Christmas Eve 2014

I've spent most of the day cooking and baking.

And even those are things I absolutely LOVE to do, I've gotta admit that I was mainly trying to keep my body and my mind busy.

Because as much as I want to pretend I'm a big girl about it, I am not a fan of all the kids not being here for the holidays. No ma'am. Not a fan AT ALL.

And while I know I should be thankful for the ones who ARE here, and I am...and while I know I should be thankful that our daughter and son have each married and are celebrating Christmas with their spouse's families, and I am...I while I know it should make me more empathetic for my kids' in-laws when my kids are HERE, and I am (sortofbutnotreally)...and while I know I should be thankful that THE KIDS ARE COMING, and I am...it's still hard, this in-law thing.

Is there a support group I can join?

Hello, my name is Marty and I do not like to share...

my kids...

with their in-laws.

Faith came over, and she and Clark sat at the table and ate lunch. That was fun, and a nice break in the day. I said something...and now I can't remember what it was...and Clark said, "that's wisdom from the life of Marty...write that down." And I said, "I'll put that in my 3rd book."

Because that is something Joshua would say...since he's always working on "stories" for about 7 books that he's gonna write.

Anyway, Faith said, "you SHOULD write a book, Mrs. Marty," and I said, "Oh...I'm working on it. My first two books are on marriage, since being married for 100 years makes me practically an expert."

And we all lay-uffed and lay-uffed.

She said, "Oh yeah? What are the names of your books?"

I said, "well the first one is called, "Get Off Me," and the second one is called, "Don't Touch Me There."

And while Faith burst out laughing, Clark very quietly pushed away from the table, put on his cap, and walked out of the room.

He was gone a LONG time.

When he came back, Faith said, "you okay?" And he said, "One word: Therapy. Gonna need a lot of it."

So, there you have it.

And don't steal my book titles.

Anyway, so far today I've made a pot of chili, chicken and dressing, mashed potatoes, chicken AND BEEF enchiladas, cookies, a cheesecake and two kinds of dip.

But the night is still young.

I wanted to make Christmas Crack, but SOMEONE who shall remain nameless, but his name rhymes with "MARK," left an EMPTY BOX of Saltine crackers in the pantry...and I just ASSUMED it had crackers in it.

Jim likes to ask me, "you know what you get when you assume?"

And I like to tell him, "shutty."

Except not really. We don't talk like that.

Between cooking and cleaning...we went to our church's Christmas Eve service, and that was fun. It was awesome to see everyone with their families, and it just made me miss my family SO MUCH.

After the service, we came home and ate chili...and that's when I made my cheesecake and finished up the enchiladas. It's also when I finished up my wrapping. I actually finished up the other day, but Joshua had gotten a few things for the family, and I wrapped those for him. I really feel sorry for the ones who are getting the last few things I wrapped, because I am OVER.THE.WRAPPING. Morgan and Faith are both really awesome and creative wrappers, so my packages will look awful compared to theirs.

Oh, well...what is it they say? "Comparison is the thief of joy."

Every year I say I will do a better job wrapping, but I never do. I don't think it matters.

I hope this post doesn't sound whiny. I am so thankful to be celebrating Christmas this year. I don't know...the older I get, the more I realize that I am not guaranteed a long life. My own mother died suddenly at the age of 59...I think about that all the time.

I know Christmas isn't about the trimmings or the decorations or the food or the presents. It's not about who is here in our home, and who we are missing. It's not even about the wrapping. Jesus was the greatest gift of all, and He came into the world wrapped in a young woman's body. He was born in a manger, wrapped in cloths...snuggled down in hay. Not the beautiful and majestic birth that everyone was looking for...but oh...what a Savior!

Tomorrow is Christmas Day, but we are pretending it's Christmas Eve...and we will continue to pretend it's Christmas Eve until our kids come home. And THEN it will be Christmas.

And then we will go see my family in Texas...and THEN it will be Christmas again.

"But Mary treasured up all these words, pondering in her heart what they might mean..." Luke 2:19