I wish this was a sweet post about the Lord, but instead it's about the beginning and the end of my Christmas shopping experience... all of which happened today.
Last night, I sent an email to my good friend Kelly, who is also an exceptional mama and planner. I knew I'd get a nice little rise out of her when I told her that I had not yet bought a single gift for my kids or my husband. Sure, I sent some stuff to a few extended family members and I bought Lauren a purse before she left, but I hadn't even begun to shop for the most important ones.
Well - it's done. And I must say, we did it pretty concisely. Nick and I took the kids this morning and split up to shop for one another, then came together to shop for them. And... I'm pretty pleased with the results!
One note on shopping with your kids though... I thought ours were too young to remember, so it would be ok to let them go with us. Nick even semi-hid the gifts on top of the china cabinet so they wouldn't try to get in them. But sure enough during dinner, Elias started yelling "tar!tar!" because he could see his guitar box on the china cabinet! There wasn't even a picture from his point of view, he just saw the box and started yelling! So much for Christmas shopping with your two year old.
Anyhow - the shopping is all done & we may have payed a small price. The kids got no naps and now I've been in bed feeling flu-like for the past two hours. I can't tell if I'm really sick or homesick, or both mixed. Either way - it's time for me to pull it together because this year I'm the mama. Presents won't get wrapped if I don't do it, Christmas pajamas won't get worn if I don't get my butt to Fred Meyer tomorrow to buy them, the sausage & egg casserole won't get eaten if I don't make it. I want to do it all right - not beautiful & tidy, but warm and Christ-honoring. I'm overwhelmed and excited about the prospect of a Christmas with just our family - now, I just have to make it happen:).
6 comments:
I have heard of people catching the flu...I hope home-sickness is not contagious.
I had fun with you today. You did a good job. You are an amazing mom and do not worry about the gifts at all.
I love you.
Oh my friend I completely understand. This is the first Christmas where I too play the sole role of Momma. We don't have either of our moms here to cook, make the cookies or any of that good stuff. It's weird. I'm pretty home sick too. I will be thinking of you on Christmas and knowing you are feeling much like I am. Merry Christmas I know you will make it a great first one away from family. :)
I will be praying for this malady.
And, welcome to the special club of wrapping til after midnight on Christmas eve, then throwing together the breakfast casserole so that it seems effortless the next morning.:)
Just remember to steal some snuggle time with the hubby in between wrapping and cooking so that it becomes a tradition for him too!
I totally under-estimated Wes' memory when it comes to remembering toys. I took him shopping with me, to see what he was interested in and I put the toys up on a shelf when we got home instead of putting them away and he TOTALLY knows where they are. The 2's are fun. They are really becoming smart little people!
I made the mistake of leaving out an Elmo DVD that I was going to wrap for the girls - Kanah saw it, began yelling "Melmo! Melmo!" and when I went to hide it again she flipped out. My fault. Not a pretty scene. We're looking forward to seeing you guys on Christmas!
Good luck doing it all! It will be wonderful and you'll have great memories! Your kids are lucky to have such an awesome mama!
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