The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!

Another Christmas has come and gone. There were gifts under the tree.



And smiling children.





And yummy cinnamon rolls to be eaten for breakfast.



After the flurry of activity at our house on Christmas morning, we packed up and headed to Cincinnati to spend Christmas evening with my family. This year all of my siblings were together for a few moments in the evening.



The kids and I stayed at my sister's place for a few days. The kids had fun hanging with their cousins. They got to ice skate at Fountain Square, go to top of Carew Tower and view Cincinnati from the Observation Deck, and visit Krohn Conservatory.





We are back home now. I'm off work for the rest of the week and plan to relax, watch football, get my exercise routine back into gear, and knit. I have a Just Enough Ruffles scarf to finish. Other projects are waiting in the wings, including more than a few UFOs.



While watching the Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl, I will be wearing the toasty warm socks my sister made for me. They are made from her own homespun. They fit perfectly!!

Autumn Snowfall

We woke up this morning to 1-2 inches of snow. The east coast is getting blasted by the storm. I'm waiting to hear from two sisters. One is in Virginia and the other is in New Jersey. I'm sure they have much more. Here's a couple photos from the house. I took these earlier when I got up.

Out the front door:



Out the back door:



This snow is helping to put me in the Christmas spirit. It's been hard for me to get excited this year. I'm hoping the magic grabs me this week.

December began with a couple huge heartbreaks. My mom lost her last living sibling. Aunt Ann lived to 93. She lived a long, happy life, so I'm not too sad to lose her, but the timing is difficult. Also on the same day Aunt Ann died, Kristin lost a friend. Her friend was tragically struck and killed by a train while walking home from school. The boy was walking down the tracks with headphones on. He didn't even hear the train.

Dealing with this has been the hardest thing I've faced as a parent. When your kids are younger and they get hurt, you can give them a hug and kiss and within a few minutes the pain is forgotten. That doesn't work for this. Kristin seems to be coping alright, but I still worry. I told her that the only thing I can guarentee is that someday the pain will go away, but it might take a long time. As a mom,I can't stop thinking about the boy's mother. He was an only child. I pray she heals.

On the knitting front, I'm taking a class at my favorite LYS. I'll post pictures when I'm done.