Puny Elf!

You can see here how Jingle Bell may have learned a lesson the hard way, just like a certain villainous character Loki.  Puny elf!  

We've been getting Christmas cards in the mail today, and largely today was the last day we spent writing the cards we sent out.  We always send out quite a few, and each year, the returns are dwindling.  It's just that people use the internet to communicate more than ever.  It's easier and quicker, of course.  But there's just something about getting a nice Christmas card in your mailbox, isn't there?  And we got a few really beautiful ones, from Texas to the United Kingdom, and of course a lot of places all in between.  Lots of pictures of happy families, and wonderful Christmas wishes.

So tonight was the big night!  Madison went to a gathering of special friends, the entire group of girls from her small group that she's been a part of going back to April.  It's the pandemic group, the ones that meet each Wednesday night on Zoom, never missing a night to be together.  They've been doing this for so long, and Camille was hoping to get every single one of them together for a celebration of Christmas.  And what a celebration it was.  Madison had such a wonderful time, as did all the girls, and it really was a glorious night for everyone one of them.  Ms. Lauren was there as well, the other mom who co-hosts the small group night each week.  No parents there at all, and that was just perfect! 

We dropped Madison off, and she was there for three hours - actually slightly more than that.  She would have stayed longer if she could, but Camille had to get up early the next morning for prepping the church and KidPak.  Meanwhile, Mom, Nana and I were heading south from there to Norcross, to go to a small British import shop called "Taste of Britain."  They were completely ransacked!  Seriously, they were out of pretty much everything.  We did manage to get the very last Christmas pudding, which is one thing I wanted for Christmas this year, so thank you Lord!  We got the last two Turkish delights, but we also got a few other packages of Christmas candy, some of which are for Nana.  She was there tonight shopping with us, and it's kind of funny in a way that we can shop with her for things, and she's picking up the things we're getting for her, and holding them, and talking fondly about them, and taking them to the car and putting them in the trunk, and on Christmas morning, she'll open a package with those very same things in them and have no idea where they came from or who got them for her!

We went to Cracker Barrel to do a little shopping after that, just killing time, but meanwhile, Madison and her friends were having an epic Christmas night!

There was the photo booth, and there were plenty of games to be played too.  You can see everyone was dressed up for Christmas, ready to sing karaoke Christmas songs like "All I Want for Christmas is You," eat pizza, and just have a good time telling jokes and having fun together.

Oh, and there was also make-your-own ice cream sundaes!  Madison of course went straight for the gummy worms, because you can't seem to have ice cream without sour gummy worms.

Okay, correction:  If they're available, Maddie can't seem to have a sundae without gummy worms.  All the girls got all kinds of sugar sweets, and that just amplified everything.

Anyway, it's a precious group of girls.  They are family by this point, faithfully together each and every Wednesday, and this was the first time some have met each other in person.  It was just a wonderful thing for her!

We got home, and Mom was continuing with the manufacturing and packaging of her world-famous Christmas reindeer mix, affectionately known as "Christmas Crack" because it is so addictive.  It is a bit of a process, but with Nana and myself on hand, it helped a little.  Not as much as you'd think, but at least a little!  This was all during a Christmas movie, playing in the background, keeping spirits bright.

We read tonight, back in Narnia again for a bit.  And I was studying my lines too.  Tonight we prayed before bedtime, right after the usual hide-and-seek.  The groundhog popped out again and surprised me!  Not many left - and not that many sleeps until Christmas!