Dear Dad, Mom, and Dawn,

Well, this year was a wonderful Christmas day. Everyone arrived on

schedule, and we sat down to eat promptly at two pm. All the holiday

preparations had been done before our arrival and the holiday meal

was done to perfection. We started out with a toast to the new Milly

with a German Piesporter wine. Then we feasted on ham and scalloped

potatoes, peas and corn, which Dad had done to perfection. The ham

was a honey baked and the potatoes were made from a secret family

recipe. The fruit bowl that Mom had made up was so tasty, espeicially

the pineapple and grapefruit sections. We had our appetizer shrimp

as desired throughout the meal. Mom had an hor d'oeuvres buffet

table all set up with a festive red punch, shrimp cocktail, and cheese

and crackers. The Tiffany lamp added an elegant touch. Candles were

lit throughout the house making it smell like Christmas and evergreen.

For dessert Mom had ordered a torte from Roma Bakery and it was

decorated with a cute little wreath and red piping. She also made up

her famous pumpkin pie from our own secret family recipe. Of course,

Dad served the coffee and Mom made cups of piping hot tea. Everyone

enjoyed the relishes that Lee had carefully arranged on a Christmas

tray . There were also fancy mixed nuts that Lee had found and candy

coated almonds that I had purchased. In keeping with our blue theme,

the candy canes were blueberry flavored. Table favors were wrapped in

blue paper and featured 9 volt batteries for everyone's smoke detectors.

Uncle Gordon got lucky when he found the pickle on the tree, as he got

the extra gift of a small flashlight with batteries.

Gifts were exchanged, and everyone seemed pleased with what they

received, I know I really like my angel ornament that Mom got me at Jac's.

I continued to add little silver wrapped gifts in the bows of the Frazier fir

and to hang family photos by thin blue ribbon as we talked around the

dining room table. Lee did a dish at the same time, which was appreciated

by everyone. Mom was able to find the heavy grade moire table linens and

that helped to carry out the powder blue theme of the Christmas tree which

was done in poinsettias and delphiniums in silks. Ornaments were in satin

blue and satin white. I was especially proud of the lurex finish on the

Madonna and child ornament that was placed in the center of the tree

right under the lit up star that Dad so skillfully placed at the correct height.

Uncle Gordon told stories all about his thirty cats, and we got to

really laughing. Dad told a story all about Barb Hile's cat. Lee told

of his cat Tommy that arrived via a taxi from the airport. Mom told of

the one year that their whole family lived at Walnut and Gordon told

of Grandma hiring a detective to find out where the missing fireplaces

had ended up being taken after they were stolen. I told a borrowed

story from our pastor about one of his professors that called him a

boring little man. (He seems to have forgiven her, however, I have not).

Dad had set up computer generated Christmas music which played

throughout the day and into the evening.

After dinner, I arranged the flowers that the Village Florist had sold

me for five dollars, and in Mom's pitcher from the 20's it turned out

looking almost professional by the time I finished adding the powder

blue netting throughout. It was done in all white flowers (roses, narcissus,

star of Bethlehem, daisies, and eucalyptus with star babies' breath)

A care package was fixed up by Mom and Dad, as Mom told how

Grandma Springborg always packed up food to take with them when

she was ready to leave. It was the last thing she wanted at the time,

and it looked so good upon arriving home. Come to think of it, I was

planning to have a ham sandwich as soon as I finished our Christmas

2000 story..... and another tradition repeats itself!

Thank you for a wonderful Christmas, and a peaceful one at that,

I think Jesus would have felt right at home with our little family on this

first Christmas of the new Milly!

Merry Christmas to One and to All, and to All a Good Night!

Love, Janet and Lee and Marshmellow (She is white, Gordy).