Christmas - the WONDERFUL day of celebrating and remembering the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus, has come and gone for another year - but the memories linger and bring a smile to my heart!  

Our table set for Christmas dinner, complete with a nativity scene to keep close in our thoughts just what this season is all about!

Every year, I intentionally slow down during the Christmas season to soak up the joys of the season, and I am determined not to get caught up in the busyness that the season has become.  Yet, every year, it is hard to maintain. There are endless parties, gatherings, social events, expectations, gifts, and more. I'm sure you can relate. This Christmas, we are being intentional about giving handmade/thrifted gifts and spending more time just being together without any big endeavors. I usually bake mountains of food/cookies to have on hand and give away. This year, I've kept the recipes simple and easy.  

Our family tradition continues - we have been making Paintbrush Sugar Cookies together as long as I can remember. My mother started the tradition with us children, and I have continued it with my own.

How can it be December already? With just days left until Christmas arrives, I confess that I am not ready for Christmas to be here this soon. Wasn't Fall and Thanksgiving just here "yesterday"? Well, it feels that way at least, and while we now have some snow, and the Christmas songs are playing, and it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas outside, I have not gotten "nary" a piece of Christmas decor up.  I am debating whether I want to try to lug all the boxes from our storage for a couple of weeks display before lugging them back again.  Anyone else facing the same decor struggle? 

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support for my husband, Dan, as we walk through this season of recovery after his heart attack. Every prayer and every generous gift to our family is appreciated so much, more than we can possibly express! I'm thankful to report that Dan is feeling stronger every day. He has to remain off work for two months before the cardiologist will decide about his return to work. He will begin a cardiac rehab program next week to help him regain his strength. I also want to share that we are very close to meeting Baby Clara; it will most likely be sometime this week that we will get to meet her! 

Fall in North Idaho along the Kootenai River

The month of November is always a rather "gray" month in our neck of the woods.  The leaves have mostly fallen, and the sun disappears behind the rain and fog that hangs around.  We need the rain, of course, and the gray days just help us begin to look with anticipation for the day when the snow will fall and brighten the world. But even with all the gray, there are still bright spots of color when the sun does come out.