We got almost everything ready by a very late bedtime Wednesday night,
which made going to mass (with an 8am rehearsal before the 9am service)
a joy on Thursday morning.

The grands and rest of the kids arrived
shortly after we got home from church,
Paul came in with Susan,
and the party was underway….

Millions of hits on this video, just since August 11th.  I think it’s beautiful!

 

 

 

I’m just sayin…
with the whole TSA thing exploding on the news lines, right after I got done flying,
I was pretty much consumed with reading accounts of passenger’s mistreatments by TSA goons all week long. 
Hey, you know, if you’re fine with all the naked scanners and hands going up skirts and inside underwear,
more power to you. 
But if you think for one minute I would subject my children to such police state tactics if it can be avoided, well…
ya don’t know me very well.

 

But at the end of the week, I can report a few good things.

Thing one:

Jacob has vehemently declined getting his hair buzzed, but it is so long it requires some kind of styling.  Megan obliged with gel and a comb.  He liked it.  We have success!

 

Thing two:

Last night, all four kids, Uncle Jeff, and I went to the 12:01 showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part 1.  Really well done, and now I want to get out the book and do a re-read.

 

Thing three:

This afternoon has been filled with lots of energizing music blasting from the tunes drive, while my loving and enthusiastic daughters worked on the pre-pre-thanksgiving-cleaning.

I didn’t even ask her to clean the oven – this is over and above!!

 

I didn’t even ask her to organize the mail, only tidy the hearth – this is over and above!

I did ask her to organize the pantry shelves, and she did an over-and-above job.

~*~*~*~*~

~*~*~*~*~

My trip to Moorhead to drive back with mom in her van
began with the ride from Hector International Airport
to Doug’s house:

(Notice the cello already in the van!)

Nice pumpkins on the front step!

I had my camera ready when I walked in the door!

Jack:

Margaret:

Abigail:

Doug, just arriving home from a long day of work:

After a short welcome,
I hopped in Doug’s big van
and we made a trip over to mom’s house.

I sat in  the front seat, with this large piece of furniture behind me,
and it really crunched me right up into the dash board.
Good thing I have short legs!

This Craig’s List acquisition
looks marvelous in the living room with all new paint
and newly refurbished hardwood floors!

Back at Doug’s house, some Grandma-&-Margaret time:

Emma:

Sisters watching a movie:

Our drive down from Fargo,
to Wichita on Sunday,
then Tucumcari, NM on Monday,
was uneventful,
save for the many deer we saw dead by the roadside.
I drove the whole way, so I was unable to take my usual quota of road trip pics.
(I will say, though, that the first day especially,
there were a very satisfying number of cows contentedly grazing
in rolling pastures all the way down through
South Dakota,
Iowa,
Nebraska,
and eastern Kansas.)

I was able to take out my camera finally,
when we took a detour to stop in at the ranch on the way down from I-40.
Mother was not thrilled with the ranch roads
(nobody is thrilled with the ranch roads, believe me!)
but I think once she got there she enjoyed it.

Finally at home again,
here she is,
ensconced in her comfy chair
with a warm afghan
and her laptop.

Thanks be to God for a safe journey.
So good to be home!

~*~*~*~*~

 

~*~*~*~*~

Closing out the weekend with a bang,
on Halloween Night,
we had a prodigious bonfire
and a lot of
wild and crazy fun:

 

Kids around the picnic table had a blast…

 

Everyone had to do the self-portrait photo:

 

Then there was the Blue Cheese Tasting
(I will leave it to you to decipher their reactions):

 

Then came a moment that can only be described as
“Heidmanns Gone Wild!”

Jacob entertaining the elders:

 

Sparks!

 

Shoulder rubs:

 

Sharps!

 

Karate man:

 

I think I was being saluted here…

 

S’mores!

 

At the very end, there was a gathering and
throwing upon the fire of
tumbleweeds.

 

Finally after all the rest were tucked into their cots and sleeping bags,
Geneva, Megan and Lisa
snuck over to the far end of the cabin with a lantern,
their pens and notebooks,

and had a lamp-lit story writing session.

 

~*~*~*~*~

A great ending to another memorable weekend at the ranch.

 

~*~*~*~*~

Love the afternoon light:

 

Ma & Pa coming back up the driveway from shutting the gate.

 

We all walked up to the top of the hill to see the sunset…

 

Sometimes girls have disagreements:

 

But they don’t last long:

 

Looking west:

 

Looking East:

 

Paul by a tree:

 

Pa riling up the dogs:

 

One last simply amazing image – completely unedited:

 

~*~*~*~*~

 

~*~*~*~*~

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming
to bring you this special report on

COWS!

Yet another driving lesson with young ladies,
during which I was able to
capture yet more
images of
these
lovely creatures.

 

Then again, this is a lovely creature as well.

 

And this!

 

This, however, was a surprise.

 

We drove down a hill and saw that this fellow
had wandered down his driveway
and out the gate….

 

He came right up to the window to say hello!
Laurent got out…

 

But jumped back in very quickly when this big dog,
followed by about a dozen little chihuahuas,
came running out the gate!

It was quite an enjoyable excursion.

~*~*~*~*~