Lately

What a busy time of year.  Wonderful, but busy.  Not only is December a month of gift giving, cookie baking, family gatherings, all things Christmas...in this family it is also a month of birthdays.  5 birthdays in two weeks to be exact.  So that is what we've been up to.  Employee Christmas parties, the annual Ible Christmas shindig, 30th, 55th, 76th birthday parties...two more to go.  And yesterday Vera (Nate's mom) and I kicked off the holiday baking.  A doubled recipe that began as Lace Almond Wafers and should have only taken us an hour or so in the kitchen resulted in a quadrupled recipe we now refer to as Swedish Cigars and booked our entire morning and early afternoon.  Worth it?  Absolutely!  How can you go wrong with a pound of butter, 2 cups sugar, heavy cream, and ground almonds? I can think of nothing. 

I'm a little wiped already and the best part of December is yet to come.  For the first time ever, I get to spend Christmas with Nate and his family in Edmonton.  The house is decorated, presents under the tree, only one more gift to purchase and my holiday shopping is complete...tis the season!  Only adding to my excitement is a booked flight home the day after Christmas.  I was worried I wouldn't be able to get home until the wedding next summer, that would have been almost a year I hadn't seen my family!  Not acceptable.  And thankfully that is not the case.  I have much to prepare for the trip home, everyday of the 12 I will be there are already planned out for me.  It will be a quick trip, but an accomplished one. 

I'm very lucky to spend the holidays with both families.  The only thing better would be to celebrate, all of us, together.  That would be one thing to never take for granted.