a little taste of christmas

No one is really "getting" Christmas. We talk of the presents under the tree and what may be inside, but Claire doesn't really understand. that being said, we decided to have a little taste of christmas last night. It was fun. We carried on our tradition of decorating a gingerbread house (we started that last year when I brought one with us to Baltimore the weekend we met Chris before he was set to leave for Iraq. However, that night was drama filled as i was busy calling credit cards, banks and talking with the police to report my stolen wallet as Chris attempted to work on our house.). Claire enjoyed the festivities. She immediately understood what we were doing and began tasting everything. It was great. Our carpentry skills have plenty of room to grow as the roof slid off shortly after we were done. Oh well. Mya liked watching, but wanted in on the action. Soon after, we moved over to the tree. Mya began nibbling on the presents. She was taken with the bows and wrapping paper while Claire was definitely into unwrapping. She opened one present. It was a hit. A huge hit. We got her a tent. Although it is a bit larger than I had hoped, it will be great fun for both. Chris opened his present from us. We got him a Wii. He was happy. We spent the rest of the night playing bowling. Even Claire joined in and was quite excited. It was a fun little night. I can't wait to do the real deal with the rest of my family.

Oh yeah....I got a new lens for my camera. It is awesome. I love the light it lets into portraits. I used it last night.
Also had a bit of a catastrope with my hair this week. I was a bit tired of my dirty blonde hair color, so I opted to go dark. I was thinking the same dark shade I had done a few years ago, but it ended up to be chestnut brown with a hint of red. Although my friends were encouraging and supportive, I felt it was just too dark for my comfort. I went back to the salon and had it toned down. Now it is perfect--exactly what I wanted the first time around. Thank goodness as my Mom hates it when I go dark in the first place and the dark dark brown would have consumed her every thought!