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Angie Mc
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| Posted: Dec 22 2011 at 11:00am | IP Logged
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We are Christmas Day Wonder Workers Extraordinaire no doubt! It's the final days of home preparations to make Christmas day in our homes SPECIAL  AMAZING  DELCIOUS  GORGEOUS  MEMORABLE  FAITHFUL  and MORE, MORE, MORE!
Well, that's the plan anyway  .
You would think that my to-do list would be shrinking, considering how hard we've been working here to prepare for the coming of baby Jesus. But amazingly, the list continues to grow, grow, grow. And my desire to refuel for (or is it momentarily escape from?) all of this is to spend some time at 4Real with other moms who are in exactly the same situation  .
Another thing that will get me through this time is humor. So here's a joke a friend forwarded to me last night from comedian @JeffBryanDavis :
Quote:
| Sometimes people ask me, "Jeff, why is your spirit so bright?" And I tell them, simply, "bells on bobtail." |
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So, how DO you do it and keep your good cheer? What brings you the most satisfaction? What will cheer you on to Christmas day victory?
Know that I'm praying and cheering for you!
Love,
__________________
Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Dec 22 2011 at 11:22am | IP Logged
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Christmas carols playing throughout the house sure help keep the reason for the work and busy-ness in mind and improve the household cheer.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Dec 22 2011 at 11:33am | IP Logged
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A current favorite fun song The Christmas Can-Can though I admit it'sa bit hard to get thingsdone wheneveryone stops to dance 
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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Angie Mc
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| Posted: Dec 22 2011 at 11:35am | IP Logged
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JodieLyn wrote:
| A current favorite fun song The Christmas Can-Can though I admit it'sa bit hard to get thingsdone wheneveryone stops to dance |
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This is one of our favorites! I call it "music appreciation" in that my boys can actually identify the classical Can-Can .
Love,
__________________
Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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Angie Mc
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| Posted: Dec 22 2011 at 1:56pm | IP Logged
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Just to keep things interesting here, last Sunday we decided to refinish our dining room table  . I find it VERY cheering to be working on something new (we've never refinished furniture) as a team (our kids are really growing up!) for a project (hands on) that has been needed  and I have wanted for years!
It seems counter-intuitive to add one more thing to our work...but this one thing is totally cheering.
Love,
__________________
Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Dec 22 2011 at 2:18pm | IP Logged
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oh Angie I so wish I could add that in here... but there's just no way.. we have to add in repairing a couple of legs so it adds to the length of time just when considering times for drying/setting.. but soon it will happen.. I have the glue and the glides and at least enough stripper to do the legs of the table before the repair.. and we want to do the legs while we wouldn't be turning the table onto a refinished top
I'm teaching my 13 yr old son to make almond rocha. He had one attempt that was too soft and one that was much harder (we didn't put chocolate on it.. it's a hard toasty tasting toffee) so one more try with me hovering more so he has one that works right.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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stellamaris
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| Posted: Dec 22 2011 at 3:27pm | IP Logged
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OK, so I posted on my blog where I'm at...still shoveling! But soon I'll be all ready for the BIG DAY!
Hope you have a wonderful Christmas!
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In Christ,
Caroline
Wife to  dh 30+ yrs,ds's 83,85,89,dd's 91,95,ds's 01,01,02,grammy to 4
Flowing Streams
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SeaStar
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| Posted: Dec 22 2011 at 3:55pm | IP Logged
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I have all my presents wrapped, which has taken a load off my mind!
One year I got the flu right before Christmas, and I had not done much preparing. We almost had a "minimalist Christmas" that year .
I remember weakly wrapping packages in a sort of fog  while dh tried to keep the kids busy for me.
That memory spurs me on and gives me new energy each year- thanking God that, while I am not perfect, I do have the good health to do my duties
with joy. A healthy Christmas is a happy Christmas, no mater what does or doesn't get done 
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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Angie Mc
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| Posted: Dec 22 2011 at 4:20pm | IP Logged
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Almond rocha is a big favorite of mine. I've never made it. A good friend of mine makes THE BEST...but she is due in January and not making it this year (what's up with that? ) Jodie, tell your ds that I'm impressed with him even tackling candy!
And my table...seriously, this table is SO overdue. And...we decided to just do the top, not the legs! We are just gluing them and spot mending them. So far, so good!
Caroline, shoveling...now THAT'S something I don't need to do! Your almost there pics are perfect (and I did notice the lovely finish on your table  .)
Melinda, I have my big wrapping time carved out tomorrow night. I've always done a lot of wrapping on Christmas Eve so it will feel like a big accomplishment to finish earlier.
Love,
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Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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stellamaris
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| Posted: Dec 22 2011 at 5:09pm | IP Logged
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Angie...not literally shoveling! Just shoveling my way through the pile of dishes, laundry, and wrapping!
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In Christ,
Caroline
Wife to dh 30+ yrs,ds's 83,85,89,dd's 91,95,ds's 01,01,02,grammy to 4
Flowing Streams
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Angie Mc
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| Posted: Dec 22 2011 at 6:17pm | IP Logged
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stellamaris wrote:
| Angie...not literally shoveling! Just shoveling my way through the pile of dishes, laundry, and wrapping! |
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...well, it's still a cheerful fact that I never have to shovel snow at Christmas!
Love,
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Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Dec 22 2011 at 8:16pm | IP Logged
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You just can't walk outside in the summer without melting
Funny thing though. Shoveling snow is one of the more favorite chores and I usually have volunteers. Of course right now we have the cold but no snow.
He did it.. got the almond rocha right on the third try. I think we figured out the problem.. he had the thermometer pushed down against the bottom of the pan.. so it read artificially high. And then his sister misread the recipe and "corrected" him which contributed to the overcooking of the second try.
I also got the rocky road done and the chocolate drizzle on top of the orange flavored white fudge (already cut before putting on the chocolate). Dh agreed that I managed to give it the look up a gourmet chocolate. And drizzling chocolate is fun.
We made some date nut rolls (except we made them as muffins and not rolls). There were some difficulties so I want to make the next batch with this child and direct her through it better. I thought she had a better grasp of the recipe than she did. Not that it affected outcome.. just smoothness of the operation.
Oh and the 14 yr old made the pfeffernüsse.. just need to coat with pwd sugar and those are done.
Oh and I made sugared cranberries. The recipe and picture were linked here. They're yummy. But the slices of mandarin orange I did with them (I was grating the zest for the orange fudge and the peels were falling off them while I was doing the cranberries) are way to sweet. Might try with some berries though.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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stellamaris
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| Posted: Dec 22 2011 at 9:08pm | IP Logged
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Jodie, I'm so impressed with your son's almond roca success!
Did get through the dishes and laundry...just in case you were wondering
Angie, I LOVE Arizona! And I am REALLY glad it's not snowing down there, ! That is a cause for rejoicing (I mean, where would we be up North if you were shoveling snow in Arizona...YIKES!) Enjoy your warm and sunny Christmas!
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In Christ,
Caroline
Wife to dh 30+ yrs,ds's 83,85,89,dd's 91,95,ds's 01,01,02,grammy to 4
Flowing Streams
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Mackfam
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Angie Mc wrote:
| So, how DO you do it and keep your good cheer? What brings you the most satisfaction? What will cheer you on to Christmas day victory? |
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Well, my lists are a help, and I'm slowly working through them. I kept them very, very simple this year! That helps!
I have to say, I'm not really stressed at all about finishing everything on my lists! In fact, I'm really content with our preparations...those made so far, and whatever we get done from here! So...that is motivating and freeing! There is no stress or application of whip-cracking-chores-to-be-completed. Although, I do really need to start wrapping today. And get to the store.
Motivating:
** Christmas music! We're really, really enjoying Celtic Woman: A Christmas Celebration this year (edited: I meant to say, "Thanks, Jodie!!" for this recommendation! We had other Cd's of theirs but not this one, and I grabbed it after your recommendation on another thread and we it!). And Ella Fitzgeralds Christmas. Bing and Nat are special for us, and we play them on Christmas day!
** Stopping everything for a great black and white Christmas movie. Example: Instead of cleaning bathrooms we're folding clothes in front of Holiday Inn right now. Who wouldn't be motivated after seeing Fred Astaire glide around the dance floor and Bing sing to you?!
** Rewarding ourselves with a little mini-reward of eggnog and nutmeg during the day! Rewarding myself with a little spiked eggnog and nutmeg in the evening...in front of the fire.
** Blitz work - we motivate by having a *team meeting*, dividing up work and delegating tasks, giving ourselves a concrete work time -- could be 15 minutes before a movie we want to watch, or for more serious cleaning we challenge ourselves to see how much we can get done on our list in one hour before lunch.
** Hot chocolate with a little splash of vanilla. PERFECT afternoon treat reward after a blitz worktime.
*****************************
And now....I've got to get back to folding towels and paying attention to Bing singing White Christmas. Off to the grocery store later today...thinking of a reward of hot chocolate with vanilla in front of the fire! And so on....
May your final Advent preparations be full of hopeful expectation as you anticipate all the joys of Christmas!!!
__________________
Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
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Grace&Chaos
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I haven't checked in here much this week, probably, because I've been doing the very things you ladies are listing...Uh, minus the shoveling snow, definitely
We've been playing Holiday music (we found a kids christmas Raffi cd I didn't even know I had  ) , we finally cut the pumpkins on our front porch from October and made pumpkin bread (been enjoying with hot chocolate), and we've been watching a holiday movie every night this week. This has helped us enjoy the preparations for this weekend.
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Blessings,
Jenny
Mom to dds(00,03) and dss(05,06,08,09)
Grace in Loving Chaos
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Servant2theKing
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My list would be titled "Christmas during a crisis" ~~~ while greatly modified from years past, several habits formed from years of family traditions and regular chores and tasks throughout the years are carrying us through yet another difficult season in life! Lessons learned during past crises are helping make this Christmas truly meaningful in the midst of it all.
I am profoundly thankful for:
~Making it to Mass, Adoration and Confession as a family last weekend ~ Advent and Christmas now feel more focused and complete ~ we can breathe a little easier with God's Grace guiding us even more fully in the days ahead
~Blessed children who are so used to our Christmas traditions, cooking and doing chores that Christmas is happening in miniature form , even though Mom and Dad have to be an hour away with their ailing grandmother, while 20yo and teenage siblings hold down the fort!
~Dd and her family coming to visit, providing a welcome reprieve from the past several weeks
~Being able to shop online in the wee hours on our day(s) home for gifts/amazon, gift bags/cbd and groceries/Sams Club Click 'n Pull ~ it has been a trememndous Godsend to avoid stores and last minute arrands, avoiding yet another task during regular shopping hours, when every spare moment is crucial in caring for dear mil
~A sweet fluffball Bichon dh adopted for me just before mil's stroke (an early Christmas gift) ~ "Bella" has been such a ray of light in our comings and goings ~ dc have done an incredible job training and caring for her! Next to hugging dh and dc when we are finally home together there's something very comforting about cuddling a silky little furball after a long difficult week ~ even without snow we'll be having a white Christmas that will last the whole year through!
Have a Blessed CHRISTmas and a grace-filled New Year everyone!!!!! 
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All for Christ, our Saviour and King, servant
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misswallo
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In addition to Christmas music playing I also like to have a yummy Christmas scented Scentsy warming. Right now I have Sparkling Berry Garland in the warmer.
Baking our birthday cake for Jesus today and finishing up some grocery shopping...
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Missy-married in 1997 dd(99) dd(01) dd(04) dd(06) ds(09) and ds(12)
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Mimip
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I just had to pop in and tell you that we have had one of the craziest weeks ever!!!!!
Just to make you laugh and to tell you that we are in the home stretch let me give you a glimpse into our home:
Sunday: At the last minute we got a call from some close friends that they were gifting our daughters with tickets to the Miami City Ballet's Nutcracker performance THAT DAY! Suddenly we had to change Mass times and lunch plans and hubby had to work later so after a VERY chaotic morning my girls who LOVE the Nutcracker got to see the premier performance. When they left, I collapsed into a heaping mess of tears from the joy they had on their faces!  These are tickets we would never had been able to afford!
Oh, did I forget to tell you my MOM was arriving the next day soooo...... 
Monday: After cleaning all afternoon Sunday, and all day Monday like a woman on a mission, my mom arrived. We crossed emails and did not get the right times so she had to take a taxi home arriving much later than anticipated. I was making dinner when my 4 year old started to cough, not the going away kind... the this is going to get worse and might turn into croup kind.  I finished dinner and gave him some motrin. Mom arrived late and I was exhausted, (did I mention that I cleaned every fan, light bulb, toilet and porch swing?) so I thought I would call it an early evening. Took the dog out, put her in the crate when I here an enormous explosion from the living room. I went running and found a gallon of chocolate milk smashed in from the front door. Glass everywhere and CHOCOLATE MILK ALLLLLL OVER THE Living room. Monday ended with police officers, CSI detectives and me and my mom cleaning AGAIN!!!!!!!
Tuesday: In the night the croup manifested itself and we were at the doctor's office at 7 am with a barely breathing little boy. Thankfully with inhalers and steriods he was better and we went home to SLEEP. Oh and wait for the insurance adjuster, oh and did I tell you that our front door, the one with a huge hole in it has leaded glass and costs A LOT of money to replace!!!!
Wednesday: My mom, who I think is from a planet yet undiscovered that is called "Clean is never clean enough" Decided that the house was not clean enough and spent the whole day cleaning the house that I had already cleaned on Sunday and Monday!!!! Lets just end the day by saying, Mimi was not a very nice, agreeable person on Wednesday.
Thursday: I am awoken at 6 am with my Mom asking why I am not awake yet and I need to come see my daughter because she has a rash. Yep, hives ALL OVER her body. Call the doctor who laughing says come on over. The virus that my son has has manifested into hives all over my daughter and she is an itchy mess!!! After two avenno baths she is finally comfortable enough to watch tv. (Do you think Beakman's World on Netflix is considered science???)
I call my husband who informs me that he wants to take the kids to go get my Christmas gift TONIGHT! Mind you we have one car and this Santa has not bought two essential gifts. Oh well, hey its a gift for me. He promises it will only take an hour and so they take off when he gets home, only to return a mere 20 minutes later because the STORE was closed!!!
I took off to Target and Sports Authority to get the two gifts....neither of them are there....both sold out!!!!!!!!! AUGH, we had to wait until the last minute for finances to be right to purchase these things and now, well we will see....
AND today, well I have to make a meal for a friend who had surgery but I have no stove since after waiting a month for the handyman to come, he showed up Today to fix the shower and stove!!!!
So my dear sisters in Christ, I hope I made you laugh...
Many blessings to you all!!!!!!!!
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In Christ,
Mimi
Wife of 16 years to Tom, Mom of DD'00, DD'02, '04(in heaven) DS'05, DS'08 and DS '12
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Angie Mc
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Quote:
| ~Dd and her family coming to visit, providing a welcome reprieve from the past several weeks |
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I hope this is Pilgrim .
Mimi...you win! ...the best is your dh going out for a few hours tonight, you know, no biggie . Do these men not understand that this elaborate house of cards is very fragile?
Well, pray the 3rd coat of stain + polyblahblahblah dries well, isn't sticky, and doesn't stink when we move the table back into the house tomorrow.
Off to wrap gifts! Thanks so much for joining in this chat .
Love,
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Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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guitarnan
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Oh, Mimi, you have just vaulted to the top of my Christmas prayer intention list. I know you were not trying to make it onto the "It Never Rains, But It Pours!" reality show...
My MIL loves to re-clean my clean house. I can empathize.
Our week began with chaos...as in, we were on the way to dance practice when we got a call from our studio owner/director...could we "suit up" and get dd to a 2:00 matinee performance at a local theatre? (It was 12:30.) Why, yes, we could! Dd and I are total fans of Hack and Slash, and she ended up dancing in the final Hack and Slash Christmas Show...In Color! She was a last-minute sub, and things were touch and go for a bit, but oh, did we have fun! What an unexpected Christmas blessing! She will remember that day forever, I know.
It's been busy here, with dh coming home from a 10-day trip to Japan (meaning he was not here to help with stuff!), but I have stayed calm all week and looked for ways to cope with the things that needed to happen. It's taken me five years (!) to realize that we own a wonderful hand truck that could help me schlep boxes to the Post Office...I got a lot of weird looks but mailing our gifts has never been easier!
I have a deadline to meet, and after that I will be concentrating on wrapping and cleaning up...we'll see how everyone does with their cleaning tasks; I piled up everyone's stuff in each room and they have to put it away themselves.
I should be changing guitar strings, but, well...I will be thankful if I can sing at all tomorrow night, and so will dd...we have both contracted a dreadful cold...tomorrow we'll see how "Hodie Natus Est" sounds...
Dear friends will be here for Christmas dinner, and we will enjoy our time with them. If my house is not Martha Stewart perfect, it won't be a surprise to my dinner guests; they come every year, so the homeschool book piles must not bother them!
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: Cheering Christmas Day Wonder Workers!
