Catching Up

I am the wife of a worship pastor. I used to be the wife of a student pastor--the same guy, just a different job. I promise I don't go preacher-hopping. This time of year is a big one for us, even moreso than the regular Christmas flurry of activity, because our church has several days of Christmas services. Not just several services, but several days. Tonight is the first one, and we won't stop until the last three services on Christmas Eve. Because our children are so little (and I'll be honest, because it's cold and flu season and my kids always seem to pick up RSV and end up in the hospital), I can't volunteer at the church very much because they'll be stuck in the nursery everyday. So except for going to one service and then volunteering on Christmas Eve, I'm home with them.

If I were a newby pastor's wife, I'd resent the time he spends away from us the week before Christmas. After all, he goes to work around 8 or 9 a.m. and comes home at about midnight. But my years as a student pastor's wife have served me well: I'm good when it comes to crunch time. He was gone several nights a week back then, as well as a trip every month and seven weeks of summer camp. So a week of this at Christmas comes as blessed relief from what he used to do. Now I'm smart about it--I use the extra time to finish wrapping presents, watch all the sappy Christmas movies nobody else will watch with me, spend some quiet time alone by the tree at night to reflect on what Christmas is all about, and finish any last-minute gifts. In fact, don't tell him, but I don't mind this at all. Last night I put the kids to bed, lugged out my ironing board, and sewed Addie's Christmas dress in the dining room, my current sewing station. I had all evening to work, listening to Christmas music. It was quiet, productive, and peaceful. Nice.

This morning when I went in to get Addie, she was jumping up and down in her bed pointing at her new dress and squealing. Sure, she may grow up to become a tomboy, but it's not happening anytime soon. I love having a girl in the house! I handed it to her and she draped it over her body, patting it. Talk about a good response to a handmade item! If only I could get everyone to respond like that!

Today we only have a couple of things on the to do list. We'll go to the service tonight, but in between we're just enjoying living in Texas. It's already beautiful outside, completely cloudless, and I think it's going to be around 70 degrees. That sounds shameful in December, unless you're at home all day long with three restless children. Then it sounds heavenly. They spend a large portion of the day playing in the backyard. Yesterday I got all the laundry done with the backdoor open and the kids playing Army on the trampoline.

So I guess that's all going on around here. I'm waiting anxiously for our new camera to arrive in the mail. I don't know how I did it, since I couldn't walk or drive or actually go anywhere, but I lost our digital camera back when I broke my foot. Forever gone are the pictures from Gray's birthday, but thanks to technology we'll have a new camera anyday in the mail. I hope I can figure it out. I have so many things I've made in the last two months that I want to show you! Nobody in this house (except for Addie!) responds with much excitement when I finish a project, so posting them here is my only way to get any good feedback. And Susan B. Anderson, whose wonderful designs I've been knitting up, keeps asking me for pictures. I've made several of the designs in her newest book, all to be tucked away with coordinating books in children's stockings. I'm so in love with them that if the kids don't adore them immediately, I might confiscate them to become keepsakes of my own!

I also will be getting something very special in the mail soon that I want to show you, but that's all I'll say about that.

Well, this post hasn't been funny or enlightening or even very interesting, but that's kind of how life is around here lately. Which is nice. It seems like we always end the year on a big note (Remember Blitz the Impaled Dog?), and I'm hoping to spend the next 11 days in peace. We'll see how that goes!

OH! I forgot to mention the entire reason for this post--I'm wanting to join BooMama's Christmas Tour but am waiting on the camera. I have to show you our crazy stockings! Will you still care, if it's after Christmas? I better get that camera soon; I'm famous for undecorating the day after Christmas. Chris'll probably postpone delivery of the camera, just to keep the decorations up a little bit longer.

Anyway, I hope each of you is having a good week before Christmas, getting all your shopping and wrapping done! Thank you for all your sweet thoughts and comments when my grandmother died. It's so nice to know that people I'd never have met otherwise were thinking of our family.

I hope you have a happy day today :)

By the way, if you live in the area and don't have somewhere to go for a Christmas Eve service, we'd love to have you join us at Fellowship Church! There are many options for you, and I'd just link to our homepage but am having linky problems this morning. Here's our schedule:

Grapevine:
Dec. 20 7 p.m.
Dec. 21 7 p.m.
Dec. 22 5 & 7 p.m.
Dec. 23 9:30 & 11:30 a.m.
Dec. 24 1, 3, 5 p.m.

Downtown Dallas:
Dec. 20 7 p.m.
Dec. 23 9:30 & 11:30 a.m.
Dec. 24 5 p.m.

Fort Worth:
Dec. 23 9:30 & 11:30 a.m.

Plano:
Dec. 22 7 p.m.
Dec. 23 9:30 & 11:30 a.m.
Dec. 24 3 & 5 p.m.

If you need directions to any off the campus locations, go to www.fellowshipchurch.com.