Merry Christmas

Ready or not, Christmas came and it has been a nice, enjoyable day. Last Christmas I wrote notes to myself about how I was going to do things this year so it would be a more relaxed, less-stressful Christmas season. If anything, this year was even worse.

I began December by getting bronchitis and spending the month trying to drag myself around and keep up with the bare minimum. I missed the ward party, enrichment night and my niece Shelby’s wedding because of not feeling good.

I told myself to have our Christmas cards already to go out by Thanksgiving. Didn’t happen. I was lucky to get them in the mail by 4:00 yesterday (Christmas eve). Mike ended up writing the letter this year and I think he now has a new job

I made suitcases for all of my grandkids this year. (I made them for their mothers when they were little and we took a trip to Alaska and they have been wanting me to make them for quite awhile. I think Marisa wanted them for their trips back home from Idaho and that didn’t happen either.) Anyway, I was going to have them done a month ago. I finally finished those up at 11:00 p.m. on the 23rd.

Now that they have suitcases, we are going to have to take everyone on a little trip.

I try to make each grandchild a Christmas pillow case when they are old enough to start using a pillow. McCall’s got finished at 11:30 p.m. on the 23rd just as soon as I finished the suitcases.

Poem that goes with:

December the first starts a magical time,

With all sorts of colors, ribbons and rhyme...

Sugar plum fairies will dance in your head...

If you put this special pillocase on your bed,

The reason it's special, as you will soon see

Is that it's been dusted with Christmas fantasy!

Visions of candy canes, Santa and treasures

Will fill each dream with sweetness and pleasures.

When the time comes for it to be washed,

Do it quickly so no magic is lost.

I made a note to myself to not deliver neighbor’s gifts any later than the 2nd weekend. Ha ha, the neighbors were lucky to get gifts. In fact not all of them did. Some of them got store-bought candy and some finally did get a bowl of popcorn, but not until the 23rd or 24th. It was good popcorn though, (thanks to Angie Chappell for her recipe) or at least I hope it was by the time I forgot to put the vanilla in several batches. I have discovered that I am no longer so good at multi-tasking.

I had to recruit McKade and McKenna to wrap my presents because that was undone at the last minute. But you know what, it might not have been how I planned, but that worked out ok too.

I was very sad to not have Merridee and Ben with us for Christmas Eve. It is our very first year without our entire family. Merridee was going to have to work at Primary Children’s Hospital on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The best surprise I received all day was when Merridee called this morning at 7:00 and said they were on their way home. The hospital had called and she didn’t have to work.

Even though this didn’t turn to be the relaxed, stress-free Christmas season I was hoping for, today we have everything that matters, our family and our faith in Jesus Christ, so it has been a great day!