Holiday Hiatus

Sorry for the absence, friends! It's been a crazy, wonderful, exhausting, joyful, unexpected, relaxing, yummy, and adventurous few weeks for Mr. and Mrs. VanderMeulen!

All Christmas Eve worship services were indeed cancelled at St. Matthew's. Christmas canceled!?!?!? What!!! Full of unexpected events, strangers, improvisation, and of course great joy and celebration, our evening ended up being an excellent reflection of the night Jesus was born. My good friend Gretchen and I concluded that as "hard core" Midwesterners, there was no way we were going to let a little snow and ice keep us from church. She called her friend and colleague, Scott Kramer, pastor of a little Lutheran Church just blocks from their house, and asked if we could join him. Pastor Scott did marriage counseling for us last summer and it was actually exciting to not have to work and have a chance to see him at work! Lakeridge Lutheran Church had decided to cancel their 10pm service, but persevere at 7pm. Jon and I got dressed up in our holiday best, and then ventured to Gretchen and Ryan's house for the pot roast that had been unearthed from their freezer and transformed into a luscious feast just hours before.

Christmas Eve in front of our tree. Isn't Jon a hottie in that vest?

We exchanged small presents and drank hot buttered rum and enjoyed possibly the best Christmas Eve possible without our family, instead our dear friends filling in quite nicely. After Jon and Ryan pushed a car out of the snowy church parking lot and parked the truck in the middle of the street and Gretchen and I waded inside to change into our cute red heels, it was almost time for worship to begin. We were gathered with about 30 other random guests, neighborhood catholics who couldn't make it downtown for mass, two black preachers and their dozen adopted kids who couldn't make it to their church either, a few tried and true members, and even a couple from Ethiopia who couldn't speak Eng lish at all. Gretchen filled in as the accompanist putting her excellent musical talent to work and Jon and I were readers and communion assistants! Pastor Scott through his sermon out the window, and the crowd was asked to share stories of "new life". It was simply lovely. We stuffed ourselves full of bundt cake back a t the Mertes home, and then headed back to celebrate our very first Christmas Eve together and alone as husband and wife.

Jon, Nicole, Gretchen, and Ryan at Lakeridge Lutheran Christmas Eve Worship

Christmas mo rning brought time for Jon and I to exchange gifts and continue our traditional Christmas breakfast of mimosas and holiday french toa st. Moms x2 and McKenna arrived at the airport around 3pm, and our family holiday celebration ensued with another feast. Unfortunately, due to the week and a half of ridiculous snow, Seattle pretty much halted in it's tracks, and UPS just gave up. We JUST received the packages Jon's parents had shipped ahead full of presents to unwrap together on Friday...that's Friday January 2, along with the Honeybaked ham that was intended for Christmas Day dinner. Moldy, $78 pork anyone? We're STILL waiting for the Christmas packag e from Monroe.

Our six days with Zsa Zsa, Lorie, and McKenna were wonderfully relaxing and fun! We made two trips downto wn to Pike Place Market, lounged around the house, ate amazing food again and again, especially when they treated us at Wild Ginger. They were able to see me in action on Sunday morning during the rescheduled performance of the Sunday School Christmas program at church. We also did some new things together, visiting

the Museum of Glass in Tacoma and taking the Boeing "Future of Flight" tour in Everett. Maybe the fam will send me some of the pictures to add to th

is post! Thanks for traveling so far to be with us, guys! It was so special.

McKenna at her favorite French bakery.

Watching glass blowing in progress in the "Hot Shop" at the museum.

The Whole Gang at Tutta Bella, the most awesome pizza place ever!

Are you tired just reading this? Just wait!!! That's only half of our holiday adventure...