Holiday Cheer

I hate my last post sounding so down, but really do not want to delete it. Down and out is how I am feeling and it represents our journey.

In looking up:

The families that traveled with us that have yet to have their G&R are still on the schedule for tomorrrow. It is very exciting and it has been my prayer (shamefully not all along, but I did come around) that if for some reason only their G&R could happen or our earlier appointment, that their G&R would win out. Those babies need their mommies, and those mommies have waited so long for their babies. Here is still hoping that tomorrow brings 4 more babies into our group!

A bit of holiday cheer from Nicki She posed a few holiday questions that we all should stop and think about and perhaps we have tips to share. Leave your answer in my comments or post it on your own blog, but let us know so we can check out your answers. I will answer as well as my swiss cheese brain can at 11PM at night in foreign country:

What is the one holiday ritual you would absolutely never give up? Buying an ornament every year for my girls. My mother started that for me as I was a baby and it was such a joy the first year I was married to decorate our tree with pieces of my life up until that point.

What is the part of the holidays you find the most tedious and exhausting? Clean-up! Those who know me in real life are laughing now at how true that is.

What is the worst or weirdest gift you have ever received? Slippers you can't walk in...good in theory, but not execution. In all fairness, they have heat pillows in the bottom to help your feet warm on cool nights. Our addition has hardwood floors and my feet were cold, so it was thought to be a good idea. However, we rarely watch TV or do something where you would just sit for awhile with your feet up. I am up and down a fair bit and would be warming my feet one minute and hating the cold floors the next even more than before the warm slippers.

What is the most memorable gift you have ever received?Wow, does the birth of my first daughter on the 28th count...or perhaps the following year when her younger sister was born only 2 weeks later...maybe these two I watch peacefully sleeping (peacefully for now that is) that I will bring home in that same time frame? I think though I have to count Christ as the most memorable gift, though it wasn't Dec 25th that I discovered the truth, I count every Christmas as one to remember how precious it is. It is no wonder Brian has a hard time buying me a gift, I feel sorry for him when reading what I wrote...how can you top all of that (though the bike I got last year was great...some may laugh, but he paid good attention to detail. It is lightweight, can put a basket on the front, a baby seat on the back, and the seat is BIG and CUSHY...everything a woman could want in a simple bike!)

What is the one thing you do to make organizing your holiday a little bit easier? Try to hammer all the families down on a date to get together. Between grandparents, great grandparents, our own celebration, and other organizations, it gets a bit mind boggling...the earlier you set a date the better chance you will have a seeing us for more than the minimal time required. It stinks, but I learned a few holidays back that you simply have to make what you can and save your sanity.

If you could make one holiday wish, this year, what would it be? To be home with Brian, Olivia, and Gracie (and Chloe and Aubrey too!)

7 days until Christmas, have you taken time to spend with family rather than doing the holiday rush! Don't take it for granted, and give all your family an extra bit of love, just simply because they are there with you and you can.

Jenn