Monday morning.....

Well, it's Monday and we had a fun-filled weekend. The Holidazzle parade of lights down Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis was delightful on Saturday night. It was a bit cold--with the wind, but not too bad. Some of us retreated for a while into Crate and Barrel. Then we enjoyed holiday treats at the Corrigans' home--it was nice to warm up and socialize in a cozy environment.

Sunday evening's Advent dinner went well, too. What started out as a two-family affair with the six of us and 3 guests turned out to be a 4-family affair with 20 of us, including Luke's friend Alex. We had tacos, buffet style, and I think everyone had fun. We played a game where the kids were on 3 teams and had to cooperate using only one hand to see who could wrap a gift the fastest and the best. Then Tim read a couple of Advent devotionals (one was a devotional I had written 11 years ago!) and we shared some favorite Christmas memories. Of course, I had to share about my Dad reading "The Night Before Christmas" every Christmas Eve, and also about our Christmas gathering in Tennessee the year the Romanian dictator was executed on Christmas day--which opened the way for our adoption of Christina who was born two days after Ceauceascu's demise. (I know I spelled his name wrong--I've got to find the correct spelling for that!)

Anyway, now the holidays are in full swing, but our big events are over, so I hope I can keep up the house without having parties planned (well, we are having a cookie bake here tomorrow.......)

Christmas will be here before we know it!

Till next time,


Suzi