Christmas Wrap

Team Immel hopes you had a Happy Holiday! Thank you for all of the Christmas cards, emails, phone calls, texts, Facebook posts, blog posts, gifts, goodies, good wishes and holiday cheer! WE love and appreciate you all!!! Your friendship and support are our greatest gifts this holiday season, and every day!

We were snowed in for 2 weeks here and weren't able to drive up to Washington like we do every year to spend our holiday with my aunts & cousins and 2nd cousins on Christmas Eve in Buckley, or my brother and his family, including my 3 year old niece Ella, for Christmas morning in Kent, or my Grampa, Aunts, Cousins, and 2nd Cousins on Christmas afternoon/evening in Enumclaw. But we were safe and warm and together here at home, with my mom, for our first White Christmas in Beaverton, OR! It was nice to not have to drive from place to place to place. To just be. To sit and relax. Nap. Play with our new toys and gadgets. Make french toast for breakfast and to go see a movie later that night (Marley & Me).
Spencer was so happy and excited about Christmas that he even let me take a photo of him, SMILING!!!
I love this shot of him and Simba....and this was taken with Kaelin's little digital camera she got last Christmas because I left my camera at the Klings house on Christmas Eve! Talk about panic!!! (Berit was so nice to bring it over later that morning!! Thanks Berit!!!)
Simba even had a stocking, with a peanut butter bone in it! (his favorite!) We laughed so hard at him trying to get it off his tongue and nose!!

Due to basketball tournaments early in the month and then the snow, we were unable to get a tree. We had planned on going green and "renting" a living tree but we couldn't get into Portland to get it. So on Christmas Eve, I got creative and threw something together. Somewhat of a "Redneck Christmas." I either get the prize for "Most Creative" or "Lamest" but it was all I could come up with at the last moment. AT least we saved some dough and a tree it's life. Check it out, I stacked our piano bench on top of my cedar trunk and then a file box on top of that. I put my green table cloth over the top and then placed our Poinsettia on top. My mom strung little rice lights and i covered a cardboard star with foil and hung it from the ceiling over the tree.LOL It will be a tree to remember won't it? It looks really lame from the street! I'm so embarrassed! It will come down tomorrow night after my dad and Ginger come over to exchange gifts with us. I'm going to make them Maple Salmon, Crash Potatoes, Steamed Asparagus and bread. One of our favorite dishes. Thanks to Paris for the Salmon recipe!! We use it ALL the time!!

My mom was a huge help this year. I haven't had a lot of energy or stamina lately and haven't been feeling very well since I got sick at Thanksgiving. She totally picked up my slack. Making my cookies. Wrapping my presents. To name but a few things. She even made her own wrapping paper! Check out the newsprint with the stamped turtles and glitter on it! Way to go green!

We really scaled back this Christmas but the kids were very thrilled and happy and didn't seem to notice. Dave and I weren't supposed to buy each other gifts, but he dodged that clause by making my gift "from the kids". I need to get a photo of my gift before I can tell you the story, but it was shiny and sparkly and pretty. :)

I hope you all had a memorable holiday full of family and love and laughter and peace.

xoxox
Shauna