Tess's Tidbits: Decorating for Christmas! :)

Hi everyone!  Tess here.  Sorry it's been such a long time since we've posted.  Mama's Internet has been having problems and we've gone a few days without it!  I have a great post and fun pics to share with you, though.

Before I start, I wanted to share a few updates with you.  First, you'll notice in the pics that Hailey isn't wearing her glasses.  She was having some problems with the frames.  They kept bending and were also hurting her ears.  So Mama decided that Hailey could try contacts for a while and see if those work better.  So far, she's really enjoying them.

The other news is that Emily is still in surgery.  Ella is getting really worried about her.  She hasn't been able to visit her or anything.  Ella's hoping that Emily will be better by Christmas so that she can spend it with us instead of in her sick bed in Mama's "dolls in progress box".  Just thought you guys might want to know.  Now, on to the post! 

Three days ago, Hailey, Ella and I were sitting in our doll room when Mama came in with a box and a little pine tree just our size.  "Who's ready to decorate for Christmas?" she asked. 

I can't begin to tell you how excited we were.  Christmas is such a wonderful holiday, and this was our first Christmas all together as sisters at Mama's house.  We sure had our work cut out for us, though. 

First, we had to rearrange the whole room to make some space for the tree.  Hailey and Ella helped Mama roll out the pretty Christmas rug.  I think it was actually a tree skirt at one time, but it made a great rug for us!

Next, we put the tree in it's place.  Hailey and I moved it while Ella stood to the side to let us know when it was straight.  It's not as easy as it looks to get a tree just right.  

After the tree was set up, we started hanging ornaments.  Mama had some beautiful little ball ornaments in green and lavender.  Of course, I was thrilled, since purple is my favorite color. :)  Mama tied a plaid ribbon on the top of the tree and it gave it just the right finishing touch.   

Once the ornaments were on, Mama had some other Christmas decorations for us to use.  We had so much fun unpacking everything!

"I love this rocking horse with the teddy bear on top...it's so cute!" Hailey said.

"Lucy's going to love this Nutcracker," Ella exclaimed as she pulled him out of the box.  Our little cousin Lucy is really into ballet, and the Nutcracker ballet is one of her very favorites.

I just couldn't stop staring at the beautiful tree.  It was so nice to have a real Christmas again!  Last year, Mama didn't have a doll room yet, I had just arrived, and my sisters weren't here yet.  This year was much better. :)

It was a great surprise to see some stockings with our names on them.  We couldn't wait to hang them up.

"Hey, look guys!" Hailey called out excitedly as she rummaged through the decoration box.  "It's 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens!"

"I love that story!" Ella laughed.  "Tess, will you read it to us tonight?"

I grinned at my little sister.  "I think that should work.  For now, though, I'm going to find a place to hang this wreath."

"Oh, it's so pretty!" Hailey breathed.  "Where do you think we should hang it?"

"I was thinking maybe I'd try over here on the doorknob of our closet," I replied, carrying the wreath over to that part of the room.  "What do you think?"

"Perfect!" Hailey agreed.

"Hey, Ella, how would you like to help me hang up the stockings?" I asked. 

"Sure!" she beamed happily. 

We stuck an extra piece of plaid ribbon through the loops of the stockings and started over to the closet.  I thought that maybe we could stretch the ribbon across the top and hold it down with a couple of heavy things. 

Just as we started to hang it up, though, we heard 3 voices singing "Jingle Bells" as happily and loudly as possible.  We turned to see Lucy, Claire and Maggie standing in our room, singing at the tops of their lungs like hyper Christmas carolers.

"Hi, guys!" Ella called excitedly.  "How do you like the tree?"

"It's really pretty!" Claire said.  

"Look at the Nutcracker!" Lucy squealed excitedly.

"Are you guys hanging stockings up?" Maggie asked.  "Because we brought ours, too."

We all looked.  Sure enough, each of them had a stocking just like ours with their name on it.  Lucy also held a stocking for her sister Katie.  I sighed as I thought of my cousin, still far away on her traveling adventure.  It was looking less and less likely that she'd be home for Christmas.

"Do you think you could find room for a few more?" Maggie asked.  "It would be fun to hang them up all together."  She walked up to Ella.  "I have Emily's stocking, too," she offered, a little uncertainly.  

Ella's eyes filled with tears as she took the stocking from Maggie.  "I hope she gets well in time," she whispered.  

Maggie gave her a hug.  "I'm sure Mama will make her better in no time," she said encouragingly.

I smiled my thanks to my best friend for being so sweet to my little sister.  Maggie winked back at me.  Then I eyed the top of the closet doubtfully.  "I don't think all of the stockings are going to fit up here."

"Maybe Mama can come up with a good idea of where to hang them," Maggie said.

And sure enough, Mama did.  She cut a longer piece of the plaid ribbon and hung the stockings way up on the drapes behind our doll room.  They looked perfect up there!

We are so happy with our festive room.  What do you think?  Do you like it too?

We'll be doing another post soon.  Mama will be dressing us in our fancy dresses for Christmas and taking some pics.  She promised Maggie she'd find a dress that was as plain as possible so she didn't feel too frilly. :)  I, on the other hand, am hoping for tons of frills.  The more frills, the better! :)

Tess's Tidbits-Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hi everybody!  I just wanted to take a moment to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. :)  May you remember the true reason to celebrate amidst the turkey, football, and parades.  And on that note, I wanted to share a fun pic of my sister Hailey in her Pilgrim dress, made by Mama's mother-in-law.  Hailey was involved in a play at school about the first Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims and the Native Americans.  She did a great job! :)  Oh, and Maggie told me to say Happy Thanksgiving from her, too.  She's helping fix the meal for us dolls, so she's up to her elbows in turkey and stuffing and pie crust! :)

Tess's Tidbits: "Oh, What a B-b-b-eautiful M-m-morning!"

Hi all!  Sorry it's been so long since we've posted.  Things have been pretty crazy around here and Mama has kinda been neglecting us.  She has had a lot going on, but it's still been tough. 

Emily is still not through surgery completely.  Mama confided in us that she has one leg re-attached, but the other one still needs to be put back on.  That's where she lost me...ugh.  It's no fun being squeamish! 

This morning, Mama had a pleasant surprise when she went out to put bills in the mailbox.  To begin with, Mama and Papa keep meaning to turn off the sprinklers now that it's getting colder and rainier, but they keep forgetting since the sprinklers are on a timer.  Last night, it got incredibly cold.  The combination of the frigid temperatures and the water from the sprinklers left beautiful, jewel-like drops on the grass.  Then Mama got the crazy idea that we should do a photo shoot.  It was beautiful, I'll admit, but I preferred enjoying the view from inside the warm house. 

The pics turned out beautifully, but I felt like a giant ice cube by the time we came inside.  The ice drops were starting to melt in the sun, and the melty parts soaked through my jeans and shirt.  So, after posting these pics for you, I'm off to take a hot bath and drink some Lady Grey tea.  Talk to you again soon! :)

Tess's Tidbits: Emily's Surgery

Well, the time has finally come.  Mama informed all of us yesterday that she was going to try to fix Emily's loose legs.  Last night, we all gave Emily hugs and wished her God's blessings right before Mama took her in the other room for her surgery.  Ella is really nervous.  Emily is her best friend, and she doesn't want anything to happen to her.  Of course, we dolls can't be as easily injured as you humans, but still, anything that involves removing your head makes you just a wee bit nervous.  We'll let you know the outcome of her surgery as soon as possible.  Apparently there were some complications, so Emily is not back with us yet.  I think Mama will be posting the details of Emily's procedure on her blog.  That's one blog post I won't be reading, thank you very much.  I'm a little squeamish about surgical procedures. :{

We all miss Emily a lot, and hope she'll come back to us soon.

P.S.  Sorry, I was going to upload a pic to go with this post, but a message came up saying I've run out of storage space on my picasa album.  I'm going to have to talk to Mama and figure out what we need to do next.  : (

Tess's Tidbits: Pics from Katie!! :)

Hi guys!  I know that Maggie just did a post, but I had to do a quick one too after I checked my email.  Why?  Because Katie emailed me two pics from her trip!  Of course, I'm sad that she's not coming home as early as she thought, but it was nice of her to send these.  I can tell she's having a great time.  Enjoy!!

Katie told me that she's having a wonderful time with Mama's daughters' friend.  :)

She also mentioned that there's already snow on the top of Sleeping Beauty's castle for the holiday season...can you see it?   

Maggie's Memos: A Fall Story (Get it? You will!) :)

Today was one of those beautiful, crisp autumn days.  Not too hot, not too cold.  The sun was shining through a hazy layer of clouds.  Tess and I decided it would be a perfect day to go out to the backyard and climb some trees.  Well, okay, I decided it would be a good idea to climb trees.  Tess doesn't mind tree-climbing, but she'd much rather sit under a tree and read a book.  She agreed to at least come outside.  I figured I'd persuade her to do more once we got there.

The best climbing tree in Mama's back yard is a tall nectarine tree.  As I predicted, I was able to convince Tess to climb with me for a while.  Before I knew it, she was up higher than me!  Sure, she acts all girly and helpless, but when she needs to be, she can be pretty adventurous. 

I took my time climbing up, enjoying the beautiful view and the smell of the fresh fall air. 

Finally, I made it up to where Tess was sitting.  There was a branch that made a perfect perch for me right in front of her.

"You're right, Maggie," Tess admitted.  "This is lots of fun."

I grinned.  "Much better than sitting under the tree and reading," I teased.

"Maybe not better," Tess answered, "but still fun."  She glanced down below us.  "Just hold on tight," she advised me.  "We're a long way up!"

I looked down too.  "Oh, this is nothing!" I laughed.  "I've climbed trees way taller than this."

Tess shuddered.  "This is high enough for me," she stated firmly.

I laughed again, then pulled myself up with the branches above me until I was standing up.

"Maggie, what are you doing?" Tess asked nervously.  "It's not safe to stand up in the tree like that."

"I'm on top of the world!" I called out loudly.

"Be careful, Maggie, that branch isn't very big!" Tess warned me.

I turned around to tell her there was nothing to worry about.  The next thing I knew, I had lost my balance and was falling through the air.  Before I could fall all the way, my foot caught on the branch I'd been standing on.  I caught a brief glimpse of my hat as it plunged to the ground below. 

I hung there for a minute, wondering if I could reach up high enough to grasp hold of the branch without making my foot lose its hold.  Before I could decide, my foot slipped from the branch and I continued my tumble towards the ground. 

It's an odd sensation falling out of a tree.  I felt like I was dreaming in slow motion.  I wondered if I'd be able to land somewhere soft, or if I could find any other branches and hold on before I fell all the way.  Then I thought, "What a pitifully embarrassing way to go!"

And suddenly, my hands felt another branch.  I grabbed it as hard as I could, first with one hand and then with the other.  Saved!  From there I was able to jump to the ground.  I landed with a thud in the soft grass. 

I could hear Tess shrieking from above, "Maggie!  Are you okay?"  She was already scrambling down the tree.  Within moments, she was standing next to me.

"I'm fine, Tess," I assured her as I stood to my feet and brushed myself off.  "Wanna climb again?"

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!?" she gasped.  "I just watched you fall from all the way up there...I was sure you were going to crack your head open...and now you want to climb trees again?!  No way!"

"Aww, come on, Tess," I answered, laughing.  "You know what they say about getting back on the horse after he bucks you off..."

Tess just shook her head.  "I can't BELIEVE you..." she muttered.  "I'm going in the house to get my book.  Let me know when you're done trying to kill yourself." 

Some girls just have no sense of adventure. ;)

Best Friends 4Ever, even when we drive each other nuts! :)

Breaking News with Maggie: An Email from Katie

Good morning, this is Maggie Wilson with the latest news from the Jane Austen and Unicorns blog.  (Hee hee...just trying to sound more official).  I had to write a quick post because we've finally heard from Katie for the first time since she left last month.  There's good news and bad news.  

The good news is that Katie is having a wonderful time.  The bad news is she's probably not coming home this month.  I've included a copy of her email, which pretty much explains everything:

            Dear Tess, Maggie, Lucy, and Everyone,
      Hi!! How are you all doing?  I've missed you so much this past month.  Tess and Maggie, how are things going?  I was finally able to use the computer tonight, so I took a quick peek at your blog.  I liked Belle's first post!  What did you guys think?
     Is Lucy behaving herself?  Tell her I love her lots and I'll be home as soon as I can.  I miss you, little Sis!
     Things have been going great here.  I've had so much fun visiting with Mama's friends.  We've spent some time in their lovely home and gone to some fun places.  Get this, I even got to go to DISNEYLAND!!!!  Eep!! :)  I can't WAIT to show you the pics. 
     Now for some exciting news.  Mama's friends have invited me to stay with them a while longer, and Mama has given me permission to extend my visit!  I guess they have a few more things they want to show me before I come home.  So I may not be home in November.  It may be some time in December.  I'm actually not really sure what's going to happen, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to stay here longer.  Just think how many more things I'll be able to share with you when I come home! 
     Well, that's all for now.  I've got to head to bed...I'll be sure to email you again soon.  I miss you all!
             Love and Kisses,
                   Katie

There were mixed reactions to the email, to say the least.  Tess was happy for Katie, but she was also really looking forward to seeing her soon.  They've always been really close, best buddies as well as cousins.  Lucy took things pretty hard.  As we've mentioned before, this is her first time away from her big sister, and she's been counting the days until Katie comes home.  Maybe we'll have to send Lucy with Katie on her next adventure! :} 

Everyone was pretty excited to hear that Katie got to go to Disneyland.  It's a place we've all dreamed about going to ourselves.  We can't wait to see her pics. 

I guess that's it for my breaking news.  We'll keep you posted if we hear more from Katie.  Keep checking back, too.  Tess and I will be posting some fall pics with a story, probably tonight. 

See ya!
Maggie