I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas!

It is snowing so hard outside.  It has been snowing all day!

This is such good news.  Even though the sky is still gray, the white flakes flitting down make everything more beautiful!  It blankets the empty lots, construction sites, and everything in its path with beautiful clean white.  I just LOVE it!!

Unfortunately, since the stomach flu had a week and a half long party at our house, it is December 20th and I have not bought ONE Christmas present for my family.  We don't do anything big.  But at least a video or something under the tree from Mom and Dad would be nice.  So, I had to get out in the snow.

Now, local drivers are a bit crazy under normal circumstances.  But, when it's snowing in a place that doesn't get much snow, all the crazies come out and decide to drive around.  It's FUN!!

I do admit to being one of those crazies.  The things that I have done on these roads is another post for another day.  Remind me to tell you!

Anyhow, when I dropped the girls off at school, and my neighbor and her baby at the nearby doctor, the snow wasn't so bad.  But after two hours of shopping things were starting to get a bit too slushy for my liking.  I jumped in the car and very slowly headed home.

I almost made it!

Our area is just too hilly, and I grew up in Georgia.  I'm not such a great snow driver.  So, after repeated attempts to get home, and sliding all around,  I left the car on a nice quiet street.  It is right next to a big wall, away from the intersection, and there is hardly any through traffic.  So it should be ok.  It's only 2 blocks away.

After I got the car situated, I surveyed my purchases, that included some groceries, and decided what was essential.  I didn't want to leave much because I didn't want it to get stolen.  Heavy laden, I trudged home in the snow.

Uphill.

Praise the Lord for our lovely warm flat!  I am so glad to be home!!

One of the things I left in the car was a big pack of toilet paper.

Turns out it was essential.  The cabinet is empty.  Whoops!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

I was leaving that picture of Justin and I up until we were discovered by a modeling agency, became famous, and made a lot of money.  However, that did not happen.  We only had a hand-full of inquiries as to where we got our hot swim caps, and two modeling contracts that really weren't so lucrative.

So, we're going to hold out till spring when people's minds aren't on presents Christmas.

So, it's cold, and gray, and rainy here.  Winter in this city is such a down time.  It's the rainy season.  Unfortunately it's just cold enough to make the marrow in your bones freeze up a bit, but not cold enough to actually snow.  The sun doesn't shine.  Motorists zoom through the poorly paved streets, plunging through huge puddles, and spraying those poor souls walking along the sides with nasty muddy water.

Winter = not fun.

It's the hardest time to be here.  I really feel the extent of what we've given up during the winer.  Throughout most of the year we can convince ourselves that we've got it good.  Yes, we exactly love city life, but we do have a comfortable apartment, friends, decent schools for the kids.  But, it's now, just before Christmas when my mind starts to think, "why did we do this?"

In coming here, we gave up our stuff.  We gave up our pride and our security, and our comfort.  Heck, we gave up a good portion of our sanity.  But the thing that we gave up that hurts the most is our families.  Everyone wants to be home for Christmas.  They want to stay up to late with their Mommas, and sing Christmas carols with the radio while shopping with their siblings.  I want to sit at my mother-in-law's table and eat a delicious meal.  I want to see my nephews and niece running through the house driving the adults crazy.

This year we feel it so intensely, and I don't know why.  It's almost like our first Christmas away again. Forget the presents.  Forget the stuff, and the running around, and all the trappings.  This year all I want  for Christmas is my family!