Almost Christmas

I'm gonna try not to be long-winded. This might be the longest weekend-in-review ever because it is Thanksgiving Weekend In Review. Enough introductions though: Let's get this party started!!

Wednesday night: It seemed like everybody and their brother was travelling for Thanksgiving, so we had a really small youth group meeting. Eh--no meeting, I just took 'em out for pizza and we talked about the meaning of thanksgiving from the Word. In between lines like, "A tornado is God running in circles!" and "Can someone hand me a straw that Evan has not licked?" I love the youth group! Afterwards, I went home to make a deep dark chocolate cheesecake. Except I'm changing the name to "Death by Cheesecake." It's so much more imaginative. :)

Thursday-THANKSGIVING!: Watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (tradition) with the windows wide open (so NOT tradition). We're still attempting to rid my house of that fuel oil smell. GAH. My "cottage" welcomed the family for Thanksgiving dinner. Hosting a meal is FUN!!!! And I didn't burn anything or stress out the tiniest bit. Of course, having a mom and sis with skill & initiative in the kitchen makes life alot easier. After dinner, it was * shhhhh* Christmas present making time. A little dozing. A little football. A little reading. And then a crazy rush to pack stuff to spend the weekend with my parents.

Friday-BLACK FRIDAY!: There's was nothing tempting enough to get out at the crack of dawn for shopping. We moseyed around town, ate some pizza while I made a Christmas-shopping-list (I love lists) and I purchased 5 gifts through the course of the day!! :) I'm truly amazed. Usually, the pressure overwhelms me, the crowds annoy me and I give up after a few hours.... Now that I think about it, we only shopped for a few hours---so it worked... Back onto the mountaintop for chillin' with the family, bright night stars, intriguing conversation and/or debate in the hot tub with The Little Bro "is life on other planets possible?"... And no, I don't think so.

Saturday: Youth group Christmas shopping trip to a nearby mall. It's better than our town's mall because a. it has a food court. b. it has escalators. and c. it has this nutrition store with a nifty massage chair demo out front. Yeah, that's where I rested every couple hours! It was FUN TIMES with the youth group and I was just grateful that nobody got kicked out of the mall for riding the escalators the wrong way! And I purchased more Christmas gifts, got some ideas and bought some books for myself. Does that really surprise anyone? What is also not surprising is that I can read while riding in the car, without any ill effects. I can also crochet Christmas presents. I think this multi-tasking skill originates from so much road-tripping as a child. I can remember our trips when I was younger. We would drive through the night and I'd be laying in the backseat, reading by flashlight. :) Haha. Nice.

Sunday-The LORD'S DAY!: Day of fellowship with the saints, the presence of the Lord, rest and refreshing. Lately, my favorite part of church has been the 'praying for one another' thing. Very comforting to know that there are folks who will hold us up in prayer... Lunch with family and a very excitable niece "There's a SPEAKER where the MUSIC comes from!" and "Chicken!" Then fun times with The Little Bro, the roomies and football. And baking cookies. And several Christmas movies. A little cheesy, but I feel the spirit of Christmas a'coming. Now we just need some Christmas decorations!

Stay tuned for more interesting stuff than just reiterations of my life activities! :)