Monday, December 19, 2011

Has Anyone Seen the Snow Lately?

I'm just as puzzled as the rest of us up here in the supposed tundra at where the snow is.  I don't think I can ever remember a December, let alone Christmas, without snow in Minnesota.  (I know I'm actually living in ND right now but I'm sort of in denial about it)  Well, you certainly won't hear me complaining about this strange weather--it makes for easy conversations with people I don't know.
As usual this season breeds much activity and I'm trying to just enjoy it all but it does leave me with little energy to document what all we've been up to.

Quick highlights:  Thanksgiving was a really nice time with Brent's family and  none of the pictures I took really do any justice to the fun day it was...sorry.  The next weekend we went to a Christmas party hosted by the hospital Brent will be working for once we make our permanent move to Morris this summer.  It was a really great night which was a bit surprising for the both of us since we went to it not really knowing anyone.  But everyone was so welcoming and fun to talk with that both Brent and I left even more excited for our future there.  We got back in time for my Mom and I to walk around homes in Grand Forks that were open to tour and see the Christmas decorations set by professionals.  Some people like to see art displayed in art galleries, Mom and I like to study the beauty in different styles of architecture and home decor...or maybe some people would say we just like to snoop in other people's homes.  :)  More Christmas parties, then down to Fargo last Sunday to drop off Brent at the airport to go to Texas for a week long workshop.  After we said goodbye, I took the girls to the church Brent and I went to when we were first married.  The girls were uncharacteristically excited to go to children's church (which they had a blast at) while I enjoyed an amazing sermon that literally brought me to tears.  After grabbing lunch and dropping Clare off at Grandpa Buck's for a nap, Sage and I went to the play "Little Women" in which Grandma Jane was playing Aunt March (and in my opinion the best part of the play).   I will always have an image of Sage getting such a kick out of her Grandma coming on stage in big hoop skirts and silly hats and acting so differently from how she knows her. 
We survived a week without Brent and are now happily reunited.  Somehow in the midst of all this we've managed to do all our Christmas decorating and we seem to be only one or two gifts shy of being done with the shopping.  Let me make this clear, I have not described all this activity with any intention of boasting but instead as reminder to ourselves of what it was we were actually doing when down the road we're trying to remember why it was that December seemed so crazy and flew by so fast!  Most importantly I want to remember that this has been a really fun month and so worth the chaos and many days of feeling worn to the bone!

I'll end with some pictures of the gingerbread house the girls and I decorated with Brent overseeing via Skype while he was in Texas.  This is actually the second gingerbread house we decorated.  The first one I bought on clearance and was such a disaster in trying to put it together that in a moment of fiery frustration I threw it away and told my startled girls I'd go buy them a new one...not one of my finest moments for sure!  The other pictures are of Clare in her Christmas program at church.  She seemed to like singing but participation in song actions were minimal.  :)  Sage sat with us and cheered her on (very loudly).  Clare has gone back and forth  telling us she was either scared or not scared at all.  I'm not convinced that either of our girls will have the performance bug I had as a child but I guess time will tell.


After the disaster of the first gingerbread house, I was just as ecstatic as they were!



Even the enthusiasm of the boy next to her wasn't enough to motivate Clare into doing the actions.  That's my girl, just say "no" to peer pressure!

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