hustle and bustle and then...

december has been a blur. a wonderful, memory-filled, exhausting blur. a trip to vegas. a trip to the midwest. a quick visit with our best friends. and now today, for the first time in the month of december, petey and i have the day to ourselves to dig out from it all and figure out where we go from here. i woke up this morning with a little gloom over my heart, seemed like i was letting everyone down not having all the Christmas everything all planned and stashed and ready to go. but as the day has gone on its given me some time to reflect and figure out that Christmas is a magical, wonderful, love-filled day that is a big beautiful vase that you can fill up with whatever you want.  whatever matters most to you. and right now what matters most to me is making memories with my family. so today  my priority is getting the grocery list right and making a trip to the store so that i can do over the Christmas weekend what i've been trained to do my entire life - cook some yummy food for the people i love.  beyond that, we have everything we need except one little surprise to petey.  we have some gifts, already wrapped.  but what we need is a tree. i'm sorry i just can't go without a tree. so i'm hoping to add a little magic to Christmas morning that we can all go as a family tomorrow to find a sweet little tree to stash away in the garage until Petey goes to bed Christmas eve and have it all decked in lights when he wakes up Christmas morning.  a little coffee cake i made and froze will be ready for nibbling and then we will take our little family to the top of the mountain we live near and spend the morning reflecting on the year we've shared and the year to come. and from there, i'm hoping to fill the rest of the weekend with some cuddling, some baking and nibbling, some dancing, some gaming and some good old fashioned, low-key, slow paced just being together. strangely, its an art that requires a little bit of practice. to turn off the tv. to close the day-planner. to shut down the computer. to turn your attention outward to those around you and enjoy the moments with nothing else coming up in the day to ready yourselves for. no preparations. just pure simple easy delicious enjoying the company of those you love. and that's what we shall do.


and just as a wonderful little update, i had an appointment today at the birth center and got a little gift early for Christmas - my exam was in the ultrasound room so the midwife said "let's see what the baby is doing in there, just for fun" so we spent a few minutes looking at our little one, all tucked into a ball looking oh-so-sweet.  can't wait to meet that little one.  what a wonderful thing to add even more love to our little family!

of course there are thousands of pictures from the rest of our trip home to the midwest and a few hundred of petey and tommy together. and those will be posted....when i get to them. :) enjoy the holiday season with those you are blessed to share it with. make the most of your moments. stash some happy memories away in your hearts. and Merry Christmas to you all!