Adana's 9th Birthday, Christmas Celebrations, Christmas in Seattle, and Ladies' Dinner

The week before Christmas is always SO busy!  But also, SO fun!!

On December 16, Adana turned 9 years old!  She is hands down one of the coolest 9-year olds ever.  Here she is with all of her birthday presents.  

And this is her Minecraft birthday cake that Emma made.  It was pretty awesome.

Friday was the last day of school before Winter Break.  First, we went to Torah's preschool Christmas Celebration.  The class sang some adorable songs...

... then decorated their gingerbread houses.  Since Abi had arrived home the night before, Nathan & I pretty much ceased to exist.  Torah was SO happy to have her big brother by her side.  And he was pretty happy to be there too. 

Next, we went to Adana's Winter Concert at Ordway.  Yes, she really is the same age as her classmates, even though she towers over all of them.

Friday night, we headed across the water for our annual Christmas in Seattle.  The girls (& Baba) rode the carousel.  We ate at Mod Pizza, shopped, swam on the top floor of the Sheraton, and had a lovely weekend together.

We also enjoyed marveling at the gingerbread houses at the Sheraton.  The theme this year was Christmas carols.  This one was "Christmas in the Northwest."  It was pretty stunning, and the candy version of Big Bertha getting stuck under the city was funny.  :)

The Primary kids sang a lovely song in church today.  Can you spot Torah & Adana?

This evening was our 3rd annual Ladies' Dinner.  It's one of our favorite Christmas traditions.  Each year, we invite a group of single women, especially widows, over to our house for a delicious meal and short Christmas message.  

Nathan made his famous Pumpkin Chicken recipe in our huge Turkish copper pot.

Our fun group of lovely ladies!
They are all so wonderful, and I am very thankful that we are able to enjoy a close friendship with them.  They truly bring the spirit of Christmas into our home each year.