The Grinch Who Stole Christmas

As you all probably know, ABC played "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" last night on television. At the start of the show Aidan got off of the couch and went wild dancing and just cracked us up. The video is not that great because it was taken with Paul's cell phone, but you'll get the idea.

Preparing My Heart

Paul just left for a business trip and Aidan is at school. Even though Advent doesn't truly begin for another couple of days, I am making a point to give myself at least 10 minutes of silence each day this season. I am doing this as my advent gift to myself. I am doing this to truly savor the season. I am doing this for my own sanity.

This week I find myself holding on to the Thanksgiving holiday and gaining excitement for the upcoming Christmas season. I am making a promise to myself to prepare my heart for the advent season. I am cherishing this moment of silence and am thinking about the many things I have to be thankful for.

May you be truly full of thanksgiving...I know I am. In a kinda stream of consciousness sort of way.

For my hubby,
my child,
my extended family,
my neighborhood,
my parish,
for education,
the school my child attends,
and all of his teachers,
our work,
our recreation,
our dog,
our home,
our cars,
our favorite books,
our plants,
oil in the burner,
gas in the tanks,
food in the pantry,
our porch,
our friends,
Aidan’s sports teams,
the warm clothes on our backs,
the memories of sweet vacations,
the changing seasons,
beaches,
decent wine,
decadent desserts,
bagels,
good beans to grind for my coffee,
talk radio,
meaningful music,
a nearby parking space when it's raining,
finding money in a pocket,
a handwritten letter in the mail,
reading a good book,
finishing a task,
breathing easier after a check-up,
for blog comments,
hair-coloring,
a compliment,
unexpected surprises,
for fast shipping,
for free shipping,
dark chocolate,
raspberries,
ok, chocolate raspberry anything,
fires in the fireplace,
dinner on the grill,
birds at the feeder,
company on long drives,
a clean room,
a down comforter,
losing a few pounds,
lifting someone's spirits,
walking outside,
for Advil, and allergy drugs,
for doctors on call,
for quick recoveries,
for safe travel,
for forgiveness and second chances,
for gifts given and those received,
for police and fire and EMS personnel who work on holidays,
for our faithful military,
for our constitutional freedoms,
for the chance to try again,
for answered prayers,
for Jesus, Mary, the saints, the Church, the Sacraments.

Moving Along

Thanksgiving has come and gone. I can hardly believe it. The weekend was very relaxing. Aidan and I made different types of candy on Wednesday. Thursday, we celebrated Thanksgiving with my family at my uncle's home with lot of great food and an abundance of love. Black Friday is always a great time. I wasn't in the market for much, but I always love to go out anyway. It is the thrill of the hunt that draws me in every year. Saturday we spent the entire day at Paul's parents home. His younger sisters were in town for the holiday so we got to spend some quality time playing Wii and chit chatting. Sunday, we put our Christmas tree/decorations up.

Now that our Christmas decorations are up, I am so ready for the advent season. I have already started on a good note. Typically, I make it a point to get our Christmas cards out the day after Thanksgiving. Needless to say, I haven't even decided on or taken a picture for the card yet. And you know what? I"m not worried. I plan to fully embrace this advent season. I'm focusing on my time with Paul and Aidan. I don't want each and every night to be filled with a laundry list of things that need to get done in order to make the holiday a success. Afterall, there will always be things that need to be done. And they will get done.....eventually. And if they don't, our Christmas will be fabulous anyway.

Aidan is in the shower right now, which is why I am taking a second to update this blog. As soon as he is out, we'll be reading the next chapter of "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" that we started last night. In fact, I think I just heard the shower turn off, so I must go now.

I just thought I'd do a quick update to let everyone know we are still here and that I haven't forgotten (totally) about this blog.

Until next time.....