Ready For Christmas

So sorry I've been AWOL for a week. Let's just say I've been a little busy. Among the pre-Christmas activities with which I have involved myself (few of which, please note, actually involve anything in preparation for Christmas):

• We survived the Birthday Party Extravaganza.
• The very next day, we spent several hours in the ER after an unfortunate encounter between a grocery cart and Princess G, supervised (and I use the term loosely) by her dad. (Mental note: don't ever get into a fight with a grocery cart around Christmas. They're tired, they're cold and they're angry.) The good news is there were no broken bones in the foot that got caught and dragged underneath the cart, and she will be okay. The bad news is the poor thing is just now able to haltingly walk again and won't be wearing shoes for a while yet. On a related note, the King is now hoping one of my readers is willing to donate an air mattress to put in our garage and improve his current sleeping conditions. He isn't quite able to stretch out completely in his car and is now unable to turn his head due to the crick in his neck. (Heh heh, snicker, snicker...I mean, poor man.)
• Due to her accident, Princess G was of course home from preschool (it's only two days a week, but I'm in the office when she's there, so when she's not there, it's kind of an issue) so I did the mad scramble to juggle the princess/work/meetings/deadlines, yada yada.
• It was the last week of dance and gymnastics lessons and school for Princess E, so we had to knock out all those teacher gifts, which of course this year involved me making fudge and brownies for all of them. My initial thinking was that this was a low-cost method of gift-giving in a time when cutting back is a universally good idea. But of course, I neglected to remember that God has a sense of humor and likes to remind me of it at the most opportune moments, like when I'm thinking I have any business trying to channel my inner Paula Deen. I'm laughing on the inside. Truly I am.
• But wait, we're not done. Next, the King is offered and accepts a new job. Great news, right? Well, yes, technically it's great. But there's more to this drama that I'll have to wait a little longer to share with y'all. Let's just say this decision involved several late-night, ahem, discussions.

Just when we think we've finally reached the safety of a quiet weekend, the rug is pulled out from under us. Aunt Sharon succumbed to her short but brutal bout with cancer Friday afternoon. We were grateful to have several weeks more with her than the doctors thought we'd have. She's with Jesus now and no longer in pain, and we are so, so grateful for that knowledge, but we miss her, and we mourn our loss.

So, we're limping in body and spirit, but we're making it through. We're snuggling down together, huddling for warmth in these frigid temperatures. (Side note: someone please tell me where Al Gore is hanging out these days so I can track him down and slap that man silly. Global warming, my cold, goose-pimpled tush.) Tomorrow we're planning to sit Princess G on the kitchen counter (with the Queen supervising!) and make lots of fattening cookies, cobbler (wish me luck, Amber!) and fudge. Then I'm on the TiVo hunt to find and watch all my favorite Christmas movies I haven't seen yet, "Christmas Vacation" being top of the list. ('Cause there is nothing funnier than Chevy Chase and a crazed squirrel attack at the holidays, and I need me some funny right about now.)

Y'all stay warm and knock back a hot cocoa or two. And be on the lookout for a cookie-baking report that hopefully won't involve the fire department or emergency surgery.