I've been tagged

Sara at Embracing Destiny tagged me in this fun blog thing. She asked 8 questions --- so here are my answers!

1. What is your favorite thing about the upcoming holidays?

I love the time spent together with my kids doing an advent study / reading. Now that my boys are getting older and all 3 are in hockey - I find it is so hard to just be all together and so when I am able to accomplish it - it becomes treasured time. We all still remember the first year we read Jotham together and how special that was. We just love that book.

2. Do you enjoy winter weather? Why or why not?

We love the first day of snow - it makes the world all so white and new looking. Reminds me of how Christ washes our sins away - makes a clean slate of things - snow is like that - makes a clean, white slate. We love to skip school on that first snow and head out to the hills to go sledding. Great fun with hot chocolate after!

3. If you could have only 5 books on your bookshelf, which 5 would you choose?

Only 5! One would be the bible! A must have! Beyond that only 4 others - it would just about kill me to have so few. I love to read and am blessed with a fabulous library system. I read a wide range of books and always carry a book with me - especially to hockey. I think limiting life to just 5 books would be torture!

4. If money were no object, what would your dream vacation be?

Oh a month long trip to Europe that would include many of the historical sites, a cruise on the Rhine plus a cruise on the Mediterranean. I would love to see Rome, the Vatican, Venice, Florence.

5. If you could live anywhere you wanted, where would it be?

My husband and I both would love to live in the mountains in Colorado. We love the mountains and Colorado is just a beautiful state.

6. Do you like to bake? If so, what is your favorite thing to bake?

I LOVE to bake. I make all kind of things. We love cookies and casseroles. It always make the house smell so good. I think my family's favorites are cornbread and banana bread muffins.

7. Do you make homemade Christmas ornaments or use only store-bought?

A mixture of both. We have lots of treasured ornaments that the kids have made over the years. Also, my husband's grandmother (the kids' great-grandmother) for a long time bought a special ornament for each child each Christmas. Some are just really treasured favorites. Now she is in a nursing home and is unable to do any purchasing due to her health. So although they are store bought they really are very sentimental to us.

8. Do you do the Thanksgiving cooking for your family or go to another family member's house?

Thanksgiving is one holiday that my mother-in-law treasures. She loves to have the whole family over and she loves cooking for everyone. It seems that at Christmas we are not all able to get together on the same day but for Thanksgiving we all make it. That means a lot to my MIL. Last year, my MIL had to work. It was very upsetting for her. BUT it gave me the opportunity without stepping on any toes, to host Thanksgiving --- and I loved it. It was so much fun --- I looked for weeks for special recipes. My MIL always has her favorites (and it is great) but I wanted to do some more fancier dishes. I would just love to host it again but also would never want to hurt my MIL --- and it is a big deal to her to host. She love it and enjoys having the whole family there. I would never want to take that away from her. But it sure was fun to be the fill in!