It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

What a fun day! Chaeli-Bean was over for a visit and it was beautiful outside, so we spent some time out in the snow. Here she is, bundled up in the backyard. That's Charlotte eating snow behind her. I took her for a walk down the block with her sled for awhile, too. It's amazing that she can even move with all of these clothes on.

When we came inside we baked a bunch of goodies. I have to take stuff to work on Monday because we're taking turns bringing Christmas munchies. Way to sabotage the old diet, but it's fun!

Tonight I went to Shoppers to start on my stocking stuffer shopping. I'm avoiding every other store because I can't stand crowds, but I guess I'll have to brave it eventually. Mr X is home next week so perhaps I'll take a day off and we can power-shop until we're done.

Chaeli and I sat at the piano and played Christmas carols today. I sang too, but she just played. She hogs the keys so I just played at the high end. Today is the first day she saw our tree and decorations and she was so cute. She kept saying, "Ooooh" and gently touching things, but she didn't seem to want to wreck anything. She's so good! I don't know what we ever did without her -- she just makes life so much more fun.

Yesterday I closed Nyk's house deal, so it's official -- she (and the Bank of Nova Scotia) owns her home. She just called and she's busy tearing shelves down and changing things to be the way she wants them to be. I'm just about exploding with pride for her -- she' s just 21, but she really has it together. This summer we'll have a work bee and paint her brown trim to something more palatable, fix the fence, plant flowers, make it perfect.

Mitchie is off at a wedding with her boy tonight. I don't seem to see her much these days but she's happy and looking like a million bucks so it's all good.

I can't believe how lucky I am to have my girlies all here, living in town. I hope we never, ever move away.