A Pause in Advent #4

My first Christmas in 33 years without Bob. It's only been a month since he graduated to heaven, but with our new family configuration it's necessary to make new traditions. We had Christmas early (yesterday) because of conflicting schedules on Christmas day.

My dear daughter, Micah, wanted to play hostess this year, so I packed up my car with presents and some baked goods and drove over to their house!

I made the pumpkin pie...

 

...and kringla (shown here in three stages)! M.K. asked what kringla is. Well, it's a sweet pastry that my Norwegian relatives make at holiday time. When researching the term I found more than one definition. So, it's kind of mysterious! :)

 

 Unfortunately, we're all fighting off colds, but it was still fun to watch the girls open their presents!

 

Christmas pj's!

 

Test drive!

 

Unspillable bowls for everyone, yay!

This is a fun little Bingo game. (Glad I bought it for her!)



 

 

 They both liked Hazel's bead rollercoaster thingy.

I got slippers and a ceramic coffee cup/thermos with a hand crocheted (by Micah) wrap. Both things I really needed! I also bought myself a few gifts. This fat, pink 400 page journal was my favorite thing. (I started writing in it at 4:30 this morning!) I also got a selection of colored Sharpies and pens and a 3-pack of 11"x14" canvas panels which I plan to do some acrylic painting on.  Woo hoo!

 

Today has been a lazy day of napping, reading books, and reading blogs. I went to the clinic yesterday morning because of this cold that's hanging on. My lungs felt so congested. She did prescribe an antibiotic to fend off the possibility of pneumonia. So, hopefully things will clear up soon!

God bless all of you as you celebrate God coming to earth to provide salvation for us all! Thank you, Lord!

Shalom!