this christmas

This Christmas was quite a rollercoaster ride...but thankfully, THANKFULLY, there was a happy ending. A friend of mine went to the ER the day before Christmas, ended up in the ICU that evening with a life-threatening situation. Our Christmas eve was spent praying and caring for her family. It was hard not to think about worst-case scenarios, especially as things seemed to progress that way. But they were in store for a Christmas miracle - somehow between the panic of Christmas eve and the light snow fall of Christmas morning, things changed - she was able to get transferred out of the ICU Christmas morning, and she was able to go home and spend Christmas evening with her family. It was quite the rollercoaster ride (and quite the miracle!). It got me thinking about all the people that have to work on Christmas eve and Christmas day. The nurses, the doctors, the specialist that got called in for her. I wonder if their families were disappointed that they could not be home for Christmas - I wonder if they missed their children opening presents, or if it caused fights and unhappiness and tears. But, from the other side this Christmas, I am so thankful for those who were working this Christmas - who served others on the holiday, who took the time to care, who laid down their lives for others. What a blessing. Aside from this, we had a warm and cozy Christmas at home, replete with the traditional dumpling-making on Christmas day - though this year, we made Korean-style mandoo instead of Chinese-style dumplings. A new twist on an old tradition. :) Some other highlights from our last couple days: I had not planned on getting a Christmas tree this year, but on December 23, I received an email saying that they were giving away free (beautiful!) Christmas trees around the corner from my house. So what could I do? I took my brother, and claimed us a tree...for free! I gotta say, it smells very nice, and definitely gives the house some extra Christmas cheer!

While getting our tree, I also picked up some of these tree stumps - perfect as candle bases. :)

The first snow angel of the season was made this Christmas day by a very giddy three year old...

And just one more little touch of hand-made fun, finished just in time...

Family. Health. A warm home. Thankful this Christmas.