It's Beginning to FEEL Like Christmas

The Christmas cards are in the mail, the shopping is done...now I have some present "making" to do and wrapping, along with packing and taking down the decor all before 12/24.
It is going to be a busy week! Good news is that Jake will only be working 2 days! Yahoo! So, it will be fun.
I am excited to start the Stock Sugar Cookie tradition with Anna. We bought our food coloring today. Speaking of, today was awesome! I could have done without the 73 degree weather. I know, some of you love warm sun. I do too, in July. In Dec. it should be cold, gloomy, raining or snowing. Just the way I like it....and I am inside with a fire and some hot coffee or something, oh and the tree, a lit up Christmas tree. Love it!
Since it will be in the seventy's again tomorrow, I will just have to sit here and imagine it is cold and shut the blinds so it feels stormy. Ha! How lame.
Today, I am thankful for:
1. Jake driving us all over timbucktwo (however you spell that) to look at lights.
2. The opportunity to get out of the car at one of the private catholic schools here to look at the nativity with Anna. She was so excited to see a big version of it and told me all the people that were there complete with a "Happy Birthday Jesus".
3. This being my third post this week. Back on track baby!
4. An amazing TH night with Kristy, Alissa and some of their friends. We watched The Secret. A very interesting perspective of life. Never heard of it? Check out www.thesecret.tv
5. MOPS this week and my craft. Did I already mention that? Well I am still thinking about it and how much fun it was to make
6. Dinner at Bill and Ruth's over by TU. Jake and I LOVED that particular Bill and Ruth's (there are lots of them around here) and it is still owned by the same people and still SOOOOOOO good. It brought back good memories too. That was the first place we went to "hang" out as friends back in college. When I paid for my own meal so as to not call it a date b/c I had a boyfriend and was not going to cheat on him, so if I paid myself it was just an outing with a friend!
7. Bo after a bath, I still put the pink J&J lotion on him, he smells like my little baby still!
8. My sis in law for offering to watch Wilson while we are gone. It will save us a lot of MONEY! Yeahoo.
9. Anna helping me with the Christmas cards. I was hesitant to let her, then I remembered what they said at Sunday school last week, if we WAIT to let our kids help, wait until they are able to do it perfectly and without making a mess, they won't want to help anymore. And so I took a deep breath and let her take the labels off the paper and stick them on the envelopes. It was slow and some are crooked but she did them, with me and LOVED every minute of it. And, I did too b/c I went against my nature and took the time to see life through her eyes. Whew!
10. Christmas music...what is not to love about it.
11. Yes, #11....peppermint mochas from starbucks, peppermint bark from Williams Sonoma.
Merry Christmas!