The Bedlam, The Blizzard, The Blahs and The Babies

Christmas Morning at That Old House.

 What has Santa left under the tree?

Even Dion is curious.

Could there be something for him?

There are lovely packages with big red bows to be opened, and bright red stockings to be emptied.

Remember when Christmas was Bedlam? 

When footie-pajama clad little ones tumbled out of bed before dawn?

Maybe Christmas morning is still Bedlam at your home?  If so -- lucky you!

  

Christmas morning here is now much quieter.

The girls sleep in.  We open presents one by one, taking our time.

And Annie makes feather-light waffles for our late morning breakfast.

See? They float!

But somebody got a doll this Christmas!

Me!

I got an American Girl Felicity doll.

How did Santa know?

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We spent a lovely Christmas Day with my sister and her family at their house.

My Dad was able to join us, and as we sat around the dinner table,

we got to talking about memorable Christmases past.

Peggy's most memorable was the year that she and I found real reindeer hoof prints and

sleigh runner marks dashing across the snow on the front lawn on Christmas morning.

It turned us back into believers.

Who can doubt in the face of such clear evidence?

And how wonderful were our two big brothers?

Mine was the year that -- against all odds -- I found a Cheer Bear Care Bear for Alida.

It was all she wanted, and the darned thing hadn't been manufactured for years.

I wrote about that miracle here.

But my favorite answer of the evening came from our 90-year old Dad.

His most memorable Christmas?  He had a quick, and short, reply.

"The year I got skis!"
 and all the excitement and joy and astonishment of that long-ago Christmas shone in his face,
and I could see the boy he was, and still is, deep inside.

That Santa.  He's quite a guy.

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Mother Nature had her own surprises for us on Christmas weekend.

We had a blizzard, and not the kind you get at Dairy Queen.

From Sunday through daybreak Monday, the winds howled and rattled

our windows and shutters, blew a few shingles off the roof,

whited out our view of the neighborhood, and left behind the oddest snowfall I've ever seen.

Peeking past the sunroom tree, down to the street.

We are on the slope of a hill, and the wind tore down that hill, taking much of our snow with it.

Let's just say our neighbors, below us and across the street, got more snow than we.  Because they got ours.

How many pictures do we have of our old stone steps covered in snow?  Way too many.

Peeking past the parlor tree, out to the side yard snow. I do love to look out of cozy windows in a snowstorm, because that means I am inside!

Gloves and hats, drying out after shoveling duties.

While the snow and wind did cause some pileups against the house,

our neighborhood was not as buried as some.  Much of New Jersey east of us got more

than 2-feet of the white stuff, and our old neighborhood, just 25 minutes away, picked up 30 inches.

At That Old House, the wind left patches where you can see the grass poking through,

and also drifts several feet deep. Wacky, I tell you!

Now, about The Blahs mentioned in the title?

On Sunday, while the snow fell and the winds howled,

I was busy with a fever and chills.  And the blahs.  Hey, it happens.

After a few days of the blahs, I'm all recovered and tomorrow -- early! -- my girls and I

are going to hit the road to visit these little fellows:

Baby Calvin

Baby Luke

My niece Maggie and her husband Garrett, who live in Michigan, are the proud parents of

twin boys, born October 4th.  I've only seen pictures so far, and I can't wait to snuggle!

Happy New Year!  -- Cass

Link Parties!

For the white-out blizzard, it's Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Daydreamer.  Click here!
Also in honor of the snow -- White Wednesday at Faded Charm.  Click here!
And because RED is the perfect Christmas week color, Today Is Rednesday at It's A Very Cherry World.  Click here!