Christmas Thrills

Our family has been very blessed this Christmas season, and seeing it all through the eyes of a child is a wonderful renaissance. The annual "Macy's WaHaTa (Walter-Hansen-Thomas) Extravaganza" was a great start to the weekend, and it gets better every year! The festivities culminated in a wonderful Christmas dinner with Andy's family and mine. Whit was fortunate enough to see Santa three times this year, giving him ample opportunity to ask for his dream kitchen (ok, so maybe that was my dream for his kitchen, but whatever, we'll get to that in a minute). All three times he joyfully hopped in the big guy's lap and examined his jolly face.

Let me preface the remaining photos with a bit of explanation. I have been dreaming of building Whit a kitchen out of an old TV stand for a year. When it was finally finished on Friday, the sense of accomplishment I felt made me prance through the house singing with glee. I owe a great deal of credit to my dad, whose construction skills helped bring my vision to life. Without further ado, here is the project that many of you have heard me talk about for some time now.

Nothing but the best for this chef - stainless steel Sub-Zero fridge and Wolf gas range

"Stone" countertop with stainless steel sink and blue-lit gas stove (appears purple here, but I assure you it is blue)

The innards - lights in the fridge and in the oven, and a pantry below

Let's eat!

While mom organized (using OR disposables of course - how did I function before them?), Whit transferred pots from the oven to the stove, first putting on his hot mitt and then saying "hot" and blowing on them as he carried them. His reaction was even better than I had hoped for, and Andy and I are anxiously waiting for this gift to pay off and result in scrumptious meals where we don't have to lift a finger.