Merry Merry

Santa is tired. He was up awfully late putting last-minute wallpaper on Nora's new dollhouse. So, in solidarity with St. Nick, the 2008 Christmas blog post will be just like Nora -- short and sweet.

Christmas Eve at Nonna's house was rambunctious, hilarious, made mostly of a big pasta meal and pretty packages for the littlest among us.

But first, Ry-ry showed up at the top of Nonna's hill with a SLED to get Nora safely through the deep snow! (That's Nora - the little blob.) He also brought a flask of peppermint schnapps for Nora's frazzled parents.



As you can see, Nora had a pretty dress and was the life of the party. (And yes, she was wide awake until 10:30 p.m.)



This morning, at the sight of a dollhouse beneath the tree, Nora got very quiet and then put her head down on the chair cushions, and refused to look at it. Instead, after a shy moment or two, she made a beeline for the less-overwhelming new train cars and spinning top beneath her stocking. Then she shoved her mitts into the stocking itself, for the delightful surprises of books, stickers, and new markers.


And then the dollhouse gently lured her in ...


Later, Auntie, Ry-ry, and Owie arrived with bags of goodies, including a package all the way from Australia! Books about koalas and emus? Squeee!


Nonna and Gram heroically made their way through mountains of slush and slippery roads to join the fun. Nonna stomped the snow from her boots and said, "Ho ho ho!" and a few more packages tumbled from her bag.

A simple holiday -- lots of family, coffee with baileys, fires in the fireplace, giggles, and kindness. Abundance comes in many forms. We're so grateful for all we have.