It doesn't get any better than this!

Scribs Pizza and New Years Eve, what a combination! Happy New Year!

Oops, someone made a mistake

Sorry if this caused any confusion, someone posted the wrong tree last week. I caught the error and am fixing it. The person responisible for making the mistake has been removed from the payroll. We don't tolerate mistakes around hear.

A Real (Nice) Christmas Tree and the Christmas Walk

The Barnharts of the North celebrated Christmas this morning in high fashion with the last advent reading and a gathering around the Christmas tree. Seen here, Mom tries to convince Ella of the fun to come while Fletcher practices his pointing skills by singling out his presents. Notice the snow outside, which arrived just in time for Christmas.

Below, Northern Barnharts prepare for the Christmas Walk

We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas celebrating Christ's birth, friendship and family, and that grilled Christmas turkey (and subsequent walk).

HO HO HO! Breaking News!

This is just in from the Santa Daily Chronicle, Santa's sleigh got stuck last night in a wild snowstorm in Muskegon Mi, USA. Last word from Santa was he had to drop all the rest of his gifts there and try to fly out with his sleigh lightened by several thousand tons of less toys. According to Santa, the good folks at 1208 W. Giles Rd, where his sleigh is now lodged will keep the toys safe, if he can't make it back by midnight tonight, then they will have to either keep the toys or find some worthy charity to donate them too. It was reported that David was seen rummaging in the bag already and tossing out new Apple laptops for himself and all his siblings, and Daniel was connecting a PS3 to a new wide screen HDTV. Lisa had already found many soft blankets and had them piled to the ceiling in her room. Ben was carrying boxes of books to the basement. Andy was pulling out tools like he was robbing a Lowes store, and Janell was looking for a mini commuter system that would take her back and forth from work each day without having to drive. Mike was poking around in the bag, looking for a Triumph TR6, but the closest thing he found was a '58 Bugeye Sprite, it may have to suffice. Too bad Steve and Rachel aren't here, if the rest of the family wasn't so busy "shopping" in Santa's bag, they might have been able to pick them up something too. Someone pulled out a couple of Chia Pets, those may be for them.

See our tree?

Steve and I agreed to post our Christmas trees, since we won't get to see each other's tree. We really went big this year, and I must say, Lisa did a yoman's job decorating it. I also need to thank many other people for help with the tree this year.
First, I want to thank the State of Washington for donating their premier tree from this season's best.
Thank you to all the birds who willingly gave up thier nests, inculding 11 spotted owls.
Thank you ConRail for donating 3 flat cars and delivering the tree on time and free.
Thank you Bonners for donating all the decorations, we cleaned out the entire 2nd floor of their warehouse of stock.
Thank you Consumers Energy for adding a temporary substation for handling the extra pewer load from the lights, and also for firing up the mothballed Michigan City IN power plant to keep the grid up when we throw the switch for the lights. We hope the coal dust isn't a problem for Northern IN, but, we all make sacrifices right?
Thank you Muskegon County Road Commission for adding two new lanes to Giles Rd to handle the extra traffic.
Thank you Muskegon County Sheriff's Office for the traffic and crowd control.
Thank you Acme Lift for donating the man lift needed to string the lights and hang the ornaments. We just don't have any 50 foot step ladders here!
Thank you to all the thousands upon thousands of spectators that came to oooh and aaahh the tree every night.
And last but not least, thank you Santa, for designating our tree, as "Official Christmas Tree of the North Pole"

So Steve, when are you going to post your tree?

This means I don't have to buy anyone presents, right?

Andy's Gift List - Part Deux

Click here for Andy's new and improved gift list.

Christmas at the McCann's House

As you can see, Christmas time at the McCann house is very festive. We had the 1st annual "finding out that the attic gets too hot in the summer to store candles" party. The guests of honor were not all that excited to be there though, unfortunately. Especially since this would be their going away party, as they make their way to the trash can in the garage. Perhaps they will find a more welcoming home somewhere else...

Ella Asks for Something Special This Christmas

Ella has been very good this year and has asked for something special for Christmas. Yet, her parents may not be able to deliver until next June at the earliest.

Ella enjoys playing with Fletcher, and she decided that it would be even more fun to have another playmate around the house. Mom and Dad suggested a kitten and that seemed just right to her. But Fletcher vetoed any felines, saying "I'm cat enough for this house".

Mom and Dad decided that a new sibling should do the trick. Since the real deal won't be here until June 25 or so, Ella has been given a photo preview to tide her over.

Upon hearing the news, Fletcher became overjoyed. In his excitement, he donned a party hat and started singing Happy Birthday. Though he's a few months early, his sentiment is well appreciated.

The REAL Present Post

So this is the real post about presents. We're going to get it figured out, once and for all here. And quickly, since the ho-ho-ho-day is trampling toward us with the speed and vigor of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Before we draw names, I want to see what everyone thinks of this new idea: instead of us just drawing one name, what if we drew two? I mean, I understand why everyone doesn't buy a present for everyone (8x8=64 presents). At the same time, it seems a mite miserly to have over-reacted by cutting down the total number of present transactions to 8. What if we did 16? That would be two presents per person. That would still be less than you'd have to buy if you lived in a smaller family of only three siblings. Any surely, families of three siblings would be ashamed to institute the sort of One Child, One Present policy that has yoked our generous tendencies these four or five Christmases past.

Please leave comments debating the merit of this new suggestion. Everyone would get two presents. 2 x presents = twice the fun and twice the Christmas spirit. Anyone concerned about this idea from a financial standpoint, please see me privately. Daniel, we might be able to discuss termporary absolving you of your Mario Kart debts during the holiday season, particularly if you draw my name.