December the 1st

Today was the start of Christmas for us. Oh, we've had a little tree lit up with lights and some holly and red candles scattered about for a couple weeks already. Christmas music, too, has been occasionally on the stereo. But today, it truly felt like Christmas.

Maybe it was the snow. Yep, almost a foot of it. All day large white flakes fell hard, starting early this morning as the three of us lay warm and cozy in bed together watching it through the window. Throughout our unhurried breakfast and couple cups of coffee, reading Cora some books and each other some Scripture, we watched Vancouver transform into a winter wonderland. Then we bundled up and went for a walk, Cacao bounding about with a white snout, and Cora tromping through it in her pink boots. The afternoon flew by as both Dave and I wrote diligently on our papers, but sitting next to the frosted window with hot tea and beautiful Christmas music playing made even the hard work absolutely delightful. An afternoon snowball fight between David, Jason, Cacao and I, while Cora looked on in consternation, was a fun break.

Or maybe it feels like Christmas because of our first Christmas party. This evening, we all dressed up, Cora in a red gingerbread man dress with even a little gingerbread man barrette to match, me in a coordinating red skirt. Then we drove through the swirling snow (passing by a couple wrecks on the trip there and back!) to the Regent Christmas party, where we socialized for a couple hours and then had a service of singing and meditations. Cora did even more socializing than us...she was buzzing about as the life of the party. She's very popular. Maybe we could learn some popularity hints: smile a lot, hold people's hands, and cuddle close if they want a hug.