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

to be honest, i got the after thanksgiving blues...
i got a tummy flu and had to leave during our New Moon date night to puke in those nasty movie theater potties.
uggghhhh....
(i was sick BEFORE we left, but didn't think i had anything left to throw up...  i was wrong.  the professor REALLY wanted to go see the movie since he has read ALL the twilight books.  honestly, he practically dragged me from my sick bed and forced me to watch edward tearing off his shirt-- maybe it's because my edward looks better without a shirt... and, by the way, i still like JACOB better.  yup i do.)

Saturday i had grand plans for garage clean-up and Christmas deco...  and i was sick and crabby.
the professor pulled thru... majorly.  he did the garage by himself with the boys AND got all the Christmas stuff down from the attic. 

i felt better after spending some time in my bed, re-reading this AMAZING book, Finding Peace, Happiness and Joy by Richard G. Scott.  This paragraph just kicked me back where i needed to be...

"Anyone who paints a picture of life as being easy, without challenge, is either dishonest or has not yet encountered the growing experiences that the Lord gives each of His children.  They prepare us for happiness in this life and the blessing of dwelling in His presence eternally...
"To clarify the purpose of growth experiences, Elder Orson F. Whitney wrote: 'No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted.  It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility.  All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God... and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we came here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven."  [p190,  Finding Peace, Happiness and Joy.]

I remembered that some days are hard and long, but LIFE IS GOOD.

A couple of the kids got sick too... but, gratefully, they all puked in their buckets and were happy-sick.
The professor went to church with two, i stayed home with four.  most took naps.  Anna and i spent time crafting...  she made a cute nativity pillow and stitched the word REJOICE on the top, and i started a wall-hanging "jingle all the way".  it was fun to spend time with her.
when the gang awoke and returned from church, we did the tree.
it was magical.

i surprise myself every year with my tree.
you see, part of me thinks i'm a 'pretty tree' type person.
but, i'm not.
and, i don't even look at my totally kid-decorated tree and cringe.
i LOVE it.
i love that half the lights don't work, even though the professor spent HOURS trying to fix them, and even added strings of lights, that later didn't work.
i love the paper colored ornaments the kids have made in school, the broken ornaments...
i love the 20 gingerbread men on the bottom of the tree-- because leah found the bag of gingerbread men that we made when the boys were younger... she spent an hour arranging them at her height all the while singing, "Run, run, you can't catch me!!"

maybe someday, when i'm grown.
when the professor is out of school and i feel like i have a real life...
maybe then i'll have a pretty christmas tree... i don't know.
maybe i'll surprise myself.

i have two pretty nativities.  but, my favorite is the one i let the kids play with because i don't care that it's broken.
i love that they spend all night arranging... with baby Jesus in the center.

it helps me remember to always keep baby Jesus in the center...


ps- i love that leah calls the bells on our tree "tinkerbells"  she even sings "Tinker bells, Tinker bells..."  funny girl.
pps- we roasted chestnuts... in our oven.  just so we could sing about it.

ppps- chestnuts roasting on an open fire... are gross.