White Christmas

I can't remember the last time we actually had a white Christmas, so this year was great! We had a wondeful snowy Christmas Eve and woke up to about 5-6 inches of fresh snow Christmas morning. It was very fun and relaxing to spend the day with family. We opened gifts in the morning (around 6:30 per Connor's request... I wouldn't have minded a little more sleep...) and then went to Grandma and Grandpa Linebaugh's house for lunch and the cousin gift exchange at 11:00.
This was the first time we have done Christmas at their house in two years. They were very excited to have all of us there. It was awesome to see how excited all the kids were about their presents. Jack was hilarious when I asked him what he got. "A Dinosaur!" "Is it big?" "Yeaaaaaaaaah!" "Does it make noise?" Yeaaaaaaah!" His face lit up when he told me all about it.
I love Christmas! Everyone is so happy!
(in case you were wondering... this picture wasn't actually taken on Christmas, but rather on the Saturday before when our family went skiing!)

A magical day!

What a beautiful day! It’s amazing what a magical snow storm will do to brighten up your day. Today really was so enjoyable. I started the day by reading a letter from my best friend, visiting my family and singing Christmas songs. The day only got better when it started to snow unbelievably hard. Within a matter of minutes it seemed, the world was covered in a blanket of sparkling white. Breezy, Natalie and I happily listened to Christmas music while we drove in the beautiful snow storm. We went holiday shopping, picked up some pizza and then bundled up warm. Kyler, Heidi, Seth and his friend Amy all joined us around 6:15 for the best sledding day I have ever had! We sped down the hill and had snowball fights galore. Despite the cold weather we stayed quite warm sliding down hills, throwing snowballs, and making snow angels. Afterward, Breezy and I worked on a secret Christmas operation and then built a snowman! We came home and sipped hot chocolate while we watched a wonderfully cute Christmas movie. Ahhhhh, what a day! Snow really makes things magical!

These are a few of my favorite things...

autumn colors
rainy days
thunderstorms
beautiful sunrises

cloud formations

sipping hot chocolate
wisteria
ribbon
mr. bugg
digital scrapbooking
photography... imagine that!
words... not writing... just words like "create" "imagine"...
colors
unique but striking color combinations
swirls
stars
polka dots
english cottages
gates
benches
doors
windows
details
buttons
ric-rac
ceramic pots
sunflowers
brick walls
wood rail fences
gardens
volleyball
hats -- huge decorative hats
hat boxes
ivy
vines
mountains
dandelions
paper
skiing
jazz music
movies

Frothy Delight

What a delightful winter treat. Steaming hot chocolate is a tasty way to start and finish the day. Nothing could be better than going to work or school in the morning with a warm cup of delicious liquid chocolate to keep out the cold. I love the kind that has tiny marshmallows mixed in. They float around and make the chocolate more frothy and delicious. The marshmallows are also really good to eat dry… mmmm… this whole hot chocolate thing just makes me feel warm and happy inside. Who’d have thought such a little thing could make the winter cold so enjoyable!

Hand-Me-Down Christmas

Decorations are essential for holidays, no matter if they are expensive, matching, cheap, hand-me-downs, homemade, or dollar store. As a college student one might imagine the resources are limited and that a well decorated apartment is not feasible. Not so! With leftover lights, holly, and ribbon from my house; a tree generously donated by the Diethers; garlands, stockings, dishtowels, martini glasses, and more from the dollar store; and then decorative mugs, a table runner, and ornaments from the dollar bins at Target; and of course our own intricate homemade snowflakes, a Christmas Tree scented candle with a candle warmer, complete with joyous Christmas music playing; we were successful in creating a winter wonderland and brought the Christmas spirit into our quaint little apartment. The decorating was completed on the first day of December. What day could be better?

The feeling of Christmas was enhanced by the gently falling snow. The first snow, December 1. Perfect. This day was full of shopping, laughing, freezing, laughing, fun, singing, cleaning, decorating, and just spending time with friends. It was relaxing and enjoyable, easy and yet productive. It's amazing what a little snow and a spark of Christmas will do.