We're Moving...

Our blog that is.

Don't be alarmed! I've just moved all our stuff over to a new address, a task more easily said than done.

The new address is coming to you via your Christmas card (arriving today or tomorrow). If I didn't have your address for a Christmas card, please email me and I'll happily send you our new internet location.

You can email me at my yahoo account or at changeofaddress.j3@gmail.com.

Wordless Wednesday: Ghost of Christmas Past 2005

Bowling Queen

While in Nevada, we took in a few frames of bowling. Gracie showed quite an aptitude for the sport (If you can call it a sport).

Check out those cute little bowling shoes! Perfect for walking a bowling ball down the lane. Good thing there was some supervision while mom was behind the camera.

Aunt Sara helped her with her technique...
About 5 minutes after its release, the ball would finally reach the pins.
Between her Aunt Sara and the bumpers, Gracie did alright!

Blessings

• Another sunny Sunday afternoon.
  
• Cori who diligently shovels our long driveway and sidewalks. I've done it a couple of times, and its a tall order. Even when it doesn't snow, the wind blows at night and we always have an inch or two across the drive in the morning. Everyone up here has a snow blower. Sadly, our budget currently allows for a shovel, and Cori has been a real champ about it.
  
• The Internet. I did almost all our Christmas shopping online this year, and it was sooooo nice. 20 minutes here, 20 minutes there, whenever I had a chance. It freed up a lot of time for us to focus on some other Christmas service things that we wanted to do. Not to mention being relieved of the adventure that is shopping with small kids.
  
• Our branch family, again. I had so much help again today. As I was struggling out of the chapel with both kids after the sacrament today to feed Grant, a friend hurried to my side to take Grace back with her. I taught in Relief Society today, and Grant was getting really fussy. Another friend took him (to the other side of the building) to rock him. Then, a brother from the branch came by after church to help Cori with the 4Runner. We got new tires on it yesterday, and when Cori went to drive it this morning, one of the tires was flat. We had just gotten it into the garage to see about the spare and decide what we were going to do about tomorrow when Brother G* showed up with an air compressor and some tools. They were able to repair what we think was the problem, and we were spared a lot of time and trouble.

Wordless Wednesday: Sunshine!

Christmas Downtown

Though modest in its size and amenities, Petoskey has a rather popular shopping area downtown known as the gas lamp district. It consists of a few square blocks of clothing boutiques, high-end kitchen/food and home decor shops, restaurants and pubs, and (of course) fudge houses. During the summer tourist season the area is quite busy and keeps rigorous shop hours. During the winter most shops close around 4PM. But on the first Friday of December there is a tradition. The whole district gets closed off to traffic and all the shops have an open house until 9PM. Not only do they open their doors to the public, but they serve food. Our friends the C*'s offered to escort us around. Amy told me that there would be food, and I was expecting it to be like going to Costco. You know, little cups and bites of yummies. Rather, we were treated to generous serving sizes of gourmet soups and appetizers with lots of desserts and hot drinks. It was about 25 degrees outside and the whole town was out celebrating. They had a tree lighting in the park and everyone sang a Christmas hymn together. Where do they do things like this any more?

We visited Kris Kringle at the old library

There were lots of musical performances and Gracie cut straight to the front for each one.

Mitchelle Street. The roaming brass ensemble is on the right. The streets downtown are decked with real garland and wreaths. So beautiful. And check out all our snow!

Petoskey High has a really amazing music program. There is a group of 20 or so students that puts together a steel drum band to play Christmas songs for this night every year. This is where we ran into the biggest crowd and I wasn't able to get the best picture.

I should have given the camera to Grace who cut right up to the front of the stage.

It was such a fun night. It felt the way Norman Rockwell pictures feel. Who wants to come out for next year's?

Blessings

• Having a night out with Cori this week. We went to a Christmas party for the Northern Michigan Regional Manufacturer's Society (or something like that). Cori was profited an invite courtesy of the Honeywell site at which he works. It was at a beautiful country club in Charleviox. Dinner was delish--we got our first taste of the famed Michigonian white fish--, we met some neat people, and we even won one of the door prizes.


• Our branch family. Friday night, a couple escorted us to the annual Christmas celebration in downtown Petoskey (post about this to follow). We had a lot of fun with them. And I always have help on Sundays with Grace and Grant. During Sacrament meeting, Gracie has her favorite people to sit with, and I'm free to take care of Grant. This Sunday, I taught during the third hour and my Relief Society pals insisted on taking Grant with them. So very nice. We really feel that we are part of a family out here.


• Being in Young Women's again (if only for a little while). Our young women's organization is staffed by 1 (only one) superwoman. She was out of town this weekend, and asked me to sub. I loved being in with the girls and getting to know them better.


• The sunshine this afternoon. It has been weeks since we have had blue sky and sunshine. But this afternoon we opened all our blinds and took a lavish nap in the brilliant light! It was made all the brighter by the blanket of snow outside.