3 days left

I am so excited for Christmas this year. My son is old enough to be able to do it up right. He can open his own presents and get excited about them. Its not just about the boxes and paper this year. In fact, we have all the presents wrapped already and he is certain that they are all for him. Lets hope he isn't too bummed when reailty hits. I am getting excited about holiday parties, ornament exchanges and Christmas morning breakfast. I never got to open any presents on Christmas Eve and I always wanted to. So... I am living vicariously through Luke and letting him rip into an early present.

What I am most excited about is getting to see friends and family. I truly love being with my family. Not just out of obligation, but out of genuine fondness for their company. How many people can honestly say that? I feel so blessed. And I just came back from a Christmas with friends that was so fun and amazing. There is just so much to be happy about that it makes the other stuff just seem less important. All the stresses and dilemmas and otherwise negative things just get put into perspective when you think about the people and love in your life. Anyway, I am getting ready to give and receive and we are moving our candy cane through the days of the advent calendar. We even have a paper chain that we use to count down the days. We don't mess around. We count down twice so that we are completely sure we have the right day. The spirit of Scrooge tried to get us down today because the lights on our pre-lit Christmas tree quit working, my mom has a bad cold and I nearly broke my leg today (it was no where near that actually). But we are rising to the challenge and remembering what is important.

Good night dear friends. In case I don't post again before the big day... MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! May yours be filled with laughter, love and the Lord.

Leslie