Christmas Magic

Just waiting for Santa

Is that an Elf filling the stockings?

The quiet of Christmas approaching.

 

Santa Claus's helper accidentally overlooked  the box with all the Christmas presents in it while packing...whence Violet and Lucia just had the gifts from the relatives.  Santa left a note saying that their present from him her under their Christmas tree in Boston.  Lucia, of course, didn't notice. And Violet was okay with the fact that Charlie and Greta had far more presents to open. 

A beautiful Christmas Dinner

(Sorry no photo...I was cooking)

Sing Christmas carols

After dinner and caroling we dashed out to see the Hampden Christmas Lights
(this is all on one short block in Baltimore)

A Robot Nativity

A hubcap Christmas Tree

 Amazing...a miracle on 34th Street!

Merry Christmas to all

And to all and good Night

Christmas in Baltimore

...a few of the captured Moments:

Grampa & Charlie playing "Don't Smile"

A new talent...winking ;)

 Clark cooking up some good ol' southern grub...bbq pork with coleslaw and his signiture mac & cheese with bacon.  Yummy!

The most Tobler facial hair ever seen.

 Dr. Tobler using his skills... on a leaky faucet.

 A drive-by of Johns Hopkins...Kyle's place of employment.

 Greta...waiting for Christmas to come.

 Christmas...please hurry.

Reading with Grampa Karl

 Totally and helplessly...sucked into media.

 

 Not feeling so good.

 Cleaning up the "up chuck"

 The great issue debate that called for a white board diagramming.

 A Tobler Tiger wrestling match

 A glow-stick Bath

It's those happy moments...

that make those wonderful memories.

A bit of Tobler History

 

When the boys were little it was not uncommon to find out  that they had to give a talk in Primary just before church.

So I kept a file of past talks given...just for those occasions.   Even though there were several talks to choose from this was their favorite...and the one they always chose.  So it was probably given by every Tobler boy...on numerous occasions.  So often it became a bit of  Tobler history.

Wilford Woodruff

My talk is about Wilford Woodruff.

He was the 4th president of the church.   According to his Journal: 

• He fell in a big pot of boiling water at the age of 3.
• He fell from a beam in his father's barn, landing on his face on the bare floor of the barn.
• He broke both arms by falling. 
• He narrowly missed being gored by a bull.
• He broke a leg by a fall from a carriage.
• He was kicked in the stomach by a bull
• He was buried beneath a load of hay when a wagon tipped over
• He fell 15 feet from a tree
• He almost froze to death
• He split his foot while chopping wood
• He was bitten by a dog with rabies.
• He was thrown from a runaway horse and broke his leg.

All this before he was 20 years old.

• Later he fell from a mill twice and narrowly missed being crushed
• He was dragged twice by a run away gorse. 
• A gun aimed directly at his chest snapped accidentally but miss fired.
• He was hit by a fallin tree breaking his breast bone and 3 ribs.

Wilford Woodruff knew the Lord had watched over him and preserved his life so he could fill his great calling as President of the Church.

 So Jake and Steph...if you want to use it for your talks on Sunday...be my guest.

Happy Birthday to my Best Friend

 

  and favorite "Old Man"

My last big project

I finished this nursery set and curtains in October for the daughter of  friends. But I just got over to her house to take pictures today.
 
 Melissa found this set on-line here...

Then we changed it up a bit by adding a red ruffle to the blanket and red piping to the bumper.  The black crib is actually antiqued with red so it really brings out the antiquing.

Then she wanted coordinating blackout curtains.

 There is also a box-pleated dust ruffle which won't show well until they convert it to a youth bed and remove the front railing.

I really love the challenge of seeing a picture and seeing how close I can duplicate it...
or improve on it.   And this was fun!

Pre-Birthday warm-up

A favorite birthday tradition

 

  Lunch at In & Out,

Jammin' for a few hours with Clare

Can't get much better than that in Karl's book.

But then that evening his pre-birthday celebration continued...
 
 We went went to the Live Nativity with Jake & Steph
The evening was cold...so it did feel Christmasy
 
 Excellent!  So well done.
 
 Steph was practicing with her new camera and got some good shots.

Then Jake and Steph treated us to dinner at Applebees.
So Good. So Fun.
Thanks Jake and Steph.