Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone. I did get my Christmas project done and will probably post pictures on Christmas evening. I'm so excited to finally share it!

I have 2 gifts left to wrap and then I am completely done with all Christmas preparations. I got an earlier start than usual this year, and stayed on task better than usual. Even when I do get an early start, I usually end up fighting the crowds on the 23rd for those last few things that I've procrastinated about. I'm looking forward to a much more relaxing holiday as a result.

Now if I could just get this house clean...

In the meantime, my husband's birthday is today and I'm just telling you it's no fun having a birthday a couple of days before Christmas. I can't count the number of years I've forgotten until the last minute & had to steal out one of his Christmas gifts for a birthday gift. His cousin called me yesterday saying we never did anything for his birthday and could we do something this year. So, with 2 days notice, I'm planning a small birthday party for him. It's a good thing is very favorite food in the world is hamburgers - I'm not sure I could do much else on such short notice. It's also pretty amazing that everyone we want to be there is free for the evening. Including a very dear to him old friend that he hasn't been in touch with lately. He doesn't know anything about the party yet, but I'm not sure I can manage keeping the whole thing under wraps - how do I hide 5 pounds of ground beef with all the trimmings, and keep him from noticing my preparations when there's no one available to get him out of the house? So I'm sure I'll tell him, but I'm keeping the old friend a secret. I'm looking forward to the look on his face when he sees him again.

I'm trying not to let recent events dampen our celebrations, but I have to admit to having my mind on that more than Christmas lately. I tend to internalize my thoughts & feelings somewhat, but even if I did want to voice them, there seem to be no words. What do you say? That it's unbearably sad? That it's scary? While true, those words are so incredibly inadequate. I wonder if that's why the gun control debate has taken center stage so quickly. It's so much easier to think about and talk about that. I just keep reminding myself that I'm not doing that community any good by not enjoying my own celebrations. In fact, enjoying my daughter more is probably the best thing I can do. That and pray for those families. They will certainly need God's grace to achieve any semblance of normality, really at any point in the future. I imagine the loss will be as great in 5 years as it is now.