Christmas Time

I simply don't know where the time has gone the past couple of weeks. My husband, Chris had his back surgery the day before Thanksgiving (he is doing remarkably well), we enjoyed a nice quiet Thanksgiving here at home, then my older boys and I shopped till we dropped on Black Friday and before we knew it, our 5 day break was over and it was back to the usual routine...only the pace seemed to pick up quite a bit.

Off-season football training, a trip to the American Girl Store, outings with friends, band concerts, winter dance, increased madrigal practice, a couple of episodes of the flu...

As all 6 of us sat down to enjoy dinner together last night, we realized that it was a first in over a week. It was nice to share stories of the weeks events and to enjoy a time of advent celebration before putting the kids to bed. As I then looked over my calendar, I saw that the next two weeks are filled with madrigals, choir concerts, Christmas programs, parties, visits with friends, shopping, baking, volunteering...and more.

My prayer last night was that we make the most of the moments we have together as a family and not loose sight of the real reason for the season in all of our busyness. I wish the same for you and your family during this holiday season. I can't promise that I'll have much time to share projects over the next couple of weeks, so I want to take the time now to wish you and yours a very merry Christmas!

We have a winner!!!

Sorry for the delay in announcing the winner of the blog candy. My daughter, Sarah, was invited to a birthday party at the American Girl Store yesterday. I got to go along and it was quite the adventure. The weather was terrible here in northern Illinois yesterday, with freezing rain, snow, sleet...you name it. It was nasty. We had planned to take the train to Chicago, but the weather slowed us down and we missed it by just a few minutes. We couldn't let the girls down, so we set off for Chicago by van. It took 2 hours to get there, but it was worth it! We had a fantastic time and made it home safe and sound.

I've been in my pjs most of the day, putting the lights on the Christmas tree, wrapping and making gifts and occasionally taxing kids to friend's houses. It's a great day for cocoa and movies and not doing much at all.

I really enjoyed hearing about all of your holdiay traditions! Thanks so much for sharing them! Our random winner is #21...Linda SS!

Linda SS said...
I love to listen to Christmas music, especially Oh Holy Night & any that reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. My favorite tradition is getting together with other family members to make our Italian cookies that we have passed down through the generations.

A wonderful tradition Linda! Drop me an email with your address and I'll get your goodies off to you soon. Thanks to everyone for playing along. Blessings on this first Sunday of Advent!