My Christmas Trip

I visited all my family for Christmas, and the second part of my trip was spent at Nel's house.  When I first got there, Mia had just gotten out of school, and we headed over to the village to our favorite taco restaurant.  Now, the chips and salsa here are the best I've ever had.  They serve them warm every time, and they give different types of salsa to try, some sweet and some spicy.  This place is fun and lively with an eclectic and whimsical vibe, with giant elephant and alligator sculptures on the walls, and a big upside down Christmas tree in the center of the room.

Look what Mia made me at school today.  I will keep it forever.

We did a little shopping in the village, and these windows were decorated so festive for the season.

Nel's Christmas tree is so lovely this year, and she found pretty red and gold ribbon to wrap around it.

Like Jess, her ornaments are a little of the old and new, and so unique and pretty.

Mia got her bangs cut.  I like her new look.

One night we watched the movie My Secret Santa.  It was funny and entertaining.

Then, it is a tradition of ours to always watch Rick Steves' European Christmas together.  We love this show, as it explains all the traditions and foods of Christmas in the different countries, and we can just visualize ourselves right there sharing this special time with the Europeans.

I wrapped some presents for Mia from grandma and uncle b.

And while I just put a bow or two on mine, Nel puts a handmade bow on every present.  She loves doing this, and it brings her joy to create them.  They are just wonderful.

We baked sugar cookies one night, and one of the sprinkle containers just spilled out.  It was so much fun baking with Mia, using the star, tree, and gingerbread man cookie cutters.  The cookies were messy, and oh so Yummy.  The frosting was homemade too.

We went to a favorite French bakery in the morning, and sat and talked with coffee and a chocolate croissant.  In one corner of the shop, they had panettone for sale in festive containers.  Now, I spend about $7 for panettone at the store, and these tins come from Italy and range from $40-$85.

Nel had this mix of red berries and greenery on her table all week.

We played Candy Land, with Mia winning the game. 🍭

Mia made me cinnamon toast one morning.  I was so surprised and pleased, as my mom used to make that for us kids growing up.  Four generations enjoying this cinnamon toast.

We went to Mia's school performance, which was called "It's a jungle out there," and Mia's character was a monkey. 🐵  She did so well on stage.  She got flowers from the relatives, which was thoughtful.

Afterwards, we all went to the pizza place, and it was delicious.  Such a fun event.

Here's Mia coloring with me right before her ballet class.  I love her bright and cheerful pictures.

Mia went to see Santa the week before I got there, so I didn't get to see her joy with Santa, but I love this pic of her with her mom and dad and the reindeer.  Renecke makes me laugh, and I appreciate all that he and Brian do to help out when I come for a visit.

Back at home, and I had to go to the DMV.  They had everything they needed except a photo, so I had to drive up the mountain, and wouldn't you know it, there was FOG!  But it was only a small patch - most of it was down in the valley.  After finishing up at the DMV, I went to a few places in town, the grocery store, the nursery, the coffee shop.  I got myself a chocolate donut and coffee and drove over to the lake.  As I was appreciating the stillness of the December morning, I began to think about the baby Jesus who came into the world for us.......and His Mother Mary, who gave birth to God's Son.  As the three wise men approached, He laid there, a gift of love for the entire world.

And a Christmas gift.  There were two on my lawn, and four in the distance.

Merry Christmas, friends.

Children are the Magic of Christmas

My mom had a trinket box on her kitchen counter, and on the lid was written ~Children are the Magic of Christmas.~  It was not only out at Christmastime, but all year long.  I just got back from my trip visiting with my family, and after being with the little ones all week, these words really hit home for me.

This will be a long post with many pictures, so I hope it's not too long winded.  I always have to plan my Christmas trip around the weather here - it's supposed to rain all this week, and snow is in the forecast soon.  The first part of my trip was spent at Jess' house.  This was a pumpkin muffin with cream filling I bought while waiting for my flight to board.

  We see many sunsets throughout our days, but it's rare that I see one on a plane looking out the window.

As we were getting ready to land, it looked like beautiful Christmas lights.

As you know, I do not like traveling.  Don't like anything about it, but all the discomfort disappears when I see this little face.

Francesca writing a letter to Santa. 🎅

Jess' Christmas decorations are a little of the old and new, and she had a lot of greenery draping over hutches and bookshelves and the stairway this year.

She made a little storybook space for the kids to read their Christmas books.

I thought these were the cutest stockings she found this year.

Her porch area is always so festive with pops of red for the season.

We watched a lot of kids' Christmas movies,

and one night me and Jess watched Champagne Problems, which all of my family loves.  Jess poured us a glass of champagne, and served a piece of Marzipan Stollen before the show.

This is our favorite shopping center.  It's so lively and festive, and they had the most beautiful grand tree.

  We stopped at Barnes and Noble, and I bought some Nutcracker tea for Nel.  This is her favorite tea brand.

Brian bought us two different kinds of quiche to share while resting at the coffee shop.

It's time to visit Santa now, and the kids are so excited!  You have to make an appointment, which is very different than when my kids grew up and could just climb on Santa's lap at any time.

Love Charlotte's Frozen boots.

We're next, and it's almost time to see the jolly man.

It was pure joy watching the kids decorate the tree and putting a few ornaments on myself.

Jess' ornaments are very unique, and this year she had the prettiest rose gold ribbon around her tree.

Papa's home, and he always stops to give the kids hugs before doing anything else.

A stack of Jess' holiday baking books.

There were lots of laughs, and it seems that I always have those laugh attacks when I'm with the kids.

Francesca will receive her Holy Communion in a year or so, so it was so special for me one night to be able to attend one of her classes.  They had stations for the children to work on craft projects.  And we even got to see and smell the gifts that were given to Jesus on that very Holy night.......Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh.  I've always wondered what Myrrh smelled like.

Back at home, I wrapped the kids' presents from grandma and uncle b.

  One night we went to a French bakery, which had a Christmas tree and a fireplace scene.  Haven't got the pics yet from Jess, but it was so pretty, and we enjoyed visiting with coffee and pastries and just talking.

I had a wonderful time with my family, and I watched Charlotte for a couple days.  This face is etched in my heart.

I thought it was sweet of Jess to want me to be in one of their family Santa pictures.

And this one was my favorite because Santa knows all our secrets.  ; )

I'll show you my time at Nel's house next.  She had a lot of fun things planned for me too.