Well, here it is December. We've had some really beautiful snows the past few days, although it all amounted to nothing in the end. It's still been too consistently warm for the snow to stay around. Of course, this has been all scoffed at by my boss, and I suppose with good reason. He's just recently moved from Massachusetts and chuckled the other day when the snow was falling down at a decent pace. I'm sure it was nothing compared to the snows of that latitude, but for here in TN it was pretty nice.

Circumstances have been good in general the past few weeks albeit a bit busy. Holidays can be that if you let them, and then they don't feel like holidays at all. But overall, the holidays so far have been fine. We've definitely been more active in celebrating this Christmas season this year. Advent readings have been started, which I've missed, and wish I had not drug my feet in deciding how to have our family celebrate. I mostly grew up not really celebrating Christmas in the traditional American way, no tree, no gifts. Which I don't mind at all, then or now in retrospect. I know we didn't have a lot of money, and i understand well that it was a distraction from the real reason of celebrating Christmas. Something I continue to have a pet peeve about is the commercialism of our Saviour's birth and the distraction it is to the Hol(y)day. Emily and I have decided to do some gifts this year, but very minor. We got Jackson a very cute Fisher Price nativity set, and we will be exchanging hand-written, personal, gift certificates for personal favors. A night without Jackson for Em, back rub, full body massage, etc. etc. etc. Not officially for Christmas, but I bought Em a hand-blown glass ball ornament. It's huge, red (just her color) and quite pretty, espcially when the light hits. It's already been presented to her, and hangs in our window. If we continue to give gifts, it will be small in number, and handmade. I really want to make that a requirement. The handmade gift will mean so much more, and last much longer than most things that would be bought. This handmaking process I hope will help us focus more on, the gift, the person recieving it, and the reason it's being made in the first place. Plus, it helps take out the commercialness of it all.

Well, I've got to clean up the lab, and get outta here to catch the bus. More comes soon!