Happy 2026! I hope your new year is off to a wonderful start!
I just got back from the most magical Christmas in Minnesota with my family, and I have to share this moment with you. My granddaughter (we’ll call her Little Storyteller) decided to regale her cousin Joshua with what I can only assume was the most riveting tale ever told.
I hope you had a lovely holiday season!
We hit the road on December 10th, headed to IA for a family reunion, then up to Minneapolis to visit my brother and his family, then to AZ for an event, and then BACK to MN for Christmas with the family…
…and finally hustled out of town before the blizzard hit back to lovely Florida.
Surprise and Merry Christmas! It’s me, Sarah! Susie is out today trying to throw together all her last minute Christmas stuff before the masses descend! And I don’t blame her, I’ve been doing the same thing. Just look at the state of my living room this week:
So, for the sake of my pre-Christmas to-do list,
Happy Friday!
So, apparently, we got snow up in the northland because our contractor texted me and said…um, do you have a snowplowing service? Apparently the people installing our baseboards and painting encountered this. (actually, not our house, but you get the point. )
In the meantime, I was trying for some festive holiday charm down in Florida…
But fear not,
I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling the hustle and bustle of the christmas season right now. With just two days until the big trek north, I’m up to my eyeballs in wrapping paper so I can haul all these gifts with us.
For reference, this is our tree from last year:
But I wanted to stop what I’m going for a second and share a little something fun!
Let’s just talk about this week.
First…the Vikings. THE VIKINGS.
We turned the game off at the top of the 4th Quarter and instead did THIS:
Tiling the Bathroom.
The bathroom is coming along…we won’t get it done before our trip North, but hopefully before the Great Exodus where our friends and family flee the North and visit us on our little island.
Oops – I had an important P.S. on yesterday’s newsletter, but it somehow got eaten.
It’s a fabulous 17 days of Christmas Giveaway—17 days of FREE BOOKS! I don’t want you to miss it!
Go HERE to sign up to get the reminders!
And,
We had a small tragedy at our house this weekend.
Not life-threatening, just…
Well, you be the judge.
I made my holiday rolls. I wish I’d taken a picture – but they looked like this:
I also made a batch of cinnamon rolls…
They were delicious.
Okay, it’s done. Shopping. Pies. Rolls.
We. Are. Ready.
And so, I had a little free time this weekend and I binge-watched House of David, Season 2.
Oh, it’s GOOD. SO good. I loved how the showrunners brought in David’s devotion to God, along with his warrior character. (There was one scene in episode 7 I had to rewind and watch over and over!)
Anyhoo…it made me think a lot about the posture of gratitude.
You sort of made me cry.
First – thank you to everyone who submitted a recipe! Soooo many great recipes…you made me hungry! And so many sweet entries accompanied by memories of grandma, or mom, or dad, or uncles. You got me thinking about my Mom, and all the love she put into Thanksgiving.