we all drove down to indiana for the day to visit my aunt, cousin and family. they have the most awesome collection of leggo, including an extensive star wars collection. can you see jar jar binks?…

then we had a nice dinner together…it’s always good to spend time with family!

for christmas day, we took a walk by the lake in the sunny but crisp weather. then we drove to oak park to bring my dad on the walking tour of Frank Lloyd Wright houses. on the tour, we saw a life-sized manger scene involving various mannequins, which was both impressive and a bit scary at the same time.

although americans don’t have “boxing day”, we still opted to try the shopping again in downtown. we enjoyed a lunch with a beautiful view at the top on the John Hancock building, and then took our time down Michigan Avenue, aka the Magnificent Mile.

merry christmas everyone! here we are in front of the Macy’s centennial tree. we also love our own first christmas tree and all our new ornaments, including some which were knit by joe’s mom.

yesterday we spent christmas eve in downtown and went to the art institute. here’s mom in front of “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte” by George Seurat, and “The Red Armchair” by Pablo Picasso.

then we went to Macy’s where the Martha Stewart inspired decorations were out as well as their Nutcracker window displays.

day one with my family was spent at the chicago premium outlet…they had fun taking advantage of the strong canadian dollar.

well i guess the girls had a bit more fun than the boys, but it ended up being a productive day for everybody.

after a long day, we had dinner at a mexican seafood restaurant that joe and i recently discovered…fish tacos yum!

i felt like an excited school girl today anticipating the end of the work day and the start of my christmas vacation! first we had our office christmas party where we also said goodbye to one of our secretaries, and then finally joe came with my family straight from the airport.

looks like there’s a good chance we’ll have a white christmas this year. after a lot of digging, we finally got the car out and made it to church for a very meaningful “service of lessons and carols“. only ten more days until Christmas!

last night we hung out with our fellow vancouverite-in-chicago friend mike. after a tasty italian dinner outside of lincoln square, we watched “i am legend” at a small theatre close by. we liked will smith, but i wouldn’t recommend the movie unless you are ready for some attacking zombie action…which i wasn’t. at least our chair was a loveseat, which was more snuggly.

the advent season is well under way. we came across this little scene while babysitting for friends.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

despite the cold and ice, we made our way to the renegade craft fair on the northside of chicago. it’s always fun browsing through these fairs because you never know what you might find. as expected there were many vendors selling jewelery, bags and paper goods. one booth specialized in recycling old hard cover books (for example a math text book, dr. seuss, nancy drew etc) and using the covers for “new” coiled notebooks. i picked up a couple buttons made of letterpressed cotton paper.