We woke up this morning to what I was calling powdered sugar snow. There was the lightest dusting of snow overnight that was still on the ground when the sun came up, but it was mostly gone by the afternoon. For the kids it really didn’t matter–it was snow, and as Titus put it, “It’s Christmas time!” Tomorrow we’ll be celebrating Christmas here at Bethany’s parents house in Yakima so that meant we were doing some last minute Christmas shopping today. I realize this is December 29, but we’re doing our Christmas together on the 30th because of work schedules and everyone being able to be together.
As has been true all week, we were up early with the kids this morning and out the door by 8:00am ready to hit the stores. What we found out quickly was that most stores aren’t even open until 9. After the third place we tried to go to was closed we decided we would try and get some breakfast out. Bethany’s dad directed us to the place in the photo above, but when we arrived we found out they had no power. Apparently the wind hand blown down some power lines nearby so all of the part of town we were in was without electricity. At this point the morning was a bust, but we trekked on.
We ended up finding a classic down with power down the road a bit and enjoyed a really great American breakfast. Just being able to order biscuits and gravy was ministering to my soul. Titus got the kid’s pancake and when it came it out was a happy face with a piece of bacon for a smile (shown above). They also had classic car benches that the kids thought were great. Here are they are playing on one that was near our table.
After breakfast and after all the shops opened, we did finally get some shopping done. One place we went to is actually 114 years old and has been owned by the same family for five generations! It was a really fun store and the people who worked there were really helpful. It was full of paper goods and speciality office supply items, including some archival ink pens that I was needing for marking in my Bible. If you ever find yourself in central Washington, head on over to “The Bindery” (as the locals call it) and get yourself some small town charm and a nice pen for your Bible reading!
On one of our other stops, we hit a jewelry store to have my wedding ring sized down. It has gotten really loose and we finally decided it would be best to have it resized to fit more snug. When I bought the ring nine years ago, it was a little big and they were telling me that it would eventually fit. The jeweler said to me then, “You will get fat!” Well, some time has passed and it’s flying off my finger! So we found a place today that we resize it and when we were walking in the door I loved the hours that are listed on Sunday (photo below).
Tonight we had a fun and kind of wild dinner with the whole family. Mostly we were just eating leftovers, but the scene in the room with seven adults, three young kids, and two dogs running around was something out of a movie. Later, when things quieted down, “Papa” (grandpa) read The Night Before Christmas to our tired kids (show below). It’s been a long time since I’ve heard the whole story read and the first time our kids had heard it.
Tomorrow Papa will read Luke 2 before we open gifts and we’ll have a traditional meal on the floor by the tree. I look forward to celebrating with everyone and enjoying the time with family here. Until then, “Happy Christmas to all! And to all a good night.”
