Last Tuesday, I finally finished my Christmas Journal, but I've been waiting for time and sunshine to merge in order to take decent photos of it. Over the next day or two, I'll post the rest of the pages. Every time I finish one of these, I'm so glad I put the time and effort into it. Every year is different, and yet some things remain the same. Capturing those traditions and special events are my reason why.
This year Skylar was old enough and very interested in helping bake Christmas cookies. She came on Saturday to bake, and again on Sunday to help decorate the sugar cookies. She caught on very quickly, and was quite efficient in using the rolling pin to roll out dough.
I used a photo for the Dec. 21 layout that I had taken earlier in the week from our neighbor's back patio. They live at the top of the hill, and have this amazing view of downtown Rochester. I took this day to type up a list of all the social events of the month. (Tracy found a small typo in the list, but I wasn't upset enough by it, to redo the page. It's the first time I've ever managed to create a page with all digital elements without struggling through the process!)
Betsy and her sisters planned a wonderful Christmas party for family and friends on the 22nd. I used one of Cathy Z's 6X8 templates for this page.
We celebrate Christmas with Matt, Betsy and the girls early since the Walker family Christmas starts so late, and goes so long. It's a bit overwhelming as well, so it's nice to have a quiet dinner and Christmas with just family.
Christmas Eve Day has traditionally been a quiet one for us, and a good chance to rest up before Christmas and the travel right afterwards. The story of the necklace is one of those stories I want to capture so I can remember exactly when it happened. Looking back over earlier Christmas Journals, I was surprised at how much I had forgotten.
My goal on Christmas Day is to try and get a photo of everyone who is here that year. This year there were 18 of us, and I think I did it, although I didn't have close-up photos of everyone. Thanks to my sister-in-law, Jill, there's even a photo of me this year!
And the last, and favorite spread, with these cute photos of Skylar and Ella "playing" the piano with Sonora. Sonora, of course, is playing Christmas carols, while the girls are accompanying her.
Back soon, with the rest . . .
