And lastly...Adorable December

Wrapping up 2011...it was easy-peasy to find Adorable things during the month of December.

• Olivia unwrapped her gift from Papa and found a Yo Gabba Gabba Muno doll...he was so proud of himself for picking it out.  The two of them have a little routine...Olivia hands Papa the TV remote, bats her adorable blue eyes, and presto...her favorite show appears on the screen! Everybody wins!

•  And one for Henry too...Roby is the little green guy on Yo Gabba Gabba. 

• Lawyer Girl claims I spoiled the babies for Christmas. But I couldn't help myself, and it seems neither could Papa.

• Chubby little pink arms reaching out to you followed by those smoochy grand baby kisses...are simply impossible to resist.  

• Something she likes to call..."crafter-noon"! Yup, surprised all of us when Lawyer Girl picked up a paint brush instead of her computer one afternoon.

•  Adorable Danny...she's baa-aack!

• Eggs...apparently happy chickens are laying chickens here at The Garlick Press, even during the cold winter months! 

• And finally, the first Christmas card from The Garlick Press since our loss. My adorable friend Michelle gently nudged me into taking this step.

For The Garlick Press, it's been an adorable and remarkable year...thanks for following along with us.

May 2012 be just as adorable for each of you!

Dreaming of Sugar Plums

Oh the memories...


this quilt will hold some day. A gift finished literally last minute for Momma Cass and her babies.

Next Christmas when they are one year older, Olivia and Henry will take turns sleeping under this magical Santa quilt. As they toss around each night during the Christmas season...the tiny tinkling of nine little bells will accompany the visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads.

A similar but well-worn version of this quilt has been snuggling with my children for many Christmas seasons in the past; The Teenager still sleeping under it this year, and Lawyer Girl too when she arrived. The bells are tarnished and a couple of them no longer jingle...but yesterday as I folded and put it away for another year, I couldn't help but nestle up to it myself. 

Although the batting is no longer as lofty as it once was...merry dreams of Christmas' past billowed from the patchwork creation. 

Childhood dreams from The Blond one, The Brown one, The Baby Brother...and most especially from The Red One. For just a moment, angel Jocie's magical Christmas dreams were wrapped completely around me...and I felt her warmth envelope me.

Can you just imagine the visions of sugar plums my grand babies are going to have through the years?

Christmas Eve at Alta

Courtesy of Dean's helmet cam...here is just a short video glimpse of how The Garlick Press traditionally spends Christmas Eve. We've been doing this for years...and will continue it for years to come.

Christmas Eve @ Alta from Lisa Garlick on Vimeo.

It's our favorite part of Christmas Eve.

Peanuts

Oh you know how it is...

 anticipation and excitement over the annual family Christmas party.


All your relatives and Santa Claus packed into one small room.


Despite overwhelming noise and chaos, there were some pretty delightful moments.

Like Kylee

and Zac dressed up as shepherds

and Addison too, complete with candy cane shepherds hooks.

Harley holding a "cabbage patch kid" baby Jesus; Grandpa beamed while retelling The Nativity story.

A beautiful Christmas angel.

Maybe my favorite moment might have been watching Griffin cling to his mother, he was less than thrilled about being a wise man.

Or how about when Henry took over as a wise man.

You should have seen the terror in Olivia's face when she met Santa for the first time...

but my favorite moment could have been watching Olivia seek comfort from her Daddy because of that fat scary stranger in the red suit.

Owen was delighted to snuggle up to Henry, who is the great great grandson of Owen's father Chet.

It might have been the wonder of Santa Claus as seen through a child's eyes.

Or watching Olivia and Henry fight over Henry's toy. Olivia loved her new toy from Santa...she just needed Henry's too!

The white elephant present game is always a hit,


especially when Brandon opened his gift and found an IN-N-OUT burger! That most certainly could have been my favorite moment.

Or perhaps it might have been

Unni and Henry

getting to know each other

up close and personal. Makes you wonder what Henry was thinking.

Delighted sisters who can't seem to stop giggling...it's so wonderful to see them both together again.

Olivia found munching on a giant marshmallow Yoda very delightful...but it still wasn't my most favorite.

No...my favorite moment did not come until the end of the family party...when Grandpa Owen suddenly opened up bags of peanuts and started chucking them into the chaos. Peanuts literally rained down on everyone and everywhere! I haven't seen Grandpa Owen this happy in a long time.

Family parties...priceless, and I can't wait until next year!

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Sometimes...

I quite often find myself hanging out with other over-achievers...

who at the busiest time of the year decide to make nearly 90 hand appliqued wool needle cases.

And as if that wasn't enough over-achieveing...we created a flock of funky folksy birds in all colors and designs,

to hang from centerpieces at a quilt guild party.

So let's here it for all the over-achievers in the world!

And today I think I'll start my Christmas shopping.