Reflections

Here's how things panned out with my wish list:

Health - almost got it. My niece had a nasty ear infection, as did a dear friend's daughter. But my friend's sick baby went home from the hospital after three long weeks, and my kids and mom all made it through without emergent care!

Peace - my sister showed up in her usual mood. She got a couple of hard-core lectures from me. They didn't work. She was still a grinch. But I didn't back down. She knows not to show up in that mood next year or there will be consequences. There were also some voices raised in the general direction of little ones in the room on occasion.

Smiles - I did see a few smiles from my son - mostly with his cousin (pictured).

I saw lots of smiles from my daughter. And this was the best one of all - my dad. His smiles turned to laughter, and laughter turned to tears. We have no idea what he was doing (or what my uncle was doing to him) to make him this way, but it was awesome to see!

Jewelry - I got a lovely necklace from my nephew who was home on leave from the Air Force. I was so touched. He also told me I was hot (I think he was trying to compliment me). He really laid it on thick this weekend. Separation makes the heart grow stronger or something like that!

Gratitude - my son did say "Thank You" a few more times than I anticipated. However, this wish wasn't fully granted. I think we could all use more lessons on what it means to be truly thankful. I am proud of my kids for remembering to thank everyone and give hugs.

Sweet Dreams - Check! Lots of snoozing, thank goodness! My son even dreamed of Santa.

Snow - Check! Saturday was an all out blizzard! And we still got where we needed to go (we just drove 30 mph with our hazards on).

Safety -Check! Nothing to report. And part of that is due to the fact that our custodian from my work called and offered to come snow-blow our drive since he knew my husband was working and I had little ones to care for. What a nice surprise gift! He scored homemade cookies for that one!

Leftovers - I did have 1/2 a turkey sandwich last night before departing the in-laws. But my mother in law reads my blog and she told me that dear old dad was going to make my turkey sphagetti since it made my top 1o wishes. She promised (this serves as a reminder).

Christ - This one didn't get nearly as much attention as I was hoping. It's going to be the biggest change for next year. I just don't think Christ's presence in Christmas is given enough dues. I'm not sure you could ever make me happy on this one, but I just feel like it wasn't enough.

So all in all, we did ok. Honestly, I'm SO glad it's over. I'm ready to move on to the next thing - getting our lives in order so that we can make things better for my firstborn.