This morning Mr C and I slept in. It seemed like a good thing to do on the longest night of the year. This morning we spiffed up the house and I finished arranging the nativity sets and putting out some decor. Here is the beautiful nativity set made for me by the ever so talented Kristin. (She will soon be in Oregon for the holidays and I get to spend a day with her!!) This is on the buffet in the dining room.

It was raining quite heavily so I called Steph to check in about what we might do this week-end. The weather was not conducive to visiting any outdoor holiday venues. So, we decided that M & M would come over and make cookies with me and spend the night. It was so lovely to have this burst of happiness and joy.

Miles loves to wear my Santa hat. He also has the stuffed word “Cheers” wrapped around his torso. Gotta love this outfit.

Here are our Spritz cookies:

. . . decorated by M & M.

Here is Mia in a more grown-up moment, catching up with the New Yorker:

She brought her birthday present from her Mom — this adorable squirrel. I am in awe of that tail!

Speaking of her mom, we can now announce the book deal that she and her friend, Maria, in Portland, ME, have with Princeton Architectural Books. Their photography blog, A Year of Mornings, will be published in a book next fall. We are so proud of them. They were approached by another publisher and so it has taken some time to work out the details and get a signed contract.

Thank you all for the commiseration about my fender bender yesterday. Today, I drove back out to the scene of the crime so that I can make an accurate diagram for the police report. I will turn that in to the DMV on Monday morning and put it behind me until after the holidays. Lisa arrives on Monday and I am looking forward to a week of family fun.

I am wishing a very happy holiday season for all my blogging community.