Theologically and liturgically, I’m an Advent purist. Triumphal entries and John the Baptist, violet and rose, Gaudete and vigils make me giddy.
What?
Don’t laugh.
They do. 
Don’t mix Advent with Christmas. Don’t mix Christmas with Advent. That’s what I say.
Or rather, that’s what I say about church. But, um, yeah. That all goes out the window when I get home.
I’m a sinner. It happens. Let’s keep this just between us, ok?
But Advent wreaths and pink chausibles aside, I also love Christmas cookies.
I love baking them, eating them, um, you know, like, eating them . . . eating more of them.
The bigger problem is that my sister Kellee is a master baker and cookie decorator.
I work with split infinitives and comma splices, Book of Concord citations and LSB stanzas. She decorates cookies that people fork out big bucks to eat.
Exhibit A: Kellee’s cookies
Exhibit B: My cookies
Did you catch that? Let’s go again . . . just to be sure.
Ready?
Kellee’s cookies
My cookies
I think we’re done here.
So, now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go sit quietly in a corner, writing and editing and, um, basically anything that doesn’t involve baking, the kitchen, or further embarrassment.
Are we good?
letitstet.com 
Any artistic deficiency in a cookie may easily be compensated for by additional frosting. Now I’m hungry.
Your cookies look beautiful. I made Kellee’s cookies but I’m too chicken to try the icing. I think I’m sticking to a buttercream style decorated with sprinkles. The boys are going to help so when they look like they were decorated by a two year old. I can say, “Thanks, they were” 🙂
Ok, the good Father Petersen won out. I raised you surrounded by pine trees year around and a big one in the house oh, come about Halloween, blow torch lighting, and blinding present wrappings. That scene of yours looks like it needs another five logs, enough lights to pull another 10 kilowatts, and a three-night shopping spree somewhere. Oh, and some eggnog. Surely you’ve been nipping on that after work the last week or two.
You know we’ve experienced your creativity first hand at Redeemer, Miss Adriane 🙂 Both your and Kellee’s cookies are beauteous. Kellee has some neat designs, of course. Yours are decorated quite nicely. All the Dorr women are so creative, and I am so jealous of that. I can’t even draw decent stick people…
Adriane–I think your cookies look great. (BTW–since you’re an editor, you’ll appreciate my correction to your spelling of chasuble. 🙂
Wow, I would say you have made great strides this Advent/Christmas season.