This is what I do for fun

Living out in the country is great because of all the wildlife that is around. We have a big, bay window in our family room and we have hung bird feeders right outside the window. We have lots of birds that come visit and we always enjoy watching them. When I walked into the room today I saw a squirrel hanging from the feeder. My pictures aren't great since they are through the window, but you will get the idea anyway.

The best part came when the squirrel got tired. He wrapped his paws around the pole and slid down like a fireman. Then he decided he needed to get back up. The pole is about 6 feet tall. He got a running start, jumped up the pole and got almost to the feeder before he slid back down. He tried two or three more times, but just couldn't make it to the top. It was great for a laugh.

Update on Kenny's family

Kenny and Rachel sent me their latest family pictures and I couldn't resist putting them on the blog. Isn't he such a cute little guy!

Jeffrey at the MTC

Chile, here he comes!

Jeffrey left today for his mission to the Chile Concepcion South Mission. We had an incredible meeting last night with the Stake President who set him apart. That really helped to set the tone for today and made things so much easier. We are so excited for him and can't wait to hear all about his adventures.

Christmas traditions

One of the traditions here is "Christmas crackers. I got my pictures out of order a bit, but if you scroll down you can see what they look like. They range from shiny and decorative to childlike. When the "cracker" is pulled, it makes a popping sound and then it opens and has prizes inside. The kids were good sports and let me take a picture of them modeling the tissue paper hats that came as a prize. Other prizes included jokes and little toys or games.

When in Rome....

We try to participate as much as possible in village life so the kids get the whole English experience. Most villages in England have a big church, even if the village is small. It is kind of odd since the British people as a whole don't seem to be terribly religious. Our village is very small, but has a good sized church that dates back to the 14th century. We were curious to see what it looked like on the inside, so when we got a notice through our door that they were having a Christmas Eve service, we decided to give it a try.

It turned out to be a Church of England, candlelit, Eucharist service. It was an interesting service - quite different from our own. Afterwards they served mince pie (a sweet pie served at Christmas and New Years made from a preserve of apples and raisins) and sherry or juice for the children. We chose the juice option :) I don't know if we will go again next year, but it was an interesting experience.

Winter weather

Okay, this does not feel like England anymore. It has been snowing all day with big, huge snowflakes. These aren't very good pictures, but you will get the idea :) The kids are playing out in the front yard. The snow has not slowed down the village at all though. The villagers, including us, are still walking into town, doing everything they usually do. We walked to town, went to the card shop and the post office, got a steak and kidney pie from the butcher and then stopped by the nice pub down from our house to warm up and get a hot dessert.