Saturday, December 24, 2011

Can You Believe It's Christmas Eve?

My house can hardly contain the energy of two very excited little kids this Christmas Eve. It probably doesn't help that we're on the Elf Diet this morning. I made cinnamon toast for breakfast and then for a snack I gave the kids little baggies of marshmallows. Tonight after our church's Christmas Eve service we're having a spaghetti dinner with some dear friends and, I don't know, there could be syrup.

Our schedule for this week was a 9.5 out of 10 on the busy scale. It was all fun stuff, but there was something big on the calendar every day. That was until Wednesday morning when the pre-Christmas stomach bug of 2011 hit our family. A group of ten had shared dinner together at my parents' house on Monday night and by Wednesday morning, four of us in four different homes were wishing they could be unconscious for a while. Jackson was the sick one in our house, bless his heart.

The care-taking anointing fell on Curtis and he sprung into action. The obsessive compulsive vomit phobia came upon me and I pretty much retreated to my room until the fun was over - about 24 hours later. We cancelled everything that had been planned for the next two days and went into hermit mode. That's never ideal, but maybe we needed to rest and just be together at home.

I have to say, I've been really excited about having a break from the school schedule. It's not really hard, but it's nice not to set an alarm. My hubs has won major points for letting me sleep until 10 AM on two separate occasions.

I was very proud of Jackson on his last day of the semester. He's kept a great attitude about school, stayed enthusiastic about learning, and behaved himself in class. Of course, when I sat him down and poured out my words of affirmation, he responded with, "Are you going to give me a gift now?" I said, "Son! I am giving you a gift - my words!" Ha! We clearly do not have the same love language.

Speaking of words, the kids have been cracking us up with their sayings. Jackson's been saying "yesterday yesterday" instead of "the day before yesterday." Annabeth's speech is gold, pure gold, with go-to expressions like "booly halla," which has a mysterious meaning that we have not been able to discern. Yesterday she kept saying, "I tell you a secret." Then she'd whisper, "Butterfly," or "The dragon and the butterfly are at the airport."

Abey's third birthday is just over a month away and she is changing so much. For a while I doubted I would live to see her third birthday because I was just sure her contrariness was taking decades off my life. But it became apparent that some very mean and nasty molars were making their way through. I hoped my sweet, if headstrong, girl would come back to me soon and she finally did.

We have our first Christmas Eve service tonight at Bayou City Fellowship. It seems surreal that all of this has actually happened between last Christmas and now. I can't wait to worship Jesus with our church family on this special night. The chapel we normally use is not going to have electricity due to some construction getting ready to happen at the school, so we're having a candlelight service outside. (We have a plan if it rains.) If you don't have a place to worship this Christmas, we'd love for you to join us tonight at Houston Christian High School at 5 PM. Bundle up and bring some blankets and lawn chairs. There will be child care for babies up to age 2.

Have a very merry Christmas, friends!

10 comments:

Audrey said...

What's spaghetti without syrup?! We LOVE Elf! Doesn't matter how many times we see it, we are always laughing til our sides hurt, and even more so when our boys are laughing hysterically, too!

I pray your celebration is wonderful! Your family is in our thoughts and prayers.

love,
Audrey

Sunni said...

Merry Christmas, Amanda!

HIS Child said...

Love you Amanda! Thanks for sharing your life. May the Lord bring the fullness of His Presence to BCF tonight as your Church family worships before Him.

Siesta Celeste.

Beth Herring said...

Merry Christmas Amanda - to you and your precious family!

Judy said...

We loved worshiping with BCF tonight. Sweet music and wonderful message. Really enjoyed meeting you, your husband and your mom. Have a blessed Christmas!
~from the couple from Minnesota...
Judy & Peter

Claire said...

Merry Christmas! We've been sticking with the Elf diet here too!

Cxx

Lyndsey said...

I have thought this for awhile, but I finally have to come out and say that you give me faith I can be a mother. I, too have a serious vomit phobia. Can't stand to see it, hear it or be near it and if someone close to me has a virus, you can bet Lysol and Clorox's stock will go up! I really love that you address the very unglamorous parts(not just vomit - all the challenges) of being a mother and it is so encouraging to someone like me who wonders if I will be able to handle that stuff!

Shellie Paparazzo said...

I was going to have to have a discussion with you about what an Elf Diet must contain if there was not going to be any spaghetti and syrup mentioned before the end of that first paragraph! You did not disappoint! Sorry about the stomach bug:( That's no fun at all! We rarely get such things around here, but it didn't used to be that way. Hopefully as your kids get older they'll get the flu less often as well.

anne said...

Hey Amanda.
I am commenting here as I remember a post a while ago to run for girls in sex slavery. My husband and I are involved in Triathlon and Endurance training and we both want to "race" for a girl. How do I start this up? We have a big team race in Knoxville TN in may and I would love to do so for a girl in slavery.

Any advice???

Amanda said...

Anne, I think this is what you're looking for:
http://asourown.org/take-action/what-you-can-do/your-team

I hope that helps!