White Christmas

I can’t believe it is going to be a White Christmas in Seattle this year! It is crazy because last year we were so excited for the inch of snow that melted away as soon as the sun came up.

This year we had a “Winter Blast” as the melodramatic news would put it. But it really is uncharacteristically snowy here! The 10-inches of snow has kept Ben home from work this week and part of last week. It has been so nice to have him bustling around the house. He has been able to work on the sheetrock for the garage and finish up the Christmas shopping. I think we spoiled each other this year. Even though we tried to simplify, I think we still spoiled. We decided this year we were going to give each other four things: “something you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read.” The categories helped me focus but I think I got a little carried away. It was too fun buying for each other.

Last weekend was the annual Gingerbread House contest with our friends! It was a little bit of a cop out year because most of the competitors bought Gingerbread kits. Usually, everyone goes all out building over-the-top edible displays from scratch. Dustin and Jenny won the trophy this year with a miniature Seahawks stadium! I will post pictures of it later but it was AWESOME! It was probably 18-inches high and 3-feet wide. It had jelly beans as the players and the fans. It was framed out with wood but completely frosted and decked out in candy. It even had candy cane goal posts and stadium lighting.
Way to go Dixons!

This has been a really nice Christmas season seeing lights, playing in the snow and baking all the holiday crap food. I am sorry Maren but I am the worst culprit! But this year I am baking and getting rid of it.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!

"It Beginning to Look alot like Christmas"

My world has been a bit of a whirlwind since I got back from Utah. (I must apologize to my friendly, Utahans who may be reading this post whom I did not see during my ten-day stint in the Beehive state. The trip was wonderfully jammed packed with Family Fun Day after another. So much so that my Mom even needed time away from the hustle. Two weddings, a baby shower, Girls Day, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and three trips to Cabelas, is likely to exhaust any woman.)

Well, if that doesn’t sound bad enough, reality gave my whiplash when I got back into town. Technology was not cooperating with me for this issue of the newsletter. I thought I was going to slit my wrists and do push ups in a bath full of salt water…reminiscent of my University Journal days. It was another little miracle that it is off to the printer.

Then there was the housework and my time-consuming church calling that were both terribly neglected during my trip. I am sure you can imagine the long to-do list. Thank goodness for a helpful husband and wonderful counselors.

But honestly I can’t complain.
I have made time to enjoy the Christmas season. Ben insisted that we put up the tree the day we got back. So, my house is very festive. Jan and I went to the Victorian Country Christmas on Saturday to enjoy the food, shows, and Christmas crafts. While we ladies went to the craft show, the guys went to the gun show. Ben is a proud shot gun owner now. And I brought him back a solid chocolate revolver that I found at the Victorian. He didn’t even eat it the first day. He put it up in the tree like an ornament.

Then we all went to the Festival of the Nativity down in Tacoma. The whole cultural hall in the church building was covering with tables of nativities of all sorts. It was actually really beautiful. It was amazing how many renditions of the nativity there were: from the traditional, to Native American, to Veggie Tales. I realized that I don’t even have a nativity but I want to start collecting them.

I am already feeling the Spirit of Christmas. I don’t want the month to go by too fast. I love this time of year. There are so many fun traditions and memories. You have all the Seattle traditions with Caroling Ships and dancing toy soldiers. Then you have my local traditions of the annual Dorsey White Elephant Gift Party where all the ladies fight over the best Nutcracker and the infamous Gingerbread House-building Contest with edible houses sometimes 5-feet high. Sigh….all the memories…for another post. Merry Christmas!