Are you Christmas ready or not? While my gifts are wrapped, cards have been mailed (finally),and the halls have been decked I don’t feel ready. I think it’s my heart that isn’t quite there yet. Packing up my office and delivering the news to the students and parents at my school has been emotionally taxing – more than I thought. I’ll be honest I feel like a total schmuck when my news causes tears. To add insult to injury another counselor will not be hired to replace me. So there’s that. Ouch. Upward and onward though, right?
Certainly there have been lots of things to make me smile this week. Presents from some of the sweetest people in my life, new traditions with my family as well as old are all enough to start lifting my spirits. Now that school is out for the holidays I intend to get myself turned around. My sweet friend Lisa who blogs at Coast to Coast sent me this package on Wednesday. Who doesn’t love getting a box filled with all kinds of goodness? Skin care, kitchen goodies – this girl knows me!
Last night I hosted our Second Annual Cousins Christmas Party. I invited the cousins over and told them to bring a wrapped gift valued at $5. I served Shelly’s Chicken Enchiladas and rice. After dinner they played ping pong, corn hole, and then – SNOW! Living in Florida we have to improvise, it was a big hit. 
I ordered it online years ago. We played a fun game to do the gift exchange. I read the story of The Night Before Christmas but this version is filled with the words RIGHT and LEFT. The presents get passed each time the word right or left is read. It’s fun! 
I made Carrie’s Christmas Hot Chocolate Sundae Cake for dessert and it was delicious! It cooks in the crock pot which was great because I was beat after a day of packing and moving boxes out of my office while still working – meetings and lunch duty still had to be done!
Tonight we have dinner and gingerbread house building with our framily the Mihailoff’s. We have been doing this for years – Collin asked me how long and I honestly think it’s been like 16 years! We are looking forward to it.
Tomorrow night we are babysitting my 20 month old niece. We’re thinking of taking her to see Christmas lights and to Light Up UCF.
Then we have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! So lots of fun to be had that will surely be enough to ready my heart and mind to celebrate the birth of Jesus!
So friends, that’s what I’ve been up to lately, stressed but blessed! I wish you the very best Christmas and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support!
All my love!
