It’s not unheard of for the St. Louis area to have flurries or even a light accumulation of snow towards the end of November. But to have a snow event big enough to send Weatherbird into “French Toast Map Mode” and cancel schools across the region this early in the month…well, it almost never happens! Chickadee was delighted to see how much snow there was when she got up this morning, and she couldn’t eat breakfast fast enough…all she wanted to do was play in the snow!
They’re forecasting our first significant snow of the season tonight and tomorrow. Actually, they’re saying it might be one of the biggest November snowstorms in St. Louis history! In honor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch‘s Weatherbird’s “French Toast Map” and all of the people who hit the grocery stores to purchase large quantities of milk, eggs, and bread before a storm hits, I made French toast for dinner. It’s a win-win situation…we like the snow and don’t freak out about it like so many in St. Louis do, and French toast is one of the children’s favorite special dinners!
Our traditional Markel Family Christmas was a three-day affair this year!
Because Christmas Day fell on a Monday, our church schedules were a little complicated this time around. There wasn’t a large enough break at home on Christmas Eve for our traditional “pick out dinner,” so I decided we’d have it a day early. But before we got to that, our day Saturday started in a most pleasant fashion…the first snow of the season, and Christmas Crunch for breakfast!
And then the best dinner of the year. I love how it’s always a little bit the same as the previous year’s feast, and a little bit different! This year, in addition to the standard summer sausage and crackers, cheeses, buffalo Chex mix, and sausage squares, we also had Greek spirals from Trader Joe’s, meatballs, Rotel dip and jalapeño popper dip (both served with festive red and green tortilla chips), deviled eggs, pizza rolls, mozzarella sticks, Ranch dip with assorted veggies, and Dino Nuggets. As always, there was way too much food, which is how we like it, because we can enjoy the leftovers for several days!
As it turned out, we were fortunate that Christmas Eve fell on a Sunday, because if it hadn’t, we wouldn’t have been able to attend our regular church at all. Even though it was still technically Advent, I wore my new Pinup Girl Clothing ornament print skirt:
The children’s blue Christmas outfits fit right in with Advent 4 (and the snow falling outside!), though, and I was able to get our annual pictures at our church…including one where Bunny insisted on giving her youngest sister bunny ears!
After lunch and a little downtime at home, it was time to drive into St. Louis so Ryan and the four oldest children could sing in their respective choirs. I wore my standard Christmas Eve dress, but I added some Splendette bangles to give a more retro look:
Of course I had to get another picture of the Fab Five:
Bunny sang the first verse of “Once in Royal David’s City” solo, and she did an amazing job!
I always love hearing the children sing Stille Nacht:
Back home for even more pictures:
And Jesus’ birthday cake:
And everyone opened their one Christmas Eve gift…new Christmas jammies!
After stuffing the stockings, Ryan and I played Ticket to Ride: Nordic Countries, as we always do…and I was once again a poor sport when I won, repeating last year’s victory lap around the kitchen table. For what it’s worth, I did apologize for my bad behavior.
A last look to make sure everything was ready before bed:
We were up extra early this morning, to make sure there was time to open the stockings before driving back into the city. For some reason, I rarely get pictures of the boys that early in the morning…it may have something to do with the fact that they’re always annoyed with me for waking them!
We also managed to find time for our traditional Christmas morning cherry coffee cake:
I had to wear my ornament print skirt again, because it’s so gorgeous, but at least I styled it a little bit differently this time!
I’m a sucker for pictures of the Fab Five!
Only the adult choir (of which Ryan, Turkey, and more recently, Bunny, are members) was scheduled to sing, but some of the children were also recruited to fill out the soprano section. “See in Yonder Manger Low” was my very favorite piece they sang!
After church, we even managed to find time to get a picture of the whole family!
After lunch, we opened presents. I am so thankful that everyone was thrilled with their gifts!
The aftermath was…something:
I spent what felt like an eternity in the kitchen preparing our very festive meal. The dinner table was a little low-key this year, but it still looked nice:
We had a very nice spread this year. The star of the meal was new for me…Beef Wellington. I think I did a pretty good job! We also had two kinds of potatoes (mashed and roast), two vegetables (carrots and Brussel sprouts), a shrimp ring, cherry Jell-O and dinner rolls…it was delicious!
And for dessert, an Oreo truffle Christmas tree!
This Christmas season has seemed especially hectic, and the last three days were no exception. But we had a lot of fun, and hopefully made some happy memories in the process, so all the work was worth it!
I knew when I saw the snow-covered flowering crabapple trees at the Missouri Botanical Garden back in January that I would have to take a comparison picture when they were actually flowering in the spring. I got my chance yesterday…I love how different, and how beautiful, both views are! There is truly no bad season in Shaw’s Garden!
In honor of Moose’s first “snow” day of the school year, I thought I’d share a few photos I took last week at the Missouri Botanical Garden. I was very interested to see how they handle snow removal on some of the paths at the garden, and the huge roller brush was a big source of amusement to me!
On Thursday, we finally got some snow. Not a lot, which was a disappointment to the children, but at least it wasn’t a tiny bit of snow mixed with some ice! And because there wasn’t too much, and the roads were pretty clear, I was able to take a walk around the Missouri Botanical Garden, which is uniquely beautiful when covered in snow:
Hopefully this first real snowfall for the winter won’t be the only real snowfall…I’m still hoping for a snow day at some point!
On the 12th Day of Christmas, one last look at some of the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Christmas decorations, covered in snow (finally!):
We finally had a much-anticipated snow day today!
Chickadee was very excited to finally get to make a snow angel:
I still think it’s a little ridiculous to cancel school for three inches of snow, but I always enjoy having Moose home, and we all like playing in the snow!
OK, it’s five days or so short of six months, but close enough!
In July, this was our view on the Isle of Palms in Charleston, SC.
And today, our driveway in Belleville, IL.
Sand and snow…but they’re both pretty in their own way!