merry christmas

I hope you are having the merriest of Christmases. As I write this, my mom, dad, husband, kid and dog are all passed out for mid-day naps (post-pie.)

My favorite part of the season has been preparing for my girl's big day. Her 3rd Christmas on this earth (the 4th if you include the one where she was in my tummy) and she finally gets it. She loves her new doll baby. The way she puts it to bed with blankets, pillows, lullabies and rocking makes me feel like I must be doing something right. She could care less about the dress I made it but that's okay. That was more for me, anyway...I'm learning that a lot of things are. Now I know why my mother always wanted to get us Madame Alexander dolls when we wanted Barbies.

Isn't this image sweet? The super-talented Nancy Julson-Rieley sent it. It's an illustration she drew from a newspaper clipping of her Mother-in-Law from when she was "Miss Snowmobile '69/70." This spunky lady sadly lost her battle with ovarian cancer earlier this year. Nancy thought this vintage rendition of her would be the perfect one to feature for her holiday message this year. One moment captured in time and I can tell so much about about her. How could it not spread holiday cheer?

Merry Christmas to you and everyone in your life: past and present.