It feels like I just finished writing a post but as it turns out, it's been two weeks. Things with us are busy but good. I can't remember a Christmas season that I have enjoyed more or embraced more enthusiastically than this one. I decided that every weekend between Thanksgiving and Christmas we would do at least on christmasy thing and I am happy to report that I met my goal. It began with Thanksgiving weekend when we went to a Christmas tree festival put on in a local town with proceeds going to the town's historical society. It was held inside an office park and there were hundreds of trees decorated by local businesses and schools and each had a different theme and you could buy raffle tickets to try to win one. Sadly, we didn't win but it was an awful lot of fun. The second weekend we went with my parents to the enchanted village. When I was a kid one of the department stores in Boston had this set up every year and it was a must see for our family. The department store got sold and eventually the display was sold to the city of Boston but they stopped displaying it due to budget cuts. Last year a large furniture chain in our area bought it and refurbished it and it brought back so many happy memories. The best part is that it was free. They also had fake snow that sprayed every few minutes and that was by far Grace's favorite part. Weekend three was going to our local zoo for their annual Christmas lights display. The culmination of our holiday weekend frivolities was yesterday. Family friends live in a town that has a small Christmas parade. It's mostly fire trucks and large trucks with Christmas lights on them but they throw candies and beads for the kids to pick up. Grace LOVED this. She kept waving to all the trucks and was yelling and laughing. It was so much fun to watch her.
So I'm happy to report that all my Christmas shopping is done, packages are wrapped and boxes that needed to be shipped were mailed. I'm on a roll. After Wednesday I will be off until January 3rd and I am REALLY looking forward to the extra time with Grace. We have some fun visits with family and friends planned but we also have lots of down time which I know we both can use.
I am really looking forward to Christmas. Last year we were both in a bit of a fog as we had only been home a couple of weeks. Last year Grace was only 8 months old and she liked the wrapping paper better than the presents. I'm hoping that this year she'll be a little more interested in the presents. Can't wait to see what Santa brings her but rest assured that there will be pictures. I had been having camera problems as my camera decided that the batteries should be changed after every 30 pictures. As luck would have it, my brother-in-law won a new camera at his work Christmas party and since they didn't need it, they gave it to me. Yes, I'm lucky and yes, he is very generous.
I can't help but feel especially grateful this time of year for all that I do have. I can often get caught up in the things that don't go smoothly in life but when it comes down to it I am blessed. Blessed to have two amazing sisters who are my very best friends and who are two of the best mothers I have ever come across. Blessed to have the sweetest nieces and nephews who I love like my own children. Blessed to have had a wonderful mother who ingrained so many things in me and taught me lessons that I didn't know were lessons at the time. I miss her every day but am grateful for the time I had with her. Blessed to have my daddy and my step-mom Judi. Such great supports and fabulous grandparents who Grace adores. Blessed to have two of the best brother-in-laws that a gal could ask for. Either one of them would drop anything for Grace and I if we needed them. Blessed to have a family of friends that have embraced Grace and I and have loved us with everything they have. And we love them the same way. Blessed to have a comfortable little home and enough to cover our needs and a little of our wants. Blessed to be the mother of the delightful little girl who sleeps in the bedroom next to mine. She greets me every morning with a smile that says, hey mommy, glad to see you, I've been waiting to see you! I am so lucky to have her in my life and so lucky to have her to love.
