Don't Remember When We Last Had A White Christmas

But there was no escapin' it this year!

Christmas Morning, about 6:30 am- each year they sleep just a tad bit later.....

I love these pics, mostly because they capture the rare moment where all three are happy at one time anticipation and excitement of Christmas morning.

There was a quick discussion of who would pass out gifts this year, and then the race was on!

This one had hoped he would get something off of the required equipment list for the 1st Minnesota Regiment. He's required to begin as a Fifer in the fife and drum corps so the Rosewood Fife in B Flat hand crafted by Cooperman's was his big gift this year.

Look at those lips gettin' ready

This one,remember,is our food guy so his favorites this year were the hot dog and bun toaster and his own M&M dispenser.

And this one, well, this one is forever the little diva. She was most excited over the dolls with interchangeable wigs and her first pair of shoes with heels. Don't worry, they will be strictly special occasion shoes.




Since we are new to Minnesota this Christmas we did what we imagined most Minnesotans do on Christmas Day and went out to build a snow fort.......

.......at least the men did, while the ladies remained inside and combed wigs.

I'd have to say our first Christmas here was unique, but with most of our usual traditions still mixed in here and there.

Even the dog was left a few treats in the stocking from Santa.

Let There Be Light!

It's not necessarily a Minnesota thing but an Embarrass thing. Every year there is an ice candle festival in the town of Embarrass, MN. It is an old Finnish tradition to place candles in the cemetary on Christmas Eve to remember and honor loved ones who have passed- as well as to light up the darkest days of winter! We decided to try to make our own ice candles about a week ago. We didn't get them perfect, but we plan to keep on trying! Placed on our little balcony we hope to light them again tonight to celebrate our Saviour Jesus Christ- the light of the world! Our kids also hope they can help Santa find his way here in the midst of the blizzard.

Sunday Snapshot

This Sunday's Snapshot can be a little "off the beaten path". Instead of a family member, an idea was to feature ornaments on the tree or things that we've done this year to make Christmas 09 extra special. Don't forget to stop by Ni Hao Y'all to check out more Sunday Snapshots!


This sad sorry mess is what happened when I took the family Christmas cookie recipe I've been making for about 20 years (and my mom for about 20 more years before that) and used it in Minnesota. No, I'm not blaming Minnesota. I honestly don't know what happened,so I'm blaming the fact that my favorite cookie sheets haven't made the move yet and the new ones I bought, plus a different oven, are the cause.

Not sayin' that this is what's made our 09 Christmas extra special by any means. In fact, I'm still not over the fact that we won't have our traditional Christmas Cookies this year. There's not been one year, ever, that we haven't had them. What I am sayin' is that there's been a few things that we're missing this year. Things that are tucked snug and safe in red and green Sterilite boxes in our basement under the stairwell 987 miles away in Maryland. So we've had to adjust and get creative.

To start we slapped some things on the walls,

and spent a Saturday making some new ornaments.

As we went we forgot we needed some very important things such as a tree topper. This we found at Fleet Farm for only 4 bucks and reminded me so so much of my Grandma Betty's tree star from when I was a kid.The realization that I didn't have any of our nativity scenes sent me on a 3 week hunt for the cheapest one I could find. This quaint little set was found at a Christmas tree farm...cheap!At a second hand store I found THIS for only 3 bucks. It's the Bedford Falls church from my favorite Christmas movie "It's a Wonderful Life" I can't believe someone actually got rid of this.

Then a few days ago I got a small package in the mail from my mom. I don't know how she finds these things, but a South Korean Santa was exactly what we were missing and I didn't even know it!

That brings me to this poor fellow. One of those ornaments that at one point over the years has lost something. The kids and I always insisted he had feelings and would be dreadfully hurt if he were to not be included on the tree every year. He arrived in the small box I asked my husband to bring back from Maryland when he eventually arrived to stay permanently. I simply said, go to the basement and pick just one box, any box. Don't open it just bring it and we'll all be surprised to see what's inside that we'll have to decorate this year. Yeah, this guy made it to Minnesota too, somehow fitting, huh?

Gee, it was pretty warm that day

So I've learned that we will survive our first Christmas in Minnesota, without our nativities, our angels and even harder our families.
After all, Mary wasn't worried about her cookie sheets; she was just a tad busy giving birth to our Saviour and that I have to remember is more important than the cookies and the decorations we're missing.

At least someone wasn't complaining about the cookies though.