Merry Christmas Eve!

Merry Christmas Friends! We wish you and your family wonderful memories to share together today! It is after midnight as I write on Christmas Eve...everyone is dreaming of sugar plums, and I wanted to take a moment to thank you for your friendship during this entire year! It has been a year of changes and challenges, but your kind words and encouragement have been such a blessing to us! Thank you! Enjoy this special day, and know that we send lots of love and all our wishes for a healthy, happy, and joyous Christmas Day!

Today was Christmas Eve Day and we are anxiously awaiting Santa's arrival! It was a busy day for the Koffords and full of fun! Here's what we were up to...
We awoke to a beautiful winter wonderland, and had a fair amount of snow in the past few days!
Today we delivered cookies to the neighbors...
Enjoyed the beauty on our pond...
Delivered ham for 45 local police officers who are keeping our community safe on Christmas Eve...
Got dressed up to attend Christmas Eve services at church...
And fed Santa's reindeer before leaving cookies and letters for his arrival. We celebrate Jesus' birth in the morning, as well as Santa'a arrival, and wish you all a very Merry Christmas filled with joy! With love from Colorado, The Kofford Family :-)

The wedding dress experiment...

Just for 'fun' I thought I would try on my wedding dress the other day. It had been 21 years since it last saw daylight, and now that I am back down to my wedding day weight, what better treat than to see if it would zip up once again.

The dress has been vacuum sealed, taped shut, double boxed, and hidden from air, bugs, and yellowing. Seeing it displayed inside the dress mold with only a clear plastic window made it look like it had been cryogenically frozen all these years!
Kyle grabbed the camera to capture the moment when it would zip up...Tom was on hand to help me get it over my head, and Ashlyn was ready with the veil. The moment came and I was so proud to know it would fit just as it did on Sept. 3, 1988! But that didn't happen, at all. Sure I could get it on, but Tom said there was no way it would even come close to zipping. It was about 7 inches too short around the ribcage! Oh the devastation! Everyone was right...after children your weight is redistributed and things expand that don't return again!
So, I guess it wasn't meant for me to be a 'bride' again. We captured little Ashlyn trying it on, hoping one day, perhaps she will wear the gown on her wedding day. Until then, back into the box the dress goes. So much for my post weight loss treat. Now, I think it's time to go shopping!

12 Days Until Christmas!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Colorado! We've been on a whirlwind month of activities, and here is a sneak peek into the past few weeks...

Since we were on our own for Thanksgiving this year, I decorated early and had the entire house ready for Christmas by the end of Nov. I've never decorated that early before, but with lots of activities this month, I am glad I did!

Welcome to our home, please come in!

The ice skates you see were my mothers, and I found a fun vintage sled to display them on. We're ready for winter!

The staircase full of garland...

The table all set for our ladies Bible Study Potluck.

A great chance to show off my mom's pretty pointsettia dishes, was at the Christmas Tea where I hosted a table.

On Friday I hosted a Christmas cookie exchange and craft night! We had fun tasting each other's delicious Christmas cookies and working around 5 stations of crafts where each guest was able to make ornaments, a "Fireside Coffee Mix", candy Santa Sleighs, etc...
Tom and I experimented with a new "signature drink" which I called a, "Christmas Cranberry and Sour Apple Martini! It was so tastey! Aren't the garnishes pretty?

Here is our bartender for the evening,

...and friends Kimberley and Joie!
The ladies busy crafting...
Here we are tubing in "Fraser" near Winter Park this weekend.
A pretty in pink snow bunny waiting her turn to head down the hill!
Tom headed down the hill...
How nice to have a rope tow to get back to the top of the hill...it was lazy man's tubing today!

It really wasn't as cold as it looks. It was around 28 degrees today, but compared to the -11 degree temps last week...anything above 20 degrees feels downright warm!
More December adventures to come! I have fallen so behind on blogging, but will be by to visit you soon! Leave us a comment if you have time, we'd love to know you were here! Merry Christmas! :-)