Merry Christmas madness

Christmas is the same day every year, right?

It sure snuck up on me this year.

I am usually always prepared

and done shopping,

wrapping beautifully done with ribbons and bows,

done baking all kinds of goodies

and plates of them delivered to neighbors and friends,

house cleaned and ready for guests

(Ok this one is a rarity but always a goal),

cards mailed,

all received cards hung up and admired,

and most of all our Christmas photo of the kids and/or our family photo done.

This year?

I love shopping and I delight in choosing the perfect gift for each special family member and friend. Even though I usually finish in early December, the crowds don't usually bother me. I enjoy the city sidewalks, busy sidewalks dressed in holiday fare.....I had to finish my shopping on Sunday in the crowds and slush and using credit and felt rather bah humbug about it.

It seems like I've been wrapping non-stop but still am not done...

and I want my dining room table back! I usually love to decorate packages and anticipate my loved ones ripping into them.

Plus the flood this summer ruined all my wrapping goodies so the boxes are wrapped in paper and that's it. I couldn't afford to replace all the ribbons and bags and boxes and special "extras" I love to wrap with after I had to replace all my wrapping paper... I will be shopping after Christmas sales to stock up for next year! So my packages once again will be lovingly wrapped with care.

My mom and I did a little baking on Friday and Saturday

but not nearly as much as I usually do

and no one got plates of goodies.

Although I did mix up a batch of Christmas Blessings snack mix

and will deliver it with the Christmas cards tonight

if the UPS man ever shows up with my cards...

which I just got done last Friday

and therefore most people will be getting them in their mail after Christmas,

or I will hand deliver what I can. Now, in my defense.. this year I wanted to use photos from our Disneyworld trip so I literally could not do them before Dec 13th after we got back...but I still took a week to get them made and ordered and if I'd done it right away as soon as we got back, they'd all be mailed and received by now!

I look forward to the mail in December.

I love looking at all the cards and photos from family and friends.

This year, they are in a pile on the counter in my kitchen

when usually they are hung up and admired by all.

Maybe I can still do that today at lunchtime today.

I am also feeling rather negative about the weather and impending ice/rain/freezing rain/snow storm they are predicting for the rest of this week for us... which could hamper a lot of our travel plans to be with family for Christmas. I also worry about my husband driving home late at night tonight and tomorrow night after working 14+ hour days from 45 minutes away in the freezing rain and snow. Please pray for safe travels!

And not to complain or anything,

but we missed 2 Sundays of Advent with our church family because we were in Disneyworld. I love Walt Disneyworld and I'm so grateful we got to go and thoroughly enjoyed our vacation with both sides of our family....

but I really missed celebrating each Sunday of Advent at our church. I feel like I missed out on some Christmas.

Oh...

And that Christmas photo of the kids?

I tried!

Despite my failures of creating and fullfilling special Christmas traditions and my bah humbug attitude about the commercialism surrounding this holiday,

I still love Christmas-time and I still concentrate on the fact that it is CHRISTmas and why we celebrate the baby boy born in a manger so many years ago.

My kids remind that there is 3 days until Jesus's Birthday!

And I suddenly feel some sense of peace.

Speaking of peace, that was the advent candle we lit this week. And what we discussed in our Sunday school class. I teach a group of girls in grades 3-5 and have really come to cherish this time each week. The girls are amazing and honest and eager to learn and we've all really grown together the past few months. They inspire me and teach me as much as I teach them I think. This week, one of my dear students shared with us that she accepted Christ as her personal savior after a lesson we talked about a few weeks ago. :) THAT was the best present I could have ever received. I'm so proud of her that she did that and that she helped her little brother ask Jesus into his heart as well... and so proud of her that she was brave enough to share that with our group. That is the true meaning of Christmas.

So, amidst this madness surrounding the "holidays", remember that it is CHRISTmas and that the reason we celebrate is that baby born in a manger with such humble beginnings and what He would spend His life here on earth doing and how He then paid the ultimate price, so that we could have peace. My wish for each of you is that you find and cherish that peace.

Merry Christmas!