The Little Things...

I was getting ready to drive Carissa to school today and Jocelyn was quickly getting dressed and ready to go...usually she stays home with Joe until I get back, but this morning she said to me, "Mommy, I want to go with you because I love you!" At first I couldn't figure out why on earth she wanted to go on her "day off" from school, but it is wonderful to know that she wants to go JUST because she loves me.

Tonight we have our last Daisy Scouts meeting until after the first of the year, the church play practice tonight, and then (hopefully) and early bedtime! The girls were EXHAUSTED last night after school, dance, and play practice...then Wednesday is the last Family Church Night, Thursday is Carissa's school music program, and then the weekend is upon us! All of the shopping is done, waiting on it to be delivered, then wrapped, and loaded in the van and ready to go to Lincoln on the night of Christmas Eve! AND to top it all off, we get to see our new niece/cousin for the 1st time this Christmas!!!!!

Have a great week everyone!

Smells...

The best smell to me this time of year is the smell of a Christmas tree. I have enjoyed this year's tree because it is has a strong evergreen smell that I can smell clear into the kitchen! It's been wonderful...I know I could just buy candles that smell like evergreen, but for some reason a tree smells SO much better!

Today, I have accomplished something...well, a few somethings. To some of you this may seem like a very small thing, but I have both bathrooms cleaned~top to bottom! The smell of nice clean bathrooms, showers, and all equipment involved is a HUGE task for me...I'm not gonna lie, I've usually just used the Lysol wipes and quickly cleaned the toilet and moved on to the next task at hand...I know this is probably not the right way to clean/disinfect a bathroom, but time is of the essence some days!

Also, I have gotten laundry going and SERIOUSLY determined to get it all done today/tomorrow morning...the girls have dance and play practice tonight, so we will not be home too much this evening. I am helping with costumes tonight, but no scenes for me! The girls are angels this year...they've wanted to be for some time and are really looking forward to it all. They are in the opening scene, so I'm hoping for a quick exit and entrance...and then get them home and in bed. None of us seem to be sleeping well lately, so I'm hoping for a few early evenings this week. Gotta lot of stuff going on in the next 10 days and I want to have a healthy family for the holidays...

The only trip I have this week is a quick trip to Lincoln for a Dr. appointment and stopping in Decatur at Kohl's to spend my "Kohl's Cash" on the girls for Christmas outfits! Finished all my shopping online on Saturday and I am happy to say I did all Christmas shopping for about 1/2 of what I usually spend~really cutting back this year and hoping that the girls are happy with their gifts this year!

Christmas...

Today we went out to Oak Terrace Resort for "Breakfast with Santa" with the girls and my parents. The girls were so excited about going out there, but I realized that they were most excited about was making the picture frames for their pictures with Santa! They made those right away and then visited with Santa...Carissa explained to him what she wanted for Christmas and Jocelyn explained, in detail, what she wanted also...

Grandma and Papa had fun watching and visiting with them...then they (Mom and Dad) headed up to Elgin to see my brother, sister-in-law and niece...so, we headed home and have really taken it easy today. Christmas gets so hectic sometimes it's tough to just relax. So, today we have done what we've wanted, when we've wanted, and how quickly/slowly we've wanted. Overall, a nice Saturday! Next week starts the "busyness" of the Christmas season...we pretty much have something going on each and every day/evening! I know it gets like this for most people, but I look forward to it all--school activities, church activities/programs, family visits, and so on...

Enjoy the season...BUT, remember to whom we owe our gratitude.

New Pediatrician

Jocelyn and I took a quick drive to Taylorville to see a new doctor...Dr. Kallada. Jocelyn has been fighting a losing battle with a cough and runny nose for about 2 1/2 weeks, so we took the opportunity to visit this new doctor. I have to admit, she spent a good amount of time with us, explained what the plan of action would be, and I feel good about it!
So, now we are home for a lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches...Joe is away for class all day and Carissa took a packed lunch, so we are really living it up! Spending some time at home before going to pick up Carissa.
"Elf on the Shelf" was named Sprocket...he has helped out some days and other days I think they are testing his "power" but overall we are working on behaviors and responsibilities with the girls. I know they can do things to help out around the house, just can't help together...
Daisy Scouts meeting for leaders and co-leaders tonight and then a relatively slow-paced weekend which will include a visit with Santa on Saturday out at Oak Terrace! The girls are SO excited!

the Elf on the Shelf

I'm not big into working in the whole Santa topic at Christmas, but I kinda like this idea..."the Elf on the Shelf" is a "bribing" tool for Christmas time...I got the idea from a friend and we are introducing "him" tonight to the girls. We have already instituted a responsibilities/rewards chart for the girls and it has been slow-going, but they are getting the hang of it all.

Overall, life has been going well...of course, there are always little issues, certain types of people, and other things we are faced with in life, ministry, and parenthood. We have been in Pana for about 2 1/2 years and we have faced some good and some bad situations, but we are moving right along and working to be better servants for God. Are there times that I wonder~why minstry? why isn't there the perfect job out there? why aren't people the way I want them to be? why can't I be a better person? what can I do better? But, don't we all have these kinds of questions?

Joe preached on fasting as part of his sermon...I am fasting from something this week, but I don't know if it will work out for me or not...we'll see. I don't know if I'll blog about it, but I know that it's something I have to work on for myself to be a bettter person...a better mom and wife...and most importantly...a better Christian.

First snow this morning...hoping for more later this week!

The weekend

Tonight, we are going to LCU's Christmas in the Chapel. This will be the first time we will see it as an entire family. The girls are finally old enough to sit through a performance (I hope) and then we will be driving back to Pana early Saturday morning...

We have the girls' birthday party at the Taylorville YMCA. They have been SO excited about their party--their SWIM party!

Busy weekend, but looking forward to all of it!