Making a List...

He's making a list

And checking it twice;

Gonna find out who's naughty and nice...

naughty or nice?

'Tis the season for being busy, feeling overwhelmed, perhaps a bit anxious, eating too many sugar cookies...  Rather than singing the songs of the holiday spirit, I find myself humming the tunes of the holiday stress!

So, today I made a list.  You see, I procrastinate, and I'll even go ahead and label myself a procrastinator.  I like to wait to get things done until I have a good amount of pressure pushing me through to the other side of my task. (It drives my mother crazy.)  Case in point- I do not have even one Christmas gift purchased.  Nope, not one (oh wait, Devon has reminded me that I bought him a Seahawks visor, so I lied- I have indeed purchased one gift).  A list was necessary to get myself focused- to separate the various things that are making me feel overwhelmed- and I am happy to report that the holiday spirit is beginning to creep into my being.  I even downloaded a few songs from Glee's Christmas album, and the tune of my attitude is beginning to shift.

The list- here's what I've got swirling in my brain-

• First and foremost, I am concerned for my friend, who is 28 weeks pregnant and is resting in an ICU indefinitely, as the doctors cannot seem to find what is making her frequently lose consciousness.  Please pray for the Blake family- specifically, pray that the doctors will find answers, and that little Henry will be able to stay in the womb until he is a bit bigger, and that the family would feel a sense of peace in the midst of uncertainly while Doug is shuttling between the house and the hospital, taking care of Lisa as well as their 3 kids.  I'll be sure to post any updates, but for now, and from my last conversation with Lisa, it looks like Christmas will be spent in the hospital.
• We are preparing to visit family, which means that it is time to pack up and hit the road for a good ol' fashion road trip. I annoy my husband as a nervous passenger- I won't even rest my eyes when I am tired because I won't slack off on my "co-pilot" duties.  It is always a good test for our marriage :)  A test of my faith, his patience...
• Christmas shopping- I'm still not ready to start shopping, but I'm thinking about shopping, which is a step in the right direction!
• We've been receiving some Christmas cards in the mail, and they make me so happy!  It is a joy to check the mail and see something other than a bill or a holiday ad, and I love seeing the photos on the cards, and I hang them up for the whole family to see.  I didn't order Christmas cards this year (I suppose I could still do it... just procrastinating!), and I feel guilty that I don't have something to mail out to the peeps in my address book.  I don't have a photo in mind that I'd use, and stamps can be such an expense, excuse, excuse, and, really, isn't this blog sort of like a big, long, family update with pictures?  Isn't this blog sort of like a year-long Christmas card?  Is anyone buying this idea??
• Our Christmas tree hasn't fallen down in at least a week!  Would you like to see our living room?  Consider it a formal living room for informal people.

I don't know what to do with this room, and I wrote an entire post about this room, and Devon read it, scrunched his nose, and made a noise like, "ehhh".  "It isn't my cup of tea, " he said.  So, I deleted it.  But, for real, I don't know what to do with this room.  Yes, that is rug #9 on the floor, and, yes, it has already been returned to the store.

And I've tried the furniture a couple of different ways-

Any suggestions for me?

Did you notice my Christmas banner?

I love it :)

And now I must get moving!  I hope that you and your list (because we all have lists at this time of year!) have a great day!

Max should be the easiest to shop for this year- he doesn't have any expectations!