The stocking are stuffed (and hidden) the gifts are all wrapped and under the tree, we don't do Santa, I didn't grown up with him,(however, if you do I don't think your evil) it's just a choice. I've never said anything either way about him but Presbyboy seems to have gathered from a mix of Mickey Mouse clubhouse and the church nursery that there is a Santa that will bring him gifts, however since the mailman brings us boxes he seems to think that the postman will be bring him his gifts on Christmas Day and has mercifully left the gifts alone. He also knows that the mail man comes at noon and is usually waiting by the door for him...I will have some explaining to do on Christmas morning.

This is a busy week in clergy households but regular church work also goes on, people are dying, sick and often down. What is joy and wonder for children is often a reminder of the aged or lonely that they are alone again with no one to celebrate with. For the young couple who have been trying to have a baby for years , that again there is no third person in their family. Do you know someone who won't have a Christmas? Could you invite them to share yours? Christianity is a lot more then dropping off a gift in a collection box or throwing some coins in a kettle. It's almost always outside your comfort zone and it always has the highest rewards.

I have been so bad about blogging, I LOVE to read blogs but lately getting inspired to write anything has been hard. We are encased in the snow castle again, ahh the joys of living on the US/CANADA border.
All the Christmas gifts are under the tree or in boxes waiting to be mailed. Grandpa ended up sending me a check to buy all his gifts so there are a LOT more then usual. I was going between maybe taking a weekend trip with the money or buying gifts and decided to go with the gifts. Presbyboy is outgrowing all his clothes he's going into size 5T I buy all the children's clothes at yard sales unless I need something particular but it seems that most high quality boy's clothing stops at this size, little boys are in sizes longer at this age and are very hard on pants so Presbyboy is getting brand new clothes for Christmas., along with his usual Train beginnings. Presbybaby is hard to shop for, she's not into dolls but of course wants brother's trains, well I'm not buying a 17 month old girl trains! I made her a quilt that I started a long time ago...like before her birth and a few Melissa and Doug toys.

People keep asking me what I want and the truth is not a thing! That's the trouble when you grow up and can buy yourself stuff. I don't really need another Yankee candle, though they are very nice, what I'd like most is my house cleaned by a person that not me and meraciously organized so that I know where everything is but I wasn't the person who organised everything to start with. Not sure thats going to happen!

Good Deals

I have been looking for a small indoor trampoline, the size a 16 month old and an almost 4 year old could use during the winter, the Mc Donald's near us has one and they both love it, well,it was going to be their "big gift" I wanted one with a handle too, they all seemed to be $75-$150 plus shipping...sometimes "additional heavy item shipping" well I found one online at J.C.Penny for $29.99 that includes free shipping with the code JOY2UNME since I am spending at least $25!!! Sweet! At such a good price they may be getting more under the tree. It looks similar to this., (if you type in "trampoline" it shows up)

Sunday it started with Presbybaby running a fever...then Monday Presbyboy and I woke up sneezing. Today I sent my Mom into Walgreen's to get some Sudafed, the real kind of Sudafed that works and comes in the little red pill, she not only had to sign something but also give them her ID, all for some cold medicine, yes, I do realize that people can make bad things out of it....then I started to wonder If I had sent her in for the morning after pill (which is now legal without a prescription in my state) would they have made as much of a fuss?

Christmas Photo Time

(note: not a photo of ours)

Tomorrow is Christmas photo day, I got a flyer from the newest Photo taking place advertising a 9.99 package. I told them that I would most likely be buying just the package, they informed me that I need to bring 2 sets of clothes for each participant and plan on 1 1/2 hours....I again informed them that I will only be buying the advertised package and she said that they HAVE to take a certain amount of photos. I guess I will play along, usually one of the kids has a melt down and thus ends the photo trauma.

The Lilly of the Valley

A Pastor's wife is like a Lilly
Some churches will pour fertilizer on her,
encouraging her to reach her full potential
other churches will treat her as a weed,

dousing her with insecticide and

clipping her plumage till only her roots remain,

regardless of what church shes in

she must learn to bloom where God plants her.

-MrsReveredDr

Living for Eternity but not for Today

Things I have been pondering about lately...My Grandmas were both from HUGE families one from a family of 10 and one from a family of 16. Yet they both only had 2 children themselves. The Grandma I was closest to miscarried twins, she would often talk about getting to met them in heaven. She said that that experience had scared her and she was afraid to have anymore....in her 80's she often wished she had tried again. I think of my huge extended family and often wonder if birth control had been available and socially acceptable, would my Great Grannies have stopped at 2? I wouldn't be here, my Grandmas would have never been born etc. you get the idea.
Both my Great Grand parents were taken care of (into their 90's) by their children in their own homes, when you have 16 children the burden suddenly becomes a light load when there are so many to carry it. When you are a worn out young mother of many small children and you can call a sister or Grandma to help it makes a world of difference, most of the world today isn't set up in the "WALTONS" type of family dynamic. People are more isolated and have ALL of the responsibility on themselves, is this an improvement, were we meant to live within a large family structure? Are we better off then we were in the past?