Festival of Trees

First off, let me tell you where I have been! My computer was down with a virus so I have been unable to post anything. I really missed it and I really missed being able to get on the computer whenever I wanted or needed to! It was good for me to take a break from it, but I am glad it is fixed. A friend recommended a nice Christian homeschooling dad that works on computers for a living to come to my home to fix it. He is in high demand so I waited an entire week. I think the toughest part was being unable to search for and order things we need for the house. So things were kind of on hold in that department.
Anyway, the computer is better now and I have lots to share with you. I hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving. We had a great day, full of many blessings and memories. We were invited to spend dinner and the day with another homeschooling family with TEN children (most of our friends have more than TWO children!) Their two oldest are graduated and independent (one is married with a new baby) and their youngest, still at home, just turned one! The food was delish and the company divine :) I especially liked the corn pudding and the dressing, a new recipe for all of us. I took my traditional cranberry relish, sweet potato casserole and, of course, pecan pie. I also tried a pumpkin cheesecake for a change from the ordinary. Unfortunately, we took no pictures with our camera.........However, below are some other pictures to share from our home school bands performance at the local Festival of Trees, a fundraiser for our local hospital. Organizations and individuals choose a theme to decorate their tree with and then it is auctioned off. Most of them come with many extras in addition to the tree, like round trip tickets anywhere in the continental US. My favorite was The Phantom of the Opera Tree (this is currently our favorite musical and soundtrack--the girls and I are constantly humming the tune.....), the Sun and Sandal Tree and the Alice in Wonderland Tree. I didn't really like the Elvis Tree as I am not a fan, but I thought it would be enjoyed by others in my family. Do you remember where you were when Elvis died? I know exactly. I had flown to my sisters in the south and her daughter, my niece, told me at Arbys that Elvis had died that day. I didn't believe her until we went home and watched the news on the neighbors TV. One other memory is that we had almost gone to see him in concert one summer while there, but tickets were too expensive and the seats were not good. Anyway, enjoy these few trees, ending with an overall room view including the band performing. They played 13 Christmas carols and did a great job putting us all into the spirit of Christmas.