<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_p6E-n3zXKTE/SV7RlRSJFeI/AAAAAAAAAN8/iryIZGr62YY/s1600-h/1123398_red_star_.jpg"><img style="float:left;cursor:hand;width:242px;height:300px;margin:0 10px 10px 0;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_p6E-n3zXKTE/SV7RlRSJFeI/AAAAAAAAAN8/iryIZGr62YY/s320/1123398_red_star_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><p style="font-family:Calibri;font-size:11pt;margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight:bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-large;">Christmas Blessings</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-large;"> </span></span><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"></p><p style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:11pt;margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p>  <p style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:11pt;margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This Christmas was very different for many reasons. Every Christmas since being married we've spent Christmas morning at Kevin's parents house, they always do a great job of hosting Christmas and we love celebrating with them. This year I knew my brother would come down from CT and that my dad might come down for Christmas day. We didn't really expect to change our plans.</span></span></p>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">My sister called about 3 weeks before Christmas and told me that they had discussed it and really wanted to join us for Christmas.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">  </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">My sister is newly married with a beautiful little girl who I haven't had enough time to snuggle, so this was welcome news. This also meant that I had better start getting things ready for their arrival. </span></span></p>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The original plan was that they could stay at a hotel and my brother and dad could crash at our apartment on the couch or air mattress. Well it didn't quite work that way. After doing the math my sister realized that a hotel stay was out of the question. Adding an extra week on to our rent and "moving in" early was 1/3 the cost of the hotel, so that's what we did. Our new landlady is amazing</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">  </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">and gladly agreed. </span></span></p>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">At this point we were not living in the new house, nor was it adequately furnished for other people to stay there. So we got busy. We brought over pieces of furniture that we knew we'd need, bought some folding tables for</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">  </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Christmas dinner. Broke out the air mattresses. Then came planning Christmas dinner, which I was eager to do. This also meant that I had to go through my kitchen digging out every utensil that we might need. Into boxes knives, spoons, whisks, Pyrex dishes, pots pans, towels, tablecloths and the kitchen sink (well, not the kitchen sink, we have 3 in the new place!)</span></span></p>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I realized a day or two before everyone arrived how crazy this was!! Luckily my brother was there all week and helped out so much.</span></span></p>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">We moved in the necessary furniture, food, cooking supplies and everything came together just in time and we had one of the best Christmases in a long time! I do think that this might become a new tradition, and next year it won't be quite as stressful and no one will be eating gas station subs for lunch!</span></span></p>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">There were some moments that made this Christmas memorable </span></span></p>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p>  <ul type="disc" style="margin-left:.375in;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:em
bed;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;">  <li><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight:bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">EARTHQUAKE!!</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> - On Saturday      morning (12:04am) we had an earthquake! I didn't know we could have      earthquakes in PA but I guess anything is possible. We heard a loud noise      and then everything shook. I don't think any of us would be too proud to      say that we were pretty frightened by it!</span></span></span></li> </ul>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p>  <ul type="disc" style="margin-left:.375in;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;">  <li><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight:bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">FOOD,FOOD,FOOD</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> - I wouldn't      say that the food Christmas night was my best, it was far from my most      creative cooking and I hope to do better next year. HOWEVER my brother      rocked in the kitchen! We had a delicious breakfast on Christmas morning      and he made an amazing tortellini, spinach, sausage and fresh mozzarella      dish!!! He's a great cook! Someone marry him already! </span></span></span></li> </ul>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p>  <ul type="disc" style="margin-left:.375in;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;">  <li><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight:bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">NO THANKS</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> - my favorite      response to a gift this year would be Claire's over dramatic tossing of      the potty book we got her - obviously it's just not time for potty      training yet! </span></span></span></li> </ul>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p>  <ul type="disc" style="margin-left:.375in;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;">  <li><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight:bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">NO FIGHTING?!?</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> - This is      probably the first time in years that my sister and I spend more than a      day together and did NOT fight. Yes, we're adults but we have very      different views and both have strong opinions and personalities - let's      just say I hope it stays this way. We had the best time together, even      when doing dishes!</span></span></span></li> </ul>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p>  <ul type="disc" style="margin-left:.375in;direction:ltr;unicode-bidi:embed;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;">  <li><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight:bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">CANDLES ON THE TABLE</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> - I'll      have to go in to this more later, I loved that we had a semi-formal      dinner. I've really missed one thing about our family </span></span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">holiday meals and      that is the formalness - not to sound stuck up or like "one of those      Connecticut girls" ( this is something my friend Daireth called me a      lot when we were in New Zealand and I ate a lot of bruschetta and brie      cheese). I really think that the holidays are a time to break out the FANCY!! Use your formal dishes, light some candles, make a special meal, have some wine and spend a nice long meal with family! This is something that I am looking forward to doing more of now that we have a large enough home! </span></span></span></li></ul><br /><br /><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre;">  </span>   What do you think?? Formal? Casual? Fast Food?? How does your family spend the holidays?</span><br /><p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p>  <p style="margin:0 0 0 .375in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><br /></span></p><p></p></div>