Winter Wonderland

It's been a crazy month at the store since my last post - everyone getting ready for the holidays, shopping, making last minute gifts and sharing time with each other. Classes for the last month have been sold out as have crops with people making time to finish up their gifts.

As the winter storm came in this past weekend, it reminded us, me especially, to take time for the quiet moments, the time with family. It's all so much more important than the errands, the gifts, the shopping we need to do. Saturday I decided to close the store with the weather being bad. My husband has been home sick, we have family coming to our house Thursday, including our daughter and her husband from Las Vegas, and we hadn't had time to prepare our home for the guests. It wasn't about having to put up a tree, its was, for me, about setting the environment. I like putting up a tree and always did with my parents when they were still around - this is special to me. So hubby and I hunkered in for the blizzard, slowly putting up our tree, doing some baking, and laying around watching movies, just catching up on our lives and 2009. Sunday we went out for a long drive in the snow and took pictures and leisured through the day, stopping for lunch, then home for more baking. It was something we could do together and share our weekend together. We haven't been able to do that in a very long time.

So I thanked God for the snowstorm! Even though I may have missed some business, and missed seeing some of you all; I was where I needed to be with my sick husband, making our home cozy and inviting for our family coming this week. I will be closed Christmas Eve since that is the day our family celebrates together before everyone has to go their own way. It will be a day of eating, playing games, napping, talking, looking at scrapbooks and sharing our year together.

I pray you all have a blessed and peaceful Merry Christmas. For those of you having lost someone this year, it will be especially hard for you. But you will be in my thoughts and prayers. I will be empathizing with you as I still grieve the time not being able to spend with my own parents, gone for several years now; or with our kids who can't be with us this year - our son in Las Vegas working and our other daughter/husband and 2 grandbabies in Tennessee; also my sister and her family in Oregon and Scott's other brother and nephew in Montana.

May Christ pour out his love and blessing to each of you,
Stacey