Christmas Eve Eve Quick Takes

Hello, World! Man, I've missed you, but it's been so crazy I've barely had time to shower. (Oh, wait... I still haven't showered yet today!) Here's my attempt at catching up a bit.

1. DH's JOB IS SAFE!!!! (If there is anyone out there in the world who reads my blog and didn't know that, I so deeply apologize!) After getting the good news last Wednesday, I collapsed into a restless, but much needed sleep, only to awake on Thursday to realize that Christmas was in one week, we were hosting 75-100 people for our Annual Open House on Saturday, and I had no cookies left, no groceries bought, no real accounting of what gifts I had and what still remained to be bought (the downside of finishing nearly all my shopping before Advent). I panicked. I admit it. It happens to the best of us. Heck, even Karen panicked! But that explains my week long absence, in part at least.

   
   

2. The Christmas Letter is coming... it is, I promise. It's written and printed. Now, I just need to address the envelopes and jot the little personal notes on about half of them. It will get done. After all, Christmas hasn't even started yet... I still have 2 whole days til Christmas starts. (Yeah, that's right... that's my answer this year... you'll get your Christmas letter during Christmas, not Advent!)

   
   

3. Here is an Amazing Homily Reflection on Motherhood that my dear friend delivered at mass on Sunday. If you have a few minutes, please pop over and take a listen. I promise it will change the way you look at pregnancy, motherhood, and the consecration. If you are a Catholic/Christian mother (or you know a Catholic/Christian mother), it is a must-listen.

4. Our Annual Open House was a BLAST!!!! It started about 2 pm and didn't wind up until 11pm. We had over 100 people stop by. The kids were moving in packs. It was a crazy, chaotic, friend-and-blessing-filled day. We didn't get a chance to do any clean-up on Saturday night, and we had to get out to mass by 8:10 on Sunday morning. I exclaimed when we rushed downstairs on Sunday morning that this must be what a frat house looks like on Sunday mornings. My husband, the former fraternity president, replied, "Wouldn't know what it looked like at 8am, but this is pretty much how it looked when we got up around 2pm."

   
   

5. My parents and niece are here. They arrived safe and sound yesterday evening, to the great excitment of my kids. It was especially nice last night to get to celebrate my mom's birthday with her. We haven't been together for her birthday for 4 years. (Well, technically, her birthday was Sunday, but this was close enough for us!)

6. I can't believe LilBro will be 3 in less than one week. I keep snuggling him close, and thinking about how worried I was three years ago, that he would surprise us in the next few days, and I would miss Christmas at home with BigBro and Princess. He didn't. He stayed all snuggly and warm inside me until the 29th, when he slipped out of my abdomen and into my arms in just under 10 minutes. I can't seem to figure out how three years evaporated so quickly!