Oodles of holiday cheer. :)

Traditionally we kick off our "holiday" messes the day after Thanksgiving with a round of Black Friday shopping. This year Abigail joined us which was gobs of fun. She was a good sport. She doesn't like shopping, but she went with us. :) We joined up with others of our Peoples and had a good time of it. I didn't buy much--only a book I'm not liking and a cute belt--but I got to explore a store called Wet Seal and loved it! Some of their stuff is a little out there, but for the most part I had an odd, glorious sensation of "ME! SOMEONE UNDERSTANDS MY STYLE!" I was sorely tempted to buy a red beret/tam, but I didn't have enough money. Instead, Abigail and I bought matching belts. We also tried on "scandalous" dresses in JC Penny's, and though you might get a severe case of the giggles from seeing the pictures, I don't want them up here for everybody and his brother to see. ;) We shall keep this on the down-low.

This morning before Abigail and Daniel left for Warrenton to have a second Thanksgiving with her family, we went to Food Lion to pick out our Christmas tree.

Yes, I said Food Lion.

You can stop gawking. 

Food Lion has way better trees than anyone. Seriously. They're way high on the Chub-o-meter, which is important to me! I hate anemic trees. It's like: "You want to be a willow? Okay. Just don't expect me to choose you to stand in my living room all December." Haha!

Sharpening my teeth. Er. Candy cane. Yes. Candy cane. ;)

It's a tradition in our family to whet our candy-canes while choosing a tree. We sharpen them into impossible points and fear we'll pierce our tongue and then break the tips when we get too excited about the Chub-factor of a particular tree.

Mr. Man is growing up! </3

But he still sits in a high-chair and he still eats cucumbers with Great Relish.

Awwww. Such a kissable chap.

*starts humming certain lines from "Santa Baby" and wishing her brain wouldn't do that.*

After we got home it was terriblyterriblyterribly quite evident that we needed to clean our house before church. 

And while we were house-cleaning, we thought we'd better take down all our autumn decor....

....

And while we were taking down our autumn decor we thought, "Why not put up the Christmas stuff?"

....

And while we were putting up Christmas stuff I was like, "Why don't I make Gingerbread men?"

So the All of Us did both simultaneously, and I made a point to take pictures. So there. And my computer accepted them and was ultra-fast in uploading. So there.

The advent log.

**nostalgia**

Beginnings of corner decorating. Over the days I'll take some more pictures. Evening lighting in our house is dubious at best.

My pussy thought it a good idea to sit in a basket and oversee production of gingerbread men...

So of course I picked her up--basket and all--and hugged her...

....

And stole a kiss or two...

Aaaaaaand that's when the calamity happened. 

One of my helpers Whose Name Shall Be Omitted spilled a glass of water all over Gingerbread Town and be-sogged the inhabitants, upon which they unanimously fell apart. Literally. It was devastating.

Cricket sat there like...

"Really? Really? You did not just spill that water."

The Pirate looked on grimly...

THE HULK stared at me in pain as his leg toppled off.

This chap called for help....

So Captain America and the Black Widow came running to the rescue, The Hulk being incapacitated by his late injuries. We mourn his loss...there will be no recovery. Levi and I shared him. :P

 Captain America is getting rather plump of late.

Seriously. Have you ever tried to make a ginger-bread woman have an hour-glass figure? It's impossible. Literally impossible. Now she looks like a clown missing buttons. *le sigh*

Mid-calamity, I paused to bake some rolls...

(we were having a Thanksgiving Dinner re-play)

In the end, the Inhabitants who were not effected by the tsunami helped me set up a hospital where the victims could crumble in peace.

Look: He's crying. It was awful.

This one was brave throughout his injuries. 

But he's an old war veteran--see that scar by his eye? He won it in a tussle with the red fox and the little old woman and the little old man. But he couldn't out-run the tsunami this time. :(

It was not a terribly unhappy ending though, because some of the residents came our all right with all their limbs intact. :)

A good many of them, in fact.

And the Gingerbread Baby was saved, which is a mercy. 

Here are my companions in First Aid Rescue, Gingerbread creation, and taste-testing. They are good sorts, and I am blessed to call them mine. :)