Alone Time

Whew.  (I don't know if I said this before, but it really seems like ALL of my entries could start with the word "whew.") 

Abby at school (after a 2-hr delay)...check.
Greg & Nolan out the door to do a little (or a lot?) Christmas shopping...check.
Me, ALONE in the house...check!!! 

Oh yeah.  It feels so good.  I am just enjoying the silence.  I really am.  Not to mention the ability to be on the computer without every person in the house, big and small, hanging on the chair and asking me what I'm doing. 

LEST anyone think that I have fallen off the "month of advent surprises for the kids" wagon, I'm happy to report that I have not!  I just haven't gotten on here in a while to post about any of it.  Hey, I've been busy, OK?  But the kids have been really enjoying their daily Christmas-y treats!  Let's see, what have we done so far....after the big Rudolph night, we....

made "bark" - and it's already all gone.  I got the stuff to make more, but on my own...because well...it'll look prettier and I want to give it to our neighbors.  The kids will never know.  Bless their little hearts.  We did have fun making it though and it turned out super-yummy!  They each got a couple sleeves of saltines and got to line their own cookie sheet, then I poured the butter over top, then they got to crush the heck out of some candy canes and sprinkle it on the melted chocolate...I am telling you, that stuff did not last in our house for much more than a week!  And I do believe I have pics....

So...then we got a Christmas tree - a live one! - which I love so much I just never want a fake one again.  No "fluffing" of the branches, no messing with the stupid lights that never work all at once...plus it was a lot of fun to pick one out.  And it smells marvelous. AND, the guy let me take as many cut-off boughs as I wanted!  I got about 3 armfuls, and while I haven't DONE anything with them yet, I plan to - maybe today - and he said if I wanted more I could come back and get more.  That is awesome.  I'm sure you'd pay a lot for fresh greenery at a nursery and I'm totally getting it for free.  I love that!

After the big tree day, it was just some stuff like, the kids got to decorate their rooms with window decals and mini-nativity sets (which Abby calls her "Jesus set" - how cute), I gave them little dollar store gifties, and last night was Charlie Brown night.  Thank goodness it was only 1/2 hour, because the Biggest Loser finale was on and that's one of my fav shows.  :)  Watching Charlie Brown, I was surprised that they're still showing that on TV.  Glad, but surprised.  I was really expecting the Bible part to be edited out.  I'm glad it wasn't, don't get me wrong.  It's just kind of sad that you hear all sorts of words that you NEVER used to hear on TV, but you don't at all expect to hear Scripture being read.  It is so backwards.  If swear words and God's name being used inappropriately sound normal to me, and a Bible passage reading sounds strange and out of place (on TV, that is), that is just sad...scary...a big wake-up call.  Look how things are getting in the world!!!  :( 

Well anyway, as much as I would love to squander the rest of my undetermined amount of time alone here on the computer, I am almost finished with "Toy Purge 2009" and I really want to just be done with it.  Plus, I should probably get out of my PJ's.  Then I can move on to other things - probably starting on the sewing for some presents my dear ones will be getting this year!  Totally excited about that.  I would post pics of the things I've already made, but uh....I don't want to ruin any surprises!   ;)