Wow! So much has happened since we wrote last. We moved into our new house and had a Home Interiors "open house" with 25 people attending. Our church had it's annual Harvest Festival on October 31st for over 200 kids (see Andrik & Kellin). I had so much fun decorating. Michael's had their autumn and Halloween stuff on sale for 90% percent so the church was able to really stock up. Our church is still in the process of construction with our new foyer. It is so exciting to see the progress. I am blessed to be able to be a part of the design and decorating process. We were just able to choose the color scheme and flooring for the foyer.We were also able to decorate the sanctuary for Christmas and for the Christmas Dessert - an outreach our church offers each year involving music, drama and a yummy dessert. We sold out two nights and had a Saturday matinee.
I'm still trying to decorate my house by painting and picking up wilderness decor at thrift stores. Yard sale season is over until spring. I was able to use many of the things we brought from California to decorate the church bathrooms.
God has really eased us into this climate as we are having a very mild Winter so far. We've heard that last Halloween it was snowing and near 0 degrees. There is usually much more snow this time of year and temperatures near 0 or below. It has been mostly in the 40's and 50's. If we have had snow, it has melted by the afternoon. We are hoping for a white Christmas though and the weather channel seems to think it will happen.
One thing that is different about Christmas in Montana is that you can get a permit to cut down your own tree for $3. (Some friends of ours just cut down a 12 foot tree for $3.) Some other differences are that stores run out of stuff more quickly, everyone sends packages for Christmas and the post office is packed, people hang their Christmas lights in October in case the weather gets bad, but there aren't the traffic problems or crowds here like in California. If you go into Ross at 10:00 a.m. there's no one in the store but employees and I've never seen it messy!
I mentioned before about seeing deer and antelope, but since hunting season began that view has been quite different. We are now seeing deer in the back of pick up trucks and antlers cooking in pots in our neighbors garage. We hear people shouting to one another- "Hope you kill an elk". It certainly gives a new meaning for reindeer at Christmas.
God has certainly blessed us here and helped with the transition greatly, especially the weather. But there's one thing we'll miss about California this Christmas, besides all the great food, lots of shopping locations, warm weather and crowded malls and freeways- our family and friends! We love you and miss you. We're praying that you have a wonderful Christmas!
