Pre-Christmas

Our weather this week has been frigid and white. I used to joke, when I moved here from Nebraska, that I was always "dreaming of a white Christmas." Now, for the last three years, I have had a white Christmas. Justin says to blame global warming! Either way, the snow is beautiful! It pales compared to the drifts and feet upon feet of snow Justin and I would get in Nebraska and Wyoming, but it has a different beauty.

Justin has been able to take Levi out in the snow quite a bit this week, which has made Levi the happiest little boy around! He's eaten snow, made a snow man, gone sledding, accidentally white-washed himself, discovered snow is actually cold, and learned ice is very slippery. He will wake up every day and yell, 'It's snowing', even if its not. We went out and bought him a new coat and snow pants since K-mart was having a sale and he needed the pants. Hopefully both will last him through next winter too.

Hazel discovered the snow too. I took her outside for a brief moment to get a picture and then ran back inside for warmth. She did quite well, and didn't even squeal once. I went out to run errands a few times during the week and she did well on those occasions too. As I mentioned, she is a very mellow baby. She's had some bad gas lately so she's cried a little more than usual, but I'm sure she'll be back to her usual peaceful self soon.

On another note, our family has been sick sick sick. Well everyone except Justin, thankfully. I've had a cough since before Hazel was born, and Levi has been on and off sick for longer than that. I started getting sick again yesterday and Hazel started getting the same symptoms as well. We would have stayed home from church today but it was the Christmas program so we stuck it out as long as we could. We made it through half of the first hour and headed home. I think we spent more time getting ready than we did at church. But we did our best and that's all we can hope for. I think Levi is getting hit the hardest, as he seems to be the grumpiest about being sick. He goes from super grump to super sweetheart and back again in two seconds flat. But at least we get the super sweet moments too.

That's all the pre-holiday stuff from us. We look forward to seeing all the family coming into town on both sides for the holidays! We are just so excited to see everyone! My sister has already encountered aftermath from the winter storms, as her flight from Chicago was cancelled. Portland airport is pretty much shut down, so no flights in or out. She managed to get a flight into Seattle and then will drive down with her family. Hopefully the drive will be safe, for her and our other family members driving this upcoming week! We love you all and wish you the merriest Christmas!