A White Christmas

Ever sledded to mass? It's pretty great!
Stocking fun!

Sweet Chiara

Grandma with the girls

Lucy's favorite gift: her Tinkerbell camera!

We enjoyed a beautiful white Christmas! The snow was magical, and Santa's reindeer enjoyed an easy landing on the rooftop. The girls both received exactly what they had requested from Santa.

However, the snow was less convenient for non-reindeer operated vehicles.

While the Loeb grandparents made it to our house for Christmas Eve in their 4WD, it was treacherous. Our trip to St. Agatha's for mass was very sketchy. But worth it for the homily given directly to all of the young children gathered on the steps of the altar. Our favorite quip: when the priest asked the children what the three wise men brought: "Rum!"

Following a wonderful gift opening session on Christmas morning, we headed out to the Buck house for festivities. We made it through the snow and newly-formed ice with only a few frightening moments. The drive was so dangerous that the planned gathering for the extended Buck clan became a celebration for just our immediate family. We missed everyone, but still managed to have a wonderful time. We had several hours of magnificent snowfall that afternoon that added to the festive feeling of Christmas.

Unfortunately, when it was time to leave, our Jeep had a rough time with the snowy ruts. Luckily, Ryan, Dad, and Tom were happy to help Curtis shovel (and shove!) our vehicle out of the snow and into the center of the road for our journey home.

The snow was so plentiful that even the trusty post office (UPS, Fed Ex and garbage service too!) missed most of the week's deliveries. Now they are busy playing catch-up. Which explains why our Christmas cards have not gone out yet....we just received them! But I promise they will be going out soon.

Now the snow has melted and we are left with plain, old, boring rain. I preferred the white stuff. And speaking of white stuff, Miss Mary has her first loose pearly white! We were shocked to learn that children could lose teeth so young, but apparently the sooner their baby teeth come in, the earlier they come out. So, our early teether is eagerly chomping apples, carrots, and cookies hoping that one of these times, her tooth is extracted in the process.

Time to make a tooth fairy pillow!