Merry Christmas

This was a quiet Christmas for us. We were supposed to drive to McMinnville, OR to spend the holidays with my (Brenda's) side of the family. Unfortunately, weather prevented us from going anywhere as we continue to get snowed on and approach totals of almost 4 feet! So it was just Miles & I this year. On Christmas Eve, we went to the service at our church and then went out to a very nice dinner at the Coeur d'Alene Resort. It was a non-traditional Christmas Eve dinner for us, but we figured we would do something fun and unusual since all of our other plans were thwarted. After dinner we came back to our house and opened gifts and drank homemade hot chocolate.

On Christmas day we slept in, called family, and then together made my family's traditional breakfast of Swedish pancakes. Oh, and we opened our stockings of course. We were supposed to go up to Miles' family's home in Sandpoint, but the weather really wasn't cooperating as it continued to snow all night and most of today. So we had a relaxing afternoon, and then decided to burn off some energy and build a snowman. I don't have any recollection of ever building a snowman, so this was my inagural attempt at it. It was a difficult task just because the snow is so fluffy that it was a struggle to get it to compact enough to stay in the correct formation. But we eventually succeeded. We had to improvise for the accessories, and used Raisenettes for eyes, a biscotti for the nose, and spray paint for the mouth! I think our neighbors were pretty amused by us.

Now I'm smelling the wonderful aroma of a ham baking in the oven, and we're gonna have a nice Christmas dinner complete with ham, scalloped potatoes, and green bean casserole. So in spite of the sudden change in plans, it turned out to be a very good Christmas. I am so blessed by a wonderful husband who makes every day, and every experience, fun and memorable and who fills my life with more love than I often know what to do with. I hope all of you who are reading this also had a wonderful Christmas holiday with your family and friends, and have paused to thank Christ for coming to this earth as a little baby to offer us grace beyond measure from a God who loves us more than we will ever be able to comprehend. As my Grandma said to me today (and decided she would like to officially change it to this greeting) -- HAPPY CHRISTMAS & MERRY NEW YEAR!