Can you believe Christmas 2021 is over and it's almost 2022? I long for this to be the year when COVID and all its variants are successfully overcome. Hear my cries, Lord!
Look at this beautiful ball given to me by the choir!
As I said in my last post, Destiny, Alex, and Elizer got back from Lancaster last Wednesday evening. She was so eager for some days off work. On Thursday morning I took this adorable picture. Elizer loves books! I probably say that every post, haha!
On Thursday afternoon Destiny and I went shopping for food for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We also did a bit more gift shopping and clothes shopping at TJMaxx. At one point we were on a phone consultation with Jeremy, haha! We asked him what cheeses would be best for our charcuterie board and sent him this picture. So many choices!! He was very helpful.
We were ready to drop when we got home!
On Christmas Eve day we woke up to a bit of snow! How perfectly beautiful! We also were treated to a visit from a cardinal!
Our first order of business that day was digging stuff out of the Christmas stockings.
We had sausage and French toast for brunch. I made a pot of chicken corn noodle soup for our dinner, then I got myself ready and left to play piano at our 3:00 Christmas Eve service at church.
We ate the scrumptious soup after I came home, then got ourselves dressed up for the 7:00 Christmas Eve service. Elizer was dancing to some Baby Shark before we left.
When we got home from the service we pushed the dining room table aside and Dick set up his tripod and iPad to take pictures. As always, it took lots of tries to get a good one!
The last one was the keeper!
Then Destiny and I got busy prepping our charcuterie spread. We had so much fun shopping for the stuff and even more fun prepping it and then even MORE fun eating it!
After we had thoroughly stuffed ourselves we changed into our matching pajamas and moved the table aside again for more pictures!
We ended with a goodnight kiss! It was very late by that time!
We decided to keep the table out of the way for gift opening in the morning. This was the calm before the storm on Christmas morning, haha!
What fun we had! So many good gifts!
We stayed in our pajamas all day! Well, except for Dick who did some work outside, stringing more lights and reworking an outlet.
Our brunch was bacon, eggs, and crescents. We all ate together at our tiny kitchen table.
After brunch I got busy making an apple pie and Destiny made a batch of her Puerto Rican coquito. Then I made all the sides to go with the ham that had been in the slow cooker since early morning - stuffing, baked corn, and sweet potato casserole. Pretty much the same as Thanksgiving, except ham instead of turkey.
At some point I did this. Like I said on Facebook - I can wear pajamas and an apron and sing a baby to sleep all at the same time, haha!
Later, when he woke from his nap, I got this picture of him rocking his Cocomelon doll on his Blues Clues chair. It was so precious!
Here are the lights Dick strung on the side porch that afternoon. Better late than never! And I love them!
By the time I remembered to get a picture of our dinner, we had mostly finished. And we were SO full we hardly had room for the apple pie and ice cream. A few of us suffered through and had some anyway, haha!
In the evening I got the mess cleaned up in the kitchen. Destiny was busy folding laundry and packing for their week in Lancaster. She's a list maker after my own heart, haha! We love making lists and checking things off!
It was a very good day, made even better by the contact we had with each of our children either by text messages, phone calls, or video calls. My body was tired and my heart was full when I went to bed.
On Sunday morning we all were up bright and early, even Elizer. Grandpa had jello and blueberries with him while I helped Destiny to get last minute stuff together for their trip. Elizer was as charming and sweet as ever!
Alex and Destiny got everything packed into their car and they were off by 7:50 am. She had to start work at the Auntie Anne's in Park City Mall at 11. Later she texted that they had made good time and got to Alex's dad's place at 10 and had breakfast there before she had to go to work.
Once again they are staying in a hotel, provided by her job. She works through Thursday this week and then they'll come home for the New Year's weekend. We are really hoping to go to see the ice sculptures in downtown State College. She has fond memories of doing that with us when she was a kid.
Dick and I dressed up for church on Sunday morning. I wore a dress and heels, which I very seldom do. Of course I wanted a picture when we got home, haha!
That afternoon, while Dick went over to Anthony's woods to check his trail cams, I took a good old-fashioned Sunday afternoon nap for the first time in months. I needed it! Before I fell asleep I took a picture of my view. I thank God over and over for our beautiful, comfy home.
On Monday we had snow again!
Later it rained and it all turned to a sloppy mess.
I had a big disappointment yesterday. I had been planning to have Sammy and Bianca here for a few days this week while Destiny and Alex are away. I was SO looking forward to it. Sam called to let me know that they had recently spent time with someone who has since tested positive for COVID. I cried. I'm so tired of being careful and not having the big family get-togethers. But I just can't take the chance. I'm in the middle of several medication changes right now since my A-Fib episode last month. And I haven't even been able to see a cardiologist yet. My appointment, the first opening they had, is next week. To risk getting sick right now would be crazy. I cried a lot yesterday. (I will be sharing this blog post on Facebook, and I appreciate if no comments about this disappointment were made on Facebook. I'm not trying to add extra attention to any of this. Thanks for understanding. Comments here on my blog are fine.)
Today was a new day, and I was happy for a bit of sunshine this morning.
I went to a thrift store in Bellefonte, Faith Center, and was delighted to find two tops I really liked for $3.00 each! The one on the left is actually double layered, so it's nice and warm.
