Twas The Night Before Christmas….

And the mom screwed up the Christmas presents….. 

Santa can't sneak by ME!

I thought I’d be smart this year, since the kids claimed to have discovered their presents before Christmas last year, and I had everything sent to work, then we loaded them into Mrs. P’s van, went to church, sent Jeremy and Tim out in the snow to take the presents out of her van and put them in the back of the white truck (Gabe’s dad’s). I even hurriedly pointed to it, since it was freezing and snowing and I was trying to keep from busting my arse in my boots…no, not the warm winter ones, the 3 inch high heeled ones….

A bit later, Gabe’s dad came back in and said “There is nothing in the back of my truck, are you sure you put them in the RIGHT truck?”. Panic! Ran out to look for the truck I’d pointed out, it was gone. Luckily, I know what pretty much everyone drives and was pretty sure we’d put them in Jim’s truck, rather than some total stranger who’d shown up for the Christmas Eve service. I tried calling Jim from church but they weren’t home yet, Jeremy said we should just go home and go get them after the kids went to sleep. So, we loaded up, went home, called Jim, he’d found them, but there seemed to be one missing. I called Mrs P to see if we’d left one in her van, and we had. 

So, completely exhausted, Jeremy and I dragged our butts off the couch at 1 am, after the kids had fallen asleep in the living room floor (trying to catch Santa in action) and headed out. It had snowed 18 additional inches during that time though and was still coming down hard, the roads hadn’t been plowed. What to do? The kids can’t not have Christmas just because Mom is a blonde! 

So we putted along, in 4wd the whole way, unsure if we could even make it up the hill to Jim’s house, let alone up the hill to Mrs P’s house also. We did though, it went off without a hitch and we pulled back up my driveway at about 2 am. Unfortunately, at that point, we couldn’t make it back up and had to carry everything up. 

By the time we got up here, got settled in, got everything wrapped and under the tree (with the kids still sleeping in the floor), it was after 4 am.  At about 5:15, Gabe came screaming up to say that Santa had come and could we open presents? I pulled him into bed with me and managed to milk an extra hour or so before we had to go face the music. The absolute ecstatic excitement of the kids was well worth the trip though. Next year I’ll have to come up with a better plan!

 

Santa can't get by ME either, and if he does, my guard dog (puppy) will surely wake up!

 

What?? How'd THAT happen?

 

The stockings were hung from the....wall....with care....

Rockband for the wii! Drums included!

 

2 Nintendo DS's!

 

Is it? Is it? It is! It is ALMOST a full smile! He's been wanting a PSP for YEARS!

Santa brought Jeremy a new watch!

 

That didn't take long...

 

Clean up the mess? What mess? I have a DS and that is all that I care about!

A week full of Blessings!

 

Christmas Photo 2008

 

 

It has been one of the most blessed weeks in a very long time.  The week started out snowy and a bit chaotic, since I was still driving the car and was unable to get around very well, my employers (The P’s) insisted that I take their AWD van home at night, so that I could actually get here. The van is really nice and surprisingly gets through the snow very well and it meant a lot that they entrusted me with it.  Finally, on Friday, my friend who was helping me find some 4wd wheels came through and I got to go pick it up. This one is just a loaner until I get mine, but it works! It’s a little silver Dodge Dakota with the full dual cab, it was in an accident so it has some body damage on the drivers side, which he can easily fix, but it runs great. It isn’t luxury and it isn’t even close to as nice as ‘my’ truck that I miss so much, but I’m very thankful that I’m able to drive this one and get around so much easier in the snow. 

The same friend also had a truckload of clothes for me to go through and find homes for and they ended up being very very good clothes, and will benefit a lot of people, as well as my family. A friend was able to pick out some very nice things for her girls and in the process, some wounds between 2 friends have begun to heal.  One was really able to reach out to the other and offer some badly needed help.  That is probably the biggest blessing of all! 

Mrs. P gave me my Christmas present early, a pair of Sorel boots with fur trim that will get me through the snow with warm feet! They are a little clunky, just because of the design of them, but still cute and I’m loving them! I also finally (after 3 winters in Idaho) bought something besides knit gloves to wear, so I’ve spent the weekend toasty and warm, for the first time in a while! 

It is Christmas week and I feel so absolutely blessed right now!  I’m so happy to be surrounded by people who care so much!

It’s beginning to look a lot (or a little) like Christmas…

I finally did it. I dragged out the icicle lights that have been in a box in the garage for almost 4 years. And I put them up.  It is nothing fancy of course but I rarely decorate outside…and I’ll probably be one of those who still has them up next summer.

The picture isn’t great, my camera doesn’t take very good nighttime pictures, and I fell and busted my…….on the way down the driveway just to get this one. Yeah…I was wearing slippers in 6 inches of snow. Go figure. I could be  like a normal, intelligent person and put on boots, but no….so enjoy!

Revelations….

Last Sunday, Lee gave a sermon on Revelation. Not Revelations, as in the chapter in the bible about the world coming to an end, but REVELATION, such as when you can read a verse over and over again and suddenly it comes alive to you. Many people know the bible, they are ‘educated’ but they don’t have the REVELATION of the true meaning of the words, the words don’t necessarily speak to them. It was an excellent and educational sermon. I had a Revelation today…one of those things I know and has been revealed to me time and again, but it truly came alive today. 

I’ve been a little stressed out about warm coats and boots and stuff for my kids this winter. It seems like they’ve outgrown everything. On top of knowing they needed these things, I bundle up Jaedyn and Joshua (children of the family I work for) every day in soft warm gear, and it made me feel extra guilty that my own kids were still running around in hoodies and it is getting pretty cold out. We don’t have snow on the ground yet but it is, on average, less than 30 degrees out when we leave in the mornings.  I’ve procrastinated buying these things because I knew it would be expensive and the list of things to buy this month is quickly adding up. 

I already had the intention of buying them when I headed into town today, but it was weighing on me because I knew I’d spend most of the money I had to do it. I had a headache, my neck hurt…I was feeling pretty cranky. I went to Payless Shoes on a whim, to check out snow boots for the boys. $44 for one pair of snow boots! From Payless! Luckily they were having the buy one get one half off sale, so Gabe’s boots cost me about $17.  

I was on my way to the next store when a song came on the radio that I’ve heard many times, it always makes me cry.  The one about the little boy buying the Christmas shoes for his mom because she’s going to die soon and he wants her to wear the shoes when she goes to meet Jesus.

When it gets to the part about the man helping to pay for the shoes, it kind of has “duh factor” for me…I mean that is the obvious answer…who could let the little boy go without the shoes? Not me. But the thought occured to me that the money was there all along, for the shoes….God planned it that way. It isn’t our money, it is money that is given to us to use as we see fit.  April did a sermon a few years ago about being good “stewards” of what God gives us. It isn’t our money, it is what is given to us to manage. If that makes any sense. 

And that is when I heard it, plain as day. “I’ve given you the money to buy these coats and boots, that is what it is there for. There will be money for the other things you need, when you need it.” It was as if a weight was lifted off of my shoulders. I get so consumed by dollar signs and how many bills I need to pay this month and where it will all come from, but we’ve never done without. It isn’t about saving for retirement, it isn’t about making sure I ration out enough to leave a cushion till next payday, it is about what is given to me and how I should use it for what we need. It isn’t “mine”, it is my portion to use as it needs to be used. As April said, when God sees that we can be good stewards of what he gives us, he’ll give us more to manage! Not that I need or want more money, but we truly have not gone without. It always comes from somewhere. The money was there to get the kids warmly outfitted for the winter and the money will be there for the other things that we need. It isn’t MY money and it won’t all be spent on me and my family.  I’ll focus more on where else it is needed. I’ve always known this, but today it was truly revealed to me….my Revelation!