Our Christmas Countdown

There is only one more week until Christmas Eve ... can you believe it ??

Our Annual Newsletters are mailed, complete with photographs (and have even been reported as received by some). We are completely finished shopping for gifts - YIPPEEEE !! We have sent our gifts to Maryland, and will be mailing two boxes to Connecticut tomorrow morning. Hooray !! We delivered gifts to the children's Sunday School teachers, and also to some friends. I even managed to buy our turkey (a 25+ pound Butterball turkey is usually a bit tougher to find !!) and have it thawing in the refrigerator.

We finished making our annual ornaments two weeks ago - 80 of them !! We give these to family and friends. I do have to mention that the children were an enormous help with this project this year, most especially Cherub 2. They would not have gotten finished without her hard work !! Two weekends ago, I went shopping and finished getting all of our "out of town" gifts. And then I went shopping in Knoxville again this week on Friday and Saturday evening - and I finished all of the shopping for our family. I even remembered to get the wrapping paper, ribbon, bows, and tape. (Although I DO still have to wrap the gifts for the children, maybe late this evening after everyone is in bed asleep ?!?!)

The Christmas Crazies can have it all now .... they can fight and bicker, race and run, demolish stores isles, and act in a positively horrid manner to one another and especially to store clerks .... and we will not have to witness it with our own eyes. Every year I am amazed at just what the Christmas Spirit brings out in many people at this time of the year .... it seems to get worse and worse every year. Whatever happened to Good Will To Men, and Peace On Earth ?!?!? And I am always happy to be "finished" with stores, so that I do not have to witness this behavior. It is shameful, but apprently people do not realize their impact. And every year our children vow "I WILL NEVER LET MYSELF BEHAVE LIKE THAT."

I do have a bit of grocery shopping to do, but that should be fairly safe .... I will still probably go during "workday" hours just to be on the safe side. HA !

With all of the "fussing" finished, we are looking foward to a very nice week here at home. We will focus on the true meaning of Christmas, and on the traditions of our family. After school each day we are going to do some special things together. We are going to read the Bible stories about the birth of Christ, and we will also read some other family-favorite stories as well. The children have each been working all month to memorize the scripture that "tells" of the birth of Christ. They also have been working to memorize some poetry and other pieces (individually) that are seasonal as well. Our plan is to have a special "presentation night" here at home - an evening when each child will recite their memory work. Of course this week we are going to sing some carols and bake some cookies too. We will be busy making new memories together in this new house, and most importantly giving Glory to God together.

So, here is the tentative plan:

Today (Monday) is a school day. And then I have to go for an MRI of my back (nothing too serious). After my MRI, I am going to finish my grocery shopping (cookie ingredients, the last of our Holiday Meal ingredients and supplies, a few staples for the week, etc). And this evening after dinner we are going to bake some cookies. I am also going to mix up the sugarcookie dough and gingerbread dough so that it can cool in the refrigerator overnight.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) we will have a traditional NO SCHOOL day because tomorrow is Cherub 6's birthday. (I will post more on that later.) Since we will have a "free" day, we will be making our sugar cookies and gingerbread people tomorrow because we will have plenty of time.

Wednesday is a school day. And then on Wednesday evening the Beck Cherubs will be going to church to practice for their parts in the Christmas Pageant, which is to be held at our church during Christmas Eve Mass (this Mass is to be celebrated on Christmas Eve evening). Cherub 1 is helping with organization and costumes. Cherub 2 and Cherub 3 are to be Angels. Cherub 6 is going to be the Archangel Gabriel - he is VERY pleased. And Cherub 4 is to be Joseph and Cherub 5 is to be Mary. All of the cherubs were quite honored to have been asked to participate and are really looking foward to the Pageant.

We will have our normal school day on Thursday. And then on Thursday afternoon our friends the "H" family are coming to play with us for the afternoon - this is always such a special time, when we get to visit and play with dear friends. I think we might cut some snowflakes together --- maybe we can create our own personal blizzard since we did not get any snow from the storms that did not quite make it this far south. HA !!

Saturday will be spent cooking as we will start assembling our holiday meal - baking our pies, baking bread for the stuffing, and getting things in order. We also might make a few last batches of cookies. On Saturday evening we will go to Mass, and then come home to have a nice quiet dinner together. And after dinner we will have our Presentation Night (described above).

On Sunday, we might take a nice drive to a Holiday Spot --- we have always wanted to go to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg to see the lights, because the whole mountain is lit and decorated. We have never been up there before, so we might do this on Sunday if things are still going "as planned" here at home.

Then NEXT Monday will be Christmas Eve. We will have our big Holiday meal (actually it will be served at lunchtime so we have time to get ready for church) . We have invited Grandpa and some friends to join us, and we are looking forawrd to visiting with them. Then we will will go to Mass in the evening, during which the children will participate in the Christmas Pageant. After Mass we will come home to settle in for the night. Bedtime usually does not run very smoothly on Christmas Eve because the children are sooo excited, so we read a few extra stories and have some nice calming herbal tea. But eventually the children DO actually fall asleep.

NEXT Tuesday will be Christmas Day !! We will have an early breakfast (breakfast casserole is our tradition - YUMMY !!) and then we will get ready to go to Mass. After Mass, the children will open their gifts. Then we will spend the remainder of the day playing together (and probably assembling toys too - yikes !). Christmas Day is a nice "family" day here at home - no rushing or fussing. This is another Christmas tradition we have - we do not go out (except to Mass) or rush and fuss on Christmas Day. We spend it together here at home, having FUN together. Company is welcome, but there is nothing "fancy" about the visits. For lunch and dinner we will simply reheat the leftovers from our Christmas Eve "Feast" . Christmas Day is always wonderful -- time for family, love, and giving Glory to God.

And then NEXT Wednesday, things will be back to normal .... we will get back to our usual school schedule and normal activities. The "holidays" will have officially ended at bedtime on Christmas Day.

What a nice calm week this "should" be. Some years Christmas is extrememly hectic to the very last second, and sometimes even afterwards too .... but this year, our hearts have been so focused on what is truly important (the Lord, family, friends, and home) that the stress just could not sneak in.

We hope everyone enjoys this holiday season, and that stress does not sneak in. Keep your eyes on the Lord, and all will be well.