Happy Christmas!

Has it really been almost a week since Christmas? The days after can be a bit of a let down; nothing left to prepare or plan for, no anticipation of getting together with folks, and the nagging thought that soon decorations will have to be taken down and packed away for another year . . . maybe that's why it's taken me so long to get these pictures up. But I'm determined to get them up before the New Year!!

We had a great Christmas season :-)
What fun to get updates and greetings in Christmas cards . . . to decorate our new home . . . and to fight with the cats about the tree skirt and lights! Ha.We had a brief visit with Ben on Christmas Eve day; Pei had to work but Ben drove up to have lunch and hang out for a couple of hours. Then he headed home and Erik headed off to work. They loaded the trucks really early at the warehouse, allowing the guys to go in (and therefore come home) early, which was nice. Erik got home at about 4 a.m. on Christmas morning and got a nice nap in before getting up to start the day. We started out the way we always did at my house growing up--by looking in our stockings, eating our oranges (and chocolate), and reading the Christmas story.Although we weren't really going to do presents, there were still things to open! Rosie helped.
We had a nice breakfast (with requisite eggnog) and talked to family on the phone . . .Then we headed to Santa Maria to visit Patrick and Debra! Brothers. They seem to do this sort of thing when they get together.Debra had all sorts of yummy food prepared, including her famous runzas. It was a nice relaxed day; we had fun chatting and munching and then playing with the Wii.
Patrick's professional golf swing Debra bowling faster than the speed of light
Erik waiting to see if he made his shot
Proof that boys CAN do dishes (!!?!?!)
Fuzzy picture of Debra on the front porch with Homer amidst all the lights
It was such a nice day; we stayed late and then drove home to fall into bed. The next morning the first thing we did was to take down the door knocker . . . (that's right, no more "Mr. & Mrs. Lopez?" jokes)
. . . and put up the one Patrick and Debra gave us! :-D
Yay! :-D

I'm off to bed. Sorry if this is a little disjointed--I plead tiredness (mixed with stubbornness at getting this posted tonight)!

We are so grateful for many thoughtful gifts and well-wishes, and for the ultimate gift that we celebrate especially at Christmas but all the rest of the year too.

May the wonder and joy and love of that gift remain in your heart through the New Year!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

It's been a busy few days.

Erik was involved in an accident at work last week. Luckily no one was hurt; now we're waiting to find out if it will affect his job.

Mom had her hip replacement surgery today! April & her husband Ben took her to the hospital; they're the first shift of the kids to be there. Kirsten and Paul were also at the hospital with them today. The report is that the doctors were pleased with how everything went (YAY!), but that the anesthesia did not agree with Mom's constitution (she's been nauseated and uncomfortable). Hopefully that will pass and a quick recovery will begin.

Any and all prayers appreciated!

Since I do not have approval to post the cute picture April sent of prepped Mom in her surgical bonnet, you'll have to be satisfied with our version of a Winter Wonderland. Hey, it's the closest we can get to snow right now! May your week be filled with the joy and hope and love of that first Christmas!

Visit!

Noelle & Andy came for a whirlwind visit last weekend! Noelle and I went to the Ladies' Christmas Tea at church on Saturday. This is the centerpiece from the table where we sat.The tables were beautiful and all decorated differently; a hammered dulcimer played throughout the program. After some visiting and game playing and eating, we sang Christmas songs, ending with candlelight and "Silent Night."In the afternoon we went back to church to help out with the Christmas program rehearsal (for more pictures, check out "Dove Creek Bible Church" on Facebook). We all went to bed EARLY on Saturday night; sad to be so tired when we had so little time together! But we did find a little bit of time to play before they had to leave . . .
All too quickly they had to head home; we're so glad we got the chance to see them though!

Gratuitous bloom pictures from the rose bushes in front of our house--they smell DIVINELY!

Another World

It's hard to believe that Wisconsin is a winter wonderland when the shrub in my back yard is blooming and the hummingbirds are still coming. Granted, it has been unseasonably cold here (we've been getting frost in the mornings and there is snow in the mountains where Erik drives for work), but it's still hard to imagine. One nice thing about our current chilly spell is that it has been "too cold" for fog--usually around this time of the year we can have some pretty nasty fog.

We have-wonder of wonders-been getting RAIN! Twice this week! I've always loved rain, but only a midwesterner transplanted into a desert like Bakersfield can fully appreciate how excited this makes me!

Noelle & Andy are coming for a visit this weekend. :-D
Hope everyone is staying safe and warm,
cmr

Christmas is Coming . . .

. . . and the goose is getting fat? Do people eat goose for Christmas? We don't--Erik wants ham this year (though that "extra" turkey in the freezer is sounding pretty good to me).

Perhaps a little early to be planning menus, but we did pull out our Christmas decorations this past weekend. Here's a little tour of most of our decorating.

A little touch of Sweden . . . this candle decoration always makes me think of Grandma; I got it at Al Johnson's while shopping with her one time. And how can it be Christmas without the little brass angel thing that magically turns when you light the candles underneath it? Maybe someday we'll go to Scandinavia and I'll get a lovely painted wooden one like Kirsten's, but until then I'll continue to enjoy this one. :-) This little guy used to sit up at the cottage; what a nice memory of Grammy Beth and Christmases with the Ryder family.Erik's mom used to buy him an Official Annual Steelers Ornament; he has several displayed by his desk.I think I bought this angel shopping with mom; she always makes me smile. I was excited because I figured out how to fix the star on her head, which broke off last year (you can click on the pictures to see them larger).I got this tea set at an after Christmas sale in the UWSP bookstore. Here's Erik with our childhood stockings and freshly shaven cheeks.Most of the rest of our decorations are a collection of favorite Christmas books and nativities . . .This one I bought with Mom when we were in Spearfish, SD and saw the Passion Play.I got this Mexican nativity in a little hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant in Plover; Sally has a red one.This is part of an African nativity I got at through a little fair trade shop in Point. And this is the wreath I made at Lady's Craft Day at church this year! The little paper rolls are all Christmas music. And Erik hung icicle lights along the garage and over the porch (picture during the day just doesn't do it justice)--YAY!! On Monday we got our tree! This completes our light show for the drivers going by as we were able to set it up in our front window. :-D

One of the best parts about decorating is remembering the people associated with all of the decorations--so many ornaments, trinkets and books are associated with important people in our lives. The pets have been very interested (Pippin and Rosie have been found curled up asleep underneath it more than once, and Rosie now also naps on the couch where she can keep an eye on it) but overall they've been pretty darn good about the tree . . . until last night when the littlest of the bunch went completely bananas!! I had to lock her in her kennel for a while and collect all the ornaments she had strewn about the house; everyone then spent the night locked in the bedroom with me. Today she seems back to normal, so we'll just keep our fingers crossed!

There's nothing like a lit up Christmas tree at night . . . Thanks for taking our little tour; wish you could come over for a cup of Christmas tea!
I hope you're enjoying the beginning of this blessed season,
cmr

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving as much as we did!

I had to post this first picture because this is all anyone will get to see of the lovely orange tulips I got Tuesday, thinking they would look pretty on the red tablecloth. They did. But they were also far gone by Wednesday night. :-/I spent the rest of Tuesday (when not admiring the tulips) baking and getting things ready to go in the kitchen. It was a long day, but rewarding--and it smelled so good! I'd made a pot of minestrone on Monday and we ate it Tuesday and Wednesday too which was nice because then I could just focus on Thanksgiving stuff (we did steal some rolls to eat with it though!)Thomas looks like he's taking exception to being fed dog food. Aunt Debra made sure the dogs each got a little taste of turkey before it was all cleaned up though. ;-)Our Thanksgiving table: (L to R) Debra, Patrick, Don, Evalyn, Ben, Pei, Erik I wish you could have been here--we had such fun. :-)

I kept forgetting to take pictures, so that's it! We followed the meal with the major clean-up, some pool and darts, and some football (on a hastily set-up TV), and then sat down to eat Debra's delicious pies and play Taboo. Everyone had to leave all too soon, but since Erik hadn't slept since coming home from work we went to bed quite early!

I'm so thankful for you!!
Much love from,
christel

Quick Post

We had a friend come and stay with us this weekend; Theresa was going down to Burbank and Long Beach to visit relatives and we were lucky enough to be on the way! It was great to have some girl talk time and hang out in between her visits with Aunt Cookie and Uncle Joe.

Three out of four pets prefer Theresa (actually, considering Rosie woke her up by dropping a mangled plastic straw on her face, we could probably expand this to four out of four)We also had a great Saturday with some friends from church--Brent, Julie, Hannah, David & Lily--but I was so busy playing games and visiting and eating I completely neglected to take any pictures! Next time. Here are two random photos in the meantime:

Who says cats and dogs can't live together in peace? Have you packed your boxes for Operation Christmas Child? This is their collection week! Hope everyone is staying healthy and not going crazy preparing for the holidays!
Love you,
cmr