All is calm, all is bright

I did it...got the trees decorated, meal together, gifts ordered, purchased, wrapped and under the tree. It has been quite a different season for us this year, but it still ended up a wonderful holiday. We played board games lastnight til midnight and our living room was full of evidence of Santa this morning! Nathan's friends Andrew and Dorian ended up spending the night, and it makes me happy to think that it just wouldn't seem normal if our home wasn't host to a few scragglers each year.


My favorite gifts to give this year went to Nathan and Mark. With the help of my friend Stefan (who spent this Christmas in Paris with beautiful Amanda) we got Nate a Fender Strata guitar and a killer amp. I've had a few moments of "what the heck was I thinking" today as the musi...er...loud noise...emits from the basement, but all in all, I was thrilled to make him happy with the gift. As for Mark; he was recently told by a friend he needed to upgrade his watch. He has one that seems somewhat "Army issue" and cost about fifteen bucks. He is now sporting a nice black face with gold accent gig I found at a mall jewlery store. It gorgeous!


Lyn has hardly done anything but load music on her new laptop and Emily had to have a nap after all that unwrapping. Lola has had the most fun today though. Santa brought her a ball that talks to her every time it moves. She absolutely exhausts herself with the stupid thing, then after a quick rest goes right back at it...she's insatiable.


As for me, Mark got me a print of one of my favorite paintings:


This makes it okay that he also got me a coffee pot.

We do miss our family and friends that seem even further away today. How we wish we could be with you to share in the memories and enjoy making new ones.

And as tradition dictates, I vow to start Christmas shopping earlier next year, and strive to make next year even less stressful. Fewer Christmas trees, less decorations, and who cares if dinner is perfect both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! For today, have more pie and cookies before we commit to all those New Year resolutions.

Santa Claus is coming to town! And here I am on the 13th of December with the trees up, but no decorations yet. The kids have list, but no shopping started. I haven't even

bought Christmas Cards! Let's just say I haven't been living up to traditions very well this year. I haven't even dug out the CD collection of various winter wonderland tunes and played them constantly since the table was cleared at Thanksgiving. This just may be the year that the memory I create is of Mom trying to pull off a spectacular holiday in two days. The problem is I KNOW I need to kick into gear and DO something. Maybe I can hit the mall this week and see if Santa has a moment for a kid at heart to sit on his lap. Hmmm, what could I ask for? I wonder if he'd lend me one of those elves for a few weeks? Maybe he could lay a finger aside of his nose and my house would magically be spotless and the stockings would all get hung by the chimney with care.

What ever Santa brings, my hope is that I can still find a glimpse of childlike wonder on the kids faces this year. THAT is MY favorite thing of all about this season...that look you see when you know someone is feeling it inside. Could be from the perfect gift they wanted, watching Charlie Brown Christmas or getting to be the one who puts the star on top of the tree...simple memories that create ongoing traditions.