Monday Mania

It's a busy Monday. But, would we really have it any other way during the holiday season?

Wow! What fun we had last night, sipping cocoa, watching Survivor, and having a cut-throat -no-holds-barred-Ornament Exchange! All I have to say is... watch out for those Schnepp Sisters! They can play a mean game of... Pirate Ornaments. Last night's participants are anxiously waiting to see the unwrapped version of the ornaments for which they fought so hard. We won't make them wait another second. The ornaments are listed by number and the individual who won them. Drum roll, please...

Thanks, again to those of you who caught the Spirit of #218 and made time to do something outside your normal schedule. I had fun and hope you did too.

Santa Claus or Bust!

Today, Cassie P - one of our fun and loyal readers - is taking a road trip to Santa Claus, Indiana especially for us. She is road tripping with a friend (Samantha), so that they may hand deliver our letters to the post office for an authentic Santa Claus postmark. Along the way, I've presented Cassie and Samantha with some "challenges." Join me in rooting them on. Then, later today or tomorrow, look on Highlowaha for Cassie's account of their adventures. It will be posted as a separate blog entry. Cassie's tasks include:

• Get a photograph in front of the cross streets, Kringle Way and Christmas Blvd.
  
• Have one of the 25 flavors of hot cocoa served at the Silent Night Cafe
  
• Select one of the over 100 candy canes from Santa's Candy Castle, home of the World's Largest Candy Cane Selection!
  
• Find out one fun fact from the Santa Claus Museum
  
• Volunteer to reply to one of over 15,000 letters mailed to Santa Claus this holiday season.
  
• Get their picture in front of at least 3 Santa statues (ideally holding a sign saying, "Merry Christmas from Highlowaha."
  
• Meet, and serve as HLA ambassador, to Melissa - our point of contact in Santa Claus.
  
• Of course, mail our Christmas letters and cards!
• Drive safely and have fun

Ornaments, Ornaments, Ornaments

As follow up to last nights Ornament Exchange, I thought we could spend today talking about some of our favorite and most prized ornaments. I've included one of our family favorites.

The story goes that Santa dropped this pocket watch in our living room one year while he was delivering presents to our house. That was the story we told Ricky when he was six years old and it still holds to this day. Ricky is, in fact, in charge of hanging the pocket watch on the tree each year. He's had fun sharing the story with Matthew and I'm sure he'll do it again when Jack is old enough. Ricky, of course, has made us promise that HE gets that ornament when he grows up and has his own family. I love that he's so adamant about having it. It means, in some small way, the tradition means something to him.

How about all of you? Do you have a favorite ornament or holiday decoration? Tell us about it? And, if you don't have one... how about sharing the favorite holiday ornament you've seen while out shopping this year.

As for me.. I am off to Houston for the day and won't be back until late tonight. I'll count on all of you to keep the community going and I'll look forward to reading what you had to say when I return.

Signing off until tomorrow...