Merry (late) Christmas and Happy New Year!

My grandparents, Henry, Me and Lucy

Lucy the Leo

Late night creations

Christmas was good this year. Real good. It was laid-back and relaxed and that's just the way I like it. On Christmas Eve, we were at my mom's house with my grandparents, my uncle and my siblings. We ate a lot, laughed a lot and enjoyed life (and the heat which I sneakily jacked up to 67 degrees). Christmas morning was nice as well, despite the fact that it never even felt like Christmas. Once our "hour of greed", as my uncle calls it, was over, Lucy, Henry and I headed to our dad's house. We lounged around the wood stove for a few hours and had some home made mac and cheese--my favorite.

Each year Christmas becomes less and less about who receives the best gifts and more about how lucky we are to be happy and healthy and to have each other. Holidays always force me to think about all the people who are less fortunate than I am and since I can't easily end world hunger and create world peace and all that jazz (although I totally wish I could!), the best thing I can do is just sit here and appreciate what I have. And that's exactly what I'm doing.

Tomorrow morning we are braving this blizzard and driving up to Montreal for some post-Christmas shopping sales and some quality family time. I'm excited.

Here's to a new year filled with love, laughter, friendship, happiness and sunshine. Happy New Year!

Ah, Monday. + A Post Edit.

Monday will be here in approximately one hour. This weekend flew by. It was a happy weekend. I feel like I'm on vacation but nooooooo, I still have three more days of school. Three days that I am REALLY not looking forward to. I wish there was something exciting happening these next few days to get me through but I honestly can't think of anything. I am so ready for Christmas right about now and all I want for Christmas is snow. Will the snow gods grant my wishes? I sure as hell hope so because it's not Christmas if the snow don't fall....

Happy Monday. (Even though my Monday sure won't be happy, I sincerely hope yours is.)

Post Edit:
Monday has come. And with it...it brought snow. SNOW! Monday answered all my wildest dreams. Now, if only it would continue for the next 120 hours, I would be one happy girl. In the meantime, I'd like to live in the moment and celebrate the fact that I am now one day closer to Christmas break and the fact that it's a winter wonderland outside AND Henry is coming home one day early...which means he'll be here tonight! Yippee!

Behind the lens

As the holiday approaches...I decided I would do my best to document everything. So, here it goes. More pictures, less words. (That's what makes a good blog, right?)

The sunset tonight was gorgeous. I managed to get outside right as the sky started transforming into a pool or oranges, pinks and blues. Sunset is my favorite time of day. The light hits the trees right at a perfect angle and illuminates the dull, naked trees.

Just bought these beauties here. They are actually my second pair (the first pair was plain black canvas). They are comfy, cute, support a great cause and would be a perfect Christmas gift. In fact, when I ordered these, I got my sister these.

The recipe for these "Magic Middle Peanut Butter Cookies" comes from here and is simple and absolutely delicious. I may or may not have had about six of them tonight.

Crazy tree decorating assistant #1. (#2 was not feeling photogenic today.)

This darling Crèche was handmade in Guatemala and we've had it since I can remember. I'm not a big fan of nativity scenes but I have a real thing for this one.

The snowmen and the elephant were both done by needle felting, a craft that I learned this summer on the island. It really deserves its own post, but I thought I would at least share a few of my handmade gifties.

As the pictures show, Lucy is home again. Henry will come on Tuesday. I'm psyched. I'm still trying to get in the spirit but it's 1000X harder without snow on the ground. But, we might be in luck. The forecast for this week shows a few flurries. I unfortunately didn't get NEARLY as much crafting done as I had hoped. But...there's still time I suppose. I just better get crackin' NOW. Happy Weekending.

Bittersweet

"What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humor, comfort, lessons in life. And, most importantly, cookies." ~Rudolph Giuliani

My sweet grandfather turned 86 this past Sunday. It was a bittersweet day for all of us. I was fortunate enough to see my special man on his special day.

I call him Hoho. All of his grandchildren do...not even sure why...but perhaps it has something to do with the fact that his name is Holden. Anyway, Hoho is the best. He loves us oh so much and we love him right back. He's always been there for my siblings and I and he supports us in anything we do. He's one of the most generous people I know and he has the greatest sense of humor. I could probably go on forever about all of his wonderful qualities that make my heart feel so full when I'm around him. But, what I really mean to write about is why today is so poignant.

86. 86 is old in my book. Each day, Hoho grows older. Each time I see him, he has one more tiny wrinkle on his face, a little more shuffle to each step and a little more stumbling between each word spoken. I fully comprehend that people get old and that we can't make it out of this life alive. I get it. But I guess this is the first time I have seen a loved one age like this, and it's killing me. I just want to see him driving again, walking more swiftly, reading without glasses and speaking without a stutter.

But, since aging is irreversible, I must accept this fact of life and embrace it. I must love him for everything he is today and store the memories that I have of the old him. I'm lucky to have him in my life...to hear his stories, to check on my teeth (he used to be a dentist), to love my sweet grandmother, to teach me life lessons, to give me advice and to give me a huge dose of unconditional love.

Thanks for everything, Ho. Happy happy 86th. May this next year of your life be filled with peace, happiness, reflection and growth. I love you.

Sorry, blog.

I'm sorry for neglecting you, bloggy. Life has been hectic.

So, where did I leave off? Oh yeah, it was Thanksgiving Eve. My siblings were home. And I was happy. Thanksgiving was absolutely wonderful. This year it was small--only my mom, siblings and our grandparents. Just the way I like it. This year I truly realized the meaning of Thanksgiving. Of course, we all realize the original meaning of Thanksgiving...being thankful for the "bountiful harvest" but we don't stop right there. This year I had so much to be grateful--it ranged from a sweet dog who loves to snuggle to the awesome job that I scored this past year to a warm house to finding a million reasons to smile each day. But, as Kelle Hampton so nicely put it, "that's not the heart of it. That's not the meaty core of Thanksgiving...the kind [she wants her] kids to grasp and feel." The thankfulness that I felt this holiday came right around the time that my mother was frantically trying to heat up all the food (that we had already cooked the day before), Henry and my grandfather were talkin' football talk in front of the tv, the fire was blazing, Lucy was working on a puzzle, the dog sprawled out beneath her feet, my grandmother was telling my mom old stories and I was roaming amongst them all, drinking in the happiness and the warmth that I have in my family and in my life. This holiday was everything I had envisioned and more--It was as peaceful as ever, I was surrounded by those I love and we had delicious food.

The family fun came on Saturday night. Henry, Lucy, my mom and I drove to my grandparents, where my mom's brother Bruce and his girlfriend Sherry were. We laughed SO many times that night. I wish I wrote down every word that was said. I absolutely adore the openness of my family and our ability to be sarcastic and funny with each other one minute and then move to a more serious topic when appropriate...and then go right back to laughing after.

See what I mean? Silly to serious in a second.

Sunday was sad. Saying goodbye to my favorite (and only!) siblings in the whole wide world was hard! It was one of the best visits we've ever had...each time we get closer and closer. The distance is suddenly killing me. At first it didn't bother me that Lucy and Henry were a couple hundred miles away from me. When they left after this visit, it really sunk in. My heart felt so full and happy while they were home and now there's a large void.

Anyway, this just means that I'm extra excited for Christmas break. And speaking of Christmas...I'm starting to get in the mood more. At first I couldn't decide if I would like this holiday this year...but I think I've decided that I do. I go through this every year. I love Christmas. No matter what.

I'm aiming towards a hand-made Christmas (aka all hand-made gifts) which I know will not happen, but I'm going to do my best. No time to blog...I gotta get craftin', folks. More to come.