December 2000 was one of the coldest months in Michigan. Already before Christmas we had temperatures of -20 degrees Celcius and about 50 centimeters of snow.

Early December the first snow storm surprised many of us. The whole neighborhood was outside, assisting others in digging out stranded cars and getting paths cleared.

Shoveling the driveway early morning is routine now, so Hans can get the car out to work We have given up on the driveway that goes to the front door, only the stretch to the garage can take a good half hour.

There are nice slopes close to our house, where Daan rides his sleigh. Unfortunately we have lost the sleigh, probably somewhere in the backyard, covered with snow and invisible till next spring.

With all the snow, we got into the winter mood early this year. We brought up the Christmas decorations well before winter officially started. The fake Christmas tree we had bought in Korea stands outside in the front porch, fully decorated in wonderful colors and flashing colored lights. Daan loves it.

The real tree stands in the living room, decorated mostly by Daan with decorations Eefke made herself.

This Christmas was more quit than any we remember. No parties, no church, no theater, no big dinner. Instead we had 12 video tapes, the fireplace on and the laziest 3 days ever. Wonderful! Christmas day  it snowed and was cold, but we spent most time outside building a snow fort.

On Christmas eve the whole neighborhood puts out luminaries, small paper bags with candles inside. It is a lovely sight, all the snow-covered yards and houses, with rows of luminaries that shine from dusk till after midnight. We put some extra candles in the snow fort and the luminaries on the roof. Quite spectacular.

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