Over the fall of a sparrow

I woke up to such sad news this morning, the loss of a dear aunt, one of my mom's younger sisters. Mary.

I'm thinking of her today. Of her hilarious laugh and great humor, her devotion to family traditions and good meals, her brilliant mind, her compassion, her long and valiant efforts to stay aloft. 

My mom sent this a bit ago, a few words written by my dad this morning (thank you, Dad, I hope you don't mind I'm including this here). I think they sum up my feelings perfectly.

. . .

FreeFall
for Mary

I heard that a thousand birds fell out of an Arkansas sky the other day,
Red-winged blackbirds I think they were.
And not only in Arkansas but in Louisiana, Kansas even Sweden
All over the world these blackbirds, starlings, and sparrows
Beautiful, fragile, delicate birds, falling out of the night time sky
It breaks your heart 

Yesterday a bird fell out of the sky in Utah,
And I don’t know exactly why or what the reason was
Was its navigation system impaired? Was it buffeted by fierce winds?
I think it finally just gave up all hope of reaching a warmer, safer land
And then this beautiful, fragile, delicate bird fell out of the night time sky
It just breaks your heart 

M.Bentley
January 5, 2011
Logan

Ringing it in

This year our first night was...just right (Goldilocks would be so proud).

Progressive dinner + revelry x 7 families = very happy evening for 32 people

1. dinner at our house (featuring aebleskivers by G) 

2. giant round of the game Celebrities

3. travel to H family house, make festive hats

4. ...like this one

5. light sparklers

6. combine festive hat and sparklers (isn't he a good sport?)

7. play more games, then toast the new year with ginger ale

Then, watch movies all night (option 1) or go home to sleep and return for breakfast and games and sledding and, later, chili for lunch (option 2). I'll leave you to guess who chose which option. 

Merry, merry

Wishing you peace + joy + harmony + laughter

With love from our family to you

(p.s. We ran out of cards this year. Next time we'll know better)

Outtakery

Just a few outtakes from this year's Christmas photo shoot...

Instead of my usual DIY self-timer method, I decided to splurge on having our photographer friend come and take them--especially since Lauren will be heading to college next year and we might not do it again for a while. 

What was especially wonderful? It was just a really fun afternoon spent laughing and playing--a nice family memory in itself. 

 ^We didn't want to drag the piano outside so we used piano music in a typewriter instead

And this one cracks me up every. single. time:  . . .

Chalkboards via Brooke at Playing Grown Up (but if you live near me, I'm happy to let you use mine) They have helpful little knobs on the back.

Photos by Nicole Barker

Thanksgiving retrospective

Apparently the answer to the question How long does it take to recover from Thanksgiving week? is...oh, until today.  It was wonderful and filled with goodness. And--naturally!--I took hardly any pictures. 

We made these fun wheat bundle placecards again:

 

And remembered to take a picture of the table only after the meal:

Here's an iphone shot of some of the people, around a table at Bertucci's the next day, though:

Some favorite/memorable moments:

Looking, heart filled, around the table at parents, children, husband, siblings, and family friends.

Singing rounds and alleluias by candlelight after dinner. Glorious!

Taking turns reading our gratitude notes, including creative items like junior mints, junior proms, the seasons, crying, the primary program, handwriting, cinnamon raisin toast, funny people, seminary, nail polish, kraken, netflix, and Cary Grant as well as beloved standards like family, food, books, home.

Spending an afternoon in Harvard Square: pizza, brass quartets playing Christmas carols, bookstore browsing, Christmas gift shopping.

Movies: Harry Potter 7, 127 Hours, Morning Glory, Tangled, & Sherlock Holmes.

Picking up naughty Louie from dog jail after he went missing for a few hours

Successful gravy. Juicy brined turkey. Failed blueberry pie.

Breakfast with my parents at the Colonial Inn

Hyggli conversation, music, laughter.

. . .

And then, crashing with a head cold for three days after everyone went home.

It was worth it.

Welcome, December!