Bellevue Bonanza

This year, the city of Bellevue has decided to compete with the city of Seattle in the area of "Christmas Extravaganza." Our first stop was the ice rink . . .

Haley was less than thrilled when we began (as was I with the ridiculously looooong lines) but once she set foot on the ice, she took off with true enthusiasm leaving the rest of us in her dust. Hannah thought she was ready for the Olympics after her first loop around . . . three or four or five falls later, however, she decided it was still okay to hold mom and dads hands every once in a while.

We met my sweet sister-in-law Bonnie and my favorite nephew Moses (okay - only nephew - but still one of the cutest babies around!!) and had dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. It is an amazing restaurant with WAY to many food choices. My fabulous hubby let me choose his and mine so I could taste two things!! The Marsh family surprised me with a candle-lit slice of cheesecake as an early birthday treat.

The grand finale of the night was the amazing Snowflake Lane parade/show along the main street of Bellevue (conveniently located by the mall?!). We were beyond impressed with the marching drum line, snow princess, lights, music all around and snow shooting from the roofs of the buildings . . . the kids were wide-eyed as were the grown ups . . . what fun!!

On our walk back to the car we had lots of laughs creating our own renditions of "We wish you a Merry Christmas" adding such timeless lyrics as "Please still shop more in Bellevue" and "Don't care if you use credit, cash or debit" . . . in reverence of the 20,000 people flooding into the mall after the show . . . and yet, in spite of the silly push for commercialism, it was an incredible feeling standing as a community and experiencing joy together . . . who knew you could have so much fun on a street corner?!

Friends and Festivus . . .

We had a wonderful time at our dear friends the Luna's celebrating "Festivus" . . . my favorite moment was, of course, the airing of the grievances . . . but the pictures of the day can speak for themselves . . . and we don't have a picture but the breakfast casserole Melissa made was a HUGE hit . . . (note to self: get the recipe and make it everyday!)

What could be better than a bunch of kids, frosting and food?! My only regret is that this kind of joy only happens at Christmas time . . . wait a minute . . . maybe it doesn't have too!! More cookies and yummy casseroles and joy to come throughout the year!!!

Away in a Manger

One of my Christmas highlights is quietly observing the girls play with the nativity set - how precious to watch their interpretations of the Christmas Story. This year, however, I have been quite puzzled. Somehow, Captain Hook, Elmo, Swiper, a cat ornament and various princess dolls have made their way into the story. My perfectionist mom instinct is to correct them and redirect them to the precious birth of Christ . . . this morning, instead of jumping in, I quieted my heart and really listened . . . and wouldn't you know, I learned something. They have it figured out - what was the reality of the Christmas story? A strange combination of characters in an odd arrangement thrown together out of divine design - an inn keeper full of tenants but open to sharing what he had, a young mother about to give birth as an angel told her she would, a young husband who had not yet consecrated his marriage bravely accepting his wife's situation as divine design, a group of poor shepherds afraid then amazed at an angel sighting and a pull to leave their job and find a baby . . . I guess, when I really put it together in the rustic way that it truly happened, a few strange additions to the Marsh Girls story is not so out of place after all as I watch the girls bring them all to the manger scene to adore the new baby boy . . .

A New Chapter . . .

Many a good friends have started the world of blogging and I love to read their postings . . . to me, it's like having a cup of coffee together, catching up on old times, and sharing a laugh . . . however, this coffee date has only been one sided. I'd like to join this new world - post my thoughts, share a laugh, catch up old friends on our new adventures, and be a stop on your morning (or afternoon, or evening) coffee date . . . ENJOY!!