Pointsettias. 332/365

We stopped by our local nursery this afternoon to pick out a plant for our next-door neighbors. They don't have young kids so we don't have much interaction with them, except to say "hello" on occasion. They brought us a very nice welcome basket when we moved in. At Halloween they gave our girls candy bars even though they spend All Hallows Eve at church. This past summer, the wife brought over the loveliest basket of flowers from her garden. I wanted them to know that we are grateful to have them for neighbors. I let the girls deliver the plant and the holiday message. They love giving gifts.

He's Back! 331/365

Pepper Minstix is our elf (on the shelf). He visits every day and returns to the North Pole every night to let Santa know if we've been good or bad. We can't touch him or he'll lose his magical powers so he just sits and watches.

Thankful for . . . 230/365

these two beauties. We spent some time at the mall today because we knew nobody else would be there and we could take some pictures with high hopes of one them being good enough for our Christmas card. I wasn't thrilled with the family photos, but I did like a few of the girls, particularly this one of Jordan outside of Hollister and of Maddie outside of Urban Outfitters.

Fine Carpentry. 329/365

I wish I needed some remodeling done so I could call this guy. I noticed the sign while at a stop light on the way to school this morning. It made us all laugh. Maddie wondered aloud if the guy knew the initials he used in his company name spelled a bad word.

Hugs. 328/365

These are the moments I live for. Jordan loves to hug Maddie, but Maddie's amount of hug time (with Jordan) depends on how much sleep she got the night before. She was done with hugs right after I snapped the photo.

Lemur Crossing. 327/365

One of our first days in Richmond last year while driving Jordan to school, we passed a gaggle of these guys and Jordan said, "Look at the lemurs." I don't really think she thought they were lemurs, but out of the corner of her eye she caught the white stripe on the head and maybe thought of lemur tails. I don't know . . . but ever since she said that we always say, "look at the lemurs." These guys were pretty brave just stepping out into traffic this afternoon. I laughed when only one stepped into the street at first. It was as if the others were waiting to see if he'd get run over before they all stepped out.

Fuji Applesauce. 326/365

We peeled, sliced, cooked, crushed, and canned the last of the Fuji apples. We had some good 'ole girl time today working so diligently on making this applesauce. There were three of those big bowls full of apples which made eight quarts of oh-so-delicious applesauce. I am still surprised at how easy this process is of picking and preserving our own food. As we worked we discussed the fact that years ago this was the only way to have fruits and vegetables available for winter consumption.