December 22, 2017

Friday.

I was wrapping fast in furious in our bedroom when Greg got home early from work.  It seems no one wants their face cut upon just before Christmas.  He had a few surgeries cancel.  He ran into the closet, grabbed me around the waist, shrieked in my ear, and scared me to death!  He swung me around for a kiss.  Let the Christmas festivities begin!!

I watched, "White Christmas" while I wrapped.  I'd never seen that show before.  It was so cute.  And it made me feel the Christmas spirit.  I also spent a lot of time listening to Jesus the Christ.  The energy level in our house is through the roof.  I can't get the boys to calm down!  We had a huge puzzle going, a whole Lego city being built, wrapping going on in my bedroom, power tools going on out in the garage, Christmas cards and mail strewn all over the desk.  It started to feel like every surface was covered in chaos.  I spent most of the afternoon trying to make sense of our chaos.  I'm getting the impulse to clean and clean and clean!  It made me look forward to January again, a little.

But in the meantime, I decided to just sit back and enjoy this house full of people and stuff.  So what if everything is sort of chaotic?  So I cleaned with a cheerful heart.

When it got dark outside, I made up some of my homemade salsa.  But I was surprised to find we were out of chips and tortillas.  As quick as I could, I bundled up and headed to Lin's grocery store.  I hadn't showered or fixed my hair or even brushed my teeth.  It had been full on Christmas mode at home.  Hoping I wouldn't see anyone, I rushed into the store and out of the cold.

I immediately saw a neighbor.  I just smiled cheerfully and said, Hello.  Then he said, "Oh, you look just like my wife: exhausted, lacking sleep, wearing herself out until she's sick."  I laughed, and told him that it had been a busy day, but a good day.  And that I hoped his wife got some rest.  We parted with a Merry Christmas, but I thought, wow, I must look really bad!  Ha ha!

We ate salsa and quesadillas and then curled up by the fire to watch the movie mom had sent us.  I popped the popcorn and settled in.  It was such a cute show, and such a warm and cozy night.

When Greg and I climbed into bed, I worried to him about our wild children.  Maybe we are just spoiling them rotten?  He calmed me down.  He reminded me that they are excited.  And that they have all had a bit too much sugar lately.  He also reminded me that being spoiled isn't necessarily about how much you have, but more about how you feel about what you have.

As I prayed, I asked for strength to mother these children, to run this household, and to teach my children to be grateful.

And I decided to get up early and shower first thing in the morning!! :)