Merry Christmas to All!

Another Christmas has come and gone.  We have discarded most of the wrappings, and, inadvertently, the check my in-laws sent to buy the kids' gifts.  Ooops! 

The big hit this year was DDR and PS2 to play it on.  I swore we wouldn't buy ANOTHER video game system, but couldn't find DDR compatible with Game Cube, so here we are.  But, this has been a HUGE hit.  The best thing was seeing my 13 and 8 year old daughters, who rarely speak to one another, dancing side by side nearly all day.  And, ha ha, I beat Molly's friend a few minutes ago.  Who'da thought someone who can't dance to save her life could beat a 13 year old?!  I must admit that Tim beat me on "Play that Funky Music, White Boy", though!  What fun.

Now it's time to think about resolutions for the coming year.  I find losing weight and shaping up will be number one on my list, yet again this year.  Sigh.  With Tim taking command of a battalion in the Spring, I have got to get my life organized, as well!  We will be expected to do some entertaining, and probably not just the "invite everyone over for an impromptu party on the lawn" like we have in the past.   

It is wonderful to have Tim home for the holidays this year.  We missed him last year, and I know that Christmas in Iraq was not nearly as festive or heart warming as it is at home with the ones you love.

We've been blessed!

My baby boy.........

What's not to love??!!!!!!

A Chance meeting...

I was working in the primary school's Santa Shop on Thursday.  I started talking with the lady who was wrapping gifts next to me.  She is pregnant with her 3rd child.   I asked the usual questions, "Is your husband home?"  - "He is", "How old are your other children, where do you live, etc....".  When I asked her how her pregnancy is going, she said "Pretty well, except that the doctors say there is a 1 in 110 chance that this baby has Down Syndrome".  I could barely contain my excitement, and went on to tell her about Mick, my pregnancy with him, the issues we've faced so far, and the special joys he has brought to our family.  She admitted that she hasn't done any reading about Down Syndrome, but has talked to a friend of her brother, who has a child with DS.  I couldn't help but feel that God put me there to help her, if I can, so I asked if she would be receptive to my sending her links to webpages about Down Syndome.  Fortunately, there is much more out there to read that is positive than there used to be.  While it's true that it could well turn out that her baby does not have DS, she will know soon enough (she is due in February), and it is my personal feeling that even if he does not, she will have learned that this condition is not the end of the world, and that, in fact, people with DS have a positive affect on everyone they meet.  I got a very nice email from her yesterday, and I will continue to pray that her baby is healthy and the rest of her pregnancy is uncomplicated.  I hope that she will feel comfortable turning to me if she has questions or concerns, and I hope that I  will know the right words to say.

Holiday Mania

OK, so it's 12 days until Christmas.  3 days till the kids are out of school for vacation.  Today, I had to send in 2 wrapped "gently used" books to Megan's class for a Christmas book exchange.  As if there is anything in this house that is used gently.  I did manage to find two that had no stains, rips, tears or teeth marks.  I wrapped them in the parking lot of the school just before going to Colleen's class to help with assorted Christmas ornament creation (my job was to put wires on plaster octopi and jelly fish so that I could hand them over to their 5 and 6 year old creators to paint with "washable" paint)  I then went and had lunch with the ladies at a friend's house.  Which is beautifully decorated with many shiny glass ornaments - her kids are 7, 12, and 15.  Maybe someday we will have glass things in our house again.....

So, then I picked Mick and Shane up at their prospective schools, drove them home so that they could take a quick snooze and I could rotate one load of laundry before going up to Timmy's 4th grade Christmas musical production at his school.  Which was delightful, of course.

Back home, then to the commissary to buy food that will be gone in 4 days. If groceries would reproduce the way the dirty socks do around here, I'd probably never hear "there's nothing to eeeeeaaaatttt......". Then again, if I put the dirty socks in the pantry, maybe the kids wouldn't be so hungry all the time.

Tomorrow is Mick's OT and an eval for PT.  Thursday I will help in the Santa Shop at the primary school.  Somewhere between now and 2:50 on Friday, I must find time to wrap and hide for Santa.  I have started hiding stuff in the attic.  There it will remain, if I can figure out how to get it all down on Christmas Eve without waking the kids...........

 

Sad news...

We got some sad news the other day.  I woman I know, another military wife, and mother of two teenaged girls, died.  It was some sort of accident at home.  I can't say we were best friends, but I did play Bunko with her every month last year.  She was full of life, and quite a character.   I pray earnestly that her family will come thorough this OK.  It makes you realize that tomorrow is not guaranteed.  That we can plan for the future, but must live and love for today.

A Dedication....

I recently made a friend.  She has a blog.  She is funny and she writes well.  She has inspired me to share thoughts and inspiration here as well.  Funny how there are some people you meet.  You instantly like them, know you will be friends because of some common interests/life situations.  And then they surprise you with some inner depth, a connection that goes deeper than you expected.  And you are filled with joy that even at 39, you can make new friends, that you can laugh with them about the things that make you cringe, and that life is full of unexpected blessings!  So, my friend, this is for you.  You know who you are!!!!