happy holidays! today is christmas. we are all recovering from a morning of openning gifts, playing with new toys, and reading new books. the girls had an amazing pile of goodies when the morning was over. santa, and family, were very good to them. when there is so much poverty and suffering in the world today, its humbling and a bit bewildering to think of the plenty we have.
this past monday we started off our holidat week with delivering a donation to feline rescue, the no-kill shelter we adopted both otto and louis from. they just openned a new shelter just a few blocks from home, so it was nice to see the new space and visit with many of the cats. we also have a bag of goodies for some of the foster dogs at second chance rescue which we hope to deliver this week. we would like to do more for our fellow humans at this time of year, but since we just got louis, the idea of rescue pets was fresh in our minds. plus, the girls had an easy time picking out toys and treats for the animals.
on wednesday we celebrated the winter solstice with some friends. we built a fire in the back yard to celebrate the return of the light, and ate some wonderful food. the kids had a blast being pulled around the yard on sleds by the adults. the backyard play set also got a lot of use - the slide was super fast between the slight coating of ice and the slippery snow pants.
on friday, we went to the holidazzle parade in downtown minneapolis. the weather was perfect for it - nearly 40 degrees out - so it was much more pleasant for the girls, since we had to stand around for 45 minutes before the parade started and then another 30 minutes for the parade itself. we were lucky to get there so early, since the sidewalks were soon packed with people. we forgot to bring the camera, but there are some pictures posted on wcco.com.
yesterday, christmas eve, we went out to visit uncle mike, aunt karen, and new baby cousin sam. we had a great visit. i had a lot of fun shopping for baby sam, since we needed a present for him! he wasn’t expected until after christmas, so it was nice shopping for him now that he is here. again, we forgot the camera, but we will be seeing them again and will take more pictures.
so, now the presents have all been openned, and we are all having some quiet time. tonight, we will make another fire and count our blessings. tomorrow, my parents come down from duluth and we’ll have a gathering at peter & molly’s house.
happy holidays everyone. peace be with us all.
