Mixed Nuts

Mr. Peanut was in town yesterday, but here's Jingle Bell still going nuts over the guy.  We had a final day of "Tribes Christmas" this morning, and a great closing to the cartoon series as well.  Madison donated her toys, and you would not believe all the presents that were delivered this month at KidPak.  All the children (and parents) filled these two enormous train boxes with toys, and it was such a wondrous sight to see!

This afternoon, we completed the exterior decorations, just in the nick of time.  We had the front of the house painted a bit where it needed touching up - we've been calling the HOA here for weeks, but they simply do not return phone calls.  They have literally never returned a phone call.  Ever.  This is amazing, because they're pretty quick to communicate with you when they think it's important.  Anyway, that said, we finally got our Christmas decorations up, and Mommy is at peace with the world.  The wreathes are hanging in front of the windows, and there's lighted garland along the door frame.  Garland drapes the front porch, and a Christmas garden flag hangs out by the front door.  Even our lighted reindeer stand on the porch, to add a little more glow.  The Star Wars tree and the front room tree can be seen from the windows - it looks just great.  Can't wait to share a picture of that for the holidays.

Inside, we hung the stockings - including Madison's new Elsa stocking from last year.  It took some time to do all this decorating, and as a reward for ourselves, we all sat down and put a fire in the fireplace while watching "Jingle All the Way."  It was Madison's first experience with Turbo Man and his faithful sidekick Booster, and she had a great time watching tonight.

We finished the chore of reading "Swiss Family Robinson" tonight, and Mommy and Daddy were a little anxious to actually show her the movie, which was so much better.  Yes, that's right, a movie better than the book.  Still, we can say we read it together, right?  Next, Mommy found a copy of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," so we'll have a little fun with that one.

Tonight, we said our prayers again, this time for Uncle David a little more fervently.  He's gaunt and having some bad side effects to the drugs he has to take for chemotherapy and beyond.  These are the same drug that Daddy was taking when he had pancreatitis.  This was the drug that caused hallucinations, and it appears as if Uncle Dave is experiencing some weird side effects as well.  Not a big fan.  Stick with the morphine.

Related to Uncle Dave, we were on the radio today.  The FISH radio station here, 104.7, has been playing the surprise conference call to my sister on the air.  This is the one where a sponsor blessed their family with mortgage payments and more.  Fun to hear that!

So it was a great day, and there are only a few more like this until Christmas.  Can you believe it is THIS week?  It all happens so fast, you just have to hold on tight and make every moment count.  And largely, we've been doing just that!