December 24

Today is, of course, Christmas Eve. I joined the conscious world at any embarrassingly late hour, and after I'd downed most of the coffee Adam had ready for me, we opted to go for attempt number two at fulfilling Abby's wish for Jerry's cheesesteak. This time, we were blessedly successful so we were able to check a must-do item off our while-in-Maryland list.

Grandma had asked Adam if he and the boys would rake the leaves in the backyard at some point, so when we got back to the house, we all headed out to tackle the task. (Which, let me tell you, was no joke because my grandma's yard is enormous. Legitimately enormous.) The kiddos all enjoyed loading up the golf cart with bags of leaves and driving them to the woods, where they (the leaves, not the kids) were reunited with their nature-y friends. There was no small amount of terror involved for me sitting in the cart with them as they took turns driving, but practice fortunately led to increased competence, so by the time we had to push it back to the garage to re-charge the battery, they were all much-improved operators.

Following some afternoon down-time --which was reading for some, puzzle-building for some, gift organization for some (see Abby and the little tree), and walking around the circle out front for some-- we sat down to a meatloaf dinner prepared by my hunny.

And now, as the 9 o'clock hour approaches, the stockings are out by the fireplace with a cookie, carrot, and glass of milk nearby, and Isaac and Brady are tucked into bed. Santa will likely come by soon, and then... Christmas.

As always, I approach Christmas with a sense of gratitude for that baby born so long ago and all that His time on earth meant for us. It's not always an easy life, but it's always a blessed one, and I am thankful.