Multitudes on Mondays...#221-230

Thankful (for):

221.  A new Christmas Eve tradition started, that of Marty opening his birthday gift from me (nearing or close to midnight) while the babies are asleep and we can be alone.
222.  Eating like royalty on Christmas Day -- though next year I'm definitely backing off the mimosas in the morning, ha!
223.  Church service on Christmas Eve, closing with candlelight and singing of carols, everyone wearing red and green and white and just feeling the communal warmth and love and excitement.
224.  Getting to hear "The Hallelujah Chorus" in aforementioned church service.
225.  Lovely gifts from my husband -- robe, fuzzy socks, perfume, sweater (my first from Anthropologie, woot!!!), and Agatha Christie's autobiography.
226.  Reading today from aforementioned book this line of remembrance AC had about her mother (my hope is to be a mom like this!):

Something else came to me then, besides the joy of [my bird's] return, the strength of my mother's love and understanding when there was trouble.  In the black abyss of misery, holding tight to her hand had been the one comfort.  There was something magnetic and healing in her touch.  In illness there was no one like her.  She could give you her own strength and vitality.

227. A Starbucks gift card from my brother-in-law!
228.  The absolute, unmitigated delight my children experienced opening their presents.  Who needs gifts for yourself when there is a child's joy to partake in???
229.  The fact that the most popular present of the day was a $4 flashlight from Will's stocking.  The runner-up was a $14 play cell phone for Lucy.  Isn't this always true with kids?
230.  The quiet calm of the day after Christmas; getting the chance to start looking forward to a new year and new beginnings.

Holiday Menu

~Christmas Eve~
Dinner

Sausage Party Melts
(a long-ago favorite of my late mother-in-law's)

Spinach, Mushroom, and Red Pepper Strudel

~Christmas Day~
Brunch

French Toast Casserole with Praline Topping
Thick-Sliced Smoked Bacon

Mimosas

Dinner

Prime Rib Roast

Creamy Sea Scallop Bake
Au Gratin Potatoes

Crisp Green Salad

Dessert

Sugar Cookies with a toast of Bailey's for the grown-ups



Three Years of Santa Visits

Marty and I are *still* laughing about our visit with Santa today.  Check out the montage:

Year 1:  Happiness!  Santa is great!

Year 2:  Dodged a bullet with a sleeping Lucy, bribed Will with a sucker.  Decent shot.

Year 3:  The Santa visit which will live in infamy.

Now *that* is Christmas awesomeness, y'all! 

Multitudes on Mondays...#211-220

Thankful (for):

211.  Visits from my parents, even when they're too short. 
212.  Tylenol suppositories for little ones who are burning up with fever and can't keep oral medicine down.
213.  Big Christmas gifts for my kids from their Nana and PaPa -- a pink and white "tea" table for Lucy, an art easel/table for Will.
214.  The relationships that my kids have with their grandparents -- my poor Lucy was miserable most of the weekend but was clearly enjoying snuggle time with her PaPa; Will kept coming into the kitchen ("Nana, [where] are you?") for hugs and kisses from his Nana.
215.  A recipe for "Creamy Scallop Bake" that I copied out of Paula Deen's new Southern Cookbook Bible -- a present for my mom.  I adore sea scallops, so a Happy Christmas to me, to me!
216.  The quietness and calm of getting back into routine on Monday morning.
217.  Not one, but TWO coupons for Shutterfly.com -- thus a chance to get our Christmas cards ordered and shipped here in time to get them out and arrived at their destinations by Christmas Eve.  (I was totally flailing on this and was in serious doubt I'd get it done, but a couple things came together and I'm so glad I can send out cards!)
218.  TONS of new words from Will -- castle, umbrella, town(!) -- and a few *phrases* too -- "stand up," "big boy," "there you are!"
219.  Finding "The Polar Express" on sale at Target for $7.99 -- a beloved favorite in my family.
220.  Watching my children get caught up in the wonder and magic and beauty of Christmastime!

Multitudes on Mondays...#181-190

Thankful (for):

181.  The wisdom of this quote, which is now written out in large letters and taped to my fridge:  "You have a lifetime to work, but children are only young once."  (~Polish proverb)  Keeping this in mind has changed my attitude so much.  Just today, I was busy doing something when Will came to me with his "Go, Dog, Go!" book, and even though I was tempted to say "Hang on" or "Maybe later", I grabbed his hand and we sat down in an armchair and I read it through with all the fun inflections like I had all day.  Because for my son, I do.  He's growing so fast...
182.  Creative gift-giving.  Marty and I can't afford to do a whole lot for each other this Christmas, but right now he's at Buffalo Wild Wings, settled at the bar with a beer and wings, watching his beloved Saints play Monday Night Football.  Time off from our delightful-but-demanding home life is always a treat, and I'm thrilled that I came up with the idea!
183.  The fact that Marty did a voluntary Starbucks run for me before his game.
184.  For a successful Thanksgiving dinner (my sister and I *rocked* the kitchen, y'all!).
185.  For a lovely visit with Katie and Chris.
186.  For the new kids' winter coats and homemade bread that arrived with my sister from my parents.
187.  That I've finally embarked on a lifelong dream -- to write a book.  I have a whopping 100 words or so written, but I have characters and dialogue and settings and scenes and a PLOT in my head and I'm so excited!
188.  For God's provision.  I just read an article today about the growing use of food stamps among young professionals who are out of work in this terrible economy, and it was a sobering reminder to be so grateful for Marty's job, regardless of its geographical location!
189.  For the upcoming, just-before-Christmas visit from my parents.
190.  For the merriment of planning a fun Christmas Day with my Marty -- we are going to live it up!  Right now, mimosas and French toast are on the breakfast menu, and the dinner menu is featuring a surf-and-turf theme (prime rib and sea scallops, woot!!!).  And we've barely even begun to plan!

On my mind...and no, it's not Georgia

I wanted to create a recurring post theme to capture whatever happens to be swirling around in the ole noggin' on any particular day, and almost went with "Random."  Since so many of my thoughts, both in reality and that which I'll be expressing here, are uber-random anyway, that wasn't sufficient.  So, without further ado, here's what's "On my mind," installment uno:

1. I'm quite late to the party, but tomorrow I'll be starting my own sequence of One Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp's dare to chronicle God's daily gifts.  My dear friend Kate is already 500 or so into her listing, and I always enjoy what she finds in her life to give praise for.  I love this.  Can I dare everyone out there to do the same?
2. Speaking of daring, can I dare everyone I love to start blogs?  My purpose in asking is two-fold:  1) I think it's the best way of keeping up with someone (especially when you live far, far away from everyone you love, like me), and 2) this will get me away from The Social Network some more.  I'm really over Facebook but I keep getting sucked in because I log on to see how my peeps are doing!
3. I keep thinking about getting new shoes.  I don't necessarily *need* new shoes but oh, golly, how'd I love some little red flats with bows, like these?  How cute would those be with dark denim and cardies in the fall?
4. And yes, I confess, I'm thinking about fall.  As a frequent haunter of Hobby Lobby, how could I not be?  Those pumpkin spice candles lure me into the aisle and before I know it, I'm smelling woodsmoke and hearing leaves crunching and curling deeper into a sweater because of that delicious bite to the air...
5. Marty and I are also already talking about Christmas gifts, but that's not because we want to rush headlong toward the season; it's really the only economical way to "do" Christmas well -- spread out the buying as much as possible.  So we logged on to American Girl's website today and saw with dismay (like every other parent) the price tags on the dolls.  We looked through the options and we'll probably end up getting Lucy one of the dolls and then add accessories as she gets older (rather than getting several dolls, because you know, if I could afford that, then I could afford to fly to my private island in the Bahamas to celebrate Christmas).  I think for this Christmas, though, we'll go with one of their Bitty Baby dolls, which are much more reasonably priced.

Well, even though I have much more on my mind, I'm outta time!  Be back tomorrow with lots of gratitude.