06 January 2014

A Candlelit Christmas

Bonjour, mes amis, I am writing to you now from little coffee shop in Windsor! The snow is laying in a wonderful fluffy layer on the ground and the wind is blowing around in a bit of a dramatic manner. Whilst I sip my hot drink (which is, interestingly, called The Great Canadian and has left me wondering whether am I catching a faint whiff of Canadian patriotism)(?!?!), I am smiling. My favorite person is with me, there is caramel syrup on my latte, and I can feel the soft fur of my parka around my neck. That, my friends, is how I am surviving in the current -3F weather.

Anyways, I just came back from a beautiful, lovely, and white Christmas holiday!! I got to spend time in both Canada and the U.S. this year and it made me quite merry and bright, as the song goes. It was my first Christmas as a married madame and I will never forget it :) Toronto was lovely for the first few days, especially because a steadily growing baby nephew was around and making his presence known and heard. Judging from his pitch, I do believe he was often annoyed, but he was so cute and just a wee bit chubby that we couldn't help but fawn over him. Deliciousness embodied!

As I slipped out of bed on Sunday morning though, I noticed a definite bite in the bedroom air, the rug felt a few strokes colder when it met my feet.  I reached for the lights and hit the switch but to no avail. Mais non! I thought, no power! And more importantly, no heat! This little situation continued for another 8 DAYS and included Jesus' birthday, the very 25th of December! We began setting up candles around the house that day, turning on the fireplaces, and bundling in knitted layers. An old-fashioned Christmastime it would be.

The days that followed were spent out with family members and at one apartment that did have electricity. This was my husband's grandparent's apartment.  Twenty-one family members crammed into their little home space on Christmas Eve and a full Christmas dinner was prepared in their little kitchen. Presents were given and received right in their tiny living room and pictures taken in front, beside and around them as they sat and watched their growing family. They were surrounded by their own children, grandchildren, new spouses and fiancés, and even the newly arrived great-grandchild!I think there might have been no better way to celebrate Christ's birth. I also believe it might have been one of the elderly couple's sweetest Christmases.

I had a completely different, but amazing Christmas in New Jersey as well! That will be another post, though. Have a lovely week, be grateful for the blessings, no matter how simple, God has given you :)




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