S'moretastic

Every year we partner with a family who opens their home for a Christmas party and I volunteer to do food and help with clean up.  It is a party that includes friends from school and gives us all a chance to unwind after the Fall semester and bring in the holiday with good cheer.  The favorite dessert is s'mores and I usually make chili while my friend's husband grills sausages and warms tortillas.  He also supplies part of the meat for the chili via his annual hunt.  Some years it is axis meat and this year it was elk meat.  The chili gets rave reviews but the secret is really in the delicious meat he provides for the dish.  It is a whole family effort with children setting up lights and crafts and moms cooking and cleaning and dads helping the kids hang lights, clean, and grill.  This year was the 5th year and each year we get better and better at doing the party.  By the time our kids graduate we will be so good at doing the party we won't even need the kids anymore!!

Last night's Christmas Presentation was a hit!  Brett dressed in "fancy clothes" and required that we take him to "fancy dinner."  We went to a fancy restaurant for our small town and enjoyed delicious Thai food.  Shrimp is a family favorite and so Thai food is easy to love.  We all got to bed quite late which made wake up time this morning a bit volatile.  Brett begged to stay in bed and Chloe relocated herself to my bed where she returned to sleep.  I wandered around the house and took the dogs out and did all sorts of things until I realized one hour had passed since I awoke and had better kick it in to gear if I wanted to get anyone to school on time.  We actually arrived on time and attended our parties and another morning Christmas event with merry songs and the Christmas Story.  It is such a great reminder of the reason we celebrate the season.  Twice in twelve hours makes it ever the more a strong focus.  While we run around and have parties and all sorts of events and obligations we forget how very fortunate we are to be here, be alive and oh wait, we survived the END OF THE WORLD!!  If nothing else, surviving the end of the Mayan calendar is a HUGE accomplishment.  You might even consider including it on your next resume.

Be blessed as you celebrate the birth of Christ and the gift He freely gives of eternal life.  I am so very thankful for all of the craziness and fun of the past week and what lies ahead as it means I am alive.(Day 27) .  I hope you are happy to be ALIVE, too!  Goodnight Friends.  BTW you have three shopping days left till Christmas.  I guess that means I should get started.