it's beginning to look a lot like christmas....

We are watching, "How The Grinch Stole Christmas". It is cozy and warm in here. Aaron came for a visit...

I was glad to have some Christmas cookies to put on a plate...

Yeah, I know the tree is tilting. I don't think it will fall. I hope not.

Today, Suzanne went out and about...we stopped in Target first, to return all those glitches. The lady at Customer Service teased me a little, said I shouldn't be allowed near computers. I told her that when one of my kids asked me if I told Dad about it yet, I asked, "If you were me, would you tell Dad?" The lady said she certainly wouldn't tell Dad. Her own husband is a computer whiz too, so she would get about as much understanding as I got, because I did tell "Dad". He just shook his head, and asked me if I was going to return it all.

So with a few hundred dollars credited back to our bank account, I set out to help Suze shop for her Secret Santa gift. She had to get a child's gift first for our S.S. at church. Then we went to a different store and found the gift for her family S.S. Then to the grocery store for bananas and apples and cat food and green peppers and tortilla chips.

Then to the post office to mail a few boxes....Samuel James is going to be getting some cookies soon!!!

I baked and baked....then frosted and frosted. Saturday I mixed up a triple batch of cut-out sugar cookie dough...put it in the fridge, and made a batch of molasses cookies, and baked them.

I made a double batch of chocolate snowball dough yesterday, then headed into my room with Sonja to wrap presents. I am almost done! We baked cookies, batch after batch...then frosted them all.

I partly hate Christmas. It's hard to explain, but I feel like I just don't do anything right. Paul and I have different opinions about what is an appropriate amount of gifts, he always thinks I buy too many, and I think of each child, and never feel like I have gotten enough. But when I mentioned in a half-joking way the other night, that I hate Christmas, Kathryn told me I can't just do that. I have to think of the little kids. She said I said that to her recently. Oh, when the shoe is on the other foot...when normally optimistic me starts feeling blah about things and am encouraged by one of the teenagers...oh it is interesting. She is right, of course. Poor me. I do not want to wallow. She is right, I need to just get over it. It's just that as Mom, I do most of the Christmas-y work. The shopping and wrapping and planning and baking....so of course anything less than a standing ovation is not appreciated. ha. A little bit of criticism goes a long ways sometimes, but it is up to me if I let myself get all bitter and dark about stuff.

And so, I choose to practice what I preach.

The kids are going ice skating with the youth group, and have to eat dinner early, so off I go to get some taco salad started....