Memories in the making

When I came home from work this morning, I brought with me some glazed donuts and breakfast burritos to celebrate the first day of Darren's Christmas vacation. As an employee of the university, he doesn't return to work until January 2. Giddy does not even begin to describe the way I feel about having him all to ourselves until then!

So, how to use this precious gift of time? We could have gone shopping, because there are still a few gifts that we need to buy. And the garage is really in need of a good cleaning, so that we might actually be able to fit at least one of our two vehicles in it! And, of course, there are groceries to buy, clothes to wash, linen closets to re-organize...oh, wait a minute, I'm not that ambitious! Trust me, though, there is still plenty to be done around here!

But what did we do instead? After breakfast (which, I just have to say, was delicious!), Darren said to me, "Hey! Why don't we pack the van and head up into the mountains to play with the kids in the snow?" Honestly? I couldn't think of a single thing I'd rather do...so off to the mountains we went! The short drive to Cloudcroft was beautiful. Having honeymooned there eight years ago, there will always be a certain magic about the quaint little mountain village that, no matter how often we return, will never diminish.

After leisurely perusing some delightful little shops, we bundled up and let Dylan and Caitlyn play in the snow (of which there was more than either had ever seen!) To say they enjoyed it would be a terrible understatement. They loved it!

The drive home was every bit as beautiful as the ride there had been. We had packed a change of clothes for each of the children, so they were warm, dry, and happy as we sang along with their Christmas music and watched the stunning scenery pass us by. This photo was taken just as we were leaving Cloudcroft:

I love the sky in this next one, taken along the outskirts of White Sands National Monument.

We live not far beyond the beautiful mountains in this next photo. Whenever we see this view of them, we know we're nearly home!

And the perfect ending to this perfect day? Hot cocoa, cozy jammies, and snuggling by the fire while listening to the beautiful songs on one of my new favorite CD's (The Nativity Story: Sacred Songs). You know something? Life doesn't get much better than this.