A Great December

This was a great month! It was my desire to do less shopping and baking for Christmas and do more "experiences" with the people I love and care about. There seemed to be a lot of opportunities, and I went for them all (almost!). Here's a rundown:

Dec. 1 - Downtown with Steve, Stef, Nick, Ben, Stella, Robb and Shaun to see the Macy's Christmas display (Santa's workshop) and the Holidazzle Parade. Oops, I didn't plan well, there was no parade - it's only on Thursdays through Sundays now. I need to remember this for next year. But we did have a good time seeing Santa and the elves, followed by eating in the food court and walking the skyways and Crystal Court. Yes, I did get a fair amount of ribbing by my family!

Dec. 2 - Dinner at the Vessilinov's (Ginka, Vladi, and Tony) our new Bulgarian friends who live in Belle Plaine.

Dec. 4 - Urban Ventures holiday event at the Hub.

Dec. 5 - Birthday dinner for Maryann at the new McCormick and Schmick's in Edina. Where were the Hoyts? A little mix up on locations.

Dec. 6 - Dinner at Solera and Wicked at the Orpheum with my girls (Stef, Laura and Krista).

Dec. 7 - Fifth birthday party for Benjamin!! I cannot believe how fast these years have gone. He is such a wonderful little boy, so smart and so kind-hearted! He brings much joy to me!

Dec. 11 - SSWAT's luncheon at my house. Tom Johnson and Lois Lubbers prepared a great meal and Ginka made me a wonderful holiday cake and cookies to serve. Joel Goff came and served the ladies. No cooking for me! I could just be the hostess. What a great way to entertain! Seventeen dear ladies came.

Dec. 13 - Ten friends and I had a tour of Christian art at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, followed by lunch at D'Amico. What a treasure this place is. I'd like to do this yearly.

Dec. 14 - Disney on Ice with Laura, Shaun, Mary, Stefani, Ben and Stella. It's a pretty commercial operation, but it was worth it to see the big smiles on their faces as many of their favorite characters appeared.

Dec. 18 - Party at the Slattery's, followed by a party bus ride to St. Paul to see White Christmas at the Ordway. Seventeen people from our condos. It's a great production, but one I don't need to see again. Very song and dancy. Steve would definitely pass on this!

Dec. 21 - Dinner at Cue and Shadowlands at the Guthrie with Steve, Stef and Nick. Great company, great food and a great play. The new Guthrie is awesome! Must go again.

Dec. 23 - The Elves and the Shoemaker at the Old Log Theater with Steve and Ben. A very cute production - good for kids and adults. I need to watch for future kids plays here! Nice to have it so close. Then we met Rick and Krista for sushi at Kabuki. Ben ate about a dozen pieces!

Dec. 24 - Our beautiful candlelit service at church. How wonderful to come together to sing and celebrate the birth of our Lord. Our group included us, Robb, Laura, Shaun, Audrey, Mary, Dan, Ann, Dad, Ginka, Tony and Vladi. Then to our house for appetizers and desserts. Tom, Sharon and Laura H. joined us.

Dec. 25 - The kids and grandkids began arriving late morning. Steve made them waffles as they arrived. We opened gifts for about an hour. First the little ones, in reverse order, then the next generation and lastly the oldies. All seemed happy with their gifts. Steve and I gave almost all gift cards this year. We did an assortment from very practical (groceries/Target/Menards) to a few more fun (spa, cooking classes). It's good to know that they will enjoy choosing exactly what they want. Stella and Shaun helped make and decorate a birthday cake for Jesus. We played a Christmas "find the words and put in order" game. Stella napped and Ben and Shaun had a quiet time watching Peter Pan. At about 3:00 all of Steve's siblings and families (minus Brooke)arrived. He planned for a "retro" food meal. After a few games, we ate meatloaf, potato sausage, mac and cheese, brocolli hotdish, fluffy pink jello salad, oatmeal cake, gingersnaps, Special K bars, sour cream twists, and caramels. Most of these were Verone's specialties. More games after dinner. We don't often get the whole family together, so it was very nice.

Dec. 28 - There was a baby dedication ceremony for Audrey at Ridgewood church this morning. All of Robb's family and all of Laura's family were there. It was very meaningful to have four generations stand with them as they dedicated her. Audrey wore my mother's baby bracelet. I was teary-eyed. We all went out for brunch to Hazellewood afterward.