Little Women 2008

Gracie's mastered the fine art of homemade cinnamon rolls. The more butter, the better.

Laura is trying to figure out the knitting thing. She's precocious that way.

Watch Mommy for a minute.

Yeah, that's the way.

Madeleine hasn't stopped knitting since her birthday.

Sarah's working on a blanket for her doll.

That's good, because it's cold outside. Something about being snowed in brings out the little homemaker in me. I'm just one stop short of finding a copy of "Pilgrim's Progress" to read aloud at night around the fire.

Wait, we don't have a fireplace (yet).

I guess we're still not the March family. After all, Daddy is home most evenings, not off to war at all. But the old-fashioned cozy togetherness is definitely growing on me. This year's economy and weather have conspired to make any trips to the mall impossible.

I dislike the mall with a passion that precedes Etsy or even Ebay. But this year I'm not even shopping online.

I'm just... not shopping. I made some really neat gifts in the kitchen and at the sewing machine. I already had some things in my closet of surprise. (For instance, Sarah wanted a "spy kit" a la Harriet, and I'd picked up the components of that previously.)

I've combed through my books and other treasures and found meaningful presents. The girls spontaneously went through their things and made four boxes of lovely donations for our local women's shelter. (It personally bothers me to donate anything that's not in pristine condition, so I'm proud of their selections.) And the big girls are prepping surprise hand-me-downs of teddy bears and dolls for Grace and Laura, which I find charming, so I've been secretly sewing little wardrobes to complement those gifts from the heart.

You know what? I think we're not alone. I think other families across our nation and around the world took hits in the wildly fluctuating stock market and the dismal economy. I think when we took the hit, we took stock. And then we said, let me off of this wild ride, Mr. Toad.

Christmas has never been a super-commercial time in our family, but it's never been as low key as this year. For our part, we are incredibly blessed to be together with tons of time for baking gingerbread and cinnamon rolls and pulling out rows of knitting just to start over.

There will be no Wii under the tree, but "we" are alright with that.