Santa's Workshop

We are busy, busy, busy. . . . cosy, cosy, cosy!
Doing all the things we love to do!

Baking sugar cookies.
Bill's printing Christmas cards.
Calvin's vacuuming for the arrival of Grandmommy.
Calvin's vacuuming again because the cat hair tumbleweeds blew in from the North Pole.
Reading cards from friends and family, saying of prayer of thanks for each one.
Sending Bill to the post office because I didn't know our square cards take $.20 more to mail and now we have George Washington stamps on the cards with the virgin Mary.
Wrapping presents.
Tying pretty bows.
Thinking of each person as I wrap her gift.
Wiping water and mold off all 50 window in the house because the furnace humidifier malfunctioned and spewed hot water into the house raising us to greenhouse status before we realized.  I knew it was getting progressively more damp in the house, but I thought it was from the October carpet cleaning.  Thursday night when we hit 50% we knew there must be a water source. Bill found the humidifier running stuck full on simultaneously using all the hot water from the hot water heater.  Can't wait to see the bill.  
Dipping pretzels in lovely white chocolate and sprinkling them with nonpareils.
Buying a couple last minute stocking stuffers.  So fun!!!
Lighting a fire in the fireplace.  Bonus: this will help dry the window frames. 
Doing three extra loads of laundry from Mary projectile vomiting last night at tuck-in.  It was one of those chunky ones where it soaks down through the comforter cover and the comforter and the sheet and the mattress pad into the mattress.  You have to scrape it before it can go in the washer. 
Mixing up dough for my favorite Minnesota State Fair wafer cookies with the red and green filling.
Wiping the windows with bleach solution.
Putting together the care package for our babysitter and her husband home from Afghanistan.
Using the same bleach solution to detox the bathroom and laundry where the throw-up scene transpired.
Lighting candles like my mother always did.  Incidentally that helped with the bleach odor.
Calvin vacuuming again as cats walk by.
Listening to Frank Sinatra singing "Baby It's Cold Outside. . . "
Listening to Bill's profanity as the printer jams again and the post office is closing in 12 minutes and he still has three cards left to print.
Practicing for Christmas Eve church services.
My mom is on her way a day late because of the blizzard in Iowa.  She will get here before I can shower.
Saying a prayer of thanks that Mary woke up fine.  When I die I'm gonna get the print out explaining a few things, including why so much vomiting????  I think she gets so excited it just overflows. . .

All in all?  How are things here at Santa's Workshop?
It's all good.
Did I do too much?
Yep.
Did I spend too much?
Yep.
Did I try to bend time and space to make it all come together?
Yep.

I don't care.

More this year than ever all our problems seems trivial.  Even having to refinish or replace all the windows in the house.  Even being sick on Christmas. As Calvin said, "those kids dying in Connecticut really puts our troubles in perspective doesn't it."

Yes it does, Calvin.  It makes me want to shower the people I love with love and celebrate the birth of Jesus with more joy than ever.  I know that doesn't have to mean more cookies and cards and ribbons, but it's one way that we can let our light shine.  Letting the grace that Jesus brings spill over into grace in our lives.  Extravagant traditions for an extravagant event!


Merry Christmas!!!