Winding Down or Gearing Up?

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I feel unprepared. I'm not sure when the panic will set in, maybe tomorrow. I do not need to make pie as that base has been covered. We will have pumpkin pie, apple pie, and blueberry pie, and a cheesecake too, I think. The turkey is waiting in the fridge... We will have eleven for dinner and a few more for dessert. Maybe panic is unnecessary...

Mine and Bethany's pie making days are coming to an end. We are winding down just in time to gear up for Christmas. Today was a baking day for Beth, and tonight I will help her deliver her Thanksgiving cache' of pastries. Next Wednesday will be lonely without her. Maybe we'll have to find another reason to be in the kitchen all day.

Today I rearranged my living room for the holidays, and probably the entire winter. We need more room for tables and guests, and Hannah would like to have a "real" Christmas tree, because she likes the smell of fresh pine branches. Christmas carols will soon fill the air and Josh will be asking to hear "Frosty the Snowman" repeatedly. Children will bounce off walls and I will be stressed about the next celebration. :) I must recall the lesson my cats taught me last year, if I can do that I will not be stressed, I will enjoy the season instead.

This year Hannah is in a Christmas play at church, there is a Christmas Tea at my brother's residence, and a Gingerbread House night at church as well. I hope to bake cookies with Emma and her mom, and watch a few Christmas videos with my kids. I am looking forward to these events and maybe, just maybe, a little bit of Christmas shopping. Mostly, I want to enjoy this special time of year and be able to share the love of our Savior in a new and different way.