We're snowed in!!!

As the old song says, "it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!" ...If you equate snow with snow with Christmas, that is.

We like that song I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas. The only problem is, here in southern Virginia, a white Christmas would not be "just like the ones I used to know." I've known only a few white Christmases in my life, and they were just barely white. But we like the song anyway.

And we just might get a white Christmas this year.

I must gasp for just a few sentences about the weather here. We have over a FOOT of snow! More like 2 feet, now, probably. The snow started late yesterday afternoon, and it hasn't stopped since. I think that's a record. I can never remember it snowing for that long in my life!

Our local "snow brigade," (such as it is), is understandably unprepared for such a dump of snow. Only main roads have been plowed, and all of us who live on roads that aren't highways are basically stuck. We probably would have had our road plowed by now if it had stopped snowing, but I'm sure the continuing snow is keeping the snowplows busy just on the highways and main roads.

My sisters and I went out for some sledding this afternoon. Our little slope in the backyard would make our Northern cousins laugh, but we enjoy any slide that is faster than a walk. The snow is dusty - not packing snow - and works pretty good for sledding! I broke our brand-new toboggan, (the one Dad specifically went out and bought for this snowfall), by sledding over the woodpile, but that's another story. Sigh.

Ahem.

But snow wasn't what I was thinking of when I said it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. We've finally decorated our home for Christmas! (Please don't ask. We're almost always this late. It's just the way we do our Christmas decorating. :) Our tree, though it isn't real this year, looks lovely, the snowman candles grin cheerfully, and the garland-wrapped floor lamp sparkles. I can hardly believe it is Christmas time again.

Many good things happened yesterday! Christmas isn't allowed to pass without our making Christmas cookies, and because we've been sick, we hadn't made any yet, but yesterday afternoon my sisters and I rolled out the first batch of cookie dough for this season.

Our special cream-cheese Christmas cookie dough recipe.

Lezley said it best; I had made the dough earlier that day, because it needed to chill, and when I told her that it was finally time to roll out the dough and cut our cookies, she jumped up and down and spun toward the kitchen. "Oh goody - now we get to eat Christmas cookie dough!"

She paused in mid-spin and looked back at me. "That's the best part, you know; that's what it's for."

I couldn't help laughing....because I agree with her. :)

We had the radio playing all afternoon while I was in the kitchen. At first it was just Mom and I, working on supper preparations before doing the cookies with all the girls in the house. The station had Christmas music playing continuously, and although they had a few modern Christmas songs thrown in (I find them a bit annoying) there were lots and lots of goodies!

I love old music. I love voices from the 50's. I love big old bands and orchestras, like on The Lawrence Welk Show. And we got to hear plenty of that. I got to hear songs I recognize and love, but don't know all the words to, like Walking in a Winter Wonderland, It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!, and Let it Snow! The swirling snowflakes outside the window, the cheerful atmosphere of hard work inside, and Mom's laughter and smile made my heard sing.

Then it was time to cut out cookies, and I fetched my younger sisters. We switched off the radio and put in a new Christmas CD from our dear lovely friends, The Neely Team.

There was a lot of good conversation and laughter and smiles and eating while we worked. Some of the old cookie cutters I was working with brought back memories of many Christmases past, even way back to when Mom had to help me cut the cookies. Tiffany, was talking about how she's starting to realize more and more the true meaning of Christmas. Lezley was busy helping me by passing me whatever I needed, in between cutting out her own cookies.

A little while later, the noise in the kitchen had died down. Mom and my younger sisters had left the kitchen, the cookies were all cut out, and I remained alone in the kitchen, to rotate the cookies in and out of the oven.

I was very happy. Very content. Very Christmas-y feeling. (Very full, too. :))

The CD player started to play one of my favorite songs on the CD, All is Well. It's a plaintive melody, but full of hope at the same time.

I knelt down to fetch something from a low drawer.

I heard the words, drifting along through the high and sweet tune; "...our God is pleased with man to dwell. Be still my soul; all is well!"

I just stopped where I was, and let that thought sink into my mind. I felt tears in my eyes.

Our God is pleased.

With man to dwell.

Emanuel.

God with us.

The evening had just gone from great to wonderful.