merry & bright & blessed

we've had a wonderful weekend celebrating our Savior's birth...hope you have, too

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Holiday catch up

{I should be knitting, I should be knitting...}

Busy times here as I'm sure they are at your house with your loves. 

Last week we drove to see Sweet Daddy in Illinois and spent a cozy, snowed~in weekend with him. We had Christmas movies on, needles in hand {well, just me,} cookies baking, and a fire in the fireplace{well, fakey logs...but a lovely fire.} Christmas bliss. 

And that, my friends, is the very reason we don't go and stay with him on this assignment during this season. Cookies and TV and sitting on our buns inside do not make for healthy, happy family and that's exactly what we would do, day after day, with only swims in the hotel pool to get our blood pumping. {We did leave the hotel to drive through blizzard conditions to attend possibly my favorite church ever.}

After four days, the bliss had to come to an end. Back home we went. We arrived after a loooonnnnng 6 1/2 hour drive...{doesn't sound too long, but I hadn't slept well the night before and we lose an hour on the way east...so it's an hour later than it would've been in Illinois.} The kids and I unpacked the car, then put up our artificial Christmas tree...yes, I made the leap...and really like having it. I totally get the appeal, and my pine-allergic husband who has graciously allowed us to have a real tree in other years...appreciates it, too. It's just right and so fun to unwrap our ornaments and answers the kids' questions about the meaningful ones.

{I should be knitting, I should be knitting...}

The rest of the week went by quickly with a visit to Apple Valley to celebrate Grandma's birthday, a day full of friends {and more cookies} at our house, and a birthday dinner for Uncle Nack. Oh, and a new haircut and a touch of online shopping.

Today, it's back to knitting and Christmas movies in our pj's...with bread baking this time. No more cookies for a bit...oy.

{really...I should be knitting, I should be knitting...}

Yes, it's crunch time, yet I find myself tweaking my FB profile and adding photos, then becoming distracted by others' pictures and verging on becoming a creepy voyeur. {I mean, let's get real...that is the point of Facebook, right? That and presenting the best possible picture of our lives. Okay, rant over...I am, after all, a willing participant in it and enjoy keeping in touch with peeps through FB.}

Merrymaking

O Christmas tree...

I'm on the fence about getting one or buying a can't-even-believe-I'm-saying-it artificial tree this year, because I so get the convenience of it now.

This may be the third year we don't have a tree up in our house because of our wanderin' ways.

But I mostly grieve for the {you who know me well can say it with me} experience of it.

Opa and Anne to the rescue! They took the kiddos and I had a couple hours to scramble and do as many errands as possible. Anne even took pictures...couldn't have asked for more.

Still undecided about our own tree, though.