An early Christmas present...

By the time Christmas gets here we'll already be done with it :) Okay, not exactly....
I got my present early this year. Our TV has been on the top of an old piece of furniture and is situated such that I have to look up at it while I'm working on my editing. I'd started getting pretty bad headaches and decided that even though we couldn't afford my dream entertainment center from IKEA that I could find something workable on craigslist- which is what I did. (child not included :)
My present was Clay's labor in picking up said furniture and moving it around the living room until it was situated in the perfect spot. In essence, my new living room. Behold!

We put up our Christmas decorations the first day of December, after which the top half of our Christmas tree lights burnt out. I was hoping it would last at least two more years, but after Christmas sales here I come!
I got one more piece of furniture to complete our living room. Cash's toys have been spread out in an organized pile, which drives me slightly mad. The bin organizers usually cost anywhere between $55-70 but I found one on craigslist (love it, love it, love it) for $25. The catch was it was in San Rafael, but I ran down there while I was already in Cotati for my Scottish dance class.
And the even better news is that my fuel pump waited to die until the next morning while I was pulling into my parking spot. Cash enjoyed watching the tow truck take away Mommy's broken car. Then Opa's Christmas present to me was a new fuel pump. Thank you Opa!!
We've been getting into the spirit of things- we went caroling with the ladies from church and then went to see a house here in Windsor that synchronizes their lights with radio music. I've posted it the last two years- it's pretty much the same. Cash's favorite part of it was the Mickey Mouses and train in the garage.
Our church party was a blast. I confess that I was not expecting to enjoy it (I know, I can be such a scrooge) but it truly was fantastic. The theme was "A Night in Bethlehem," and everyone went all out. We had a clothing rental booth, a white elephant gift booth, a story time booth, a carpentry booth where kids could make star of David ornaments with tongue depressers, the Inn, and then a booth for each of the food stations (pitas, bagels & cheese, chicken soup, bakery and fruit). Cash loved participating in the Israeli dancing and playing spin the dreidel, and the nativity reenactment was so touching and life-like. It was a great evening.


We have visitors in town! Britt arrived on Saturday and Honor arrived Wednesday with Grant. We have four days of us all together and then everyone goes home and Oma and Opa go up north to visit with the Lindsays. It will be a simple, quiet Christmas.
Hoping you all have a wonderful and happy Christmas and a fantastic New Year!