Well, since it’s almost time to put all the Christmas decorations away, I thought I’d do a little photo show of what we had this year.
Things went up in phases as we added new pieces to our collection so this year’s display really wasn’t complete until after Christmas.
Phase one was the tree and stockings (Nativity scene came later).
Phase two was Christmas lights! These came after a trip to my parents house where they bestowed upon me my portion of the Christmas light inheritance left to us by our grandfather. (I’m sure if I need any next year they will be happy to part with a few more – Papaw left us with at least ten tubs of lights he repaired).
The last phase was started by my family during their visit the weekend before Christmas. I was given a nativity craft and in Tom Sawyer fashion, I recruited the help (and glue gun) of my mom and sisters. I even got Brian in on the act, building the manger – a manly sort of job. I made the two sheep.
Here’s the finished set – now just to keep it out of Tadpole’s reach next year!
Thanks to all who made our decorations possible!
30-Dec-2007
Family shots
After reading on Hope’s site how she wished her whole family could have been together, I realized that I now complete two different families! Kind of a strange thing. So in honor of that new realization, I will post the family pictures that we took on Christmas day.
The whole family in front of the house. Nice Christmas colors!
Here’s all of us up closer. L-R: Daniel, Rachel, Mom, Dad, Benj. Brian, Amy, Kim, Kevin
Now just the boys – I really like how this one turned out.
And the sisters – how we all manged to have coordinating clothing is beyond me – great minds think alike?
And, of course, we had to get one of the cute little couple. 
So there you have it, the entire Cahill Clan!
Christmas morning breakout!
Following a time honored tradition, Dad Cahill built a barricade in the hall late Christmas Eve. Originally started when the kids were young and would wander the house at all hours during that night, it has now become a cherished event and grows more complicated as the guys get older.
4:00 am finds Benj. knocking at our door summoning us to the challenge – can we get through without waking the parents?
We were faced with the blank side of a refrigerator box – on the other side were cardboard blocks, milk jugs and other stuff precariously piled, ready to make noise if we made one wrong move.
Daniel and Brian cautiously dismantled the barricade, piece by piece and handed them back to the rest of us who quietly stacked them to the side.
Unfortunately, the hall floor is really squeaky and we made a few wrong moves as we tried to break through and woke up dad who called out “ah, ah, ah, no peeking!” 
We did eventually disassemble the whole thing and make it out to the tree! Kevin tried to go back to bed but Benj. pulled him out for this picture. 
The parents weren’t worried enough to actually get out of bed at such an hour, so we decided to return the favor while they slept. 
Too bad we didn’t think to block the other exits to their room. 
Having accomplished all of that before 5:00am, and no one else was going to show their face for at least another two hours, we had nothing else to do but settle down and play some games.
Weekend Highlights
The family came up to check out our place this week!
The majority of them arrived on Wed. and after getting them settled in, I took them on a tour of the neighborhood – including my favorite park!
Aren’t we a great looking bunch of gals?
The next day we toured the town, meeting Brian for lunch at his workplace.
These great horses are in front of Brian’s work building – they’re kind of famous and the process of designing and creating them took over seven years to complete!
We also decided to check out the marble cows nearby – the guys enjoyed them more than they thought they would because we could actually climb on them. We also visited the arts center and looked at a bunch of Christmas trees decorated Cajun style.
Later that afternoon I took them to the nursing home I visit. Stacie and Lori played the flute and harp, much to the enjoyment of both residents and staff.
That evening we all went to a wedding rehearsal for Bekah Owens. The rehearsal dinner was great! Traditional Philippine food prepared by the groom’s mother and friends (his family are missionaries there).
The next day was pretty much filled with the wedding itself.
I was the matron of honor…and the dress just barely fit!
The Jones girls came and helped out while the guys hung out with Brian and did guy stuff (pizza, games and disc golf). My family made good use of themselves – Stacie did at least five different hairdos for the wedding party, Lori iced the wedding cake and Mom make the boutonnieres (yes, that is spelled right according to the dictionary)
I got ready, watched Bekah, took pictures, watched Bekah and Sam, stood on stage and watched Bekah and Sam. There was a point after the ceremony that they hid out for a few minutes and we didn’t watch that part 
The reception was fun, complete with a dragon and knight on the grooms cake and a chocolate fountain! Brian wouldn’t let me try and catch the bouquet
Brian drove the happy couple in their getaway car and I drove our car to pick him up at their location. I was leading and only got lost once – I don’t know if the new couple even noticed 
On Saturday we slept in a bit, welcomed the arrival of Dad, and played games all morning. Stacie and Adam somehow managed to coordinate a visit so we had 13 for lunch in our little apartment – fun!
We tried to play volleyball that afternoon but it was too cold and windy – so we ended up playing tag on the playground for two hours! Even mom and dad played! I found out that I’ve lost a lot of agility and speed in the last month or so Brian kept laughing at how cute I looked trying to run.
We finally headed back to the house for hot chocolate, popcorn and a movie. Afterwards Dad took us out for pizza!
Sunday they all packed up and left on a vacation. Brian and I cleaned house and set up for our next set of guests coming in that day – the newly weds 
We conveniently arranged to be absent the next few days and after stocking the house with supplies, we headed to Brian’s parents house – getting to see both our families in one day!
19-Dec-2007
Monday I went to the midwife and there discovered I had stepped into a brand new time of life – I now weigh more than I ever have in my life! 
Brian weighed in too because we’re having a contest on how long it will take me to weigh as much as him. I’ve still got a little bit to go before I catch him, but it’s looking hopeful now! 
He has been awfully kind and even lost a bit of weight just to help me out 
I think the midwives are of the opinion that we are a bit strange – but hey, what fun is life if you can’t enjoy every aspect of it? 
So in celebration of this new milestone in my life, here is the requested photo:
