A little bit of this and a little bit of that...

I think only in a family of a bakers dozen with two babies (now referred to as baby Sr and baby Jr ) can a mother be given permission to whine because she was wakened at 4 am by her 16 year old daughter looking for a diaper so she can change her nephew... at 4 am.

But am I whining about my sixteen year old daughter waking me up? Actually no - I am whining about the fact that I could not fall back asleep. So its 5:36 am... and I am gulping down enjoying a hot cup of tea and eating hot buttered sourdough toast. The bright side is 1) I have completed some last minute online shopping of some items I could not find in our local stores and cheap enough that I could afford expedited shipping so hopefully these items will arrive in time for Saint Nickolas to help Baby Jesus put them under the tree. 2) Since I am already awake - I won't have to struggle to wake up so that I can wake up the rest of the family at six... is my lack of sleep showing?

On a more serious note please keep praying for my DIL. She is home from hospital but extremely weak and tired. She is too weak to hold the baby for long and so we are doing all we can to care for him and help her to not feel the guilt that any mum feels when she can not care for her baby. Please keep praying for her.

We have another set of hands at home and she settled down to work within minutes of being home and SUPER cleaned the kitchen, the pantry and one of the two fridges. (The messiest one!) I brought home a ton of groceries and the kids refilled the pantry and fridges while Jenny and I headed out the door to buy a gazillion gifts which ranged from those special items that have been whispered to you, emailed and even texted to itsy bitsy stocking stuffers. With all of the illness in the family I simply had not had time to do more than grab a few gifts way back in October when I had the ridiculous notion I would be organized before Advent. With only seven days to Christmas Eve the stress was mounting and my daughter kindly canceled two events to help me out.

Next step is to sweep out the classroom and set up 'Operation Christmas' so that Saint Nicholas can drop in, as he does every year, to help me wrap up the gifts. The little ones love to listen by the door while he and I joke and they hear his gruff, but jovial chuckles while he and I work and listen to Christmas music. Who helps you with your wrapping? Any special traditions in your home to help that dreaded happy chore easier to do? I love the little notes and treats that the children slip under the door or leave by it for Saint Nick and I to share.

Thank you to Jenny, Anna and Gabriela (who watched babies all day!) and the big boys! (They cleaned my van for me)! The next few days are going to be so much more enjoyable as a result.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

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Jesse Tree - Third Friday in Advent

The reading for today symbol is Nehemiah 13:10-22 and here is the link to the symbols for the third week. Today we learn about restoring the Sabbath to a day of rest within Jerusalem and the restoring of tithes.

The symbol is that of the walls of Jerusalem.

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