Merry Christmas 2010

As Christmas nears, things get a little crazy around here. First, let's start with Advent. I'll describe last night: The kids are starting to get on each other's nerves as they are excited about Christmas but don't want to admit it and their excitement manifests itself in crankiness. Fun. Advent begins with everyone arguing about which candle they get to blow out. Singing evolves into the words of one carol being sung to the tune of another. We all dissolve into laughter but, you know, some of the songs don't sound too bad with a new tune. And don't forget that "We Three Kings" has more than one version, which Alec has relished singing and acting out. Spare me. When the candles are finally blown out, we all sit in the dark and try to be silent, all the while trying to make someone else make a sound. Stupid, I know, but these are kids, remember. It's usually all in fun but not always. All in all, I've been trying to keep the kids busy to make the time go by quicker. When bickering erupts, you just deal with it and, if necessary, threaten to remove all the gifts. But things are mostly calm and we are having fun.

I spent most of Tuesday getting all the Christmas cards sent out. We took a Christmas photo in the morning (for which I threatened Carmen with great punishment if she caused any trouble!) and Todd put it onto the newsletter I'd typed out a few days before. Chad helped with stamps and Alec & Carmen helped by not bothering me all afternoon (bless them). Tonight, I happened to re-read the newsletter ... finding two errors in the last paragraph. Big, big, sigh. You know how much I hate typos; at least the errors just involve spacing and an extra "a". Still. Grrr. The photo looks good, though.

We received a gift of fruit and candy from a company in Texas. The label had our names but did not say who it was from. I assumed it was from my sister who lived in Texas until last month, since she usually sends us gifts from there. However, today it dawned on me if may have been from my oldest sister (I have my reasons for believing this). The only issue is that I've already sent a thank you to my used-to-be Texan sister. Oops. My Mom will be seeing sister oldest tomorrow and is willing to help me in this matter. Little sigh.

A few years ago, I sent one of my sisters a gift of a specialty popcorn. The company ran out of that particular gift and sent her 2 pears instead (it was in the same price range). They gave her no explanation nor did they notify me of the switch. My sisters and Mom all pondered the meaning of me sending 2 pears to my sister and her family. Finally, my oldest sister had the guts to call me and delicately ask if I had sent pears. Apparently, they thought I was playing a mean joke or something. Stupid, right? I mean, why didn't the sister who received the gift just call and thank me for the pears. If she had done that, I could have contacted the company for an explanation. After finding out from my oldest sister, I did contact the company and they sent the other sister the correct gift, at no extra cost, with an explanation. Of course, my sister never, ever thanked me for either gift. You know what, I didn't send her a gift this year (I have my reasons, other than this.)

What is funnier still is that my husband's Dad sent us a thank you right after that, saying that they were enjoying the pears! We had sent them a gift from the same company, however, this gift was a bit larger and we are pretty certain it was the right gift. Still, my heart stopped for just a second when I read that note.

O.k., back to the present. I've gotten all my baking done, the dishes are done and I'm off to shower and bed. Todd is working but has the next two nights off. Praise the Lord!

I wish you all a Merry Christmas! God bless you wherever you are!